German Holidays and Customs in May

The first day in the lovely month of May (Camelot) is a national holiday in Germany, Austria, and most of Europe. International Workers Day is observed in many countries around the globe on May 1. But there are other German May customs that reflect the end of winter and the arrival of warmer days. Tag der Arbeit - 1. Mai Oddly, the widespread custom of celebrating Labor Day on the first of May (am ersten Mai) was inspired by events in the United States, one of the few countries that do not observe Labor Day in May! In 1889, a congress of world socialist parties was held in Paris. The attendees, sympathizing with striking workers in Chicago in 1886, voted to support the United States labor movements demands for an 8-hour day. They selected May 1, 1890, as a day of commemoration for the Chicago strikers. In many countries around the world May 1 became an official holiday called Labor Day—but not in the U.S., where that holiday is observed on the first Monday in September. Historically the holiday has had special importance in socialist and communist countries, which is one reason it is not observed in May in America. The U.S. federal holiday was first observed in 1894. Canadians also have observed their Labor Day since September 1894. In Germany, May Day (erster Mai, May 1st) is a national holiday and an important day, partly because of Blutmai (bloody May) in 1929. That year in Berlin the ruling Social Democratic (SPD) party had banned the traditional workers demonstrations. But the KPD (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) called for demonstrations anyway. The resulting bloodbath left 32 people dead and at least 80 seriously injured. It also left a big split between the two workers parties (KPD and SPD), which the Nazis soon used to their advantage. The National Socialists named the holiday Tag der Arbeit (Day of Labor), the name still used in Germany today. Unlike the U.S. observance, which cuts across all classes, Germanys Tag der Arbeit and most European Labor Day observances are primarily a working-class holiday. In recent years Germanys chronic high unemployment (Arbeitslosigkeit, over 5 million in 2004) also comes into focus each May. The holiday also tends to be a day of Demos that often turn into clashes between the demonstrators (more like hooligans) and the police in Berlin and other large cities. If the weather allows, nice, law-abiding people use the day for picnicking or relaxing with the family. Der Maibaum In Austria and many parts of Germany, especially in Bavaria, the tradition of raising a Maypole (Maibaum) on May 1 still serves to welcome spring—as it has since ancient times. Similar Maypole festivities also can be found in England, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. A Maypole is a tall wooden pole made from a tree trunk (pine or birch), with colorful ribbons, flowers, carved figures, and various other decorations adorning it, depending on the location. In Germany, the name Maibaum (May tree) reflects the custom of placing a small pine tree atop the Maypole, which is usually set up in a towns public square or village green. Traditional dances, music, and folk customs are often associated with the Maypole. In small towns virtually the entire population turns out for the ceremonial raising of the Maypole and the festivities that follow, with Bier und Wurst of course. In Munich, a permanent Maibaum stands at the Viktualienmarkt. Muttertag Mothers Day is not celebrated at the same time around the world, but Germans and Austrians observe Muttertag on the second Sunday in May, just as in the U.S. Learn more on our Mothers Day page. Walpurgis Walpurgis Night  (Walpurgisnacht), the night before May Day, is similar to  Halloween  in that it has to do with supernatural spirits. And like Halloween, Walpurgisnacht is of pagan origin. The bonfires seen in todays celebration reflect those pagan origins and the human desire to drive away the winter cold and welcome spring. Celebrated mainly in Sweden, Finnland, Estonia, Latvia, and Germany,  Walpurgisnacht  gets its name from Saint Walburga (or Walpurga), a woman born in what is now England in 710.  Die  Heilige  Walpurga  traveled to Germany and became a nun at the convent of Heidenheim in Wà ¼rttemberg. Following her death in 778 (or 779), she was made a saint, with May 1 as her saint day. In Germany, the  Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, is considered the focal point of  Walpurgisnacht. Also known as the  Blocksberg, the 1142-meter peak is often shrouded in mist and clouds, lending it a mysterious atmosphere that has contributed to its legendary status as the home of witches (Hexen) and devils (Teufel). That tradition predates the mention of the witches gathering on the Brocken in Goethes: To the Brocken the witches ride... (Die Hexen  zu  dem Brocken  ziehn...) In its Christian version, the former pagan festival in May became Walpurgis, a time to drive out evil spirits—usually with loud noises. In Bavaria Walpurgisnacht is known as  Freinacht  and resembles Halloween, complete with youthful pranks.

The Conquests Of Alexander The Great - 1341 Words

Introduction The conquests of Alexander the Great ushered in a new era in the political and cultural history of the Near East. In their wake, both the Jews of Judaea and their brethren in a rapidly expanding diaspora were subjected to radical forces of social and cultural change. These changes, effected by the introduction of Greek culture into the lands of the Near East that led to the emergence of the phenomenon commonly known as Hellenism, greatly transcended the purely political vicissitudes that were destined to envelop this part of the inhabited world. One of the striking features of Second Temple history is the fact that most Jews, not only in the Diaspora but in Palestine as well, never experienced complete Jewish sovereignty. The†¦show more content†¦A Jewish diaspora was already in existence from the late seventh century: Jews had been deported to the Babylonian area at least as early as 597, and Jeremiah 52 speaks of two more deportations, in 587/586 and about 582 BCE. As for Egypt, at least one colony existed ay Elephantine, probably from the seventh century. This continued, with Jews emigrating or being forcibly taken to Egypt in the period of the Diadochi. The result is that by the early Hellenistic period a considerable Jewish diaspora existed, with Jews living in Egypt and Mesopotamia and later in Asia Minor, as well as Syria and Palestine. The people bore the name of ‘Jews’ (Greek) after their ancestral homeland of Judah. The Ptolemaic Period 320 - 198 BC The 40 years of fighting after Alexander’s death finally came to an end with the death of the main protagonists by the year 280 BCE. Much of the third century BCE was dominated by the Syrian wars. These constituted an ongoing conflict between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires over Syro-Palestine. As noted in the previous chapter, the council of visitors after the battle of Ipsus (301 BCE) had awarded this region to Seleucus because Ptolemy had not participated in the battle; however, Ptolemy occupied the area up to the Eleutherus river, north of Tripolis, and refused to concede the territory. In 301 BCE Ptolemy took Palestine once more and this time Egypt retained it for the nextShow MoreRelatedAlexander the Great Conquest848 Words   |  4 Pages Alexander the Greats Distribution of Culture Someone who has abilities above the normal or average person is considered great. In this case, were talking about Alexander the infamous Greek invader. Alexander the Great was a man of conquest and curiosity. By the age of twenty he had already conquered many of his local Grecian city states and had established himself as a leader. His desire to conquer and explore grew as he aged. As he travelled he took along with him the morals and customs ofRead MoreThe Conquests and Legacy of Alexander the Great Essay860 Words   |  4 PagesAlexander III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, is one of the most legendary figures in our history and in the history of the world. His conquests and endeavors echoed far and wide, bringing about new eras and ideas to the world. Alexander earned his place in the world’s history and is worthy of the title ‘The Great’ because of his military prowess, his idealism and his legacy. During the course of his life and reign, Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeatingRead MoreAlexander the Great (his relationship with his father; how he came to power; his conquests)1733 Words   |  7 PagesAlexander the Great, king of Macedonia, accomplished much in his lifetime. He added many new lands to his vast empire including Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Sogdiana, and part of India. 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Today Arrian’s â€Å"The Campaigns of Alexander,† is considered one of his greatest pieces of work and is recognized historicallyRead MoreAlexander The Great Of The Russian E mpire969 Words   |  4 PagesThere are few topics in history that garner more attention and study than Alexander the Great. Almost everyone in the western world has heard of Alexander in school, books, or in other cultural depictions. However, his effect on the history of the world cannot be overstated. Alexander’s empire had an effect on people from the Balkans to Egypt, and from Babylon to India. His empire resolved the long standing conflict between the Persians and Greeks, established multiple cities across the Middle EastRead MoreAlexander The Great : Alexander The Great And The Persian Empire930 Words   |  4 PagesAlexander the Great was skilled and respected military leader. After inheriting the throne from his father, King Philip II, Alexander would go on to conquer the Persian Empire, unite Greece and spread Hellenistic views across Greece. Alexander being the son of a king was born into royalty. In fact, he had the pleasure of having the great Aristotle as his teacher. It was Aristotle’s job to teach Alexander what he need to know in order to later conquer the Persian Empire and to teach him the importanceRead MoreAlexander the Great 1370 Words   |  6 PagesAlexander was born around 356 B.C. His mother was of royal lineage, as was his father, Philip II. When Alexander was fourteen, he studied under the Athenian philosopher, Aristotle. Perhaps no culture has ever produced a greater mind than Aristotle’s. So searching and profound was Aristotle’s work that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries A.D. much of the Christian church regarded his teachings as being divinely inspired. No subject was untouched by his contemplation. Philosophy, botany, geographyRead MoreAlexander the Great Summary 16861 Words   |  4 PagesAlexander the Great Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Even at an early age, Alexander had the promise to become a great leader. Through all his victories and conquests, he has become a great hero and has had a large impact on history. That is why I chose he book Alexander the Great, by J.R. Hamilton for my review. Hamilton does a very good job with the story of Alexander the Great. The bookRead MoreAlexander The Great : The Characters Of Alexander The Great1222 Words   |  5 PagesFrom the beginning of his short-lived life in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, Alexander the Great was immensely affected by the traits of his mother, father, and tutor. Philip II, king of Macedonia and Alexander’s father, was a man of great strategic ability, and gave Alexander practice in military leadership. This experience and knowledge passed down from his father became useful during his conquest across Europe. Olympias, one of Philip II’s wives and Alexander’s mother, had incredibly strongRead MoreHayden Hawkinson . Mrs. Heflin. English 6 - 6. March 2,1143 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish 6 - 6 March 2, 2017 Alexander the Great â€Å"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.† Alexander the Great is the smartest and fiercest military leader that has ever lived. His military wisdom and fierceness led him to being a great leader of Greece, conquering all of Asia Minor, conquering the Persian empire, and ruling the biggest empire the world had ever seen before 334 BC. This led him to being a great Greek leader, being a fierce

ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students

Question: Discuss about the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students. Answer: Introduction: IT has been able to bring a change in the field like the internet, e-commerce and helps in processing the data management. This will also help in bringing a change to the life of an individuals, where there is computer programmer, software developers and the other experts in different technology to work towards the development. (Dell et al., 2016). For the business, IT is able to cover a proper understanding where there are own unique set of equipment to handle the economy, small business with proper usage of the office tools. Here, the marketing standards are set to improve the productivity of the system. The emergency with the computing load on LAN helps in connecting the different people. With growth, it is seen that companies find simple and cheap methods to move towards the better copy versions of software. Some of the emerging technologies are based on the competitive advantage which includes the closed ecological systems, precision agriculture with proper research and development. In IT, it is seen that they are for the data productivity applications and creating new efficiencies. The competitive advantage with the inter connection helps in emerging with the technological change and offering the hope for the human conditions. (Dahlstrom et al., 2016). What is Enterprise Architecture? This is related to the conceptual blueprints which includes the structure and the operation of the organisation management. The focus is mainly on how the organisation is able to effectively handle and achieve the different objectives. The major advantage of this is the improved decision making and improved adaptability to the changing needs and the demands of the market conditions. The elimination of any insufficient and the redundant processes, with optimisation leads to proper use of the organisational assets and also minimise the turnover of the employee. The proper analysis through the business, information, and the process where the technology changes are important for proper execution of the strategies. (Lloyd, 2017). Through this, there are other business structure which includes the effectiveness, efficiency, agility and the durability. The risks include the hardware and the software failure, human error, spam, virus and the malicious attacks or any form of the natural disaster. Hence, it is very important to manage the data so that all the risks could be reduced with the development of the response plan under the event of the IT crisis. Reference Dahlstrom, E., Bichsel, J. (2016).ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology. Research report. Louisville, CO: ECAR, October 2014. Disponvel em https://www. educause. edu/ecar Acesso em: 22 fev. Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., Petroff, J. G. (2016).Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities management. Pearson. Lloyd, I. (2017).Information technology law. Oxford University Press.

My Stage free essay sample

Ladies and gentlemen, the first place in the speech contest goes to Alice Tzou, the principal announced. I saw my entire class celebrating and hugging one another. Again, I had won, just like other speech, debate, and essay contests. As a ninth grader in Taiwan, I had delivered the best speech to six thousand people in an auditorium. I was a leader, a star, receiving the applause of those who knew me, swaggering upon my shining stage. Suddenly, in September 1994, I was dropped into the U.S. where I could not speak to even six people at a time, since I did not know much English. I was not even able to go to a fast-food restaurant because I did not know what and how to order. Having lost my spotlight, I entered tenth grade silently, no longer a star but a frustrated member of the audience, clapping for other people. We will write a custom essay sample on My Stage or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One day in a dance class in my new school in this new country, I was grouped by the teacher with two other girls. As I was introducing myself, one of the girls said to me, Go away! You wouldnt know what we are saying. How I managed to get away from them without losing face I cannot recall. All I remember is that in those days, as soon as the bell rang I would run home and cry. I was made fun of and ostracized. I did not want to talk; I did not dare. With my self-confidence drowned, my social skills lost, and my sense of humor gone, I could not breathe. But I knew I could not give up. I absorbed as much English as I could. Two years later, as a senior in high school, I find myself backstage already a substantial move from being in the audience. I write for my high school newspaper, I participate in Forensics, Drama, and the Select Choir, speaking and singing as loudly as everyone else. Being a competitive student with a built-in momentum and a thirst of learning, I am encouraged, yet not completely satisfied with the book award given to me by The 21st Century for the most improvement in English, nor with a perfect score in voice solo by New York School Music Association. I am getting ready to perform on stage again. The most important step on my way toward the footlights was the Harvard Summer Session I attended in 1996. The atmosphere allowed me to meet students from all over the world. I learned that as long as my heart is open to anything and anyone, I will be happy. I made good friends through whom I rediscovered my sense of humor; I was able to laugh again and to make others laugh. I proved to myself as well as to others that I found my old self the confident, the victorious. College, I hope, will be another dazzling stage for me to strut upon.

American Genre Painting essays

American Genre Painting essays American genre painting can invariably be equated with prominent names such as John Singleton Copley, Washington Allston, and William Sydney Mount. Throughout our history genre painting has been a male-dominated scene. This notion not only applies to the artist, but also to the context of many famous genre paintings. However, as time progressed, women began to play a larger role in genre painting; both as artists and subjects. In an article entitled "Full of Home, Love and Simplicity," Elizabeth Johns discusses women's role in genre painting both as artist and subject. Regarding the subject, Johns addresses several patterns in the female role. The first being that women are absent in many historically important genre paintings. Likewise, when women are present, they play a "subsidiary" role, as in the painting "Bargaining for a Horse" by William Sydney Mount. Mount's painting depicts two men conversing next to a horse in the foreground while the only woman in the painting is placed in the far background, barely noticeable. Furthermore, Johns feels that in some cases images of women in genre paintings are even critical. Using a second Mount painting titled "Cider Making," Johns argues that the female in line for cider is seemingly "forced to wait her turn." In addition to these patterns, Johns noted the idea of "separate spheres" proposed by Harriet Martineau, a famous 19th-century writer. These spheres represent ideologies of masculinity and femininity. Johns feels that women are "undifferentiated" in many genre paintings. These include two works by William Sydney Mount entitled "Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride" and "The Sportsman's Last Visit." In both paintings, Johns claims that the women are painted plainly and without character, while the men are distinctly portrayed. Although these patterns were evident in many famous works, they began to subside by the late 1840's. It was around this time that painters such as Tomp...

Learn About the Geography of the Middle Eastern Country of Pakistan

Learn About the Geography of the Middle Eastern Country of Pakistan Pakistan,  officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is located in the   Middle East  near the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It is bordered by  Afghanistan,  Iran,  India,  and  China. Pakistan is also very close to Tajikistan, but the two countries are separated by the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. The country has the sixth largest population in the world and the second largest  Muslim population  in the world after Indonesia.  The country is divided into  four provinces, one territory, and one capital territory for local administration. Pakistan Basic Facts First, here are the basics: Population: 204,924,861  (July 2017 estimate)Capital: IslamabadBordering Countries: Afghanistan, Iran, India,  and ChinaLand Area: 307,374 square miles (796,095 sq km)Coastline: 650 miles (1,046 km)Highest Point: K2 at 28,251 feet (8,611 m)Largest cities:  Karachi (15.4 million), Lahore (11.7 million), Faisalabad (3.3 million), Rawalpindi (2.2 million),  and  Gujranwala (2.1 million)Language: Urdu (official language) but English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baloch, Hindko,  Barhui,  and Saraiki are also spokenLife expectancy: 66 years for men and 70 years for women Geography and Climate of Pakistan Pakistan has a varied topography that consists of the flat, Indus plain in the east and the Balochistan plateau in the west. In addition, the Karakoram Range, one of the worlds highest mountain ranges, is in the north and northwest part of the country. The worlds second highest mountain,  K2, is also within Pakistans borders, as is the famous 38-mile (62 km) Baltoro Glacier. This glacier is considered one of the longest glaciers outside of the Earths polar regions. The climate of Pakistan varies with its topography, but most of it consists of hot, dry desert, while the northwest is temperate. In the mountainous north,  though, the climate is harsh and considered  Arctic. Economics and Land Use in Pakistan Pakistan is considered a developing nation and as such it has a highly underdeveloped economy. This is largely because of its decades of political instability and a lack of foreign investment. Textiles are Pakistans main export, but it also has industries that include food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer,  and shrimp. Agriculture in Pakistan includes cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, milk, beef, mutton,  and eggs.  Resources include natural gas reserves and limited petroleum. Urban vs. Rural Just over one-third of the population lives in urban areas (36.7 percent), though that number is increasing slightly. Most of the population lives in the areas near the Indus River and its tributaries, with Punjab the most densely populated province.   Earthquakes Pakistan is situated above two tectonic plates, the Eurasian and Indian plates, their motion making the country primarily a site of major strike-slip earthquakes. Earthquakes above 5.5 on the Richter scale are relatively common. Their location in relation to population centers determines whether there will be extensive loss of life. For example, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake January 18, 2010, in southwest Pakistan, didnt cause any fatalities, but another in the same province that came in at a 7.7 in September 2013 killed more than 800. Four days later another 400 were killed in the province in a 6.8 magnitude quake. The worst in recent memory was in Kashmir in the north in October 2005. It measured 7.6, killed 80,000, and left 4 million homeless. More than 900 aftershocks rolled on afterward for almost three weeks.   Sources Central Intelligence Agency. CIA: The World Factbook: Pakistan. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html. Dawn. Timeline of major earthquakes in Pakistan: 1971-2018. https://www.dawn.com/news/1215521.

Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Branding - Essay Example The TBI magazine is sold by the vendors who are homeless in UK (Big Issue, 2013d). Brand Audit A brand audit is conducted to examine the current strategic position of the company, identify the areas which are of additional value and suggest recommendations to improve the brand image of the company. A brand audit is conducted periodically by the management of the company to assess the market position of the company and that of its competitors. The study will conduct a brand audit of the TBI magazine to understand its current market position and suggest ways to strengthen its brand image further. Brand Score Card Firstly, The Brand Score Card would be conducted to measure the performance of TBI. The four major dimensions of the scorecard would be functional performance, convenience of access of the products, brand personality and pricing of the product (Pfoertsch and Kotler, 2006). Functional Performance TBI is the only street entertainment magazine in UK; it provides employment opport unities, financial assistance and housing facilities to the homeless people of UK. Apart from being a magazine seller, TBI also acts a charitable organization accepting donations from individual for providing facilities for the homeless people. Currently, the TBI magazine provides employment opportunities to more than 2000 homeless people of UK. ... TBI is solely dependent on charitable donations made by individuals, other charitable organizations, corporations, government etc. Since, the operations of TBI are solely based on the donations the company does not have the opportunity to expand its activities further. Being a social organization TBI does not lay special emphasis on the logo, brand ambassador, packaging and promotional activities. The organization is supported extensively by various other charitable organizations, government etc for funding purposes. For example GISDA has decided to collaborate with TBI to help the homeless people especially aged between 16 to 25 years old (Big Issue, 2013a). Pricing Value Component The magazine is bought at a price of 75 pence by the vendors and sold for ?1.50 making a profit of 50 percent per issue. It is one of the least expensive entertainment magazines of UK (O2, 2010). The minimum value of donating money to TBI is ?10 which is deducted through SMS facility of the donor. Quantit ative &Qualitative Brand Elements Profitability TBI is a social enterprise which aims at providing monetary and non monetary benefits to the homeless people of UK and the main objective of the organization is not to yield profits. The organization runs most of its operation through donations. As per the annual report of TBI in the year 2012 the organization received voluntary donations and statutory grants of ?1273475 (Big Issue, 2013b). The organization incurred an expenditure of ?112008; the received donation was spent providing financial, housing, legal and health benefits to the homeless people (Big Issue, 2013b). A certain proportion of the money is spent on the up gradation of the

Why Many International Students Get a Failing Grade in Academic Essay

Why Many International Students Get a Failing Grade in Academic Integrity and Plagiarism from a Cross-Cultural Perspective - Essay Example As the paper outlines, there are many causes of the plagiarism that can be categorized as intentional or unintentional.   This becomes a problem because most of those who commit plagiarism are international students which James Bradshaw and Tamara Baluja have anecdotally set the figure at over 50% that makes up about 12 percent of the total student body at U of T (2011).   This is a serious issue because plagiarism is considered as a serious infraction in Western universities that has a consequence that ranges from the reminder to expulsion. There are a number of reasons cited for committing plagiarism as well as solutions to minimize and avoid similar occurrences in the future. This paper will compare the various solutions presented to minimize plagiarism such as language tutorials, familiarization with academic expectation and taking the online quiz and from among these solutions will evaluate the most tenable option for international students. Often, plagiarism is committed by international students not because they intend to â€Å"cheat or steal one’s idea and claiming it as one’s own† but rather unintentional. This is attributed more to cultural differences rather than the blatant intention to cheat. Western students are more accustomed to their native individualist culture and language it, therefore, it is easier for them to adapt and express their own thoughts in their native language and to be critical with the paper that they are doing. This is entirely different from foreign students. First, they have to struggle with the language that they are not accustomed to and their vocabularies are often lacking. Second, there is a huge difference in the perception of among foreign students about what constitutes cheating in an academic setting. Take for example the case of Middle Eastern students as exemplified by Magied Also, an international student from Saudi Arabia and President of the International Students Association at St. Clou d State University who articulated the cultural differences of Saudi Arabian students with western students that puts them in trouble; I think people in Saudi Arabia are very close to each other and so we grow up helping each other. It’s a good thing, but it becomes a problem for Saudis in the U.S. We often get out of an exam and share questions with others and we think it’s a common thing because we grow up in a society that tells us to share things and wish the best for your friends. In Saudi Arabia, your accomplishments are not recorded by your name, but by your tribe or family. For instance, when a guy from Najran succeeds, it’s considered as a success for the whole city. In the U.S. this is not the case (Al Jamiat, nd). This is a classic example of what is the virtue in a certain cultural context is a misdemeanor in another’s. Saudis typify the Middle Eastern sense of community to share and help each other but this does not sit well in the west espec ially during exams. Also, there is a misdemeanor shared by almost all international students – that is their tendency to mug and mimic a teacher’s words in their academic works without proper citation. Middle East students, as well as Indians, believe that the more they take notes of what the teacher says, the higher their chance of getting good grades. Asians are more notorious in this aspect because culturally, they are very respectful of figureheads especially teachers that the non-use of their teacher’s words and language would constitute disrespect.

Executive Summary Essay Example for Free

Executive Summary Essay Posted by Petra at 1:43 PM No comments: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 9. Pricing Price is the amount of money a buyer has to sacrifice in order to get what he/she wants. Pampers tends to make their products available to wide range of customers, so their price must also be affordable, reasonable and relatively low. Ive already mentioned that Pampers makes constant improvements of the products, but also of the production process with new technology. That makes possible lowering of the price with no back step in the products quality. PG generally uses the strategy of price reductions on recognized brands, cost control throught the organization, and introduction of economy-priced products worldvide. Pampers often uses price promotion mix by giving coupons and temporary discounts to generate higher sales. Price promotion mix is generally used to reinforce the basic price mix which includes fixed prices and terms of payment, whereas price promotion mix represents additional reductions in order to tempt customer to buy. For example, Pampers coupons are given in some stores on the register when a customer buys competitors products This is a way in encouraging potential customers to join the crew and discouraging them in buying competitors products! Pampers also uses non monetary promotions in order to avoid contractions in customers quality perception and to enhance brand loyalty. Pampers must be careful with its pricing decisions because the demand for diapers is relatively elastic nowadays. That means that sudden change of prices can decrease the demand in the extent that higher profits wouldnt be able of covering that. The biggest cause of this sensitive situation is the presence of competition with similar, slightly differentiated products.

Serendipity and Great Expectations :: Movies Films Love Fate Essays

Serendipity and Great Expectations Directed by Alfonso Cuarà ³n and written by Mitch Glazer, Great Expectations is a movie about the love of a man for an unreachable woman, and how fate ultimately brings them together. Serendipity directed by Peter Chelsom, is a more predictable romantic comedy that relies on destiny to bring a couple together, after the many coincidences that linked them to one another. Serendipity and Great Expectations both revolve around life’s great coincidences due to fate, and how their characters indulge in the direction fate leads them. Loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ classic novel, Great Expectations is a tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who undeniably changed his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, Great Expectations takes a unique and contemporary look at life's great coincidences. In a small Florida town on the Gulf Coast, eight-year-old Finn Bell lives with his sister Maggie and his "Uncle" Joe. They barely scrape by, but aspiring artist Finn enjoys his simple life, drawing pictures in the colorful Gulf waters. Finn's journey to adulthood begins suddenly with the shocking appearance of a dangerous convict who forces the boy to aid in his escape from prison. With this experience still freshly etched in his mind, Finn is summoned to the decaying mansion of Ms. Nora Dinsmoor, the richest woman in the gulf, who had lost her mind thirty years earlier when her fiancà © left her standing at the altar. There, Finn meets Dinsmoor's niece Estella, who, even at age 11, displays an upper class iciness toward the young, impoverished boy who instantly and hopelessly falls in love with her. Finn's meetings with Estella and her crazed, wealthy aunt fuel new dreams: to paint for the rich, to enjoy their freedom, and to love Estella. Once Ms. Dinsmoor realizes Finn is there for his love for Estella, she warns him that Estella will break his heart. The crazed woman's warnings become Finn's harshest reality when Estella abrupt ly leaves without saying goodbye. A hopeless Finn stops painting, stops dreaming ... until a mysterious benefactor sends the now grown young man to New York. Pursuing his dreams in the glamorous world of the New York art scene, the once-poor artist seems to finally have it all; wealth, status, fame and a reunion with the newly engaged Estella. Serendipity and Great Expectations :: Movies Films Love Fate Essays Serendipity and Great Expectations Directed by Alfonso Cuarà ³n and written by Mitch Glazer, Great Expectations is a movie about the love of a man for an unreachable woman, and how fate ultimately brings them together. Serendipity directed by Peter Chelsom, is a more predictable romantic comedy that relies on destiny to bring a couple together, after the many coincidences that linked them to one another. Serendipity and Great Expectations both revolve around life’s great coincidences due to fate, and how their characters indulge in the direction fate leads them. Loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ classic novel, Great Expectations is a tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who undeniably changed his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, Great Expectations takes a unique and contemporary look at life's great coincidences. In a small Florida town on the Gulf Coast, eight-year-old Finn Bell lives with his sister Maggie and his "Uncle" Joe. They barely scrape by, but aspiring artist Finn enjoys his simple life, drawing pictures in the colorful Gulf waters. Finn's journey to adulthood begins suddenly with the shocking appearance of a dangerous convict who forces the boy to aid in his escape from prison. With this experience still freshly etched in his mind, Finn is summoned to the decaying mansion of Ms. Nora Dinsmoor, the richest woman in the gulf, who had lost her mind thirty years earlier when her fiancà © left her standing at the altar. There, Finn meets Dinsmoor's niece Estella, who, even at age 11, displays an upper class iciness toward the young, impoverished boy who instantly and hopelessly falls in love with her. Finn's meetings with Estella and her crazed, wealthy aunt fuel new dreams: to paint for the rich, to enjoy their freedom, and to love Estella. Once Ms. Dinsmoor realizes Finn is there for his love for Estella, she warns him that Estella will break his heart. The crazed woman's warnings become Finn's harshest reality when Estella abrupt ly leaves without saying goodbye. A hopeless Finn stops painting, stops dreaming ... until a mysterious benefactor sends the now grown young man to New York. Pursuing his dreams in the glamorous world of the New York art scene, the once-poor artist seems to finally have it all; wealth, status, fame and a reunion with the newly engaged Estella.

Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma

http://accrualperspective. wordpress. com/2012/10/10/zyngas-revenue-recognition-dilemma/ Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma Leave a reply Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma Zynga has been the focus of a highly disputed topic on bookings and revenues as of late. Unfortunately for the online gaming company, many accountants and financial analysts are not in Zynga’s favor on the way that the company has been recognizing revenues. To put the company in perspective, there are 26 million digital farmers via the vastly rampant FarmVille application run by Zynga.In the popular game, Facebook users build farms to produce crops and create the kind of productivity that they desire. This creates the need for virtual, heavy equipment, such as tractors, seeders and harvesters, all which can be bought with FarmVille Currency. Zynga makes money by allowing users to hurry the process by converting real dollars from their credit cards into the virtual currency necessary to get t he equipment they need to get the job done. Like FarmVille, Zynga has users across a variety of applications such as CityVille, Words with Friends, and Mafia Wars, all of which using the same models.This type of unique revenue however provokes a unique question; that is, how is Zynga supposed to report revenues from these products that they’ve offered? According to the company’s 10-k report, it’s policies on reporting states that: * â€Å"For the sale of consumable virtual goods, we recognize revenue as the goods are consumed† * â€Å"We recognize revenue from the sale of durable virtual goods ratably over the estimated average playing period of paying players for the applicable game, which represents our best estimate of the average life of our durable virtual goods† And perhaps the most important: â€Å"If we do not have the ability to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods for a specific game, we recognize revenue from the sale of durable and consumable virtual goods for that game ratably over the estimated average period that paying players typically play our games† This type of financial reporting is simply too confusing and leaves the door open for too much alteration within the reports. Also, this type of unpredictable reporting technique allows the company to skew bottom-line profits and maneuver their earnings to reflect an untrue valuation of the company’s worth.These types of manipulations are especially alarming to users of the financials who are looking to invest in a company that appears to be growing, when in reality it is altering production numbers with every consecutive quarter. In regards to the revenue recognition dispute, the way their accountants estimate average periods that paying players actually play the Zynga games must be validated. In a recent article by Bloomberg’s Cory Johnson, he notes that Zynga has made changes to these e stimates five of the last six quarters. These changes made drastically effect the net profits that Zynga is reporting to the public.By taking the estimate and distorting it, they are able to report profits when indeed there are none. It is curious that the auditor assigned to Zynga, Ernst & Young, has allowed this method of accounting to be implemented when clearly it is affecting the bottom line. It is also curious that E&Y is also the auditor for the Zynga’s distributor, Facebook whose Zynga profits have accounted for roughly 12% of its revenue. This â€Å"independence† (or lack there of) calls into question the true authenticity behind these reporting standards and what they mean to the accounting profession as well as financial statement users world-wide.At any rate, this is a topic that needs to be brought to light, discussed and ruled upon. Zynga cannot merely go on reporting as they wish to provoke the appearance of a success while the true profits and losses go unnoticed. http://blogs. smeal. psu. edu/grumpyoldaccountants/archives/746#more-746 http://articles. businessinsider. com/2011-10-12/research/30269486_1_zynga-virtual-goods-bookings http://www. forbes. com/sites/francinemckenna/2012/04/23/how-zynga-facebook-and-groupons-go-to-auditor-rewrites-accounting-rules/

Into the Wild Analysis

In the book, â€Å"Into the Wild† by Christopher McCandless's, is a true story about a young man name Emory who was found dead in the Alaskan wilderness in September 1992. Anyhow, McCandless is a senior at Emory. He has driven away most of his friends, and barely keeps in touch with his parents.He lets his parents think that he is interested in law school, but instead, after graduating with honors, he donates his $25,000 savings to charity, gets in his car, and drives away without telling anyone where he is going, abandoning the use of his real name along the way.His plan was to get away from city life, to be with nature. Shaun Callarman said that â€Å"I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance.I don't admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy.† I have to say that I agree with Shaun.I agree with Shaun because McCandless didn’t look ahead of his future. Instead he just threw himself into the wind. Which can be good sometimes but in this case it was a poorly decision. I don’t think McCandless took the time to think about basic essentials like food, health, clothes, safety and loneliness.I believe he was so driven by the anger of his dad, having a second family that he just wanting to escape that. I mean, a lot of people go through things like this; sometimes even worst.Likewise, I don’t see them throwing themselves into nature like that. Very foolish! It would have been okay if he had made back safely or was better prepare to do this; but he wasn’t. Therefore he die because in late July, McCandless eats some moldy seeds and the mold contains a poison that essentially causes him to starve to death.No matter how much he ate, he was to too weak to gather food . McCandless was quickly incapacitated by the po ison. If he had known his information about nature and knew that the seeds were dangerous, he probably still would have been alive longer.One thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was, those whom he tells about the plan all warn him that he needs to be better prepared, or should wait until later in the spring. Thus, being stubborn he still went on and did he own  thing.He was being hardheaded, which I feel like it another reason that lead to his death. In other words, these people who talk to him were like warnings. They even knew that it wasn’t a good idea but for some reason he didn’t pick on this. He went into Alaska without a map or planning of where he was going.I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. If he'd of just had a map he wouldn't have been trap up at the river he was a crossing. But honestly the best thing was his realization that he does need other people, even though it was ultimately too late.To sum up, I thought that Chris' journey into the wilderness to seek the simple life was inspirational but he was extremely naive about his journey and was much unprepared for the conditions that he was facing.

hawthorne studies essays

hawthorne studies essays The Hawthorne studies, initially undertaken to investigate the relationship between work-place conditions and worker productivity, introduced a wide range of topics to the field of management study. Investigators found no strong relationship between workplace conditions and productivity but reached several conclusions: individual work behavior is driven by a complex set of factors; work groups develop norms which mediate between the needs of the individual and institution; employees should not be considered appendages of machinery; awareness of employee sentiments and participation can reduce resistance to change; the workplace is an interlocking social system, not simply a production system; social structure maintained through symbols of prestige and power. These findings opened the door to the study of client-centered therapy, small group behavior, and organization theory and research methodology. The Hawthorne studies represented groundbreaking work in the field of management when they were undertaken in 1924. While the original intention of the studies was to determine the effect of workplace conditions on employee productivity, in line with the Tay-lorist view of management of that day their findings addressed topics far a field from physical work conditions. These findings opened the doors to a wide range of topics in the study of management. Focus eventually shifted away from the time and motion studies made popular by Taylor to the influence of management style and worker motivation. The move away from scientific management represented a paradigm shift. While the Hawthorne studies were not undertaken with the intention of developing new areas of management theory, and as such did not provide definitive evidence on the factors they uncovered, they were still revolutionary for their time. Expecting to find evidence to support the idea of an optimal physical work environment, researchers instead discovered that the physica...

A Complete List of Shakespeare’s Plays

A Complete List of Shakespeare’s Plays Scholars of Elizabethan drama believe that William Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays between 1590 and 1612. These dramatic works encompass a wide range of subjects and styles, from the playful A Midsummer Nights Dream to the gloomy Macbeth. Shakespeares plays can be roughly divided into three genres- comedies, histories, and tragedies- though some works, such as The Tempest and The Winters Tale, straddle the boundaries between these categories. Shakespeares first play is generally believed to be Henry VI Part I, a history play about English politics in the years leading up to the Wars of the Roses. The play was possibly a collaboration between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, another Elizabethan dramatist who is best known for his tragedy Doctor Faustus. Shakespeares last play is believed to be The Two Noble Kinsmen, a tragicomedy co-written with John Fletcher in 1613, three years before Shakespeares death. Shakespeare's Plays in Chronological Order The exact order of the composition and performances of Shakespeare’s plays is difficult to prove- and therefore often disputed. The dates listed below are approximate and are based on the general consensus of when the plays were first performed: Henry VI Part I (1589-1590)Henry VI Part II (1590-1591)Henry VI Part III (1590-1591)Richard III (1592-1593)The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593)Titus Andronicus (1593-1594)The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)Love’s Labour’s Lost (1594-1595)Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)Richard II (1595-1596)A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595-1596)King John (1596-1597)The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)Henry IV Part I (1597-1598)Henry IV Part II (1597-1598)Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)Henry V (1598-1599)Julius Caesar (1599-1600)As You Like It (1599-1600)Twelfth Night (1599-1600)Hamlet (1600-1601)The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)All’s Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)Measure for Measure (1604-1605)Othello (1604-1605)King Lear (1605-1606)Macbeth (1605-1606)Antony and Cleopatra (1606-1607)Coriolanus (1607-1608)Timon of Athens (1607-1608)Pericles (1608-1609)Cymbeline (1609-1610) The Winter’s Tale (1610-1611)The Tempest (1611-1612)Henry VIII (1612-1613)The Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-1613) Dating the Plays The chronology of Shakespeares plays remains a matter of some scholarly debate. Current consensus is based on a constellation of different data points, including publication information (dates taken from titles pages, etc.), known performance dates, and information from contemporary diaries and other records. Though each play can be assigned a narrow date range, it is impossible to know exactly which year any one of Shakespeares plays was composed. Even when exact performance dates are known, nothing conclusive can be said about when each play was written. Further complicating the matter is the fact that many of Shakespeares plays exist in multiple editions, making it even more difficult to determine when the authoritative versions were completed. For example, there are several surviving versions of Hamlet, three of which were printed in the First Quarto, Second Quarto, and First Folio, respectively. The version printed in the Second Quarto is the longest version of Hamlet, though it does not include over 50 lines that appear in the First Folio version. Modern scholarly editions of the play contain material from multiple sources. Authorship Controversy Another controversial question regarding Shakespeares bibliography is whether the Bard actually authored all of the plays assigned to his name. In the 19th century, a number of literary historians popularized the so-called anti-Stratfordian theory, which held that Shakespeares plays were actually the work of Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, or possibly a group of playwrights. Subsequent scholars, however, have dismissed this theory, and the current consensus is that Shakespeare- the man born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564- did in fact write all of the plays that bear his name. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that some of Shakespeares plays were collaborations. In 2016, a group of scholars performed an analysis of all three parts of Henry VI and came to the conclusion that the play includes the work of Christopher Marlowe. Future editions of the play published by Oxford University Press will credit Marlowe as co-author. Another play, The Two Noble Kinsmen, was co-written with John Fletcher, who also worked with Shakespeare on the lost play Cardenio. Some scholars believe that Shakespeare may have also collaborated with George Peele, an English dramatist and poet; George Wilkins, an English dramatist and inn-keeper; and Thomas Middleton, a successful author of numerous stage works, including comedies, tragedies, and pageants.

Research question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research question - Essay Example United States is a powerful nation in the world. It is known for its contribution to maintain world peace and order so that democracy is enhanced. Freedom and market venture without insecurity threats is a key pillar that United States embraces for all the countries. Many states are under leadership of cruel and undemocratic leaders and for the purpose of justice, freedom and democracy United States has a mandate to make sure security is provided. Leaders who are known to terrorize their own people especially when it comes to the matters of security, then United States in collaboration with United Nation has to deal with the situation. Global peace and security for the purpose of economic stability is enhanced to make sure that economic and political transformations are obtained. For the purpose of international economy and political principles, security must be provided so that the world is productive. The principle that United States embraces is to attack those who are posing dange r before they attack others. The goal of United States is to make sure transformation of authoritarian states is converted to democratic states and defend those nations from attack by other hostile states. Terrorism is a global issue which has to be dealt with accordingly. The rule of law must apply to curb lawlessness and promote freedom and democracy (Cavell, 31). Based on the fact that United States is a nation that embraces democracy then it has to deal with terrorism so that peaceful coexistence will be achieved. For example, in the case of Middle East, an economy based nation, with variety of products which they export to other countries like United States. For instance, in oil sector, United States has to deal with case of insecurity like terrorism so that business transactions are not hindered. Another example is the case of Saddam Hussein who did not entertain democracy in Iraq. Lawlessness in Iraq existed and thus United States had to

Were the Anti-Federalists correct Was the 1787 Constitution a betrayal Essay

Were the Anti-Federalists correct Was the 1787 Constitution a betrayal of the American Revolution - Essay Example According to the events that led to the formation of the new constitution, it is only right to note that the new Constitution was a step forward in strengthening the revolution. The main aim of the revolution was to achieve independence from the British, but it did not mean that United States of America could not form its own government or manage itself. The new constitution is a representation of the strength of the revolution, by recognising its weaknesses and strengthening them to form a national government, and not a betrayal to what the people of the United States fought against. This essay will describe how the new constitution was a means to strengthening the American Revolution. 1780s is referred to as the critical period. It is during this period that American Revolution faced intense challenges. America already had a Constitution (the Articles of Confederation) which helped the government win the revolutionary war, establish a territorial governance system in the Northwest Territories, resolve conflicting state land claims, and negotiate the 1783 treaty of Paris.[This is a brief description of the benefits of the previous constitution. what was this?] Under this Constitution however, the confederation Congress was unable to protect the nation’s commerce, could not pay the interest owed on national debt, and had no power to fight economic depression. America, after achieving its independence, was in chaos. It had a national debt which it was unable to pay because of lack of congressional powers to raise the money. Congress could ask states to contribute revenue, but could not force them to do so. America needed a sure way of getting revenue to pay i ts debts and govern the nation well. It experienced inflation which was as a result of a move to clear the national debt. Instead of collecting revenue through taxation, state and national governments printed money. Taxing the people was not an option at the time. This is

In Europe after the second world war several cities approved price Essay

In Europe after the second world war several cities approved price ceilings on rental accommodation - Essay Example The protest of people for controlling price is understandable. Even though price control is understandable but still the government may be able to protect only some of the consumers while imposing negative impact of price control on others. However the aim of the government is to protect the group that usually gets pressed hard because of inflation. Thus charging high interest on different loans is to protect people who are forced to borrow out of desperation. Similarly the maximum price of eatables, such as bread, is to protect poor ones who completely depend on it for their survival and the rent control is for protecting the landlords at times when the demand for the apartments exceed the supply (McEachern, 2012). The New York State legislators are seen defending the Protection Act of War Emergency Tenant in order to cater the housing shortage related to war. The war that has been addressed in this law is not the Vietnam War or the war of Iraq but it is the World War II, which is considered to be the starting of rent control issues in America. Although war has not much to do with the shortage of apartments, as the shortage are more likely to occur due to rent control; which is considered to be the supposed solution for making accommodation readily available. Gotham is the only city of America which embraces rent control; however many other cities have surrendered to the blarney of this legislative fix (Christ, 2009). Like all the other mandated price control of the government, rent control is also considered to be a law related to the fixation of maximum price or â€Å"rent ceiling†, which explains that what exactly the landlords must charge from the tenants. In order to make the rent ceiling work, the rent must be placed below the rate that would be prevailed otherwise. For example, an enactment prohibiting landlords from exceeding the apartment rent from $100,000 per month would have not been

Neoliberal Policies on Media Regulation

Neoliberal Policies on Media Regulation Amirah Shafie Neoliberal policies vs Governmental regulations and policies Cultural industries are involved in the production and dissemination of products that can influence our understanding and knowledge of the world (Hesmondhalgh, 2013). Because of its influential nature, the question of who should own and regulate the industries and commodities produced has been a highly contested topic. Proponents of Neoliberal policies argued that public ownership and regulation of cultural industries are inefficient and provide insufficient choice and perspectives for viewers. Thus, they postulate the best way to increase this choice was to provide more commercial (private) channels coupled with the end or lessening of governmental regulation. On the other hand, the ideological imperatives of a commercially driven media system drive huge concerns on the quality of cultural commodities that will be produced, resulting in support for cultural industries to remain public with strong governmental regulations so that public interests will be protected. Through analysing Murdoch’s global media empire, this paper takes the public interest stance and argues that Neoliberal policies, while seemingly progressive and adopted to liberate production, distribution and consumption of cultural commodities, ironically legitimises the decreasing media diversity and low quality news content. There must, therefore, be appropriate amount of government intervention when it comes to controlling the cultural industries. From the 1970s onwards, neoliberal supporters argued the economic downturn of that period was a consequence of public ownership and governmental regulations. The basis of the neoliberal approach to culture is the idea that free, unregulated competition will produce efficient markets and producing such markets should be the main goal of public policy (Hesmondhalgh, 2013). As a result, the 80s onwards witnessed major historical changes in the policy landscape. Hesmondhalgh terms these policy changes as marketization, which refers to ‘the permeation of market exchange as a social principle’. These changes include having broadcasting institutions privatised or unrestricted to terrestrial, commercial broadcaster, cable and satellite providers. Controls on content such as amount of advertising, laws and regulations on media ownership were also eradicated or greatly lightened. On the global scale, the impetus for neoliberal marketization peaked in the 1997 WTO agreement (Jin, 2 005). Under the agreement, many states made market access commitments which decreased or removed restrictions on foreign ownership and licensing in communications. It has been argued that marketization would allow companies to compete with one another and by doing so, will produce quality products more efficiently in order to get the most audience. This would also mean that audience could get different and better types of information at a cheaper and more accessible way. No doubt, the marketization of cultural industries has allowed global audience to access news from different channels apart than the ones offered locally. However, if we were to take a closer look, most of these channels are actually produced by a few large conglomerates, namely Rupert Murdochs News Corp, Viacom, Bertelsmann, Warners, Sony, AT T, and Disney. Rather than increasing diversity globally, marketization of cultural industries have ignited a surge of mergers acquisitions because giant communication firms consistently moves aggressively into deregulated domestic communications markets around the world. This means that marketization resulting from neoliberal policies has allowed for the concentration of ownership among a few mega-media giants and the world actually gets exposed to news produced from these same media giants, weakening the neoliberal stance that competition produces diverse choices. Once of these media giants include News Corp. The growth of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp commenced in Australia when he started buying newspaper companies in which he now owns two-thirds of the nation’s newspaper production. With the relaxing of regulations, News Corp further expanded into Britain to include both newspapers and television stations, thus further dominating much of the content in that area. By the 1990s, News Corp became the biggest press publisher in Britain. News Corp also partly gained controlled over a pioneer satellite television system BSKYB, which is the television source for most British homes. Next, Murdoch expanded the reach of his News Corporation in the United States by buying over 20th Century Fox which include Fox News, Fox Sports, and FX. He then purchased the New York Post and Fox 5 in New York. Then in 2003, the News Corporation was allowed to buy Direct TV, the largest television satellite service in the United States. Murdoch also bought satellite television networks in Asia and Lati n America. Globally, Murdoch satellite systems are estimated to reach more than three hundred million homes. With Fox Television and 20th Century Fox providing content, this satellite system, which is consistently moving toward conquering the global market, signals an expanding global vertical integration (Broe, 2004). This desire for total control prompts more concentration by the other media conglomerates to contest News Corp’s control, as seen by Comcasts attempts to take over entertainment provider Disney in 2004 and Time Warner in 2014. This conglomeration of companies like Murdoch’s News Corporation is worrying as it has the power to influence the diversity of global news content. Simply take a look at how News Corporation’s company in India, Star News, is run. Star News has no permanent foreign correspondents of its own, even in neighbouring countries, as there seem to be no economic or corporate sense to invest in running foreign bureaux or lease time on costly satellite networks for live transmission of news stories. Therefore, Star News uses footage provided by News Corporation’s other international news networks such as Fox Channel from News York and Sky News from London. It is not alarming, then, that Fox opinions and take to news is apparent in India, as evidenced during the Iraq invasion in 2003, when Star News simply repeated, often word-for-word in Hindi, the Pentagon line on ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ (Thussu, 2007). Here, we can see that by relegating cultural industries such as news companies to the rigours of the market has allowed conglomerates such as News Corp to control news production all over the world and disseminate their ideology (in this case Pentagon support for Operation Iraqi Freedom) easily, affecting the diversity of global news content. Quality of news is also affected with the marketization of cultural industries. Privatising and commercialising news companies means that these companies are now responsible to shareholders. In order to make sure that news generated would provide profits to the channel, Murdoch’s News Corp has been regularly sensationalising its news as they vie for attention. Murdochs early statement that newspapers were meant to entertain not educate has served as a template for much of News Corp contents. This style of exaggerated story filled with invented quotes; the rewriting of laconic news-service copy into lavish sensationalized; the eye-shattering, usually ungrammatical, irrelevant and gratuitously blood-curdling headline yarns (Leper Rapes Virgin, Gives Birth To Monster Baby) has been used in many of its news coverage (Broe, 2004). Murdoch’s News Corporation has established what is labelled as the ‘four S’ model of journalism – ‘scare headlines, sex, scandal, and sensation’ in order to secure commercial success in almost all of its major acquisitioned properties (Arsenault Castells, 2008). Such strategies in incorporating aspects of new sensationalism have replaced the original value of â€Å"objective† news reporting. Critics have also emphasized that the gimmickry, opinion and comments such as the ones on Fox News is detrimental to long-established journalistic principles to ‘objectively’ inform citizens about the world (Cushin Lewis, 2009). In this case, the commercial and ideological aims of News Corp, that is to gain greater audience share and present a partial view of the world does not promote a public service ethos focusing on audience understanding and democratic participation. Evidently, market forces do not guarantee that the media companies will serve their non-economic roles as ethical institutions of the democratic public sphere and this has taken a toll on the quality and diversity of democratic media due to the dangerous concentrations of media power. Hence, it is important that there continues to be news industries that are publicly owned in order to balance the commercial imperatives of private industries. There also needs to be stronger regulations that can control the size of these media conglomerates so as to ensure that they do not abuse their power in influencing the diversity of news contents as well as the quality of news produced. For example, in 2005, News Corporation’s subsidiary company, News of the World was caught for phone hacking of several high profile celebrities and Britain’s royal family members, causing a huge political and public fury. The government had to intervene for the protection of individuals’ privacy and ethical reporting of news. Due to this hacking scandal, News Corp. was forced withdraw its bid for full take-over of the British satellite broadcaster BSkyB, as Prime Minister Cameron announced a wide-ranging public inquiry into the British media (Wintour, Sabbagh Watt, 2011). Here, we can see the importance in governmental intervention in ensuring that this media company does not abuse its power. We also see the extent to which the market forces of competition can push companies to go beyond the boundaries to beat their competitors to get the juiciest information. As quoted by Raboy on media and communications regulation, â€Å"as media are paramount social institutions, public intervention with respect to their orientation is both legitimate and necessary† (Lunt Livingstone, 2012). Those who object government regulations would rather choose neoliberal policies in the name of democratic freedom. What they fail to see is that freedom should also come in the form of public interest and government regulations can protect these freedom that democracy so seriously advocate. There is also nothing democratic and free when it comes to having big conglomerates who can control easily global production and dissemination of news content. McChesney (2000) was adamant about the fundamental incompatibility of democracy with patterns of consolidated media ownership. In response to Murdoch’s power in the media industry, McChesney (2000) said, ‘‘there is no human, no single firm, no single entity that should have this sort of power. That’s just a core democratic value and principle.† Certainly, having full governmental regulation on media companies would also be unnecessary and dangerous. I am not proposing that there should be full governmental control with no privatisation of media companies. What I am proposing is that private and public media companies need to be present in any country so that both these entities can act as watchdogs. However, the government needs to be strong enough to be able to develop social and cultural policies that can encourage fair deliberation and engagement through intergovernmental, regional and global cooperation (Lunt Livingstone, 2012). These policies should focus on positive as well as negative freedoms, whereby the role of governments is not only to protect citizens but also to ensure conditions for a civic culture together with diverse and quality engagement. Without a much robust attitude towards media concentration and the chase for meaningful diversity and quality, current public interest considerations are unlikely to b e protected against aggressive marketization. Protecting the public interest requires both a more determined stance on media concentration and a more imaginative approach to securing media diversity, one that is based not simply on economic benefits but on the advantages of stimulating mindful debate and critical perspectives. References Cushion, S., Lewis, J. (2009). Towards a ‘Foxification’ of 24-hour news channels in Britain?Journalism,10(2), 131-153. Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://jou.sagepub.com/content/10/2/131.abstract Wintour, P., Sabbagh, D., Wat, N. (2011, July 14). Rupert Murdoch gives up BSkyB takeover bid.The Guardian. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jul/13/rupert-murdoch-gives-up-bskyb-bid McChesney, R. (2000). The political economy of communication and the future of the field.Media, Culture Society,22(1), 109-116. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://mcs.sagepub.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/content/22/1/109.refs Broe, D. (2004). Fox and Its Friends: Global Commodification and the New Cold War.Society for Cinema Media Studies,43(4), 97-102. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3661159 Lunt, P., Livingstone, S. (2012). Media regulation: Governance and the interests of citizens and consumers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.4135/9781446250884 Jin, D. (2008). Neoliberal restructuring of the global communication system: Mergers and acquisitions.Media, Culture Society,30(3), 357-373. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://mcs.sagepub.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/content/30/3/357 Arsenault, A., Castells, M. (2008). Politics: A Sociological Analysis Switching Power: Rupert Murdoch and the Global Business of Media.International Sociology,23, 488-513. Retrieved May 20, 2015, from http://annenberg.usc.edu/Faculty/Communication and Journalism/~/media/InternationalSociology.ashx Thussu, D. (2007). The ‘Murdochization’ of news? The case of Star TV in India.Media, Culture Society,29(4), 593-611.

Just Like in the Movies Essay -- Creative Writing Short Story Essays

Just Like in the Movies As the credits began to appear and the typical end-of-movie music started to play Anne sat quietly in her chair while the tears streamed down her face. This was not a new moment for her; in fact this is how every weekend night since high school had been spent. Most people would find something wrong or sad with this, but the truth was there was no other place she’d rather be. There was comfort she found sitting bundled up with a box of tissues and popcorn in front of whatever her movie choice of the night may be. Anne rose from the faded green chair and switched off the TV, sending the room into immediate darkness, until she flicked on the overhead light. â€Å"If that was only me,† she wondered aloud, as it was a common, almost routine question after every film for anyone who was willing to answer. The single meow of spunky, her feline companion was the only response she ever received, and tonight was no different. She shuffled her way to the kitchen to wash out the plastic popcorn bowl and glanced at the clock on the wall, 2:06 am, not a surprise. She switched off the light and headed for the bedroom with spunky close behind. Anne crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling waiting for her dreams to come carry her away. Anne Hathaway was pretty average to anyone who never took the time to get to know her, which was just about everyone. She was one of those girls that was ugly in middle school, but became beautiful in adolescence. The only problem was she didn’t know it, as far as she was concerned she remained the ugly duckling. Which was far from reality. Anne was about two weeks shy of her twenty-third birthday and could pass for eighteen. She had soft copper hair that reste... ...er reactions more than she was watching the movie. When it finally came to and end, Anne found herself smiling â€Å"well that was different.† Then she turned to Eve, who was almost on the point of laughter. â€Å"I’m sorry, I just had to show you this movie† â€Å"Why are you sorry? I liked it, I’ll admit it was ‘different’, but it was still good† Anne said, â€Å"is this what you meant when you said you wanted to see a love story that wasn’t like all the other ones?† The look on Eve’s face began to change to that of a scared little puppy. Anne looked at Eve and everything seemed to fall into place, she let go of all her hurt and leaned forward slightly to meet Eve’s lips with a kiss. There was no need for either of them to say anything, Eve had seen something in Anne, and fallen in love, and Anne had never let herself until now fall in love again.

Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World Essay

Fareed Zakaria’s â€Å"The Post-American World† â€Å"Through his writings, research, and teaching, Fareed Zakaria has made an impact in the field of political science and foreign policy. A graduate of both Yale and Harvard, Zakaria has utilized the knowledge that he has gained by writing extensively on the subject of international affairs. Articles authored by Zakaria often appear in distinguished publications such as Wall Street Journal, New Republic, New York Times, and Foreign Affairs. Zakaria’s Journalistic writing has also led to the publication ofa number of books† (Fareed Zakaria). Fareed Zakaria is Indian mmigrant who has become a true patriot of America. Almost all his works are related to the United States. This fact can be read in his creations such as The American Encounter, From Wealth to Power, and The Post-American World. â€Å"Several critics found The American Encounter to be an admirable project†¦. Library Journal contributor Tricia Gray felt the book is the best suited for academics and some of the larger public libraries, while Booklist reviewer Mary Carroll recommended the book for public display, noting: ‘Even Libraries with a full run of Foreign Affairs on the shelf may want this collection. Fareed Zakaria). Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World is extraordinary event. The author of the idea of â€Å"Illiberal democracy’ Fareed Zakaria sought to explain to America and West political diversity of the modern world, to imbue the American establishment to respect the historical choice of non-western peoples. The authorà ¢â‚¬â„¢s new creation is not a description of decline of the U. S. that has become commonly known, but thoughtful analysis of the growing world’s globalization, its effects and outlines of the future configuration. â€Å"Changes take place gradually’, writes Zakaria. We live in the Newton’s dynamic world, not in the Medieval Europe’s static world. Everything started from Galileo Galilei who challenged static world and made first changes which led to collapse of Medieval Europe’s world. According to Fareed Zakaria, over the past five centuries there have been three â€Å"tectonic shifts of power†. The first shift that began in the XV century and accelerated dramatically in the XVIII century gave rise to the phenomenon â€Å"modernity’ with corresponding attributes of science and technology, commerce and capitalism, and agrarian and industrial revolutions. The first stage haracterized by the continued dominance of West over the rest of the world. The second shift, according to the author, began in last years of the XIX century, and its content was an elevation of the U. S. , its transformation into â€Å"imperial successor† of ancient Rome with the relevant economic and political-military attributes. In the last two decades America’s influence has become â€Å"unipolar† – a phenomenon unprecedented in modern history. Finally, the third shift that Fareed Zakaria called â€Å"the rise of the others† is happening before our eyes. It is a consequence of accelerated growth of major countries in Asia and beyond. The third shift is actually creating a new international system in which the former â€Å"object† and â€Å"observers† are transtormed into real global â€Å"players†, acting on the basis ot their own interests In other words, distribution of power is shifting from America to other centers of power. However, â€Å"It is not ‘anti-American’ world, but ‘post-American’, directed from many centers not only by Americans, but also by others†, writes the author. Fareed Zakaria describes several trends that determine and will determine the trajectory of evolution of the â€Å"Post-American World†. The author emphasizes the â€Å"Islamic threat† hich, however, at the level of ideology cannot compete with the west modernization. Islam has to adapt to the challenges of modernization and globalization in societies that do not welcome the idea of Jihad. Therefore, â€Å"Modern civilization may be stronger that we suspect† (Zakaria 17). Fareed Zakaria states the offset of the global geo-economic â€Å"axis† to the east, in the direction of the Asian-Pacific region. This trend was reinforced by globalization. Now, the vast majority of the monetary and financial resources of the world are concentrated in the Asian-Pacific region. â€Å"According Goldman Sachs, by 2040, the combined GDP of China, India, Brazil, Russia and Mexico may exceed the corresponding fgures of the G-7† (Zakaria 27). Thus, â€Å"American ideas of the world order† actively challenged by global energy producers: Iran, Venezuela and Russia. Particular attention is given to the national identity of the peoples in the â€Å"Post-American World†. In â€Å"The Rise of Nationalism† Zakaria sees two sides. Firstly, objective difficulties of coordination of private and public interests, and in this sense â€Å"raising of the rest†, are able to â€Å"prevent transformation of the forces of global growth nto factor of global disorder and disintegration† (Zakaria 27). Secondly, the U. S. will have to reckon with the fact that in the modern world there is the concept of â€Å"freedom of choice†. Zakaria cleverly illustrates this fact by excerpt from a conservation of last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten and Mahatma Gandhi. Mountbatten said: â€Å"If we Just leave (India), there will be chaos. † Gandhi replied: mies, but it will be our chaos† (Zakaria 33). Further, very few people in the modern world are ready to agree with the western version of the â€Å"new world order† which is a continuation of the American version. Now, many countries set together horizontal communication without support of the American â€Å"center†. One example of this kind is an interaction of the four mega-countries: India, China, Russia and Brazil (BRICS). As for the â€Å"Last Superpower† the U. S. holds and will hold the positions of the most competitive economy due to the highly developed demographic dynamics. At the same time the role of Western Europe and Japan in the world economy, according to the author, will continue to decline. The inconsistency of being America is that the U. S. , on the one hand, remains at the top of the world’s new order, and on the other and, the new order of its dynamics challenges the privileged position of America. Fareed Zakaria fascinatingly describes historic ascent of the West to the top of industrial civilization, which is a subject well known by experts of the economic history, but new to the ordinary readers. In this approach, there is convincing, in my view, the geopolitical logic. This logic has an idea that the industrial civilization and its foundation not questioned. The author writes: â€Å"Unprecedented economic growth has produced unprecedented social change. China has compressed the West’s two undred years of industrialization into thirty’ (Zakaria 97). The country with an active operation of market mechanisms and the most significant population in the world is a new challenge to the United States. It is the challenge that America hasn’t previously encountered and to which was unprepared. The tinal chapters ot the book are dedicated to America’s role in the â€Å"post-American world. † â€Å"Secret weapon† of the U. S. , Zakaria believes, is the demographic potential of the country. It is going to hit 365 million people by 2030, while the ratio of workers to not employed will be ore favorable than, for example, in Western Europe and Japan.

Hipaa Essay

HIPAA Abstract The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or better known as (HIPAA) began in 1996 as an Act to help individuals keep their health insurance as they moved from one job to another. As the future brought new advancements HIPAA evolved to include much more than portability. HIPAA now includes many complex rules to protect patient privacy along with the use of information technology that transfers medical records. HIPAA Nearly a decade ago, lawmakers tried to combine the older age ethical tradition of patient privacy with newer age health technology advances, in hopes of saving more lives and reducing such high medical costs. Congress’ intention of the HIPAA Privacy Act was to bring the healthcare industry into the 20th century, while saving U.S citizens billions of dollars. As health care technologies advance so does the rules, rights, and regulations of HIPAA. It’s important to know the â€Å"in’s† and â€Å"outs† of HIPAA and these new advancement’s. Having a guest speaker for HIPAA helped me learn and realize these new advancement’s, a long with what HIPAA really stands for, the rights of patients, and what a breach is and how to prevent it. In the words of the guest speaker, HIPAA equals privacy. Each letter in HIPAA stands for and explains exactly what the Act is. The letter â€Å"H† in HIPAA stands for health, the health of the patient. â€Å"I† in HIPAA stands for insurance, the availability of health plans for the patient. The â€Å"P† in HIPAA stands for portability, it’s portable. â€Å"A† is for accountability, they are accountable for here actions. And finally the last â€Å"A† in HIPAA stands for act, the action of carrying something out. All of these letter s may make up HIPAA but it’s important to know what they actually mean and stand for. After learning the patient rights from the guest speaker I think it makes up the most important part of HIPAA. Knowing your rights under HIPAA can save you from trouble in the future. The first right of HIPAA is The Right to Access, how you the patient can access their health information and obtain copies of their health information. The second patient right is The Right to  Restrictions which gives you the right to restrict certain disclosures of your health information. Another important patient right to HIPAA is The Right to Amendment, it gives you the right to request on amendment to your health information. The next right is The Right to Accounting of Disclosures, this right makes sure your request on accounting of disclosure made on your health information is met. The next patient right is The Right to Complain of Privacy Rights Violation, which I think is the most important. It gives you the right to complain if you feel that your health information has been used or disclosed inappropriately. The last patient right the speaker talked about was how the patients’ health information us used and disclosed. Which allows many ways on how your health information is used or disclosed in regards to treatment, payment, and health care operations. Also patient rights of authorization to release medical or he alth information and the right to revoke authorizations. As you can see there are many rights that the patient has. These rights ensure that patients get the right care in regards to health and how medical records are stored. Even though these rights protect patients there are still major problems that can happen. One of the major problems with HIPAA is a breach. A breach is the unauthorized access use, or disclosure of protected health information that compromises the privacy of such information. According to the HIPAA guest speaker, penalties for a breach can equal up to 1.5millon a year. For individuals found guilty of breach, penalties can be up to $100,000 per year, per violation and or up to ten years in prison. You may be wondering how they decide if there is a breach. Some exceptions to breach that the guest speaker informed us of are unintentional access or use of health information. Only if that information accessed was made in a good faith within employment and the inform ation was not further accessed or used, it is not considered a breach. Another exception of a breach situation is child abuse. Law Enforcement must collect medical evidence to investigate and prosecute a possible child abuse case. Along with Law Enforcement Officials, Social Services also have HIPAA exceptions so they can serve victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. A breach in HIPAA can be very serious, so it’s important to practice good prevention precautions. Some of the guest speaker’s tips on preventing a breach were locking files to secure important papers. Also securing areas that have any health  information, so only the people who are authorized have access to them. Not only do health care workers take precautions to avoid a breach, but so does HIPAA. HIPAA officials do random checks on health care patients in different facilities to ensure that only the authorized workers had access to their medical records. One of HIPAA’s main goals are to protect the patient’s privacy. Taking these precautions as a health care worker can prevent any complications regarding HIPAA and most importantly patient privacy. Having a guest speaker come into class helped me understand more concepts of HIPAA I didn’t understand. She taught me what HIPAA is really about, patient rights, and how important it is to prevent a br each. Learning more about HIPAA will help me in my future career. HIPAA will directly affect my future, as I am currently going for a medical assistant degree. But HIPAA doesn’t just affect people going into the medical field it affects the patients. Therefore it is important for everyone to learn and understand the importance of HIPAA. References Law and Ethics (For the Health Professions) 6e (2013). HIPAA. Pages From74 – To 76 http://www.uthscsa.edu/hipaa/patientrights.asp http://www.ndaa.org/ncpca_update_v16_no4.html http://hipaacow.org/ http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html http://www.hipaa.com/