Education and Unforgettable Experience

Unforgettable Experience I still remember my first day of school in USA. It’s an unforgettable experience that I will always remember. In 2001 my family and I moved to USA, Arizona from India for better life and education. I was placed at 6th grade elementary school. First day of school for any student can be hard, but even hard for a student who doesn’t speak a word of English. Now, what made my first day of school so unforgettable was how I had to find my class, how I had to introduce myself to my new classmates, and how I tried to understand what the teacher was trying to teach.Reading a map and navigating the class location is quite hard for a 6th grader. Specially, for a student that’s in a new country and a new school like myself. I got off the bus and I have my school map on my hand trying to find where my class is. I am running one way to another holding my heavy backpack. Accidently, I ran into a girl. We both fell hard to the ground. I quickly got up an d helped her pick her stuff up and apologized. Funny to say I knew how to say sorry from watching movies, I said sorry to her but I didn’t understand a word she was saying to me and she didn’t seem quite happy.I understood from her facial expressions that she was cursing me and the students around were laughing out loud. Then, a nice lady teacher name Mrs. Smith came and I showed her my class number. Somehow, she understood that I needed help. So she helped me to my class after that embarrassing scene. Now everyone knows first day of school is about the teacher introducing themselves, going over the class rules and every student introducing their self to the class. My teacher name Mrs.McDonalds started with talking about herself and also, about what we were going to do that school year. After her it was the students turn, one by one each student stood up and said their name. They told the class about their interests and favorite things to do. I am nervously looking aro und trying to figure out what is going on. Then all of the sudden everyone starts staring at me and the teacher is asking me something. I started getting nervous and shy. I only understood the word name the teacher said, so I quickly told her my name.Then I stood quietly while the whole class started to laugh because of the awkward situation. After an embarrassing introduction of me to the class the teacher started to talk about our first assignment. We had to write a narrative essay with at least 500 words. As she explaining and teaching us about how to put together a narrative essay. I am sitting there asking to myself what in the world is going on. What do I do? It was even hard for students with English being their first language. Sitting in class not knowing a word of English was not fun.My classmates didn’t want to work with me because I couldn’t communicate with them. I just couldn’t wait for school to end for the day. It is an unforgettable experience I will always remember and think about. A quote that comes to mind says â€Å"you always learn the hardest way† unknown. What I went through that day made things easier for me the next day of school because I was more aware of things. I was more careful on my way to class, tried to learn how to introduce myself and ask the teacher for help with assignments.

“MYD Program”

The Make Your Day Program is shaped to develop classroom management through evaluation and assessment as academic protocols in enhancing the student’s performance in school as well as with the development of the â€Å"guidance† aided by the school instructors. Consequently, on the case presented, the most efficient way to bring back the enthusiasm of the student is through the utilization of parent-teacher collaboration and Make Your Day Program philosophies—â€Å"do what is expected and do it the best you can†Ã¢â‚¬â€which provides the student the opportunity to engage in self-peer-teacher evaluation tackling their efforts and behaviors on an everyday basis with corresponding points.   Conceivably, with the aide of constant communication and opening up the emotion of the child and making the student share the presupposed reason for the actions, the predicament shall then be given ample attention and analysis so as to draw the ability of the child away from the verve of unreceptive reactions. Classroom management dilemma The speaking incentive or the pre-requisite regard towards communication strategies has been evident in educational curricula in the contemporary society.   Hence, it is undeniable that there are students who possess the utterly â€Å"shy† personality by which they are unable to air what they wish to express in classroom for reasons which are laid on the issue on health, racial discrimination, status quo or an innate sense of anxiety (Aviv, 2007). These problems are cited by communications professors as a an â€Å"academic dilemma† since that it pulls back the student from getting the whole gist of what is to be acquired in school only because there exists a cold feet in expressing their emotions—which by hand is considered as a vital factor in learning—to be able to share their thoughts.   Studies show that there are students who fail getting a degree and drop out of further education because of the crippled ability in public speaking or in effective communication by which various profession pay high regard and attention. Reference Aviv, R. (2007, November 13, 2007). Don’t Be Shy. The New York Times.      

Social Contract Theory by John Rawls Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Contract Theory by John Rawls - Essay Example Social contract theory gives a suggestion of a simple first step in assessing the ethical values that human beings can use to build a just society (Freeman 44). In this case, it elaborates that, people should assume that they do not know their race, age, wealth, intelligence, and gender among other things. This paper will seek to explain, evaluate, and describe the important features of the social contract theory and determine its state of argument as well as its plausibility. Most importantly, one of the social contract theory features proposes two ethical principles. The first one puts across that, everybody has a title to a certain equal basic rights, which comprise of personal security, freedom of association, and liberty. The second one state that, even though there may be economic and social inequalities between people, people must base these inequalities on what a person does, not whom he or she is, and there must be an equal opportunity for achievement for everyone. Additiona lly, social contract theory gives an approach based on ethics (51). This approach envisages itself with moral consequences of a person’s actions as opposed to morality of the actions themselves. For a person who cares about the consequences of his or her actions, lying itself is unethical. However, one must use the consequences of lying to evaluate their ethical implications of lying. The argument As described, the two main features of social contract theory include the state of nature describing nature’s original position and the reasons made by occupants supporting their decisions regarding moral principles. In social contract theory, disagreements take place on both fronts of contractors. With that respect, one can develop many descriptions of the original position of nature. Given that, Rawls thought why not allow such people some jealousy and make the original position of nature altruistic. In his claims, Rawls set out that people in the original position fail to take risks (57). Nevertheless, they may trust that some risk taking is reasonable. In their original position, people do not take risks because they are greedy and fearful. Social contract theory rests on a sound argument because of the fact that, when people are in self-sufficient state of nature, they become relatively peaceful. Their problem arises when they cannot characterize which state of nature gives them the best vantage point and/or the best sense of a consent that is philosophically pure. In addition, the second feature of the social contract theory revolves around people’s acceptable principles, which happens to be a genuine problem. Probably, it is possible to define people in the original position as if they would accept a particular set of principles over the others. Implicitly, these people must contain principles in order for this to be the case. Nonetheless, this begs for the question that people want to discover the proper principles of justice. They want t o discover what principles can free, equal, and rationale people can accept. At this point, it is agreeable that, this theory rests on a sound argument due to the setting that, a social contract theory agreement is not actually an agreement. It is however, a philosophically purified agreement that is usually among the hypothetical people (84). It uses the original posi

Bullying in American Schools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Bullying in American Schools - Assignment Example According to Vossekuil et al. (2002), the analysis of school shooters in the U.S. (from 1974 to 2002) by Secret Service revealed that the shooters were the victim of chronic bullying (Espelage and Swearer 2). This shows that school violence is rooted in the experience of bullying (Espelage and Swearer 2). Moreover, the negative psychological outcomes of bullying were found to be common among all the victims and bullies (Espelage and Swearer 2). A study by Nansel et al. (2001) has revealed that there are major long term negative effects of bullying that prove detrimental for both, the victims and the bullies (Marsh et al. 66). According to Olweus, the negative outcomes of bullying like â€Å"peer rejection, delinquent behavior, criminality, depression, psychological disturbance, further violence in school† and suicidal tendency, continue in adulthood of both, the victims and perpetrators of bullying (Marsh et al. 66). This shows that bullying not only destroys the lives of the victims but also affects the lives of the perpetrators negatively. Hence, intervention at right time is essential. Intervention Studies have found that â€Å"bullying does not occur in isolation† but is a result of the complex relationship between the individual and his social elements like family, peer group, school, community, culture etc., and is encouraged by individual’s interaction with his social environment (Espelage and Swearer 3).

African americans and the military during WW2 Essay

African americans and the military during WW2 - Essay Example They nurtured great expectations due to their excellent work and war records they possessed. This hope had been carried further as President Wilson declared that the war was being fought â€Å"to make the world safe for democracy†.(President Wilson, World War I) African American soldiers as well as the civilians always recollected or remembered their painful experiences of World War I. They had endured discrimination and segregation in almost all areas and they were not willing to accept these factors once again. So they started raising their voices in protest for which they had to undergo severe punishment in lieu of their attitude. Their hopes and aspirations were dashed to the ground when after the war; discriminatory feelings began to grow against them in leaps and bounds. The Ku Klux Klan was once again revived and gained the support of other anti- African American groups. The Blacks suffered horrendous discrimination and riots and attacks left thousands homeless. Many of the Black writers interviewed some of the black American slaves and received a first hand report of the atrocities meted out to them. Due to segregation of the Black Americans discontentment and the need to take revenge brewed among them. Many organizational groups such as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the NAACP and the National Urban League tried very hard to put an end to segregation of the Black Americans and the discrimination shown to them, but all the efforts undertaken were slow and laborious. The NAACP also worked towards obtaining voting rights and tried hard to dismantle discrimination and segregation by moving the court. They also strived hard to gain laws that were beneficial to the suffering African Americans. The â€Å"Jim Crow† laws that were mandated discriminated Blacks to have separate facilities for worship, housing, travel, schooling, lodging, eating and drinking and all other aspects of

Management Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Strategy - Essay Example The big industries with WCM status have thus become pace-setters for the smaller enterprises. Introduction WCM came into prominence following the 1986 publication of  World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied  by Richard J. Schonberger, which was his follow-up to  Japanese Management Techniques: Nine Hidden Lessons in Simplicity. World marketplace events during the 1970s and 1980s caused competition to grow to such an intense level that many firms were forced to re-examine their concept of manufacturing strategy, especially in terms of the tradeoffs among the four competitive priorities: cost, quality, delivery/service, and flexibility. Managers began to realize that they no longer had to make these tradeoffs but could instead compete on several competencies (E-notes World Class Manufacturer Journal, 2013). What is World Class Manufacturing? WCM refers to a standard of excellence, the kind of manufacturing considered the best in the world. World class manufac turing is a collection of concepts, which set standard for production and manufacturing for another organization to follow. Japanese manufacturing is credited with pioneer in concept of world-class manufacturing. World class manufacturing was introduced in the automobile, electronic and steel industry (Management Study Guide Journals-World Class Manufacturing, 2013). In another description, WCM is often used to describe a company that has achieved a perceived, but largely undefined, level of performance. In today’s highly competitive, global marketplace, being truly excellent is not only a desirable trait but increasingly a requirement to survive and prosper, even for a small to mid-sized manufacturer. WCM is an on-going journey towards total operational excellence. In defining WCM, the following four building blocks encompass attributes that are practical and workable interpretations of WCM: Compete with competitors on the basis of time Having very high levels of product and process quality Involving all stakeholders in the conduct of business Practicing continuous improvements in all aspects of business In order to adopt these WCM building blocks, the manufacturer needs have understanding, awareness, acceptance an implementation (Shearer, 2004). World Class Manufacturers are those that demonstrate industry best practice. To achieve this, companies should attempt to be the best in the field at each of the competitive priorities (quality, price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and innovation). Organizations should therefore aim to maximize performance in these areas in order to maximize competitiveness. However, as resources are unlikely to allow improvement in all areas, organizations should concentrate on maintaining performance in qualifying factors and improving competitive edge factors (SM Thacker and Associates). The fundamental principle governing WCM is that cost added is equivalent to waste whereas value added is equivalent to loss. Typical manufacturers relies a 70 per cent to 30 per cent cost added to value added ratio as illustrated below: Source: World Class Manufacturing Performance Journal. Management Education and Consulting. Buker, Inc. The value added is eq

Principles of Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Economics - Research Paper Example Based on this research economics is about scarcity and choice. It is assumed that all human beings are rational thinkers hence would always choose to consume products that would give them maximum satisfaction or utility. Mankiw argues that rational people ‘systematically and purposefully do the best to achieve objectives given available opportunity.’ Given a choice among alternatives and with scarce resources, one would evaluate the benefits and costs of consuming an extra unit of a product and would only take a decision only if marginal benefit is greater than marginal cost. In this case, to solve the alcohol abuse problem, one has to consider marginal benefits and marginal costs derived from consuming an extra unit of alcohol and since excessive drinking has more costs than benefits, one would refrain from alcohol. The opportunity cost foregone by choosing to abuse alcohol is too high compared to satisfaction derived; money spent on alcohol can do many other things suc h as feeding the family, education for children, and investments among others. Besides, the person may have health problems thus adding to the costs. By considering all these factors, a rational person would refrain from alcohol abuse. Heyne acknowledges the role played by incentives in directing behavior. For him, rational people usually respond to incentives or are induced to act by them. Assuming alcohol abusers are rational, imposing taxes on alcohol substances would eliminate the problem. This would follow the law of demand which states that other things being constant, if the price of a good increase, the quantity demanded of the good decreases. Taxes have the effect of increasing alcohol prices and this would automatically mean that the abusers would desist from alcohol consumption or cut their consumption. Prescription Drug Effects on Demand and Supply of Other Products and Services Prescription drugs are drugs prescribed by a medical officer to a patient and are regulated b y legislation unlike the over-the-counter drugs which can be old to anyone. If a patient is under prescription drugs, he/she buys the drugs despite the price of the drugs. An increase or decrease in price of the drugs therefore has little or no effect on the quantity demanded by an individual (McCarthy & Schafermeyer, 2007). The drugs are provided by the National Health Insurance and have no close substitutes. The increase in price of the drugs thus affects all the sectors of healthcare industry such as patients and private insurers. Due to increased costs, the private insurers are forced to increase the cost of their services in case they have to offer such drugs and this may lead to low demand for their services. The patients are also required to get medical prescriptions before obtaining the drugs thus the demand for the medicine may be low compared to over-the-counter drugs. Use of prescription drugs also has an effect on demand for other healthcare services such as hospitalizat ion. The prescription drugs also affect supply of generic products as manufacturers have patents to supply the new drugs for some years. Elasticity of Demand and Supply The price elasticity of demanded which is percentage change in quantity demanded over percentage change in price shows consumers responsiveness to price changes. (McKenzie & Lee, 2006). It is an important consideration when analyzing the impact of a shift in supply and in determining if the firm should raise or lower its price. The supply curve is upward sloping showing a positive relationship between price and quantity supplied other things held constant. However, in long-run, those factors do change causing a shift in supply curve. Such factors include; input prices, technology, expectations and number of sellers in the market. For example, an increase in input prices such as labor would lead to a decrease in supply thus shifting the supply curve to the left. This

Usage of space in shell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Usage of space in shell - Essay Example ssay aims at examining how the Shell Oil Company has utilized its operational space, particularly office space, to increase operations and profits as a result, in the United States. The Shell Oil Company is a subsidiary business of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, located in the United States. In 2011, the Shell Oil Company leased a total of about 1.3 million feet squared of office space at the One Shell Plaza and the Two Shell Plaza in Houston (Hines, 2011). In the One Shell Plaza; Shell Oil Company occupies the largest percentage of office space. For instance, on the first floor, the Shell oil company has a small museum which illustrates the company’s history. The whole of Shell’s head office is located at the One Shell Plaza, while most of the other floors serve as corporate offices for the company. The Two Shell Plaza, on the other hand, plays the purpose of a parking lot as well as other Shell Oil Company offices. From 2011, the lease is set to expire after 15 years, thus making the Shell Oil Company a tenant at the Hines-owned property for over 55 years. According to Hines (2011), Shell renewed the lease in accordance with the latter company’s plan of consolidating more office space at Houston downtown. According to Cook (2012), the lease was the largest office space contract in the world that year. The acquisition of this office space is a significant leap from the 650, 000 square feet that the Royal Dutch Shell started with in 1970 (Cook, 2012). Over time, Shell has made progressive steps towards ensuring that there is enough working space for the thousands of people working in the company. In the 1990s, for example, Shell made major renovations to the Shell Plaza buildings aimed at easing operations and maximizing the output of the workforce (Cook, 2012). For instance, modern elevators were installed, electrical and mechanical upgrades were done, and architectural lobbies were upgr aded, in addition to other changes. In 2011, after Shell signed

MBTI & decision-making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MBTI & decision-making - Assignment Example There are certain techniques imperative in the realisation of this ability. Indeed, the ability to classify and recognise the information is one of the greatest challenges in this ability. Decision making requires making proper networks and task analysis. In order to facilitate the realisation of this, it creates the need to attend and address the internal and the external consistencies. Proper decision making also calls for the evaluation of all the relevant facts in order to create the efficiency and effectiveness in the process. In the context of the organisational structure, the making of proper decisions needs to be a methodical process that follows a given pattern. In the practical sense, several techniques are normally imperative in the context of decision making (Brooks 2006). These normally involve backward planning and the use of the PMI technique which provides a clear demonstration of the decision making process. In order to facilitate the process, certain fundamental strengths become very important. This includes the identification of the possible defects and problems and the need to follow up the whole decision making process. Proper judgment also calls for the implementation of the decisions in a timely manner. It is also important to evaluate for the efficiency and effectiveness of the decision am made. I recall being invited to make a decision regarding whether or not to suspend a student who had been caught watching illicit material over the internet while in school. From the outset, it appeared everybody wanted the boy to be kicked out of school. On much scrutiny of the school rules and regulations, I realised that there wasn’t a proper written rule which outlawed such behaviour. I therefore took it upon myself to inundate the members on the invalidity of a decision to suspend the boy yet there wasn’t any proper rule of dealing with such a case. Though it was

Give a Boy a Gun Essay Example for Free

Give a Boy a Gun Essay He says just about â€Å"yes, ma’amed† and â€Å"no, ma’amed†. Yes ma’am, everything is fine. No ma’am, I don’t have a problem with anyone. But you could see the pain and anger in his eyes. Citation: What Brendan and Gary did was terribly, horribly, inexcusably wrong. I have no interest in defending them. But deep in my heart there is a little piece of me that at least understands what might have driven them to such a horrendous, evil undertaking. But what those boys id was equally inexcusable and evil. Brett Betzig – Brendan’s friend in Springfield. Citation: One thing about Brendan: He hated injustice Deidre Bunson – student on the Middletown high schoolPaul Burns – Football player. Citation: One day in class we were talking about morality, and Brendan said there was no God. He didn’t say that he didn’t believe in God. He just said there was no God. (Because of the injustice in the world, he thinks that a God can’t exist) (Page 56) Brandan Lowlor:He is a sporty, skinny guy with glasses. His parents are very friendly and they can? t understand their son’s behavior. Brandan is highly intelligent, a litte bit excited (aufgeregt? Man kann in einer bestimmten Situation aufgeregt sein, aber fur eine Charaktereigenschaft brauchst du hier einen anderen Begriff. Was genau meinst du? ) and distrustful. He loves sports and videogames like â€Å"Doom†. He doesn’t want to move to Middletown, that’s the reason why he has problems at school.

Spoken language vs written language

Spoken language vs written language Thes is statement: It is more difficult to understand the spoken language than the written language for some reasons. Annotated Bibliography Ridgway, T. (2000). Listening strategies- I beg your pardon? ELT Journal Volume 54/2 Oxford: Oxford University Press In the essay, Tony Ridgway writes about the basic differences between the spoken and the written language, furthermore, he clarifies the main disparities between spoken and written texts. In the centre of his work, he examines wheter the the skills and strategies which people use during reading could be transported into listening. In a separate paragraph, he explains what startegy means exactly, because according to him, there is confusion with it. Ridgway deals with the question of conscious listening and direct listening strategy, because in his view, it is impossible to do it directly. Afterwards, he tells his opinion about the importance of practising. At last, he explains the authentic texts, which means that realistic situations should appear in listening tasks. At the end, Ridgway summarises the topic of the essay in the practical consequences. Field, J. (2000). Not waving but drowning: a reply to Tony Ridgway ELT Journal Volume 54/2 Oxford: Oxford University Press In his essay, John Field deals with the same topic like Tony Ridgway, but he has a different opinion, so this is a critical reflection. There are ideas of Ridgway in which Field agrees with him, but not so many. He rather lists the assuptions of Ridgway, for example equality of texts, the question of transferring skills from the first language into the second, and the problem with simplified texts. Furthermore, he introduces two types of students: the risk-taker and the risk-avoider. He also expresses dissatisfaction about some definitions of Ridgway, like strategy, strategy types and skills. Afterwards, he summarises Ridgways main arguments and writes his own opinion about them. At the end of the essay, he explains Ridgways solution and tells, why he cannot agree with him. The National Capital Language Resource Center. (2003, 2004) Strategies for Developing Listening Skills. Teaching Listening. Washington, DC Retrieved from http:// www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/stratlisten.htm The target of this article is to help students developing their listening strategies. According to the writer, listening is a really important part of language learning, but it needs to improve it. Students can easily generate better results with the following strategies: top-down, which means a listener based strategy, when students are familiar with the background of the text, and bottom-up, which means a text based strategy, when students listening for specific details and word-order patterns. The writer also mentions a metacognitive strategy, which means the preparation for the listening method and evaluate it. Afterwards, four basis steps are given to realize the aim: listening to meaning. These steps include figuration the purpose, selection the relevant pieces, selection an appropiate strategy and check of comprehension.

The Problems with Voting in America Essay -- Politics Political Essays

The Problems with Voting in America If one were to look at the voting history as of late in America you would surely find information on the Florida catastrophe in 2000. The problem with our voting system today is in the technology being used; many demographic groups find our current systems confusing and hard to use. As voters step into the polling places this election year many will be voting through new devices some even sporting â€Å"touch screen† technology and we can only hope that the new technology is understood and accepted. In the US each municipality selects their own voting equipment regardless of what other places are doing. According to this CPSR article the Vote-O-Matic system has been in place for over ten years in many US counties and while some may view this technology as acceptable the Vote-O-Matic was a major player in the 2000 recount. Many municipalities have the funding to adopt new technology but others either feel uncomfortable with this change or don’t have the funding. The problem with the Vote-O-Matic is it uses paper ballots that consist of many...

Personal and Social Struggles in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay

Although a strict society composed of high morality and disciplinary laws may be necessary for safety, it causes internal conflicts within the individuals. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller a theocracy in Salem rules and guides the citizens into doing what is â€Å"right†, but eventually backfires due to issues of reputation and jealousy. Society has a lot of influence on the citizens, and with a bad reputation, it is nearly impossible to live in a Puritan society. Salem’s strict Puritanical social structure causes personal struggles for the individuals involved in the events of The Crucible, and then eventually these personal struggles affect the society overall. Abigail’s struggles come from many of her personal desires that are forbidden in her society, causing her to lie. However, this also creates further social problems, such as the initiation of the witch trials. After Betty is stuck in a coma, Reverend Parris questions Abigail about the night in the woods, because he is suspicious and she denies that it had anything to do with witchcraft. Abigail replies to Parris saying, â€Å" We never conjured spirits† (24). Abigail lies to Parris, denies the statement that witchcraft ever occurred, and says that all they did was danced. Witchcraft and dancing both are sins in the society, and she knows that her reputation is at stake and finds the need to lie to look innocent. Parris wants to be sure and calls Reverend Hale to look further into the issue. Once Reverend Hale comes into town, he questions Abigail about the night, and she once again denies everything he asks her. Abigail is being questioned by Hale, and once Tituba ente rs she screams, â€Å" She made me do it! She made Betty do it! She makes me drink blood!† (45). Abigail denies every... ...Proctor deals with issues based on guilt which eventually are brought up in court. Although the individuals’ personal struggles in The Crucible are brought by society, ultimately they affect society as well. Abigail’s personal desires were forbidden in society which brought her struggles, ultimately causing her to lie, and then initiating the witch trials. Mary Warren is unable to keep her personal commitment to John Proctor because of her fear of Abigail and the girls, eventually harming John Proctor. Lastly, John Proctor deals with his guilt over his affair with Abigail, and he confesses in court, but Elizabeth testifies he has not had an affair. All of these personal and social struggles are relevant to our society today because the witch trials are still a very controversial Works Cited Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: the Penguin Group, 1995.

Positive Aspects of Atticus Finch Essay -- essays research papers

In the past century, there have been many great novels written. One of which is Harper Lee's, 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. In the novel it introduces a prominent character who not only was a good father but also a well respected, and compassionate man. This person is Atticus Finch. Through all the struggles and pressures, he stands strong as a very positive father figure, making sure to educate his children with important values including equality, bravery, and knowledge. Regardless of one?s race or colour, Atticus has a fair attitude towards all people. Early in the novel, a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. Atticus took on the case to defend Tom without another thought simply because he treats everyone equally. From the moment he agreed to defend Tom, he knew right away that it was a case he could not hope to win. However, when his daughter, Scout asked why he was defending Tom, he told her that he must argue it to uphold his keen sense of justice and self-respect. ?Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.? (Page 76) Furthermore, when Jem brought home Walter Cunningham, Atticus was nice enough to let him stay for lunch and treated him as an equal. He never looked down on him even though he was a Cunningham, poor farmers who were in the middle class above the black. ?Jem ran to the kitchen and asked Calpurnia to set an extra plate, we had company. Atticus g reeted Walter and began a discussion about crops neither Jem nor I could follow.? (Page 24) Jem learned important lessons from his father regarding bravery. Atticus? went against the norm, refusing to hunt and his disapproval of guns. He believed that guns do not make men brave a... ...to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire? (Page 204) In conclusion, Atticus has a very significant role in the novel. Through Atticus, the town became aware that, although Tom was black, Atticus still did his best to defend him and never gave up. Most importantly, Atticus proved to his children, and the townspeople that all men are created equal and should be given the same respect as everyone else regardless of their skin colour. He showed his son, Jem the true face of courage. Moreover, he taught his children the importance of education. A strong, solid character, such as Atticus Finch has brought the book, ?To Kill A Mockingbird? to be considered a remarkable classic.

The Impact of Training and Development on the Employees

THE IMPACT OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ON THE EMPLOYEES OF THE INSURANCE SECTOR IN JORDAN THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To examine the procedures of training and development in the insurance sector and its effect on the quality of service and the degree of commitment from the employees to their organizations as it is a very essential subject since Training and Development is the framework for helping employees to develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge, and abilities.The focus of all aspects of Human Resource Development is on developing the most superior workforce so that the organization and individual employees can accomplish their work goals in service to customers , All employees want to be valuable and remain competitive in the labour market at all times. This can only be achieved through employee training and development.Employees will always want to develop career-enhancing skills, which will always lead to employee motivation and retention. There is no doubt that a well-trained and developed staff will be a valuable asset to the company and thereby increasing the chances of his efficiency in discharging his or her duties, so our main focus about the practises of training and development in the insurance sector as it is a very important service sector .And to study the relationship between training and development with job satisfaction and morale among employees , inter personal relationship and customer satisfaction , employee motivation, efficiencies in processes, financial gain , capacity to adopt new technologies and methods , innovation in strategies and products , employee turnover , company image and productivity. METHODOLOGY:We are going to examine two of the most well-known companies in Jordan (Arab insurance company and Jordanian insurance company) through a qualitative research , data will be collected through a couple of interviews with some of the employees of the two companies from many managerial levels and by gathering pr imary information through literature review from recent journal papers and books. GROUP MEMBERS: * Sara khano * Bashar Kafafi * Lama Daas * Eman Khalil * Shireen Shakaa

Politics and the American People Essay

Being able to marry your most beloved one is the happiest and luckiest thing in this world. However, not everyone can do this because of the Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Same-sex couples have to suffer a lot in order to fight for their rights and their happiness.Theyare denied equal access to all the benefits, rights, and privileges provided by federal law to married couples.If we think of it from a humanity standpoint, everyone has the right to pursue happiness. Therefore, same-sex marriage should be legal. The reason for making gay marriage legal is equality in citizenship. Despite their sexual attraction, homosexual individuals must be treated in the same way as everyone. They should not only have the same rights in housing, jobs, social benefits but also in marriage. Lately, a Republican Senate, Mark Kirk, has become the second Republican senator to endorse same sex marriage. â€Å"Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most,† Kirk said. â€Å"Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back– government has no place in the middle.† President Obama is also a supporter of gay marriage. â€Å"Not only is it right and fair, but also consistent with our Constitution,† he said. â€Å"It is very important for us to remember we’re a nation in which everybody’s supposed to be equal before the law.† President’s statement is the hope for LGBT, Les Gay Bisexual Transgender community, to be treated equally by the law. Legalizing gay marriage is the way to show support and sympathy to homosexual individuals. Most Americans who think same-sex relations are wrong believe being gay or lesbian is a choice. Those who do not think same-sex relations are wrong think being gay or lesbian is something people cannot change. Senator Rob Portman, from Ohio, a co-sponsor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, now supports same-sex marriage after learning his son was gay. â€Å"I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,† he said. His son, Will, told his parents that being gay was not a choice, but the part of who he is, , and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember. Most of the homosexual individuals feel unconfident in front of the publicity due to the sexual attraction, and they feel lonely because of the isolation. Publicity should give them confidence for being who they are to lead on a bright life. Moreover, having a feeling for someone isn’t a sin. Hence, gender doesn’t matter in a relationship, gay couples also need support from the others. Generally, there’re a lot of people who oppose gay marriage because they think it’s weird and immoral. It’s rare, but doesn’t mean weird and unhappy. Homosexual individuals are just a small amount of us, but they are nothing different from us but their love to the same sex. They also take care of their partner well, love each other and live an ordinary life. How people can use immorality as an excuse to prevent the others seeking for their happiness?Let’s take Elton John and David Furnish as an example. John is the well-known musician who is used to addict to alcohol and drugs, but his partner, David, helped him to get rid of those dangerous addictions and live a better life. They formalized their relationship in December 2005, and they also adapted a boy in 2010. It’s the obvious proof that homosexual individuals can live a normal life as same-sex marriage legalized. In spite of one’s gender and sex’s attraction, everyone should be respected and treated equally in marriage. So, they can live a normal life and be happy with their beloved one. More and more Senate Democratand Republican support same-sex marriage. The battles over same-sex couples marrying still continues, and the number of Americans who support same-sex marriage is increasing. From what I see, if there’s any reason for fighting for gay marriage, they must be love, equal, sympathy and because we’re human.

Nature of Reality Essay

Reality is what you want it to be. Reality is a term that is used loosely, but comes in many different variations. There has never been or never will be one way to interpret reality, as it is built up of beliefs and values which vary from person to person. The true nature of reality is merely an illusion; it is the universe which exists in the mind. George Orwell develops this idea in the novel 1984 as he suggests that the true nature of reality is not defined by its validity but an outcome of society’s influences, and the boundaries of reality are constructed by the boundaries of imagination. Reality for a group or individual is not built up of truths; rather it is built up of what is believed to be true or factual. The citizens of Oceania lacked basic human rights. They worked long hours, no sense of privacy, and clearly deprived of any happiness. It would be logical to assume that this form of government is cruel and rebellion would spread like wild fire, but the citizens o f Oceania firmly believe that Big Brother is taking care of them. The reason they believe this is because they have no way to access any other source of information so they are left to accept what is told by the party. This one hundred percent belief that they are being taken care of clearly defines the reality of the citizens of Oceania, but has no validity to it. Winston starts realizing this when he reads a children’s book and says â€Å"In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make the claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of the experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.† This is the point where he starts realizing that the reality in which the party instills in the citizens of Oceania clearly is not based on logic (2+2=5) but is still enthusiastically accepted by the people. Humans are social creatures, we learn socially and through second hand knowledge passed down from society. So it makes sense to believe that the building blocks of reality, the beliefs and values which make it whole, are hugely influenced by the beliefs and values that society allows to be instilled. The Nazi rule of Germany during WWII will always be remembered as one of the darkest periods in human history. Many of the values that Hitler instilled and forced upon the citizens of Germany share the same concept in which Big Brother spread their values of hate and control, making them perfect  examples of each other. For both Nazi Germany and Oceania its citizens accepted the reality which practiced hate and scapegoat toward the enemy, ideas that would seem crazy in modern society and which would never be tolerated. So in Nazi Germany, why were these ideas so widely accepted? The citizens of Germany were surrounded by propaganda, the society in which they lived made it acceptable to act like that and enforced it, making the people believe that it’s the right way to think and believe, thus creating their reality. This is exactly the same way in which the party gained such control over the human mind, surrounding the people with propaganda hate, and nothing else, brainwashing the people to believe that it is the values reflected by the party is the most acceptable, and only way to act. When it comes down to it, the true boundaries of reality are defined by what is comprehensible by the human mind, also known as the imagination. The extent of the imagination stretches out as far as what has been seen or felt. It is impossible to know exactly what it would feel like to be on Pluto. Why? This is because nobody has ever had the experience of living on Pluto. The citizens of Oceania are completely oblivious of the outside world. The only knowledge they have is that which the party as allowed them to know. This is why in the middle of hate week, when Oceania switches allies the people blamed Emmanuel Goldstein for all of the negative propaganda about Eurasia. This is clearly another lie which the party fabricates to suck the citizens of Oceania into the negativity of their reality. This is not questioned though because the only experience the people have in terms of what they have seen or felt has been controlled by the party, so whatever the beliefs values or decisions the party reflects, no matter how ridiculous, will be enthusiastically accepted by the people. When Winston goes on about his love affair with Julia, he makes love to her and his mind opens up to the true pleasures of life. The party publicizes the idea that sex is a completely pleasure less act and should only occur with intent for reproduction. When Winston makes love to her it opens his mind up to what is possible beyond what the party is telling them. So why did this happen? Winston went through an experience which was out of the ordinary, which opened up his imagination and logically magnified his rebellion against the party because he came to the realization that there is more to life than what the party is allowing them to know. These limits of reality are defined  by how far the imagination can really stretch. George Orwell does a fantastic job exemplifying the true meaning of reality. The idea that reality is merely an outcome of experience and knowledge and nothing else is exaggerated by the totalitarian rule of Big Brother and the complete control of Oceania citizens. The belief that present reality is completely valid does make it reality, even if it is not completely factual. This was shown by the residents of Oceania as it was obvious they were being fed lies but accepted with no question. Everything that is inside your reality has been influenced by society, whether it is known or not, it is impossible to control, but what really restricts reality is imagination. If the citizens of Oceania were exposed to anything other than the beliefs and values of the party, there is no way that they would act and respond to it the same way as their reality would open up to new possibilities. Considering all of this, there is no way to know what is really true and whether what we believe and value is right or wrong. We may be living in a reality in which many possibilities of life are hidden, just in the way that freedom was hidden from Oceania.

Loyalty and Betrayal in a Political Context

Two recent Chinese films, Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine (1993) and Zhang Yimon’s   Hero (2002), have gained worldwide attention, garnering numerous awards in the process. Although set in very different periods of Chinese history, both films deal with the themes of loyalty and betrayal played out against a vigorously political backdrop. This political philosophy even weaves through out the stories, marking a radical change from previous socialist-realistic Chinese films which mainly had an operatic focus. In the past, Chinese films were heavily censored and did not appeal to a wide audience. What occurred within the Chinese culture to allow for films which gained international acclaim and dealt freely with controversial concepts, such as   the political atmosphere of China? Both Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimon are Chinese fifth generation directors. This genre evolved after Mao’s death in 1976, causing film to have   the widest international impact of all the Chinese arts reborn since then. Distinguished by a quantum leap from the political and cultural heritage of Mao, and achieving an â€Å"aesthetic breakthrough† with radically politicized ideological implications, this movement nevertheless was formed in a crucible (Zhang, 203). The 1984 release of Kaige’s film Yellow Earth revealed the emergence of a major new movement in world cinema, the fifth generation, which gained its name from critics and scholars based upon a retrospective examination of Chinese film history. It   is one of the cinema’s most important â€Å"new waves,† along with German expressionism, the French new wave, and Italian neo realism. The canon is comprised of the works of a group of young film artists with similar aesthetic and ideological motivations. The fifth generation emerged from the first graduating class of the Beijing Film Academy; students who had encountered tumultuous changes within their own lives, not being allowed to finish their high school educations, ( which didn’t resume until 1977), but being sent instead to the countryside as â€Å"intellectual youth,† becoming soldiers or laborers.   Although Kaige’s father was a well known Beijing film director, Yimou’s father had been an officer in Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist KMT army and Yimou was shut out of most educational, financial and social opportunities available to many of his future classmates at the Film Academy. However, the arrival of the Cultural Revolution functioned as a great equalizer, as   most members of the fifth generation forfeited education, saw their parents publicly criticized, and their lives swept up in turmoil. Yimou took up photography during this time, while Kaige tried to join the communist party.(Ij, 1). According to Paul Clark in his book Reinventing China: A Generation and its Film, the cultural revolution forever changed the members of the fifth generation. They emerged from it challenged by their experiences, endowing their films with a more critical attitude toward the cultural revolution and a more humane and realistic take on the lives of their fellow Chinese. While at the Beijing Film Academy the students had a shortage of textbooks from which to work. The professors instead exposed them to foreign films. Thus the students became filmmakers by watching and analyzing these foreign works. After graduation the students were assigned to various urban and rural studios across China, creating works that tried to reconstruct a national cinema after ten years of neglect and oppression. Rejecting rigid formalism, the filmmakers   created more realistic lighting, and used better actors and editors. They also created more ambiguous, less didactic stories. With the catastrophe at Tianamen Square in 1989,   and the ensuing crackdown on the fifth generation in the 1990s by authorities who weren’t comfortable with   many of the politics contained within the films, the restricted filmmakers began looking for international financing. The resulting films brought more international attention to Chinese cinema than ever before (Clark, 205). The filmmakers’ goals were to present themselves as artists with an aesthetic sensibility and to comment on the totality of their culture and history at a metaphorical or allegorical level. By assuming the margins vis a vis the mainstream, the Chinese new wave cinema offers itself as a substitute for and a supplement to, the emerging nationalist cinema. With spectacular visual effects, idiosyncratic and forceful storytelling, the films are a cultural reconstitution of Chinese modernity (Zhang, 276). Although originally banned in China, which allowed only one public showing because the film showed communism in a bad light, Farewell My Concubine is considered to be one of the fifth generation’s seminal works in focusing attention   from international audiences toward Chinese films.   Farewell My Concubine resembles several other fifth generation films in that it is a tale of human lives set against the context of China’s turbulent political upheaval during the mid twentieth century. Because it recalls the collective trauma of the cultural revolution, Farewell My Concubine and its engagement in the national memory has frequently been interpreted as an epic national narrative. Yet it also functions as a cataclysmic tale of loyalty and betrayal, an intimate story surrounding two Peking Opera performers, Xiaolou and Dieyi,   who bond as the young boys then named Shitou and Douzi. They   are severely abused by their training master and experience many hardships. But their friendship gets them through their difficulties.   This bond produces intense and lifelong loyalty between the two boys. They continue to be inseparable, until a prostitute named Juxian comes between them   when she marries Xiaolou. Later, the Japanese invasion and cultural revolution intervene in their relationship, provoking various declarations of betrayal. The story begins in 1934 and spans 53 years until 1977. The two men’s lives are viewed against a backdrop of a country in upheaval as the movies journeys through various times in China’s history. Each section, which is integral to the plot,   shows a different era in the lives of the characters and the historical background from the Warlords through the cultural revolution, including the Japanese invasion of 1937 and the communist takeover (â€Å"Farewell My Concubine,† 1). As the movie begins, a young Dieyi is abandoned at the opera troupe by his own mother after she cruelly cuts off his extra finger. Even though his mother, a whore, deserts him because he is a burden, he quickly gains a loving replacement in the form of Xiaolou. During the early lives of Dieyi and the other young actor, Xiaolou, the fierce friendship forms as they train and   are punished, always looking out for each other. From the first Xiaolou watches out for his little friend. He finds him a place to sleep and rebukes all the teasers. Later, Dieyi runs away, promising his three coins to Xiaolou.   Dieyi tells the master after he returns that Xiaolou was not responsible, just to punish him, even though Xiaolou is punished anyway. At another point, when Dieyi can’t remember his lines to say that â€Å" I am a girl,† and shuts down,   Xiaolou punishes him by forcing a stick in his mouth so that Dieyi will stay around and remain in the troupe. Yet this act of pain is also an act of love and Xiaolou cries throughout as he administers this rebuke. Thirteen years go by and their hardships pay off as the boys grow up to become major stage stars; their loyalty continues even as they are famous performers in Peking. Their bond becomes even stronger as they become more acclaimed. Although they are as close as two men can be, Dieyi yearns for even more. Even though the subject of homosexuality is only once overtly referred to in Farewell My Concubine, its presence is never far from the surface.   Xiaolou rejects that sort of connection from Dieyi, yet   nothing still comes between them; or so it seems. After Xiaolou saves a prostitute with a fake declaration of engagement, she comes to him and forces him to make good on the public acknowledgement. They marry, and while Xiaolou makes his stage brother Dieyi, his best man, Dieyi feels betrayed and acts pettishly, refusing even to come to the party until the last minute, then leaving abruptly. With Juxian in the picture, Dietyi has a moral dilemma which becomes confusing to him. From the beginning his sense of identity has been muddled, with the master’s continual insistence that he say â€Å" I am a girl,† in his role as a female within the opera. Yet role acting and reality have become blurred for him. As a child his mother was a prostitute, he was raped by an old man, his friend was stolen from him by a woman, then he goes to Master Yeun in a sexual   relationship (â€Å" Farewell My Concubine,†1). Later, in Dieyi’s trial for fraternizing with the Japanese (said fraternizing occurring only because he is trying to save Xiaolou and is promised by Juxian that she will leave her husband and return to the brothel if he helps, but she reneges), all Dieyi’s friends try to cover for him, even lying that he had been taking away in handcuffs. Dieyi rebukes them publicly, saying that he sang of his own free will,   causing the others to lose face by his betrayal to their loyalty. As mentioned previously, Farewell My Concubine has been considered to be an epic national epic, but contrary to this popular perception, Kaige focuses on the intimate architectural spaces of his native city Beijing and recalls its past; the pain of betrayal is vividly depicted in the film as the two stage brothers are publicly forced to renounce each other with irreversible consequences. Those unfamiliar with the history of Chinese communism are in for a shocking crash course as the devastating scenes unfold (â€Å"Chinese Film, 1). During the cultural revolution, both men, betrayed by a boy Dieyi saved from death, are forced to parade as spectacles in full operatic regalia. Yet they resemble pathetic clowns with mismatched makeup and signs around their necks.   Xiaolou and Dieyi are made to kneel with countless others to confess their sins against the people. Touchingly, but to no avail, Dieyi attempts his usual trick of swooping Xiaolou’s makeup up in order to make it look better. However,   garish makeup seems to be the least of their worries. Forced to talk against each other, Xiaolou starts out in euphemistic terms, declaring Dieyi to be one who sang for all, both small and great; a man who is a consummate artist of the people and for the people. Yet this is turned against him and he must betray Dieyi with more vehement declarations.  Ã‚   Even though Dieyi sang for the Japanese in order to free him, Xiaolou declares him a traitor and also tells the masses of his illicit homosexual relationship with Master Yeun. After Dieyi calls Juxian a prostitute in retaliation, Xiaolou also renounces his wife, saying he never loved her. Her pain knows no bounds and as a result of his betrayal, she hangs herself. So much sorrow and damage occurs during these public denunciations which happen to also mirror the filmmaker’s own life.   Kaige remains haunted that he was forced to publicly denounce   his father during his   youth in the cultural revolution (â€Å"Chinese Film,† 1). The film ends as years later, when the revolution has ended,   the stage brothers are once again together in an opera.   During the performance Xiaolou announces he is too old. Whether intentional or not, Dieyi forgets the lines that say he is a girl; and Xiaolou prompts him. Dieyi continues with the play, only to stab himself and die. The friends are still together: in life and in death. Although different in style from Farewell My Concubine, Hero is a film that   has caused   unprecedented fervor, judging from the response of much of the population   of China. So far, it is the most popular   Chinese film ever released in the country, making phenomenal money there, only slightly less than Titanic. Despite being regarded by some Chinese as pandering to western tastes, the film also made enough money in the United States alone to cover production costs, providing a portal for many western viewers to begin watching other Chinese films previously unknown in the west. Like other films of the fifth generation genre, this movie demonstrates a rejection of  the socialist- realist tradition worked by the earlier communist Chinese filmmakers. With   the ever popular Jet Li as the star, the film is loosely based during the time of the warring  states, a period before the unification of China. This story has also been told in other  versions, notably Kaige’s The Emperor and the Asssassin (1998) and Zhou Xiaowen’s The Emperor’s Shadow (1996). Yet Yimon chose to develop his own historical story  based on the turbulent days leading up to the founding of the Qin dynasty when seven  kingdoms struggled for supremacy. This setting contrasts with the mystical â€Å"martial worlds† of   similar films which exist somewhere away from reality. (Qin in Wade Gilles  parlance is the same as Ch’in from which the English word for China probably derived). (Chinese Film, 2). With Hero Yimon is working out of the tradition of the wuxia pian: a swordplay or martial arts film. Not   to be confused with a kung fu movie, this concepts involves a more idealized realm of legendary heroes living marginalized, carefree lives on the edges of everyday society. Their weapons of choice are swords, spears, and daggers. In the typical wuxian film, some incident draws the swordsman into the everyday world, in order to fight, albeit reluctantly. However, he retains a firm moral compass to defend the helpless against corrupt officials or leaders. The genre has been a regular part of Chinese cinema since the 20s (â€Å"Hero,† 1). Yet the genre has been reconfigured by Yimon, who addresses the present by looking backwards and sideways; backwards to the 90s postmodern wuxia   persona and sideways to Hong Kong commercial cinema. Absorbing the subversive innovations of Hong Kong film directors Tsui Hark and Wong Kar Wai, Yimon also digs back to his roots, and recreates as wuxia pian, the cinema of pure spectacle and philosophical meditation that he as a cinematographer and Chen Kaige created in 1984 with Yellow Earth. Using spectacle rather than storytelling is one way to open up the complex world of Hero to the violent opposing critical reactions (Chinese Cinema, 2). Also, he no longer uses revenge as the sole element comprising the story. With Hero Yimon attempts to move martial arts beyond the concept of revenge, even as he explores what it means to be a martial hero (Kung Fu Cinema, 1). As the tale progresses, this film also incorporates themes of loyalty and betrayal, using a series of Rashomon flashbacks. Like the layers of an onion unfolding, each unraveled   tale produces additional insights. These accounts shape the story of how one man defeats three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord   in reunified China ( IMDB,1) As the story begins, Jet Li, who is called Nameless, starts to recount his martial victories to the emperor of Qin, telling how he defeated each of the three assassins, all members of a neighboring kingdom, who are sworn to kill the king to avenge their subjugation. Thus the main protagonist is seen defending the cause traditionally attributed to the villain by protecting the thing that causes others to seek revenge. Yet subsequent flashbacks revisit and reinterpret the same events, elaborating on and changing the story as it continues. However, it is only after the initial setup that the king responds with his own version of events. As a new story unfolds, it is literally painted in a different color. Even as this account unfolds, there appears a third which happens to be the final version of the truth (Kung Fu Cinema, 1). Through each successive narrative, the viewer sees friendship and loyalty among the assassins, who then appear pained when it seems that they are betrayed. Each story has the characters questioning themselves and others regarding motives, wondering who is their true friend and true love, then going to extreme lengths to prove that love and undying loyalty. With each version motives are questioned as to whom is the true person and whom is the betrayer. Things are never what they seem. Sky allows himself to be killed because he is loyal to a higher cause, while Nameless appears to be loyal to the king when actually he wants to kill him because he destroyed his family and kingdom. Sky, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Nameless appear to have differing relationships in each of the three versions. In one version Snow is furious that Broken Sword had a chance to kill the king, then refused; that he appeared to have betrayed their group. He tells Nameless why. His calligraphy   showed â€Å"our land.† Nameless later gives this calligraphy to the king. It is a Chinese proverb which states,† to suffer yourself when all under heaven suffer, to enjoy only when all under heaven enjoy.†Ã‚   This is concept greater than individual loyalty. Transcending personal vendettas, it calls for the greater good of the masses. Nameless ought to consider what is right for the majority, and not just what is right for himself. As a chivalrous hero of great skill in the wuxia tradition, Nameless is duty bound to do whatever is most righteous, no matter the personal cost to himself (â€Å"Hero†, 4). When Nameless gets the chance to kill the king and comes within ten paces of him to do so, telling him of his personal grudge, he too recalls â€Å"our land.† and allows himself to be executed for a greater good, becoming loyal to a country rather than just his immediate surroundings. Dying a criminal he is buried as a hero. In the meantime, there is always a relationship between Broken Sword and Flying Snow, one so powerful that it defies betrayal by other relationships. By the end, although Snow is confused whether Broken Sword really loves her, whether he is truly loyal, he shows her by refusing to defend himself in a fight. She kills him, then distraught over the act, kills herself so they will go home together. As Nameless debates over what to do in his meeting with the king, Yimon actually shows both characters as heroes. Both have causes to which they are loyal. One is a defender with raging inner turmoil, and the other is a unifier with raging outer turmoil as he struggles to bring all the competing kingdoms together. Yet Nameless undergoes a spiritual and emotional transformation as he finds that being a true hero means rising above one’s petty loyalties; it also takes trust to find a higher cause. Both men share insights that aid them to overcome their mutual conflict as they share the ideal that both want what is best for the masses. As Nameless empties himself of his own desires, renouncing what he wants, he becomes invulnerable. Led by Broken Sword, Nameless has grown to accept that his loyalties were merely provisional, way stations on the path to something greater, though less tangible. By doing so, he echoes the philosophical tenets of Daoism with his self emptying. (Cinema Scope,p. 9). Yet Yimou has been criticized for rewriting history, portraying the King of Qin as rosier than past historical accounts have shown. These accounts demonstrate that the man was a brutal tyrant. Additionally, the film’s strong adherence to sacrificing one’s individuality for the good of the many as filtered through the state is a concept the pro communist Chinese government was pleased with. However, at a press conference Yimou insisted that choosing which dynasty to put in the story was an aesthetic choice not preconditioned by any one political slant (Kung Fu, 1). Many critics deride Yimou over the position in the film, forgetting that this was one of several narratives. Granted, the story can be seen as putting the good of the many over the good of the individual; that loyalty to the masses trumphs individual loyalty. However, Hero can also be seen as a multiple narrative since the tales by Nameless and the king are mutually contradictory. In this context, tyranny is not simply a means to an end. Although viewers who want to align themselves with the king of Qin will see a paean to Chinese unity and totalitarianism,; the reading is there for the taking. But such a position neglects to take into account the film’s clear message of underminding the limited authority of any single individual and the idea of narrative as closure itself. Cinema Scope Magazine notes that Hero celebrates absence as spectacle, glorifying absolute renunciation and perfect nonviolence as preconditions for peace. Like Nameless, it speaks to power, underminding authority’s grip on narrativity. Instead of a struggle within the narrative, Hero puts the control of the narrative into dispute. It is really about who has control of the story: Nameless or the king. As filmed philosophically, it is Yimou’s continual challenge to any   state or empire. Hero is allied to Daoism, a set of ideals which finds fullness in absence, transcendence in renunciation, fullness in letting go. The Lao Txu Dao’s primary text was written during the time of the Warring States, the period of turmoil that ended with the unification of China under Qin. In Hero he is still years away from this great accomplishment, simply the king of Qin. Yimou’s best recent films The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Not One Less contain the same concept of speaking stories to power. Yimou has struggled with authorities over who gets to tell the authentic story; how divergent it can be from the official version . He still has movies such as To Live that are officially banned in China today because of their recount of the unacceptably critical history of the People‘s Republic of china form 1945 to the 70s   (â€Å"Hero,† 3). Both Farewell My Concubine and Hero are marvelous spectacles, demonstrating in differing styles various allegiances, alliances, and betrayals; even renunciation of individual loyalty for the greater good. A glimpse of turbulent Chinese history can be gleaned through the films. The international audience is so much the   richer for having these works in their repetoire. References Clark, P. (2005).   Republic of China: A Generation and its Films. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press â€Å"Chinese Film,† (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved 5 August 2006. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/farewell_my_concubine/ CinemaScope. (2003). Vol 5, issue I, no14. Retrieved 4 August 2006. â€Å"Farewell My Concubine.† (2006). Chinese Cinema.org.   Retrieved 5 August 2006. www.chinesecinema.org â€Å"Hero,† (2004). Men’s Health. September. Retrieved 4 August 2006. Ij, F. (2005). â€Å"Review of Reinventing China: A Generation and its Film† Film Criticism. Vol. 30. IMDB.(2006). www.internetmoviedatabase.net   Retrieved 4 August 2006. Kung Fu Cinema. (2006). www.kungfucinema.com Retrieved 6 August 2006. â€Å"Movie Reviews,† (2006). Colossus.net. Retrieved $ August 2006 www.colossus.net Zhang, X. (1997). Chinese Modernism in the Era of Reform. Durham, NC: Duke U Press.                                          

History Midterm Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History Midterm - Term Paper Example A detailed introspection into the history of both the ancient civilisations would culminate into the fact that both the civilisations developed in the basin of the great rivers which not only provided a life – line to the population but also provided most favourable conditions for the development of civilisation and human settlement. Yet there is a vast difference in the nature and development of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations. Mesopotamian civilisation gradually became the rink for the Romans and the Parthians. The part of Mesopotamia concentrated on the Assyrian region was gradually taken in control by the Romans for a time being and gradually it fell into the hands of the Sassanid Persians and remained so till 7th century. Between 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, many neo-Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed. Whereas, the Egyptian civilisation had a peaceful rule till it was conquered by foreign powers in the later period. It reached the omnipotent regime of power during the Rammesside period. The success of the Egyptian civilisation can be found in its extreme adaptability with the changing conditions of the Nile River Valley. The flooding was predictable and the over-fertile Nile basin produced surplus crops which initiated the development of the Egyptians socially as well as culturally. If I would have been a peasant in the 2nd Millennium BC, then I would have definitely chosen Egypt for the place of settlement because during that time Egypt was the only civilisation which had a very peaceful and calm geographic and social environment which accelerated its development and prosperity. In Egypt, there was a huge prospect for the farmers. Irrigation facility was evident and the floods were predictable. The soil was extremely fertile and it provided the best opportunities to grow more and good crops. In Mesopotamia, the conditions for the cultivation were favourable. It was

New Aesthetic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New Aesthetic - Assignment Example Sounds, creepy imagination of the characters and the cultural critique and personification are twisted within lunatic characters in each episode (Hardy &Thomas, P. 56). The lines of the movie are connected two distinctive points expressing the textures, shapes and the divisions of the movies. The entire lines have clear direction, width and length expressing the highest quality of artistic standard representation. The color of the episodes combination and choices is well designed organizing and emphasizing information, differentiated items and depth creation. The color represented by the episode is well balanced giving unity and contrast of characteristics represented. The episodes of the Tom goes to the Mayor applies a three-dimensional object fixed with quality mass and volume. The alignment of the episode representation of the 2d and 3d shaping of the episodes create different sizes, alignment and shaping visualizing the typography of the movie episodes. However, the incorporation of the 3d spacing of the episodes create illusions, reduced noise as well as increased readability of the letters represented by the carton chats. The white spaces also provide a strategic layout of the movie (Hardy &Thomas, P. 23). The patterns and textures have repetitive elements, texture and patterns designed in the episodes strategically to attract as well as deter the viewers’ attentions and perceived feelings. In addition, the objects represented by the episodes are composed of multivariate shapes, area and graphics differencing color and values (Hardy &Thomas, P. 36). The episodes motion occupies a clear dominance through contrasting and scaling as the elements of the episodes illustrates subordinate and focal points representations. As the motion similarity of the episodes is created, real and exaggerated motions is throughout the episodes. Real motion is used to provide the significance or hierarchy of the episode items. For example, exaggerated sounds,

Intellectual property Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Intellectual property Master - Essay Example How far can these innovations be protected from being illegally copied The justification on part of the innovator from stopping its innovations or products from being replicated in some other form needs to be debated both on ethical and moral grounds. This argument is particularly common and debated in the pharmaceutical sector. The scope of such protection covers a gamut of industries, professions and products. We shall restrict the scope of this study to the copyright laws, internet sector and particularly focus on the music industry. Bainbridge (2002) describes intellectual property rights as a form of property that can be dealt with just as with any other property, and which can be assigned, mortgaged and licensed. Intellectual property is property in the legal sense: it is something that can be owned and dealt with. Looking at this definition, as suggested by Bainbridge, one can observe that the properties rights do not just include rights associated with land or buildings or any other assets that carries the physical characteristics of a "land-building" asset form. Intellectual property gives rise to rights and duties. It establishes property rights, which give the owner the right to do certain things in relation to the subject matter. Bainbridge, in his study, supports this argument with an example relating to the music industry - if the right is a copyright and the subject matter is a piece of music, the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to make copies of the sheet music, to make an arrangement of the music and to control the performance of the music unless until he surrenders that right to some music label company. According to the government-backed UK - Intellectual Rights, intellectual property (IP) allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all.1 It is essential to protect innovations from being illegally copied or pirated. Such guarantee of protection to innovations and inventions will encourage further innovative research and development and also reward entrepreneurs and innovators for their discovery. The protections come in the form of law and legal proceedings. 1.2 Intellectual Property Law. Bently and Sherman (2001) defines intellectual property law as a means to regulate the creation, use and exploitation of mental or creative labour. Intellectual Prop

The book Marriage Morals by Bertrand Russell Essay

The book Marriage Morals by Bertrand Russell - Essay Example It contests and lobbies against LGBT rights, divorce, abortion, embryonic stem-cell study and pornography. Marriage and Morals is an old book written by philosopher Bertrand Russell, and that questions the Victorian perceptions of morality concerning marriage and sex (Russell 2). Contrast issues The Liberation of Women: chapter seven of the book advocates for women liberty; however, the approaches contrasts the morals the title claim. The chapter claims that the sex education provided by many books is insufficient to curb immorality. The only fixation that will suffice is to eliminate from young women all chances of being by themselves with men: girls must be prohibited to make their living by work outside the residence; they should never be permitted an outing unless in a company of their mother or an aunt; the unfortunate practice of going to boogies without a chaperon ought to be sternly stamped out. The book suggest that to avoid immorality of unmarried women there should be a mo nthly medical checkup carried out by police doctors and these doctors preferably castrated, and non-virgins to be sent to penitentiary(Russell 82). The chapter continue to suggest that the use of contraceptives and talking to unmarried women to be prohibited. The author asserts that if this is carried out for several years then the tide of immorality will be curbed. The concept is comparable with FRC effort to make women free from oppression; however, the approach differs. FRC has processes to encourage women freedom in a more humane manner as contrasted to suggestion that the book provides. It supports a federal ethics clause, permitting medical employees to refuse to give certain treatments to their clients, such as procurement of abortion, blood transfusion or birth control. It also supports for abstinence- and encourages sex education, intelligent design and entreaty in public schools, and the control of pornography and other "obscene, profane, indecent, or program on broadcast and cable television (Stange 510). In both cases, there is advocacy for restriction; however, the approaches differ. The book suggestions are not liberty related they are a different form of oppression of women in pretext of curbing immorality. The book gives a presumption that immorality can be controlled through restriction of women activities. Sex Morality: Chapter 8 of the book discuses the taboo on sex knowledge, it claims that frank pornography would do less damage if it were open and unashamed than it does when it is rendered interesting by secrecy and stealth(Russell 89). This is contrary to FRC stand on pornography since it is against it and advocates for the control of pornography and other indecent, obscene, profane, or program on broadcast and cable television. The book argues that the taboo against nudity is an obstruction to a decent approach on the topic of sex. It proposes that it is in order for children to observe each other and their parents nude when it so happen s naturally. There will be a short time, most likely at about three years of age, when the youngster is fascinated in the dissimilarity between the mother and the father, and compares them with the variances between themselves and other siblings, but this stage is soon ended, and subsequent to this they take no more interest in nakedness than in clothes. This is a contrasting fact with FRC stands that condemns any form of obscenity (Stange 510). The book considered homosexuality to be immoral when it

Wagners Die Walkre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wagners Die Walkre - Essay Example The scenes Die Walkure, Act III, Scene 3 presents Walton, overcome and deeply moved by emotions, bidding farewell to Brunnhilde, who was then on her knees. Walton raises her from her knees while gazing her in the eyes, still filled with emotions, and echoes the farewell words. In his sentiments, Walton recalls the beautiful memories that he shared with Brunnhilde while expressing his regrets and difficulties that he was experiencing at the moment. The mood in these setting is that of grief, when Walton, despite his love for Brunnhilde, has to leave. The scenes presented the comeback of Valkyries from a battle joined by Brunnhilde alongside Sieglinde. Sieglinde had to live to bear Siegmund’s child, and is currently allowed away, prior to Walton’s arrival. Valkyries condemns his adorable daughter onto a rock, where she had to lie senselessly until roused by a mortal who was to be her husband. She pleads that her husband should be son to Sieglinde, whose name would be Siegfried. Walton departs leaving Brunnhilde surrounded by a protective fire meant to guard her as she sleeps to her magic (Roth 153). Once more, the motifs are interwoven, providing a further dimension to the story that it is complex and fraught with accompaniment of deeper and wider association. Orchestral extracts from Die Walkure include a stormy prelude on the first act, a prelude onto the second and a famous ride of Valkyries that introduces the third act. Siegmund remembers the promise of his father of giving him a sword. The narrative of Sieglinde brings out her sad forced marriage to Hunding. The joy brought by Siegmund to his sister is evident in his winter storms that waned in the moon of delight, while greeting and attributing her coming as the spring The second act of this scene illustrates Fricka’s denunciation of Wotan, and the explanations of Wotan to Brunnhilde, when the love of young pleasure left. Brunnhilde informs Sigmund of his impending death. Her pleas to the father

Herodotus Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Herodotus Life - Essay Example The essay "Herodotus Life" tells about the important aspects of Herodotus life such as his impact on Athens where Herodotus went and, therefore, it had a pool of intellectual brains making it have unique galaxy of talent eventually thereby making it grow more powerful. He was born as a Persian subject, and he continued to be so until he was approximately 30 to 35 years. At the time he was being born, Halicarnassus was under the rule of queen Artemisia. He thoroughly got Greek education that made him embrace the three essential subjects to a Greek which include: liberal education, music, gymnastic training, and grammar Herodotus had shown initial acquaintance with the largely Greek prose literature. He later turned to literature where he commenced the course of reading thus rendering him one of the instructive and charming writers of the ancient times. According Goodwin asserts that he traversed the European Greece and the Asia Minor due to his inquiring disposition. His traveling was typically in the period of 464-447 BC. He visited Egypt and the Athenians where he was recognized as a learned Greek. While in Egypt, he saw the Persian skulls that were slain by the Inarus. He resided in Samos for 7-8 years and it was during this time that a tragedy struck in his native town that made him return. The tyranny of Lygdamis went from bad to worse and at last, he was expelled from the foreign land. He went to his native city upon the enjoyment of the free citizen rights unto which every Greek set a very high value. He later went to Athens, which was a center of intellectual life and boasted of a galaxy of talent comprising of Pericles, Euripides, and Sophocles. It was here that he was welcomed but remained an idler, dilettante, and without any political duties. At the age of forty he continued with his journey and it is presumed that he got employed in Crotona or Metapontum. Herodotus was a literary genius as he wrote about the wars between the Greek an d the barbarians, a history of the struggle between Greece and Persia but he omitted the histories of Cathage, Phoenicia, and Etruia. Herodotus was also a great humanist who saw and respected the universe in the experience, actions of human kind, and the underlying idiosyncrasies of the regional beliefs and customs. In a 700 page book Herodotus tried to shows us that a well informed Greek requires to learn about nations, geography, cultures, fauna and flora, and the mythical origins. He died approximately at the age of sixty. The predominant voice of antiquity tells us that he may have died at Thurii where his tomb was shown in the later stages (Abe Books, 2009). The 9 books authored by Herodotus make him to be regarded as very distinguished writer of history. This s because the major themes in Herodotus’ books include: relatedness and unity of historical events over numerous generations; variety and universality of human existence and experience; incomprehensible destiny and interrelationships among different things (Goodwin 1996). Questions 1 The impact of the Persian war was that Athens and Sparta though they were great allies, it caused them to drift further apart. According to the Abe Books (2009) argue that Athens is where Herodotus went and it had a pool of intellectual brains making it to have unique galaxy of talent eventually thereby making it grow more powerful. On the contrary, Sparta grew jealous of Athens because of their lean resources. Herodotus went to Athens to regain his Greek citizenship and political rights that he had lost in Halicarnassus. As a consequence of the war, the government fell, trade dropped as the Scythians obtained their wealth from the slave trade which they controlled from the north of Greece through Cimmerian, Chersoneses, and Gorgippia. Also, it led to the city states to fight against each other. However, irrespective of the war, culture was still very important and creative as it had been insisted by Herodotus to be important to any learned Greek (Souza 2005). Question 2

Reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading - Essay Example The historical changes that have taken place over the centuries have enabled authors to certainty and snatch up what was understood as the missing links of life and text (Mavor, 273). According to Mavor, the essay â€Å"Dearth of the Author,† was part of the force that propelled the change towards postmodernism The article Life Made Art, Art Made from Life by Miguel A. Medina, demonstrates that there are many artists whose artwork can be known without references of their biographies. However, there are other artists whose work cannot be separated from their life. In this case, their works of art are sustained by the events of their life. A third group of artists is the group that practices confessional art, in this article the most extreme case of confessional art is done by Tracey Emin. Emin’s artistic production revolves around her life experiences and has turned her life into a public display. According to Medina, in order to understand the sincerity and truth in the confessional art done by Emin, one has to understand confessional culture (Medina, 58). In addition, creativity in Emin’s artwork is inspired by her obsessions and she uses painting, monotypes, neon, bedspreads, films, installations photographs, and books (Medina,

Health Problems as a Result of Environmental Crisis Essay Example for Free

Health Problems as a Result of Environmental Crisis Essay Given that I work in an Emergency Department, the usual encounters we have involves health problems. However, in the past months and last year, people that we encounter are those of with fever and flu. Some diseases were also frequent. Diseases that arouse were usually an effect of a downfall in body’s immune system. This has happened when the extreme changes in environmental climate took place. As a result of the fast growing effects of global warming, the weather has extreme changes within a day. The extreme cold and hot weather that occurs in twenty-four hours has a bad effect on body temperature. The tremendous  Ã‚   changes weaken the body since the type of climate that occurs does not match the survival qualifications of human. In order to be involved in this issue, I suggest that the Emergency Department lead a program awareness to fight global warming, deal with its effects, and how to be healthy during the experience of its effects. On the other hand, I can be of help to if I encourage friends and families to practice activities or home choirs that will help lessen climate change. Like, use products with Energy Star seal, this is product lessen greenhouse effect and air pollution. Also, saving energy thru maintenance and cleaning of heating and cooling equipments used in our homes. I can also save energy by using green power, where the energy is from the sun and the wind. Frugality not just in money can help deal with climate change. For example, recycling materials we use at home   and buying new stuff as a product of recycling. Another way to conserve energy is by taking public transportation in routinely going to work or school. Or maintaining the efficiency of your car so it will not emit high amounts of greenhouse emissions. In offices, power management features should be discussed with the employees especially those workers who operate machineries. With this adjustments in our daily lives, we can help fight climate change and also save the world. Reference Climate Change – What You Can Do. January 28, 2008 retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/office.html

Geography of Latin America, European Influence Essay Example for Free

Geography of Latin America, European Influence Essay Like many of the other realms we learned about, the Latin American realm, made up of Middle America and South America, is not a realm that was safe from European invasion. Europeans played a big role in the history of the economic, political, and cultural geography of Latin America and left long-lasting evidence of their influence in the realm. Although colonization left the realm fragmented politically and economically the regions are showing signs of breaking the cycle of poverty and moving towards equality and urbanization. A map of the realm before Europeans would look much different than it does now. On arrival the Spanish conquered the Inca of South America and continued down the western coast taking over land and exploiting the natives and their mineral deposits. Evidence of the wealth that the Spanish gained from their exploitation can be seen in the city of Lima, which soon became one of the richest cities in the world at the time. The arrival of Spanish to the north in Middle America went much like it did in the south. The Aztecs were defeated and Amerindians were enslaved to deforest the realm for the benefit of the European colonizers. The deforestation started by the invaders began a devastating trend and today there is only about 10 percent of the indigenous vegetation left. Around the same time the Spanish were colonizing western South America and Middle America the Portuguese had arrived in what is now Brazil and began their move westward. As the arrival of Spanish colonizers left the Portuguese with a limited work force to exploit, immoral improvisation lead to a cultural impact that would change South America forever. Millions of African slaves were brought to the realm to work for the Europeans. Almost half of all of the slaves brought to the Americas arrived on the Brazilian coast and today Brazil has South Americas largest African population. Slavery and natural destruction aren’t the only things that Europeans brought to the realm. Possibly the biggest impact of colonizers was their effect on the native population. Within years of arrival in South America an estimated 90 percent of Amazonians perished and disease in Middle America killed millions of Amerindians. The Amerindians were moved off much of their land into towns laid out by colonizers and forced to learn Spanish and the Roman Catholic Religion. Although Spanish and Portuguese are dominant, the native culture still survives as the majority in some areas of the realm. With such serious impacts on the culture one may be concerned about the economic disparities that exist in South America but the realm has been shaping up since the independence of some major countries almost two centuries ago and economic improvement continues. Today the Latin American realm is in transition and shows signs of pulling out of the cycle of poverty inherited from European colonization. Mexico has benefited from NAFTA and the Middle American Realm has successfully come together in CAFTA recently. The islands eastward have also developed CARICOM, leading to slow economic change in the Caribbean. Belize is transforming its economy through the production of commercial crops and seafood processing. By taking advantage of its pristine natural environment, Belize has been able to profit a lot from ecotourism. Honduras, the third-poorest country in this realm, has also taken aim at ecotourism and will hopefully simulate the success of Belize because of the uncommon level of biodiversity natural to the country. Even the small-island developing economies are showing positive signs. Though many of the eastern islands have benefitted largely through tourism Trinidad and Tobago seem to have the most momentum with large reserves of natural gas. As the world’s leading exporter of ammonia and methanol and the largest liquefied natural gas supplier to the United States the future looks very bright for Trinidad and Tobago. However, Industrial Development is certainly not restricted to the Central Americas. Brazil is considered one of the biggest emerging markets exporting oil, steel, and Embraer aircraft. Brazil has large oil reserves and is growing rapidly; as a result it is expected to be center stage for the beginning of the twentieth century and has been largely successful in its movement to eliminate poverty and maintain growth in the process. Peru, the fifth largest producer of gold in the world, has extensive mineral deposits as well as oil reserves and a thriving fishing industry because of its extreme coastal exposure. Agriculture is also a contributor to the booming economy of Peru; some of their most profitable exports include asparagus, olives, and lettuce. In Argentina industrial development such as better transportation and more efficient agricultural machinery has led to highly profitable meat and grain production. Thanks to the riches accumulated Argentina, with 91 percent of its population urbanized, is one of the realms most urbanized countries and is even more urbanized than the U. S or Western Europe. In addition to the economic transition that most of the realm is embarking on, political reform is also on the rise. Recently in Chile a new president was elected after two decades of the same ruling party. This new leader led the country with success and made Chile the richest economy in South America. Even in Bolivia, a country with a history of harsh Amerindian mistreatment, new leadership is nationalizing the countries resources and contributing to what is now being called the Amerindian reawakening. Political reform and religious reform are the biggest contributors to the growing awareness of the mistreatment of Amerindians and the decimation that occurred on European arrival and the liberation theology movement of the 1950s is an example. With European colonization having such a huge impact on the realm it is nearly impossible to tell what may have happened if they never arrived. Almost a whole realm of people and culture were lost in years. Some of the native culture survives and lives on, in poverty, as a result of the system left behind by their oppressors. But since the end of the colonial era much progress has been made. Most countries in the realm are on their way to if not already having a strong economy. Brazil and Chile are two examples of South American success already. As the other countries continue to climb economically the countries worse off are showing signs of a better future. The future may be bright for Mexico and Belize, and hopefully the political reform and movement towards economic equality continues in Bolivia as this realm is showing strong signs that it will overcome the major cultural and economic setbacks left over from colonial times.

An Internal Analysis Of Starbucks Marketing Essay

An Internal Analysis Of Starbucks Marketing Essay The internal analysis of Starbucks will consist of an organizational analysis strategy analysis and a business model analysis. 4.1. Organizational Analysis The corporate mission of Starbucks, along with its vision statement and business model are crucial in determining where Starbucks wants to go as an organization. The Starbucks mission statement is: to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time (Starbucks, 2011). To deliver on its mission, Starbucks executes some core principles. Firstly, Starbucks commits to the finest coffee. Starbucks is not only concerned with quality for the end consumer, but also ensures coffee beans are purchased in an ethical manner that will improve the lives of the farmers. Secondly, Starbucks deems their employees as a crucial resource and asset. Starbucks guarantees perfect coffee to their customers, which can only be delivered by high engagement of staff (Starbucks, 2011). Thirdly, the third place experience provided by Starbucks gives customers a gratifying atmosphere of human connection and a sense of belonging (Rice, 2009). The products and services that Starbucks offer are critically important to Starbucks achieving differentiation in the market by way of constant product innovation (Kelly, 2006). Starbucks currently offers more than just quality gourmet coffee. Starbucks is proud of its customer service and is dedicated to ensuring that each customer enjoys each trip to Starbucks (Starbucks, 2011). Other services include the third place experience atmosphere and onsite coffee service. The third place experience is what Starbucks refers to as the third location that consumers will relax and enjoy drinking coffee beverages (Rice, 2009). Starbucks also offers free Wi-Fi to everyone at its store locations to entice customers to stay longer and work or surf the web while they enjoy their coffee (Starbucks, 2011). The organizational analysis evaluates the key characteristics of the organization. Starbucks aims to nurture the human spirit around the globe by offering the finest coffee in a friendly and inviting atmosphere. It promotes product innovation and customer service through a decentralized leadership style that emphasizes distributed decision-making and information-sharing. The quality of a company is judged by the symbiotic fit between its strategy and organizational structure, yet consideration is also placed on whether the firms strategy and structure meet the demands of the external environment (Hannan, 2011). The next section will give a detailed analysis on Starbucks strategy. 4.2. Strategy Analysis The strategy analysis consists of three parts: marketing strategy analysis, operations strategy analysis and international expansion strategy analysis. Marketing strategy The first part is about Starbucks positioning strategy. A positioning strategy aims at positioning rival companies into strategic groups. These strategic groups consist of industry members that have similar goals and positions in the competitive industry (Piercy, 2008). These groups are placed on a strategic group map to analyse how industry firms are positioned. Firms in the coffee industry will be mapped based on price and quality of their products versus product line breadth. The size of the circle representing each firm on the strategic group map is symbolic proportional to the size of the firms share of total group revenues. The coffee beverage strategy group consists of quick-service restaurants and specialty coffee shops. The major players in the strategy group are listed in the following table. The firms are divided by breadth of products offered to the market, industry related sales, and percentage of sales relative to rivals. The data listed in table x are used in constructing the strategic group map. Diagram 7: Strategic Group Map of Coffee Industry Green Mountain Price/ Quality Source: Williams (2007) Competitors of Starbucks can be divided into two different categories: direct and indirect. The direct competition would include firms that manufacture and produce hot drinks (Datamonitor, 2010). These firms are the retailers of ready-to-drink coffee and tea products, quick-service restaurants, and supermarkets. Also, in this category are the large multinational companies that produce ground coffees and instant coffees (Datamonitor, 2010). The indirect competitors are comprised of firms producing energy drinks, caffeinated soft drinks, and energy shots. Starbucks close competitors include other specialty coffee shops, doughnut shops, and restaurants. Starbucks holds a dominant position in the specialty coffeehouse market and has no single clear rival in the sector. Its closest specialty coffeehouse competitor is Caribou Coffee with 440 stores in the US. Its most intense specialty coffeehouse competition is dispersed among the thousands of independent or small-chain coffee shops around the nation and the world. Two of Starbucks stiffest quick-service restaurant rivals are McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. McDonalds followed its 2009 strategy of competing against Starbucks through expansion of McCafe locations into more stores both domestically and internationally (Liu, 2009). Nevertheless, there are big differences between their core customers. Privately owned Dunkin Donuts is another major competitor, with nearly 5,000 stores in the US. Following Starbucks footsteps, Dunkin Donuts will look to expanding globally, especially in the Asian markets (Dicarlo, 2004). Although Dunkin Donuts retail footprint also overlaps largely with that of Starbucks, its customer experience is much more similar to the coffee-to-go model rather than the third place to work and relax model. Consequently, it is likely to compete more directly with McDonalds than with Starbucks (Dicarlo, 2004). Starbucks is an industry leader in both product innovation and product offering. Most other firms take a follower position and simply copy successful Starbucks products at lower prices. This is a favourable position for Starbucks. The strategic group map shows Starbucks as the leader in both price/quality of product offerings as well as the breadth of products offered. The white space on the map is possible openings for existing firms or new firms to move into. These would be high priced, low breadth offering positions, or low cost, high breadth offering positions. The second part analyses Starbucks competitive strategy using Porters Generic strategies framework. As a whole, Starbucks implements a broad differentiation strategy. It provides high quality coffee and a unique experience in accessible locations, which makes it stand out among all the coffee providers. VIA, the new instant coffee line, straddles broad differentiation and cost leadership strategy. Though it will be a low cost and convenient alternative to Starbucks regular coffee, Starbucks coffee is still unique from other products in the market. Providing in-store gifts and brewing utensils is the focused differentiation strategy; it was designed for coffee lovers, especially Starbucks loyal fans. Diagram 8: Starbucks competitive strategy Competitive Advantage Uniqueness Low cost Broad Target Narrow Target As a whole VIADifferentiation Cost Leadership In-store brewing utensils/ gifts Differentiation Focus Cost Focus To differentiate it from rivals, Starbucks convinces customers that it provides more than a cup of coffee and associates its brand image with a sense of community activism. Moreover, Starbucks acts as a social responsible company to strengthen its differentiation strategy. It promotes ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, and community involvement. Starbucks also prides itself on the innovation of new products, which further differentiates it from its competitors. However, with the customer base becoming more sophisticated and differentiation indicators adopted by ordinary coffee firms, Starbucks advantage on the differentiation strategy may fade away (Piercy, 2008). The third part is about Starbucks brand building strategy. Its marketing strategy has focused on word-of-mouth advertising and building the brand cup by cup, letting the high quality of their products and services speak for themselves (Starbucks, 2010). For years, this unique marketing strategy has played an important role in making Starbucks Coffee Company a success. In 2010, two-thirds of all coffee was sold in supermarkets. Starbucks coffee sold in supermarkets featured distinctive, elegant packaging and the same premium quality as that sold in its own stores. This new change requires Starbucks to create a new way to build its brand. Therefore, the Starbucks marketing strategy has expanded to create a community around their brand. On its website, individuals are encouraged to express their experiences with Starbucks history, and the company strives to personally join in the discussions. Operations management Strategy Starbucks has positioned itself as a provider of ethical premium coffee products and pleasant, luxurious meeting places for people. So, its prices are relative high and it competes on a unique value proposition. Commitment to the best quality and high ethical standards are evident in every step of the supply chain, from bean procurement to service (Jennings, 2009). Starbucks supply chain starts from bean sourcing. To ensure compliance with its rigorous coffee standards, it controls coffee purchasing, roasting and packaging, and the global distribution of coffee. Starbucks pays over the market price for its beans in order to procure premium beans. Besides acquiring the highest quality coffee, the ethics of paying a fair price for coffee producers provides an ethical aspect to the value proposition (Rubin, Dierdorff and Brown, 2010). Starbucks also has the expertise to secure top-notch coffee beans to supply the companys growing needs. All this allows Starbucks to serve coffee that is of superior quality compared to competitors. As part of its sourcing strategy, Starbucks entered into fixed-price purchase commitments in order to secure an adequate supply of quality green coffee beans and to limit exposure to fluctuating coffee prices (Starbucks, 2010). When satisfactory fixed-price commitments were not available, the company purchased coffee future contracts to provide price protection. Nonetheless, there have been occasions in years past when unexpected jumps in coffee prices put a squeeze on the companys margins and necessitated an increase in the prices of its beverages and beans sold at retail price. However, by this approach, Starbucks can smooth costs and avoid price hikes in the stores that would have a devastating effect on the companys image. Starbucks deems store operations as an important part of strengthening the companys reputation and image. The company formed a group to create a store development process to ensure that each store conveys the appropriate image and character. Then, the information and operating system of Starbucks allow it to communicate information throughout the organization to increase the quality of decisions and efficiency in value-chain activities (Gamble Thompson, 2011). Starbucks also tries to develop the companys brand through its specialty operations with third parties outside the traditional coffeehouse. This includes Licensed Stores, Packaged Tea and Coffee, Branded Products and Foodservices Operations. In 1997, Starbucks began entering into a limited number of licensing agreements for store locations in areas where it did not have the ability to locate its own outlets. For example, Licensed Stores with Marriott Host International and Aramark Food and Services put Starbucks stores in airport locations and on university campuses. Starbucks received a license fee and a royalty on sales at these locations and supplied the coffee for resale in the licensed locations. International Expansion Strategy Starbucks international expansion started in 1995 and its international expansion strategy is to provide licenses or create joint ventures with reputable local companies, which are equipped with retailing know-how in the target country (Garza, 2010).. This strategy is built upon the growing reputation of the Starbucks brand and the ability to identify attractive store locations. The international expansion strategy is also supported by centralized buying, standard contract development and fixed fees for certain items, and consolidated work under contractors with good cost-control practices (Alberto, 2011c). Starbucks product supply is also a key in the successful expansion. As reported by the Wall Street Journal (2006), the Starbucks Corporation is expanding at a very high rate and focusing on China. This company has aggressively campaigned to become the leading coffee in the United States and after attaining this, it has made further steps to considering global leadership. The expansion and growth of Starbucks has been well known, especially by its desires to venture in emerging economies. Currently, the Starbucks Corporation is downsizing in the US as a result of the economic downturn in this country and its increasing global expansion. In 2008, this company closed more than 600 coffee shops across the US. Since the need for international coffee has increased, Starbucks is opening up 1,000 coffee shops across the world especially in Asia. Starbucks expansion strategy was well thought out: the strategy target was in the Asian Pacific, far away from Europe and Latin America where coffee shops competition is very strong. As the diagram below shows, the revenue from the US market is shrinking and the operating income of the EMEA market became negative in 2010 and 2011, while the market of China and the Asian pacific shows good potential. Therefore, China is Starbucks largest target, as it is expected to be the biggest growing market over the next two year s (Starbucks, 2011). After the global economy recovery, Starbucks is planning to open an average of more than one store each day. Starbucks continues to close domestic stores that have already saturated the market, and replace them with international stores abroad. Total revenues ($ Million) Starbucks is able to enter into Asian markets and China in particular by targeting Chinas middle class and bringing new lifestyles while maintaining coffee and other beverages as affordable luxuries. Barraclough (2006) reports that the Chinese are known for their increasing preference for coffee and hence Starbucks is able to convince more customers to take coffee. American products and lifestyle are highly admired by the Chinese and Japanese, and hence consumers there adopt American trends and products easily and quickly. This indicates that Starbucks is making use of the Chinese culture to enter into Chinas market (Haoting, 2009). However, the rapid international expansion also has negative effects. First of all, too many new locations established would exert an adverse effect on customer service. Therefore, the customer experience may degrade. Secondly, some retail stores opened even before the local supply chain was fully built up, leading to bad customer perceptions towards Starbucks coffee and food. Thirdly, the strategy of closing down US locations to offset new growth abroad results in reducing the convenience factor in the US market. Many American customers have to drive a long way to buy a cup of beloved Starbucks coffee. As mentioned previously, the convenience is one of most important parts of its value proposition. Last but not the least, the large number of stores is a huge asset or liability, depending on how one assesses the situation. If there is a strong economy and people have disposable income, then it is an advantage to have abundant stores to generate revenues. On the other hand, the vast n umber of stores will become a huge financial liability during economic downturns. Therefore, now Starbucks, led by Schultz, advocate the disciplined expansion of store bases and focus on real, sustainable growth. 4.3. Value chain analysis Michael Porter (1998) states that acquiring competitive advantages can be done through an analysis of the companys value chain. Companies can attain competitive advantage when the value chain is optimised by coordinating these activities to create value for its products or services that exceeds the costs of performing the value activities (Porter, 1998). In other words, a company can create additional value without necessarily increasing costs. A companys value chain system can be classified into two categories; (1) the primary activities, which involve the physical creation of the products, marketing and delivery system, and after sale service and support activities; and (2) the secondary activities, wherein company infrastructure and inputs allow the primary activities to take place (Porter 1998). When these activities are already defined, the value chain system can be analysed in order to aid the development of a strategic goal and gain competitive advantage or, in our case, to understand the current downfall in the Starbucks business model. Below is the current value chain of Starbucks with international and technological developments. The upstream value chain allows the development of new products that suit international markets better, e.g. green Tea Latte in Starbucks Japan. The downstream is the online storefront customization, which allows customers to order online and create new drinks etc. The newly-added mobile app could locate Starbucks locations and order drinks. Product Distribution Bean and Ingredient Selection Local Adjustment Product Development Take-home products Online Storefront Customization Mobile Apps Storefront Starbucks value chain creates additional value for its products, which the customers are willing to pay for. Hence, the customer is not reluctant to pay above-market prices for Starbucks coffee. In fact, its customers are not looking for the price of the coffee but they are seeking for the quality of the products and the brand image that the company offers. For a company to achieve or maintain competitive advantages and add value to its products or brand, it is necessary to link these activities and optimise the companys value adding activities (Porter, 1998). In the case of Starbucks, as stated earlier, its value activities were at first effective in the co-ordination between its primary and secondary activities. For example, the setting up of stores was well planned. Each location was carefully studied, taking consideration of irrelevant details such as traffic flow, density of people and demographic characteristics of an area, and careful selection of personnel to be deployed in each outlet (Clark, 2007). These aimed to deliver good quality coffee products and exude an ambiance of luxury and comfort for its consumers (Clark, 2007). However, gaps in the value chain activities occurred in recent years. An example is the rapid expansion in several locations across Asia. The company failed to maintain the companys brand image of luxury and exclusivity. The company rapidly expanded by opening an average of a store per week, which resulted in the downgrading of the Starbucks experience that its customers have been looking for (Velta, 2008). In fact, the customers have not seen any noticeable improvements in their experience (Jennings, 2009). Analyst Andrew Barish also commented that Starbucks operations have slipped and longer lines, more complexity and less-than-stellar looking assets could be causing a modest decrease in sales in this challenging consumer environment (Moore, 2007). As a result, Starbucks strategic competitiveness is slowly disintegrating and its rivals are eating up some of its customer base (Rushe, 2006). 4.4. Business model analysis The business model concept is defined as the value a company offers to customers and the architecture of the firm and its network of partners for creating, marketing, and delivering this value in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams (Osterwalder and pigneur, 2002). It also consists of a narrative of both how the business works and how it makes a profit. Schindehutte and Allen (2009) developed a framework in order to define the core competencies of a business model from an entrepreneurial perspective. The most important component of the framework is concerned with value creation. Starbucks creates unique value through great customer experience and interactive service. The unique value proposition of Starbucks is best described by Howard Schultz: The idea was to create a chain of coffeehouses that would become Americas third place, a place where people could go to relax and enjoy time with others, or just be by themselves. Starbucks enhances the coffee experience for the customers by creating a relaxed environment within the store whilst offering consistently rapid and on time delivery. Many companies pursue a resource-based strategy which attempts to exploit company resources in a manner that offers value to customers in ways rivals are unable to match (Piercy, 2008). Starbucks customer value proposition is also based on its unique resources and capabilities. Starbucks capitalizes on intangible resources like brand power and image as a high quality coffee provider to attain its objectives. Starbucks also utilizes its immense human capital and expertise in product innovation, location selection, and its marketing ability to stand out as the premier coffee brand. Particularly, Starbucks utilizes technology extremely well, e.g. the heavy use of internet capabilities, social network marketing, rechargeable payment cards, and even new mobile apps help to ease and speed up the payment and ordering. Moreover, Starbucks has other competitive advantages based on its skills and specialized expertise, and valuable alliances (Piercy, 2008). Starbucks has a skill set in creatin g and introducing innovative products into the market. These skills give Starbucks a competitive advantage to be an innovation leader, but not a copycat follower. It is essential to differentiate itself from rivals in the coffee industry. Last but not the least, Starbucks has abundant free cash flow and physical assets to fund and drive its strategic initiatives. Without these physical assets, Starbucks would not be able to aggressively expand in the market or fund further product research and development. Another important component of the business model is the firms core competence. Core competencies are defined as a proficiently performed internal activity that is central to a firms strategy and competitiveness (Piercy, 2008). The core competency can also lead to sustainable advantages. To be a sustainable advantage, the core competency must be hard to imitate or copy by rivals (Piercy, 2008). For Starbucks, its core competency can be defined as high quality coffee and products at accessible locations and affordable prices, providing a community the coffee drinking experience. Its sustainable advantage resides in the intellectual capital of defining and leading the market. Starbucks stands out as a leader, mainly because of its good business model that can generate innovative products that consumers desire. Starbucks is able to leverage its resources, both tangible and intangible, to create competitive capabilities and core competencies to form its business model. Starbucks achieves this by utilizing its human capital and expertise to constantly strive for excellence in product innovation. Furthermore, Starbucks is able to internally fund its growth strategy from sound financial performance. However, Starbucks needs to take more efforts to innovate its business model. Specialty coffee shops copy or adopt the Starbucks model, which leads to Starbucks competitive advantage shrinking and this poses a serious threat to the company. In addition, the gap between customers expectations and perceptions of Starbucks is bigger. Many customers are not satisfied with Starbucks offerings as they were before. They think Starbucks charges a premium for coffee and experience, but actually it falls behind its promises. This may be because customers become more demanding while Starbucks ability to innovate value offerings is weak. Therefore, to keep its popularity and consistent growth, Starbucks needs to innovate its value-adding activities so as to innovate its business model. SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis is a powerful tool to evaluate a firms resource strengths, its competitive deficiencies, the opportunities that exist in the market, and the external threats to the organizations future well-being (Gamble and Thompson, 2011). The strengths of Starbucks come from an internal origin and are designated as helpful to Starbucks reaching its target objectives. The weaknesses of Starbucks are categorized as operational areas and activities that reduce Starbucks being able to achieve strategy execution. Starbucks needs to leverage these strengths to overcome their weaknesses and realize potential opportunities. Threats are areas of concern in the external environment that can affect how Starbucks, and the coffee industry as a whole, will do business. Diagram x: SWOT Matrix for Starbucks Internal External Strengths* Weaknesses* à ¢- Brand image is extremely important to Starbucks. à ¢- Good ambiance and convenience are two of the foundations that Starbucks grew on. à ¢- International Markets offer lower risk investment and innovation opportunities. à ¢- Cheap alternatives like McDonalds threaten the convenience factor. à ¢- Founders of premium coffee and an industry leader à ¢- Product diversification à ¢- Excel in product development à ¢-  Valued and motivated employees, good work environment à ¢- Strong financial foundation à ¢- Lack of internal focus (too much focus on expansion) à ¢- Self-cannibalization à ¢- Overdependence on the US market à ¢- Aggressive expansion leads to managerial or financial problems (e.g. customer experience is watered down) à ¢- Pricing is relatively higher than customers expectations Opportunities* S-O Strategy W-O Strategy à ¢- Co-branding with other famous brands à ¢-  Increasing need of premium coffee in emerging markets à ¢- Rising awareness on CSR issues à ¢- Capturing new markets (retailing) and new consumer groups à ¢- To increase market share in emerging markets à ¢- To make full use of cross-broad marketing à ¢- To revamp brand image and work on brand extension à ¢- To be a more socially responsible brand à ¢- To coordinate and adjust expanding speed à ¢- To innovate its business model so as better deal with new challenges à ¢- To think about new ways to differentiate itself à ¢- To integrate distribution channels Threats* S-T Strategy W-T Strategy à ¢- Stiffening competition à ¢- Possible saturation in the coffee market à ¢- Volatility of coffee price à ¢-  Blamed by green lobby and ethical lobby à ¢-  Recession would affect customers willingness to spend à ¢- To consider further vertical integration à ¢- To consider creating a sub-brand to provide less pricey coffee à ¢- Continue to use fair trade coffee as ingredients and pay more attention to environmental and ethical issues. à ¢- To shrink product lines and wash out less favourable products à ¢- To provide customized products and combinations à ¢- To close down less profitable locations *Source: Dataminitor and http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/business-resources/swot-analysis-database/starbucks-swot-analysis/ Being a leader in the coffee industry, Starbucks is powered by its constant product innovation, customer service aptitude, ability to expand globally. Apart from the basic strategies used by Starbucks, the external environmental conditions and the internal characteristics of the Starbucks organisation present a favourable condition for growth. Even though Starbucks profit has declined in the previous year, due the growing intensity of competition and the economic crisis aggravating the situation, Starbucks is still the dominant player in the specialty coffee sector through its years of experience and brand reputation. Thus, the company can use this position to leverage itself and put pressure onto its competitors. Nevertheless, strategic change is the call for Starbucks. Perhaps, it is the time for the company to revisit its existing business models, practices and strategies and to examine whether these models still conform to the conditions of the market. Since market conditions cha nge as evidenced by current events and the continuing globalisation of markets, the company may need to reform its strategy. The PSETEL and Porters five-force analysis show that coffee firms are very sensitive to the macro environment. The overall competitive pressures are moderate and firms can be successful if they are efficient and effective in the execution of strategies execution. Starbucks achieves its mission through a decentralized leadership that emphasizes distributed decision making and information sharing to promote product innovation and customer service. One concern about Starbucks organizational culture is that Starbucks over relies on Schultzs talented leadership. Schultz was able to turn the company back by several strategic moves, but without Schultz and his leadership capabilities, Starbucks may have fallen into a disaster. Overall, it might be a pitfall for Starbucks; Schultz is to Starbucks what Jobs is to Apple. The SWOT analysis of Starbucks reveals that the strength of Starbucks lies within their strong financial performance. The weakness of Starbucks is an over reliance on the saturated U.S. market with a declining market share as a result of intensified rivalry in the marketplace. This weakness can be overcome by utilizing Starbucks strong finances to realize the present opportunities to expand into emerging markets. Overall, Starbucks has maintained a competitive advantage since it created its original blue ocean of bringing quality, bistro-style coffee choices to the masses. The key issues facing this firm were its attempts at massive expansion and creating new value innovation. The aggressive expansion could cause the company to become over exposed and adversely affect its ability to change. In order to enhance sustainable growth, it needs to focus on its core competencies. Facing fierce competition with McDonalds and other coffee chains, Starbucks needs to create new value innovation by enhancing the customer experience and investing in online content and interactivity. Rather than creating more new products, it is better to enhance the connection with their loyal customers and to differentiate it from its rivals. 6. Recommendations Viable recommendations must be able to solve Starbucks greatest issues. One is the increasingly saturated US market and another is the need to penetrate attractive foreign markets. Furthermore, degrading customer perception must be prevented both in the US and overseas. Here, a great challenge is how to re-establish a positive customer attitude towards the company in the US and retai