Tuesday, December 31, 2019
How Do Companies Best Create Lasting Connections with...
How Do Companies Best Create Lasting Connections with their Customers? Initial answers could include the following: through highly creative advertising messages; through innovative, value-based pricing structures; through a constant array of compelling product upgrades; or through spending more money than your competitors do on multiple distribution channels. Wrong. I am convinced that true, meaningful connectivity with customers and key stakeholders occurs in one way: through authenticity at every level of the customer experience. And without this, a company or a brand is incapable of achieving ultimate success. So what is it exactly that creates devoted brand-fans? Itââ¬â¢s allowing yourself to follow your instincts and notâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦This allows them to think and act on that critical emotional level, and it challenges them to get to the core of who they really are. That ââ¬Å"coreâ⬠is what todayââ¬â¢s customers are really after, as they make decisions regarding who to hire or buy from. In recent years, consumer-oriented marketing has dramatically changed. Years ago, companies used a mix of print, radio and television to establish their brand. Today, this model is proving difficult for most companies, due to the high cost, the dilution of media, and the overabundance of commercial messages. These days, many successful brands are created without an advertising budget, or with a relatively modest one. They create a solid and believable identity, differentiate themselves from their competitors and build a loyal customer base by ââ¬Å"putting an authentic faceâ⬠on their companies through standing behind their promises on every level ââ¬â from the point of sale to customer service after the sale. Customers respond positively to the notion that a real, answerable person is responsible for quality, which is the reason that many successful companies put their CEOââ¬â¢s front and center and avoid the celebrity spokesperson trap. Customers want to know who is really behind the brand and where the buck actually stops. The combination of quality, caring, accountability and the human touch is what constitutes an authentic brand. Know what you stand for and proudly demonstrate that every day in every way toShow MoreRelatedZappos: Delivering Happiness624 Words à |à 3 Pages1. How would you define Zapposââ¬â¢ target market, and how would you describe its strategy to serve this market? - Zapposââ¬â¢ target market would be mainly online shoppers. Although previously they would only be targeting customers in search of footwear, they recently expanded their product line to apparel, accessories and even home goods therefore expanding their target market significantly. The Zapposââ¬â¢ customer is not usually price sensitive and usually has a higher disposable income. 2. HasRead MoreStarbucks : Organizational Evaluation Report1139 Words à |à 5 Pagesmind: ââ¬Å"Every day, we go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better (Starbucks Corporation, 2015, p.1). Since itââ¬â¢s creation, Starbucks has always implemented the Servant Leadership Model (Starbucks Corporation, 2015, p.1). With a maintained focus on their mission and values, Starbucksââ¬â¢ corporate leaders have earned a vast degree of success in using this model while also encouraging their employees do so as well (Starbucks Corporation, 2015Read MoreBranding in Health Care983 Words à |à 4 PagesAssess the value of branding in health care. Specifically, under what circumstances do you feel that it is beneficial for health care organizations to use branding? Branding has been successfully practiced by consumer packaged goods companies for decades. But only recently have health care organizations begun to embrace this concept and hence, few of the well developed brands exist. Branding is beneficial for health care organizations because the rewards of branding can be great as it providesRead MoreHhonors Case Study1002 Words à |à 5 PagesPreferred Guest: The Battle for Customer Loyalty Hilton HHonors is a program which was designed to build loyalty to the Hilton brand worldwide. Membership in the program is open to anyone who applies at no charge. Members earn points toward their Hilton Honors account whenever they stay at a HHC or HIC property. Like many other reward programs, as members accumulate points they can redeem them for HHonors hotels or use them toward products and services from partner companies. Along with being a well-recognizedRead MoreMarketing Management : An Organization Essay1374 Words à |à 6 Pagesabout marketing management but the main key word within its definition is the application tracking and review of a companyââ¬â¢s recourses and activities. The scope of an organization s marketing management depends on the size of the company and the industry in which the company operates. Effective marketing management will use an organization s resources to improve its client base, improve client opinions of the organization s products and services, and improve the organization s perceived value. Itââ¬â¢sRead MoreCompetitive Advantages of Fmcg Companies1634 Words à |à 7 Pagesadvantages of FMCG companies. Discuss if these competitive advantages are sustainable and suggest how these companies should further develop their competitive advantages in future. The case study talks about how fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) achieve competitive advantages in marketing. A company is said to have a competitive advantage if the company has greater profitability comparing to the average profitability of his rivals and have better profit growth than other companies in the same industryRead MoreChapter 5 Of Retail Revival Essay1294 Words à |à 6 PagesOne of the worst fears a company has is the prospect of being average. In a world where the only thing that keeps a company or brand afloat is uniqueness, whether it is the type of product they are offering or level of sustainability they are providing, companies need to stay atop of trends to stay relevant in todayââ¬â¢s society. In Chapter 5 of Retail Revival, the theme of mediocrity and the motif of the ââ¬Å"disappearing middle-class,â⬠help pave the way for the discussion detailing the ââ¬Å"Road to RemarkableRead MoreThe Video Game Market Analysis1538 Words à |à 7 PagesThe Xb ox One is the most advanced entertainment and video game platform in history. People all over America would line up at the doors at a local Game Stop or Best Buy, spending hours waiting to get a chance to be one of the first owners of this technological masterpiece. The video game market accounts for $70 million in 2013, with console games making up 43 percent of that total. Microsoft has produced some pretty successful gaming systems, such as the original Xbox and the Xbox 360. These consolesRead MoreGlobal Branding the Strategy Behind Branding in an International Market2185 Words à |à 9 Pages Every day people are hit with approximately 5000 images or brand names. In the evening when we are about to go to sleep we might wonder how many actually had a lasting impact on us. The answer is that only 3 to 7 of those images stay with us. So which ones create a greater impact than others, and how much power lies in having a strong brand name for your product. This report will look closer into the history of branding as well as the steps used in creating a strongRead MoreMicrosoft Porter s Five Forces Analysis1584 Words à |à 7 PagesMICROSOFT 1. Industry and company profile a) What is the industry? What value does the industry provide to its customers? Microsoft Corporation is known as Microsoft which is an American multinational technology company. It is computer software, consumer electronics and computer hardware industry. It also produces manufactures, licenses, supporters, personal computers and services. Its main products is computer software and best software products are known as Microsoft windows and devices, cloud
Monday, December 23, 2019
Death System ( P. 565 ) - 1316 Words
List 8: 1. Death System (p.565): This concept varies across cultures and includes several aspects. A death system is made up of the people of the communityââ¬âall people will die at some point as well as the people who deal with death for their occupation. The death system is also made up of the places where death typically occurs, the times that we honor our deceased, as well as the objects and symbols that we associate with death. I think that this concept is important because it functions to make sense of death and deal with caring for dying loved ones and removal of the body when they are gone. 2. Advance Care Planning (p.568): This concept is talking about a patient who wants to discuss their preferences about end-of-life care and whether or not they would like to receive life-sustaining treatment. I found this concept interesting because the text mentioned a study which said more people were deciding on hospice care rather than life-sustaining treatment. I thought that this was interesting because I would have expected more people that wanted to live longer by the help of medical assistance. 3. Passive Euthanasia (p.568): This concept occurs when a patient who is suffering from a terminal illness is allowed to choice to remove the life-sustaining treatment that is keeping them alive in the purpose of ending their suffering. I think that this concept is interesting because of how controversial it is. It sad to think of a patientââ¬â¢s quality of life when life-sustainingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Pauli Murray Who Was An African American Civil Rights1486 Words à |à 6 Pageswomenââ¬â¢s roles were set to be a certain way? They were leaders amongst segregation, became a support system in their own way, and helped advance the ground shaking civil rights movement. Segregation can be described as a ââ¬Å"legalized apartheid system, which denied blacks virtually any protection under the law [and] came under relentless attack in the postwar eraâ⬠(Dubois and Dumenil 2016, 557). This system alienated people of color from whites. African Americans were under constant attack both verballyRead MoreMy Career As A Nurse Educator For A Small Community Hospital Essay1144 Words à |à 5 Pagesto Virginia Henderson, ââ¬Å"The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to a peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will, or knowledgeâ⬠(Henderson, 1964,p.63). Nursing practice is facilitating, supporting, and assisting individuals, families, communities, and/or societies to enhance, maintain, and recover health, and to reduce and ameliorate the effectsRead MoreEnrique : Poverty And Oppression1245 Words à |à 5 PagesEnrique: Poverty and Oppression Enriqueââ¬â¢s Journey focuses and sheds more light and understanding on the aspects and challenges of extreme poverty, family abandonment, systematic issues of an immigration system and what one has to go through in the face of adversity. The book centers on Enrique who starts out as a young boy living in extreme poverty in Honduras with his family. Enrique is an older adolescent, Hispanic, poverty economic status, unemployed most times, and is in a relationshipRead MoreEssay on Sleep Deprivation in College Students1144 Words à |à 5 Pagesole college days. It is hard to imagine that those days of all-night cramming sessions and those late nights partying causing students to be sleep deprived could lead to a variety of problems like stress, long term insomnia, and a weakened immune system. The transition from life in high school can be problematic for the majority of students. Most of their days in high school were on a very structured schedule, but moving on to college where you are relying completely on your responsibilityRead MoreEthnic, Religious And Cultural Practices During Pregnancy1605 Words à |à 7 Pagesthe same skin color, language, health practices beliefs and values as our own (Pearson, E., 2011). Regarded as North Americaââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"First Peopleâ⬠, the Native Americans consisted of hundreds of separate cultures and tribes, each with their own belief systems, social structures, cultural and political practices. Men were generally responsible for hunting, warfare, and interacting with outsiders, therefore, they had more visible public roles. Native American women, on the other hand, were often viewed asRead MoreCurrent Trends and Issues That Affect Todayââ¬â¢s Aged Population1822 Words à |à 8 Pagesgenes and the random cellular events believed to underlie biological aging make physical declines more apparent in late adulthood,â⬠(Berk, 2007, p. 565). Many factors contribute to the biological factors in the aging community, which includes a breakdown of the nervous system, sensory systems, Immune system as well as the cardiovascular and respiratory system. In late adulthood it is imperative to keep in good health and routine doctorââ¬â¢s visits may help in the prevention of certainRead MoreIncendiary Fire Analysis and Investigation1605 Words à |à 6 Pagesallowed occupancy of 404 which was established by the City of West Warwick (Grosshandler et al., 2005). The fire resulted in a massive loss of life as 96 people died at the scene, 3 died within days, and one person died 70 days later, bringing the death toll to 100 persons (Grosshandler et al., 2005). The large crowd was present at the nightclub to witness a performance of the rock band ââ¬Å"Great Whiteâ⬠, who used pyrotechnics during the performance which directly contributed to the ignition of polyurethaneRead MoreJustinian and His Codification of Roman Law1940 Words à |à 8 PagesCodification of Roman Law Justinain I, whose full name was Flavius Justinianus in Latin, was the Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. He is commonly known as Justinian the Great, who had spent all his reign restoring the greatness of the Byzantine Empire and trying to reconquer the western half of the Roman Empire. His achievements could be seen in the Roman law, the administrative system of the Empire, religion, literature, architecture and some other fields, enough to prove his great influence on EuropeRead More The Culture Behind The Roman Empire, 43-306 C.E. Essay1919 Words à |à 8 Pagesthis illustrious empire comes to an individualââ¬â¢s mind, one might assume that they may think of the great Julius Caesar and his tragic death, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, or even the great philosophers that flourished during this time. Thousands of years later the romans are still being praised for their advances in the sciences, philosophy, and government. After the death of Julius Caesar there was only one individual who was capable of stepping up to power, taking over the empire, and leading his peopleRead MoreRole of the Rn2590 Words à |à 11 Pagescenters allow for RPN`s to care for these children. Crozier and Hancock (2012) state that ââ¬Å"it has been estimated that 13.9% of all children are living with a chronic health condition â⬠¦ and palliative care can be provided to these children as wellâ⬠(p.2). This paper will discusses the role of the RN in pediatric palliative care in relation to family support through the three factor frame work which involves the client, the nurse and the environment. The Three Factor Framework The three factor
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Portrayals of Minorities in pop culture Free Essays
1. ) One example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, The Simpsons. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is portrayed as your typical Indian convenience store owner. We will write a custom essay sample on Portrayals of Minorities in pop culture or any similar topic only for you Order Now He speaks in Indian English, owns a convenience store, his marriage was arranged, he has a strong work ethic, and he has a large number of children. He is portrayed this way in every episode that he appears in. The portrayal is negative and is stereotyping people who are Indian. The portrayal reinforces the stereotypes that Indian immigrants own convenience stores and work all of the time. Personally, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it paints a negative picture of the culture. It stereotypes all Indian immigrants as the same. This reinforces the idea that race plays a major role in status in our society and people are looked at differently based on their race. On the show, this stereotype is perceived as humorous and people who watch this show are receiving little knowledge about the actual group of people. 2. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is shown on the TV show, Cops. This show portrays people who are minorities to be violent, drug dealers, unintelligent, poor family members. Almost all of the drug deals that go on and the violence that goes on is between blacks and other minorities. This is a negative portrayal and it reinforces these certain stereotypes. It showcases blacks and other minorities as being violent and involved with drugs. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be known as an unintelligent, violent drug dealer who canââ¬â¢t get along with his family. It is a very negative stereotype. 3. ) On the TV show, South Park, minorities are negatively portrayed in almost every single episode. One episode in particular is called, ââ¬Å"The Passion of the Jew. â⬠This episode was a satire of the movie, The Passion of the Christ, but also made fun of people who are Jewish. This show negatively portrays people who are Jewish as being cheap, overprotective, nagging, and pokes fun at their religion. It reinforces these stereotypes and also goes further by negatively talking about the Jewish religion and their practices. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because it portrays me as being stingy and makes jokes about my religion. Based on this portrayal, it seems as though some television shows are able to make fun of any race that they please. 4. ) Another example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is in the movie, The Perfect Score. One of the students in the movie who is Asian is portrayed as being a drug user but extremely smart. He uses drugs all of the time but is still able to get good grades in school. This is a negative portrayal of people who are Asian and it stereotypes them as drug users and of having above average intelligence. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be perceived as a person who smokes marijuana and is a stoner. I would want to be portrayed as intelligent but not a drug user. Based on this portrayal, I feel that race plays an important part in statuses because different races are thought to be of higher statuses. 5. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Beverley Hills 90210. People in this show, who are mainly white, are viewed as being extremely rich, affluent, greedy, and having a ton of drama in their lives. It stereotypes the typical ââ¬Å"California teenager. â⬠It is a negative portrayal of young people who live in California. It reinforces the stereotypes of the typical California surfer and teenager. All teenagers who live in California donââ¬â¢t act this way, but they are portrayed as being like this. This portrayal can also be seen in newer shows such as Laguna Beach and The Hills. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other segments of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want to be seen as a rich snob who relies on their parentââ¬â¢s money. I would want to just blend in with society. I feel that people who are white are sometimes given a higher status then people of other races. . ) In the movie Soul Man, minorities are portrayed as having an easier time of getting into college. In this movie, a student who wants to get into a particularly difficult school dyes his skin a darker color so he can hopefully get in. This is a negative portrayal of minorities because it is saying that they have an easier chance of getting into college because they are a minority. It reinforces the stereotype that colleges have a certain quota to fill and that minorities sometimes do have an easier time getting into a certain college. If I were a member of this group, I would not want other members of societies receiving this image of me as a member of this group because I would not want them to think that I got accepted into a college because of my race. I would want my acceptance into college to be viewed as an achievement because I worked hard in high school. This portrayal sends out the message that minorities are sometimes given extra benefits because of what colleges have to do. 7. ) An example of how minorities are portrayed in popular culture is on the TV show, Family Matters. This show is about a middle-class African American family that lives in Chicago. I believe this show is a positive portrayal because it shows a functional black family with goals and aspirations. Other shows that I have watched unfortunately present blacks as violent people who are often linked to crime. They are portrayed as ââ¬Å"gangstersâ⬠in many shows, and it seems as though their only aspirations are to become a rapper or a basketball player. However, in Family Matters, there is a middle class black family that is portrayed in a very positive light. There are no violent acts being committed, and as a matter of fact, the father is a policeman who helps prevent violent acts. If I were a member of this group I would approve of this portrayal because this family is not being portrayed as a dysfunctional black family. This show was able to incorporate comedy in the episodes without being demeaning. 8) In the movie Mean Girls, there is a group of Asians called the ââ¬Å"Asian Nerdsâ⬠and they are constantly studying. Asians are often linked with the stereotype that they are superior students. I feel as though this could be both a negative and positive stereotype. It is good to be seen as successful and smart but not all Asians should be perceived to be academically exceptional. I would not want to be perceived in this way because then it seems like you have an expectations to live up to and what if you cannot live up to them? What if you are Asian and you are not a ââ¬Å"geniusâ⬠? I would constantly feel pressure and if I was unable to live up to that expectation I can only imagine the anxiety that I would feel and I would most likely be embarrassed to get help. It is true that it is positive thing to be seen as a successful race but it comes along with too many expectation and negative stereotypes such as being uninterested in having fun. ) This cover of Vogue magazine can be interpreted negatively because some people believe that Lebron James is standing in a gorilla-like pose. This cover can be traced back to days when scientists were claiming that blacks are linked to apes. This is a negative stereotype because it dehumanizes black. Researchers say that even though depictions of blacks as apes have disappeared; it is still in the subconsciouses of others. Society may be more likely to link blacks with crime and violence because they still donââ¬â¢t accept blacks as fully human. The fact that blacks are still being associated with apes is very distressing. Clearly, if I were in this group I would not want other members of society viewing me as ââ¬Å"ape-like. â⬠It dehumanizes blacks and links them to negative actions such as crime. 10. Another example of how minorities are portrayed in the media is through a show called The Office. In one of the episodes, the main character Michael is forming a basketball team and he immediately recruits one of his employees named Stanley, because he is black. He automatically assumes that Stanley is good at basketball because he is black even though Stanley tries to tell him otherwise. However, Michael clings onto the stereotype that all blacks are good at basketball and in the end he is proved wrong. I do not think this is a good stereotype because you cannot group everybody that belongs to a certain race into one category. Not all blacks are going to be good at basketball, just like not all Asians are going to be smart. We develop pre-conceived notions about people based on their race, and it is not good. I would not want other members of society perceiving me in this way because the stereotype does not hold true for all blacks. How to cite Portrayals of Minorities in pop culture, Papers
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Hurricane Ivan and its Effects on Grenada Essay Example For Students
Hurricane Ivan and its Effects on Grenada Essay Hurricane Ivan has played a huge role in the further declination of ties between Grenada and Taiwan. Grenada reported that it would need approximately $27 million to sustain itself and begin reconstruction during the 6 month period which followed Hurricane Ivan. Grenadas Prime Minister, Keith Mitchell, reported the damage to be over $1 billion as its entire agricultural industry was wiped out. Tourism was halted as well as most of the hotels were damaged to the point they needed to stop operations. Most if not all Grenadian Nutmeg farmers had little or no insurance to cover the damages and future earnings they might have received. Worse yet they have no hope of replanting the nutmeg trees any time soon as it takes a decade for the trees to become fruitful. For many of these people, their harvests were their only source of revenue and hope to survive; many will be forced to plant vegetables so they can feed their own families. Therefore, aside from the initial devastation which was experienced, scores of Grenadians will be hurt by Ivan for years to come. One can not blame Keith Mitchell for being angered by the apparent ignorance he perceives is Taiwans policy toward Grenada. Conversely China can easily use this as an excuse to engage (successfully) in dollar diplomacy with Taiwan, slowly inching the nation out of the Caribbean politically landscape. Interestingly enough, other Caribbean nations stepped aside from wanting to receive aid stating that they could handle it on their own. In the end, Grenadas prime minister which has helped the island prosper up until Ivan will be charged with helping the island survive the years of reconstruction which will follow. The switching over to diplomacy with China instead of Taiwan (who offered only $10 million in relief after Ivan) is not only the most logical thing to do, switching is the most necessary thing for Grenada at this critical point in its history. .
Friday, November 29, 2019
Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 Essay Example
Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 Essay The current economic crisis has spread havoc across local and global markets. There can be no place for doubt that certain automobile manufacturers and retailers would also suffer to some extent from the catastrophe. The car industry is a huge entity that has several different subdivisions, and it is quite intriguing to see how consumer behaviour shifts across these sublevels of the automobile market and how different brands engage in dealing with the arising instability. Aston Martin is one of the most famous UK brands and one of the top marquees for top-end sports cars in the entire world. Established in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin, has gone through a lot and many changes have occurred in its history including the change of ownership several times most recently in 2007, which also happens to be the companyââ¬â¢s most successful year of sales when it brought 7300 cars to the roads. Today the UK car manufacturer proudly occupies one of the leading positions in the market for luxury vehicles and seems like it is planning to expand further from that. When it comes to assessing socio-cultural factors that determine the external environment of Aston Martin one has to understand this is a company that exists on an international level. It has over 100 dealerships in about thirty countries around the globe including the US, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China (Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd). We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Apart from the fact that it would be extremely difficult to collect and process socio-cultural information about possible clients in these countries, a company that deals with top-end car manufacturing is certainly not targeting the average household, or any group of people that can be denoted by a common feature other than wealth. The percentage of people that possess the spending power to buy an Aston Martin is rather low anywhere around the world. Buyers of such cars occupy the higher levels of society in most countries but of course for Aston Martin it would be most profitable to establish a dealership in areas with high concentration of people with the ability and willingness to spend; example of areas of such potential are Monaco, Kuwait, and Dubai. It is a fact that the Middle East has GDP rates rising higher than anywhere else on the planet, and chief executive Ulrich Bez has taken that into account when developing the companyââ¬â¢s future growth plan (Bowker 2008, para. ). Taking technology into consideration one can see that Aston Martin is a bit old-fashioned in terms of manufacturing, nevertheless that does not hinder their ability to combine discipline in crafting with innovative approach and creativity. Nowadays car engineering is split between mechanical and electronic engineering. Aston Martin emphasizes on the use of manual labour to get the job done, whereas their counterparts from Porsche rely on the precisi on of computers in the assembly of their cars. Unquestionably Aston Martin strives to utilize every unit of input in order to create perfection as a final product. Their cars represent a splendid blend of heritage and innovation in terms of design and vision, and also excel when it comes to performance on the road. Undeniably Aston Martinââ¬â¢s headquarters at Gaydon in the UK is one of the finest car production facilities in the world. At Gaydon Aston Martins are being assembled manually bit by bit to create a masterpiece (Aston Martin Lagonda Limited). The ââ¬Å"heartâ⬠of every car is its engine, and engines for Aston Martins are primarily V8 and V12, which are all products of the specialised Niehl Engine Plant that was build during the Ford regime in Cologne, Germany. Presently Aston Martin engines are still being produced at the factory in Cologne; however, recent news of a deal between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin (Kacher 2008) has caused speculations about the use of Mercedes-built engines in the new Astons, which would definitely be an upgrade for the British car manufacturer. Among the major victims of the economic catastrophe at the moment is the car market. The crisis worsens is evident; figures for the UK in October 2008, historically one of the two busiest months on the calendar for car purchases, are down by 21% in comparison to the previous year (Pollard 2008). However, it seems that some car companies have gained advantage of the current economic situation. Present market conditions are beneficial for companies that offer lightweight cars with small, fuel-efficient engines such as Smart, which has more than doubled its sales with a rise of 105% in 2008 compared to last yearââ¬â¢s (Pollard 2008). Aston Martin on the other hand has suffered a 26% fall in its sales, year-to year figures dropping from a total of 1978 sales up until last yearââ¬â¢s November to 1479 units up until the same month this year (Moody 2008 p. 44). As gloomy as the situation might seems for Aston Martin it is the same for their direct competitor Bentley, which is experiencing the same decline in sales. The UK Car market is in its worst condition since 1966 (Pollard 2008). The existing situation presents an unprecedented slowdown compared to the major rise of car sales in the past several years. The credit crunch has effectively crippled the entire European car market excluding only a few countries. ââ¬Å"Warwickshire car maker Aston Martin is suffering from the economic downturn but is hoping to offset weakness in the UK and United States with bigger sales in emerging markets ââ¬â with the Middle East a key target. â⬠(Bowker 2008, para. 1). The stagnation that has seized Europe presently regarding automobile market may be the reason why Aston Martinââ¬â¢s chief-executive Ulrich Bez has decided to shift the focus of the companyââ¬â¢s future growth plans towards the Middle East market where the situation looks a lot better. However, that is not the only option for Aston Martin. Going further east China and Indiaââ¬â¢s economies are undergoing such rapid development that is unparalleled by nothing before it. There are definitely many more markets for Aston Martin to explore and possibly exploit. Some of the difficulties that Aston Martin will have to face in the years to come are the regulations that the EU is imposing on CO2 emissions for cars. Currently several EU bodies are struggling to reach a consensus regarding this issue. The scheme that is presently proposed states that by 2012 all car-making companies need to begin efficient reduction in the emission of CO2 from their products in order for all newly manufactured cars to reach a mark of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre by the year of 2015 and supposedly a maximum of 95g/km of CO2 is the goal for 2020 (ClimateBiz 2008). These figures are quite upsetting for companies such as Aston Martin. Their cars are top-end luxury sports cars that exceed on average the 2015 maximum by approximately three times. The DBS for example has CO2 emission of approximately 388g/km (Pepper 2008). Even though there are fierce debates taking place in the European Parliament regarding the reduction of CO2 emissions, it is certain that car manufacturers will have to lower the carbon dioxide exhausts from their engines. Turning to the internal marketing environment that Aston Martin operates in one must acknowledge that the target customer for the company is not by any means an average person. Price is a vital factor when it comes to defining consumer behaviour, and Aston Martin is aware of that fact, that is why they offer basic models of their cars at prices a lot lower than the ones of the premium models. People buying an Aston Martin are able to choose from a wide range of accessories and specifications to go in their cars, which means that the price spectrum also fluctuates. The lowest price for a new volume-produced Aston Martin in the current market is ? 83 194 for the Aston Martin Vantage model (Pepper 2008), which is still a tremendous amount of money. Nevertheless, an exquisite product such as Aston Martin classifies as a luxury good that is designed to suit a sophisticated taste. A buyer of an Aston Martin would choose such a car to match his lifestyle, to satisfy his personal desires, not needs. If we could apply the Maslowââ¬â¢s hierarchy pyramid to the case with a person buying an Aston Martin we would expect this person to satisfy one of the higher levels of the pyramid with such a purchase, whereas a Toyota Corolla or a Volkswagen Golf for example would be a necessity for one of the lower stages. If we could create a profile for the average Aston Martin buyer we would get a male, probably single with affinity for luxury and sense of style, and of course having the capital to afford an Aston Martin. Nevertheless, changes in consumer demand do affect Aston Martin as well, so the UK automobile brand will be making changes in its production line. Among the companyââ¬â¢s new projects for 2009 is the Rapide, which is going to be an entirely new member of the Aston Martin car family not the usual two-door, two-seats drive, but instead it will be a saloon car. The new Rapide will offer more space, which was the major aspect that all previous Aston Martin models were lacking. This is clearly an attempt by Aston Martin to make its entry into another section of the car industry by offering its client more utility. There is a high chance that market might witness the appearance of an Aston Martin hybrid quite soon, which would be a ââ¬Ëchildââ¬â¢ of a rumoured Aston Martin ââ¬â Mercedes Benz alliance (Kacher 2008). A jewel that Aston Martin is going to add to its crown is also a new car that is due to come out in 2009 ââ¬â the Aston Martin ââ¬Ëone-77ââ¬â¢, the price of which will orbit around ? 1. 2million(BBC Magazines Limited). Servicing customerââ¬â¢s concerns is crucial for every company that is why the Warwickshire company provides one of the best Service Works for their vehicles. Their facility based in Newport Pagnell offers premium services that vary from fixing small flaws, renovation of heritage cars to repairing severely damaged vehicles. (Cooke and de Burton 2007, p. 62). Aston Martin evidently is striving to portray a strong brand image that is also concerned with the satisfaction of its customers, and that seems to be paying off as the car manufacturer was selected to be the coolest brand in the UK for the year 2007 (CNN 2007). The industry in which Aston Martin competes primarily is the top-end car market, and that is a market which most of the biggest car companies strive to dominate. Direct competitors for Aston Martinââ¬â¢s products are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes, and many other brands although the once mentioned are the fiercest rivals. The British car company seemed as strong as ever last year recording top sales for its 95 year history but with the already occurring market stagnation will it continue to do so well. Following the example of many other industries in the same situation, Aston Martin has launched a cooperative programme with one of its competitors, namely Mercedes-Benz (Kacher 2008). The advantages to be seized for Aston Martinââ¬â¢s specialists from the deal are tremendous as the UK engineers would be gaining access to the research and development department of the German automobile titan. Another vital aspect of the deal is the future cooperation in the creation of hybrid-powered Aston Martins, which would tackle very successfully issues with fuel inefficiency and CO2 emissions. Another important decision was made by Ulrich Bez regarding his companyââ¬â¢s future; one of the newest volume models to commence production will be built outside the UK, which is a precedent in the history of the company. The task for the assembly and production of the Aston Martin Rapide is assigned to the Austrian Magna Steyr company. Aston Martin has undergone a turbulent transformation in the past, most of that is due to the change of ownership. The UK brand was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1987 but twenty years later Ford parted with Aston Martin and sold the British car company to a consortium headed by David Richardsââ¬â¢s Prodrive and part of which are two Kuwaiti investment houses ââ¬â Investment Dar and Adeem Investment (Aston Martin Lagonda Limited). The shift seems to have taken Aston Martin to new heights taking into account the companyââ¬â¢s last year achievements, the announcement of the stunning new projects like Aston Maritn Rapide and the ââ¬Ë177ââ¬â¢, and even the possible future cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. Nevertheless, the economic status quo raises issues which are tough to be dealt with even by a company like Aston Martin. In an attempt to tackle the problem with the financial upheaval the UK car company has decided to ââ¬Ëdecimateââ¬â¢ its personnel. In all three hundred permanent posts nd exactly the same amount of temporary jobs will be liquidated within the company from a total of 1850 people currently employed (Pollard 2008). Despite the drawbacks of this loss Aston Martinââ¬â¢s chief executive Ulrich Bez states that Aston Martin will not be shutting down or reducing production and the new projects will be making their market debut according to the companyââ¬â¢s initial schemes. Aston Mar tin has a strong brand name existing for 95 years, during which it has acquired and developed expertise in the manufacturing of luxury sports cars. This puts company in a leading position as a world top-end car manufacturer with a major influence on the highest levels of the car market. Recent change in ownership also proves to be beneficial for Aston Martin so far. Probable joint operations with Mercedes-Benz are likely to boost the UK automobile maker even higher in the overall car market ranking. Expansion into new markets in the Middle East has become also a top priority of the company at the moment. These factors, combined with the adequate management that has proven itself over the past, compose the strength of the company. Currently Aston Martin only holds a tiny share of the world car market. The company has entrusted the production of a new car series to a foreign manufacturer which is clearly shows the lack of production power. The UK manufacturer is also attempting to enter new markets in terms of car diversification, but that might prove catastrophic because of the swiftness with which the plans are being executed and the current economic climate. Especially when a company like Aston Martin is forced to cut down on its operating personnel it means that production will fall and no matter what the company will suffer. The potential mutual programme between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin could prove very beneficial for Aston Martin. For a small company specialised in a single branch of the car industry a partnership with Mercedes could mean access to the research and development, using Mercedes patents and technology along with Mercedes-built engines and other components. Considering the market instability at the moment Aston Martin could possibly widen their range of automobiles to the levels below the premium. Using hybrid-engine technology implements in Aston Martin engineering is a viable option. Further territorial growth is definitely a chance for Aston Martin to win market share. Major threat to Aston Martinââ¬â¢s future is the EU regulations that are to be enforced in 2012 regarding CO2 emissions. Fluctuating fuel prices and possible fuel shortage also pose danger to the position of the brand on the market. Customersââ¬â¢ increasing tendency to buy fuel-efficient, environment-friendly cars will definitely put the UK manufacturer at stake. Not last comes the threat from the potential alliance with Mercedes. A large foreign company with much interest in a small manufacturer like Aston Martin could prove to be devastating for the image of the UK brand and might threaten its future. Making the correct choices is crucial for Aston Martin in the current marketing environment. For a brand with such expertise in luxury cars it would be wise to keep the production coming, making sure the new products are upgrades of the previous ones. Another improvement for Aston Martin would be to take their products to markets where other industries are flourishing and cash is flowing in ââ¬â the Middle East and Asia. Trying to tune up with the growing concern for fuel efficiency and environment conservation Aston Martin should look more seriously into hybrid-fuelled cars like many other car manufacturers have. Advertising is an area where measures need to be taken, not only when it comes to entering new markets, but also promoting in already established ones with emphasizing the distinguishing characteristics of the brand. References BBC Magazines Limited. 2008. One-77: its out [Online]. Available at: http://www. topgear. com/uk/car-news/aston-martin-one-77-hot-image. [Accessed 03 Dec 2008]. Bowker, J. 2008. Aston Martin targets Middle East market [Online]. Available at: http://www. birminghampost. net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/emerging-markets/2008/09/09/aston-martin-targets-middle-east-market-65233-21714080/. [Accessed 02 Dec 2008]. Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. 2006. Consumer Behaviour. In: Principles of Marketing. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, pp. 115-121. ClimateBizStaff. 2008. EU Car Emissions Agreement Stalls [Online]. Available at: http://www. climatebiz. com/news/2008/11/26/eu-car-emissions-agreement-stalls.
Monday, November 25, 2019
How to Write a Dissertation in Mathematics Step-by-step Guide
How to Write a Dissertation in Mathematics Step-by-step Guide A dissertation in mathematics is a significant component of postgraduate education where students have to work independently and produce a coherent piece of text in which they need to describe the results of their investigation. Itââ¬â¢s a challenging and time-consuming project which requires thorough understanding of complex mathematical concepts and producing coherent research outcome. To help you cope with this complex academic paper, weââ¬â¢ve created this guide which covers the essential steps in writing a dissertation in mathematics and addresses the most common difficulties that students face during the writing process. You will learn how to structure your dissertation and write its chapters. We will provide you with editing and proofreading tips and give you a list of 15 interesting dissertation topics. If you struggle with writing any other academic project, on our website, you will find full guides to all writing assignments out there. What Is a Dissertation in Mathematics? Basic Requirements Dissertation in mathematics is an individual project where students investigate and study a specific area of mathematical research or an application of advanced mathematical techniques and write a report on their findings. When writing a dissertation in mathematics, you will learn to understand complex mathematical texts, work on open-ended problems, and communicate mathematical reasoning and ideas clearly. In your dissertation, you need to report what was previously known on a particular topic and contribute to some field of mathematics. A Masters dissertation can be either expository that explains some results that are already known or research-based that includes a new theorem. A PhD dissertation in mathematics is based on original mathematical research and includes at least one previously unknown substantial theorem. The length of a dissertation varies with the topic and typically is between 50 to 80 pages for Mastersââ¬â¢ dissertation. Keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity. Mathematical sentences contain notations, figures, and equations that are difficult to type if you use a typical word-processing program. Thatââ¬â¢s why dissertations in mathematics should normally be produced in TEX or LaTEX which were specifically designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. If you are going to type your dissertation in mathematics yourself, you should dedicate a certain amount of time to become familiar with this software. And keep in mind that you will need several drafts because itââ¬â¢s practically impossible to concentrate on getting all aspects of your paper (layout, mathematics, grammar, spelling etc.) correct at once. Writing is a process and no one is capable of producing a well-organized, clear, and error-free exposition the first time he/she sits down to write. Typically, good papers are thoroughly rewritten at least once or twice and the key sections often require 3 to 5 major revisions. A dissertation in mathematics reports results of your investigation and should meet the following standards: It should follow a standard format for scientific communication and include a title, introduction, results, discussion, conclusions, and bibliography. You need to follow conventions of mathematical writing and citations. Your final paper should be correct and logically coherent. You should clearly explain which contributions are your own and which you have taken from other scholarly sources. You also have to report negative results. The text of your dissertation should be clear, interesting, and readable. You should write it with your readers in mind and ensure that even non-experts could be able to make sense of what you write. Precision is crucial. Every mathematical statement in your dissertation must have a precise mathematical meaning. You must define every term and every symbol and use them according to their definition. You must also justify every mathematical conclusion that you reach in your paper. If you write something (ideas, facts, proofs, mathematical results) which you obtained from a published source, you must refer to such a source in the text and list it in your bibliography to avoid plagiarism. Choosing a Good Topic for a Dissertation in Mathematics The first step in writing a dissertation in mathematics is choosing a topic. The dissertation project typically relates to the research interests of your supervisor so you should speak to members of the staff about possible dissertation topics and find out who works in the areas that you are interested in. If you canââ¬â¢t think of something to write about, here is a list of topic suggestions for your inspiration. Representations of Finite Hecke Algebras for Complex Reflection Groups; Homotopy Type Theory: Computing Homotopy Groups of Spheres; Geometric Quantisation of Symplectic Manifolds; Cohomology of Abelian Varieties; Geometric Class Field Theory; Application of Theorems of Grushko and Stallings for Classification of Groups up to Quasi-isometry; Evolution Equations: Problems Arising in Population Dynamics; Low-rank Approximations in Multiple Variables; Stochastic Gradient Descent Methods; Application of Discrete Mathematical Techniques in Cellular Automation Models in Biology; Fluctuation Theory of Levy Processes; Random Matrices and Free Probability; Intersection Theory of Singular Varieties; Linear Programming Methods in Combinatorics; Mathematical Modelling in Metal Forming Processes. How to Structure Your Dissertation in Mathematics Dissertations in mathematics typically give an extended analysis of a particular topic and report on a research project or study. A dissertation commonly consists of multiple chapters: Abstract of approximately 300 words summarizes the aims, scope, and the conclusions of a dissertation. Introduction introduces a specific research topic, its scope, and significance, gives a review of relevant literature, and briefly outlines the logical structure of your dissertation. Body of the paper should be structured into several chapters that contain proofs and details of numerical implementations. Conclusion restates the main arguments, tells about the consequences, and provides suggestions for future work. You may structure the body of the work like this: Introduction Proof of Theorem 1 Proof of Theorem 2 Numerical Examples Extensions Writing a Dissertation in Mathematics A dissertation in mathematics is based on independent mathematical research which differs from most researches in other fields of knowledge. To get your PhD in math, you need to create at least one new theorem and become a worldââ¬â¢s expert in your niche. Thatââ¬â¢s not easy. Typically, it takes about a year and a half of hard work reading papers and attacking different math problems before you find one that you can prove. So first, you need to choose an advisor, select a topic, and work hard on your research reading papers, making conjectures, and proving lemmas. While reading, you should analyze examples, and memorize important vocabulary. You should understand that you wonââ¬â¢t be able to prove your theorem by making one big step. Youââ¬â¢ll need work hard and add lemma after lemma, write down your research results, and keep them organized in your notebook. You may need a couple of years to prove your theorem and you never know if you are following the right or the wrong path for a proof until you actually find it. Research will take up most of your time but youââ¬â¢ll also need to meet regularly with your supervisor and attend all relevant seminars. When you start writing your dissertation, you should provide definitions for terms and notations that you will use throughout the paper so that your readers can understand your work. The best way to do it is to provide explanations of the key terms in the introduction section. Your introduction should also clearly describe the problem and put it into the context. When writing the main chapters of your dissertation, you should split lengthy proofs in several steps or several lemmas, taking care of the logical flow. When writing a proof, you must start with the hypothesis and use other mathematical truths such as definitions, axioms, computations or theorems to arrive at the desired conclusion. Write your proof like a manual in a natural step-by-step order. You need to provide all logical steps but there is no need to explain obvious arguments. Itââ¬â¢s important to provide clear arguments and justify every step. Donââ¬â¢t just add a parenthetical remark, telling readers that a certain equation was used. You should provide step-by-step explanations in full sentences. When you finish a long argument, you should summarize it. You should also mark the end of your proof. Donââ¬â¢t forget to link ideas in different chapters using transition words and phrases. This way, you will integrate your work and see your dissertation as one whole in your mind. Itââ¬â¢s important to number equations, as well as theorems, lemmas, etc. by section to help your readers follow your argument. You should also include numerical results, examples, computations, comparisons, and interpretations. Donââ¬â¢t try to write an abstract of your dissertation in mathematics first because youââ¬â¢ll only waste your time. Itââ¬â¢s the most difficult part of any academic paper and it should be written last in spite of the fact that it appears at the very beginning of a document. You should try to condense the content of your dissertation into one paragraph and ensure that your readers will be able to understand your message. Abstract provides readers with a quick overview of your dissertation and its organization. It should express your hypothesis and your key points in the proof. Besides, your abstract should suggest applications o implications of the research you discuss in the paper. How to Cite Sources in Mathematical Writing You must properly cite all sources of the results used in your dissertation that are not your own because if you state a definition, theorem or an idea and donââ¬â¢t give reference to it, you tell your audience that it is something absolutely new and make a claim that you have created it. And if itââ¬â¢s not true, you commit plagiarism. Every time you use a personââ¬â¢s words or even ideas, you need to give them credit. This includes direct citing and paraphrasing. All major citation styles require using in-text citations and an entry in a reference or bibliography list. When referring to your bibliography in text of your dissertation in mathematics, you need to include the item into the square brackets e.g. [45] and then provide more specific information such as theorem number and page number. e.g. E. Snow [46, Proposition 4.1, p.3] gave a good example of â⬠¦ When you present a technical material word for word, such as a definition or a statement of theorem, you donââ¬â¢t need to use quotation marks if you provide an appropriate reference. Revising and Polishing Your Dissertation in Mathematics As you write each chapter of your dissertation in math and finish it, you should read it for understanding and pay attention to the logical flow and sense of continuity. Then, you should read it again and this time, you need to pay attention to how comprehensible it is to ensure that your audience will understand your arguments. Finally, you should read it once more and pay attention to language issues like spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Following these three stages, you will be able to evaluate each chapter for its structure, content, and style. When you complete all chapters, you should read the dissertation again and this time, check overall understanding, coherence, clarity, precision, and presentation. Ask your supervisor to read and criticize your early draft of your dissertation. Keep in mind that the more you polish up your math dissertation, the better your chances of getting good mark for it. A good idea is to do a final revision of the text of your dissertation in math on a printed copy instead of doing it on the computer. Printing your math dissertation out and revising it on hard copy can help you feel as if you are reviewing someone elseââ¬â¢s paper. Itââ¬â¢s a useful technique because it will help you overcome the writersââ¬â¢ blindness and be more objective so that you will be able to spot more mistakes, typos or inconsistencies. If you take the right approach and take full responsibility for your project from the very beginning, you will be able to write a competent dissertation in mathematics and make a significant contribution to this field of study.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Economics in the early renaissance Research Paper
Economics in the early renaissance - Research Paper Example The economic development at the time portrayed the economy as a cohesive structure with numerous facets all of which function independently albeit in unison to enhance the economic growth of the entire society. The numerous sectors in the early renaissance economies thrived on peaceful economies coupled with systematic integration with other neighboring economies in order to expand their economies. Specific dynasties and think tanks such as Aristotle and Plato contributed fundamental economic ideas that fostered the development of the economies as I discuss in the easy below. In the research of the early renaissance economy, I research the theories fostered by numerous classical and neoclassical economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Effective taxation refers to a system of taxation in which the government demands a fair share of the citizensââ¬â¢ earning thus leaving the citizens with an adequate amount to foster the economic growth of the countries. At a time that the church played an important role in te formulation and implementation of policies, taxation was a fundamental issue since the royal dynasties often collaborated with the church to defraud the people. However, in order for the countries to register economic growth, the leadership had to implement effective policies that would enhance effective taxation, a system that would curb exploitation and enhance the appropriate utilization of the expenditure. Among the early cities worse governments exhibited effective management of resources was Florence. Florence was a small inland cit y in Italy that unlike other inland cities became economic success. Among the reasons for Florenceââ¬â¢s success was the use of the resources in enhancing the liquidity of the economy. The Medici circulated the money in the economy through increased public spending thus resulting in the thriving of arts among other sectors of the economy. This way, the government raised the purchasing power
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Late Adult Personal Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Late Adult Personal Interview - Essay Example Sigmund Freud taught that a child goes through stages of development. A childââ¬â¢s personality is formed by the age of 5 when the child enters the (sexual) latency stage (Storr, 1989). Erikson, a student of Freudââ¬â¢s daughter Anna, also taught that there are stages of development; however, he differed from the elder Freud, and taught that a personââ¬â¢s sense of identity is not fully formed as a child. Erikson taught that individuals continue to develop and evolve throughout their life. Whereas Freud stressed the importance of reaching milestones within a certain period during childhood, Erikson stressed the importance of cultural demands upon a child during life transitions (Erikson, 1959). According to the teachings of Freud, the older person could not accept concepts divergent from their basic philosophies. Eriksonââ¬â¢s followers, however, would slowly advance through stages of acceptance of new concepts. Erikson taught that learning and development occur throughou t life. Eriksonââ¬â¢s theories were evident in the interview with a woman who had experienced many tragedies, yet overcame them to life a full and productive life. Interview with Joyce Joyce Smith, age 67, resides in a condominium inside the city limits of Atlanta, Georgia. (Change this to your city.) After agreeing to the interview and signing the consent form (see Appendix A), Joyce indicated she preferred the interview take place in her living room, and it did. Joyce stated she had lived in her condominium since 1982, and was most relaxed there. The condo was quite comfortable with overstuffed chairs, large potted plants, thick carpets, antique tables, and three large Maine Coon cats.
Monday, November 18, 2019
The role of the judge is to declare what the law is, and not to make Essay - 1
The role of the judge is to declare what the law is, and not to make it.Discuss this statement with reference to the theory and practice of both statutory interpretation and the doctrine of precedent - Essay Example The application of the law in particular controversies has been a contentious matter of this nature. Laws necessarily are framed in a general way so that they apply to a group of circumstances. When the judge seeks to apply these general principles to a specific case, he necessarily has to restate the law to a certain degree in order to put the case within its context. Similarly, the judge in common law cases is tasked to apply judicial precedent to subsequent cases to maintain stability in the law. The idea is that once meritorious, always meritorious ââ¬â and, necessarily, the same for non-meritorious cases. Occasionally, however, the judge finds the need to modify or differentiate from precedent, to serve the ends of justice. In his treatise on the history and theory of statutory interpretation, William D. Popkin observed that originally, the judiciary and Parliament were not formally separated. Until the thirteenth century, Parliament was a mere group composed of powerful people summoned at the pleasure of the king. The function of Parliament at the time included ââ¬Å"agreeing to pay taxes (it did not legislate taxes so much as assent to requests for money), dealing with matters of state (often foreign affairs), responding to petitions (what we would call private legislation), and passing some general rules (often prompted by petitions). Parliament was not so much a body as an occasion at which people met to parley or speak with the king as they saw fitâ⬠(Popkin, 1999). What may be deduced here is that judicial techniques such as statutory interpretation could not have existed while the legislature had not developed a sense of separation from judging. Until that was achieved, there was nothing to ââ¬Å"interpretâ⬠as judges, being part of Parliament, could claim absolute competence in understanding the law. There was therefore a ââ¬Å"shared sense of common enterpriseâ⬠between Parliament and the judiciary because of the
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Media Image of Asian Women Essay Example for Free
Media Image of Asian Women Essay The media is large platform that signifies or represents individual on a ranging scale of different perspective. The media largely influences personality through a formative role with a representative segment of a communityââ¬â¢s view. The Asian women are a sample case with a unique representative within the media. Various forms of media including television, film and movies have a reflective effect on the Asian women. As such, the Asian women are accredited a distinctive feature within various cultures of the world. The resultant effect is propagating effect that creates a lasting effect to the world at large. The media image of Asian women presents such individuals as unsympathetic and character driven. The exemplary platforms displayed by the media on such women showcases a highly competitive group as compared to the other counterpart women of the world. This understanding of the Asian women is a built profile from highly ambitious women who are career driven. The few high ranking personality within industrial sectors is goal oriented with propounding results. An exemplary case study of the Asian women image portrayed by the media is the physicians (Chan, Karpovich, Zhang, 2011). These groups of women focus of logistics evaluation based on the eventual success. As such, the typical Asian woman is depicted of sound judgment and eventual delivery given unique working environments. Conclusion A social element of the Asian women portrayed in the media is sexual aspect and exotic objects. Asian women are an iconic group largely adored in various continents of the world. The media portrays the Asian woman as an intelligent group with high work ethics. The media also endorses the Asian woman as a professional group given the various working conditions. Reference Chan, F., Karpovich, A., Zhang, X. (2011). Genre in Asian film and television: New approaches. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Source document
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Censorship of David Wojnarowicz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Francisco Goy
The Censorship of David Wojnarowicz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Francisco Goya Censorship is usually considered ââ¬Å"officialâ⬠censorship because it is action taken by governmental institutions such as government committees, or universities, to limit the view of a specific artwork or a group of works by the public. However, these concrete official actions taken to limit public view of specific artwork are only the results of the abstract ââ¬Å"censoring attitudesâ⬠of individuals or groups of individuals, encouraging the actions. Censoring attitudes can arise from feelings of race or gender discrimination, discrimination against the gay community, fear of taboos and controversially issues, and assumed moral or Christian authority. It is these attitudes that are the basis of censorship, not necessarily the artistââ¬â¢s intentions of their artwork, because each individual viewer of the artistââ¬â¢s specific piece will unconsciously project his/her own anxieties and fears into the artistââ¬â¢s artwork. What drives the individual to c ensor the artistââ¬â¢s work is the product of their attitudes being reflected in the subject matter of the artwork, and the result of censorship is keeping the artistââ¬â¢s work from being exposed or even from being created. A mutually supportive relationship between artists and society would be the ideal under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Our society would recognize and support an expanded role for artists. Free and diverse artistic expressions are vital for challenging people to rethink their assumptions and for educating people about past and present issues. We should oppose censorship in the arts, and encourage individual and social expression by artists. Only by supporting the voice... ... money, and of course the committee voted to pass the amendment. The result of the committee was the ââ¬Å"Miller testâ⬠that labeled art as obscene when ââ¬Å"the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific valueâ⬠(378). But according to whose values? If the juryââ¬â¢s values differ from that of the artist, who defiantly considers his work serious, the artist expression is limited. Another example was the criticism made by Dr. Judith Reisman who disagreed that Mapplethorpeââ¬â¢s photographs were art because they ââ¬Å"failed to express human emotionâ⬠because of the sexual images(379). But this statement also requires the question, by whose values? Maybe they do not show human emotion to her because she believes only traditional ââ¬Å"beautifulâ⬠things can invoke emotion, but they may invoke emotions in other viewers, which is the artist's purpose. Censorship of David Wojnarowicz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Francisco Goy The Censorship of David Wojnarowicz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Francisco Goya Censorship is usually considered ââ¬Å"officialâ⬠censorship because it is action taken by governmental institutions such as government committees, or universities, to limit the view of a specific artwork or a group of works by the public. However, these concrete official actions taken to limit public view of specific artwork are only the results of the abstract ââ¬Å"censoring attitudesâ⬠of individuals or groups of individuals, encouraging the actions. Censoring attitudes can arise from feelings of race or gender discrimination, discrimination against the gay community, fear of taboos and controversially issues, and assumed moral or Christian authority. It is these attitudes that are the basis of censorship, not necessarily the artistââ¬â¢s intentions of their artwork, because each individual viewer of the artistââ¬â¢s specific piece will unconsciously project his/her own anxieties and fears into the artistââ¬â¢s artwork. What drives the individual to c ensor the artistââ¬â¢s work is the product of their attitudes being reflected in the subject matter of the artwork, and the result of censorship is keeping the artistââ¬â¢s work from being exposed or even from being created. A mutually supportive relationship between artists and society would be the ideal under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Our society would recognize and support an expanded role for artists. Free and diverse artistic expressions are vital for challenging people to rethink their assumptions and for educating people about past and present issues. We should oppose censorship in the arts, and encourage individual and social expression by artists. Only by supporting the voice... ... money, and of course the committee voted to pass the amendment. The result of the committee was the ââ¬Å"Miller testâ⬠that labeled art as obscene when ââ¬Å"the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific valueâ⬠(378). But according to whose values? If the juryââ¬â¢s values differ from that of the artist, who defiantly considers his work serious, the artist expression is limited. Another example was the criticism made by Dr. Judith Reisman who disagreed that Mapplethorpeââ¬â¢s photographs were art because they ââ¬Å"failed to express human emotionâ⬠because of the sexual images(379). But this statement also requires the question, by whose values? Maybe they do not show human emotion to her because she believes only traditional ââ¬Å"beautifulâ⬠things can invoke emotion, but they may invoke emotions in other viewers, which is the artist's purpose.
Monday, November 11, 2019
Andy Warhol and His work on the Contemporary Art Essay
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, less commonly known as Andrew Warhola, was a central figure in the pop art category. He is an American artist who reigned around the world as a painter, author, avant-garde filmmaker and as a public personage for his connection to many people of different fields of work and status. Warhol studied in Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as the Carnegie Mellon University) to hone his artistry (www. artgallery. com, 2008). Warhol unify his works through the Keatonesque style which is aritistically and personally affectless. In his work s a Pop artist, conceptual aspects were always there as a key factor. His art was known for its irony, in most of its sense. Campbellââ¬â¢s soup cans was probably his most famous work. The mundane images he made were turned to the so-called ironic art through enlargement, hand-painting or silk-screening. He always mentioned that the idea of his work is always at the surface of his work, obvious, apparent. Other attributes of his work were slight color changes using ink spots (www. pbs. org, 2007). His work reveals contemporary art in such a way it concerns some human desires that never ceases to revolve around. He even made his film where he was an international celebrity and a pop artist. His experiences with many people brought him the ideas of what is contemporary, and made sure that no traces of the artists can be recognized from his artwork.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Google in China Case Study Essay
In the case study presentation regarding the Google Company there have been many challenges that have arisen during the growth of the global leader. One of those challenges is in regards to the penetration of the largely available market in China. Google has a mission ââ¬Å"to organize the worldââ¬â¢s information and make it universally accessible and useful.â⬠(Closing Case: Google in China) Google has constructed a largely profitable advertising business that piggy backs its search engine; which by far is the largest in the world. Using a business model called pay-per-click; advertisers pay Google each time a user of the search engine clicks on one of the paid links that are usually listed on the right hand side of engines results page. These are the paid links and are not included in the main search results generated by Google. The Move In order to penetrate a larger market and further increase popularity Google began running a Chinese language service in 2000 for the largest country on the planet; even though the service was operated from the United States. In 2002, Chinese authorities blocked the site. The people that would have been using Googleââ¬â¢s search engine were directed to a Chinese rival search engine company. This came as a huge surprise to Googleââ¬â¢s managers. When this occurred the co-founder of Google quickly ordered several books on China and began studying in order to understand its vast country and its culture. In just two weeksââ¬â¢ time the services were restored in China. It appeared that this had just come out of nowhere. It was reported by Chinese users that politically sensitive material sites were no longer accessible. This gave way to the suggestion that the Chinese government had begun monitoring search activities more aggressively. This also generated the suggestion that the Chinese government had constructed a giant firewall between Chinese internet and the internet in the rest of the world allowing the Chinese government to block any sites that were deemed insurrectionary. Due to the fact that serving the Chinese from the United States was incredibly slow and the new censorship imposition was ruing search results Google decided it was time for some change. In a new mindset of operations Google decided to open up a site in China using Chinese management and employees and even a Chinese home page. The Culture and Conclusion It appeared that the cultural divide between Google and China caused some misunderstandings to take place; this in-turn caused some serious offenses to be made. Chinese government did what it felt needed to be done in order to keep the divide between government and citizenship as strong as it has always been. Realizing that it had crossed the line, the search giant Google decided to move its Chinese operations overseas. Google was faced with two choices, they could give up China or and lose over 100 million users, a number that rapidly increases every year, or operate out of China and respect the culture. Now that Google is up and operating in China, even though they have to provide a slightly more less lucrative service, they have provided a small notation for every site that has been blocked once the search results show up; a service no other provider gives. References Closing Case: Google in China; by International Business. Competing in the Global Marketplace, Seventh Edition Chapter 4: Ethics in International Business: by Charles W. L. Hill copyright à © 2009 McGraw-Hill, a business unit of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader.aspx
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Free Essays on Rap And Rock And Roll
Whatââ¬â¢s Wrong With Rock & Roll & Rap? An idea believed by many people is that music has a significant effect on the way people think. Professional psychologists say that the lyrics used in music today has a brain-washing effect. This brain-washing effect is supposed to make the listener become so overwhelmed with the lyrics of the song that the person feels that itââ¬â¢s a must to act on what was heard. It doesnââ¬â¢t matter if what they do is accepted or not. It is common to believe that the type of music that provides unacceptable content is rap (hip-hop) music, or rock-n-roll (head-banger) music. The reason people have this presumption about rap and rock-n-roll is because both genres reputations of having or using inappropriate lyrics. A lyric from the N.W.A album F**k The Police states ââ¬Å"Mr. Officer, I want to see you layinââ¬Ë in a coffin, sir.â⬠This statement, as well as music that refers to women as "bitches," "whores" and sex-dispensing "hoes"(Saunders B29)is considered to be "Gangsta rap". ââ¬Å"Gangsta Rapâ⬠has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, violent imagery and misogyny. When rappers were asked why they refer to women as ââ¬Å"bitchesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"hoesâ⬠their replies were similar. "Snoop" uttered that ââ¬Å"it is just for the women who are like that and if you're a real women, you're classy and elegant. Those lyrics wouldnââ¬â¢t necessarily affect you. Y ouââ¬â¢d just groove to the music".(Farley 78). Richard Shaw, A! .K.A Bushwick Bill, stated, "I call women bitches and hoes because all the women I've met since I've been out here are bitches and hoes." When asked at the National Association of Black Journalists convention what he calls his mother Shaw exclaimed, "I call her a 'woman', but I'm not f***ing my mother. If I was f***ing you, you'd be a bitch." (Raspberry A21). He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. Kevin Powell, a writer for Vibe magazine, believes that ra... Free Essays on Rap And Rock And Roll Free Essays on Rap And Rock And Roll Whatââ¬â¢s Wrong With Rock & Roll & Rap? An idea believed by many people is that music has a significant effect on the way people think. Professional psychologists say that the lyrics used in music today has a brain-washing effect. This brain-washing effect is supposed to make the listener become so overwhelmed with the lyrics of the song that the person feels that itââ¬â¢s a must to act on what was heard. It doesnââ¬â¢t matter if what they do is accepted or not. It is common to believe that the type of music that provides unacceptable content is rap (hip-hop) music, or rock-n-roll (head-banger) music. The reason people have this presumption about rap and rock-n-roll is because both genres reputations of having or using inappropriate lyrics. A lyric from the N.W.A album F**k The Police states ââ¬Å"Mr. Officer, I want to see you layinââ¬Ë in a coffin, sir.â⬠This statement, as well as music that refers to women as "bitches," "whores" and sex-dispensing "hoes"(Saunders B29)is considered to be "Gangsta rap". ââ¬Å"Gangsta Rapâ⬠has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, violent imagery and misogyny. When rappers were asked why they refer to women as ââ¬Å"bitchesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"hoesâ⬠their replies were similar. "Snoop" uttered that ââ¬Å"it is just for the women who are like that and if you're a real women, you're classy and elegant. Those lyrics wouldnââ¬â¢t necessarily affect you. Y ouââ¬â¢d just groove to the music".(Farley 78). Richard Shaw, A! .K.A Bushwick Bill, stated, "I call women bitches and hoes because all the women I've met since I've been out here are bitches and hoes." When asked at the National Association of Black Journalists convention what he calls his mother Shaw exclaimed, "I call her a 'woman', but I'm not f***ing my mother. If I was f***ing you, you'd be a bitch." (Raspberry A21). He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. Kevin Powell, a writer for Vibe magazine, believes that ra...
Monday, November 4, 2019
Business ethics and deontology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Business ethics and deontology - Research Paper Example It is a case of ââ¬Å"fraudulent financial reportingâ⬠. Adelphia is a publicly traded corporation based in the United States. In 2002, Adelphia was ranked sixth among the largest cable service providers in the country. In the same year, the company was publicly accused of discrepancies in the financial reports prepared and produced by the company. It was found that the company did not represent the real economic condition and Adelphia was charged of a major accounting disgrace. Investigations proved that the managers modified financial statements of the company by excluding many billion dollars that it held as debt, from the companyââ¬â¢s balance sheets. Hence, auditors could not discover the presence of fraudulent activities that the company indulged in. This is a major example of infringement of deontological issues. It was revealed through investigation that some of the most influential and important rank holding members of the organization lacked ethical behavioral trait s and they were the major participants in this scandal. Key ethical problems The Adelphia scandal is a case of financial fraud that broke the trust of the shareholders and lowered level of faith of the public on the company. It is the most far-reaching financial fraud that has occurred in the country in the past few decades (Markon & Frank, 2002). The company filed for bankruptcy in June 2002 and was finally purchased in July 2006 by Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. Two ethical problems were distinctly identified in this fraudulent case; financial statement modification and superficial statement about stock earnings. The first ethical issue is concerning the fact that the officials in the company had strategically and systematically excluded several billion dollars that the company held as liabilities over the period of four years between 1998 and 2002. The liabilities were hidden fraudulently from the books of off-balance sheet affiliates (Barlaup, Dronen & Stuart, 2009). Additio nally, the company also inflated its earnings in order to meet the expectations of shareholders in the Wall Street. Various operations statistics were falsified and concealed (The SEC, 2002). These activities raised questions about ethical duties of the employees working in different private as well as public corporations. Deontological ethics The term ââ¬Ëethicsââ¬â¢ is generally understood as ââ¬Å"systematic attempt to understand moral concepts and to propose and defend principles and theories regarding right and wrong behaviorâ⬠(Barlaup, Dronen & Stuart, 2009, p. 186). Normative ethics is found to be highly relevant to the issues faced business firms and the problems faced by auditors. Under the framework of normative ethics, three principal theories of ethics can be identified. These are egoism, utilitarianism and deontology. In this section, the focus would be on the deontological theory of ethics. General theory Deontological ethics relate to the ââ¬Å"ethics of duty of principleâ⬠(Cooper, 2000, 179). The term ââ¬Ëdeontologyââ¬â¢ was coined by Bentham (1748-1832) and by this term he emphasized on the following meaning. It is the act of motivating people in such as way that it would maximize overall community happiness. This would be done by mobilizing the causes that inspire specific private
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Kraft Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Kraft Foods - Essay Example The effectiveness of using this website as a marketing tool depends on the extent to which it achieves the desired goals and objectives set by the company. The ultimate objective of designing and hosting a website is to ensure that the company profile reaches out to as many people as possible. The fall of new and improved technologies has enhanced the companyââ¬â¢s use of this website. The company reaches to its potential markets at the click of a button. This enhances consumer awareness, which is a fundamental aspect in marketing. The company acknowledges that markets within and without the United States are diverse and dynamic. In this respect, the Kraft Foodsââ¬â¢ website offers a variety of product and service packages that suit specific markets in and out of the United States. Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States are some of the regions that enjoy customized product and service packages (http://www.kraft.com/). However, this does not imply that markets outside these regions are irrelevant to the company. The website is actually open to the global population, and most importantly the global market. An effective marketing tool has to account for the variations in buyer behavior, tastes, and preferences. Considering these aspects influences the performance of any given marketing tool. Kraft Foodsââ¬â¢ website highlights the companyââ¬â¢s product base and all the services factored in the companyââ¬â¢s operations. This allows the consumers to enjoy a wide range of products and services that the company offers. On the same note, the website provides a platform where the user can directly engage and interact with the company, thereby allowing the company to foster functional relations with the target markets. A positive impact on the companyââ¬â¢s marketing pursuit is realized in the process. Amid the effective use of the website by Kraft Foods, the customer service aspect could be done better. The direct interaction between
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Introduction to International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1
Introduction to International Business - Essay Example This can include money or people, and most often refers to a nation offering this investment to a private or publicly held corporation that is owned by people in foreign countries, who are doing the investing (ââ¬Å"Foreign Direct Investment,â⬠2011). For example, the United States may have some people who are sent to Icecreamists, an ice cream parlor in the city of London that has made headlines for serving a new flavor called the ââ¬Å"Lady Gaga,â⬠which is made with human breast milk (Casciato, 2011) not only to help the budding entrepreneur who owns the establishment, but also to bring new ideas home. When dealing with foreign direct investments, it is paramount that those who deal in them understand that for each nation there are precise regulations that need to be followed in order to operate there. The purpose of foreign investment regulations is to protect industries when trying to catch up to more advanced nations. In some cases, it is to prevent other nations fr om being able to get a hold of the technology, methods, and management practices that make one nation better than all others. This is why some countries allow certain industries to receive a high level of foreign direct investment, and others to receive little. A nation like Ireland, for example, is very open to foreign direct investments while Finland operates in much the opposite fashion (Chang, 2003). Foreign investment regulations vary by country. In the United States, businesses are welcoming to member who participate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to those who prefer more secrecy. Part of the reason for this is because the United States values the world of ideas and tends to shun isolationist sentiment, which is when a nation does not want to have anything to do with any other country. The idea that one country keeps to itself while others fend for themselves does not often work because while one nation is operating to the best of its ability, the world of nations are o perating to the best of all of their collective talents. For this reason nations who have tried to live in a bubble in the past have ended up paying a price for it later. Foreign investment regulations start with the premise that a firm must be abreast of global trends in their industry. For example, if a textile company wanted to know whether or not a foreign competitor was going to expand into its market, it could try to find out from third party sources, or it could go straight to the source. After all, if a firm from Japan, China, Brazil, or any country wanted to operate in the United States, it would be very interested to get an inside look at a factory (as well as its management and other staff) to see how to be successful, possibly allowing it to capitalize on shortcomings within the operations. Doing so will also allow for a company to see how globalization affects domestic clients, meaning that when a firm travels home, the local company will want to follow their expansion, which could allow for a partnership to form in work that is either performed in the United States or other countries (Chang, 26-30). All of this is related to concerns that management will have in screening potential markets for expansion. Two of the most important concerns are the assessment of internal resources and how competitive a firm can be in the new market. For example, it would not matter that Ford Motor Company has the cash to expand into India and sell sport utility vehicles if the locals would be
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Saturable Reactor Essay Example for Free
Saturable Reactor Essay Saturable reactor or magnetic amplifier is a circuit that used to control very large load of AC with very small input DC. The saturable reactor consists of three essential elements : Direct current source, magnetic core with windings, and alternating current source. How it work? The AC load circuit run on to magnetic core and the DC control circuit is also went on to the same core. Ac current flows through winding and Since this current is alternating, the flux set up in the magnetic circuit loop is constantly changing in magnitude and direction. This means the field builds up to a maximum in one direction, collapses, and builds up to a maximum in the opposite direction DC circuit will cause flux which is which is constant in magnitude and constant in direction. This means the field builds up and remains steady state. The AC flux tends to saturate and then desaturate the core because of its cyclical operation. This results in a changing inductive reactance in the load winding. The DC flux, according to itââ¬â¢s strength, aids or opposes the AC flux in its saturate or desaturate effects in the core. Hence, the DC flux tends to control the AC flux controlling the reactance of the load winding. The use of separate windings on a single core has distinct advantages. Load winding consists of comparatively few turns of heavy wire because of large current requirements of different loads. Control winding Ni consists of many turns of fine wire. Since magnetomotive force depends upon the number of ampere turns, a small current in the control winding produces a magnetomotive force equal to that of the load winding. Usually, DC in the order of milliamperes controls AC in the order of amperes. The following describes the steps in the operation and control of the simple saturable reactor: 1. Zero DC control current in the control loop. Since only AC current is flowing through the load windings, an extremely high inductive reactance (Xl) is present in the load windings. This is due to the high inductance (L) of the load windings and the action of the varying magnetic field produced. Extremely high inductive reactance in this winding results in a high impedance (Z) which limits the flow of AC current to a low value. This high reactance also causes a large voltage drop across the load windings in series with the load, limiting the current supplied to the load.à Since current is limited to a low value to the load, minimum power is transferred to the load since power is a function of current. 2. Increase DC control current in control loop. DC current creates a flux which, when superimposed on the AC flux, collectively saturates the core. Since the core is near saturation or fully saturated (core unable to hold any more flux lines), the inductive reactance is greatly reduced. This is due to the fact that no additional changing flux can be held by the core. With reduced inductive reactance the impedance of the load windings is greatly reduced.Large AC currents are now permitted to flow through the load. This results in maximum power transfer to the load. Decrease DC control current in control loop. With less DC current flowing there is less total flux in the core and the core desaturates. This results in the cores ability to support once again the changing flux, creating a high inductive reactance, and resulting in increased impedance in the load winding. Minimum power transfer results since current to the load is greatly reduced.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
What Happens When We Die Religion Essay
What Happens When We Die Religion Essay Death is an issue that we all face no matter what our personal beliefs are so What Happens When We Die?, is one of the greatest questions of life. Generally we are very reluctant to think of our own expiry. Death is a great equaliser and no matter what or whom you are in life, eventually we all have to face the reality of dying. Is death the end of our consciousness and existence? In spite of hundreds years of research, Science cannot prove when or where life began. Researchers have found that the human nervous system and brain operate largely through electrical impulses. The brain requires blood and oxygen to function, when breathing, if our blood circulation is impaired, the brain simply does not function or ceases completely. Humans are a complex structure composed of many co-operating interactions within our bodies. We have a desire to understand and influence, search for explanations through our natural curiosity and yet, we are so preoccupied with the everyday concerns of our lives that death is pushed into the background until we have to face it through the loss of a loved one. Our thoughts turn to their demise and we decide whether we believe they are gone to a better pace, is there a better life after death, does death bring a new life, are our departed loved ones sleeping and awaiting reawakening, or does death signify nonexistence .(Atheist). The sheer grief and pain of death, the loss of a loved one causes suffering for those left behind. We carry out an array of customs during the burial of our dead, we commemorate them in memory of their lives as mankind has a need to go through a ritual in order to try to understand what happens when we die. Is it normal to want a future life after death or is death necessary as our limited world cannot conceivably harbinger all life eternally? We question What is Death? What is life? Is death a simple and definable end to life? Where does our spirit go when the bond between our material body is dissolved? Is death permanent? We wonder whether upon death when our physical body disintegrates what happens to our soul?. If we do return, do humans have the ability carry memories of past events into their present life?. Our attempts to understand death generate fear, controversy, self-questioning and rationalisation. In every culture when a loved one dies ceremonies are held by family and friends to reminisce about the dead. Universally, although cultures differ, praying plays a highly important part during the death ceremony. The finality of death is frightening and humankind have dealt with their loss since the beginning of time through ceremonies which us to get through what we dont understand. Death has been depicted by macabre images such as the Grim Reaper coming to take away a persons soul. The scythe is a symbol that he reaps the soul of both saints and sinner alike; The Harvest of Souls. Physical death is the Bottom of Form 1 cessation of bodily functions, when your heart stops beating, your brain stops to function and you stop breathing. It is also the severing of the connection between our spirit from our physical body and when consciousness finally leaves our human form to go to the next life. The mind or soul is not a physical part of our bodies, it is formless and a separate entity from our human body form. Questions are raised upon death; when the body disintegrates at death does our consciousness cease? This is where we search for spiritual answers through religion, creators, God, Gods and Goddesses. During our lives we seek to find answers to the many questions we have about death and man, since the beginning of time, man has tried to conceive a way to escape death. Questions range from; Is death permanent? Does our spirit carry on in another form and at a deeper level of consciousness? Can be reincarnated and come back to Earth? If we are reincarnated are all of our previous memories erased? Is there a creator who will welcome us into our new existence? Are we merely a collection of cells, molecules, skin and are we just another cycle of nature? Are we a natural part of evolution? Is there an afterlife? Is our physical demise temporary? Where, if anywhere, do we go? Scientists find it difficult to accept a life after death theory. However, they have to accept unintelligible natural phenomena and other realms of reality through their own facts based on Quantum Mechanics. Death can be considered either as the end of existence or as a transition to another state of being or consciousness. The Hindus deal with death by viewing life as an illusion and learning through the levels of reincarnation the true meaning of life and both religion and mythology concern themselves with what happens to our essence after physical death. There are many causes of death such as the natural process of aging, natural death, illness, disease, suicide, homicide, natural disasters, accidents and wars. Universally, death rituals can vary extensively depending on religion, race and culture however, rituals and ceremonies are cross cultural such preparation of the corpse for a funeral and the ceremony surrounding the disposing of the corpse. Although practices may differ from culture to culture, death ceremonies are the norm and can include a three day watch of the corpse, gathering of relations and friends to mourn their departed right through to elaborate rituals which go on for weeks. The Ancients flourished on a social structure where rites of ancestor worship and spiritual beliefs were the norm. The Celtic Druids had a strong belief in sacrifice and believed in the reincarnation of the soul into another form hence they did not fear death. The ancient Egyptians practiced forms of ancestor worship and believed in rebirth after death and considered death as merely a temporary interruption. The Mayans were a very religions people who lived in fear of their destructive Gods so their funerals were held with great respect and ceremony. Shamanism is based on the belief that spirits and invisible entities permeate our visible world. The Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and came down to earth to rid them of original sin thus saving their souls and after death, returning to God in Heaven. Jehovahs Witnesses believe that the Bible is the Manual for Life, Jesus is the Son of God however, they are not Trinitarian. On their death they sleep until God call s everyone who has departed this Earth for Judgement Day and those who lived their lives according to the Bible, will live back on Earth and be reigned by a Council in Heaven. Taking the Bible as an example we determine that the word Heaven, which is used in a strictly material signification as forming a part of the created universe. In Genesis i.1, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The ancient Hebrews, however, seem to have entertained strange notions as to the structure of the material Heaven, believing it to be a solid arch resting on pillars, and having foundations. Thus, in Job xxvi. 11, the pillars of Heaven tremble, and we are astonished at his reproof. In other passages of the Bible Heaven is compared to a curtin, or the covering of a tent, as in Ps. civ.2, Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtin. The ancient Jews believed that there were several different Heavens; the lower, the middle, and the third or higher heavens. The lower level of Heaven was considered to take in the clouds and the atmosphere; the middle as being the stellar or starry region; and the third as being the Heaven of Heavens, or the habitation of God and his angels. The word Heaven is not only used in a material but also a spiritual sense, to indicate the future abode of the righteous after death. The belief in Heaven beyond the grave, accordingly, is not limited to Christians, being a recognized creed of Heathens, Jews, and Mohammadeans. Among the ancient Romans and Greeks, the Heaven to which the good ascended was named Elysium. The precise location of Elysium was a topic of debate for generations; writers of classic antiquity declared the happiness of the souls in Elysium to be complete and allegedly, some believed that the departed souls would return to earth again. Eternal blessedness was, in view of the ancient Pagans, reserved for those who were distinguished for their exhalted virtues and who were accordingly admitted into the society of the Gods and could, at any time, return to their ancestors on this earth. Summerland, a place for resting of the soul until it is ready to continue on a journey of self, until the person learned and escalated to the higher realms of eternal consciousness. Heaven of the Hindu culture is the absorption on Brahm and of the Buddhist, annihilation or Nirwana. The priesthood of the ancient Egyptians taught the immortality of the soul under the mane of Palingenesia, or second birth, being a return of the soul to the celestial spheres; or its reabsorption into the Supreme Being. This doctrine was allegedly inculcated only upon the illerate multitudes who could form no conception of the existence of the soul without the body. The ancient Scandinavians, believed in two different heavens; one, the palace of Odin which they named Valhalla where this divinity received all of those who died a violent death; and the other called Gimli (place covered with gold), the everlasting home of the righteous where to enjoy ecstatic and perennial delights. Those received into the palace of Odin, heroes, believed that every day would be filled with fighting, eating, drinking and surrounded by virgins. Jewish Rabbis teach that there is an upper and lower paradise or heaven with a fixed pillar of Zion. On every Sabbath or festival, the righteous climb up and feed themselves with a glance of the Divine majesty until the end of the Sabbath or festival. The souls of the righteous, according to the Jewish Rabbis, do not ascent to the upper paradise immediately after they have left their body, but they are represented as undergoing a pervious kind of novitiate in the lower paradise, which is situated half way between this corporal world and the upper Heaven. Mohammadeans believe in a Heaven prepared for the blessed among the faithful; a place for those who are true to their religion and followers of the holy prophet Mohammed. Here, they shall spend eternity and shall join him in perpetual light and all heavenly pleasures, always beautiful, in their full strength and vigour, brighter than the sun, and thought worthy to see the face of the Most High God, and to adore him. They hold that there are eight Heavens of varying degrees. We have looked at varying traditions in the belief of Heaven and now shall look at the belief in Hell. Both in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures there are two words, Sheol and Hades which are sometimes translated into hell but which denote the world of departed spirits in general; while two other words Tartaros and Gehenna, signify the place of eternal punishment reserved for the unrighteous and wicked after death. The Amenti of ancient Egyptians, the Patala of the Hindus and the Orcus of the Romans, refer to a future state; but the doctrine of a future punishment is found embodied in all religious systems whether Christian, Heathen, Jewish or Mohammedean. Hell is believed to be a place of eternal torment, a bottomless pit, a worm that never dies, the fire that shall never be quenched. The Jewish Rabbis believe in an upper and lower hell. Gehennon, to which the Talmud adds seven other names, is said to be applied to seven mansions into which hell is divided. Many Jewish people believe in hell, not as an eternal dwelling-place of the wicked, but, to the Israelites at least, as a place of temporary purgatorial punishment. It is believed that the very wicked shall be eternally annihilated. The Mohammedeans, like the Jews, divide Hell which they call Gehennon, into seven portions, but they are not totally agreed as to the inhabitants of these districts. The most common opinion is that Gehennon, is destined for those worshippers of the true God who have not acted up to the principles of the faith which they have professed; the second division, called Lodha, is for the Christians; the third named Hothama, is for Jews; the fourth, denominated Sair, is destined for the Sabeans; the fifth, called Sacar, is for Magicians or Geubres; the sixty names Gehim, will received Pagans and idolaters, whilst the seventh, the most severe place of punishment within the lowest depths of the abyss, is named Hooviat, and reserved for the hypocritical professors of religion. The Hindus believe in a graduated scale of future punishments as well rewards; the less wicked being sunk into a lower position in the next birth (reincarnation), the more wicked being sent down to one or other of the innumerable Hells, to reappear, however, on earth, in mineral, animal, and vegetable forms before they rise to the human, the most wicked of all beings doomed to experience the misery and woe and perdition until the time of the dissolution of all things. The Buddhist tradition has a system of eight principal narakas, or places of torment, all of them situated in the interior of the earth and so enclosed it makes it impossible for escape. Gnostics, (gnosis, knowledge), the general name applied to various classes of pagans or heretics, arose in the early period of the Christian Church. They derived from the school of philosophy and denoted a higher and esoteric science which was designed to express the superiority of their doctrines to those of the Pagans and Jews. The systems of Gnosticism were various, all of them referable to two fixed historical centres, Syria and Egypt. Hence, there was a marked difference between the Syrian and the Alexandrian Gnosis, the former being characterized by a predominance of Dualism, the latter by a predominance of Pantheism. It is impossible to even cursorily examine Gnosticism in the diversified aspect which is assumes, without being at almost every point reminded of the old religious systems of Asia, Buddhism, Parsiam and Brahmanism. Gnostics believed in intuitions and symbols rather than conceptions. In the eye of the Gnostic everything became hyposaterized, which, to the Western thinker existed only as a conception. The foundation of most of the Gnostic systems lies in the idea of two different and opposite worlds, the one region of light, the other the region of darkness; one a region of purity and the other of sin; a superior world and an inferior world. The primal source of being was the Bythos (like the Brahm) of Hinduism in which was an invisible, incomprehensible being, enjoying perfect quiescence and from whom all emanations proceeded. Following their line of thought, they alleged the God or Jehovah of the Jews to be Demiurge, and the law they promulgated in the Old Testament to be inferior and imperfect whereas, the law which Christ promulgated in The New Testament was the expression of the mind of the Bythos or Unknown Father. Most Gnostics reportedly believed that salvation rested merely on knowledge; and that a man who possessed knowledge needed no more. The realisation of human mortality lives with each and every human being and ghost stories, spirits and hauntings have been a part of our history, handed down from generation to generation. We are taught about spirits, Witches, Angels, Demons, Gods and Goddesses and the paranormal world is rich in psychics, supernatural events, divination and with people who have real experiences with the paranormal such as out of body experiences, direct interaction with ghostly phenomena and near death experiences. Sceptics cannot ignore or dismiss paranormal occurrences just as Science cannot explain the unexpected e.g., apparitions, ghosts, hauntings, orbs or the supernatural. To sum up, no matter what our personal faith, belief, religions, culture or race, it is up to you whether you believe that the evidence is strong enough to justify your belief in paranormal, the supernatural and an afterlife. Near death experiences (NDE), the age-old debate, have been occurring for centuries. In the year 360 BC, Plato writes about a soldier named Er who recalled his NDE. Near death experiences are quite common and have been recorded through history. You may have heard someone who nearly died saying that they experienced their whole life flashing right before their eyes. NDEs have been a part of mankinds existence for thousands of years, as some ancient civilizations have recorded these supernatural encounters. With this history, many different explanations have come as to what could be the cause, or if the afterlife is real. Millions of cases are documented worldwide of NDEs, or near-death experiences. As they are such a common occurrence, Scientists have conducted research into thousands, if not millions, of cases. During the past 30 years, near-death experiences have been the focus of intense Scientific studies at Universities and Medical Centres around the world and they can no longer dismiss this phenomenon as hallucinations, chemical changes in the brain just prior to death, or as a pharmacologically induced experience. Science has questioned and studied NDEs experiences and one thing agreed on by all those involved in research is that near death experiences really do exist. No two near death experiences are the same; they are as unique and as individual as the person who goes through this experience. People who suffer severe trauma, clinical death, or those who nearly die, have reported similar traits during their near-death experience and many believe it to be very real and have significantly changed the views on life, spirituality and particularly their views on death. Some common experiences do occur however, not all NDEs follow a pattern. Common traits that have been widely documented with NDE include: Feelings of Peace and Terror: These feelings may include acceptance of death, total calmness, feelings of peace, being emotional and physically comforted. The person sees a bright light filling the room which they interpret as Heaven or God. Then there are those cases documented of people who do not have a feeling of peace, did not meet with family or friendly spirits. Rather, they experienced terror as while being attacked and upset by demons. (OBE): Out-of-body Experiences: The person feels that they have left their physical body. They observe from above, often describing the sight of doctors working on him. In some cases, the subjects spirit then flies out of the room, into the sky and sometimes into space. We have all heard stories about someone on the verge of death seeing a bright light at the end of a long tunnel, revealing that they have entered another dimension or realm, seeing spiritual entities and deceased family, friends and loved ones. The persons spirit may take a bit of time to look around and then notice a bright light. The light may start out to be small and then become larger as the spirit of the person moves toward it. In some cases there is not a tunnel, but a very bright light that fills the room. The light is brighter than anything the person has ever experienced on Earth, but they are not bothered by the it. General feelings that people experience include euphoria and report floating feelings and beautiful visions of scenic places. The majority of people who experience near-death say they feel very happy with a wonderful sense of calm and belonging. Another Realm or Dimension: Other people that experience NDEs say that they are led to another realm, most have positive experiences however, a few have reported a negative experience in which they get a feeling of loss of control and falling into a deep bottomless chasm. Near death experiences moves the person beyond this natural world and into worlds unseen, usually commencing with a tunnel of light which they are compelled to enter. This bright light pulls them into another realm and, as they leave this world behind, they experience sightings of spirits, family and their departed friends. Lastly, they experience a life review, where one sees their entire earthly life in fast forward. Once on the other side, they have reported being surrounded by entities, some of them they knew were dead and others who are there to talk to them. Some report being told certain things and are asked to go back to their bodies. The most common report for survivors of outer body experience(OBE) is that people feel they have been given a glimpse into Heaven as they encounter beings of light, or other representations of spiritual entities. Spiritual Beings and Entities: When a person experiences NDE most report that the feeling surrounding the spiritual beings and entities are pleasurable, and they feel completely disassociated with their physical body, have the ability to see through walls and they relate stories about what was happening outside the room where their physical body was pronounced clinically dead. Some report the transcendental or mystical elements emit a sense of complete peace and contentment and, on their return after communication with the spirits or entities, it has been reported by many people and they describe a male voice telling them that it is not their time and to go back to their earthly physical body. Returning to the Physical Body: On returning to their physical body, in most cases, they have a sense of being reborn, seeking to learn more about themselves, are stronger, self confident and pursue a life of truth with heightened appreciation and contentment. The typical near-death survivor emerges from their experience determined to live life to the fullest and most do not fear death. Negative NDE Experiences: Unfortunately, for others, the experience may not be a positive one. Some people have said they have increased fear, suffer from depression, and focus more on death. However, thankfully, it is a very small percentage that experience negativity after recovering from their NDE. Many survivors of NDE struggle with a fear of mental illness, ridicule and fear of rejection. Problems associated with negative experiences of NDE include depression, isolation, with a difficulty in explaining their experience to their family or to the medical profession and angry due to their difficulty after this experience to return to their previous beliefs. Those who experience a negative NDE can become very distressed, retreat into themselves, take years to adjust a near-death experience, believe that their experience was a hallucination rather than a real experience, fear to seek help or counselling and may feel that they have lost control over their minds. For these people, their mental stability is challenged as is their belief systems. The effects of those who experience negative NDE are often life-altering. No Scientific explanation to date can account or explain all of the aspects of near death experiences, why they happen or what are the causes and effects. NDEs follow a broad general pattern that crosses cultures; they remain in memory for decades as being realer than real. Scientists have delved into various forms of studies and a couple of examples include; lack of oxygen is not a factor in all NDEs, nor is the presence of drugs or medication responsible. Sceptics have a big problem with the belief in Near Death Experience because it is impossible to define the line between when life and death occurs. Definitions of death can vary from continent to continent and from culture to culture e.g.; what makes a person?, Define the soul or spirit in a person? and as none of this can be proved scientifically. However, this does not discount the real fact that many sincere and honest people have near-death experiences and that Scientists and Medical Practitioners have investigated the phenomena with no solid result or evidence to refute their experiences.
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