Saturday, August 31, 2019

200 Million Girls: Female Infanticide in China and India Takes Many Lives Essay

It is a girl. The four deadliest words in Asia. In the past 5 decades 200 million girls went ‘missing’ in India and China. In Asia the horrible phenomenon female infanticide occurs on a large scale. According to M. P. , â€Å"Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females†. Research shows that female infanticide happens all over the world, but especially in Asia. Girls are being aborted, killed or abandoned. China and India are the two most populous countries in the world where female infanticide is a very big issue. These two countries have similar but also different reasons for female infanticide and these reasons will not cease to exist soon. In 1978 China introduced the one-child policy. The Chinese population was growing too fast and already was enormous. The government introduced this policy to slow down the growth of the population of China. This encouraged female infanticide even more. Before the introduction of the one-child policy female infanticide already existed. According to Ansley J.  Coale and Judith Banister, a missionary (and naturalist) observer in China in the late nineteenth century who interviewed 40 women over age 50, who reported to have given birth to 183 sons and 175 daughters, of whom 126 sons but only 53 daughters survived to age 10. By their account, the women had destroyed 78 of their daughters. To Chinese families the son is the most important child. They believe that the son can work, carry the family name and look after elderly parents. Only after the desire of having a son or two has been met, do Chinese families prefer having a girl. The question that needs to be answered is whether this preference for sons is caused by culture or economics. According to Confucius there are some rituals that can only be performed by boys. But this is not the major reason for female infanticide. â€Å"The major factor is patrilocality, which refers to the firmly entrenched cultural norm for elderly parents to co-reside with their adult children, and for the son to have a woman â€Å"marry in† and assist him in this function. Patrilocality is an economic factor affecting almost every country that participates in sex-selective abortion. (Avraham Ebenstein) Due to the one-child policy and the son preference population, statistics suggest there are 118 boys born for every 100 girls. (Sherry Karabin) In India there is also an unbalanced sex ratio. In India female infanticide is also a big issue. India and China do have similarities as to why families prefer boys. To Indian families, the son is also the most important child. In India sons have long been prized over daughters. Sons preserve the family name and traditionally look after elderly parents. Daughters are often seen as an expensive burden. Parents are faced to pay a costly wedding dowry when they get married; this amount is equivalent to three years of earnings. If they have a daughter and do not have the money to pay the dowry they would also lose pride. Most interviewed Indian women have a similar reason of why they abort, kill or abandon their daughters. They rather abort, kill or abandon them than let them suffer. (Ashok Prasad) In China the groom will give the bride’s family betrothal gifts and a sum of money. In return the parents of the bride will deliver the bride’s dowry to the groom’s family. If one of the families cannot offer gift or the dowry, they would also lose pride. But for Chinese families this is not a reason for not having a girl. Not only poor families have a preference for boys but even educated middle class women face pressure to produce sons. Indian people feel that they will need a son for everything. Indian women call this â€Å"the son obsession†. Due to the son preference in India, population statistics suggest there are 940 girls per 1000 males in rural areas, whereas in urban areas there are 900 girls per 1000 males. Samar Halankar) Unfortunately this horrible phenomenon will not end soon. Both countries have a strong and long history, which means an old tradition. Their preferences for sons will not change soon. In both China and India the government tries to prevent female infanticide by taking certain measures. In China the government tries to ban sex-selective abortion but at the same time they declare that the care of old people is the task of the family and not the state. In India the government has banned dowries under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961; still few get married without the dowry. Female infanticide in India and China) Despite of this government interference, female infanticide has not stopped. Statistics show that over 200 million girls went ‘missing’ in the past fifty years. Research shows that the number of girls is still declining. (Ashok Prasad) Not only the government tries to stop this, also people who got aware of this fact are trying to stop female infanticide. In 2006 Rita Banerji founded The 50 Million Missing Campaign in order to raise awareness of the phenomenon in India. Although female infanticide has a long history, a lot of people over the world are not aware of this fact. In September 2012 a new documentary film It’s a girl will be released. This documentary film explores female infanticide in India and China. It tells the stories of abandoned girls, of brave mothers trying to save their daughters, of mothers who would kill for a son and women who suffer extreme violence. Global experts and grassroots activists put the stories in context and advocate different paths towards change, while collectively lamenting the lack of any truly effective action against this injustice. Marie Vlachova) To conclude, female infanticide in China and India is still a serious issue and will not end soon. In both countries the preference for sons has similar but also different reasons. This son preference will not change soon due to the old family tradition. They truly believe that sons can bring prosperity, continuity and valuable support and care. Which means that female infanticide will not end soon. Statistics support this fact by showing that the number of girls is still declining and will keep declining.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Looking for loans

The problem with borrowing money from a rich uncle for starting a business is that 1) the funds can be stopped at any time; 2) your uncle ordinarily can not provide the practical advice necessary for growing the business; and 3) your relationship with your uncle might be ruined if the business goes under. Two alternate methods of looking for loans are as follows: SBA loans and venture capitalists SBA administers three separate, but equally important loan programs. SBA sets the guidelines for the loans while SBA’s partners (Lenders, Community Development Organizations, and Microlending Institutions) make the loans to small businesses. SBA backs those loans with a guaranty that will eliminate some of the risk to the lending partners. (www.sba.gov) The advantages of a SBA loan is that often it is usually easier to get a SBA loan as opposed to   a traditional bank loan and the SBA itself is an invaluable resource of information and classes about starting a small business. Venture capital is money made available for investment in innovative enterprises or research, especially in high technology, in which both the risk of loss and the potential for profit may be considerable.   Venture capitalist finance startups in exchange for a share of stock once the company goes public.   Normally, financing is done in rounds.   For example, a company is given 12 million dollars and, once that money is exhausted, it applies for another round of financing. Venture capital is mostly limited to high tech companies and is hard to obtain.   Only one in a thousand prospects presented before a venture capitalist actually gets funded.   Also, it takes time and money to make presentations to venture capitalists. Most venture capitalists are located in large metropolitan areas, such as Silicon Valley; hence, if you have a business located outside a large metropolitan area, you should factor in the travel time involved in contacting venture capitalists into your decision to use venture capital as a source of funding.   Also depending solely on venture capital for funding is risky because financing rounds are not guaranteed.   Your company may have to suddenly close down if you find that you have exhausted your round of financing without turning a profit. â€Å"SBA Financing Basics† (n.d.).   Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/financing/basics/basics.html References â€Å"

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Bancassurance in Asia

The effect of bancassurance in the first quarter of 2010, was an increase in total premium income to $26. 91 billion, up 44% compared with the same period of 2009, this represents 8% higher compared to the overall insurance industry growth within the same period. Cotham, 2010) The main contributing factors for this trend have been the rapid growth of the Chinese economy leading to higher per capital income and the multiple economic reforms leading foreign companies to enter the insurance industry. In addition, the regulations introduced in 2003 played a major factor for the bancassurance growth. These regulations permitted banks to have multiple insurers as suppliers (â€Å"many-to-many† model). For instance, some major banks worked with 30 different suppliers for life insurance, and as many as 10 for property and casualty insurance. (Paribas, 2012) Although this model created growth, recently it has contributed to the slow down in the bancassurance market. Through this model, numerous complex insurance products were created and offered to clients by bank staff with minimal insurance expertise. As a result, demand decreased due to the lack of consumer understanding of the product and lack of trust. In addition, other major challenges in the bancassurance market are the financial market volatility (which makes insurance products less appealing compared to other wealth management products), intense competition and constant changes in regulations (particularly the introduction of CBRC 90 which prohibits insurance salesman from selling in banks). In turn, sales have declined. For instance, in 2011, sales through the bancassurance channel declined significantly and were blamed for an overall slowdown in premiums growth, from 29 percent to 11. KPMG,2012) India Just as in China, insurance products in India have been sold traditionally through agents. In addition, the insurance industry was entirely monopolized by the public sector. However, since the opening to private companies in the early 2000’s bancassurance through the distribution model has gained market share. In fact, it now accounts for about 25 per cent of new business for private insurers, with trends indicating that the proportion could rise to 40 per cent by the year 2013 (Cotham, 2012). In addition, India’s rapid economy has also played a major factor on bancassurance growth. However, just as China, India faces major challenges. The major challenges are poor manpower management, lack of a sales culture within the bank, no involvement by the branch manager, insufficient product promotions, failure to integrate marketing plans, marginal database expertise, poor sales channel linkages, inadequate incentives, resistance to change, negative attitudes toward insurance and unwieldy marketing strategy. (Sarvanakumar, 2012) Bancassurance in Asia The effect of bancassurance in the first quarter of 2010, was an increase in total premium income to $26. 91 billion, up 44% compared with the same period of 2009, this represents 8% higher compared to the overall insurance industry growth within the same period. Cotham, 2010) The main contributing factors for this trend have been the rapid growth of the Chinese economy leading to higher per capital income and the multiple economic reforms leading foreign companies to enter the insurance industry. In addition, the regulations introduced in 2003 played a major factor for the bancassurance growth. These regulations permitted banks to have multiple insurers as suppliers (â€Å"many-to-many† model). For instance, some major banks worked with 30 different suppliers for life insurance, and as many as 10 for property and casualty insurance. (Paribas, 2012) Although this model created growth, recently it has contributed to the slow down in the bancassurance market. Through this model, numerous complex insurance products were created and offered to clients by bank staff with minimal insurance expertise. As a result, demand decreased due to the lack of consumer understanding of the product and lack of trust. In addition, other major challenges in the bancassurance market are the financial market volatility (which makes insurance products less appealing compared to other wealth management products), intense competition and constant changes in regulations (particularly the introduction of CBRC 90 which prohibits insurance salesman from selling in banks). In turn, sales have declined. For instance, in 2011, sales through the bancassurance channel declined significantly and were blamed for an overall slowdown in premiums growth, from 29 percent to 11. KPMG,2012) India Just as in China, insurance products in India have been sold traditionally through agents. In addition, the insurance industry was entirely monopolized by the public sector. However, since the opening to private companies in the early 2000’s bancassurance through the distribution model has gained market share. In fact, it now accounts for about 25 per cent of new business for private insurers, with trends indicating that the proportion could rise to 40 per cent by the year 2013 (Cotham, 2012). In addition, India’s rapid economy has also played a major factor on bancassurance growth. However, just as China, India faces major challenges. The major challenges are poor manpower management, lack of a sales culture within the bank, no involvement by the branch manager, insufficient product promotions, failure to integrate marketing plans, marginal database expertise, poor sales channel linkages, inadequate incentives, resistance to change, negative attitudes toward insurance and unwieldy marketing strategy. (Sarvanakumar, 2012)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Sustainability Corporate Social Responsibility Report for a person who Assignment

Sustainability Corporate Social Responsibility Report for a person who wants to invest in a business - Assignment Example Large companies are dedicating real time and cash to programs geared towards environmental sustainability, alternative clean sources of energy and a variety of social welfare projects that benefit customers, employees and the community at large. The corporate social responsibility is a self-regulatory mechanism that has been incorporated in modern businesses. Critics suggest that corporate social responsibility diverts the attention of businesses from economic duty, while the proponents claim that companies benefit in terms of profit in the long run. However, research has indicated that corporate social responsibility has had a neutral effect on financial outcomes (Kao 2010). The management and coordination of social, environmental and financial obligations such that there is responsible, ethical and progressive success is referred to as corporate sustainability. Environmental, social and economic expectations are regarded as the major cornerstones of sustainability. Traditionally corporate cultures, social and environmental issues were considered to interfere with financial objectives. However, this has evolved over time and today there is harmony among the four. In order to invest wisely in a certain corporation, it is critical to analyze the corporate social responsibility and sustainability of the business (Kao 2010). Let us consider the case of a multi-national corporation known as Adidas. This corporation creates and produces sporting equipment’s like shoes and jerseys. It is the multinational for the Adidas Corporation and it is based in Bavaria, Germany. (Borowski 2013) By holding, it means the company owns other companies’ major stock and does not produce the goods or services, instead, its role is to own shares of other companies to form a group. The Adidas Group comprises of the following companies; Reebok sportswear, Adidas Golf that consists Ashworth, Rockport and a

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Revenue management in Hotel industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revenue management in Hotel industry - Essay Example identified three conditions which would be necessary for revenue management: there should be adequate fixed resources for sale; the resources should be perishable; and customers should be willing to pay different prices for the resources. Hotels sell rooms as fixed inventory which are highly perishable and attract different prices depending on size, location and availability of unique features. Appropriate forecast enhances identification of cost drivers leading to development of appropriate measures of performance. It would enable an organization understand how operational drivers affect its financial performance outcomes. As budget forecasts are highly dependent on demand and supply, hotels should consider their room occupancy and the charged rates should increase with increase in reservations. But in practice, this does not happen and Salerno (2012) argues that most hoteliers would blindly set rates for future and then get disappointed. Poor accuracy of budgets still remains a problem in many organizations. When forecasts are made way above or below the budget, the organization risks making bad decisions based on the incorrect projections. This would also cause the management to pay less attention to budgets as they become unreliable and not trusted. Generally, inaccurate forecasts significantly affect revenue management system performance as the organization will suffer lack of proper planning (Weatherford & Kimes, 2003). When the forecasts are set so high, Hayes and Miller (2011) argue that the forecast then becomes a motivational tool for increased performance and not a revenue management tool. However, the authors note that no organization should seek to make inaccurate forecasts. These inaccuracies would be a result of deriving facts from poor tools of budgeting such as spreadsheets fed with wrong formulae. Limited time for employees to come up with good projections and their subsequent lack of motivation could also be a reason. Additionally, sidelining

Monday, August 26, 2019

Love in Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Love in Marriage - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that marriage is the basis of a family unit, and society's central component is family - thus, marriage. On a general term, marriage is the coming together of two individuals whose aim is a lifetime of partnership and possibly, reproduction. If this is true, then it is safe to say that stability is important for couples to move on with their married lives towards the fulfillment of their unified goals. While it is true that some couples may be married for reasons other than love, and while it is also true that these types of marriages may have worked for some of these couples, it still remains true that love plays a major and important role in the majority of marriages in the world. Nowadays, it can be said that love is overrated in relationships and undervalued in marriages. This may be the reason for several early marriages or relationships, and continuous increase in divorce rates. While no one says it is wrong to get involved with love at an early age, while inside a marriage, couples need to recognize it's importance â€Å"till death do them part.† According to recent studies, while romantic love is a concept that is widely accepted, not everyone considers it as an important factor in marriage. However, most studies show that love in marriage helps in stabilizing the union between the couples. Surprisingly, while not everyone views love as necessary to establish marriage, a large percentage of marriages in societies are based on romantic unions.... However, it should be first emphasized that the attention it needs is not the one that causes romance novel bestsellers or blockbuster hits. For one, successful marriages seem to be a rarity (De, 1996, p.703). How many among acquaintances or relatives have successful marriages, or have at least come from successful unions? It seems that almost everybody in today's world at least knows a person who have come from a broken home. Gone were the days when the term â€Å"broken home† causes tugs at the hearts of those who hear. Why? Because it has become so common. It is possible that people may have been so cynical of the concept of love that the more they hear of it's supposed failure to make marriages work, the more they disregard it. One has to remember that while love in marriages will not change the annoying things that they say make marriages collapse little by little, love may help in making couples focus not on what is annoying, but on what is pleasing. And while love will not keep either party from getting hurt, it will at least pave the way for possible forgiveness (Chapman, 2007, p.29-31). On a logical note, since humans are inherently in need of affection, marriages should be the foundation where the fulfillment of the sense of belonging and security should come from. As mentioned earlier, love in marriages helps in providing stability in a union. Therefore, people should not look into the idea of love in marriages as some sort of just a romantic idea resulting from too much reading of pocketbooks or watching romantic movies. Love in marriages runs deeper than shallow Hollywood presentations. Love and marriage are two crucial elements in human society. Understanding the importance of love is stabilizing this core unit

Diplomacy Gameplay Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diplomacy Gameplay - Article Example eos, Cineplexes, and TV ads, where pluralistic worlds and multiple realisms are captured to the furthest in digital mocks and metaphors (Potter 2002, pg. 34). Young people today are fully relaxed with the initiative of such created worlds, produced veracities, and de-centered selves, since their relative experience is mostly through the de-centered, hyper-real surroundings of digital computer systems. Diplomacy is a seven-player board game that is derived from the great efforts of the major European influences during World War I. The nations play in this game are: England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey (Jonathan et al. 2004, pg. 44). Game Board: The board contains seventy-three bordering regions and every player begins with pieces in lieu of armed forces units in their native lands. Thirty-five of the seventy provinces on the board are described as â€Å"supply countries†. The objective of the game is to manage eighteen of the thirty-five supply hubs. A player will then have lots of pieces on the board as he/she possesses supply centers. Pieces: They are signified as one of two major types of armed forces units: militias and fleets. Fleets are permitted to go across bodies of water and coastline regions, at the same time as armed forces can shift onto any neighboring region. Both of these units have equivalent power in the game. Actions and Orders: On every spring or fall turn, a piece can be controlled to carry out the following actions: move, hold or support. A move order will transport a piece from one province to an adjacent province. A hold order will keep the piece in it current location. A support order will help another piece that is moving from one region to another beside the piece carrying out the support order. This aid allows the moving piece to occupy a region during circumstances of conflict. GamePlay: A head-to-head â€Å"game of Diplomacy† engages a talk time during each twist of about thirty minutes where players

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Corporate Stratergy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate Stratergy - Case Study Example Over the last few decades the UK grocery market has become a supermarket-dominated business (Ritz 2005, p 22-23). The dominance of the groups in terms of supply chain efficiency, ubiquitous stores and huge product range make entry of new players in the market difficult. Asda's positioning strategy is to be UK's cheapest supermarket grocer. The economic slow down has suddenly made a cheaper supermarket a more attractive proposition to the consumers. Morrison began as a butter and egg merchant, and went on to be a leading supermarket chain. It was by taking over the Safeway chain that Morrison began to make its large-scale presence. In fact, Morrison was forced to sell more than 50 stores it took over to avoid local monopolies. Some of the stores were also sold off because it did not fit in with the group's large format identity. Sainsbury group has a history of more than 150 years. Good quality at reasonable prices was the hallmark of the group from its first store. During the course of years, Sainsbury found itself sandwiched on one side by the cheap stores and on the other side by the up market stores like Waitrose. Tesco cornered the status of being termed the first superstore. The supermarkets grew when RPM (Resale Price Maintenance) was abolish ed, thereby giving the option of more discounts to the customers. Lower prices are the key strategy for the supermarket groups. All four groups own superstores, have lower prices or reasonable prices as a strategy and are perceived as one strategic unit by customers as well as in the Industry. b. Analyse the microenvironment that these companies must operate within. Strategic Analysis of the UK supermarket industry UK retail industry is a supermarket-dominated business. Smaller players exist in the periphery of the business. The supermarkets control the suppliers. Cheaper products that are provided by developing countries also threaten the suppliers. The supplier margins have consistently eroded with the power of the big four. Though food remains the main focus on the big chains, as customer spend more time in the stores, the non-food portfolio that they hold also become profitable. The supermarkets have diversified to add products like clothing, electronic goods, mobile phones and even banking products and legal assistance. The consumer movement has also ensured that the supermarkets focus on remaining green. This is true in case of a reluctance to use Genetically Modified food to carbon labeling of electronic goods. The supermarket chains are also experimenting with alternate store formats to target different type of customers. Continuous innovation and fast response to market conditions are a given in the industry. THE PESTEL Analysis: Political factors affecting the Industry: The political climate that could influence include policy decisions, EU, Euro, taxation policies etc. A couple of issues that could alter the political pressure on the supermarkets include pressure from the farming community which claim that they are getting squeezed by the bargaining power of the supermarkets and as the weakest link in the chain they

Saturday, August 24, 2019

What importance do equality and inequality have in the political Essay

What importance do equality and inequality have in the political theories of any two of the political theorists - Locke and Rousseau - Essay Example ncepts of both the theorists Locke and Rousseau and try to have a better understanding of these important concepts and how to incorporate them into society to ensure a better standard of life. According to Locke, in order to understand political power in the right sense of the word, we should first of all attempt to understand man within a natural setting. In such a natural state or condition, man possesses total freedom or liberty to act as he thinks fit. In so doing, a sense of equality is achieved because in his natural setting, all belong to the same species and everyone’s actions are mutual and reciprocal. In such a setting, no one has more power over another, since all men have the same rank and the same advantages without fear of ‘subordination or subjection.’ (Locke, 8) However, Locke draws our attention to an important point that deals with man in his natural settings. He sheds light on the liberty of man by explaining to us that even though man has full liberty to disburse his actions or possessions in any way he deems fit, yet he does not have the liberty to destroy himself. He brings to our notice, that there is a law of nature that governs the state of nature and it is this law of nature that teaches man to reason and makes him responsible for his actions even though he has the liberty to act at his will. Locke, highlights the fact that though mankind are all equal and independent, yet, no one has the right to harm himself, nor his fellow beings life, possessions, his health nor his liberty in any way because everyone was created for the use of the other. (Locke, 9) However, if a person goes against the law of nature, then a person has the right to secure the law of nature by punishing the offender and bringing peace and harmony to the communi ty of mankind. (Locke, 10) In chapter III, Locke speaks in sharp contrast about the State of War, as against the State of Nature. He rightly explains that the state of war only leads to enmity and

Friday, August 23, 2019

ESSAY ON TEAM COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING

ON TEAM COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING - Essay Example Effective teams do not disregard problems that emerge from their jobs and interactions. In identifying, analyzing, and solving problems, teams cannot avoid conflict, but practicing open and regular discussion that avoids groupthink can lead to higher team performance output. Problem solving presents conflicts because of differences in various areas, and so teams cannot and should not avoid and overlook them and instead, they should openly and regularly communicate to properly identify, analyze, and resolve these problems. Conflicts have three kinds- relationship, task, and process. Relationship conflict pertains to the knowledge that there are interpersonal differences with affective dimensions that can lead to friction (Jehn and Mannix 238). It tends to be called as a personal kind of conflict because it can arise from not â€Å"liking† a team member because he is annoying or frustrating. Task conflict refers to differences in understanding the task (Jehn and Mannix 238). Pro cess conflict focuses on disagreements that occur because of differences on how tasks should be done (Jehn and Mannix 238). Team members differ on the process of how and when they should finish tasks. Karen A. Jehn and Elizabeth A. Mannix assert that conflicts are dynamic and change throughout time. They conducted a cross-sectional research where they wanted to learn differences in conflicts and their antecedents for high-performing and poor-performing teams. Their sampling included 51 groups with three members each. Respondents were MBA students who are also full-time employees. Their findings showed that conflict is a dynamic, not a static, process. Moreover, for high-performing teams, task conflict was engaged more at the midpoint of their deadlines and that communication through consensus and implementation of tasks resolved the task conflict (Jehn and Mannix 247). Low-performing teams experienced a lower level of task conflict at the middle, but it escalated near the deadline. In addition, their relationship conflict increased at the end of the project, while highly-performing teams did not experience high relationship conflict level at all (Jehn and Mannix 247). The study indicates that teams should not avoid conflict. They should embrace it as part of their dynamics. The key is not letting task and process conflicts become relationship conflicts, so that people can remain objective and patient with one another. High-performing teams know how to communicate to resolve conflicts and to use them to make the right decisions. Through open and regular communication, teams can form the right level of team cognition that allows them to discuss and to resolve problems. Jun He, Brian S. Butler, and William R. King assert that team cognition is important to attaining high-quality team performance. Team cognition refers to the ability of members to tap knowledge that can help them in choosing actions and behaviors that are aligned with team members (He et al. 262). He et al. argue that team cognition is important for the team to predict task and teamwork goals and to collaborate with one another. He et al. hypothesized that team cognition is formed through consistent open discussion and composed of awareness of each other’s expertise and shared understanding of tasks. They examined the formation of team cognition for 51 database development groups. Their findings showed that regular meetings and phone calls were associated with team

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Fast Food in Malaysia Essay Example for Free

Fast Food in Malaysia Essay Restaurants have been around in some form for most of human civilization. But they usually catered to travelers. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome, inns and taverns generally served food to people who had a reason to be away from home. This trend continued until relatively recently. Although taverns and coffee houses were popular places to gather and share beverages in the 17th century, the idea of eating out for fun didnt take off in Western society until the late 18th century. Although McDonalds was the first restaurant to use the assembly-line system, some people think of White Castle as the first fast-food chain. White Castle was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. At the time, most people considered the burgers sold at fairs, circuses, lunch counters and carts to be low-quality. Many people thought hamburger came from slaughterhouse scraps and spoiled meat. White Castles founders decided to change the publics perception of hamburgers. They built their restaurants so that customers could see the food being prepared. They painted the buildings white and even chose a name that suggested cleanliness. White Castle was most popular in the American East and Midwest, but its success helped give hamburger meat a better reputation nationwide. So, like cars, White Castle played an important part in the development of fast food. Image courtesy Brands of the World The McDonald brothers opened their redesigned restaurant in 1948, and several fast-food chains that exist today opened soon after. Burger King and Taco Bell got their start in the 1950s, and Wendys opened in 1969. Some chains, like Carls Jr. , KFC and Jack in the Box, existed before the Speedee Service System, but modified their cooking techniques after its debut. McDonalds, which started it all, is now the worlds largest fast-food chain. According to the National Restaurant Association, American sales of fast food totaled $163. 5 billion in 2005 [ref]. The industry is growing globally as well. Total sales for McDonalds grew 5. 6 percent in 2005, and the company now has 30,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries [ref and ref]. However, McDonalds and fast food in general does not always get a welcoming reception around the world. McDonalds restaurants have been attacked in several countries, including the United States, China, Belgium, Holland, India, Russia, Sweden and the U. K. Protestors have accused McDonalds and other chains of selling unhealthy food, marketing aggressively to children and undermining local values and culture.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Electronic gadgets and items Essay Example for Free

Electronic gadgets and items Essay I have come to a point in life that many people have not. I have made a firm decision to recommit myself to pursuing my dreams. While there are those who believe that with an ounce of luck and a ton of persistence anything can be accomplished, I believe that there is no reason to expend so much energy and rely on luck. Life is simply too short and too precious to be left to luck alone. After serious investigation and reflection I am convinced my educational goals will be far better achieved at Cornell University. My passion for engineering began at a more advanced stage in my life. I remember how I fascinated I was by electronic gadgets and items when I was in high school. I used to marvel at systems exhibiting complex movements, without an idea of the complexities involved. The broad range of motions they performed under vastly different conditions in contrast to the ease of control exhibited by the operator amazed me. I knew this was all engineering, and I knew it interested me. My intuitive nature wanted me to explore more about this field even more. Soon, I found myself attending lectures, seminars, counseling sessions and even searching for videos about engineering and other things about it. It was probably this that gave me my first thoughts about electrical and computer engineering; I, however, could not fathom that my future was headed in this direction. As the world continues to progress and new innovations are introduced daily, the role that electrical and computer engineering grows as well. Intelligence in systems is no longer a bleeding-edge technology hyped by its proponents and mistrusted by the mainstream. More and more areas of technology education—from life sciences to engineering—are embracing the tenets of the new technology, making it an increasingly mainstream concept. Scope of creativity and the trajectory of the growth Electrical and computer engineering has, influenced me to build a broader knowledge base at undergraduate level on the subjects which I have always enjoyed, from the high school levels physics and mathematics. This is the reason why I feel, I stand a good chance of finding a match for my desire and natural talent in this field. It has been said, however, that desire and natural talent are nothing if they cannot be harnessed properly. In order to harness these talents, I firmly believe that taking my major at Cornell would be the best way to achieve this. One of the many wonderful concepts I have learned from my parents is to strive for academic excellence while balancing life with other activities and contributions. It is this fine balance that I feel will be provided if I am accepted in this major at the Cornell University. I strongly feel that in order to reach my full potential I need to be in an environment that best caters to my interests and goals. I have learned from my parents two â€Å"laws†: the law of learning and the law of giving. I believe the more you learn the more open you become for learning. I am convinced this University is a great fit for â€Å"the law of learning. That is why I believe that this move is a crucial step for me. My success and my accomplishments here will herald the beginning of the fulfillment of my personal and professional goals. It is said that the one thing that nobody can ever take away from you is your education and that is the one thing that I plan to not only gain for myself but for others as well. I have learned from my parents the critical importance of the law of giving, and I am both attracted and committed to this model of community service, particularly that â€Å"students apply skills to effect social change. † Though I got perfect grades, my natural Instinct is what I value the most. Looking at Cornells school of electrical and computer engineering, I sense that my interests and talents will be best realized and developed throughout the way. a good teacher is someone whos really gone out of the way to engage a student it is comments and reviews like such from Cornells prestigious alumni which makes me believe that everyone in such a learning environment would care so much about growth of a student. This is my reason for pursuing this opportunity to become part of the rich academic environment that Cornell University has to offer. As the world continues to change and the workplace becomes more and more challenging and competitive, it becomes imperative for anyone looking for a successful career to not only have the drive to succeed but also the training and expertise to do so. I am not saying that I do not have the training and expertise at the moment but I do believe that there is still room for more. The world is fast becoming a borderless place. Cultures, races, beliefs and ideologies are blend together and interact because of the growing advances in communications. In order to succeed in this world, one needs to be able to adapt to the various cultural differences as well as be able to maintain a certain sense of individual identity. My former school did not have the same diversity that I see environment where cultural diversity is promoted. This is why I believe that this educational environment is the perfect place for me. Not only does this University exceed my expectations but it is also enjoys a global reputation. While I personally believe that â€Å"there is no such thing as a free lunch† and that everything a person has in life must come from hard work and perseverance, I also believe in charity. I believe in helping others who do not have much in life. I believe in helping people regardless of their nation, race or creed. I believe in being a better person so I can best help myself and others around me. I believe that this academic environment is the best place for me to turn these beliefs into realities. I am fully aware of the significance of being considered for acceptance, and I am sincerely grateful for your time and consideration of my application.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Justification and critisism of Transformational Leadership

Justification and critisism of Transformational Leadership Leadership can be described as an important quality of a person, a vital attribute for an organisation or a key source for an effective team towards attaining success. In these ways, leadership occupies its space in different fields and proves to be important in several aspects. The role of a leader is very important in a management field in terms of taking the organisation towards success or failure, as Drucker (1985) defines Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. According to Cox (2001), the leadership has been classified into two types: Transformational and Transactional. This differentiation was initially made by Downtown (1973, as cited in Barnett, McCormick and Conners, 2001). Transformational leader to be briefly explained is the one who possess a good vision and commitment towards success and motivates his followers and encourage them to increase their work potential. Whereas a transactional leader works in a task oriented manner and behave rigid with no place for personal emotions. In this modern world, business culture changes more rapidly prior to time and it is mandatory that skill and custom of the leadership has to adapt these changes. Heiftz and Laurie (1997) claim that: Instead of maintaining standard, leaders have to challenge the style of doing business and facilitate others in order to distinguish immutable values from historical practices that must go. In this essay, certain counter arguments for transformational leadership are critically analysed and a position has been adopted that transformational leadership is better in the current business atmosphere. The reasons are articulated with characteristic feature of transformational leadership. This is further justified with the explanation of some successful facts about notable transformational leaders and their success in their business. Criticisms of Transformational leadership: Transformational leadership being one of the best leadership models has some criticisms regarding several factors like personality, complication, clarity and other factors. Johnson and Kepner (2002) explain the key criticism within transformational leadership is that, it possesses high probability for the abuse of power. This is concerned with morality of leadership, as in terms of emotional perspective a transformational leader influence his follower. If the direction or the path tends to be in wrong track, then it would result in bad consequences. Further Bass (1997) notifies that, transformational leadership lacks the quality of ensuring and balancing the respective interests and influences that might facilitate to avoid dictatorship and minority suppression. Some notable examples of this model are Adolf Hitler, Osama bin laden and Rev Jim Jones who was the main role in massive Jonestown suicide. These are the people considered to be the negative side of transformational leadershi p. The second critic is that, transformational leadership is more often concentrated in developing an individual personality trait rather than a conduct through which people may be instructed (Bryman, 1992). This result in a difficult situation to train people in this approach, as most of the people will find complicated to adopt this quality. Since transformational leadership is a combination of several leadership models, it is more complicated to understand the concept and teach. In a transformational leadership, the leader is considered as a visionary idol and the leader involve in the business process along with his followers. This creates a dilemma in viewing the leadership in a trait perspective. The third critic provided by Avolio (1999) is that, the transformational leadership is discriminatory and autocratic. This further brings to another critic, the lack of conceptual clarity. The transformational leadership covers a wide range of activities like motivation, inspiration, buil ding trust and furthermore, this creates confusion in terms of concept when compared to other leadership model, as Bryman (1992) pointed out that transformational and charismatic leadership are often considered to be identical with respect to their qualities. The fourth argument is about dimensions of transformational leadership as not clearly mentioned. A scientific research by Tracey and Hinkin (1998) has shown considerable intersections among the dimensions of transformational leadership; it notifies that the dimensions are not clearly defined and complicated to measure. The final critic deals with regards to ethics, describing that transformational leadership suppresses the minorities of an organisation. Keeley (2001) believes that the only way to prevent harm done to the followers by the managers is to avoid the managers from uniting towards a common interest or goal. This ethical statement put forwards an action which is contradictory of what transformational leaders are suppo sed to do. These are some of the critical arguments by various researchers in the business field. The upcoming statements provide a justification for transformational leadership and some counter arguments for the above given critical statements. Justification for transformational leadership: Reviewing the critics arguments, a question arises whether the transformational leadership could be followed by an organisation to run efficiently. A position has been adopted for transformational leadership in this essay and the facts are described and clearly articulated. The first point of criticism review the morality and misleading of power by transformational leadership. Bass (2006) explains the classification in transformational leadership as socialised and personalized characteristics in the book Transformational leadership. The leaders using their abilities to inspire and lead their followers to a wrong path are termed to be pseudo transformational leaders. They possess similar elements as that of transformational leaders, but the motive would be personal and exploitative. It depends upon the individual characteristics in determining or choosing their motive and path, the concept of transformational leadership cannot be blamed. People regarding pseudo transformational model were discussed in the previous section; some examples of leaders who led a constructive path of transformational leadership are Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela etc. Transformational leadership concentrates in developing individual personality trait and it is difficult to understand and teach the concept was another critic. The significant feature of transformational leadership is that, it concentrates the development of follower and tries to enrich their personality. It encourages and involves inspiring followers to commit to a shared vision and goal of the organisation. A transformational leader encourages others to become leaders; as a result the entire organisation will be filled with people possessing effective leadership qualities, Kelly (2003). Furthermore, transformational leader motivates his followers to be innovative in problem solving and develop followers leadership qualities by coaching, mentoring and providing both challenge and support. According to (Leithwood, as cited in Cashin et al, 2000, p.1) Transformational leadership is that which: helps to redefine an individual mission and vision, thereby renewing their commitment and re structure the system for accomplishing the goal. This result in a mutual co-ordination within a leader and follower, where the follower grooms his qualities of leadership and the leader transform himself as a moral agent. Hence transformational leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. Regarding the issue about conceptual clarity, transformational leadership has much in similar characteristic features as that of charismatic leadership. The charisma is a part of transformational leader, it is considered to be a factor which correlates with idealized influence (one of transformational leadership 4Is). It is generally classified as socialized and personalized categories. For an organisation to perform better, Howell and Avolio (1993), authentic charismatic or transformational leaders must be socialised leaders. Under transformational leadership, there are four vital organisational activities performed. Making a compelling case for change in order to heighten followers sensitivity towards organisational change, inspire shared vision in order to attain new and better future, leading new changes and embedding the same. Certain critics notice transformational leadership as discriminatory and autocratic and a questionnaire whether it is directive or participative. Weber (1 947) emphasized that during the period of crises transformational leader directed dependent followers with essential solutions towards the problem; high inspirational leaders were extremely directive in terms of their process and approach. This clearly illustrates that, depending upon the situation a leader has to be either directive or participative in order to perform the task efficiently. The issues concerned to dimensions of transformational leadership, the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) by Bass and Avolio (2000) provides a solution for this critic. The MLQ is used in measurement or determination of the dimensions for this leadership, which are Idealised influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. The ethical issue about the transformational leadership is about suppressing minorities. Being researched for over 25 years, in transformational leadership the objective is to convert individual attention towards larger cause. It results in transformation from selfishness to cooperative concern. The significant feature of this leadership model is that, it focuses on common goal (Ethics, 133). An effective team work is concentrated where majorities and minorities are in the same platform to attain an objective. Successful Transformational leaders: Transformational leadership model proves to be efficient not only in business, but in all other sectors where it is implemented. In order to strengthen the position of transformational leadership, so examples from the past and present are portrayed in this essay. In a historical perspective, Yates (2002) describes about Genghis khan. During the late 12th and 13th century, this man struggled for the unification of the Mongol tribes, which was one of the largest land empires. The mode of leadership used was transformational at that period of time. In terms of business field, Lou Gerstner- the former chairman and CEO of IBM is one of the best examples for transformational leadership. One of the notable events at IBM under Gerstner leadership is: recovery from the companys loss of $1.8 billion in 1993 and making IBM as one of the largest private corporation in IT sector during that period of time. Sheppard (2002) describes that, Gerstner completely rectified the organisational culture an d took IBM to certain heights. Regarding the field of government and military contexts, General Colin Powell overcame the notorious racism in United States military and amidst low expectations became the United States chiefs of staff in 1989. He is the first Afro-American to become the U.S Secretary of State in 1991. Chekwa (2001) notifies that with the vision and qualities of transformational leader, Powell attained this position. Conclusion: The image and the research concerned to transformational leadership might be relatively recent, but demonstration and research of its characteristics and features has been done years back. It is proved that  transformational leaders have great capability to increase the performance beyond expectations and thereby able to make massive changes among individuals and organizations. In this essay, analysing most of the critics statement it has been justified that transformational leadership is stated to be better in a business perspective. When compared with other leadership styles like transactional or autocratic, transformational leadership addresses an individual needs, while the transactional leadership addresses the organisational process and the functioning is more often considered to be monopoly in nature. The decisions made are concerned only with the leader, success and failure occurs in an equal probability. While transformational leadership indulges effective team work, the leader motivates his follower and provides constructive feedback. The significant feature is that, feedback is expected from the follower too thus creating a two way communication. In the current world, transformational leadership is highly recognised and practised by executives in modern organisation. The current business scenario is influenced by insecurity, global commotion and organisational volatility, for which transformational leadership would be a better solution to deal these factors efficiently.

Monday, August 19, 2019

EASTERN RELIGIONS Essay -- essays research papers

People in America today seem to be only concerned with them. They are always looking out for number one. That is a saying that has been taught to us for years. Along with another popular precept: you can't please everyone all of the time. These are just a couple of examples of how Americans are taught to be selfish. Sure, mom and dad always teach generosity to their young children, but in this society, those lessons diminish with age. We learn that life isn't always fair and people don't always have to share if they don't want to. In this so-called free country, the rich get everything and the poor get nothing. This type of environment has caused a rat race among the people. He who has the most wins. In America it is for the most money, but there are many other people in the world who might disagree. What would they want the most of? you ask. Well, that depends on whom you ask. When you take a trip half way around the world, the values are totally different. The Eastern religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, to name a few, practice very different beliefs. They are more centered on love thy neighbor than the Christian Religion. This is not to say that Christians are wrong or act wrongfully, it just says that the difference in beliefs generates a significant difference in society. Here in America, our society claims we should love thy neighbor, but it tends to depend on who the neighbor is. We want our neighbors to be just like us. If they are not, then it becomes more difficult to show compassion. The Eastern religions practice compassion for all people, no matter who or what they are. In America, compassion is scarce. It's predominant in families and in small towns, but in the larger cities, it is hard to see if it exists at all. A movie has been made illustrating this point. It is called "Falling Down". It is about a man who has come to the end of his rope. He is tired of the way society has treated him, and he begins to fight back. He thinks he is doing the right thing, but he finally comes to realize that to do the right thing you can't think only of yourself. The movie opens with a traffic jam; the man's license plate reads: "D-Fens": This becomes his name since his real name is never told. It takes place in Los Angeles on a very hot day. This traffic jam is significant be... ...ear. However, when Rand feels all the creativity is lost when you give up the self, I feel she was wrong. I don't think the Eastern Religions intended for that at all. They still feel you should be educated and express yourself just not with trivial knowledge that encourages you to think of yourself as better than others. I know that is the case with Taoism. I agree with this religion in certain areas. For instance, in the movie "Falling Down", D-fens definitely tried too hard for what he wanted and therefore he failed. But I feel there are things you do have to try your hardest for. If you want to succeed at school, for example, you have to work; you can't just sit back and hope nature's course gives you an A. I suppose that's where the eastern religions would come in and say that I must be wanting the wrong things. But I know that in this society, in this time, and in this life, I want to be happy. How that will be achieved, I'm still unsure. Some people require many possessions and money to be happy. Others believe happiness can only be achieved when possessions are given up. The world is very different in its beliefs. As I said before, it all depends on whom you ask.

Smoking Hazards: Tobacco Cultivation In Colonial America Essay examples

Tobacco was a main crop in colonial America that helped stabilize the economy (Cotton 1). Despite the fact that tobacco took the place of the other crops in Virginia, as well as replacing the hunt for gold with tobacco cultivation. It proved to be a major cash crop, especially in Virginia and Maryland (Weeks 3). Tobacco left many people financially troubled because other occupations were disregarded or not as profitable as tobacco farmers (Randel 128). The unemployment that tobacco brought about made many colonists poor and homeless (128). After the tobacco boom started, many men signed themselves to indentured servitude hoping to be freed and given land along with other promised goods (Tunis 79). Three hundred and fifty thousand African slaves were also imported to labor on large tobacco plantations in the South (Weeks 1). The tobacco industry had a profound effect on colonial America, socially and economically. Tobacco did not just appear in colonial America. The tobacco plant was introduced by John Rolfe to the people of Jamestown (Nobleman 12). John Rolfe also taught the colonists how to farm tobacco (Tunis 77). Though tobacco cultivation seemed to be flourishing, consumers were still getting their tobacco from the Spanish Indies, as the Spanish Indies grew milder tobacco than America (Weeks 1). This motivated John Rolfe to sail to the Spanish Indies and confiscate some of their tobacco seeds ("The Growth of the TobaccoÂ…" 2). The tobacco from the Spanish Indies boosted the economic growth of colonial America (2). However, John Rolfe was not the first person to have tobacco in the new world. The Native Americans were the first people to cultivate and smoke tobacco and taught their trade to the Spanish (1). The ... .... New York: Funk and Wagnall's, 1972. Lorenz, Stacy L. "To do Justice to His Majesty, the Merchant and the Planter." Virginia Magazine of History & Bibliography. 2000. 108. 4, 8 pages. Nobleman, Marc Tyler. The Thirteen Colonies. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2002. Pecquet, Gary M. "British Mercantilism and Crop Controls in the Tobacco Colonies. A Study of Rent-seeking costs." CATO Journal, 2003. 19 pages. Purvis, Thomas L. Colonial America to 1763. New York: Facts on File, 1999. Randel, William Peirce. Mirror of a People. Maplewood, New Jersey: Hammond Incorporated, 1973. "The Growth of the Tobacco Trade." February 24, 2006. 3 pages. November 14, 2006. Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Living. Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Company, 1957. Weeks, Dick. "Southern Tobacco in the Civil War." March 9, 2002. 3 pages. November 16, 2006.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Hamlet, the Melancholy One Essays -- A Level Essays

Hamlet, the Melancholy One      Ã‚   Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet features the most famous protagonist in English literature – Hamlet. Inseparable from his character is the melancholy which permanently afflicted him. This essay concerns itself with this aspect of Hamlet.    Harry Levin explains the choices open to the melancholy hero in the General Introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare:    The explanation of Hamlet, â€Å"What a piece of work is a man!† (II.ii.303), carries an ironic reverberation. His melancholy gaze looks up and down: skyward toward â€Å"this brave o’erhanging firmament† and earthward toward the grave. Those two portraits which he shows to the Queen illustrate man’s potentialities for good and for evil. The scale ascends or descends with the spiritual and carnal aspects of his dual nature; he can aspire to be a godlike Hyperion or else can grovel like a brutal satyr. Hamlet’s existential dilemma echoes the self-interrogations of Montaigne, not merely through the language of John Florio’s translation but in its ambiguous balance between scepticism and faith.(8)    Hamlet’s melancholy did not prevent his choosing the more noble of the options available. But let’s begin at the start: It is obvious that from the very outset of this tragedy there is a melancholic protagonist. And the depressing aspect of the initial imagery of the drama tend to underline and reinforce Hamlet’s melancholy. Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes some of this imagery of the opening scene:    The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes t... ...Greenhaven Press, 1996. Excerpted from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware Press, 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.   

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Margaret Fuller’s Influence Essay

As a woman in the 19th century, the odds were against Margaret Fuller. Despite adversity, she became a literary scholar and icon for woman to strive to emulate for greatness. Margaret Fuller’s development as a writer marked the transformation of America. Through Fuller’s influence, a young country looking primarily to writers overseas for its literature became a more self-confident nation. Margaret Fuller was an American literary critic, feminist critic, social critic, essayist, poet, letter writer, and pioneer. She is often considered the country’s first woman with a nationally positive reputation. Margaret Fuller’s intellect was further recognized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as being equivalent to the intelligence of a man. Therefore, it can be said that she paved the way for women to aspire to achieve success. By examining the literary works of Margaret Fuller, her writings plainly reflect American women as a whole and would be more affective to readers as a notable part in the English curriculum. Margaret Fuller was born on May 23, 1810, in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of nine children born to Unitarian parents who raised her with strong discipline. As a result of her upbringing, Margaret Fuller became a high-strung child prodigy (Goodwin). Fuller’s combination of domestic and professional accomplishments is attributed to the education she received from her father, Timothy Fuller. This strict education gave her a special ability to analyze the strengths and limitations of both masculinity and femininity. Margaret Fuller became a teacher at the Bronson Alcott Temple School for women. The Alcott School was a controversial place to learn at because the students were taught about integration and the social acceptance of others. Fuller was a revolutionary figure for women because it was illegal to teach women oral communication skills and to give them the insight to philosophize current situations in politics, the work place, and the home. She wanted women to become independent, creative thinkers. Fuller also joined Ralph Waldo Emerson and others to found the Dial. She served as the editor of The Dial for two years, then published her feminist classic, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, in 1845 (Goodwin). By the time of her death in 1850 at age 40, in a shipwreck while returning to the United States in, Margaret Fuller had become a near legend for her courage, passionate political advocacy and unconventional lifestyle. Perhaps one of her most noted books, Women of the Nineteenth Century was the examination of men and women in America. Woman of the Nineteenth Century speaks out against the degradation and the slavery of women. Fuller wrote, â€Å"Tremble not before the free man, but the slave who has chains to break. In slavery†¦ women are on a par with men. Each is a work tool, an article of property, no more! In perfect freedom†¦ in the heaven where there is no marrying or giving marriage, each [woman] is a purified intelligence, an enfranchised soul no less. † (Fuller 29) The basis for Fuller’s essay is the idea that man will rightfully inherit the earth when he becomes an elevated being, understanding the idea of divine love. The essay describes her belief that man cannot find perfection because he is burdened with selfish desires. Fuller is optimistic and says that human kind, however imperfect, is on the verge of a new awakening. She also argued that in comparison to men in Germany, America does not yet know how to properly treat women, made clear by the statement, â€Å"Germany did not need to learn a high view of women; it was inborn in that race. † (Fuller 30) Margaret Fuller continues her thoughts by saying that Christian men emulate the way women are treated whether it be good or bad in accordance with the Bible. She claims that in the past man has always called for woman’s service, but soon will come the time when women will call for men and they will be equals and share divine love. One of Fuller’s main arguments is that America has been hindered from reaching equality because it inherited depravity from Europe, hence its treatment of Native and African Americans. Fuller Expresses that those who infringe on others’ rights are condemned because man needs to practice divine love in order to feel it. The analysis of this essay proves Margaret Fuller’s worth as a feminist and transcendentalist who greatly influenced American literature. Her perspectives on the roles of women and men within humanity are a key point to this essay. With these views, Fuller was a highly persuasive women’s activist that should be celebrated even in modern literature. Margaret Fuller concluded that in order to explore her beliefs and her life, she need to travel and experience spiritual discovery through transcendentalism. The need for spiritual discovery led to Fuller’s first original book-length work, the product of her journey through what was then considered the far western frontier in mid-nineteenth-century America. This autobiography or travel log, Summer on the Lakes in 1843, occupies a pivotal position in Margaret Fuller’s development as a writer, a Transcendentalist, and a feminist. The book is a personal account of Fuller’s inner life during the summer of 1843 and is a portfolio of sketches, poems, stories, anecdotes, dialogues, reflections, and accounts of a leisurely journey to the Great Lakes. She shared with the Transcendentalists the belief that internal travel, or what Emerson called travel within the mind, was the most significant kind of journey. Her travel away from New England to visit Niagara Falls, Mackinac Island, and Rock River, Illinois, is symbolic of a larger journey that Fuller was making in her spirituality and personal discovery. Drawing on historical sources, contemporary travel books, and her own firsthand experience of life on the prairie, Fuller used the opportunity of visiting the frontier to meditate on the state of her own life and of life in America. Critics often claim that this meditation, or exploration of life, is what ultimately led Fuller to become such an influential writer for women everywhere. After the publication of Summer on the Lakes in 1843 the amount of women writers increased substantially. Margaret Fuller continued to write impressive works of literature that were influential within American culture. Life Within Life Without is about the exploration of transcendentalist ideas. One of the main ideas in the essay is the cultivation of the individual, which to Fuller, included women as well as men. Fuller claims that men and women can each live two lives; the outward life, passed in reading the thoughts of others, and the inward life that is the product of every person’s individual nature. The essay applies the idea that the individual has the potential to enlighten all mankind. In this essay, Fuller expresses her belief that allowing women as individuals to have greater spiritual and intellectual freedom will advance the enlightenment of both men and women and, therefore, all of mankind. Each type of living, inward and outward, contributes to a person’s overall development in thought and action. Fuller argues that these two states affect the passions, affections , and aspirations of all people. Because Fuller was passionate about giving equal rights to both men and women, this ssay was controversial. In later years, however, this essay became one of the foundations for the women’s rights movement, influencing women everywhere become involved in achieving equal rights. One of Margaret Fuller’s last works, Papers on Literature and Art, is a selection of works accumulated throughout her writing career. The papers contain some of Fuller’s earliest works as well as many of her later works and show the growth that she experienced through her writing over time. Along with these selections Fuller inserted segments of prose and verse. Ben Jonson wrote, â€Å"Where ever she has herself arisen in private history, and nobly shone forth in any form of excellence, men have received her, not only willingly, but with triumph. Their encomiums indeed, are always, in some sense, mortifying; they show too much surprise. ‘Can this be you? ’, he cries to the transfigured Cinderella; well I should have never thought it but I am very glad. We will tell everyone that you have surpassed your sex. † (Fuller-Ossoli) In response to Jonson’s comment, Fuller compiled the works that she had written up to that point and titled the compilation Papers on Literature and Art. Fuller wanted to demonstrate the amount of progressive personal growth she had experienced through her work as a writer. The papers were an accumulation of Fuller’s writings that expressed her thoughts on everything from transcendentalism to feminism, her opinions, and her developing ideas. Margaret Fuller was an icon to many literary scholars and continues to have a great impact on female writers of the modern era. Her works are important to the feminine literary movement as well as the literary movement as a whole. Any reader can learn from Margaret Fuller about personal growth, self discovery, and equality between all individuals. Fuller’s works were influential enough in society in her era, that they are best explored by the incorporation in English literature curriculums throughout America. Fullers influence extended to many women including women’s rights activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Grace Greenwood, and Ida B. Wells. Through Fuller’s influence women such as these were able to push women’s American rights to the freedoms that modern women benefit from today.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Human Activities Harming the Earth Essay

I. Introduction Thesis statement: There are many actions being implemented by humans that harm the earth and its climate, some of which are deforestation, the use of CFCs and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. II. Body A. Deforestation and the increase of temperature. 1. Effect of plantation on the earth 2. What happens to the atmosphere 3. What happens to the temperature B. Greenhouse Gases cause global warming 1. Radiation absorbed by the earth 2. Greenhouse gases link with the radiation 3. Global warming and greenhouse gases C. Gases that deplete the ozone 1. What they are and their usage 2. CFC’s and the ozone 3. Ozone depletion and UV rays III. Conclusion A. Human activities that contribute to harming the earth such as deforestation, and use of harmful chemicals should be stopped. Human Activities Harming the Earth One of the most dangerous environmental hazards is global warming; it is causing a dramatic increase in the temperature around the globe. Some people don’t think that global warming is actually happening and assume that the sun, glaciers and oceans are the only factors that are responsible for regulating the earths temperature and that computer models are not reliable since they are â€Å"guessing† the temperature change that would occur later on and that is true. There are many actions being implemented by humans that  harm the earth and its climate, some of which are deforestation, the use of CFCs and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. First, deforestation is the removal of trees and plants for building and creating space for development, an ignorant person would think that this is a normal thing while on the other hand removing trees will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere because their removal would mean that there are le ss plants to photosynthesize. This process is like the breathing process of humans but it takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen anyone should at least know that this is a good thing because carbon dioxide is a harmful gas that also traps heat causing the earth’s temperature to increase because nothing is making a good use out of it. This is the cycle of how deforestation increases the temperature of the earth, Plants are removed, consequently Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase and causes the temperature in that area and anywhere the carbon dioxide goes to to increase. In addition to deforestation, the use of CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) is also extremely dangerous since they contribute to an increase of cancer casualties. CFCs are most commonly used in fire extinguishers, air conditioners and refrigerators. As El-Hinnawi explains in the book Global Environmental Issues, When these gases are used, they rise to the atmosphere because they are lighter than air and are later on are converted by UV radiation to ozone-destroying catalyst to add on to this issue these gases are extremely stable. (1982, P. 61-63). These gases have been banned of use except in cases of emergencies but they still exist and are being used and they cause the ozone in the earth to deplete. This is caused when CFCs are used these gases are lighter than air; so they travel up the earth reaching the atmosphere that consists of ozone making a chemical reaction that changes ozone to oxygen. The ozone is responsible for blocking UV radiation from entering the atmosphere, but now since we have a â€Å"hole† in the ozone more UV radiation enters the earth this means we are more vulnerable to radiation that is cancer causing. Finally, the emissions of greenhouse gases. These gases are responsible for keeping the earth’s temperature warm and life supporting by trapping heat, but what happens when these gases are being emitted by factories and daily human activities such as transportation, electricity and agriculture the amount of these gases in the atmosphere is increasing and the issue is that these gases trap in heat  radiated by the earth that should instead be reflected out causing the temperature to increase then as a consequence more water vapor that is also a heat trapping gas thus causing a change in rainfall patterns, sea level, temperature and ecological balance. These activities include burning fossil fuels, industrial emissions or industrial processes. This means the more the greenhouse gas emissions the more the temperature would rise. To sum up, the fact that the planet earth is being harmed has to be accepted. Some of the many harmful activities that include but are not limited to deforestation, the use of CFC’s and emissions of greenhouse gases. Many solutions have been given by environmentalists to stop this mayhem and damage some of these are for deforestation is banning the cutting down of trees in specific places, encouraging agriculture and reforestation. For chlorofluorocarbons it is really unfortunate that there is no way for them to be removed except when they degrade after a 100 years or so, a decision to ban them has been taken prior to that (Montrà ©al protocol). Also, for greenhouse gas emissions many solutions are being worked on such as cars that run using electricity and using nuclear power, hydroelectric power and solar power to provide electricity. Human activities nowadays are definitely hurting the earth’s environment and these rules and restrictions have to be implemented. References How we know global warming is real. (2008). Skeptic, 31-37 ,80. Aggarwal, A., & kumari. (2013). Depletion of the Ozone Layer and Its Consequences: A Review. American Journal of Plant Sciences. Archer, D., & Rahmstorf, S. (2010). The Climate Crisis. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. El-Hinnawi, E., & Hashmi, M.-U.-H. (1982). Global environmental issues. Dublin, Ireland: United Nations Environment Programme. Siddens, S. (2001, July). Rescuing the ozone. Specifying Engineer, 30(1).

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Keats Ode Poems Essay

This essay will work in unifying themes of Keats’ poems, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to Melancholy, Ode to Psyche, Ode to Indolence, and Ode on a Grecian Urn. The paper will analyze these poems and then apply thematic links. In Keats’ poem Ode to a Nightingale, the first stanza begins with the narrator describing heartache. The following emotions each illustrate this main point through the use of words such as ‘drowsy numbness’, and ‘dull opiate’ (Lines 1-3). The first stanza introduces the reader to the natural element of the nightingale, ‘light-winged Dryad of the trees’(Line 7). This nightingale juxtaposes the narrator’s emotion in a contrasting point of happiness, and thus elicits of the narrator a response of envy (Crawford 478). The narrator’s intent on comparing their lot with the happiness of the nightingale is one full of earnest just as much as envy. The narrator wants to have the nightingale’s happiness as is proven with the lines, ‘O for a draught of vintage†¦That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim’(Lines 11-20). Thus, the desire of escape is an established theme in Keats’ poem Ode to a Nightingale (Crawford 476). This idea of escapism is further established in the third stanza as it reads, ‘Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget†¦The weariness, the fever, and the fret’ (Lines 21-23). The wish to be a nightingale, of the thins in life the speaker wishes they could own is all tied up in this tiny songstress, and its life is envied all that much more because of the unattainable nature of the speaker to become like the bird (Columbia Encyclopedia 12356). It is a different world that the speaker desires, one in which heartache, loss, and fretful worries of the mundane world are too heavy to bear, and so their escape is not only to leave society, to wander off into the woods, or even to leave the country, but to transmogrify into another creature, a bird, in which the very symbolism of flight alludes to escape, and a fast one. Not only is escape the ideal of the speaker but to be able to forget about the worry enough to create a beautiful song is the other objective in desiring to become a nightingale. These illusions, and ponderings of transformation is the theme which runs throughout Keats’ poems. For, in the speaker’s present state in this poem, because, presumably, of their inability to see the world before them, as is interpreted in the lines, ‘I cannot see what flowers are at my feet, Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs’(Lines 41-42). Thus, in becoming a nightingale, the narrator will shed the worries of his present human state in society and be able to engross themselves in the natural world (Stillinger 595). In the same mood of transformation the speaker suggests that perhaps death is a great escape, ‘I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath’(Lines 52-54). Here then is seen the ultimate escapism theme; Death. These two themes, that of escape through nature (nightingale) and through supernatural (Death) run in opposing directions, as Keats points out in the poem, â€Å"Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! ’(Line 61). Thus, the bird is proven to be an eternal symbol and thus, the poem’s narrator must find which persuasion; the natural or the supernatural will win them over (Smith 400). In Keats’ poem Ode to Melancholy, the theme of wanting joy is read throughout the poem. The poem seems to be an inspirational change from Ode to a Nightingale as the poem illustrates a sort of derision from death in the lines, ‘For shade to shade will come too drowsily, And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul’ (Lines 9-10). Thus, death’s personification is in the shadows which the narrator portends to be the end of life, where a person should not go (Lethe). The struggle of depression between happiness is a very simple theme in all of Keats’ poems, and one that is no different in this poem, yet its syntax is more intricately woven (Stillinger 596). The poem states that happiness cannot be gotten without melancholy and the greater the depression the greater the happiness. The desire of the narrator in this poem, as in Ode to a Nightingale is to be joyous, although the pathway to this joy is complicated with desperate thoughts, and the dragging of reality. This compare and contrast of melancholy and happiness is best seen in the lines, ‘ She dwells with Beauty-Beauty that must die’ (Line 21). Thus, the transcendence of the ethereal of Beauty, as with the nightingale’s song, is something that is captured once, and then is gone, either changed into a memory, a dream, an illusion, or death. The achievement of beauty, joy, and happiness is the main objective for Keats’ poems. This objective is perfectly illustrated in his poem Ode to Psyche in which the narrator professes the beauty of the goddess. The narrator is questioning the beauty of Psyche, not to test its reality but to wonder whether or not they truly did see her, ‘Even into thine own soft-conched ear: Surely I dream’d to-day, or did I see, The winged Psyche with awaken’d eyes? ’ (Lines 4-6). Thus, Psyche’s beauty is not contested, but the vision of her beauty is by the speaker. The speaker goes on to elaborate on the forest scene as had been done with the escapist route imagined in Ode to a Nightingale. The narrator goes on to discuss the nature of their vision as two nymphs embracing arm in arm, a winged boy and Psyche. Thus, the element of the supernatural is combined with that of the natural, which was clearly defined in Ode to a Nightingale with the bird and death; in this poem they collaborate with the goddess being seduced in a forest glen. Thus, these elements, natural and supernatural, work together to form a collaborating image for the reader. This poem dwells more on the illustration of a scene of Psyche being made love to, and the extreme beauty of her, while the previous poems were mainly focused on the narrator’s interpretation of their world in terms of escape and melancholy. The escapist route taken in this poem may best be described as escapism through beauty. The divine is predominately seen in this poem that its presence in comparison to the melancholy wishes found in the previous poems points the decisive reader towards the viewpoint that in beauty, especially of mythological proportions, is found a different form of escape. The belief in the ethereal realm, the realm found beyond the mundane, banal, and real, and into the heavens. The desperation found in the previous cited Keats’ poems is found in Ode to Psyche in the element of wanting Psyche, of desiring her in this (the narrator’s) modern day, ‘Too, too late for the fond believing lyre, When holy were the haunted forest boughs, Holy the air, the water, and the fire’ (Lines 37-39). The dedication to this mythological realm is fully witnessed with the narrator in the final stanza, ‘Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane’ (Line 50). Thus, the narrator professes to want to be in servitude to the goddess and makes many vows, and paints a pretty picture of what such a life of servitude would be like. This picture involves a lot of natural settings of the forest with trees, bees, birds, streams, stars, flowers, etc. Thus, the image of the real, the natural, is given to support the claim of making the supernatural as real as possible; the theme of the natural and supernatural are seen once again. It does not seem as though Keats is writing with personification; that is, making a woman into the image of the goddess Psyche, but he is using the actual image of the goddess to fulfill a desire. Ode to Indolence deals with temptation and innocence. The poem begins, again, with a very Keats’ hallucination involving robed figures, with urns. The connotations of death, and of mythology are seen in this imagery. This poem has the narrator ask the three figures why did not leave the speaker alone; this means that the speaker wishes to remain in their state of indolence as Keats writes, ‘my pulse grew less and less’. When the speaker is done questioning the figures, and they leave the narrator, the poem takes a different turn, as the speaker state, ‘Then faded, and to follow them I burn’d And ached for wings, because I knew the three: The first was a fair maid, and Love her name; The second was Ambition, pale of cheek, And ever watchful with fatigued eye; The last, whom I love more, the more of blame Is heap’d upon her, maiden most unmeek, – I knew to be my demon Poesy’ (Lines 22-31). The speaker then is preoccupied with wanting something of the supernatural world, as is seen in the previous poems discussed, ‘They faded, and, forsooth! I wanted wings’ (Line 32). The desiring of a different world, the world with the shadows is felt just as strongly in this poem as was analyzed in the previous poems. The dream world also survives in this poem as a theme for Keats. It is in the dream that the soul exists more fully than in the actual world, that is the fact that the soul is the conduit through which joy is realized, and so it is in a dream, or a dreamlike world that the speaker is able to find happiness. The longing for the shadows in this poem is the final image which Keats leaves the reader with, ‘Fade softly from my eyes, and be once more In masque-like figures on the dreary urn’ (Lines 57-58). With the image of the urn in this poem, the obvious allusions to death cannot be misinterpreted, and so, death as a supernaturally desired figure as with Ode to a Nightingale is seen by the reader (Mauro 290). The theme of escapism, although quite obvious in the other poems analyzed in this paper is undoubtedly seen in the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn. The idea of negative capability is also read in this poem, or uncertainties. The reader is not given the identities of the figures on the urn, although their impact on the speaker is obvious. The figures are representational of Keats’ own uncertainty (Negative Capability). The poem serves to focus the use of the imagination as a gateway into the supernatural realm which in itself, and its mysterious are not always known in the corporeal realm. The relationship of art to real life is the inspiration for this poem. The same idea of negative capability, or mystery as was seen in Ode to Indolence with the hazy three figures, and the reader’s own ignorance on their identity is once again seen in Ode to a Grecian Urn. This ‘mystery’ or ignorance is most importantly read in the last three lines of the poem, ‘Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,–that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know’ is said by the urn or is the poet’s, Keats own view. Each poem analyzed and compared and contrasted in this paper has had an underlying theme of truth; that is, the speakers attempt to find out their own soul, their own personal truth in the realm of the supernatural while at times either forsaking the natural, or dwelling more in the natural in order to make the supernatural seem that much more tangible as is seen in Ode to Psyche. The theme of escape was very strong in Keats’ poems, it was not all together the main focus of the poet’s viewpoint; instead the focus may also be the singular point of desiring a change. The idea of transformation is what truly captures the reader’s imagination with Keats, and it is with transformation that a true concurrent theme is found. Works Cited Crawford, A. W. Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale. Modern Language Notes. Vol. 37, No. 8. (Dec. , 1922). pp. 476-481. John Keats Selected Poetry. 3 April 2009. < http://englishhistory. net/keats/poetry. html> Mauro, Jason. The Shape of Despair: Structure and Vision in Keats’s ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. Nineteenth-Century Literature. Vol. 53, No. 3. (Dec. , 1997). pp. 289-301. Smith, Hillas. John Keats: Poet, Patient, Physician. Reviews of Infectious Diseases, Vol. 6, No. 3. (May-June 1984). pp. 390-404. Stillinger, Jack. Keats and Romance. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Vol. 8, No. 4. (Autumn 1968). pp. 593-605. The Columbia Encyclopedia. Criticism. 6th Edition. 2007.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

The Characteristics Of The Modern Period As Related To Thomas Hardy`s “Hap”

The modern period is characterized by accelerating social, technological and economic advancement. It is also weight by the build up of universal empire controlling almost all of the economies of the world (â€Å"An Analysis of Hap by Thomas Hardy†). Great bulk of wealth has been transferred and controlled by some countries. However, some just lag behind and unable to stand with the sudden crash that happened. Time has changed and everything has changed but some still insisted with ancient mindset that has been coined a long ago.Mindset that was not acceptable this modern period. In his poem â€Å"Hap†, Thomas Hardy pointed out modern changes and the unsystematic landscape of life. This was the time of transition. The presence of somebody in existence that was liable in all the changes that was happening was wondered and inquired about (Davidson). The idea of great economic, social and technological changes was new. It was not yet clearly defined and established.All the advancement that was happening to their way of life was an idea that was fallen from the sky and was just credited to somebody he thought to be compassionate God was responsible (â€Å"Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)†). All modernization in technology, culture, beliefs, traditions, mindset and even religion was worked out by man for thousand of years. These are all products of their unveiling thirst for knowledge and betterment of the way of living.The information age has approached. Information was transferred in only a flash wherever you are in the world. We always see new creation and innovations everyday like in the world of computers. Computer has been the greatest achievement of man for centuries. It started just like a size of the entire room with only little functions(â€Å"When Was the Computer Invented? â€Å"). Now it has evolved to almost absolute functions even in its diminutive size and continuously developing.

Literary Research Analysis Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literary Analysis - Research Paper Example His sophisticated, quick-witted appeal was but a Trojan horse for collective criticism. But don’t bother — there are the anecdotes, as well. Lev Grossman was one of many others who admired Diaz's hilarity, describing that Oscar Wao would be unhappy if it were not for its instants of cheerfulness. In other words, His story about the lack of real affection has so much vitality and life. (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 2007) But now what? Most recent short fiction by Junot Diaz, â€Å"This Is How You Lose Her†, is a makeshift between novels. It includes stories that have been printed nearly entirely in The New Yorker, either as advance promotional campaign for its inauguration announcement or as morsels from the Drown era, and all relate to now-familiar Diaz situations, in now-familiar shots of viewpoint. When you look out on the snowy and infertile New Jersey, on lavish and quit hot Santo Domingo; one hunts and locates the street after a disdained lover who is shouting load at you in Spanish; you make love in cellars, among images of relatives. Mothers appear as shadowy form and condemn. Fathers go away and misjudged. By concentrating on only his expertise of these now familiar epitomes, his calling of "diverse creations† to one’s mind, his strikes of "high-low" references, one is not actually talking about the basics of Diaz’s work. One is not able to just describe Diaz's literature without describing rape and the affection that sufferers consequently pursue. The 2 main subjects of Diaz’s work are agreement and control, which are indescribable ideas, he possibly can contend, without any word regarding sexuality and intimate desecration. When someone considers this writing "erotic" and â€Å"diamond sharp,† he\she is not mistaken, but it is not everything. There is much more about it. (Diaz, 2012) Diaz read in his narrative voice in a latest discussion with The Boston Review: â€Å"What’s the r eason behind Yunior being such a dog? Just due to? Or is there something deeper? Dwell on it: isn’t indulging in promiscuous (casual and indiscriminate) sexual relations another archetypal reaction to sexual abuse? Obsessive and continuous promiscuity is surely Yunior’s issue. An obsessive and regular promiscuity that is a countrywide manly epitome in some ways and whose origins I find in the suffering of our sexually abused antiquities. As I described: it’s perhaps not there whatsoever — too understated. However, the reality of Yunior’s rape surely assisted me create the topical economy of the book.† The disclosure of the fact that his reputed tenacious speech originates from a past of sexual abuse is surprising. This fact-based aspect is not even partially exposed in Oscar Wao, a book that encourages to rape, yet it is the key subject of the fiction â€Å"Miss Lora,† the last but one chapter in â€Å"This Is How You Lose Her†. The story of a rape permitted or enacted by statute described from the viewpoint of the slight, â€Å"Miss Lora† represents the relation in question as a seduction. But the question here needed to be asked and answered is that whose seduction is it? The emotional states of Yunior for his neighbour, a sinewy middle-aged woman, are already prevalent when she first dallies with him straightly. There is some strange stuff written by Diaz and that hurts the

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Success and Failure of Loyalty Programmes Essay

Success and Failure of Loyalty Programmes - Essay Example This has led to a plethora of customer-focused programs created with the help of customer relationship management tools, to increase company profitability (Brown, 2000; Kalakota and Robinson, 1999; Peppers and Rogers, 1997). The motive behind loyalty programs is to establish customer loyalty by rewarding a certain frequency of repeat purchase by customers. As pointed by Uncles et al: â€Å"Loyalty programs are schemes offering delayed, accumulating economic benefits to consumers who buy the brand. Usually, this takes the form of points that can be exchanged for gifts, free product, or aspirational rewards such as air miles. Airline frequent-flier programs have been a prototype for many of the schemes†. However, there is no consensus on the definition of loyalty exhibited by consumers (Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978; Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). While some claim that satisfaction is an indicator of loyalty, others debate this point. Reichheld (1994) points out that despite be ing â€Å"satisfied† or â€Å"very satisfied† many customers still defect. In the UK, Ogilvy Loyalty Centre found out that 85 % of its automotive customers claimed to be satisfied but only 40 % made a repeat purchase, and 66 % of packaged goods customers who identified a favorite brand actually ended up buying â€Å"another brand† in the recent past. Gremler and Brown point out that Federal Express, Pizza Hut franchises, and Cadillac dealerships have been able to forecast the sales from loyal customers with more certainty.

Monday, August 12, 2019

French Immigration Law through a European perspective. An analysis of Dissertation

French Immigration Law through a European perspective. An analysis of the right to free movement of EU Nationals in France - Dissertation Example European citizenship shall be conferred upon any person holding the nationality of a Member State and shall be known as citizens of the European Union however such citizenship shall be additional to and not intended to replace national citizenship. And, as EU citizens, they shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States; the right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in their Member State of residence under the same conditions as nationals of that State; the right to enjoy the protection of the diplomatic and consular authorities of any Member State on the same conditions as the nationals of that State; and the right to petition the European Parliament, to apply to the European Ombudsman, and to address the institutions and advisory bodies of the Union in any of the Treaty languages and to obtain a reply in the same language. In consonance with the foregoing rights of the EU citizens, European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 was issued to govern the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. It is the tasked of this dissertation to determine whether the freedom of movement and residence of EU citizens within the Member States is absolute by presenting the national immigration policies of a Member State which for this purpose shall be France. This dissertation shall endeavor to resolve whether the EU laws and directives on the free movement and residence are mandatory in character and in cases of transgressions, the EU has the power and authority to mete penalties or sanctions against the erring Member States. The French government restructured its immigration system by virtue of Act No. 2006-911 of 24 July 2006, otherwise known as the Immigration and Integration Law 2006. The newly enacted law implements a more stringent immigration policy against illegal migrants including EU citizens belonging to the Roma community. At the forefront is France’s systematic campaign against the Roma community by dismantling its camps and deporting them en masse for real or imagined violations. And worse, the expulsions were implemented without compliance to substantive and procedural due process. The Amnesty International (AI) and the United Nation Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) have publicly denounced the discriminatory and racial misconduct against them by the French government. Instead of heeding the appeal of the international bodies, France justified its extreme action of the deporting