Hypothesis and Research Question Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hypothesis and Research Question - Case Study Example For this paper, I expect that more is uncovered to understand the benefits, the consequences, and most importantly, the challenges of this new addictive technological way of communicating. It is interesting to note that even though the young generation in particular tends to enjoy most the benefits of Facebook and twitter, the literature review has focused on the dangers of being addicted to social media. This has resulted in online social networking and demands increased accountability and regulation of providers of the two major sites. Early reviews or studies suggested that online communication had negative effects on the user by reducing face-to-face contact and increasing the level of loneliness. More recent study shows that social media addiction leads to a new generation with egocentric-based approach to life, overdependence, and the addiction only acts to compound these eventualities (Zemmels, 15). Through the use of the Survey method and content analysis method of research, I predict that a huge percentage of facebook and Twitter addicts tend to spend less than an hour on the sites daily. The most exciting part is what the media addicts do to stay online though they could have had bad experiences. However, such experiences are managed through means such as blocking the disturbing person from contacting, indicating that such experiences make them to consider mechanisms to avoid the bad experiences in future in order to continue with the same business on the sites. Content analysis: It entails a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods that focus on messages, making it able for users to quantify information by use of frequency counts and percentages. Any kind of content can be analyzed, including focus groups, television programming, interviews, editorials, and news releases. The population that would be used for the research are generally social media users who increasingly use Facebook and

U.S. television networks Essay Example for Free

U.S. television networks Essay Television is nowadays one of the most popular sources of information, so there is a number of networks, participating in the market competition and thus remaining sensitive to the audience’s beliefs and preferences; at the same time they to great extent shape the needs and culture of the population. The present paper argues that the popularity of a television network greatly depends upon its autonomy and ability to both combine creation and broadcast of a TV-product, as well as upon its rejection and deconstruction of the objective reality, which the target audience is likely to criticize, for the purpose of weaving an alternative world, dominated by the key values of the potential consumers. In her article, Johnson touches briefly the institutional structure and underlying economics of CBS and PAX-TV, high-rated and extremely popular networks, which seek to provide uniform TV-products around the country; moreover, they are also similar in their business approach: â€Å"Both networks share strikingly similar business strategies, branding appeals, the same flagship programs produced by Martha Williamson [†¦]† (Johnson, 2004, p.404). Whereas CBS has quite a democratic and friendly slogan, PAX-TV states its mission in quite religious terms; however, both networks are established by media magnates with orientation to pious audiences, so they share their programming content freely. However, there is also one non-commercial network called PBS, which positions itself as non-profit and thus does not own any broadcasting stations; as a result, it cannot reach the desirable uniformity of broadcasting CBS and PAX-TV demonstrate. According to Meehan Byars, two decades ago, there began a tendency for large companies’ ownership of TV channels; these corporations often engaged with the creation of their own TV-products like films and shows, so they were becoming increasingly more autonomous in the selection of the information to broadcast. Furthermore, the advent and popularization of commercial cable television allowed these large TV-industry players to ensure they had a stable group of loyal consumers (Meehan Byars, 2004, p. 92).   As opposed to this obvious integration of channels into large companies, it is possible to exemplify the abovementioned PBS, coordinated by several non-profit organizations, which seek to provide free and independent broadcasting.   Johnson observes that the audiences of CBS and PAX-TV are composed mainly of conservative, family-oriented middle-class and working-class Americans, who believe in God and greatly value conversations on religious topics. The owners of the two networks assume that the existing American culture is not fully tolerable by Americans themselves, especially by the older generation, and therefore seek an alternative reality, primarily through programming and display of movies and shows based upon idyllic pastoral and religious themes. As it has been mentioned above, CBS and PAX-TV have quite friendly or â€Å"peaceful’ slogans, which they used as promos in broadcasting; this turn seems likable to the conservative audience. Both networks tend to focus on nuclear family values, affiliation to Christianity and material well-being or ability to provide for oneself (Johnson, 2004, pp.406-407). Meehan and Byars take a little different approach and state that Lifetime has gradually shaped itself as a liberal feminist channel and â€Å"seized† in the 1980s a new audience, independent females with white-collar jobs (Meehan Byars, 2004, p. 94). One of the most powerful tools of reaching the target group was the creation and display of the company’s own films, dedicated to the occupational and interpersonal issues in working women’s life: â€Å"Both The Good Fight and Shame illustrated Lifetime’s operational definition of â€Å"television for women† during the emergent period† (Meehan Byars, 2004, p.96). Further, the network began to employ the characters of female officers, detectives and FBA agents, so there appeared the first female superheroes. The product was conceptually novel and thus met a fully expected response, the group’s adherence to Lifetime. In the present day, this segmentation has become even more obvious: for instance, there are networks for minority groups, such as Galavision and Telefutura, developing networks for children like Qubo and ThinkBright and specialized sports networks for those men who prefer to receive comprehensive sports news without switching between channels. However, the abovementioned companies use much simpler tools of spread amongst the target audience, including language (native to the minority group), interesting intellectual games and scientific problems for minors and focus on soccer and baseball most American men are interested in. Both articles, being addressed in the paper, identify a set of values the networks communicate for the purpose of obtaining their target viewers. In particular, CBS and PAX-TV broadcast explicit stories about self-sufficient and mature people, who dedicate themselves to their family and career; moreover, Johnson asserts the importance of â€Å"middleness† (Johnson, 2004, p. 408), which means both the corresponding geographic location and politically neutral views, which reconcile the right and the left. Conservatism as valuable by itself is often communicated through showing global and American cultural anomalies and positioning the traditional, time-honored lifestyle as a way of avoiding problems and succeeding in social life and work. In addition, order to achieve the admiration of â€Å"ordinary Americans†, CBS and PAX-TV also rely heavily upon the American dream, or realization of all dimensions of life through hard work and observance of religious principles; for this purpose, they include the â€Å"true† TV-stories about modest self-made Americans. The â€Å"telefeminist† network, in order to maintain customer loyalty, nowadays also orients to such values as love, family, as opposed to female strength, stressed in the early 1990s (Meehan and Byars, 2004, p.102). Intrafamilial harmony also becomes the emphasis in Lifetime’s films, which depict the peaceful coexistence of the couple of professionals, genuinely motivated for their job, but also interested in preserving their marriage and family as a source of support. However, it is possible to exemplify an alternative strategy, which can be categorized as â€Å"broadening of focus†, which consists in the attempt to respond the questions most Americans ask to themselves. For instance, ABC frequently broadcasts reality series (e.g. â€Å"Lost†) to define the degree to which a person might change under the new or stressful conditions; however, such TV-product also implicitly reveals the importance of the American dream and value of a self-made personality, capable of resisting real-life challenges. Works cited Johnson, V. â€Å"CBS, PAX-TV, and â€Å"heartland† values in a neo-network era†. In The Television Studies Reader, edited by Robert C.Allen and Annette Hill. Routlege, 2004, pp. 403-416. Meehan, E. and Byars, J. â€Å"Telefeminism. How Lifetime Got Its Groove, 1984 -1997†. In The Television Studies Reader, edited by Robert C.Allen and Annette Hill. Routlege, 2004, pp. 92-104.

Goal Statement - Education :: essays research papers

My Goal Statement: Life after Coppin State College Teachers have a very important responsibility of shaping the lives of young, impressionable children. With this responsibility comes great pride and joy. Therefore, as a high school teacher I want to strive to be what can be considered as, a â€Å"good teacher.† A good teacher can be defined as someone who always pushes students to want to do their best while at the same time trying to make learning interesting as well as creative. A positive or negative influence from a teacher early on in life can have a great effect on the life of a child. As part of my goal statement I plan to incorporate all of these qualities to become the teacher that I expect and want to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s the year 2010, and it is my 2nd year as the Business Management teacher at Owings Mills High School. After working with the Baltimore City Public school system it became hard to deal with the hardship of providing so much without help from the school system. While there I worked on my masters in education at UMBS. I decided to stay in Baltimore and work in Baltimore County Public School System; even though there are some situations that need to be resolved it is much more manageable than with Baltimore City School System. Here at Owings Mills High School I mostly interact with black student as well as staff. The job is very much high in demand; having evaluations and as wells as â€Å"ready lesson plans to be viewed by the department chair. I teach both 9th and 10th grade business management classes, when there are different attitudes that are shown in the classroom. With the 9th grade they are very talkative and wanting to find there place in high school, so of course they are the loudest and most annoying. While the 10th graders are still talkative but have learned there lesson from last year and are have a little more work on their mind than they had last year. At Owing Mill High School I teach both 9th and 10th grade classes of business management course, where there are different attitudes that are shown from the different grade levels. The culture of the class is mostly black with few while students. There are more females in the classroom than males; the class size is from 25 to 30 students each class.

Mine Sweeping System Using Image Processing

MINE SWEEPING SYSTEM USING IMAGE Processing Abstractions: Mine sweeping system is entirely designed for observing mines in peculiar user defined country. It uses a Java application from the user country and besides it consists of automaton which plays a cardinal function in the full system. The Java application and the automaton system works together to give an efficient system. The Java application is besides known as waiter and the automaton system communicate each other through wireless transmittal. In this system the human contact with the automaton is non required. The Java application is used to command the full mine sensing procedure. The optical flow vector, the automaton alliance and practical map of the location of the automatons are displayed on the screen of the waiter computing machine. Besides, the antecedently consequences that is the automatons that has searched for mines will besides be available or displayed for the user. So, that no demand of hunt for mines once more and once more in same country or practical grid. The ob tained database consequences are so uses to optimise thee mine brushing procedures in the hereafter through a LRU ( Least late used ) algorithm. The Robot system is aligned with a camera and uses a self-navigating algorithm with the obstruction turning away implemented utilizing optical flow. The optical flow which is produced within the milieus of the automaton system is registered utilizing the on board camera and by utilizing image processing methods like Image cleavage, Edge sensing and grouping, average filtrating thresholding procedure and by the vector computations, the hacking can be obtained. The automatons will work in a spontaneous practical grid and a existent clip map of the mine sweeping operation is displayed on the waiter system. Actually, the automatons will cipher the really shortest way within the grid while seeking and observing for the mines. The automatons commune with each other utilizing swarm engineering in order to carry through the undertaking. Introduction: The robotic usage of this mine sensing is a new procedure whereas the procedure of mine sensing is chiefly carried over by the worlds itself. They used to have on some protective cogwheel and some instruments with which they detect mines. There is a batch of hazard involved in this manner of mine sensing as no 1 can think the happening or the appendage of the blast. Hence so the usage of manual automatons in which they are guided by a user to observe or study a peculiar 1 for a mines therefore came into being. But these manner of observing mines was non much helpful as the manual navigate of the automaton of a certain country becomes tiresome largely over a big terrain. Therefore the demand for automatic automaton comes over when the user is non all required in voyaging the automaton. The robot hunt in a given country for the mines and the co-ordinates of their places are often sent to the waiter system. These automatons are plotted of a practical grid which is produced on the waiter system and their location can be tracked down. When a mine is detected the co-ordinate is sent back to the sever system and the symbol is marked on the practical grid denominating the sensing of mine such as co-ordinates, topographic point, clip, country all stored in the database. The user can so analyze the database to acquire the necessary information narrow down the hunt country. We used methods such as shortest way algorithm and chiefly image processing for obstruction turning away. Engagement of homo in the full sensing is non at all needed or zero. CONCEPTS AND FEATURES Optical flow Optical flow or ocular flow is the form of evident gesture of objects, surfaces and borders in a ocular scene caused by the comparative gesture between an perceiver and the scene [ 1 ] Optical flow computation utilizing Lucas cascade method The gesture of borders, surfaces and objects in a scene which raised by the gesture between an perceiver and scene is known as optical flow. The optical flow can be applied is obstacle turning away and self-alignment of driving circuit of the automaton. Calculation of optical flow Let us see two frames of clip T and a?† t at a place. The optical flow is calculated between this frames with the aid of a Taylor series method by utilizing partial derivation based on spacial and temporal coordnates. For a 2D+Tdimensional instance ( 3D orN-D instances are similar ) a voxel at locationwith strengthwill hold moved by,andbetween the two image frames, and the followersbrightness stability restraintcan be given: Assuming the motion to be little, the image restraint atwithTaylor seriescan be developed to acquire: H.O.T. From these equations it follows that: or which consequences in whereare theandconstituents of the speed or optical flow ofand,andare the derived functions of the image atin the corresponding waies.,andcan be written for the derived functions in the followers. Therefore: or [ 1 ] & A ; [ 2 ] This is an equation in two terra incognitas and can non be solved as such. This is known as theaperture problemof the optical flow algorithms. To happen the optical flow another set of equations is needed, given by some extra restraint. All optical flow methods introduce extra conditions for gauging the existent flow. In the mine sensing procedure optical flow is used for chiefly observing the object, hacking and besides for the robot pilotage. IMAGE SEGMENTATION Image cleavage is the procedure of partitioning a digital image into multiple sections which are sets of pels, besides known as ace pels. The end of cleavage is the simplify and/or alteration the representation of an image into something that is more pregnant full and easier to analyse. Image cleavage is typically used to turn up objects and boundaries which include lines, curves. In image more exactly image cleavage is the procedure of delegating a label to every pel in an image such that pels with the same label portion certain features. The basic measure for image retrieval by mercantile establishment is the computation of the ocular characteristics. The necessity to observe the object as a whole and non merely portion of it has been approved utilizing a intercrossed cleavage technique based on border sensing, part growth and optical flow processs. Image cleavage proves to be an of import measure in ciphering the navigational consequences of the automaton system. [ 1 ] & A ; [ 2 ] . Detection is based on object colour or strength contrast with the environing background. Regardless of the type of detector noise is ever present for cut downing these types of noises we use assorted types of filters. Median Filter Medium filter is a nonlinear method used to have noise from images. It is widely used as it is really effectual at taking noise while continuing borders. The average filter plants by traveling through the image pel by pel, replacing each value with the average value of vicinity pels. The form of neighbours is called the window, which pixel by pel over the full image. The median is calculated first screening all the pel values from the window into numerical over, and so replacing the pel being considered with the in-between pel value [ 3 ] Threshold Method It is besides known as image threshold. In this method, we introduce a new mechanism for observing the landmine. We merely convert the grayscale and cold images into binary or block/white images with specific threshold value or may be varies. Atmega 32 microcontroller The microcontroller we use in the mine sensing procedure for cryptography is the Atmega 32 which has characteristics such as.High public presentation, low power Atmel 8-bit micro accountantAdvanced RISC architecture133 powerful instructions- most signal clock rhythm executing32Ãâ€"8 general intent working registry + peripheral control registryFully inactive operation [ ]The microcontroller along with the L298 will be used to run the automaton automatically. Figure: Atmega 32 Microcontroller constellation Xbee pro communicating faculty The interaction between the automaton system and waiter system is formed through a Xbee faculty which acts as a trans receiver by procuring consecutive communicating utilizing the UART [ ] . Consecutive Communicationss The Xbee/Xbee-pro RF faculties interface to a host device through a logic – degree asynchronous consecutive port. Through its consecutive port the faculty can interact with any logic and electromotive force compatible VART ; or through a degree transcriber to any consecutive device. UART informations flow Devicess that have a vart interface can link straight to the pins of the RF faculty. Figure: UART environment Xbee pro system Flow Control DI ( Data In ) Buffer When the consecutive information enters RF faculty through the DI pin, the information is stood in the DI buffer until it can be processed. Hardware flow control ( CTS ) when the DI buffer is 17bytes off from being full ; by default, the faculty assert CTS to signal to the host device to halt directing informations CTS is re – asserted after the DI buffer has 34 bytes of memory available. Flow control DO ( Data Out ) When the RF information is received, the informations so enters the DO buffer and is sent out the consecutive point to a host device. Once the DO buffer reduces capacity, any extra entrance RF information is lost. Hardware flow control ( RTS ) : If RTs is enabled for flow control, informations will non be sent out the DO buffer every bit long as RTS is de- asserted. Therefore in this manner Xbee pro faculty questions to be an efficient trans receiver which initiates a 2nd VART channel. We create a templet foremost to carry through the papers processing demands. The others services will merely necessitate individual clip activation. SYSTEM DESIGN: The full mine sweeping system is categorized into three parts. They are:Waiter with Java ApplicationRobot system with drove engineeringWireless communicating system Figure: Block diagram system of Mine brushing Figure: Microcontroller and architecture communicating Figure: On Board camera and system communicatingWith the aid of net beans application the user controls the full system. At first the user writes a â€Å"start† bid in the Java application. Data will be send to the UART channel through wireless consecutive communicating.The start bid is received by the GB Xbee faculty on the automaton system and it triggers the micro accountant.After triping the micro accountant it invariably transmit a signal to the driving circuit with the aid of UART channel which portray the practical grid.The alterations are deciphered by the Java application and it was created on GEY at the same clip.This methodological analysis proceeds the circuit until the automaton achieves at the terminal of the self-created practical map.When the micro accountant is triggered it sends informations non merely to the drive circuit but besides to on board IP camera through a radio web device ( router ) to get down the image processing faculty.After triping of the IP c amera it captures the images of the practical grid and so it sends the information to the image processing faculty in which image cleavage optical flow consequences are generated.After finishing of the cringle the automaton sends a â€Å"stop† bid to the waiter.Software demands specification To put to death the mine sweeping system the user foremost enter the applicationThe automaton starts its procedure of seeking when it receives bid from the waiterThe automaton more over follows a optical flow which can be obtained by utilizing the on board IP camera. With the aid of optical flow method the automaton can avoid the obstructions and it itself align a practical map.The automaton so selects a shortest way on the practical grid to observe the mines.In this procedure the camera gaining control the image and the informations will be send to the image processing faculty in which mines can be detected by image cleavage procedure.After the image cleavage the information will be send to the waiter and shop in a information base.Here LRU algorithm is used to better the mine searching, observing and efficiency.Premises The distance between the client and the automaton should non be exceeded more than 500mtrs for good consequences. Dependences The connexion strength of UART is changeless. The automaton system must hold a changeless power supply all the times for accurate consequences. System characteristics The system consists of different characteristics to individual the operations. They are chiefly divided into: – Database Storage In this system this database storage plays a chief function. This storage system is used to hive away the images which was taken by on board camera. Here SQL database is developed and used to hive away consequences the automaton system and with the aid of JDBC connexion it was connected to java application Precedences With the aid of database the information will be stored manipulate and updated all the informations performed by the automaton is on the constituents. The illustrations are mine figure, location or country, count of mines etc. FunctionalRequirements The functional demands are nil but characteristics which are provided to stop users the full system has 3 bomber faculties they areJava application facultyImage processing facultyRobot facultyJava application faculty Java faculty is chief portion in the system from this lone the user starts the procedure by come ining the country of practical grid with this application we can besides see the full map with the aid of UART in which automaton performs operations. After finishing operations the applications shows the consequence for users java beans 7.0 is used to develop this application. Image processing faculty This faculty plays an of import key in the full system. By this the designation and localisation of mines was done. Here by utilizing image cleavage the mark is identified by the size form and visual aspect, this procedure is done by labelling procedure. In the image cleavage at first the gaining control image is labeled in to parts and so it converted in to black and white image so it subdivide the image harmonizing at that place sizes, forms and constructions. By utilizing these features the mark can be estimated of a mark assurance degree. Image cleavage is non sufficient for placing the mines so we use different mine field forms which can be find in survived part. Robot system faculty Thisconsists of micro accountant which generates the map and performs the operation when user gives a bid. Safety and Security RequirementsDue to connexion failures and micro accountant lapses the system may be crashed to over this state of affairs the robot resets and show approximately message to the user.The radio web is based on SSID user and watchword, which consists of unafraid connexion.ApplicationsIt consist of user friendly GUI.Known human contact is needed.All the communicating is through radio and web.The user can manually overrule the system.Conclusion The chief of the research is to develop a system which has a capableness of finding an object or mine. Here we used feeling techniques image cleavage and acknowledgment and faculties

Insanity of War Essay

Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut were two of the most influential anti-war authors of the twentieth century. Heller and Vonnegut served in Second World War; Heller flew sixty missions as a bombardier and Vonnegut was awarded the Purple Heart as an infantry scout. Throughout the Vietnam War, these two authors were idolized for the heroic anti-war masterpieces that they wrote. College students throughout the country carried the novels Heller and Vonnegut wrote everywhere they went. Heller first published his book in 1961, right in the midst of Civil Rights Movement, a perfect time for a book that challenges the power of bureaucracy. Vonnegut published his novel eight years later in 1969, during the Vietnam War, a controversial period for American citizens. One student was quoted saying, â€Å"Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were part of a vanguard of writers my friends and I idolized† (Golly). Through the use of complex structures, highly effective literary styles, and character portrayal, Heller and Vonnegut helped to reveal the insanity of war. Heller and Vonnegut both use a complex structure when writing their satirical anti-war novels. When writing Catch-22, Heller intentionally created a narrative that is hard to follow. While Heller admits that Catch-22 was meticulously structured in order to seem chaotic, he disagrees with the readers that claim Catch-22 is formless (Merrill 34). Merrill also claims that Heller says the real structure is artfully camouflaged (34). He speaks the ideas of multiple characters and tells the story in an unconventional manner. While the majority of the novel is written from the ideas, actions, and feelings of John Yossarian, the protagonist, Heller uses other characters to tell the story from a different perspective. An example of this comes in Chapter 6, aptly named â€Å"Hungry Joe†, where Heller writes the ideas and feelings of Hungry Joe (Heller 51). Another comes in the twentieth chapter, where the narrative comes from Corporal Whitcomb (Heller 198). Heller also uses an unorthodox chronology while writing Catch-22. Multiple times during the text Heller makes obvious jumps in time, be it forward or back. Heller uses the number of missions to help the reader follow the chronology of this insane structure. On the twenty-first page, Doc Daneeka declares that the colonel want fifty missions (Heller). He then declares that the Twenty-seventh Air Force only requires forty missions and later on the same page they are required fifty-five missions (Heller 58). Vonnegut also uses a complex structure when writing his book, Slaughterhouse-five, but rather than switching from character to character, he changes between past, present, future. Vonnegut uses a chronological scheme that is difficult to follow as well; he actually starts the narrative during the second chapter. He starts the novel, on page twenty-three, by talking about the past and tells us that the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, was born in 1922 (Vonnegut). Seven pages later, he jumps to 1944 describing his position of assistant chaplain and his first time being â€Å"unstuck in time† (Vonnegut 30). Then, during the fifth chapter, starting on page eighty-eight, he talks about the past again. When he was twelve years old, he went on vacation to the Grand Canyon that he hated (Vonnegut). In addition to using a complex structure, Vonnegut uses the phrase â€Å"So it goes† over one hundred times (Slaughterhouse-Five). These writing structures both work to expose the insanity of war. Heller creates a chaotic atmosphere by writing through numerous characters and through a chronology that is anything but in a logical order. While Vonnegut employs the death of over a hundred people within Slaughterhouse-Five and uses an intensely paced, chronological mess (Vonnegut). They both write chapters and paragraphs that follow the same disorganized style. With the structures that Heller and Vonnegut use, they both create a chaotic atmosphere for their readers, similar to that of war. They attempt to place the readers in a situation that makes them feel similar to the authors, when they were in the military. Heller and Vonnegut’s literary style is to create tension in the mind of the reader by shifting the narrative around from character to character and to and from different time periods. They do this in order to draw the readers closer to the soldiers and bombardiers of the Second World War. By doing so, they cause the readers to begin to wonder what will be happening next in the story; much like the way the soldiers of Catch-22 do on the fictional island of Pianosa and the Slaughterhouse-Five soldiers in the German city of Dresden (Heller, Vonnegut). The overall pace of Catch-22 is slow; Heller is very descriptive and builds the setting and atmosphere. There is, however, parts of Catch-22 that are intense and fast paced. Heller uses this slow pace to build tension before the novel climaxes. Catch-22 becomes faster as it approaches the climax and the end of the novel. This change of pace ties directly to war; at first everything is slow, then suddenly, the characters are in the middle of a firefight or bombing mission, then it quickly ceases. Slaughterhouse-Five uses a slightly faster pace throughout the novel; Vonnegut’s narrative is much shorter and does not go into as much depth as Heller’s story does. However, this is the same feeling that many soldiers of the Second World War felt. The soldiers and bombardiers do not always know what is happening next or, in regard to the current Iraqi war, which is the enemy and which is not. Heller employs another literary device, called a motif, a recurring theme or device in literature, and in the novel written by Heller, the motif was catch-22. Heller incorporates many forms of the catch-22 throughout the novel. The main catch occurs when Yossarian must continue flying missions. Obviously anyone willing to risk their lives by flying these missions is crazy. The only way to be granted permission to stop flying the missions is to ask the commanding officer, but he cannot grant permission to be grounded unless it is asked of him. However, anyone sane enough to ask a commanding officer to be grounded is clearly not insane because they have regard for their lives. Therefore, they must continue flying missions. In short, any circular argument that always works in favor of the bureaucratic system that puts it in place is a catch-22. These circular arguments trap soldiers within the chaos of war; they have no way to escape it because of the system that placed it. There is several other catch-22’s in the novel Catch-22, such as the open and close case against Clevenger in which all they need is something to charge him with and how they can only meet up with Major Major Major Major in his office when he is not in his office. Vonnegut also employs the literary device motif, within his novel. He uses the phrase â€Å"So it goes† over one hundred times in Slaughterhouse-Five (Slaughterhouse-Five). He first uses the phrase â€Å"So it goes† when talking about Gerhard Muller’s, a cab driver, mother, who was incinerated in the Dresden fire-storm (Vonnegut 2). During chapter nine, Vonnegut writes about how Billy’s wife, Valencia, dies of carbon monoxide poisoning after an accident she caused while driving to the hospital Billy was taken to after a plane accident he was involved in (Vonnegut). In the prior situation, Vonnegut ended to text with â€Å"So it goes,† this shows how the insanity of war causes death to mean so little to some people. The last use is on the second to last page, two hundred fourteen; he uses it after the death of Edgar Derby, an old, poor English teacher, who was arrested, tried, and shot for stealing a teapot (Vonnegut). Vonnegut uses the phrase â€Å"So it goes† to equalize all death. Through equalizing all death, Vonnegut brings forward how some bureaucratic systems feel about war and their effects on life. Vonnegut writes to point out the insanity of war; he shows his readers what war can cause and how his characters and their lives are affected. Heller’s characters display insanity throughout Catch-22. An example of this occurs on page seventy-five, when the following conversation takes place: â€Å"In sixty days you’ll be fighting Billy Petrolle,† the colonel with the big fat mustache roared. â€Å"And you think it’s a big fat joke.† â€Å"I don’t think it’s a joke, sir,† Clevenger replied. â€Å"Don’t interrupt† â€Å"Yes, sir† â€Å"And say ‘sir’ when you do,† ordered Major Metcalf. â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"Weren’t you just ordered not to interrupt? † Major Metcalf inquired coldly. â€Å"But I didn’t interrupt, sir,† Clevenger protested. â€Å"No, and you didn’t say ‘sir,’ either. Add that to the charges against him,† Major Metcalf directed the corporal who could take shorthand, â€Å"Failure to say ‘sir’ to superior officers when not interrupting them.† (Heller) This conversation shows just how crazy some of Heller’s characters are. Through his dialogue, Heller shows the insanity of his characters and the absurdity of war. Conversations similar to this occur a dozens of times throughout Catch-22. Another example of Heller portraying insanity occurs when the IBM machine in control of the military ranking system gains a sense of humor. After only four days of enlistment, Private Major Major Major, one of Heller’s more awkward characters, becomes Major Major Major Major (Heller). This mistake portrays another chaotic situation that war created. The bureaucratic system causes confusion and people lose control of their responsibilities. The actions of war depicted in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-five, caused a large amount of death. The center of the book, the German city of Dresden, is approximated to have had at least thirty-five thousand and some sources say up to one hundred thousand casualties in the infamous firebombing of Dresden during the Second World War (Bombing of Dresden). A few characters from Slaughterhouse-five share the same insanity of those from Catch-22, such as Roland Weary, who is intent on glorifying himself and uses the fact that he saved Billy multiple times to do it (Vonnegut). Although the characters from Slaughterhouse-five don’t carry on crazy dialogues, they still portray madness through their actions, like when Wild Bob inquires if Billy is part of the regiment that he is colonel of, even though all his men are dead (Vonnegut). Heller and Vonnegut use their characters in a way that proves that war does really take a toll of a person’s mental situation. Through their motifs, Catch-22 and â€Å"So it goes†, Heller and Vonnegut show that bureaucratic systems and death do not mix well. Systems like this shouldn’t have control over such a life altering things, especially since they carry the attitude â€Å"So it goes† throughout the war. It really is insane for a system to be in place in which someone has absolute control over another’s life. And the ability of these people to have a â€Å"So it goes† attitude is as pure madness. The structure in Slaughterhouse-five and Catch-22 are very similar in that the both follow a chronology that is nowhere near in order. This is significant because it puts the reader into the insanity of war. The have the same confusion that soldier does until they realize what is really going on. Through the use of characters, motifs, and confusing chronologies; these brilliant antiwar authors capture the insanity of war.

Simple English Worksheets for Kids Perfect for Students As Well

Simple English Worksheets for Kids Perfect for Students As Well Simple English Worksheets for Kids Perfect for Students As Well There are many English teachers all over the world. Some teach English to students in English-speaking countries, but some teach it as a second language in non-English speaking countries. Training non-native students requires using as many tools as possible to provide interactive process. It may sound funny, but almost all English worksheets for kids will be perfect for students as well, especially for those ones, who are poor at English. Flash Cards These are basic language tools, and they can be used to teach kids as young as 4 and 5 and adults that cannot speak a word in English. In spite of the fact that adults learn faster, you still require heaps of silly games with the cards to practice the material. Pictures and words. Hard to beat. Bingo We all think of Bingo as being a gambling game played by adults, but in fact, Bingo is a very popular English teaching game that has as many variations as you can think up. In this game, there is usually a winner, and that sharpens the interest of the learners. It helps to recognize the words while the spelling is priceless. You can be sure that everyone knows what Bingo means. You can create these worksheets on your own either download them from the Internet and introduce such an activity as a part of the current lesson to revise recently learned words. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire While this was originally introduced as a computer game, it can also be presented as an English worksheet that has questions a team must answer. You can mix this game up with English grammar and general knowledge. Questions that are about the students’ countries are very popular. Using Monopoly money will add a touch of realism to the game. Put the Words in Place This game helps students construct sentences using the correct grammar tenses. The most common word usage involves mixing in a few plurals with the correct pronoun. This was originally a kid’s game but is also a great learning tool for adults as you can make the sentences more complex. Talking about a Picture This is another great game for both kid and adults as well. After lessons on vocabulary and grammar, it’s a good idea to make an interactive lesson where the students describe what they see in the picture. The picture is so constructed to revise the vocabulary. Constructing the sentence correctly, forms such a lesson practical. Concentration This game has moved towards a new level by introducing magnetic cards that stuck to the whiteboard. For kids, 12 cards are the maximum that is 6 matches. For older students, it would go as high as 24 cards. You can have the match with either a picture or a word, as two words or as an associated word. The degree of difficulty depends on the English level of the class. Students love playing games, and it’s amazing to see what lengths ESL teachers will go just to give the students a challenge as well as an enjoyable way to learn.

The Struggle of the Superpowers essays

The Struggle of the Superpowers essays The origins of the Cold War were, some say, a battle of ideological governments (communism vs capitalism). However, I believe the origins of the Cold war are set between two superpowers, both struggling for control of the world. During WW2, the U.S.A. and Russia were teamed together to fight against Facisim and Nazism. Once the enemy had been defeated, all that was left was two Superpowers. Of course, being human and sinners, they could not work together as one but instead, they turned against each other. The fact that Russian was communist was coincidental. In 1835 (13 years before communism was introduced) Alexis de Tocqueville wrote There are at the present time two great nations in the world, which started from different points, but seem to tend towards the same end. I allude to the Russians and Americans....Their starting point is different, and their courses are not the same, yet each of them seems marked out by the will of heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe. If we today look at the modern country of America, we will see a world superpower, mainly concerned about its self. Before the Cold War the U.S.A. used communism to its own advantage. They told the non-communist world how bad the communists were in a bid to sway the rest of the world against communism. Both of the countries were trying to take over the world. LaFeber says, The two powers did not initially come into conflict because one was communist and the other capitalist. Rather, they first confronted one another on the plains of Asia in the late nineteenth century. That meeting climaxed a century in which American had expanded westward over half the globe and Russia had moved eastward across Asia. Therefore, the Americans were not fighting against communism, but fighting against a fellow superpower. After Russian became communist in 1917, they did not change one bit in its worldview. Even though the country was no ...

The Bog Bodies of Europe - Archeological Finds

The Bog Bodies of Europe - Archeological Finds The term bog bodies (or bog people) is used to refer to human burials, some likely sacrificed, placed within peat bogs of Denmark, Germany, Holland, Britain, and Ireland and naturally mummified. The highly acidic peat acts as a remarkable preservative, leaving the clothing and skin intact, and creating poignant and memorable images of people of the past. The reason that bogs permit a high level of preservation is because they are both acidic and anaerobic (oxygen-poor). When a body is thrown into a bog, the cold water will hinder putrefaction and insect activity. Sphagnum mosses and the presence of tannin add to the preservation by having anti-bacterial properties. The total number of bodies pulled from European bogs is unknown, partly because they were were first rediscovered in the 17th century and records are shaky. Estimates range wildly between about 200 to 700. The oldest bog body is Koelbjerg Woman, recovered from a peat bog in Denmark. the most recent dates to about 1000 AD. Most of the bodies were placed in the bogs during the European Iron Age and Roman period, between about 800 BC and AD 200. Bog Bodies Denmark: Grauballe Man, Tollund Man, Huldre Fen Woman, Egtved Girl, Trundholm Sun Chariot (not a body, but from a Danish bog all the same) Germany: Kayhausen Boy UK: Lindow Man Ireland: Gallagh Man Dont forget to try your hand at the Bog Body Quiz Sources and Recommended Reading Coles, Byrony and Coles, John. 1989. People of the Wetlands: Bogs, Bodies and Lake-Dwellers. London, Thames and Hudson.Glob, Peter Vilhelm. 2004[1965]. The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved. New York Review of Books, New York.Lynnerup, Niels 2007 Mummies. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 50:162-190.Sanders, Karin. 2009. Bodies in the Bog and the Archaeological Imagination. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. ISBN 13:978-0-226-73404-0 (cloth). 233 pages, plus 82 pages of notes, bibliography and index; 63 black and white photographs.

End of Course Assignment. Financial Markets and Risk Assignment

End of Course . Financial Markets and Risk - Assignment Example A number of recessions or financial crisis that has been witnessed across the globe is as a result of the Systematically Important Financial Institutions. It is axiomatic to argue that the financial crises of 2007/2008 just like the financial crisis of the 1930’s post a great dilemma for many observers and the world at large. Whether unprecedented or otherwise, the truth is that it brought with it great damage to the society. (Taylor, 2011) Adopting some of the best priorities to deal with the issues and avoid a repeat of the same is the main focus of different policy makers globally. The first section of the paper discusses the Systematically Important Financial Institution and threat they pose to the economy. The second phase looks at the 2007/2008 economic crisis and how the Systematically Important Financial Institution was responsible for it. It goes further to recommend some of the best ways to deal with the problem in the future. The definition and structure of the Systematically Important Financial Institution is dependent on the potential of the institution to cause financial destruction. An institution becomes more relevant when it has a high level or probability to cause serious destruction to the economy. On the positive side, Systematically Important Financial Institution is defined going by their relevant viability in leading to a smooth growth and functioning of an economy. Therefore the positive looks at the good part with regards to positive effects to the entire population. Both negative and positive sides reflect the question on whether the Systematically Important Financial Institution are necessary and are indispensable to any financial system or whether they are dangerous and should be done away with. In other words, Systematically Important Financial Institution can create some of the best sides of the

Strategic Plan Stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic Plan Stakeholders - Essay Example The reasons underlying the development of a document on strategic planning is for the organization to eradicate ill politics emanating from the stakeholders. This may result whenever a certain group within or outside the business perceives biasness. A planning document entails the organization’s objectives and goals. Further, it describes to the stakeholders the essential approaches that business entity targets to implement to accrue the long term plans. Through the implementation of a planning document, the organization gains the ability to pursue its goals since every stakeholder will be knowledgeable of the perceived outcomes thus devoting his support to the planning process (p. 2). Reasonably, the development sets a pace for the organization to meet all its stakeholder needs. Organizations devote their strategic development plans towards achieving beneficial outcomes. Therefore, the documented approach will serve to the effect of ensuring efficiency in delegation of tasks, team-building, and a unified focus towards the set goals and objectives. The document acquaints an organization with a prospectus for scanning the environment. This influences a positive approach towards development of the organization’s mission. Arguably, the documented approach describes the organization’s vision (p. 3). Lastly, it is an essential resolution to a democratic process of inserting decisions harvested from the organization’s internal and external

Critically evaulate the view that international organisations and Essay

Critically evaulate the view that international organisations and global governance systems are undemocratic - Essay Example Indeed, it is very much possible to see that global institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO) do play an active role in the governance, political and economic organisation of many countries from around the world. Importantly, the issue of deficit of democracy primarily arises from the fact that while the nation states are at least theoretically accountable to the national civil society, the international institutions are accountable to none. All the nation states do not wield equal power in many of the transnational institutions. Moreover, if we look at the internal structure and power balance within, most of the international institutions are tilting towards the rich countries of the Global South. Global Institutions, Global Governance and Lack of Global Democracy The making of accelerated globalisation was characterised by the shift of governance from the national to the global. The nation state is being increasingly chall enged by the forces of globalisation. At present, the democracy is solely expressed through national governments and their institutions. In other words, the national parliament is the only abode of democracy. However, the rise of international organisations has led to their growing clutch on the national economies, politics and policies. It is followed the rise of unaccountable forces of neoliberal capitalism which effectively surpass any idea of national and popular sovereignty. It has led to a kind of global elite consolidation as there exists no world parliament. Still, the absence of world parliament does not automatically translated as the absence of global sovereignty. Global sovereignty certainly exists as the consolidated and concentrated power of global market forces and their institutions. It is primarily because of this lack of democracy within, the meetings of international finance and trade institutions attract huge resistance from activists and political groups from ar ound the world. The voting rights in a major institution such international monetary fund is based on proportional vote wherein ‘one country, one vote’ principle is not followed. On the contrary, countries get their voting rights based on their economic share in the institution. The United States in particular and the West in general are also able to exert disproportional influence in the decision making bodes of IMF and World Bank. One of the major problems with international governance organisations is that they do not directly draw their legitimacy form any popular sources. In other words, the legitimacy of the global institutions is solely depended upon their ability to intervene and act decisively in certain situations and places. Although, there is a lot of talk on the emergence of a global civil society which could effectively counter the lack of democracy in global governance institutions, nothing yet has materialised. Conversely, the so-called global civil soci ety itself is predominantly dominated by many Non Governmental Organisations which are accountable not to the people but to the funding agencies. In the question of transparency too, the status of global transnational organisations is not very different from the global finance or political institutions. Here, the very lack of representation of the voice of the developing

Rational in Buying Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Rational in Buying - Case Study Example The consumer obviously would like the personality traits to be that of his own. Characteristics that brands would like to associate with are a sense of dependability, understanding, and caring; a friend who is always there to care, respect, comfort, and enjoy (Brand Personality-The relationship Basis Model, groups.haas.berkeley.edu). It was thought that companies were responsible was the creation of a brand, or its managers and planners, but the reality is far from these. Brands are created by ordinary people like us. It is the extent to which it makes sense and the role it plays in a consumer's life that builds a brand. There are two questions which should be asked: How different are these brands, and how relevant is it to us, as consumers A product becomes a brand not when it talks about itself, but when people talk about it. Every single thing that one does builds a brand. 2.0 Executive Summary The three key elements of demographic segmentation variables are age, gender and the life cycle. Age is an important demographic variable in brand development and sales, as purchases vary from one demographic to another. Those in the age group of 12-18 would have a different view of a product than those in the 30-45 age brackets. This can change again with those 50 and above. So, how do marketers identify the needs of these age groups, and what are the parameters by which they can gauge the right demographic for expanding their market and brand Today, most consumers are aware of his/her rights and are well informed. Television, newspapers and magazines have only contributed to their better understanding of the world around them. Internet has gone a step ahead in educating and promoting awareness at the click of a button. So... The three key elements of demographic segmentation variables are age, gender and the life cycle. Age is an important demographic variable in brand development and sales, as purchases vary from one demographic to another. Those in the age group of 12-18 would have a different view of a product than those in the 30-45 age brackets. This can change again with those 50 and above. So, how do marketers identify the needs of these age groups, and what are the parameters by which they can gauge the right demographic for expanding their market and brand? Television, newspapers and magazines have only contributed to their better understanding of the world around them. Internet has gone a step ahead in educating and promoting awareness at the click of a button. So knowledgeable is today’s consumer that it becomes difficult for manufacturers and producers to associate themselves with them. However, there are certain influences that demarcate these demographics, the 4Ps of marketing namely , product, place, promotion, and price. These elements have a direct impact on a consumer’s buying rationale. In order to understand the topic on a consumer’s buying rationale on the three demographics, this paper explores the importance of branding, and the role of the 4Ps in influencing the buying behaviour.. Three age groups are considered for this analysis; 12-18, 30-45 and those over 55. The primary objective of this paper will be to research the factors that contribute to consumer buying rationale.

Legalization of marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legalization of marijuana - Essay Example Therefore, this paper will seek ideas to develop an argument for and against legalization of marijuana, through elaboration of the ideas from different sources. Prohibition of marijuana is considered a misguided and ineffective policy, which has not contributed to reduction of marijuana consumption, since the government use funds to implement the policy, instead of collecting tax revenue from sales of legal marijuana. The government spends over ten billion dollars every year on enforcement of drug laws, thus resulting to cost of drug prohibition being wasted on the law enforcement resources. Therefore, government should impose a tax on sales of marijuana, hence eliminate the violence related to the organized drug trafficking (Edelson, 2012). Legalization of marijuana is also associated with a positive impact of lowering the crimes, since the regulation of drugs distribution can result to a reduction of the drug disputes, hence decreasing drug related crimes, besides, the use of marijuana can no longer be considered a crime resulting to a decreased number of criminals. Moreover, the prices of marijuana would decrease, thus cause a subsequent reduction in the crimes such as theft cases. On the other hand, prohibition of marijuana results to thousands arrests annually involving non-violent offences. The legalization would also make the police officers focus on serious crimes such as robberies, sexual assaults, violence, child abuse, burglaries and drunk driving. A relationship has been established between abuses of food intakes and the top ten leading causes of deaths in the world, but marijuana has never been mentioned; thus, there are no death tolls related to use or abuse of cannabis. In fact, the use of marijuana has not shown evidence related to causing health problems like cancer or heart disease; hence, it is considered harmless. Nevertheless, there

Rational in Buying Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Rational in Buying - Case Study Example The consumer obviously would like the personality traits to be that of his own. Characteristics that brands would like to associate with are a sense of dependability, understanding, and caring; a friend who is always there to care, respect, comfort, and enjoy (Brand Personality-The relationship Basis Model, groups.haas.berkeley.edu). It was thought that companies were responsible was the creation of a brand, or its managers and planners, but the reality is far from these. Brands are created by ordinary people like us. It is the extent to which it makes sense and the role it plays in a consumer's life that builds a brand. There are two questions which should be asked: How different are these brands, and how relevant is it to us, as consumers A product becomes a brand not when it talks about itself, but when people talk about it. Every single thing that one does builds a brand. 2.0 Executive Summary The three key elements of demographic segmentation variables are age, gender and the life cycle. Age is an important demographic variable in brand development and sales, as purchases vary from one demographic to another. Those in the age group of 12-18 would have a different view of a product than those in the 30-45 age brackets. This can change again with those 50 and above. So, how do marketers identify the needs of these age groups, and what are the parameters by which they can gauge the right demographic for expanding their market and brand Today, most consumers are aware of his/her rights and are well informed. Television, newspapers and magazines have only contributed to their better understanding of the world around them. Internet has gone a step ahead in educating and promoting awareness at the click of a button. So... The three key elements of demographic segmentation variables are age, gender and the life cycle. Age is an important demographic variable in brand development and sales, as purchases vary from one demographic to another. Those in the age group of 12-18 would have a different view of a product than those in the 30-45 age brackets. This can change again with those 50 and above. So, how do marketers identify the needs of these age groups, and what are the parameters by which they can gauge the right demographic for expanding their market and brand? Television, newspapers and magazines have only contributed to their better understanding of the world around them. Internet has gone a step ahead in educating and promoting awareness at the click of a button. So knowledgeable is today’s consumer that it becomes difficult for manufacturers and producers to associate themselves with them. However, there are certain influences that demarcate these demographics, the 4Ps of marketing namely , product, place, promotion, and price. These elements have a direct impact on a consumer’s buying rationale. In order to understand the topic on a consumer’s buying rationale on the three demographics, this paper explores the importance of branding, and the role of the 4Ps in influencing the buying behaviour.. Three age groups are considered for this analysis; 12-18, 30-45 and those over 55. The primary objective of this paper will be to research the factors that contribute to consumer buying rationale.

Research Project Handout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Project Handout - Essay Example Others will state it as an innate right, but the thought behind freedom should be to respect and be constructive to society. The aim of this essay is to address the notion of freedom and how this idea has morphed over the years. Discussion The foundations of the door of freedom in America, includes an autonomous Congress, Supreme Court, and executive. Thus, America was conceived due to the need to have freedom in practicable government and the wider society. Therefore, this facilitation of liberty, along with inventiveness of individuals, enabled American founding fathers to enable people to possess the right to know and the clout to act (Herbert Hoover on the New Deal and Liberty 170). The founding fathers initiative of freedom was built on the belief that men are gifted by their maker with definite unalienable rights, such as right to life and quest of happiness. Thus, the structures and aims of any government should be to safeguard these rights (Congressional Debate on Immigration Restriction 150). Even though America was formed from a revolution and a rebellion, opposing a structure of government entrenched in customs plus traditions, the idea of freedom for all had been impregnable. ... d for benevolent safeguard of every person, both male and female, in trying to make them self reliant by guaranteeing their civil plus political liberties (128). However, it is intricate to reconcile the boast of freedom, with the nature of the law that practically, places the kind of servitude with degradation on a large grouping of citizens prior to the law (Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537). In that case, the dissenting judge, John Marshall Harlan, argued that freedom is the ability not to impose any structure of government on anyone else, but rather every person everywhere must possess the right to decide the system of government they wish for. According to Truman Doctrine deliberated in 1947, nearly every person must decide between alternative lifestyles since humankind is not fixed and the status quo not sacrosanct (223) Thus, the choice is not often a liberated one. Accordingly, a way of life is pedestal on the will of the mainstream, and is tell apart by gratis institutions, r epresentative regimes, free elections and assurances of individual liberty. Moreover, free people way of life is based on freedom of speech and religious conviction, as well as freedom from political oppression. It is about resisting subjugation coming from armed minorities or any other outside pressures (The Truman Doctrine 223). Even though those pushing for absolute power may seek to attain their own account of ecstasy on earth or equality, equality should result in liberty together with the spread of creative dissimilarities. Therefore, as Walter Lippmann stated in his Critique of Containment article, when freedom is substituted with absolute plus concentrated power, it will ultimately enforce conformity followed by despotism (183). Being free implies not being willing to permit

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay Example for Free

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay The strength of these companies had been growing strong but had a slight decline in recent years. SWOT for the Industry Strength: Product Expansion – many new products have been developed Distribution Channels – Can use convenience stores, grocery stores Able to deliver with carbonated soft drinks Weakness: Price is high compared to soft drinks Unhealthy ingredients Caffeine is not regulated – like in soft drink industry Opportunity: Consumer demand Supplier Channels – ingredients, cans, labels Product Innovation – provides differentiation. Brand Loyalty – taste, image, energy boosting Brand building skills needed 2 oz. energy shots Threat: Economy Scientific evidence that some products are not healthy Effect people with heart arrhythmias and insomnia Mix with alcohol Relaxed Drink Niche – abuse with prescription cough syrup As we look at this SWOT analysis of the alternative beverage industry we notice that there are some opportunities that they have created and are able to use in the future. Consumers’ choices are changing from the standard soft drink to alternative beverages. The key is to be sustainable by building up these products. The main opportunity to help with sustainability is to build brand loyalty. Try building up the knowledge and uses of your brands will help you gain the skills needed to continue building the brand. Porter’s five-forces model reveals that the overall alternative beverage industry attractiveness is high. Some beverage companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, have mastered the art of brand building in the alternative beverage market and have been rewarded with rapid growth rates. The rising population of health conscious consumers is increasingly leaning towards alternative beverages that are believed to offer greater health benefits. The strongest competitive force, or most important to strategy formulation, is the threat of entry of new competitors. Competitive pressure from rival sellers is high in the alternative beverage industry. The number of brands competing in sports drinks, energy drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverage segments of the alternative beverage industry continue to grow each year. Both large and small vendors are launching new products and fighting for minimal retail shelf space. More and more consumers are moving away from traditional soft drinks to healthier alternative drinks. Demand is expected to grow worldwide as consumer purchasing power increases. Another strong competitive force is buyer bargaining power. Convenience stores and grocery stores have substantial leverage in negotiating pricing and slotting fees with alternative beverage producers due to the large quantity of their purchase. Newer brands are very vulnerable to buyer power because of limited space on store shelves. Top brands like Red Bull are almost always guaranteed space. This competitive force does not affect Coca-Cola or PepsiCo as much due to the variety of beverages the stores want to offer to the customer. As a result of this certain appeal, the two companies’ alternative beverage brands can almost always be found shelf space in grocery/convenience stores. Distributors, like restaurants, have less ability to negotiate for deep pricing discounts because of quantity limitations.

English as a Universal Language

English as a Universal Language Language is an important tool of understanding and communicating between any members of a community in all fields of life. For the process of communications and understanding to go smoothly, one must know and be aware of signs, symbols and meanings associated with each language, as well as the cultural side behind each symbol and sign. Learning a foreign language especially English can help felicitate an individual and community ways of understanding what is going on and help to integrate and benefit from achievements as well as increase innovation. Although English is regarded as the number one spoken language in the world. one out of every five people on the entire Earth can speak English to some extent [englishenglish.com] which means fifth of the world which is not enough as those speakers come from different parts of the world and they come with different background, culture, value and beliefs. The English spoken in the UK is not the same English spoken in USA or Australia. The importance of finding a universal language due to increased movement of people and the availability of different types of communication such as the internet and other means in economic, scientific fields and the expansion of economic transactions between countries and international companies to facilitate communication in meetings between representatives of the companies. The openness of the labor market which is a result of globalization made it easier for people to travel around and look for jobs in all parts of the world which led to the pursuit of employers and major companies to take advantage of this and search for employment that reduces cost and maximizes profits, but, there is a challenge that comes along with it, the world is diverse, people come from different characters, cultures, traditions and languages. Language is not just words that are put together and structured into a sentence; it is awareness of cultures, customs and values. Therefore, the language exchanged in many companies especially international ones has a huge importance, because it means the easy exchange of information and data relating to the job among the staff as well as instructions issued by the managers, it brings employees closer together if they can understand each other and understand any technical terms that relate to the job. Religion, language and cultures are all factors that need to be taken into considerations when doing business. Each person is shaped by their own culture, where they realize it or now. Our very own opinions, beliefs and actions are dependent on the background we come from. We only realize our differences when we are faced with another culture and a different way of doing things. It is important to understand a culture to be able to communicate so that everything goes smoothly without facing problems. A worker speaking little English might have a hard time communicating and speaking up and feeling frustrated whenever having to speak the language, I personally felt this way when I was in France and just started to learn French. It is the fear of being judged and lack of confidence in knowledge which can lead them to be closed in their personal space or even worse thing would be not understanding what they have to do exactly and doing the job wrong because they were afraid to ask for help. There are different types of language that are not just expressed by words and language the is used differently between females and males and they all affect how people deal with each other in a multicultural business/work environment. Despite the many differences in defining the concept of language, I think it is ok to agree that it is the tongue of a culture; it is the channel where information travels in a nation and from a nation to another. Language is a pulse that interacts with feelings and sensations and affects them. Language is a profound mental logic that gives suggestions and gestures. Body Language Body language is communicating with people without any words spoken that are used in all aspects of dealing with others. Movements by individuals, using their hands, facial expressions, tone of voice and headshaking so that the addressee understands the message better and often used by someone unable to express what they want to say in words and wanting to clarify by making hand movements. Body language is an essential mean of communication with others that is used on daily basis. Non verbal communication is extremely important in every culture, as communication is not always with the use of words. Therefore, understanding body language and using it in a an effective manner , can improve relationships with others and may also help overcome and deal with different situations which one can be exposed to when doing business. Problems can occur from the misunderstanding of hand gestures or any other type of physical signals, because they can mean one thing in on culture and have a completely different meaning in another. You can change your body language in the workplace and the way you are looked at work, what your non-verbal communication and body language sends different messages to people you work with in an intercultural environment depending on where they come from. Despite the fact that smiling is a form of welcome in many cultures, it can be viewed as a form of embarrassment in some Asian cultures. Working with different nationalities and understanding body language is a value to the employees. In certain places the right body language can help others see your openness, flexibility and honesty. Especially in American cultures as they are all about business and getting things right therefore, sitting upright in a chair during a meeting says that you are open and alert. But it can change completely once you put your hands behind you head or cross arms in front of chest, suddenly you are expressing boredom and superiority and puts you in a defensive position. Clenching fists that is related to a nxiety or tension, scratching nose, forming a bridge with hands, reflects on lack of interest can probably make the people around you feel uncomfortable. Maintaining eye contact translate into honesty, but it is ok to look away at times as it can be seen as starring or being intense or in some Asian culture it can be looked as threatening. Respecting personal space of others is a good way to express body language in a workplace. Personal space varies to individuals from different races. (ad example for the British here) Determining the appropriate body language in a workplace in relation to touching might be a bit sensitive. A firm handshake is welcoming but touching someone on the arm, tapping on the back maybe not be. Some find it normal and some others maybe feel uncomfortable with it. In India the constant shaking of the head from side to side can be misunderstood as a non verbal way of saying no but is the contrary as it is a way to show that they understand what you are saying or a sign of agreement. Where in America shaking your head is a sign of disagreeing and saying no while people from some countries raise their chins. British people are said to be more reserved and formal. Americans are considered more open and outgoing, while Australians are seen as casual and relaxed. Gender language Different interests and tendencies between the two genders might be a reason why they speak differently. Even though woman and men live in the same environment or have the same education and lever of profession growing up there were things that were acceptable for boys to do or say and were considered to be inappropriate for girls which is maybe a reason why they communicate differently. A man has his own way of expression, he uses words that correspond with the meaning of what he wants to say exactly and briefly using specific terms that he really means while maintaining sequence. A woman may speak with simpler words and phrases. Even though they speak the same language, they do not talk in similar context. Men glorify power, efficiency and achievement. They do things to prove themselves, develop skills and strengths they have, define themselves by their ability to achieve results. Giving advice to a man without him asking for it might make him feel like he does not know what he is doing. Woman are quite the contrary, they appreciate communication, beauty and relationships. Their ideas of themselves are determined b their feelings and quality of the relationships, they feel fulfilled by participation, communicating and staying in touch. Which can maybe lead to woman getting more jobs in the service sector as they involve being chatty, social and having to face and d eal with customers. The different way of seeing things in a professional environment can lead to major miscommunication between the two genders. men and women approach communication with different interpretive frames. Where one may expect direct explicit statement, the other maybe expecting indirect expression. Not meaning men are direct and women are indirect when one expects directness and the other uses indirectness wrong interpretations and miscommunications will be the result. In a work environment if a boss who is male asks a worker who is female to finish a report he might be very direct and straight to the point while if it was a female boss she might choose her words more carefully and try not to be very pressuring if the job she asked for is not urgent. Paralanguage Sigmund Freud said He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore. The definition of paralanguage is non verbal means of communication such as one of voice, laughter and sometimes gestures and facial expressions that accompany speech and convey meaning. Silence can also be considered as a type of paralanguage, even when we say nothing we mean something. For example, when a teacher decides to stop speaking during a lecture because of the noise in the room waiting for the students to become conscious of the silence and start paying attention. In intercultural communication, paralanguage can be a bit puzzling. For example, Europeans interpret the loudness of Americans to aggressive behavior, while Americans might think the British are secretive because they talk quietly. Talking speed and the amount of silence in conversations also differ among cultures. The Japanese are comfortable having several pauses in their conversations, while Americans and many Arabic people are uncomfortable with any silence. Knowing this can help the work flow in a company go well without having workers and staff being offended and tense because you cannot change people and how they act you just have to adapt to the environment and accept change. Learning and understanding the language used between the staff and administration is very important as it reflects the strength and depth of the relationship between the administration and the teams that belong to it. Which can be shaken or changed by the interpretation or misinterpretation of that language, especially when the administrations exercises its power on employees. Knowing the meanings of words and sentences without knowing the meaning and cultural contextual use of each word is incomplete knowledge and the allegation that the foreign language learner does not need to know the cultural aspects contrasts with many goals of learning a foreign language.

Comparing the Character of Creon in Oedipus and Antigone :: Oedipus Antigone

Comparing the Character of Creon in Oedipus and Antigone Creon does not learn a lesson from Oedipus' accusatory behavior. Instead he adapts this bad personality trait. Throughout Antigone, he accuses everyone who tries to give him advice of betraying him. Whereas, in Oedipus, he is falsely accused by Oedipus of trying to take over the throne. This paper will compare and contrast his behavior and evaluate if he learned anything from one play to the next. Creon was seen in a different context in Oedipus compared to his character in Antigone. In Oedipus, he wanted nothing more than to help Oedipus rid the city of whatever plague the gods were hurling at them. Creon goes to Apollo's shrine to find out why the gods are angry and then brings Tiresias to help Creon see what has the gods angry. Oedipus does not want to believe the truths Tiresias is telling him and falsely accuses Creon of plotting against him to become king of Thebes. Creon is so hurt by this that he tells the chorus, "This accusation against me by our ruler Oedipus, It's outrageous. (514)" By the end of the play, Creon tells Oedipus that "I'm always as good as my word; I don't speak before I think(1520)." In Antigone, Creon becomes king of Thebes after Polynices and Eteocles commit fratricide in battle. Antigone commits her ‘crime of reverence(74)' by burying Polynices after a direct order from Creon dictating that everyone leave him on the ground, unburied. Creon first accuses the council of elders of being stupid and old (281) when they suggest that the gods were behind Polynices' burial. After this, he goes on a tirade against men who supposedly were not happy with his leadership and therefore paid off the watchmen to bury the body. Creon blames the watchman of burying the body for money and the watchman tells him that, "It's terrible when false judgment guides the judge (323)." After the Watchman comes back and tells Creon that they found Antigone burying Polynices' body a second time, Creon accuses Antigone of breaking the law. Antigone does not feel she has broken the law because she is obeying laws passed down from the gods and not Creon's man-made law. Creon is so angry that someone would disobey his edict that he orders Antigone to be buried alive and that Ismene be put to death also. Ismene had nothing to do with the crime but Creon blames her regardlessly.

Fashion Marketing of Sephora Essay

It is a member of LVMH group that surrounds the most influential indulgence brands from all over the world. Currently, it’s the retailer of perfumes and cosmetics in US and the second largest is in Europe. It also offers the latest beauty trends, tips from the experts and whole selection of creative gifts. Its commitment to excellence in quality and customer service and well trained and dedicated employees. Sephora’s targeting market: Females and Males of any age and race. Celebrities and socialites have a major impact on today’s society. When Sephora comes out with new products, trends and make up ideas they know that we cannot resist being that almost everyone in society strives for a flawless look. Sephora cosmetics have keen eye when on latest fashion trends when producing their products. They have such a keen eye because they know that as time goes on and generations past fashion changes. Sometimes fashion moves forward and sometimes the fashion of today are trends seen yesterday. Whichever way you look at it Sephora knows our lifestyles change so they make sure their products change to accommodate our way of living. Demographic factors: Race: All around the world you find and you see different people of different races, cultures and languages. Because of the diversity in our society Sephora makes products that go with all skin types. Age:Â   Sephora has a huge selection of make- up being that the ages of their customers range from 10 and up. For the younger generation, Sephora has a huge selection of Lip balms, lotions and nail polishes. For teens, Sephora has a huge selection of everything ranging from Lipstick, Lip-gloss, Blush, Eye shadow, and Mascara etc.

Eu – Russia Relations

Slide 3-4 The European Union and Russia have a strong trade relationship. Bilateral trade and investments continue to grow rapidly. Since 1997 the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement has been the framework of the EU-Russia relations, regulating the political and economic  relations between the EU and Russia. One of the main objectives of this agreement is the promotion of trade and investment as well as the development of harmonious economic relations between the EU and Russia. EU imports from Russia are, however, to a very large extent not subject to any restrictions.The recent WTO accession of Russia will prevent Russia from adopting unilateral tariff hikes as has been the case in the past. The new EU-Russia Agreement – currently under negotiation – should provide a comprehensive framework for bilateral relations with stable, predictable and balanced rules for bilateral trade and investment relations. It will focus on improving the regulatory environment by buildi ng upon the WTO rules and strengthen bilateral trade relations. The EU was a strong supporter of Russia's WTO membership since the start of the process to the actual accession on 22 August 2012.Russia's WTO membership will gives a major boost to further development of the economic relationship between the EU and Russia. Slide 5 Russia is the third trading partner of the EU and the EU the first trading partner of Russia. Trade between the two economies showed steep growth rates until mid-2008 when the trend was interrupted by the economic crisis and unilateral measures adopted by Russia that affected EU-Russia trade. Since 2010 mutual trade has resumed its growth reaching record levels in 2011. EU exports to Russia are dominated by cars, medicines, car parts, telephones and parts and tractors.EU imports from Russia are dominated by raw materials, in particular, oil (crude and refined) and gas. For these products, as well as for other important raw materials, Russia has committed to f reeze or reduce its export duties. The EU is the most important investor in the Russia. It is estimated that up to 75% of Foreign Direct Investment stocks in Russia come from EU Member States. Slide 6 Directions: 1) Energy sector 2) Human resources 3) FDI 4) Technologies Slide 7-8 Russia and the EU still disagree primarily over the issues surrounding the energy sector.Russia is the most important supplier to the EU not only in gas and oil, but also of coal and uranium. Its oil and gas exports account for around two thirds of overall export earnings and revenues from this sector, and this contributes to over forty percent of the federal budget income. On the other hand, the EU is a major buyer of energy products what makes the EU over-dependent on Russian oil and gas, which undermines the EU’s political confidence. This anxiety is a result of Russia’s efforts to use this insecurity not only for economic objectives, but also for political purposes what give a rise to con cern about future supply.The energy partnership within the  EU-Russia Energy Dialogue   aims at improving the investment opportunities in the energy sector to ensure continued energy production, to secure and expand transportation infrastructure as well as to reduce the environmental impact. Other important objectives are to encourage the opening up of energy markets, to facilitate the market penetration of more environmentally friendly technologies and energy resources, and to promote energy efficiency and energy savings on the way to a low-carbon economy.Slide 9 A well-educated but cheap labour force – could provide Europe with an important boost to its competitiveness as a complex global economy emerges. Russia offers access to a skilled and well-educated human resource pool, letting companies recruit where they work. Russia has one of the most highly skilled workforces in the world, backed by an educational system with a solid global reputation and producing professio nals who take up leading positions in areas such as natural and pplied sciences, programming, R&D, engineering, etc. (7th  in the world with 75 million workers, 99. 4% literacy rate, 41 Russian Nobel laureates) The government has begun implementing a program aimed at finding tomorrow’s leaders and providing priority support to them. Slide 10-11-12 Why? 2. One of the Largest  Consumer Markets 3. World-Renowned Human Capital Vast Natural Resources Unique Geographic Position Technologically Advanced Economy Attractive Taxation System Extensive Government Support Stable Social and Political SystemRussia has a relatively small share of the EU’s total external FDI, at 4%,but this is actually significantly more than China’s. Despite that, the EU is by far the largest investor in the Russian economy. On the other hand, it seems that a significant part of the FI inflows, and also of the recent increase, may be Russian capital repatriated from abroad. Services have re ceived between 50% and 60% of the total FI. Among the other sectors, natural resources and manufacturing attract roughly comparable amounts of FI (and close to their weights in Russia's GDP).But†¦ †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the share of the energy sector is larger in FDI (i. e. , without Portfolio and â€Å"Other Investments†). The share of the energy sector in the FDI inflows in the period 1Q-3Q 2007 seems to have been nearly 2/3 of the total. †¢EU MS seem to be among the largest investors in virtually allthe sectors of the Russian economy. In other terms, Russia performance is not as bad as one might expect, which is not to say that there are not areas for improvement. There are, and one such one is the legal framework .European Union accounts for 4/5  of  the accumulated direct investment in  Russia, and the amount of  capital investment in  absolute terms has grown significantly over the past few years European busi-ness community rated Russia third, while neither Asian nor North American investors included it  even in  the top dozen     According to  the calculations done by  the Institute of  World Economy and International Relations, the burgeoning Russian trans-national companies, despite their global inter-ests, have nevertheless concentrated 2/5  of  their long-term foreign assets in  the EU     According to  the new long-term forecast of  the Institute of  World Economy and International Relations, the share of  the  EU-27  in  the world’s  GDP (calculated by  the par index of  the purchasing power of  currencies) will go  down from 21%  in  2005  to 16%  in  2020  . This means that Russia’s  more forward-looking markets will be  not its traditional European partners but China and other large developing countries. Slide 14 Strong Russian scientific knowledge provides excellent opportunities for R;D partnerships with Russian research institutes and universitie s.While Russia possesses some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, some of them have become harder to recover. This is a great opportunity to introduce innovative technologies to develop new gas and oilfields. Additionally, critical technological areas are eligible for government co-financing on a competitive basis to facilitate research and development of innovative capabilities and leading technologies in: * Aerospace * Aviation * Shipbuilding * Automotive * Machinery * Metallurgy * Construction * Chemistry and pharmaceuticals * Nuclear physics * And many more. Interesting fact: Russia leads the world in the number of annual spacecraft launches.

The Crucible vs Real Life

The Salem Witch Trials were an extremely controversial period of time in our history. This was a time of suspicion and accusation of many innocent women and men that led to hysteria and complete turmoil in Salem Village. The Crucible portrays the Salem Witch Trials in a dramatic sense, but there are many similarities between the movie and the actual events. We can use these unusual events to compare to our own lives and learn from the mistakes of our past. I’ve found that although many differences are displayed between the movie and the actual events, the overall theme of The Crucible was accurate.One of the differences was the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. In the movie, their relationship had a much more intimate history than what actually occurred. They portrayed the pair to have had romantic relations, which created a very large shift in the plot of the movie. In real life, Proctor and Williams had no connection other than living in the same town b efore the witch trials. Also, another major difference was the character of Giles Corey. In the movie, he was pressed to death because he wouldn’t give up a name.In the actual events, Giles survived, but he was excommunicated from the church. He was very against the hangings that occurred, however, his name was re-entered onto the church scrolls in later years. The first similarity I noticed was the character of Reverend Hale. In the beginning, all he wanted was to use his church authority to help the people, but after the events got out of hand, he wanted nothing to do with the Salem Witch Trials. He was a large supporter of John Proctor. Another similarity was that all of this hysteria began in the home of Mr.Samuel Parris, involving his daughters and their friends after incidents of witchcraft in the woods. Arthur Miller, the director of The Crucible, used an â€Å"artistic license† to dramatize the events, and to make the overall movie more interesting to the viewe rs. Some may find this tactic unjust, however, I find that the changes he made didn’t display an inaccurate version of the Salem Witch Trials. The largest change that he made to the story was the love connection between Abigail Williams and John Proctor, and although that was untrue to theactual events, I found that it gave the movie an interesting twist. Besides the few differences, Miller stayed along the lines of the true story when it came to the actual hangings, character significances, and the tale of how the hysteria truly began along with who was primarily involved. When comparing the similarities and differences, numerous situations exist where the movie was spot on with the trials in 1692. Although there are significant differences, I believe that this did not take away from the historical facts, and that Miller properly used his artistic license.The severe lies and accusations which occurred in Salem during these trials appear so extreme that it would be impossible to compare to life today. However, recurrently in our modern day, it seems that some still haven’t learned from the mistakes of the past. Although not as severe as the hangings and false accusations that were shown in the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, the â€Å"breaking of charity† still proves to destroy friendships and relationships today. An example of this kind of situation could be a jealous friend starting a nasty rumour.Although it may seem harmless at first, the wildfire of gossip can travel even quicker the friend could imagine. If enough people believe and continue to spread the lie, this person could potentially lose many friends and have a lasting effect on their life, causing sadness and unjust treatment. Not to mention, the relationship between the victim and the rumour-starter would be severed until the situation is fully dissolved. Despite the fact that occurrences of this today rarely lead to death or the destruction of a close-knit town, the repercussions of lies can take a harsh effect on relationships to many people.In conclusion, the details of the actual Salem Trials and the movie The Crucible have many similarities and differences that are portrayed throughout history. I believe that Miller’s use of an â€Å"artistic license† is justifiable, and also think that the events of the witch trials can even compare to situations in life today. It’s possible to learn many lessons from this severe religious type of control, and many different opinions are portrayed throughout both the movie and the actual happenings.

The Many Sides of Odysseus throughout the Epic story of the Odyssey Essay

The Many Sides of Odysseus throughout the Epic story of the Odyssey - Essay Example In each and every adventure that befalls Odysseus we see various facets of his character and his wanderings are seen as stages in development of humanity as a whole. We learn about ourselves through Odysseus while realizing that each stage of our life is a learning exercise: we live as we learn. The Odyssey, a tale of Odysseus’ journey back home after long years at war is also the tale of his spiritual journey through his own soul. As Odysseus leaves Troy for home, he is the typical bloodthirsty warrior. He leaves Troy feeling almost immortal and this pride is what leads to his downfall. In the course of his journey, Odysseus undergoes a symbolic death and rebirth and in the end becomes an epic hero regaining power over his household and has restored order to his life. Upon his arrival in Ithaca, it is evident that he has become a wiser man- more humble and more respectful. Homer skillfully inter-relates adventures, feelings and experiences of his characters. The vivid description and expressive language make the reading understandable to any age and social group. Even though the story is mythical, filled with ghosts, monsters and giants, the main themes can be interrelated with today’s issues of scheming, cunning, struggle for survival, race New facets of Odysseus’ character are revealed through each of his adventures. After Odysseus and his men depart from Troy, they land in Ismara. After looting the city Odysseus wisely tells his men to board the ships quickly, but they pay no heed and the next morning, the crew is attacked by the Ciconians. Odysseus manages to escape with tears in his eyes for his lost crew. â€Å"But Odysseus, clutching his flaring sea-blue cape in both powerful hands, drew it over his head and buried his handsome face† He does not disclose his identity to the Ciconians showing that he is capable of thinking ahead of his opponent displaying his superior

Rhetoric of the Image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetoric of the Image - Essay Example The image may be frank or empathetic depending on the user and the message needed to be passed across (269). To understand and get the meaning of the image in a piece of work, knowledge of signs is important especially in the advertising field. Any image may denote a coded message, a linguistic message, or a non-coded iconic message and require a lot of reading to separate the meaning. The image may contain a cultural and a perpetual message in which the image has the literal meaning as depicted by the symbols. The linguistic message forms images that do not contain any words, and one would need to revisit illiterate societies to get the pictographic meaning of the image. For example, the appearance of a book cover is an image with a lot of meanings and may depict some of the information contained in the book (273). The linguistic message is present in almost all the images especially in the field of mass communication such as the title, caption, and comic strip. There are two functions of the linguistic message in the iconic message, which are the anchorage and the relay. All images contain signs that the reader need to choose while ignoring others as in every society there are various techniques to resolve various signs. The linguistic message is one of the techniques to counter the challenge. For symbolic messages, linguistic does not play any part in the identification but can aid in the interpretation to give a meaning of the image. In other cases, the anchorage may be ideological suc h as in Advertisements and its purpose is to direct the readers and enable them to avoid some and receive other through dispatching them. Anchorage is very common in press photographs and advertisements in which the function of the relay is not common such as in cartoons and comic strips (274). The denoted image allows for the distinction between the literal message and the symbolic