Monday, September 30, 2019

Multiculturalism in Leicester

Out of all the cities in the UK Leicester is the most culturally diverse and it's not ashamed to let it be known. It aims to support this mix of races into the area and much thought has been put into aiding the acceptance of immigrants into the city so they can mix with the white community and create an Asian mix. From the major start of immigration in the 1970's it is now thought that Leicester has greater diversity in three blocks than anywhere else in Europe. There is not just a mix of race but also of religion and specific religious groups tend to be drawn to each other. Muslims concentrate in the Spiney hill and Stoneygate areas, and Hindu's are mainly in Latimer, Belgrave and Rushy Mead, these religions stay very close knit whereas the Sikhs are spread across the whole city. This could be seen as segregation for the Muslims and Hindu's but infact outside of these concentrations they are present in large numbers throughout the city apart from Eyres Monsell where there are few immigrant populations. The local government instead of becoming intolerant of the immigrant influx have defined the mix of races and religion in the city as one of their defining features. They believe the multiculturalism widens the experience of living introducing new arts, music, architecture, fashion and food and therefore aim to support the community relations. Throughout the city religious places of worship have been built to help accommodate the new comers. Leicester plays a huge role in accommodating refugees and asylum seekers who come to the UK following persecution in other countries. The city also hosts many of the religious and foreign festivals such as Mardi Gras and Caribbean Carnival. After the problems in the past of certain individuals and communities suffering from abuse Leicester tries to make it clear how all minorities have things to contribute to the society. This has helped people mix much easier and continues to get closer to Leicester's aim of a healthy and diverse city. It has been thought the whole of the UK was ‘sleepwalking into segregation' whilst cities who were thought to be culturally diverse are instead becoming ghettos. Much of the data on the mix of races in Leicester and other cities is found through the census however this does not tell the whole story about the immigrants. In Leicester Asian immigration is much higher than African immigration. An important thing to take into account is that the majority of the people migrating to Leicester are double migrants having already migrated somewhere once before moving to the UK. This has helped them mix in much easier as they have already faced the same difficulties before and have experience dealing with the issues faced. An example of this is Asian families migrating to Africa, and then government oppression causing them to move to the UK. Many of the family leaders are business men or professionals however their qualifications count for nothing in this country and they have had to start businesses from scratch to make use of their skills and bring an income to the household. The Leicester Asian Business Association helps to create a platform for new Asian businesses and gives a place to raise concern and discuss support. The workforce employed by these asian business men is just as mixed as Leicester itself. Companies also offer no difference to service for different races instead treating them all equally. One of the main reasons that segregation usually occurs is that immigrants want a place close to their building of worship. This meant that when they moved to new cities they would have to move in with their own group of people so that they are near the facilities that they often want. To help spread the cultures Leicester brought in these places of worship across the city. Immigrants also want a sense of equal opportunity and although there was much intolerance to their mixing there were also groups of white people who wanted to offer them opportunities to fit in. One such example is that planning departments grant permission much easier to build their places of worship. Leaflets were also given to new arrivals in their native language to help them settle. Whereas the migrants have to adapt to their new circumstances the current population also has to relate to their presence. To help the bonds with these new migrant Leicester started letting candidates come forward from the minority communities for electoral positions. By 2002 Half of the Labour group had councillors from minority groups. A race relations committee was also made of which the leader was a Ugandan refugee. So as shown the mix of races in Leicester is huge and segregation is kept to a minimum. But perhaps most importantly and impressively the minorities have people representing them in government positions which is vital to their integration into the city. Without this representation and involvement in decisions and plans which will affect them mixing would be impossible and the immigrants would be forced into their own communities in which they would leave parallel lives. This is perhaps the key foundation that is needed for multiculturalism and some places like London should take hints from Leicester to make their own multiculturalism succeed.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Beautiful Disaster Essay

Beautiful Disaster Shakespearean scholar M. R. Ridley suggests that the theme of Othello centers on the conflict between â€Å"reason and instinct. † There is main reason of why did Iago go to Othello accusing his wife of cheating. And the instinct Othello had to kill his wife Desdemona due to these accusations. Shakespeare has many underlying and reoccurring themes throughout as well. One major theme is that of betrayal and loyalty. During the entire play, every character is either loyal to, or betrays another character. In the case of Othello, like all other tragedies, it is the passion of the hero hat is the root of all the action of the play that destroys the hero. Iago was the master of manipulation. lagds fearlessness and over-confidence while he manipulates people causes him to make mistakes that lead him to his death. As he carried traits of psychopaths with no remorse, he was obsessive towards other people’s lives, relentless on his actions, bold in his choices, and a genius in his efforts to manipulate and deceive the other characters†particularly Othello. His unclear motivations derived from the will to play on each team and play them like puppets. It ll began with poor Roderigo who Just wanted to win over the heart of sweet Desdemona and when he noticed his efforts weren’t working, he wanted to â€Å"go drown himself. † Iago disgusted at the thought because he would never â€Å"kill myself out of love for some woman I can’t have. † The indescribable feeling of wanting someone without the want in return will drive some crazy. In lagds eyes, if Roderigo was foolish enough to do that, than he would be even more susceptible to lagds manipulating ways to think he was actually helping him. IVe rubbed this young pimple until he’s ready to pop, and now he’s angry,† (5. 1 . ). Iago didn’t Just stab people in the back or sabotage anyone. He plots and wisely plants his seeds so he looks like the good guy in the end while using people’s weaknesses against their selves and each other. Iago spends most of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona. His cleverness and ability to get closer to the other characters while simultaneously bringing them down is genius. Othello is tempted by the beauty, position, and compassion that Desdemona can give him in marriage. He’s an experienced man who should know that their differences may bring problems but he ignores the possibility of trouble. Their differences, particularly Othello’s race and age linger in his mind causing some uneasiness. He’s tempted to believe that Desdemona is unfaithful when Iago begins his torment. Othello is easily led by lagcfs games that not only caused problems but the death of four people. If Othello used his conscious he could have prevented the tragedy. The infamous white and red handkerchief repeatedly comes up throughout the play. It was essentially the final straw for Othello that pushed him over the edge with the rumor of his wife’s infidelity. It was a token of love from Othello to Desdemona that had a lot of entimental value. The handkerchief also seems to function as a symbol of Othello’s mysterious past and his exoticness. He tells Desdemona that an Egyptian charmer gave it to his mother and that it would keep his father faithful (3. 4. 9). Such a small jealous mind. A small misunderstanding can be magnified psychologically into grounds of love or betrayal. Desdemona and Othello’s relationship was a lot like most relationships that happen today. They were very much in love, almost too much in love, with no trust or respect to make it last a lifetime. In marriage, it should be your spouse’s word over anything. Well in Othello’s case it was the opposite. He took the most harmful information that would break any marriage up if it were true and he completely ran with it. It brings us back to the theme of betrayal and loyalty. From Othello’s point of view do you believe the possible betrayal of your beloved wife or do you go along with the loyalty of your lieutenant that would never do you wrong? Tough choice although in the time of the play it was to be seen that all women were whores and cheating on your husband was common. Desdemona was as faithful as they come. While Iago was busy digging his nose in other people’s love life, his wife Emilia was the one to say: Who wouldn’t cheat on her husband to make him king? I’d risk my soul for that (4. 3. 4). As Desdemona is preparing for bed the night she was killed, she starts singing a song about willow tree. The song was sung originally by one of Desdemona’s mother’s servants who loved a crazy guy which reflects Desdemona’s own situation. Othello is so wounded by the thought of Desdemona’s betrayal that he’s blinded to everything except his own pain. Once he decides to end his pain by ending her life, nothing Desdemona says or swears by can make him look beyond himself for the truth. In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare establishes the dignity, nobility, and heroism of Othello by making him out to be this fantastic, well rounded guy. He was a highly respected general of the armies of Venice respected by all those around him. Othello’s elevated status is easy prey for Iago with his insecurities due to his age, his life as a soldier, and being a racial and cultural outsider. According to Professor Stoll, it may be correct when he says that â€Å"In no case does Shakespeare represent men as overwhelmed by anything so vague and neutral as social forces,† but he is surely incorrect when he adds, â€Å"or as devoured by heir own passions alone. Othello thinks that using denial and disbelief will solve his problems regarding Desdemona. He refuses to believe anything she says in her defense. He won’t believe lagds wife Emilia when she swears Desdemona is faithful; and disbelieves Desdemona’s words of innocence when he first accuses her. He overlooks her devotion and innocence as if she didn’t give up her home, family, and entire life to be with him. In spite of all the evidence

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Why people Join An Insurgency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why people Join An Insurgency - Essay Example Individuals join insurgencies in order to attain a better status, in order to seek revenge and because these individuals belong to weak socioeconomic backgrounds. One of the reasons due to which individuals join insurgencies is that they perceive that by joining insurgencies they can gain a better status within the society. Individuals belonging to a community may join the insurgency in order to prove that he/she is someone who should be respected as compared to other members of the community. Due to this desire to prove them, various individuals join insurgencies. Canter has cited a research in a textbook that has identified various advantages of joining an insurgency. The research suggests that joining in a violent revolt may help an individual in gaining respect through the fear they may inflict in his/her society and this is why individuals become a part of insurgency (Canter 24). Revenge and or retribution have become a highly known motive due to which individuals may join an insurgency. An individual may have never indulged in violent rebellions but he/she may be forced to do so due to his/her desire to seek revenge against those who he believes have done wrong to him. In recent years many individuals have joined the insurgent group Taliban and one of the reason that have motivated them to do so is because of the anti-US sentiments they have developed because of the drones attack in which people who had no connection with terrorists were killed (Greenfield 1). Socioeconomic background of insurgents is a major reason that pushes them into becoming a part of an insurgent group. Individual belonging to weak socio economic backgrounds fail to attain proper education and they do not have well developed cognition to differentiate between pro-social and anti-social behavior. Due to this these individuals face a higher risk of being brainwashed into thinking that joining an insurgent group is a pro-social

Friday, September 27, 2019

Stress Topic Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress Topic Research Paper - Essay Example Other heightened risks of developing diseases of the endocrine system such as Type 2 Diabetes can be increased with moderate weight gain, but being obese quadruples an individual’s chances of becoming diabetic. Certain cancers, such as endometrial and colon cancer are also more prevalent in individuals that are obese as opposed to individuals that are found to be within the healthy range on the BMI scale. A non-medical outcome of obesity is a greater prevalence of diminished self-esteem and negative body image among obese individuals. This psycho-social consequence, while not directly relating to mortality, does indicate that individuals that are obese have less satisfying life socially and emotionally in many instances. It could be said that obesity is an individual problem, not one for society to worry about. The solution is simply for individuals to gains some self-control, to eat less and exercise more. Others would argue and say that obesity is a societal issue. Billions of dollars are spent on treating illnesses each year that are exacerbated by obesity. Millions of hours are lost in productivity to employers because of these illnesses. Add to this the tax money spent caring for low income obese individuals and the many lost opportunities for pleasure obese individuals pass up due to their condition, and you could say that the costs of obesity to individuals as well as society are staggering. Millions of dollars are spent each year by governmental and concerned organizations on health and nutrition education. The belief is that if we can educate individuals about correct nutrition and exercise, the obesity will lessen and we will have fewer illnesses concerned with this disorder. Despite these well intentioned efforts, obesity rates continue to rise, not only in America, but in other industrialized nations as well. Obviously something is missing from the equation that doctors believe causes

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Declarative Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Declarative Knowledge - Essay Example As Schraw (2001) explains about the individuals who possess a greater quantity of procedural knowledge. He describes them as having the ability to carry out more errands than others. Declarative knowledge refers to the factual information occupied by a person; this type of knowledge can be stated verbally or textually. Declarative knowledge is the most important among the types of knowledge due to the fact that it talks 'about' the thing or process. If a person in unaware of the basic facts about a process or thing he cannot practice it ever. For instance, if you want to measure the weight of a body you must have the knowledge about its measurement tools and units. However, procedural knowledge is the knowledge which tells about carrying out some process. It talks about the 'how' perspective of a process. It tells how to use the formula or a given fact be used in finding something. For e.g. if one knows the formula of speed he cannot use it directly until he knows the process of usin g it. Similarly if one would not know the formula i.e. would not have Declarative knowledge, he would not be able to use procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge at times does not have meaning and are forgotten by the individuals. But at times it is not necessary that this knowledge is forgotten as this type of knowledge is necessary for the individuals.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

HRA335; Mod. 8 - Case Study- Hiring FBI Agents Essay

HRA335; Mod. 8 - Case Study- Hiring FBI Agents - Essay Example The implementation of multiple hurdle approach is most pertinent when the training activities are considerably long and expensive owing to various types of complexities (Smith & Angie, 2011). In relation to the selection procedures in FBI, the implementation of an effective set of multiple hurdle approach can be considered as an effective technique to select and recruit appropriate as well as flawless applicants for the agent posts. With reference to case, it has been observed that the recruitment and selection of agents in FBI validates a series of assessment methods while making any hiring decisions. In this regard, the implementation of an effective multiple hurdle approach will enable the department to recruit successfully, as the job roles of the agent involves various types of uncertain situations associated with different criminal activities (Phillips & Gully, 2012). However, the implementation of the approach also identified to pose certain limitations, as applicants might not qualify in each step of the assessment consecutively. The lengthy process in the assessment approach may lead to create negative attitude and behavioral characteristics of applicants due to a number of hurdles in the selection process. The selection technique in the multiple hurdle assessment approach tends to involve a wide number of assessment activities. The primary objectives of the selection approach is to clearly identify the capability of applicants in terms of managing capabilities or their ability to make effective decisions concerning various types of uncertain situations. In this regard, the approach involves multiple phases in selection procedure prior to make final hiring decisions of the applicants for any specified job roles (Smith & Angie, 2011). According to the observation of the case, it can be ascertained that the selection process in FBI involves a number of stages

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Social Behavioral Change of sugery drinks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Social Behavioral Change of sugery drinks - Essay Example s the belief that sugary drinks cause diseases including obesity and diabetes and without exercising, may cause people to be fat due to the high calories and sugar. An attitude towards water and juice being healthy is that they have low sugar and calories content and are good for the body development and health. The perception on the importance to the community is that the issue affects the community and is very important because of the rampant effects of obesity and diabetes in recent years. This affects the community through a reduction in work force and use of money to cure these diseases caused by a preference to sugary and high calories content drinks. It is important to change the behavior to taking healthy drinks that have low sugar content to ensure the people are less affected by these lifetime diseases to live a better life. The type of message that could help them change their behavior is a message that highlights the dangers or unhealthiness of sugary drinks when taken by the members of the society. This message should highlight the effects of unhealthy drinks on the body, the measures to take to avoid these effects, and the kind of steps to take in changing the behavior albeit slowly. This will allow the people to understand the dangers and despite being difficult to change the behavior, follow the guidelines in the message until they are free of habits of taking sugary

Monday, September 23, 2019

Research Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Project - Assignment Example The primary objective of this research is to critically assess the issues associated with customer and food quality of the organizations operating across different regions of the UK. In this regard, the research study incorporates an effective form of qualitative framework, critically analyzing the issues relating to the complexities faced by the customers due to food quality issues of the hospitality organizations operating in different locations of the UK. The methodology will also be justified in response to its relevance and accountability regarding the major objectives and goals of the research. Finally, this research will analyze the major findings obtained through the study, leading to the major issues associated with customers and quality related concerns of the food and beverage industry of the UK, providing an effective set of recommendations that can help the food and beverage industry to deal with the issues associated with customer and quality of their products and servi ces. With the intensifying pace of competition in the global food and beverage industry, organizations are often observed to face issues associated with sustainable customer services along with the concerns relating to the quality of their offerings. In this context, both the issues relating to customer and quality of food and beverage items have been observed to emerge at a significant level that impose major concerns for the organizations to retain their sustainable position in the competitive business environment (Szyplinska, â€Å"Food and Beverage Industry Focuses on Water Footprint and Greater Sustainability†). In this regard, it becomes an essential and most vital issue for research, which can ensure appropriate identification of effective measures to protect consumers from different flaws and inappropriate practices while producing foods and beverage items and accomplish

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Creative Treatment of Actuality Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Creative Treatment of Actuality - Term Paper Example The traditional cinema gained hold around the world at the turn of the 20th Century. Many communities around the world built different niches within which motion picture was developed and enhanced in order to promote this art form  (Benson, 2013). Primarily, the main role of the motion picture was to entertain viewers  (Benson, 2013). However, with time, the use of television and other forms of the motion picture to educate people was enhanced and promoted throughout communities around the world. One of the earliest views of documentaries was the concept of creative treatment of actuality. This was presented by John Grierson who viewed it as a system of using some degree of creativity to present factual and non-fictional storylines in a way and manner that maintained the originality of the cinema and also educated viewers of the matter that needed to be discussed. The concept of the creative treatment of actuality is about observing life in an art form that brings out the natural aspects of society and this is done through factual films presented in a dramatic form (De Jong, 2013). The creative treatment of actuality was first propounded by John Grierson who viewed it as a form of journalism, presented through the media process. Later on, this concept played a role in defining the actual role and processes of documentaries. â€Å"Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or the other to ‘document’ real ity† (Killborn & Izod, 2013, p. 29). In John Grierson's pioneering work, he sought to document the life of a Polynesian girl and her family in 1926. This was done through the use of words, music, images and sound effects that were meant to create an aesthetic and factual appeal (Killborn & Izod, 2013). This is meant to present a lively view of a given situation in order to present a message in a strong way and manner and bring about a high degree of realism to the documentary. However, this includes some creative components that will work together to attain specific objectives and end.  

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Airline Economics Essay Example for Free

Airline Economics Essay The purpose of this note is to provide background to the study of the airline industry by briefly discussing four important economic aspects of the industry: (1) the nature and measurement of airline costs; (2) economies of scope and hub-and-spoke networks; (3) the relationship between yields and market characteristics; and (4) the S-curve effect. The Appendix to this note contains a glossary of key terms used throughout the discussion. Airline Costs Airline costs fall into three broad categories: flight sensitive costs which vary with the number of flights the airline offers. These include the costs associated with crews, aircraft servicing, and fuel. Once the airline sets its schedule, these costs are fixed. traffic-sensitive costs which vary with the number of passengers. These include the costs associated with items such as ticketing agents and food. Airlines plan their expenditures on these items in anticipation of the level of traffic, but in the short run, these costs are also fixed. fixed overhead costs which include general and administrative expenses, costs associated with marketing and advertising, and interest expenses. The largest category of costs is flight-sensitive. An important point about an airline’s cost structure, and a key to understanding the nature of competition in the industry, is that once an airline has set its schedule, nearly all of its costs are fixed and thus cannot be avoided. Because it is better to generate cash flow to cover some fixed costs, as opposed to none at all, an airline will be willing to fly passengers at prices far below its average total cost. This implies that the incidence of price wars during periods of low demand is likely to be greater in this industry than in most. There are two alternative measures of an airline’s average (or, equivalently, unit) costs: cost per available seat mile (ASM) cost per revenue passenger mile (RPM) Cost per ASM is an airline’s operating costs divided by the total number of seat-miles it flies. (An available seat mile is one seat flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of capacity. Cost per RPM is the airline’s operating costs divided by the number of revenue-passenger miles it flies. (A revenue passenger mile is one passenger flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of actual output. These two measures are related by the formula: Cost per RPM = cost per ASM ( load factor where load factor is the fraction of seats an airline fills on its flights. In the end, it is cost per RPM that an airline must worry about, for it must cover its cost per RPM to make a profit. Airlines differ greatly in both their costs per ASM and costs per RPM. For example, in 1992 Southwest had a cost per ASM of 7.00 cents, while USAir had a cost per ASM of 10.90 cents. Similarly, Delta had a cost per RPM of 15.33 cents while American had a cost per RPM of 13.81. Differences across airlines in cost per ASM reflect differences in: 1) average length of flights (cost per ASM declines with distance). 2) fleet composition (cost per ASM is smaller with bigger planes). 3) input prices, especially wage rates. 4) input productivity, especially labor. 5) overall operating efficiency. Differences across airlines in cost per RPM reflect differences in cost per ASM plus differences in load factor. Two airlines might have very similar costs per ASM, but quite different costs per RPM because of differences in load factor. For example, in 1992 USAir and United’s cost per ASM differed by less than 2 cents (USAir 10.90, United 9.30), but their costs per RPM differed by nearly 5 cents (USAir 18.54, United 13.80) because of USAir’s lower overall load factor (USAir .59, United .67) Economies of Scope and Hub-and-Spoke Networks Economies of scope play an important role in shaping the structure of the U.S. airline industry. The source of economies of scope in the airline industry is the hub-and-spoke network. In hub-and-spoke network, an airline flies passengers from a set of â€Å"spoke† cities through a central â€Å"hub,† where passengers then change planes and fly from the hub to their outbound destinations. Thus, a passenger traveling from, say, Omaha to Louisville on American Airlines would board an American flight from Omaha to Chicago, change planes, and then fly from Chicago to Louisville. In general, economies of scope occur when a multiproduct firm can produce given quantities of products at a lower total cost than the total cost of producing these same quantities in separate firms. If â€Å"quantity† can be aggregated into a common measure, this definition is equivalent to saying that a firm producing many products will have a lower average cost than a firm producing just a few products. In the airline industry, it makes economic sense to think about individual origin-destination pairs (e.g., St. Louis to New Orleans, St. Louis to Houston, etc.) as distinct products. Viewed in this way, economies of scope would exist if an airline’s cost per RPM is lower the more origin-destination pairs its serves. To understand how hub-and-spoke networks give rise to economies of scope, it is first necessary to explain economies of density. Economies of density are essentially economies of scale along a given route, i.e., reductions in average cost as traffic volume on the route increases. Economies of density occur because of two factors: (1) spreading flight sensitive fixed costs and (2) economies of aircraft size. As an airline’s traffic volume  increases, it can fill a larger fraction of seats on a given type of aircraft and thus increase its load factor. The airline’s total costs increase only slightly as it carries more passengers because traffic-sensitive costs are small in relation to flight-sensitive fixed costs. As a result, the airline’s cost per RPM falls as flight-sensitive fixed costs are spread over a larger traffic volume. As traffic volume on the route gets even larger, it becomes worthwhile to substitute larger aircraft (e.g., 300 seat Boeing 767s) for smaller aircraft (e.g., 150 seat Boeing 737s). A key aspect of this substitution is that the 300 seat aircraft flown a given distance at a given load factor is less than twice as costly as the 150 seat aircraft flown the same distance at the same load factor. The reason is that doubling the number of seats and passengers on a plane does not require doubling the number of pilots or flight attendants or the amount of fuel. Economies of scope emerge from the interplay of economies of density and the properties of a hub-and-spoke network. To see how, consider an origin-destination pair – say, Indianapolis to Chicago – with a modest amount of traffic. An airline serving only this route would use small planes, and even then, would probably operate with a low load factor. But now consider an airline serving a hub-and-spoke network, with the hub at Chicago. If this airline offered flights between Indianapolis and Chicago, it would not only draw passengers who want to travel from Indianapolis to Chicago, but it would also draw passengers from traveling from Indianapolis to all other points accessible from Chicago in the network (e.g., Los Angeles or San Francisco). An airline that includes the Indianapolis-Chicago route as part of a larger hub-and-spoke network can operate larger aircraft at higher load factors than an airline serving only Indianapolis-Chicago. As a result, it can benefit from economies of density to achieve a lower cost per RPM along the Indianapolis-Chicago route. In addition, the traffic between Indianapolis and the other spoke cities that will fly through Chicago will increase load factors and lower costs per RPM on all of the spoke routes in the network. The overall effect: an airline that serves Indianapolis-Chicago as part of a hub-and-spoke network will have lower costs per RPM than an airline that only serves  Indianapolis-Chicago. This is precisely what is meant by economies of scope. Relation Between Airline Yields and Market Characteristics An airline’s yield is the amount of revenue it collects per revenue passenger mile. It is essentially a measure of the average airline fares, adjusting for differences in distances between different origins and destinations. Airline yields are strongly affected by the characteristics of the particular origin-destination market being served. In particular, there are two important relationships: Shorter distance markets (e.g., New York-Pittsburgh) tend to have higher yields than longer distance markets (e.g., New York-Denver). Controlling for differences in the number of competitors, flights between smaller markets tend to have higher yields than flights between larger markets. The reasons for relationship 1) are summarized in Figure 1. shorter distance higher cost per RPMlower load factor higher cost per RPM higher yield Figure 1 Cost per ASM generally falls as distance increases. This is because, say, doubling trip mileage does not require doubling key inputs such as fuel or labor. Thus, shorter flights have higher cost per ASM than longer flights, and airlines must achieve higher yields to cover these higher costs. In addition, shorter distance flights generally have lower load factors than longer distance flights, which implies a higher cost per RPM for shorter distance flights, again requiring higher yields. Why are load factors lower for shorter flights? The reasons has to do with the greater substitution  possibilities that consumers have in short-distance markets (e.g., car of train travel are more viable options). In short –distance markets, we would therefore expect that some fraction of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., vacationers) would travel on these alternative modes, so short distance flights would have a higher proportion of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., business persons) than longer distance flights. Competitive pressures thus force airlines to offer more frequent flight schedules in short-distance markets, which leads to lower load factors. The reason for relationship 2) has to do with the economies of density discussed earlier. Smaller markets will have lower traffic volumes, and airlines will generally operate smaller aircraft at lower load factors, increasing costs per RPM and yields. The S-Curve Effect The S-curve effect refers to a phenomenon whereby a dominant carrier’s market share (share of RPM) in a particular origin-destination market tends to be greater than the carrier’s share of capacity (share of ASM). Thus, for example, if United offers 70% of the seats flown between Denver and San Francisco, and Continental flies the remaining 30%, then the S-curve effect says that United’s share of the actual traffic in this market will be greater than 70% and Continental’s will be less than 30%. This translates into an S-shaped relationship between â€Å"share of capacity† and â€Å"market share,† as shown in Figure 2. The S-curve effects stems from two sources. First, an airline with a greater share of capacity in a market is likely to have greater visibility in that market, so passengers are likely to contact it first. Second, an airline with a greater capacity share is likely to have more frequent – and thus more convenient – departures. This, too, works to boost its share of the actual traffic. The S-curve phenomenon makes capacity an important competitive weapon in the rivalry among airlines. An airline with the financial resources to purchase  aircraft and airport gates to achieve a dominant capacity share on key routes is likely to win the fight for market share. This suggests that, in general, it will be very difficult for a small carrier to challenge a dominant carrier at a hub airport, unless the small carrier can achieve significant cost advantages unrelated to scale. The history of competition in the post-deregulation airline industry seems to bear this out.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Declining Trade And Investment Barriers Economics Essay

Declining Trade And Investment Barriers Economics Essay The environment in which international business operates has become subject to the forces of globalisation and increasing world integration. One might even say that globalisation is the buzzword of economics today. There are many varying definitions of globalisation, some including cultural and political aspects but for the purpose of this manual, it is best to focus on the economic aspects of it. Globalisation, it is argued, is a shift towards a more integrated and interdependent world economy. Furthermore, at a very simple level, one may distinguish between two broad aspects of globalisation. 1.2.1 Globalisation of Markets It could have been argued that in the past, one could distinguish between many different national markets. However, globalisation of markets has caused moves towards a single homogeneous global market whereby consumer preferences are converging towards a global norm. One of the strong proponents of such an argument was Levitt (1983) who argued that companies needed to view the world as a single homogeneous, global market for products and services. A global firm should therefore view the world as a single unit and must strive to produce and market standardized product worldwide. Nevertheless, the firm is also expected to adjust its product offerings for local differentiation. The benefits from global standardization have enormous potential since firms are able to achieve economies of scale in many value-chain activities including production, distribution and management  [1]  . However, whilst there are indeed many common market needs, demands and acceptance of certain global products, there are also many deep divisions, cultural and other national differences between countries and markets. At the simplest level, these differences relate to differences in product use. For example, in some countries like for instance in Continental Europe, people drive on the right hand side whilst in South Africa or Mauritius for example, people drive on the left hand side. Hence, vehicle specifications to that end will be different  [2]  . 1.2.2 Globalisation of Production This refers to the sources of goods and services from locations around the world to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production. Globalisation of production is characterized by increased dispersion of value chain activities to different world locations. Instead of all business activities being singly concentrated, firms may choose to disperse some of their business activities to other locations. For example, production may be undertaken in certain developing countries where labour is cheap; research and development in another location where high-level specialized skills are in abundance; and assembly may be performed at yet another location for ease of transport to world markets. As such, firms may exploit national differences in factor conditions such as land, labour, capital and skills, as well as demand conditions, infrastructure and government regulations. 1.3 DRIVERS OF GLOBALISATION Hill (2005) identifies the following factors that underlie the trend towards greater globalisation: 1. Declining Trade and Investment Barriers After the Great Depression and the Second World War, developed countries have opted to remove barriers to international trade and foreign direct investment. This resulted in the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). There were a number of rounds of negotiations between countries which ensued and these led to further reductions and also extended GATT to cover services, intellectual property rights and eventually to the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) following the Uruguay Round in 1994. The WTO is a permanent body that is responsible for establishing and further entrenching rule based trade and for managing the rule based world-trading system (Hill, 2003). These developments have contributed to the reduction of trade and investment barriers and lower restrictions on capital flow. These have in turn facilitated the globalisation of markets and production. In addition to reducing trade barriers, many countries have also been progressively removing restrictions to foreign direct investment that has further boosted world trade growth. However, whether the removal of those barriers to trade is a good thing is a debatable issue. Many developing countries would argue that given their intrinsically different economic underpinnings, it will be almost impossible for them to compete on a level playing field as is propounded by globalisation. They have further advanced that these barriers or protectionist measures are extremely important in that they provide in most cases a market for the developing countries exports. 2. Technology Over the last decades there has been significant technological advancement. The microprocessor revolution is perhaps the one that has had the most significant impact. Microprocessors are the underlying components that have fuelled the advancement in global communications. These include satellite, optic fibre and wireless communications as well as the computing revolution that has borne the Internet, the worldwide web and provided the possibilities of e-commerce. These technological developments have contributed to the globalisation of markets and production, through better communication, and integration of worldwide activities. It has also facilitated the speedy global transfer of funds and capital, which further fuels globalisation. Other technological advancements that have contributed to globalisation include that of jet travel and containerization. Jet travel has enabled the rapid and widespread movement of people and goods across national borders (Hill, 2003). This has facilitated the setting up of new businesses, partnerships and negotiations across borders and has also helped in the co-ordination and integration of worldwide business activities. 3. Changing World Order The fall of communism in the late 1980s has led to moves away towards democratization of countries in Eastern Europe and the former Central Asian Republics. Many of the former Iron Curtain Countries are more amenable to free market policies which are in turn conducive to globalisation. Thus, it can be argued that a shift in political ideology towards capitalism has been an important determinant of globalisation. 4. Convergence of Industrialisation Strategy Towards An Export Oriented Platform To the classical economists, trade was seen as an engine of growth as it facilitated the exploitation of comparative advantage. But, by the 1950s, it was obvious trade was not having the expected propulsive effects because of imperfections in international trading systems, such as oligopolistic competition, discriminatory pricing, product differentiation and high tariff barriers. As a result, many nations adopted an import-substitution  [3]  strategy in a bid to reduce their import dependency. Import-substitution strategy entailed a high level of protection, via tariffs, import restriction measures and quotas, which discriminated against exports via explicit and implicit tax of export activities and an overvalued foreign exchange rate. Also, the government used investment license, differential taxes, tax holidays, exemptions and remissions to influence resource allocation between industries and sectors. The proponents of IS strategy firmly believed that they would be able to meet the domestic demand for manufacturing products; provide employment opportunities for skilled labour; ease pressure on the balance of payment and strengthen the long term productive capacity of the economy by importing the production technology via foreign firms  [4]  and by using the infant industry argument. However, the overwhelming consensus is that IS was a failure  [5]  . IS strategy has turned out to be self-defeating since it has resulted in huge increases in imports of equipment and inputs while transfer pricing constituted a severe drain on foreign exchange. Also, IS granted excessive protection to industries producing inefficiently non-essential goods for high-income elite. Furthermore, fiscal credit and exchange rate policies, coupled with subsidies on imports of capital goods, made it possible and advantageous to entrepreneurs to rely on high capital intensive equipment produced abroad and technology unsuited to the factor proportions prevailing in less developed countries. As a result, a new orthodoxy emerged in the late 60s and early 70s which stressed the role of exports of labour intensive manufactures as an engine of growth. This represented a return to the static theory of comparative advantage with trade based upon different factor proportions prevailing in various countries which meant that the pendulum turned full swing for development policy in LDCs from import substitution to manufactured exports. Export oriented strategy not only encourages free trade  [6]  , but also the free movement of capital, labour, enterprises and an open system of communication. It also entailed more efficient allocation of resources with firms competing internationally  [7]  based on their relative comparative advantages. These considerations, coupled with the emergence of trade blocks, were factors motivating changes in the strategic orientation of MNEs. MNEs underwent a complete restructuring of their global and regional supply profiles. This entailed locating  [8]  manufacturing operations in only a few countries but exporting for a wider market. Each subsidiary were opened to a fully competitive market situation which permitted the realisation of economies of scale and the attainment of optimal efficiency in production (Pearce, 1999). The where to produce clearly gained in prominence during such an era which led to MNEs redistributing their unchanged ownership advantages in order to create an international network of subsidiaries  [9]  which optimised their supply of established range of products. Thus, investments undertaken by MNEs were mainly of an efficiency-seeking nature. 5. Emergence of Regional Trade Blocks Members to a regional initiative have to work towards a reduction or complete harmonization of their tariffs. Such a step taken by these members (most of which are signatories to the WTO) is seen as a partial liberalization initiative and is the first step towards complete liberalization which is propounded by the WTO. 1.4 ADVANTAGES OF GLOBALISATION Faster Growth Economies that have in the past been open to foreign direct investment have developed at a much quicker pace than those economies closed to such investment. E.g. China as opposed to Russia. Cheaper Imports This is simply because the reduction of barriers to entry such as tariffs on imports will lead to a fall in price. New Technologies Developing countries, more receptive to FDI, have a greater chance of acquiring new and better technologies through diffusion and spillover effects. Spur of Foreign Competition Foreign competition will encourage domestic producers to increase efficiency. Increased Investment Opportunities Companies can move capital to countries that offer the most attractive investment opportunities. This prevents capital being trapped in domestic economies and earning poor returns. 1.5 DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALISATION Culture The protection of its own culture through subsidies and grants may be a major hold back of globalisation. Local focus or Localisation Douthwaite (1996) believes that globalisation can and should be reversed. He argues that localization is the way to do this. He calls for a balance between local, regional, national and international markets since this would curb the control given to multinationals. He also argues that governments should work together to reduce the power of multinationals by negotiating new trade and treaties that would remove the subsidies powering globalisation and give local production a chance. Loss of jobs in developed economies Because of increased competition as a result of globalisation, firms are increasingly shifting their production plants to cheaper locations to reduce costs. This has led to an increase in the level of unskilled unemployment. Loss of Sovereignty Many anti-globalisation campaigners argue that countries are increasingly losing their sovereignty and powers to implement local decisions because of the powers provided to the WTO. Technology Although it is one of the most important drivers of globalisation, technology has nevertheless widened the poverty gap. Developing and less developing countries inability to adopt new technologies entails that they are unable to compete against their developed countries counterparts. EXERCISE Please insert case study entitled Globalisation: Boon or Bane 1.7 SUMMARY Globalisation of markets has caused moves towards a single homogeneous global market whereby consumer preferences are converging towards a global norm. One of the strong proponents of such an argument was Levitt (1983) who argued that companies needed to view the world as a single homogeneous, global market for products and services. It could be argued that the following factors could be considered as the main drivers of globalisation: technology, changing world order and the dismantling of barriers to trade, convergence of industrialization strategy and the emergence of RTAs. Some of the main advantages of globalisation are namely faster growth, cheaper imports, new technologies, spur of foreign competition and increased investment opportunities. Some of the negative consequences of globalisation are loss of sovereignty, loss of jobs in developed countries and a widening poverty gap. SUGGESTED READINGS Hill, C.W.L. (2005) International Business. Competing in the Global Marketplace, 5th Edition, New York, NY: Irwin-McGraw-Hill Inc. Hill, C.W.L. (2003) International Business. Competing in the Global Marketplace, 4th Edition, New York, NY: Irwin-McGraw-Hill Inc.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Comparison Of Trade Rivalries :: essays research papers

The German-Great Britain trade rivalry like the U.S.-Japan trade rivalry involved a rising power cutting into the trade of an already dominant trading power. There were several causes of the German-Great Britain trade rivalry according to Hoffman. The first was German's industry's zeal in procuring new contracts and expanding markets. They did this by fulfilling contracts even if they were very small and constantly trying to stay up with market demand. Second, Germans had a knowledge of languages that the English firms lacked. Third, German industry was aided by their government. In contrast Great Britain did not even supply consular assistance in helping develop markets in British colonies. Fourth, British trade was hurt by the conservatism of British manufacturers who were unwilling to develop new markets or hold onto those it already possessed. These four factors are just some of the factors that helped German industry grow and rival that of Great Britain. These four factors are all very similar to the Japan-U.S. trade rivalry. Japan like Germany was able to catch up to the U.S. because the U.S. was large and arrogant and refused to believe it could face competition from Japan. Like Britain, U.S. industry believed that they could hold onto markets and would not face competition. British and U.S. industry were startled by the fast rate of growth and industrialization that allowed Germany and Japan to transform themselves quickly into trading rivals. This fast rate of growth also caused friction between both sets of countries. Relations between Germany and Great Britain were damaged as they bickered over markets in particular colonies in Africa . This is similar to the friction between the U.S. and Japan unfair trading practices and closed markets. Both the U.S. and Great Britain in response to losing markets toyed with the idea of economic nationalism and tariffs. As Britain lost markets to Germany many in Britain felt that Britain should adopt tariffs on goods while others known as the free traders believed that a free trade would benefit Britain by creating markets. This split between Tariff Reformers and Free Traders is similar to the split in the U.S. between those in favor of free trade and those opposed to it. Germany's grab for new markets in the 1890's through commercial treaties such as the 1891 treaty with Austria-Hungry is similar to both the United States and Japan's free trade zones with neighboring

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Innate Evil and the Temptations of the Devil Essay -- American Literat

Early American literature is unique in that it is abundantly influenced by Biblical themes and ideas. Being that this country was founded by the strict, fundamentalist Puritans, it seems obvious that the literature would be pervaded by such things as the presence of evil and its impact on goodness and holiness. The â€Å"evil† that is found in Melville and Hawthorne is interesting because it reflects the Biblical idea of evil tempting good and attempting to convert it rather than simply destroy it. The stories of Poe reflect the turmoil and evil that is contained within a person and tempts him or her to commit evil acts. What is fascinating about this literature is that in Billy Budd, The Scarlet Letter, â€Å"The Imp of the Perverse,† and â€Å"William Wilson,† evil is always victorious. In today’s society, it is tempting to read stories and watch films in which good always prevails and the characters live happily ever after; however, at the time of these writings, there was still an air of Calvinism and the lasting idea that mankind is innately evil. Modern society is uncomfortable with the term â€Å"evil,† but at the time of this literature, it was a common term that was used freely and had clear definitions. Therefore, because of the strong Biblical influence, the aforementioned tales are centered on this presence of evil and its temptation and torturing of that which is holy until goodness is overcome. Melville’s Billy Budd is a tale in which the Biblical influence is quite obvious. There are many images of snakes and serpents, which is often symbolic of Satan. Many critics read the story as an allegory to the Christ story in which Billy and Claggart â€Å"play the roles of Jesus and Judas† (Wright 133). There is imagery throughout th... ...he adultery and temptations in The Scarlet Letter, and the murder in both â€Å"The Imp of the Perverse† and â€Å"William Wilson† all were easily classified as evil. Today, many of these actions would be subscribed to the doers’ childhoods or to other traumatic experiences and the people themselves would not necessarily be held responsible. It is difficult in today’s society to classify good and evil because those areas are no longer black and white; however, in early American times, evil was easy to identify and was seen as the influence of the devil. The aforementioned literature of Melville, Hawthorne, and Poe all contains tremendous influence from the Bible and therefore displays this evil temptation from the devil himself. Sadly, in each of the stories, evil always seems to triumph, and the characters are forced to realize their own wickedness and depravities.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The great mortality

While there is much that is not known about the great pestilence which struck Europe most savagely in 1348 to 1350, this much can be said: in all of human history, there has never been a most devastating event. The modern analysis of surviving records indicates that the mortality rate throughout Europe averaged at least 50 percent. In the course of three years, one of every two human beings died, victims of a plague for which there was no effective remedy.In most communities, the pestilence struck and killed within a few months while sweeping on to other communities, making the impact of the staggering death toll all the more devastating. . A good deal has been written about this pestilence, and John Aberth makes an admirable contribution with his small book, The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents. Most of this book is documents from the period of the great pestilence, and these give insight into the suffering that swept across Europe during this period.When Aberth does interject comments, his observations are brief but thoroughly prescient. One of Aberth’s finest pieces is his comment on one of the great mysteries of the disease which destroyed so much of Europe. (Aberth 23-27) We do not know what it was. As Aberth notes, the term now commonly used for this disease, the Black Death, was not used by contemporaries. It was first coined in the sixteenth century. (Aberth 1) The modern reason for describing this disease as an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague is the outbreak of a similar, if much less devastating pestilence in Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.(Aberth 1, 23; Herlihy 20-21) During that plague, microbiologists isolated a bacterium as the cause of the outbreak, and given the similarity of symptoms, historians posit that the pestilence that devastated Europe in 1348 to 1350 was a variety of the same plague. (Aberth 23-25) Aberth does a fine job of reviewing the strengths and the weakn esses of the modern discussion, including issues about the temperature at which plague-bearing fleas flourish (Aberth 25-26), and also the strengths and weaknesses of his medieval sources (Aberth 24-27) .After all, knowing nothing of bacteriology and painfully little about the behavior of fleas and rats, medieval chroniclers were could hardly predict what modern scientists would like to know about the details of the disease their forebears encountered. As Aberth concludes, there are several problems with the conclusion that the pestilence of 1348 was the bubonic plague, but there are even greater difficulties with any alternative explanation that has been offered. (Aberth 26-27)Part of the difficulty with the notion that the pestilence was the bubonic plague lies with the fact that the flea which commonly carries the plague bacillus prefers to inhabit rats rather than humans, and will abandon the rat only when it dies of the plague and its body begins to cool. (ABerth 25-26; Herlihy 21-23) Reflecting this fact, modern outbreaks of the bubonic plague have been marked by the widespread death of rats. Albert Camus mentions this occurrence as the first sign of the arrival of the pestilence in his novel, The Plague.While some medieval sources do mention the widespread death of rats, it is not widely mentioned. However, the failure of these sources to mention a particular occurrence is questionable evidence from which to argue that something did not occur. For a wide variety of reasons, medieval chroniclers may not have connected the death of rats with the outbreak of the plague. Aberth also mentions that fleas can hide for long periods of time in grain, one of the items frequently carried along the routes which the plague followed.(Aberth 25-27; Ziegler 16, Horrax 7-8), Another difficulty which modern scholars have encountered is that the symptoms of the plague as described in the medieval documents do not match closely the symptoms noted in early twentieth century victims of the plague. Here Aberth shows his understanding of the complex scientific literature in the field, noting that plague bacillus has been shown to have a remarkable capacity for mutation, so that it is quite possible that what swept through Europe wasa particularly virulent mutation of the plague, a strain causing symptom somewhat different from those encountered in modern pandemics. (Aberth 26) The effects of the plague have been debated almost since they first occurred. Some historians contend that, especially in England, the plague so reduced that number of available laborers as to raise their standard of living as employers had to compete for their services.Here again, Aberth outdoes many other writers, by showing that variety and complexity of the economic responses to the devastating loss of population. In some areas, such as Egypt, the plague seems to have caused comparatively little change in economic relationships. (Aberth 67-70) In England, as noted, the conditio n of the lower classes gradually improved, and eventually, the true feudal system of serfs bond to the land fell away under the strain of the economic forces unleashed by the shift in the population.Aberth also acknowledges that the plague prompted many labor-saving inventions which helped improve the lot of the common folk, but adds a very sound admonition: any social or economic gain that cost the lives of half of the continent’s population must be hailed with considerable caution. (Aberth 68-70) In this analysis, Aberth again shows a good deal more subtlety and sophistication than many other historians who have tried to view the effects of the plague along more straightforward, if somewhat simplistic lines.In one of the noted revisionist essays, David Herlihy, for example, contended that Europe prior to the plague had reached a Malthusian breaking point: the population had expanded to the point where it was exhausting food production, and its continued geometric expansion versus the arithmetic expansion of the food supply had created a crisis. By greatly reducing the population, the plague alleviated this crisis while stimulating a wide range of inventions which eventually made much great food production possible.(Herlihy 31-39, 46-57) While not dismissing this interpretation, Aberth shows that it cannot explain the economic and social developments that occurred throughout Europe. These developments were sufficiently varied that no single theory can consistently bind them all together. (Aberth 69-70; Zeigler 203-09) While economic developments in the wake of the plague might be classified as â€Å"rational† responses to the pestilence, Aberth allows dwells on the hysterical responses, which took two primary forms: pogroms against the Jews and the flagellants.These two phenomena sometimes were related, as the flagellants blamed Jews for the outbreak of the plague, but also finds the phenomena occurring separately. The flagellants marked a parti cularly strange form of hysteria, organizing themselves into bands of zealots who carried the mortification of the flesh to gruesome lengths. With their belief that they alone had found the way to satisfy a wrathful God, they represented a break with the authority of the Catholic Church, something that led to their excommunication and their suppression by both religious and secular authorities.(Aberth 117-20;Zeigler 62-81) In a brief final chapter, Aberth considers how the plague altered the European conception of death. Here he notes some of the artistic changes that came about in the wake of th plague, including the appearance of â€Å"transi† tombs, which he describes as â€Å"a variation on tomb monuments by substituting or contrasting a skeletal and rotting cadaver to the idealized life-like portrait of the patron.† (Aberth 169) One example of this is the tomb of Francois de la Sarra, on which the arms crossed over the chest are covered with worms and four frogs o r toads sit on the face, covering the mouth and eyes. (Aberth 166, doc. 44) Another curious document that he presents is the :Disputacioun betwyx the Body and Wormes,† in which a noblewoman’s body argues with the worms that gnaw away the flesh after her death. (Aberth 176-78, doc. 46) The great majority of this book is made up of documentary selections, and Aberth has chosen his sources well.His introductory comments show the significance of each document, . and he notes grimly that many of those who tried to chronicle the plague fell victim to its ravages. He also shows the sad state of knowledge, in which the great medical faculty of the University of Paris, considered one of the leading centers of learning in its day, could find no better cause for the plague than the conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in Aquarius in 1345.(Aberth 41-42) While many authorities, Christian and Muslim, agreed that the plague was highly contagious, medical science was se veral hundred years from advancing any theory which would explain contagion in any credible way, and even farther from effecting a cure. The contradictory advice, the irrelevance of many proposed cures, and the gruesome stress on blood-letting show the sad state of medical knowledge at that time. (Aberth 45-66) Perhaps the grimmest aspect of these documents are the many comments showing the collapse of hope and human compassion during this terrible disease.Time and again, there is the repeated refrain of abandonment. With the disease almost invariably fatal, once a person was stricken, relatives and acquaintance would flee rather than risk being afflicted. Over and over, the documents reflect this in a litany of abandonment, (Aberth 33-34,54, 76) There has been no later pandemic on the order of the pestilence of 1348 to 1350. By comparison, deaths due to AIDS/HIV would have to increase more than a thousandfold to equal the slaughter that the plague inflicted.One can only hope that n o such pandemic recurs. SOURCES USED: Aberth, John. The Black Death: the Great Mortality of 1348-1350 (New York, New York: Palgrave McMillion, 2005). Camus, Albert. The Plague. (New York, New York: Vintage Books 1991). Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. (Cambridge, Massachusetts,L Harvard University Press, 1997). Horraxs, Rosemary. The Black Death (Manchester England: Manchester University Press, 1994). Ziegler, Philip. The Black Death. (Thrupp, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing 1969).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Wolf Creek Analysis

Greg McLean and released in February 2014, is a film which everyone should see because of the clever way stereotypes are challenged, Australian values are shown, and cinematography shows the natural beauty of outback Australia. Wolf Creek 2†³ Is about a couple of foreign travelers backpacking around Australia who are disturbingly interrupted by an outback serial killer who then turns on a traveler attempting to save them. Behind the horror, Australian values are made clear, stereotypes of Australian culture are challenged and the natural beauty of Australia is shown to the audience. The Australian value of home being an open door and welcome to all Is shown In â€Å"Wolf Creek 2†. This is evident when the injured and dehydrated victim, Paul, collapses on the doorstep of a secluded country house.Upon waking up, he finds himself in a bed, with his clothes washed and folded neatly beside him. Confused and delusional, Paul is greeted by an old couple who then proceed to serve him a home cooked meal. â€Å"l made it special, for you† was a statement made by the elderly lady as she served Paul the food – even though he was a total stranger, This Is significant because she took him In like she would her own some This series of events encourages viewers to believe the fact that Australians believe a home is a place of welcoming and that anyone in need can feel comfortable. Wolf Creek 2†³ challenges the stereotypical belief that Australia is meant to be a friendly country which backpackers feel safe In. This film displays backpacking In two ways, contrasting the stereotype. For example, the couple Is shown enjoying their experience, being picked up by numerous people and engaging In friendly conversation with them. This is the stereotypical belief being displayed. Although, the people refuses an offer from serial killer Mica Taylor for a ride – which consequently results in them being victims of a vicious attack.This scene portrays Australia to be an unsafe environment for backpackers – completely opposite to the foreigner's beliefs. The Inclusion of this Idea In the film forces viewers to question the conventional Idea behind the culture of backpacking In Australia. Phenomenal cinematography exhibits the stunning nature that is of outback Australia. Numerous wide shots were used of the mountains, grassed areas and wolf reek itself. This was done to show the viewer the full scale natural aspects of Australia.Birds-eye shots were taken of the long, endless, deserted highways to show the distance that the backpackers were traveling as well as the Isolation of the area. The grass – assisting in creating the Australian outback feel. The audience is challenged to consider whether the beautiful aspects of the Australian outback are masking the horrors happening in the very same place. â€Å"Wolf Creek 2† is a film which challenges the stereotypical Australian culture and aloes as well as display s the amazing nature of the Australian landscape.It supports the value of a home with an open door – a value which many viewers can identify with. Backpacking stereotypes are challenged by the series of murders; contrasting with the belief Australia is a friendly place for this leisurely activity. Finally, cinematography captures the spectacular landscape of outback Australia. Following the Journey of the backpackers takes the viewers on a Journey of understanding, shock and realization – making this movie a significant Australian film.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Dialectic Behavior Therapy Paper Essay

This paper will review the article: â€Å"Mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy: Theoretical and empirical observations.† This paper will summarize the theoretical and empirical observations that indicate why DBT is successful in treating clients with borderline personality disorder. This paper will discuss the specific aspects of how dialectical behavior therapy is used. Dialectical behavior therapy is the recommended treatment for clients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder based on several evidence based successful studies. These studies found that dialectical behavior therapy has reduced client depression and harmful behavior by combining acceptance and change techniques. There therapist looks to transform a clients behavior by supplying the client with a hypothesis for their problem. Clients with dialectical behavior therapy in a sense learned poor coping techniques in response to not knowing how to regulate their emotions. It is a goal of dialectical behavior therapy to reduce the client’s emotional dysregulation by helping the client learn how to control their emotions and changing their behaviors (Lynch & Chapman, 2006). The philosophy behind dialectical behavior therapy is that you must look at the whole client system to figure out the client’s reality because each part of the client’s system is interrelated. Each aspect of a client’s life can affect their emotions and behaviors. Dialectical behavior therapy is based on a biosocial theory that looks at the client’s childhood environment that could have led them to be emotional susceptible as a child causing emotional dysregulation as an adult. A client’s inner personality as a child of being emotionally sensitive was refuted by adults in their life through punishing the child in forms of abusive behaviors. Growing up these clients’ are in a feedback loop cause there emotional dysregulation to continue (Lynch & Chapman, 2006). It is important for the therapist to create an environment where the client’s feelings are validated. Therapists help clients be mindful of their current emotions without trying to change it. Clients learn to be mindful of their beliefs, their logic and what emotions are real to them in that present moment. During treatment the therapist helps the client learn to communicate what is truly experienced by the client and for the client to be conscious aware of wh at to do. The client learns that they have control over how they process the situation. The client then applies rational thoughts and emotional regulation to the situation to achieve a sense of harmony. The client then learns not to resort to previous feedback loops. The client is encouraged to experience and accept their emotion fully without any attempts to regulate it. Clients therefore learn to stop the pattern of trying to control their affect (Lynch & Chapman, 2006). Being mindful can stop feedback loops and change how a client responds to an emotional situation. Therapists help clients identify and challenge their belief systems that focuses on a rule where people must behave a certain way when faced with certain event. Clients are taught in dialectic behavioral therapy to focus their attention on what is happening instead of how the situation makes them feel. It is important for therapist to validate clients’ feelings and efforts towards change. Validation allows client to increase their self-confidence in their ability to self-regulate. This unconditional positive regard by the therapist helps clients learn how their history has affected their current behavior through emotional dysregulation and why dysfunctional behavior patterns are preventing them from having healthy relationships. The therapist then trains the client in healthy relationship skills and reinforces the clients’ use of the new skills (Lynch & Chapman, 2006). This paper reviewed the article: â€Å"Mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy: Theoretical and empirical observations.† This paper summarized the theoretical and empirical observations that indicate why DBT is successful in treating clients with borderline personality disorder. This paper discussed the specific aspects of how dialectical behavior therapy is used. References Lynch, T., Chapman, A. et al (2006). Mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy: Theoretical and empirical observations. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(4), 459-480. http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19901233&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Explain How An Organisation Can Cost A Product And Determine Its Price At Any Activity Level

You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice: 1. Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why. You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice:Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why.You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice: 1. Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why.You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice: 1. Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why. You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice: 1. Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why.You may wish to choose a business you already have knowledge of from trips or your part-time employer. For a product of your choice: 1. Clearly explain the main cost elements and the nature of those costs – define and give relevant examples of variable, fixed, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 2. Suggest the weekly production level and a breakdown of costs for one product from your chosen business. Then calculate the marginal and absorption costs per unit. 3. Describe at least 2 methods of setting the price, including cost-plus pricing. Then suggest which method is best suited to your chosen business’ product and why.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Stardust: the Wall and Tristan

Through dedication, love, and courage, Tristan Thorne overcomes the strength and ability to grow up and become a man. The movie stardust is an adventure movie that brings thrill and excitement. As Tristan grows into being a mature man he faces many difficult tasks. Example, while Tristan is facing the love of his life. The girl does not give him a chance as he knows Humphrey is proposing to the girl Tristan likes. Tristan knows he has exactly one week to get the ring for the girl or she marries Humphrey.When Tristan turns to his father for help, Tristan’s father has a surprise for him, as he takes him up into the attic and gives Tristan a gift. A gift his father has had for him his whole life, a gift from Tristan’s mother he has never met. Tristan finds out it is a note in a basket addressed from his mother. In the note wrapped up is a Babylon candle from his mother. In the note it explains how he can use the candle his mother gave him, and what it is used for. As it ta kes one week for Tristan to grow up, he realizes he must cross the wall to get the star the love of his life is asking for.Tristan realizes he cannot cross the wall unless he has some help, as Tristan got his help. Tristan sneaks past the old man and over the wall. Yet, Tristan does not realize what he has in front of him, and what lies ahead of his battle to get the star he has always hoped of getting for the love of his life. First, Tristan grows and matures into a man by crossing the wall, and capturing the star. Second, as Tristan has the star he has always wanted; he realizes his true love is right in front of his eyes, and is not the girl he was capturing the star for.Finally, Tristan gets his wish by capturing the star, and becomes king. One reason why it takes Tristan a week to mature and grow up because he realizes he has such short time to capture the star that he needs. Tristan only has one week, and he realizes he has competition trying to capture the star as well. Secon d, Tristan realizes he is not the only one in pursuit of trying to capture the ring, as the witch and brothers try and track him down to become next king and queen. Finally, Tristan matures into a man by the help of his captain and friends he has met along the way of capturing the tar. Tristan realizes the love of his life is right in front of him, instead of back home. First, Tristan falls in love with the star, but yet does she know he has feelings for her and he does not know how to explain his feelings towards her. Tristan finds out the real truth of how she feels for him when his own mother turns him into a mouse, after they met up along a trail and he asked for a ride. She said he must give up his Snow Drop flower to catch a ride. As soon as Tristan gave up the flower, she made Tristan a mouse and put him in a cage in the back of the wagon.Star explains her feelings to Tristan as he is a mouse, and she does not know he understands or is listening. Second, Tristan tells star he has heard what she has had to say about her feelings towards him and Star is quit shocked. My last reason why Tristan never knew his true love was right in front of his eyes, because the captain on the ship explained to him it has been all along; he just never realized it. Finally, Tristan gets his wish by capturing the star and becoming King.First, Tristan became King by being the last one alive to capture the Star, and bringing her back home with him. Second, Tristan is crowned King by capturing the heart of the stone, which leads to internal life. Tristan got his wish by defeating the last witch alive, before the witch had a chance to kill the girl and capture the star. Third, when Tristan is crowned King, he receives a gift from his mother; which is one last Babylon candle. In Conclusion, Tristan Thorne overcomes the ability and strength to become a mature man.When Tristan battled his way to win the power to become crowned King, Tristan first jumped the wall when he was not dar ed to enter. Second, without the help of his own mother he never met his whole life, and the note in the basket being wrapped up with a Babylon candle inside his father gave him. It was the fastest way he could travel to get the star that he needed, and to get the ring for the love of his life back at home. As much as Tristan knew it was important to keep Star with him, Tristan had to always keep a close eye on her in order not to lose her.Tristan knew she was very popular and had to overcome great challenges not lose her, because Tristan knew it was his only chance to get the ring for the love of his life; which later on he discovers she is a star and does not realize she is the key for whoever becomes the next crowned King. Later, Tristan realizes he is not the only one trying to capture the star, and that has forced him to grow up very quickly to becoming a man. In the end, Tristan gets crowned King, by defeating everyone else behind him and gets the love of his life which was ri ght in front of his eyes all along.

Friday, September 13, 2019

US monetary policy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

US monetary policy - Term Paper Example When the Fed wants to â€Å"expand the money supply† (create money), it steps in and buys bonds from these dealers with newly-issued dollars acquired by the Fed for the cost of writing them into an account on a computer screen. The Federal Reserve is overseen by board of governors based in Washington, which is a government body (Solomon 1996). This board of governors comprise of 7 members appointed by the president of the United States of America, each of them has the capacity to serve for 14 years. All this members must pass through senate for confirmation and are eligible for reappointment. The chairman is the head of the board being deputized by the vice chairman. Both the chairman and deputy are appointed by the president and must pass through senate for approval (Solomon 1996). Ben Bernanke is the current chairman; he took over from Alan Greenspan. The most common tool used by the Federal Reserve is the buying and selling of government securities in order to increase or r educe the amount of money in the banking system and this is done through an open market (Timberlake 1993). When they buy securities, they pump money into the banking system and accelerate growth  while sales of securities siphon money from the system. Federal Reserve's aim is to use this technique to  adjust the federal funds rate, that is, the rate at which banks borrow from each other (Timberlake 1993). ... the ones required by the law or rather set by the Federal Reserve board of governors can use the money to bring those changes back to stability (Timberlake 1993). The board of directors of each reserve bank sets the discount rate every 14 days. It's considered the last resort for banks, which usually borrow from each other. The Fed uses the discount rate to check the supply of available funds, which will in effect have impact on inflation and in extension interest rates (Degen 1987). If the available money is abundant, there is more likelihood of inflation occurring. It will become more expensive to borrow from Federal Reserve if interest rate is increased. Short term interest rate will, therefore, be increased by lower supply of money and the opposite is true. Quantitative Easing† (QE) is a kind of operations within markets that assist the Federal Reserve achieve its policy targets (Degen 1987). QE involves open market operations that are not different from the way the Federal Reserve often operates in its quest to attain certain policy objectives. When Federal Reserve changes their target interest rate, it is doing so in order to involve open market operations that alter reserves in the banking system so as to get to its preferred rate.    Open market operations often include moves such as adjusting the existing reserves in the banking system so as to assist reaching a target interest rate.  Many people believe that QE operates to achieve its objectives in ways that are different from standard monetary policy, e.g. influencing demand for loans, the wealth effect and interest rate channels (Wells 2004). Much of the misconception is also due to the untruth that QE helps to fund the US government or is equivalent to â€Å"money printing†.   This is not true. The main

Thursday, September 12, 2019

3.Case Study Transformation at the Universal Manufacturers Group Coursework

3.Case Study Transformation at the Universal Manufacturers Group - Coursework Example The merger is expected to place the group at the same caliber with other competitive companies. The management hopes to reap the benefit accrued with economies of scale. Max Weber expounded on the classical theory and emphasized that there was no need of organization diversifying (Powell, 2003, p.42). In his line of thought, an organization can be successful so long as there are clear lines of authority and control. Weber gave credit on the importance of division of labor. Division of labor will enhance an organization productivity and cut-off some expenses. This however will result to the transformation of the entire human resource. The director of human resource director Mrs. Smithers is faced with challenges on how to transform the current human resource functions while still remain in focus with the organization’s vision, mission, goals, and objectives. UMG is facing two key problems in its human resource transformation. Since it wants to merge the three companies into one based in the newly located headquarter in Reading, England, human resource that was available will have to be downsized. The retrenchment of some employees will be the only way out in ensuring that UMG gets value for its resources. However, retrenchment of the employees should be done on a fair ground. Perhaps the best way to go about would be Mrs. Smithers sending circular to each department on the issue of downsizing, so that who are willing voluntarily to resign can be given the chance. Torrington, and Hall (1998, p.76), argued that proper procedures should always be in place on how to layoff, employees who voluntarily resigned and those who will be â€Å"forced† to resign. This is because if employees are not taken care during the retrenchment period this might have a negative reputation of an organization. Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygien e theory identifies job security as one of hygiene factor that will motivated the employees. Frederick

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The Negatives Use of Reinfusion Drains in the Surgical Setting Research Paper

The Negatives Use of Reinfusion Drains in the Surgical Setting - Research Paper Example This can be due to using unsterilized tubes or getting infected instruments into the delicate internals of the patient. There are also cases where patients had the pipes physically damaging the delicate internal parts during insertion or removal or from mechanical failure of the machines used in the process (Helms & Quan, 2006). Placing the tubes inferior to the pleural cavity has been found out to increase chances of damaging the spleen, liver or diaphragm. In the very unlucky cases, there have been injuries to the heart or other blood veins especially when the affected area occurs near the heart. The minor issues arising from the procedure include coughing especially after the removal of a large amount of liquid or air which creates a kind of vacuum in the chest cavity (Norton, 2008). Shortness of breath is also a common occurrence usually accompanied by a feeling of anxiety after the procedure. Most pains go away after the tube is removed from the body and therefore should not worry the patient in any way. Care should be taken though that persistent pain is checked in the shortest time possible since there could be internal injuries. The minor complications are usually associated with the general process and common among all those who have undergone the process (DeWald, 2003). The most important cautionary measure that medical practitioners undertaking this process need to take into consideration though is the prevention of clogging of the tubes during the fluid, pus or air removal (Atluri, 2006).

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Why people make unethical design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why people make unethical design - Essay Example This paper looks at the opposite view of unethical conduct or behaviour in business with specific focus on gender inequality of remuneration between male and female executives in business organizations. The fact that there is inequality suggests unethical behaviour on the part the management of such organizations. There is enough evidence to suggest that there exists a gender gap with regard to pay among executives in the country. Other issues like promotion opportunities, lack of involvement in decision making etc also are seen. Another prominent fact is that the percentage of women executives in gets lower as the climb up the corporate ladder takes place. Another factor is that the compensation gap gets bigger with regard to the top managerial posts in an organization. Most of the information given in this section has been basically sourced from reputed magazines like Fortune or news sties like CNN. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 bars employers from compensation discrimination on the basis of sex. An excerpt from the Act is given below. â€Å"No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate les s than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex†¦.† (Laws & Guidance). But this has not yet been implemented uniformly even after forty four years of its passing. The 2005 issue of Fortune magazine states that women are paid less than men across all job sectors and positions. This appears to be the case in all the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. â€Å"The average difference is more than 15% and exceeds 20% in some countries – in the US, men earn 22% more† (Morella 4). A review of literature has shown that the most discussed theory with reference to compensation in general and

Monday, September 9, 2019

Objections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Objections - Essay Example Or, monetary returns may be provided. Even still, an additional/extra object can be added in the deal as compensation. All this will not only provide the customer a good value for the money spent, it will give him a psychological reassurance that the vendors meant well, and that it would be plausible to come here again. There is nothing greater than winning the allegiance of a customer. For instance, if the customer has come back with the complaint of the studio service, then any of the three options can be exercised. The entire service can be provided again from scratch, or the money can be returned, or some other facility/service/product can be offered to the customer as a token of goodwill and apology. This would show the customer that the intent to provide service is there on part of the vendor, and even though a glitch might have occurred on this occasion, there is every likelihood that the problem will not persist for the times to follow. Another potent method of accomplishing the same is to question and assess the situation. There is a very fine line here between inquiring, and creating a conflict with the client. The former is intended, and the latter must be avoided at all costs.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Product Liability Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Product Liability Case - Research Paper Example However, she was subsequently diagnosed shoulder chondrolysis that caused her shoulder socket and ball to fuse, severely restricting shoulder motion. As a result, she filed a product liability suit against I-Flow Corp, which manufactured the â€Å"PainBuster† device. In this case, she asserted that the device had not received FDA approval for use in such cases, arguing the product’s manufacturer was liable for the sale of this product despite not giving adequate warning and was, therefore, unreasonably dangerous (Moylan, 2015). There is no mention of the insurance company in the article, which might be explained by the fact the case was initially thrown out and the insurance company was not needed. The Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that, for medical devices, negligence of instruction was grounds for product liability, stating that this finding was not in contravention of the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 or the underlying intent of the US Congress in making these amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (Moylan, 2015). The suspected reason for Christina’s disorder was a â€Å"pain pump† that her doctors used to directly administer painkillers to her shoulder joint following the surgical procedure. Normally, this device is used to deliver different types of pain medications to the surgery site quickly and directly. However, the procedure involved in using the device has been linked to development of chondrolysis, which is a debilitating condition of the joints. This disorder causes the depletion of cartilage that separates and connects bones and, as a result, the joints become fused and lose all mobility. In majority of cases, the discov ery and diagnosis of this condition happens too late for any effective treatment or cure (Moylan, 2015). Before submitting her product liability case to court, Christina requested the court to instruct the jury on the negligence theory per se.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Holocaust Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Holocaust Theology - Essay Example Thus, if one reads the text by Berenbaum, one will be able to see the general picture of the time. Indeed, the Nazi Germany was a young state that desperately needed recognition of its is new ways. At first it seized the power legally when Adolf Hitler was appointed a Chancellor. However, in the course of a series of attacks on the opponents, the NSDAP became the only real power in the country. There could be no resistance to them as otherwise people will be eliminated. It is quite understandable that under such conditions the Germans who knew about the final solution could not express their views freely as they were afraid for their life as well. Berenbaum was one of the researchers who tried to draw a connection between Christianity and the mass killings that took place. He noted that the Nazi acted in the Christian social environment and, therefore, had to align their actions with the dominating moral framework. Keeping in mind the scope of the Holocaust, one might suggest that th ey succeeded in doing so. Some scholars, like Heinsohn, put emphasis on a different aspect of Holocaust. He argues that the modern people are simply not able to understand the event that took place in the middle of the previous century: our contemporaries live in a completely different set of conditions. Indeed, the citizens of the Nazi Germany faced other problems. The government thought that the best way to ensure the survival of their state is to perform the following steps: get rid of the weak that hold the state back; re-conquer the territories to gain more space for the growing population; get rid of the Jewish principles that largely guided the development of the German society. Further more, this scholar points out that the Holocaust should not be seen as simple military operation: it is an ideological war that sent a particular message not only to the Jews, but to the Germans as well as to

Friday, September 6, 2019

Indigenous Tradition Essay Example for Free

Indigenous Tradition Essay In the past people have mistaken about their tradition Indigenous originality or occurring naturally (country, region etc) To be indigenous kinship (relation to one another) and location(connection of particular place) Indigenous religion beliefs, experience and practices concerning non-falsifiable realities of people who have kinship and location Syncretism: Syncretism merging of elements from different religions. Eg : north American tradition have been influenced by Christianity, some African rituals are influences by Islam. * Change occurs everywhere. * Traditions are less authentic (accurate) than thousands year ago Indigenous can be found anywhere: * Anishinaubae: drumming ceremony in Toronto * Yoruba: Funeral rites in London * Maori: Purification ritual in opera house Sydney Australia Misconceptions * Common to Indigenous traditions is colonialism * Oglala (Indigenous community) – a theorist explained them as â€Å"warriors without weapons basically they were incapable to adapting a new economy lifestyle they focused on how to make them â€Å"modern Indians† * Outsider lack insider knowledge. * Scholars often used terms such as fetish, myth, mana, taboo to explain Indigenous traditions. * Eg â€Å" Indigenous stories are called myth where the bible is considered to be true. Primitive Cultures that are unchanged from the beginning primitive Christians, who believed in god and their tradition, had superiority and began to spread their religion to who didn’t know about gospel Indigenous traditions are tend to think more primitive Due to non-literate * But writing to not better than oral speaking * Mayan did use writing * Most Indigenous people are very literate. Indigenous tradition are tend to think more primitive – consider everything to be sacred (untrue) * Eg : Navajo : ceremony that transforms normal house into a scared place. So everything such as eating, sleeping is considered to be sacred. * Australian aborigine knows where to pray(know the difference between sacred and non sacred mountains) Primitive term is now disagreeing by many scoloars Mohawk and Cree (Dr Clare Brant) Mohawk: Indigenous traditions who give more food to their guest to show their wealth. Cree: Indigenous tradition who eat all the food offered to show scarcity. These two traditions did not go well together and this shows that Indigenous traditions are different from each other. Another point is that we see other cultures according to our own cultures. Gender roles: * Male: hunting and warfare * Female: healing and food preparation * Maori carvers were men and weavers were women. Bunu men frow cotton and women turn it into clothes. * Sometimes the roles switch just like other traditions * Usually religions practices are different for men and woman too. Power of speech Oral speaking is very imp for Indigenous traditions things are passed down oraly. Many people think oral primitive (untrue). Both Quran and Bible was passed down orally before written into text Stories : After life : * Kewa: a man finds a tunnel where his dead people wre living together and they gave them many things and asks him not to speak of it. When he goes and tell everyone about the tunnel, he breaks the promise and when he returns the tunnel is gone. * Anishinaubae : young man fiance died, and he go on a journey to find her and when he found her , he returns home heartbroken, keeping his promise. * These stories tell us about importance of relationships tell us about how we should live than about dying Writing stores often â€Å"fixed in time†. Trickster: * Considered as â€Å"culture heroes† because they are the central figures in many stores * Usually shape shift usually into animals * Can change genders sometime biological and sometime just clothes changing * Outer form is reflected into infidelity * They can appear as fools, selfish, kind, scandalous etc. * Usually driven by self interest alone * Trickster stores show us how we should behave and how we should not * The stories often explain the origins of world and connect to a community more deeply. * Embodies the extremes of humanity: human weakness and strength Practice (rituals). Indigenous tradition rituals are very similar to our traditions * Rituals remind us on what is imp in our life. * In religious terms, rituals, communicate some ways with gods, ancestor and spirits. * Rituals are roots in the human needs and relationship Rituals : * Every rituals varies * Usually involves food Muslim and Jews have specific food eating habits * Many Buddhist set food portions aside for ancestors * Anishinaubae put small amount of food for the spirits * Some rituals are more complicated * Such as marriage, death, birth * Sometimes these rituals mark transformation and sometimes they help to bring the transformation about. * Indigenous tradition rituals serve in some ways to recreate some aspects of the world, order and life Journey: * Going on a journey/quest: rites of passage * Journey to a new place is where a transformation occurs. * The person returns home with physical change, such as tattoo, scar or a body part to symbolize their new self. * Pondos: moved into a special hut to become sacred healers- if they go into town before they must be covered in white * White usually symbolize the color of transformation in Africa * Anishinaubae vision quest – yong man travels far away from home only with water and be completely alone. Then late he become a â€Å"adult man† and comes home with food and the ritual is complete . Sacrifice Mel Gibson: sacrifices in Indigenous traditions are vey common Bear sacrifice: raise a young cub, and raise it for two day and kill it. Head is emptied and filled with flowers and then the animal is cooked and eaten. They think that the bear is the gold’s spirit and they see it as freeing the spirit. Sun dance : dance till days and community provide support. Some sun dance involves sacrifice . the pole and lodge are buil to show the creation of the world Nuer : sacrifice ox for healing. Xhosa : when a woman fall ill the community gathers and kill a cow and do many rituals. This is due their thinking that the ancestor or spirit is angry with the women. * above rituals shows the involvement of community even though there is sacrifice involved. * The rituals ultimately brings people together * Sacrifice like rituals create order and meaning * Those rituals join people to the past and respond to current situation Cultural Expression What you see is not always what you get Art in Indigenous traditions is aout relationship objects are coonected to people Weaving : * Intertwine and connect * Weavers work together , helping one another , passing knowledge. * Shows bonds among people Maori Tradition : * All weavers are female * A girl is said all about weaving more said more discouraged if people saw true commitment then they let the girl into whare pora(caretakers of the weaving) * Whare pora have rules no sex before dying, no food allowed during weaving, special garment should be weaved during the day and not strangets can view the weaving * Traditional colors : black, red and white * Sacred thread is sewed on all garments to show the bond Underlying cloth : * Clothing declare who we are and how we fit into social fabric * Has two side : can hide much as it reveals and help us create a public face * Lady gaga : he masks and clothes hide part of her but also reveals her identity that she wishes to show * Special clothes are associated with imp rituals * Bunu : believes that the special clothes are kind of womb, enveloping the body as like a fetus is being born. Clothing only wears it does not die old cloth is replaces by new, as old spirits is reborn Spirit basket : * Oldest arts * In pomo community men makes the heavy basket for hunting and fishing * Women were responsible for religious baskets. * Mable mckey : was a traditional healer in pomo community and famous basket weaver in the world. Masks : * Masks are used in imp rituals wedding , funerals, hunting celebration etc * Masks are ment to ring spirit into the community lesser deities (gods) * Mask represent certain animals does not mean they worship the animal * Epa mask in Yoruba community extremely heavy show the strength require to dance with the mask and enter the adult hood with responsibility. * Carvers are usualy male Totem poles : * Very specific to each communities * Function of totem poles also varies in each tradition. * Meaning varies serve as a supporting structure or grave makers and other as a symbol for power * Most also tell stories such as historical, achievements and religious * Grizzly bear at the base holding a human represents self-preservation or survival. Moko * Maori carvings are less likely to be displayed outside the original physical context * Moko tattoos * In the beginning the women were only allowed tattoos around their lips and chin where men can have tattoos all over their face * Moko story remind the Maori people their ancestor and importance of meeting ones obligation and treating one another with respect Ancestoral House. * Marae Maori religious and social home. Site of wedding , funeral, celebration. * Authority is held by community elders where they use the space to pass n traditions, stories and arts, carving, weaving. * If the artist when wrong painting the place, they could be put to death. * Location is very imp it must be located in a place where the previous generation carried out the religious and social activities. * Whare Whakairo physical form which represents the body of the ancestor * The building is divided into body parts of the ancestor Three points and Shrine : * Some traditions are very plain, harder for an outsider to see * Three issues : * Most rituals are performed outside * Think bout the function of religious structures that are used in the rituals * What you see is not often what you get * Mbari shrine : represents the founder of the community, a great healer and was forced to flee because they were attacked by another community. Elder stands her to protects the shrine all the time. * The guard signify the change modern development Hogans * Navajo Hogan traditional living space as well as the site for many rituals. * It is the site for daily activities and some are religious and some are not * Before new Hogan is occupied a song is performed. * Known as Blessing way ceremony four divining earth, mountain woman, water woman, corn woman also the song speaks everyday things * According to them world is structure – Hogan All these things symbolizes: * Link btw past and present * Btw community and place * Btw our world and world of spirits Colonialism * Colonialism process where people from one place maintain a settlement in another and to the effects of people who were already there. * Changes include – subjugation or removal , new laws, social practices and new economy. * Power and profit are factors that drive colonialism. * Religion is also one of the reason Colombus : * He destroyed a community Arawaks * He wanted to tell him where the gold was people who gave him gold were left alive and people who didn’t were killed(by cutting hands) * Then he realized that the most valuable are the people, so he sent them back to Europe by the boat land. Genocides : * 20 million African were taken as slave and only 11 million returned * 96% od aboriginals were dead in Australia * factors of depopulation : military action, torture, starvation, suicide and slavery. * More aboriginals are killed when the Americans want more land Masters of continent : * As settler population growed the indigenous population reduced less friendly for land * Terra nullius no ones land was the phrase that European settlers used no owner ship primitive – they do not count as people Conversion : * Many converted to different religion due to colonialism * In Indonesia indigenous tradition is not recognized by lay so all are counted as muslim Loss of religion : * Europeans tried to convert them into chistianity rarely worked * Europeans used military strengeth and religion â€Å"our people is tronger because our god is stronger â€Å" * Missionaries. * Also sometimes the colonial government made the indigenous religion illegal * Eg : potlatch and sundance was made illegal ? Die to the felf harm and economic hardship is potlatch(poverty) * Colonialism lead to patriarchy The potlatch : * Feast that are hosted by a family and hosting family presents the guests with gifts * Demonstrate hospitality and redistributing wealth. Loss of language : * Colonialism language disappeared forever * 20 languages extinct * when communities died, the languages died with them * children’s were forbidden to speak their own languages â€Å"Stolen generation† Loss of Land: * Many religious and indigenous land were taken and was destroyed * Two problems that non-indigenous people had: * Very common belief, no specific belief and are mostly about practice * Religion such as Christians can pray anywhere but indigenous people had to pray at a specific site Identity : (the sympols of indeginous people in sports) * Cleveland Indians play at Atlanta braves : it’s a reminder of ongoing colonialism that has been taken from the indigenous people. * Indigenous oriented names : â€Å"eskimo pie† to market the products evoke a primitive stereotype that is best suited for the product.