Adavantages and Disadavantages of Being the Only Child

Being an only child can be either good or bad, depending on how you perceive it and how you are brought up by your parents. The advantages could be that you get the undivided love and attention of your parents. They would dote on you more and provide for you more – in terms of getting you stuff, toys, etc. Obviously, being an only child means that your parents have only you to spend the money on and not have to share it among other siblings. So, you'd get more toys than normal, more money to spend than normal, more inheritance than normal, and of course more love from your parents than normal. So, in that sense, being the only child can be termed as a good thing. As far as disadvantages go, the â€Å"Little Emperor Syndrome† sums it up perfectly. For those unfamiliar with the term, â€Å"Little Emperor Syndrome† refers to the Chinese situation involving parents and their single child. Of course, all of you would be aware of China's one-child policy. Little Emperor Syndrome is an unintended consequence of that policy. This is a situation in which the parents lavish their love, attention, resources on this one child of theirs, and as a result, the child becomes spoilt and, well, behaves like a â€Å"Little Emperor. This sort of excessive attention and care can prove detrimental in the long term for the child. The child gets used to having everything done, managed, taken care of – by their parents. When they have to live in the real world and face real problems, they might not be able to cope with it. They may lack self-confidence to go out in the world and get things done for themselves. They might feel lost outside of the cocoon that their parents created for them. Being an only child can also be very lonely. They would miss the fun of growing up with a brother or sister. An only child can also grow up to be a selfish adult, i. e. one who thinks primarily of his/her needs over the needs of others. They may also lack in the ability to empathize with others as much as children with siblings. Another potential disadvantage of being an only child could be the excess burden on your shoulders as regards taking care of your parents, for example. It can take an emotional toll on you, being the only child with all the responsibilities. My Experience of not Being the Only Child in my Family So, there are advantages and disadvantages to being an only child. However, how each child turns out – really depends on how the child has been brought up, among other factors. Personally, I always wished I was the only child in my family. Perhaps, its not a nice thing to say, but that's how I feel! You know, the grass always seems greener on the other side. In my specific situation, the age gap between me and my brother was just 3 years, and therefore, there was a lot of rivalry and acrimony between us all through childhood – it affected me quite a bit, not the usual childhood fights, which you grow out of. Being the eldest in my family, I always felt that I was not treated fairly when it came to certain situations, especially conflict situations. I was always expected to be magnanimous and large-hearted and forgive and forget – whereas my younger brother was doted on and shielded. I still feel that to be the case to this day. We do get along much better now, but it isn't your usual loving relationship – more formal than familial. My mom still dotes on my little brother to no end, which is good, but she doesn't see me the same way, which is what I regret and bemoan. I've never quite understood this difference. At times, I think to myself that this is all my imagination – that I am just seeing things that aren't there! That there is really no discrimination so to speak. But, then again, there is a difference, you know what I mean? Perhaps, a lot of you would have no clue about what I am talking about. Then again, there may be a lot of you who know exactly what I am talking about, so there you have it!! I am sure, there would be lots of single, lonely people out there, who were the only child in their families, who would have wished they had a brother or sister growing up. So, there are pros and cons to both!

Internal Control Essay

1. Inform the President of any new internal control requirements if the company decides to go public.  As per the accident that happened in the company about some employees was viewing pornography on company computer and he had a hard time to get his employees admitted that they were the one who doing it. He should use limit access by individual passwords for each person to log in the computer systems. To make sure that which person was log on in the computer and do bad thing during that period. 2. Advise the President of what the company is doing right (they are doing some things well) and also recommend to the President whether or not they should buy the indelible ink machine. When your advice the President, please be sure to reference the applicable internal control principle that applies. From the passage that the accountant has recently started using prenumbered invoices following by the principle of internet control activities. Please find the Documentation Procedures passage below. From the passage, the president wants to buy an indelible ink machine to print their checks. In my opinion, I would like to recommend that he should buy an indelible ink machine following by the principle of internal control activities. Please find the Physical Controls passage below. Principles of internal control activities Documentation Procedures Companies should establish procures for documents. First, whenever possible, companies should use prenumbered documents, and all documents should be account for. Prenumbering helps to prevent a transaction from being recorded more than once, or conversely, from not bring recorded at all. Second, the control system shown that employees should promptly forward source documents for accounting entries to the accounting entries to the accounting  department. This control measure helps to ensure timely recording of the transaction and contributes directly to the accuracy and reliability of the accounting record. Require use prenumbered checks and account for them in sequence; each check must have an approved invoice; require employees to use corporate credit cards for reimbursable expenses; stamp invoices â€Å"paid†. Physical Controls Store blank checks in safes, with limited access; print check amounts by machine in indelible ink. 3. Advise the President of what the company is doing wrong (they are definitely doing some things poorly). Please be sure to include the internal control principle that is being violated along with a recommendation for improvement. Following from the passage that they have one accountant who serves as Treasurer and Controller which streamlines many of their processes. In this dual role, he purchases all of the supplies and pays for these purchases. He also recieves the checks and completes the monthly bank recommendation. The accountant is so busy that the company handels pretty cash a bit differently. He should asign duties to more than one person not only one because it hard for one person to control and serves as treasurer and controller in the same time. Following by Principles of internal control activities. Please find Segregation of Duties and Establishment of Responsibility passage below. From the following passage that all employees have access to the petty cash in a desk drawer and are asked to only place a note if they use any of the cash. In my opinion, he should limit access to the petty cash in a desk drawer, only one person could have responsible for the petty cash. Following by Principles of internal control activities. Please see the Establishment of Responsibility passage below. Principles of internal control activities Segregation of Duties Different individuals approve and make payments; check singers do not record disbursements Segregation of duties is indispensable in an internal control system. There are two common applications of this principle: 1. Different individuals should be responsible for related activities. 2. The responsibility for record-keeping for an asset should be separate from the physical custody of that asset. The rational for segregation of duties is this: The work of one employee should, without a duplication of effort, provide a reliable basis for evaluating the work of another employee. Segregation of related activities making one individual responsible for related activities increases the potential for errors and irregularities. Establishment of Responsibility An essential principle of international control is to assign responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for given task. Establishing responsibility often requires limiting access only to authorized personnel, and then identifying those personnel. Only designated personnel are authorized to sign checks (treasurer) and approve vendors. Compare checks to invoices; reconcile bank statement monthly

Adidas vs Nike Case Study

Creating a powerful website wherein all products and services offered of the company are available and also a websites which interactive too. 5. Using woman athletes in their advertising tactics: commercials or models. SWOT Analysis Strengths †¢ In many invents  is the biggest sponsor †¢ Strong management team †¢ Brand recognition and reputation †¢ Diversity and variety in products offered on the web (footwear, apparel, sporting equipment, etc. ) †¢ Strong control over its own distribution channel †¢ No bad reputation like child labor or environment pollution †¢ In the Soccer industry, Adidas has a stronghold Weaknesses †¢ High prices in some products †¢ E-commerce is limited to USA †¢ Online customer service not helpful or NOT easy to find. Opportunities †¢ Increase female participation in athletics †¢ Collaborate with other online retailers to offer Adidas products †¢ Possibility of outsourcing the web development and e-commerce to a third party developer   Threats †¢ Nikes strong reputation in the footwear and apparel industry too †¢ Negative image created by the sponsored athletes (i. e. Kobe Bryant and his sexual assault case) †¢ Increase in the Price of Raw materials Continuing challenges in import/export duties Competitors Analysis Strengths: †¢ Nike uses a â€Å"Make to Stock† customer order which provides a fast service to customers from available stock. †¢ Nike operates Nike Town shoe and sportswear stores, Nike factory outlets and Nike Women shops. Nike sells its products throughout US and in more than 180 countries. †¢ Nike is strong at research and development, as is evidenced by its evolving and innovative product range. They then manufacture wherever they can produce high quality product at the lowest possible price. †¢ Nike Company is great at expanding their product. Competitors are developing alternative brands to take away Nike’s market share. Objectives of the Analysis 1. To help management understand their competitive advantages/disadvantages relative to competitors. 2. To generate understanding of competitors’ past, present (and most importantly) future strategies 3. To provide an informed basis to develop strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the future. 4. To help forecast the returns that may be made from future investments (e. g. how will competitors respond to a new product or pricing strategy? Strategies . Market Segmentation Most of the consumers of Nike’s products are mainly sportsmen. This is so because of the utility that comes with the products. An athlete is more likely to go a sports shoe designed and marketed by Nike more than a person who detests sporting and exercises. Nike targets these consumers by agreements between Nike and athletic teams, college’s athletic teams, etc. for product spo nsorship and eventual promotion to the members of these teams. In this way, Nike is able to reach a wide number of consumers and consumers who are more likely to buy. Even though others are likely to buy the products, Nike pays specific emphatic targeting to the athlete more than any group of individuals even though it also targets the youth who have embraced the hip hop culture 2. Targeting strategies Nike lays a number of strategies to target their immediate consumers; athletes and other sportsmen. The targeting strategies include among others the sponsorship of products by professional athletic teams, celebrity athletes and college athletic teams. This strategy is specifically successful because of its ability to reach a large number of athletes. If the athletic team manager prescribes a specific type of track shoes made by Nike, the trainees have no option other than to buy them. The teams can as well buy the track shoes in bulky and supply them to the team members. The second strategy that Nike applies is the designing of product destination. It does this by associating success with the product. For example, when a celebrity athlete sponsors a specific brand of athletic shoes, the brand will be associated with success. This psychological effect is reinforced with advertisements that affirm this position. Finally, Nike targets the consumers who are likely to develop product intimacy; those who care more about the utility and quality of the product than the price. In this way, the pricing is not affected too much in a bid to accommodate a large number of consumers. 3. Pricing Strategies Nike targets the consumers who embrace product intimacy and thus care less about the product. This has enables Nike to set relatively higher prices than its competitors. This is a strategy that calls for higher pricing points so as to push the perceived product value. It has been established that consumers who consider a product to be of high quality are likely to pay the high price more often and consistently. Once consumers develop product intimacy, they come to associate their person with the product and will pay whatever price quoted on the product provided it has the Nike logo on it. Another very important thing to note is the fact that Nike uses the vertical integration pricing strategy in which they take ownership of the participants at channel levels that differ and they also engage in multifarious channel level operations both in a bid to control costs and thus influence pricing function. . Distribution Strategies Distribution strategies embraced by an organization can either give them an edge in market or make them lag behind the winners in the market. The more efficient the product distribution is the more sales and thus more profits. The delivery of the right product and at the right time to the consumer not only effects utility but al so leads to high degree of consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Nike distributes its products on level basis. The high priced premium products are given to certain distributors while leaving the low priced to be sold at highly discounted prices at mega retail stores such as Wal-Mart. Whereas Reebok embraced a limited distribution strategy Nike ventured more into a global market capitalization. 5. Promotional and Communication Strategies Apart from Nike selling quality products which have lead to a high degree of customer loyalty, the promotional strategies that the company employs are simply superb. Nike has contracted a number of professional and celebrity athlete which have managed to draw a considerable attention to their products. Some of the sportsmen signed by Nike include soccer stars such as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Basketballers such as Jermaine ONeal and Lebron James2, tri-athlete Lance Armstrong and golf superstar Tiger Woods. This has created a relatively high degree of Nike products’ awareness. Besides the signing of celebrity sportsmen to promote their products, Nike has also employed a great deal of advertisements through the mass media. Nike employs a selective- demand advertisement focused on the high priced shoes used for traditional sports. Research and Development Plan Adidas policy is to control and monitor hazardous substance to protect human health and environment, one of those is to eliminate PVC making progress in finding substitutes like polyurethane, ethyl vinyl, silicones thermoplastic rubber. Adidas also  provide training sessions on employment standards and HR systems, health  and safety is important for the company. Establishing teams to manage and monitor SARS in Asia factory, washing stations, disinfectant  units. Adidas join into technology by make up the world’s first smart shoe, adding a microchip inside the shoe and wireless mp3 player. Also using hot melt system of the  production that is environmentally safe, using heat-activated adhesives. The  packaging that company use, are suitable for transportation over long distances humid conditions and extreme temperature changes and use recycled paper and other  environmentally-friendly packaging materials. Human Resource Plan The welfare of the employees is significant for Adidas family. Adidas identified that in order to achieving the goal to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry depends on the talents, enthusiasm and dedication of the employees. In order to success their satisfaction Adidas uses various methods. Some of these are: †¢ provide medical insurance for staff located in different cities †¢ improve the housing accumulation fund and social retirement fund coverage †¢ introduce flexible working hours †¢ provide annual performance bonus for eligible employees †¢ Make internal agreements on the use of internet, (mobile) phone and E-mail, on reintegration of employees coming back from parental leave, and on on-call service †¢ Support the existence of formal work council Adidas as a large international company occupies thousand of employees of different ethics, cultures, and race. Due to the existence of the HR department the potential  problems are eliminated. As Adidas has to cover many different job positions, the skills that are demanded are various. HR department recruits both low and high skilled employees depending on each job description. Diversity exists in all matters  because there are employees of different age, gender, race, nationality and religion. Alternative Plan and Recommendation In human resource we recommend a continuous training to their employees which are very important. Have a continuous organized and numerous seminars in all levels of employment. As it is mentioned  before, Adidas believes that employees and their talents are critical to the continuing commercial success. For this reason, we recommend Adidas to create a Global Salary Management System which responsibility is to motivate employees through different ways of remuneration and through offering various attractive  compensation systems that could be implemented globally. ADIDAS GROUP OF COMPANY 2012 BRYAN MAWAC RHIZA NEMES 10/11/2012 949 The foundation 18 August adidas is registered as a company, named after its founder: Adi from Adolf and Das from Dassler. 50s The Miracle of Bern 1954 The Miracle of Bern Germany battle Hungary with a competitive advantage. They are wearing adidas soccer boots which for the first time feature removable studs. 60s Higher Driven by a desire to help all athletes committed to performance, adidas manufactures equipment for what some consider fringe s ports. Unconventional high jumper Dick Fosbury launches himself up and over in adidas footwear. 0s The adidas team wins Crowning moment: Franz Beckenbauer, the Kaiser, raising the World Cup in victory salute. Germany had just beaten Holland 2-1 in the 1974 final. 80s The transition After Adi Dasslers death, Adis wife Kathe, his son Horst, and his daughters carry on the business. 90s With a new management Under the CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus, adidas is moving from being a manufacturing and sales based company to a marketing company. 1995 adidas goes public Flotation of the company on the Frankfurt and Paris Stock Exchange. 1996 A splendid year The three-stripes company equips 6,000 Olympic athletes from 33 countries. adidas athletes win 220 medals, including 70 gold. Apparel sales increase 50%. 1997 adidas-Salomon AG adidas AG acquires the Salomon Group with the brands Salomon, TaylorMade, Mavic and Bonfire in December 1997. The new company is named adidas-Salomon AG. 1999 The new brands The integration of the new brands is gaining momentum. The new TaylorMade FireSole clubs boost sales. Salomon in-line skates take off with high double-digit growth during the first half of 1999. 2000 – New management Following personnel changes, the new management initiates an ambitious Growth and Efficiency Program. Major sports events such as the European Soccer Championship EURO 2000â„ ¢ and the Olympic Summer Games, where swimmer Ian Thorpe takes three gold medals, contribute to the company’s success. 2005 Sale of Salomon The Salomon Group (including Salomon, Mavic, Bonfire, Cliche and Arc’Teryx) is being sold to Amer Sports in October 2005. The new adidas Group is focusing even more on its core strength in the athletic footwear and apparel market as well as the growing golf category. The legal name of the company will change to â€Å"adidas AG† in May/June 2006. 2006 adidas-Salomon AG acquires Reebok The closing of the Reebok transaction on January 31, 2006 marks a new chapter in the history of the adidas Group. By combining two of the most respected and well-known brands in the worldwide sporting goods industry, the new Group will benefit from a more competitive worldwide platform, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and a stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues. [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic]

Film Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Film Analysis - Essay Example The preceding events claimed thousands of lives in disasters that are both natural and technological hazards. The disaster does not stop at the actual occurrence of the gas leak, the hurricane, or the tsunami. The true catastrophe sets in with the letdown of those at fault and the government agencies who failed to address the situation of the people left by the grueling devastation. The Bhopal gas leak in India occurred when a 15-year old plant released one of the most toxic chemical known to man, the MIC or Methyl isocyanate. Failing with the three safety measures that could have prevented it because of cost-cutting, 3,000 people died within hours and 300,000 more exposed on December 3, 1984. This video led me to realize that technological hazard as discussed could have catastrophic results when not taken seriously. There was poor regulation of the plant and as one of the people interviewed said, there was a problem because they weren’t able to flush water out for about 20 days, meaning there was a leak, but there was no report about it. In a country like India where a multi-national corporation such as Union Carbide sets up shop, it was also evident that there was no government accountability. CEO Warren Anderson got off virtually scot-free by paying $470M or approximately $600 per victim. He was arrested and detained luxuriously and once he posted bai l he immediately flew out of India. To this day many people are still suffering the effects of the exposure and there is nothing anyone is doing about it. This is the real tragedy that lingers on for decades (â€Å"Seconds From Disaster: Bhopal Nightmare,† 2014). In When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee chronicles the events and the lives of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans and the gulf states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. The most devastated, New Orleans, suffered due to its geographical location as a

Government in a Capitalism Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Government in a Capitalism Structure - Essay Example faire capitalism occurs when the economic surrounding in which transactions between private parties are free from the influence of government subsidies, restrictions and tariffs and only have regulations that are meant to protect their property rights. Welfare capitalism involves the practice of businesses that provide welfare services to the employees of their organizations and State capitalism is a type of capitalism where the business activities are undertaken by the state that organize and manage the means of production. Government owned businesses dominates state capitalism and they receive a lot support from the States unlike other private owned businesses. This paper is going to scrutinize the interlocking role of the government in a capitalism structure. The government affects the capitalism structure both positively and negatively hence, their roles could be appreciated depending with the influence they have to business enterprises and citizens. Roberts (2010) stated that the role of the government in the capitalism structure is to protect the citizens from the businesses that use force and fraud and ensure that the people are protected. Government protects individuals by ensuring that their rights are respected by business enterprises. Roberts (2010) stated that the government applies the use of the military to ensure security of citizens in cases of foreign aggression, police force to maintain law and order in their countries and court systems to settle disputes and enforce contracts among citizens. Commons (2006) stated that the government makes regulations on services and products to ensure that citizens are safe from harm. This is happens especially when the government restricts the use of certain materials that could harm the health of the citizens. The private businesses have an obligation to manufacturer materials that are environmentally friendly to avoid causing harm to the citizens. The government ensures that gases produced by private

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 91

Summary - Essay Example Whenever there is social prevention, children feel that they are being heard and taken care of through attention and supervision by their parents. This will reduce criminal activities for children who engage in criminal activities do not get attention and supervision from their parents. Social approach also effective to practice than punitive approach. The approach involves activities such as sports, arts, music and dance which are important in keeping children’s minds at work and prevent them from doing other things. It also reduces the desire to commit other crimes than punishments. When children are punished they get rude and they become more susceptible to mistakes. In addition, punishments instill fear in children . Thus, they are more likely to commit a crime. Furthermore, most children are no longer scared of punishments. Rewarding them with things they like to do will help them avoid crimes rather than punishments (Rosenbaum, 1998). Finally, social prevention is more effective than punishments. The use of training, guiding and counseling, foster care can work effectively in the society. This is based on the fact that the child understands to distinguish between good and bad things in the society. Hence, it becomes easy for the child to implement the values in daily lives. When these activities are implemented in the society, adults can also benefit from the same. The â€Å"strengthening the family† approach aims to achieve effective parenting in order to prevent problems such as child abuse, neglect among many others. With the implementation of the â€Å"strengthening the family† approach, kids have found themselves growing in the most positive way possible. Thus, leading to better families and conducive societies. This approach reverses the need to have other interventions since it can solve most of the social ills in the society. This is because strengthening the family has made

Principles of Macroeconomics UAEs main economic challenges, including Essay

Principles of Macroeconomics UAEs main economic challenges, including domestic issues and its relations with the rest of the world - Essay Example After the discovery of oil, the country improved to a moderate nation with high standards of living and a rising GDP (The World Factbook, 2013). However, the country still has certain economic challenges that need to be addressed in order to maintain the economic performance of the country. Those challenges can be addressed in terms of GDP, Growth of the economy, labour force and unemployment rate, foreign relations and CPI and inflation. The major economic challenges of the country are: large expatriate workforce, growing inflation and over-dependence on oil. The World Factbook (2013) suggests that UAE’s GDP has improved since the discovery of oil in the country 30 years ago. However, efforts of diversification of the economy have reduced the proportion of GDP attributable to oil to 25%. This may have a negative impact on the size of GDP of the country if the other sectors of the economy fail to live up to the expected standards of the economy. The country’s GDP was also affected by the global financial crisis of 2009. Tight international credit and deflated asset prices also led to a restrained economy in 2009. Dubai was affected the most by the financial crisis (Dargin & Lim, 2012). It encountered serious depressed real estate prices. Dubai and UAE in general lacked enough money to meet their financial debts; resulting in world concern about its solvency. The total GDP measured in purchasing power parity was measured at $275.8 billion in 2012, ranking the country in position 50 in the world. Per capita GDP of the country in 2012 was $48,400 and the country was ranked 15th in the world. This size of GDP is mainly affected by dependence on oil. In terms of GDP, UAE is ranked behind other oil producing countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. This indicates that the GDP performance in the country is poor compared to equally resource-endowed neighbors. To improve this economic performance, the country intends to develop a

Assessment 1 The Report supply chian magement (SM2038) Essay

Assessment 1 The Report supply chian magement (SM2038) - Essay Example Supply chain management is deeply involved in the successful achievement of desired levels of productivity and profitability by any company or organization. One of the key factors of supply chain management process is purchasing. Gadde and Hakansson (1993) found that purchasing is seen as one of the key strategic functions to be performed by the management of any organization in order to achieve market domination in a competitive market. In my view, selection of suitable suppliers for a company is critically importance because suppliers are directly involved in the manufacturing process of any product as they supply the raw material to the company which plays its part while setting up the price for a product. Suppliers often charge different prices to the parts of the products that they supply to a company. A company should always select a supplier who should deliver the raw material and required parts of a product at an economical price to the company because it is very important for a company to set a competitive price for any product. And competitive prices can only be set up if cost of manufacturing of a product is less than then actual price of that product in the market. Ford (2002) found that the objective of selecting a suitable supplier in order to cut down the manufacturing cost of a product can be achieved by analyzing previous performances of various suppliers. Ayers (2001) found that the analysis regard ing suppliers should be based on the suppliers’ credibility, quality of the raw material that the suppliers provide to the company, and the price at which they supply the raw material. After a complete analysis, the purchasing manager should select a trustworthy and most credible supplier. Price of a product is always set up by determining the actual manufacturing cost of the product. If a company wants to achieve

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language Essay

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language - Essay Example ational process focuses more on evaluation framework which is unlike Western process of education, and this instills fear of committing errors in Japanese EFL learners. Therefore, EFL teachers should focus on creating informal ambiance within the classroom and establishing positive relationship among students from different cultural backgrounds so that Japanese learners can shed their language anxiety in front of others. Today, English has become a common language to be taught in schools all over the world. For this purpose, schools are making broad use of technology in combination with second language theories. The idea is to adapt the best available practice that can enhance learning of English as second language. Any process that has been proved by previous research to yield best results is regarded as the best practice. It essentially includes â€Å"commitment of a teacher who is willing to use the knowledge and techniques at his or her disposal to ensure student success† (Li, 2013, p.218). Foreign language anxiety is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon among learners, and it is rapidly gaining attention among researchers for its significant impact on a learner’s ability to learn and retain a new language. This paper focuses on Japanese EFL learners’ fear of speaking English. Recommendations have been provided on how to overcome such fear. Although English has become a compulsory subject in most secondary and tertiary institutions in Japan, it is still an extremely common phenomenon that Japanese people exhibit poor English communication skills. Every year, millions of dollars are spent for making Japanese people proficient in English with the help of native or non-native English speaking teachers. Many Japanese students even travel to Western countries to learn English. There are many accepted theories that tend to explain poor English speaking skills among the Japanese. One such theory blames the geographical location of the country that isolates

Was the conflict that took place in Finland during 1918 a war of Essay

Was the conflict that took place in Finland during 1918 a war of independence or a civil war - Essay Example The movement has become known to be a civil disobedience movement launched by the citizens of Finland but on the other hand some people deny calling it a civil disobedience movement but rather call it a war of independence fought by the citizens of Finland. Different events led to the war fought between the citizens of Finland and these shall be analyzed in this essay. The citizens of Finland were divided into the Democrats (Reds) and Conservatives (Whites) and they both fought with each other to retain power of the state. All this happened in the year 1918 when Russia itself became affected by the World War One. World War I is known to play a significant role in the independence of Finland. In my view 1918 was a year in which civil disobedience movement was launched by the two factions which ultimately led to the independence of the state. In other words the movement started as a civil disobedience movement but turned out to be a war of independence because of the events that took p lace in the World War I (Arter 1999; Jussila et al 1999; Alapuro 1998; Jutikkala et al 2003). Start of the Conflict The Civil war in Grand Duchy started in the 1918 but it could always be expected after the growing tensions between Russia and Germany in 1914. Finland had been a source of raw material, weapons and army and it was the interest of both the states from the very beginning. The German empire always had a keen interest in the state of Finland as it provided a path for entering Russia. In the nineteenth century the relations between the Finnish and Russians were quite peaceful because of which there were no conflicts in between them. However after 1899, Russia began the process of Russification in which they integrated the Russian language in all the schools of Finland and tried to enhance their military power on the Grand Duchy. This was considered as the beginning of the oppression in Finland. The relationships between Russia and Finland were thereafter not peaceful as th ey used to be. The problems were further aggravated when the Tsar of Finland Nicholas II carried out the activities of Russification in throughout the beginning of the 20th century. His policies were not famous amongst the working class people of Finland and many workers were opposing his activities. Nicholas II made the parliament a mere advisor and snatched away all the powers from the Parliament. Hence it was Nicholas II who was to decide everything on the issues of Finland. This led to the famous revolutions known as February Revolution and the October Revolution (Alapuro 1988; Jussila et al 1999). February Revolution The Russification of Finland did not stop but rather a second wave of Russification started in 1908 and it did not stop until the Finns took an action. The Russian Tsars Nicholas II was removed from the parliament in 1917 to provide all the rights to the parliament which they deserved. The February Revolution took place because of the downfall of the Russian empire in 1917 following the World War I. The power of Tsar were transferred to the Russian Duma and provisional government following the revolution. The status of Finland was revived as an autonomous state as it used to be without any interference of the Russian Empire in its policies (Smith 1955; Jussila et al 1999). After revolts in Russia the power was transferred to the four main parties in Finland which were Finnish Party, Young Finnish Party, Agarian League and Swedish People’

Characters in your answer Essay Example for Free

Characters in your answer Essay Nearer the end of the book, he deals with another situation he faces in a very childish, careless manner, showing that he just wants it over with as soon as possible, and that he doesnt really care about what is happening, just about himself and his reputation. TJ is about to be hung on Granger Land, by the nightmen for shooting Jim Lee Barnett, and instead of stopping them from murdering TJ, Mr Granger simply says they have to do it on someone elses land. Mr. Granger sent word by me that he aint gonna stand for no hanging on his place. He say yall touch one hair on that boys head while he on this land, hes gonna hold every man here responsible. However eventually Harlan Granger does stop the hanging, to deal with a different difficulty that he is faced with, but his only true motives for this are because the Logan land is on fire and firstly he wants the land, and secondly he doesnt want the fire to spread and destroy his own land. Dry as that timber is, a fire catch hold it wont stop burning for a week. Give that boy to Wade like he wants and get on up there! All in all, Harlan Grangers ways of dealing with difficulties and situations that he is faced with are not well thought out, and he only deals with them out of selfishness, or for his own reasons rather than to help others. Papa is an adult like Harlan Granger, but he too has different ways of dealing with difficulties and situations that he is faced with. Papa deals with things he more logical way. He shows braveness, and philanthropy throughout the novel, dealing with things in a way that will benefit others more than himself, if not solely for others. At the end of the book, when TJ is in trouble, Papa shows the best signs of doing all he can to help others. Even though the Logans are not well off, Papa sets fire to their cotton field, in order to distract the nightmen from hanging TJ, because he knows that they will come and try to put it out. This results in uniting the community. Papa stared out as a bolt of lightning splintered the night into a dazzling brilliance. He is clever, because like Cassie, he plans the situation before he goes through with it, working out how he can make the fire look accidental, realising that the lightning could have struck. He doesnt tell a soul or admit to it, so that no harm can come to him. folks thinkin that lightning struck that fence of yours and started the fire Its better, I think that you stay clear of this whole thing now David Or somebody might start wondering about that fire For his final difficulty, Papa is faced with his four children asking what will become of their friend, TJ. He doesnt lie to them, and yet he doesnt directly answer their question when they ask if TJ could die, so he is not hurting them but they still know. I aint never lied to yall, yall know that. Well, I I wish I could lie to yall now. To sum up Papas character, he is very much like his daughter, calculating, clever, and planning everything, but he is much wiser, and doesnt act childish. His actions usually result in helping other people, they rarely hurt people unnecessarily. He is very unlike Harlan Granger, because he doesnt have his own private agenda. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Academic Integrity Essay Example for Free

Academic Integrity Essay Andre Gide once said: â€Å"Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.† That is, even if cheating does not hurt others, it hurts the one who cheats. This is the meaning of integrity. It means acting in a way of which one can be proud. This concept can easily be applied to academics. Specifically, it is important to generate your own ideas and information rather than using the internet to do all of the thinking for you. This is the problem with modern students: rather than actually going to the library to do some traditional research using books (the publication of which requires heavy scrutiny), the average student prefers to â€Å"Google† the information (the publication of which requires nothing more than internet access). Thus, students often find themselves in a position where their academic integrity is called into question; it is far too easy to copy and paste information when one feels a great deal of stress to complete an assignment. When it comes to academics, modern students should strive to have more integrity. See more: Unemployment problems and solutions essay More often than not, the average student seeks an immediate answer by going into Google and asking it a question. This passes for â€Å"research† today. The trouble with this method is that, once an obstacle is encountered, the average student declares, â€Å"I could not find any research on my subject.† Beyond the fact that the research skills are poor, the next issue is the fact that, once the student finds research, he or she does not know what to do with the information. That is, there appears to be no attempt at explaining the significance of the research, or asking substantial questions in response to it. Rather, students will copy the information into their own assignments as if to say, â€Å"There! I’ve written a research paper because I did research and I inserted it into my paper.† This is where academic integrity comes in. Having academic integrity means that one does research properly. It means that one actively seeks out answers to questions, and goes beyond the surface of what one found. One does not simply collect information and ideas like a child collects rocks for display; one makes an honest attempt to â€Å"get to the bottom† of an issue, so to speak. Furthermore, academic integrity means that, when submitting one’s work, one always ensures that proper credit is given for all ideas and information that were not generated by the writer himself or herself. I implore you to consider the academic value of the research you are doing. Are you doing it to better yourself and demonstrate your learning? Are you being â€Å"faithful to that which exists within yourself† as Gide asks? Or are you simply taking a shortcut and shortchanging yourself?

Gender Differences In Aspects Of English Language Use

Gender Differences In Aspects Of English Language Use Language is largely influenced by socialization, shaped by conditioning and constant reinforcement. When parents speak to children they address boys and girls in different ways. In general, girls are treated more gently and spoken to more softly. Boys are encouraged to play roughly, to make a noise and to be expressive, but not to cry. Girls are encouraged to be less rowdy and may cry but not shout. They are discouraged from expressing anger. For boys, behavioural expectations are reinforced with expressions like You throw like a girl, and Big boys dont cry. As children develop, these differences begin to show more clearly in language. They become part of the communication style that is there for life. According to Mayor, B (1996, page 64), as they mature girls and boys increasingly differentiate their language use to reflect their gender roles. Girls use more indirect language than boys, and are more likely to modify their speech styles in varying contexts. Studies of childrens play behaviour demonstrate that boys are competitive and confrontational, and concentrate on the physical world, whereas girls are indirect, collaborative and are interested in motives and feelings. (Maybin, 1996 page 19). Generally speaking, boys and men are assertive, independent and objective. Girls and women are submissive, dependent and subjective. Of course, there is a wide range of communication styles and practices within each gender group, with most men and women using various conversation styles depending on the purpose and context, and also whether they are in single sex groups. In mixed company women usually talk less than men, and are more polite. They are less competitive and try to bring others into the conversation. This could be because women are brought up to be deferential to men. They are more hesitant and indirect, use more tag questions (isnt it? dont you think?), more polite forms (could you possibly?) and generally weaker vocabulary (words like lovely and Oh dear). (Maybin, 1996 page 19). Men on the other hand, interrupt more and give less feedback and support. In situations that require formal conversation, such as at conferences, business meetings, or other mixed-gender gatherings, men tend to initiate more of the interaction. Those who talk most are perceived to be leaders. (Coates, 1998, p.469). Amongst themselves, women tend to talk more. They show more concern for the relational aspects of conversation. In exclusively male groups, men tend to focus more on activities than on conversation (Coates, 1998, p.216). Of course, these are generalised descriptions of behaviour, and both sexes are able to modify their styles depending on the context. Maybin (1996, page 19) quotes a study of courtroom language in which high-status, expert female witnesses used masculine speaking styles, whilst lower status male witnesses used female style features. Dr. John Gray (author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) says that women communicate for different reasons than men do. When men talk about problems, they are looking for solutions, whereas when women discuss problems they are sharing their feelings, because they find this therapeutic. In this context what women would like from men is empathy, and not solutions. The table on the following page shows clear differences in communication styles between men and women. Men Women They try to solve problems and troubles They try to match troubles by relating similar negative experiences They have a more analytical approach to problems They have a more emotional approach to problems They are less likely to ask for help. They try to figure things out on their own They are more likely to ask for help and accept it They are more task-oriented (i.e., What is everyone going to do?) They are more maintenance-oriented (i.e., Is everyone all right?) They appear less intuitive and less aware of details They appear more intuitive and more aware of details They have more difficulty in expressing intimate feelings They have less difficulty in expressing intimate feelings They are more apt to yell, shout and swear to release anger They are more apt to cry to release anger They talk more about what they did, where they went and less about relationships with others They talk more about how they feel and more about relationships with others They tend to take verbal rejection less personally They tend to take verbal rejection more personally (Glass, L. (1995) page 49). English has a natural gender, unlike many other languages. (Of course, it was not always so; before 1154, Old English nouns still used the Anglo-Saxon derived genders. (Bryson, B, 1990, page 49)). This means that words like woman, cow, ewe, are feminine because of their biological sex. In the same way, bull, boy and tomcat are masculine. This natural gender refers only to animals and not to objects. Historically, certain professions acquired genders: doctors, lawyers, politicians, engineers, architects and ministers were invariably male. Nurses, nannies and typists tended to be female. Nowadays, all of these professions are correctly gender-free. There are also words with male endings such as chairman, postman and fireman, which now have alternatives: chairperson, postal worker and fire-fighter. Regarding creative writing, women authors have tended to be under represented in most selections of literary texts. Writers such as the Brontà « sisters and Mary Anne Evans had to adopt male noms de plume (respectively Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, and George Elliot) even to get published. Apart from this gender based discrimination, there is also a strong feeling amongst many writers that the written, literary language itself was for so long a male preserve, that woman writers need their own idiom. In Thomas Hardys Far from the Madding Crowd, the heroine Bathsheba explains that It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs (Quoted in Menham, R. 1995, page 136). Menham also quotes from Virginia Wolf, who appeals for a new kind of writing that will take the natural shape of a womans thought without crushing or distorting it. In A room of Ones Own she says that the resources of the English language would be much put to t he stretch, and whole flights of words would need to wing their way illegitimately into existence in order for female sensibility to be adequately explored. She also associates maleness with a sterile rationalism and the aims of control and regulation, and femaleness with a fertile indiscipline, spontaneity, plenitude, a creative irrationalism. (Menham, R (1995) page 137). Referring to the work of French theorist Hà ©là ¨ne Cixous, Menham feels that her celebration of womans writing effects a great historical reversal of the traditional strengths and weaknesses of male and female language-use. It gives a positive value to precisely those qualities that men have always derogated in women: hysteria, lack of force, sensitivity. (Menham, R (1995) page 138.) In conclusion, there is no doubt that there are differences in English language use, both in speech and writing, based on gender. Most of these seem to be as a result of socialisation from an early age. The different, traditional gender roles and expectations coloured the way children were raised and educated, and in many respects these influences are still in place. Hopefully, as modern societies eliminate the largely artificial stereotypes of gender based roles and behaviours, we will all be able to experience, and articulate, the full panoply of human emotional and intellectual experience, regardless of gender.

World War II and American Racism Essay examples -- American History Ja

World War II and American Racism The United States was a divided nation at the time of World War II. Divided by race and racism. This Division had been much greater in the past with the institution of slavery. As the years went by the those beliefs did deteriorate slowly, but they were still present during the years of World War II. This division was lived out in two forms, legislation and social behavior. The legislation came in the form of the â€Å"Jim Crow† laws. The belief that some people were naturally superior and others inferior, scientific racism, was the accepted belief of the time These cultural traits were waning. After World War II ended they would decline even more rapidly. In the early days of World War II the everyday people of this country already sensed the great change to come. Interviews taken from the Library of Congress, in the collection labeled â€Å"After the Day of Infamy,† offer a window into the past. Into the America that existed in the early days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entrance into the war. Inside the collection, the pulse of the nation is revealed. Ordinary people, some of whom do not reveal their names, are given a chance to record their opinion of the war, the Japanese people, and the race relations within the union. In these open letters to the president and the â€Å"Man on the Street† interviews, the American public reveals their prejudices and their concerns in the most candid of fashion. American society, like that of Germany, was tainted with racial bigotry and prejudice. The Japanese were thought of as especially treacherous people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The treachery was obviously thought to reside in ... ... it legal for non-white immigrant to become naturalized citizens. Many of those Japanese born immigrants who were held in concentration camps could now apply for citizenship status. It would take many years for African-Americans to acquire the freedoms that they had fought for over seas. Those efforts were accelerated by the war and the prosperity that it brought. Eventually Jim Crow would fall in the south and African-Americans would take their struggle to every part of the nation. It was never an over night sensation. The civil rights movement was one long continuous effort that occurred before and after World War II. The process has been a long one and still continues. [1] After the Day of Infamy: â€Å"Man on the Street† Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Library of Congress, American Folk Life Center

Protein Thermal Stability Essay -- Scientific Research, Amino Acids

Proteins are organic polymers made up of chains of amino acids and are crucial material in many biological functions (Reece and others 2011). There are twenty basic amino acids, eight of which are essential to the adult human diet and must be consumed rather than synthesized inside the body. These essential amino acids are isoleucine, leucine, tryptophan, lysine, valine, phenylalanine, methionine, and threonine, with an added requirement of histidine in the diet of children (Potter and Hotchkiss 1995). Nonessential amino acids can be synthesized from these, and all amino acids are used as monomers to construct proteins which perform numerous important functions in the body (Reece and others 2011). Most amino acids exist as isomers and are given a designation based on whether they rotate a plane of polarized light to the right or to the left, known as dextrorotatory â€Å"D† or levorotatory â€Å"L† isomers, respectively (Al-Holy and Rasco 2007). It should be noted that only L amino acids are used in protein synthesis (Weber and Miller 1981). The biological functions of proteins include increasing the rate of biochemical reactions in the form of enzymes, moving important substances to where they are needed in the form of transport proteins, regulating the body in the form of hormones, allowing the body to move in the form of contractile proteins, and providing support in the form of structural proteins (Reece and others 2011). In addition, proteins have a great deal of functionality in foods, including providing essential amino acids as well as energy, viscosity, texture, water holding capacity, foaming and emulsification properties, and allowing gel formation (Culbertson 2007). As mentioned above, essential amino acids provided by th... ... p. Reece JB, Urry LA, Cain ML, Wasserman SA, Minorsky PV, Jackson RB. 2011. Campbell biology. 9th ed. San Francisco: Cummings-Pearson. 1263 p. Siegwein AM, Vodovotz Y, Fisher EL. 2011. Concentration of soy protein isolate affects starch-based confections’ texture, sensory, and storage properties. J Food Sci 76:E422-8. Sorgentini DA, Wagner JR, Anon MC. 1995. Effects of thermal treatment of soy protein isolate on the characteristics and structure-function relationship of soluble and insoluble fractions. J Agric Food Chem 43:2471-9. Thompson LD, Dinh T. 2009. Food proteins-protein isolation and thermal stability. FDSC 4303/5303 food chemistry laboratory manual. Lubbock, Tx.: Texas Tech University, Department of Animal and Food Sciences. Weber AL, Miller SL. 1981. Reasons for the occurrence of the twenty coded protein amino acids. J Molecular Evolution 17:273-84.

Should Members Of Congress Earn More Money Or Less? :: essays research papers

Well, it really depends on one thing; I'm talking about their reason for becoming a congressman. If I were to become a congressman, my reason would be to help Californians express their opinions better. However this is my reason. Different people have millions of other reasons. I think there are three major reasons for becoming a congressman: represent his/her state, power, or money. I don't believe that most people get into Congress for the money. I believe most people that become congressmen want their state to be heard, and they want to improve it. However not everybody is so good some people are in it purely for power, usually power means money. I do not believe their salaries should be lowered, because if they feel they don't get what they deserve, they might not do their best in the office, they might abuse their privileges, etc. If they don't get paid enough they become more susceptible to taking bribes; this is the first sign of corruption. This might explain the paying less part, however it doesn't say much about raising their salary. I've considered the idea of raising their salary, however after a careful examination of facts, I didn't think raising it would improve much. As I have mentioned before, people (the Congressmen) don't do it for the money. Basically money isn't their primary concern. What would happen if you say doubled their salaries? People are not perfect, nobody is... if you pay them a lot more, chances are they might become greedy; when the only thing a person cares about is money, nothing ever gets accomplished. Greed is a terrible "sickness," even though you have a lot of something, in this case money, you want more, and more, and more, this craving never stops. The last thing you'd want is a greedy congressman. It is very likely that a greedy congressman would take bribes, and use his office to make even more profits, any way possible. A greedy congressman would probably forget his responsibilities, and duties as a congressman; this would only make it worse for that particular state.

Culture Competency Essay

In the aspect of interacting with the global community, it is important for an individual to understand the cultural aspect of the subject society and relate to this factor in terms of their interactive business. As the aspect of culture manifest to be a significant part in the characteristics and qualities of each individual and collective society, understanding this identity factor is indeed important in the pursuit of establishing an effective interaction with the different people in the global community. In particular to the healthcare profession, the aspect of culture competency manifests to be an important concern in healthcare education as having the ability for interacting, understanding and relating to different cultures can effectively enhance the services rendered by healthcare professional. Indeed, the general concern of the healthcare profession is to render effective healthcare assistance and services to people of different culture thus, the global community is the main subject in this mission. In part though, cultural background resembles an important part in the personal identity of each person or patient thus, the healthcare profession must incorporate this in his or her pursuit of relating effectively the said matter for the benefit of the patient. In the actual practice of the healthcare profession, the concept of culture competency manifest particularly in the personal interaction between the healthcare professional and the patient. In this scenario, the two parties are often with different cultural background yet, in best effort, the health professional must overcome this difference in the process or realizing his or her responsibilities. For example, some of the common barriers are the language factor, the cultural awareness and acceptability, perception and understanding, and others. At some point, the healthcare professional must incorporate the cultural factor in the profile identity of the subject thus, adjusting his or her pursuit and interaction based on this element. Forwarding the healthcare service and assistance through relating it with the cultural background of the patient can effectively influence the understanding and acceptance of the subject in this pursuit. For example, acknowledging the cultural limitations and the preferences of the subject in his treatment and medication can indeed influence his acceptance towards the process. Through this approach, the healthcare practitioner can effectively motivate active participation and encourage interest from the patient towards the success of the treatment and the healthcare program. Due to the importance of culture competency, healthcare practitioner must assess and realize in themselves their individual strengths and weaknesses in this aspect and develop their flexibility towards the different cultures in the global community. In this aspect, the author of this paper realizes certain weaknesses in terms of cultural awareness due to the social limitations he has experienced in his upbringing. Raising from a rural town with a small community and having only experienced interacting with people from different culture during only college years, culture competency has developed late in this author as such it is important to focus much attention towards developing this skill. However, continuing the effort of developing social relationship with people from other cultures and building up academic information from researches and reading can indeed contribute in developing culture competency. With this effort, one can effectively develop awareness and understanding of various cultures and undermine cultural difference towards the mission of providing quality healthcare service towards the global community from different races and cultural society. Bibliography Zwell, Michael (2000). Creating a Culture of Competence. Wiley Publication. 1st Edition. ISBN-10: 0471350745.

Cja 224 Week 1

CJA/224 Monday April 15, 2013 The American Criminal Court Systems The American criminal court systems are made up of Federal and State courts. The State court deals mainly with civil, traffic, and family issues. The Federal court handles more serious violations which include federal and government violations and issues between actual states. If the case is either federal or state trial courts determine guilt and convictions. Our court systems are very complex, but recently Community courts have been added and that is used for less offense, and mostly used for mediation.The Federal court consists are military courts, international courts and trading, and also includes ninety four district courts. The district courts are used for trials and convictions. The Federal court systems also deal with all tax situations. The Federal courts have twelve circuits in the appellate courts. The appellate courts are used for appealing cases that were once heard in trial. If you want to appeal your co nviction, the appellate court is where you should have your case heard. The Supreme Court is the highest possible court.It has nine justices with one chief justice. The Supreme Court only hears about two hundred cases a year, so it is very rare for the justices to accept to hear your case if you chose to try and appeal within the Supreme Court. The dual court system explains that both the Federal and State courts work separately under one judicial government. As I had stated above, the Federal court deals with national law and the State courts deal with state and civil. They both rarely work together, both courts work under one government but work almost completely separate from one another.The constitution of the United States is based off Federal laws which do apply to the country as a whole, which includes all the states. Federal laws are universal all over the country, as the state laws vary from state to state. Each state has the opportunity to create its own laws for that stat e, which is why you notice laws are different in one state to another. Our nation follows either common or civil law. Common law was first established in England in the Middle Ages, as civil law first was established in continental Europe around the same time and was also applied o Spain and Portugal. Common law isn’t based on statues as civil law is which can be confusing for most. Civil law is codified, which has shaped our court systems. This allows appropriate punishment for each offense brought to the court room. The Judge has a role to bring all the evidence out in a civil law system and the applicable code is applied to each case. This has shaped our court systems because the American court systems is strongly common law based which was brought from England in the Middle Ages.Civil law is practiced in America, just in a small amount, mostly in state courts. Louisiana is a great example of the civil law system. Louisiana has a strong French and Spanish influence, and th e civil system did once start in England and Spain. The Criminal justice system serves three main purposes in the United States. The three main purposes are to investigate, to prosecute, and to punish crimes. The most basic role in the criminal justice system is to investigate crimes and allegations.If the law enforcement feels as if the investigation is complete and needs further investigation the cases are sent to the correct attorneys. Prosecuting offenders is another purpose in the criminal justice system. If the alleged crime violated is deserving of prosecution then the cases is taken to court (state court) and is handled by the prosecuting attorney. The criminal justice systems doesn’t only investigate and prosecute, it also punishes offenders for their crimes. There are many different types of punishment which include fines, probation and jail time.Not only does the criminal justices system punish but it also has programs for prisoners to take once they are released f rom jail or taken off probation to help them from repeating the crime they were already punished for in the beginning. This is what the criminal justice systems call rehabilitation programs. References: 1. Walker, Samuel (1992). â€Å"Origins of the Contemporary Criminal Justice Paradigm: The American Bar Foundation Survey, 1953-1969†. Justice Quarterly  9  (1). 2. Neocleous, Mark (2004). Fabricating Social Order: A Critical History of Police Power. London: Pluto Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN

Lecture Notes Beowulf Essay

Genre A heroic folk epic rooted in the oral tradition of the Anglo Saxons, Beowulf is an anonymous poem committed to paper by an unknown Christian monk in 1000 Common Era, some 300 years after it was first composed. The manuscript is part of a document known as Cotton Vitellus A housed in a British Library. Beowulf belongs to the epic genre of long, narrative poems dealing with heroic deeds against a background of war and the supernatural and themes of grandeur and significance. Full of legendary myths and somber, elegiac cadences, it has been composed in the Anglo Saxon vernacular and can be classed amongst other great epics such as the Illiad, Odyssey, Aenied and Paradise Lost to name a few. The name Beowulf is a kenning, Bee-Hunter reflecting the warrior heritage of the central character Basic Plot The poem is eponymously named for its hero Bewoulf, a great warrior and later King, who sets out to rescue King Hrothgar and his people from the monster Grendel. During the course of the poem, we see Beowulf slaying first Grendel and then his revenge seeking mother. Beowulf’s final conflict takes place with the Dragon angered by the plundering of the treasure it is guarding. Structure of the Poem There are three prevailing views as to the structure of the poem: -the structure is defined by the three increasingly difficult conflicts Beowulf faces -the structure can also be viewed in terms of kingship for instance, young Beowulf and old Beowulf with a different set of problems to be faced during each phase -the structure is that of interlacing of memories with narratives of present, a cyclical process of action, memory and reflection Background Although the poem is rooted in the Anglo Saxon as well as early Christian traditions, it reflects two distinct value systems frequently at odds with each other. For instance, in line with its Anglo-Saxon origins, the poem celebrates the Germanic heroic code, which, exemplifying the pagan warrior culture, lays stress upon family ties, genealogy, immortality through fame and revenge for wrongs done to one’s kith and kin. It values ancestral heritage and individual reputation. Christianity, on the other hand, believes in immortality in terms of the afterlife and teaches that vengeance is best left to God. Bewoulf and Grendel Bewoulf is not just a warrior and king. He also serves as a cultural ideal and as an incarnation of Anglo Saxon values and beliefs. The ‘Cain-descended’ Grendel, with his innate desire to tear asunder whatever has integrity, represents chaos and disorder, in contrast to Bewoulf, who represents order and cosmos. Grendel is the ultimate exile. Unferth Unferth acts as a foil to Beowulf by accentuating through contrast the character of the latter. He redeems his earlier verbal taunting (flyting) of Beowulf by offering him his sword in a later conflict. Literary devices/techniques Litotes-understatement e. g, ‘Cain had no pleasure from that find’ Kenning-metaphorical descriptions combining two words to offer evocative alternative to original Caesura-a pause in the line of a poem Alliteration- In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words or phrases.

Managing Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace

Workplace Bullying (the persistent exposure to interpersonal aggression and mistreatment from colleagues, superiors or subordinates) is a reverent problem in contemporary working life, with devastating effects on both targets and organizations (Nearest, Hole, Zap, & Cooper 2003; Earner & Seashell, 2005) There are different forms of bullying in this 21 SST century as it need not be physical with such advancement in technology. Bullying can be direct, indirect passive and through social media as well. Therefore we must outline the scope on what is bullying and what is not before we are able to draw up a way to manage such incidents.There is no specific legislation to combat workplace bullying in Singapore (Jay Parka's, Inciting Injury: An Expos of workplace bullying in Singapore). There are many a time where workplace bullying is so minute in nature and often left undulate with that it is left unnoticed, however this acts of bullying builds up in time creating a hostile and fragile wor king environment. What is bullying and harassment? Physical and verbal abuse can be factored in as bullying but other forms of bullying may be too subtle. Harassment can be a highly sensitive topic as each individual person can take it to be in different ways.What one individual considers being an act of playful gesture the involved party may think otherwise. The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as â€Å"abusive conduct that is; threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or work interference and verbal abuse†. The consequences to the employers may include; reduced efficiency, productivity and profitability. Increase in absenteeism, sick leaves and staff turnover. Increase in indirect costs such as management time, engaging mediators and counselors. This list is not exhaustive as there are many other uniqueness an employer might face due to workplace bullying.On the other hand when we are to look at the consequences for the employees workplace bullying and harassment can cause extensive health problems including physical and psychological illnesses and injuries causing detrimental effects for them. Therefore for the organization to work towards sustainability it is important to first identify and try to eradicate if not hundred percent at least 90 percent of this problem, reason being it is not only the victim who suffers and feels the effects of bullying it is felt across all bevels of the organizations as we have seen from the non-exhaustive list given above.While it may seem that the above analysis may provide an insight into bullying in organizations, it is becoming evident that management has to start taking proactive steps and measures in identifying and putting forth solutions and implementations to address these pressing needs whereas if not losses can be incurred for the organization. 00006718 The first step to this is that the organization spells out clearly their stance and their outline on bullying and harassment before a person is being pointed to any post in the organization, also the management of the organization should clearly state and constitute which activities are considered to be bullying or harassment therefore making it difficult for employees to find any loopholes in the system therefore escaping the penalties.Once this is done, a directive should be spelled out and sent out to all employees in the organization regardless of their position or role in the organization, therefore bringing everyone in the organization to a common single understanding. Clear penalties and actions should also be included in he directive so as to deter any potential bullies from committing such acts. All staff across the board should be made to sign this directive enabling the management to take actions and hold guilty employees liable .These directives should be clearly formalized and well communicated to the frontline managers so that they can take actions if any one of the staff were to breach the directive . Secondly the organization should have a clear communication channel across the board from bottom up. Staff and personal across all level should have access to this communication channel and mad ware of such communication channel. The magnitude of effective internal communication is evident in past researches ( Muhammad Raff et al. 2009; Mark Chon, 2007) For example, Barrett (2002) accentuates, the best way to reach and employee is via face to face communication than relying on indirect channels such as electronic media. Falkland and Hide (2008) emphasizes on bottom-up communication. Furthermore, Welch and Jackson (2007) claims that, rather than treating employees as a single public, they should be segmented based on say structural levels of demographics. This can help in insuring that the relevant information targeted to reach the relevant person can reach them in a meaningful and smooth manner.Therefore with such communication channels put in place the management team are well aw are of complaints against bullying in any levels of the organization and necessary steps and actions can be taken swiftly. Special helpline or trained HER staff in the area of counseling can be put in place to tackle sensitive issues which some employees may find it difficult in putting forth to their direct supervisors. Information from all cases must be upheld with the highest infallibility so as to protect the interests of the employee who is suffering or facing bullying or harassment in the organization.Lastly is to create a strong bond among the employees working in the organization. Inculcating a strong sense of bond between them and creating a strong sense of ownership towards the company and its common goal would enable the employees to work hand in hand to achieve the goals thus enabling the organization to realize its true benefits and bring out the fullest from an employee. If strong bonds are created at the start employees would e able to identify the differences which t hey have and sort them out accordingly without the help of the management of the interference of their superiors thus creating a better working environment.To achieve this, the organization can hold yearly bonding activities for their employees, invite professionals to give their opinions and facts on employee relationships, hold monthly meetings to iron out any issues arising and to let the employees swiftly handle the matter within themselves, Muhammad Shaffer s/o Mohamed Kids In conclusion, a well working and robust organization largely depends on heir sustainability of their employees. Toxic and unfriendly working environment may lead the organization to lack in certain areas, therefore immobility's the organization in their growth.Organizations should therefore from the Start deter such bullying and harassment issues, even if these issues were to crop up in the later part of the organizations growth the management must be swift in handling and weeding out such problematic activ ities before it impacts the whole organization. As said above, bullying or harassment does not only affect the person who is the victim it's effects can be felt across the hole organization as a whole.

Stalking Victimization in the United States Essay

Stalking Victimization in the United States - Essay Example Stalking behavior includes unsolicited phone calls, letters, e-mails and gifts; following the victim; turning up unnecessarily at the victim’s residence or workplace; spreading information or rumors about the victim. (BJS web site). Contrary to popular perception, Stalking Victimization is not confined to celebrities, but is widely prevalent in American society today, with 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men likely to encounter this crime. The majority of stalkers are known, even intimately, to their victims. In addition to the generation of fear and the disruption of lives, stalking is often the precursor to lethal violence. In this context, stalking has rightly been classified as a crime in all the States of America, although legal definitions may vary across jurisdictions. (COPS web site). The distinct characteristics of the crime make stalking â€Å"hard to identify, investigate, and prosecute† (The Police Chief, January 2009). As stalking behaviors do not conform to any norm, there can be no fixed response. Stalkers defy any standard psychological profiling, as their motives and backgrounds vary considerably. When stalking is linked to domestic violence, as it often is, the stalking aspect of the crime tends to be overlooked. Investigators are frequently hindered by the blurring of jurisdictions, as stalkers pursue victims across state borders. It is difficult to protect the victims, as stalkers are largely persistent, even in the face of punitive action. (The Police Chief, January 2009). Another contemporary facet of Stalking Victimization is the abuse of technology by stalkers to harass their victims. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, encourage the sharing of personal information. These sites are mined by stalkers to keep track of the victim’s activities. Tracking devices, such as Global positioning systems and cell phones, lend themselves to use by stalkers through the monitoring of

Prophet Mohammed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Prophet Mohammed - Essay Example Many are the times that the grandfather was escorted by Mohammed on official duties in the temple. The lonely life of a Sheppard that Mohammed led to the nurturing of the skills required in leading the life of a prophet. In addition, the environment in his early life provided him with the skill set fit to lead and guide people. The reason as to why Mohammed took on prophecy is a blur but at the time, the town of Mecca was filled with many nomadic. These tribes were rivals with each other and they had their own gods and beliefs. This religious diversity at the time was the root of all enmity. At forty years old, Mohammed aspired to become a reformer and hence assumed leadership of a secret society. This organizations goal was to ensure unity in terms of religion and politics among the Arabs. He had come to the realization that with unity comes power. After seeking insight from the Jews and Christians, Mohammed determined that one supreme God was key to achieving his goal of unity amon g the Arabs. After conviction of his call to prophesy, this secret society with its own rules whereby they prayed to one supreme God grew exponentially and is otherwise known as Islam (Margoliouth 86). Mohammed as a prophet had a lot of accomplishments in his time. Hence, he is perceived as one of the greatest people in the Muslim community. He is the founder of the Islamic religion. At a time when there were numerous religious groups each having their own gods among the Arabic people, Mohammed was able to unite the Arabs by forming a secret society. This secret society later became publicized and became the Islamic community. Islam spread out exponentially throughout Mecca whereby they spread the ideology of worshipping and praying to one supreme God. Islam has become a way of life in our society among the Muslim community. It has lead to the peaceful coexistence of people due. This is because Islam gives an individual a sense of inner peace, which results to one having peace of mi nd. The Islamic religion preaches the need to have peaceful relation people of different ethnicities and religious backgrounds. This, as a result, promotes world peace. Islam is also seen to promote peace between an individual and his creator. This paves way for having a blessed life free from sin. Islamic religion is also important because it advocates for submission to God’s will. Submitting to God’s will translate to submitting to God, which is the reason to the founding of the Islamic religion. The Islamic religion and culture supports the union in marriage between Muslims in the society. It is God’s will that man and woman join together in the bond of marriage; the Islamic religion is seen to fulfill this will of God by supporting marriage. It also provides guidance to married couples, which promote long lasting relationships. Above all traits, Islam has promoted unity among people. This unity has come to realization as a result of Islam spreading the messa ge of peace throughout. This has paid off owing to the fact that Islam has spread widely to all corners of the world. Hence, Muslims have been able to coexist peacefully with other religious groups promoting world peace (murata and Chittick 125). Mohammed had become the leader of a vast community; Islam looked up to him for guidance. With Islam becoming a religion that spread vastly throughout the world, there arose the need to create a distinguished place whereby the Islamic

How to maximise the impact of teaching assistants in primary schools Literature review

How to maximise the impact of teaching assistants in primary schools - Literature review Example For instance, Deployment and Impact of Support Staff in schools (DISS) project at the Institute of Education in London recently carried out a study (Russell, Webster & Blatchford 2013). Their findings proved pupils who received great assistance from TAs usually made poor progress in their academics compared to those received very little support from the same (Russell, Webster & Blatchford 2013). This is because TAS in schools play very little role in the academic teaching of pupils but contribute in helping them understand various contents as well as acquiring essential life’s skills. Mostly, TAs aid in instilling a sense of self-responsibility in pupils thus enabling them to face varied life challenges with confidence that they will overcome if they apply appropriate skills. In a perfect school composition, teaching assistants mostly do about 25% of the entire school workforce. Therefore, it is essential for schools to make the most of the teaching assistants in order to assist pupils succeed not only in their academics but also in making rational decisions while they are outside learning settings. This is by schools coming up with effective strategies on preparing teaching assistants well as well as interaction with pupils to help them achieve higher standards. According to Russell, Webster & Blatchford (2013), schools ought to invest more on preparedness, deployment as well as practice of teaching assistants to ensure they adequately influence pupils positively. For instance, TAs ought to be adequately prepared on how to aid teachers in classrooms as well as understanding different disciplines, which pupils learn in class. It is also essential that teaching assistance receive practice on the nature and quality of their interactions with pupils Russell , Webster & Blatchford (2013). The latter is important as the teaching assistants’ interactions with

A areer in ice sculpting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A areer in ice sculpting - Essay Example When we see an ice sculpture glistening in the light we are mesmerized by the intricate designs that have the look of solid crystal.The beautiful piece of art is appreciated for its stunning form as it slowly melts away into the pool of water where it started. When the ice has melted and the sculpture gone, little thought is given to the artist that was at the core of its creation. Yet, someone took the initiative to learn this craft, to practice the trade, and apply their knowledge to generate an additional outlet for their artistry and an additional source of income. We are in awe as we wonder; how did they learn the art of ice sculpting and how do they apply it in the culinary trade For those people fortunate enough to know how to skillfully carve blocks of ice, life has been a series of instruction, catering events, and ice sculpting competitions.Learning the fine art of ice sculpting is done through advanced culinary training academies or professional associations that offer cla sses and seminars. The Academy of Ice Carving and Design offers classes that feature skill levels that start at basic sculpting for caterers to advanced classes in "sculpture skills; computer enhanced custom design; closed-cell ice engraving; multiple block fusing; [and] high-tech special effects" as well as safety and marketing (Ice Carving Training Certification Programs).

Self-esteem (Literature Review) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Self-esteem (Literature Review) - Essay Example d concept which has developed over time and it depicts the quality of an individual because of which he can cope up with the strenuous tasks that come in his/her way. The concept evolved because of many things which lay in the very core of self leadership but the ground substance for self leadership has been the raw material known as self esteem (Parker et al. 2005). A person with a higher self esteem is able to realize his/her concept of life and act accordingly and thus he can tackle different situations of life and act as a self leader (Alavi & Askaripur 2003; Neck 2006). This literature review would further revolve around the concept of self esteem in relation to self leadership and would provide a critique on it. Moreover it would also make recommendations for the future research on the concept along with the implications for contemporary human resource practice. Self-esteem is a broad topic which is closely related to the framework given by the Social Cognitive theory. It can be described as an individuals feeling and assurance of his own self. In other words it can be known to be the self worth of an individual. Social Cognitive Theory helps to figure out the factors which lead to the variations in self-esteem. The concept that the social cognitive theory lays about one’s own thinking and perspective about his surroundings is widely acclaimed. This thinking and perspective about the surroundings which one goes through majorly affects the thoughts and personality one has. Similarly this also leads to develop the feeling of self-esteem accordingly. Self efficacy forms an important part of the understanding of different individuals in this world. It helps one to recognize his strengths and weaknesses accordingly. A well-known psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden provides a somehow complete definition of self-esteem as â€Å"Self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and of being worthy of

Assignment Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assignment Literature Review - Essay Example Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure that is performed on the person in cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation involves rescue breathing to enable provision of oxygen to the individual’s lungs and chest compressions to keep the individual’s blood circulating (Medline). Although the practice of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is over two and a half centuries old (CPR Stats and Facts, AHA) but still majority of the people in America are not able to perform it properly and this is the reason that the survival rate from Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is low. Peer-reviewed literature suggests that the quality of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitations performed in-hospital is also inconsistent. It is worth mentioning that American Heart Association had made recommendations for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) in 1974, 1980, 1986 and 1992 and the European Resuscitation Council in 1992, 1996 and 1998 then in 2000 the International Guideli nes for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care, â€Å"Guidelines 2000† were finalised and these were evidence based (American Heart Association, in collaboration with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, 2000). Extant published literature has listed the following major drawbacks in traditional Cardiopulomnary Resuscitation (Murthy & Hooda, 2009): 1. Bystanders are more willing to perform chest-compression-only resuscitation for a person who unexpectedly collapses an approach that all agree is dramatically better than doing nothing. 2. Interrupting chest compressions for ventilation during cardiac arrest decreases survival. 3. Positive pressure ventilation during CPR for cardiac arrest increases intra-thoracic pressures, which decreases venous return to the thorax and subsequent perfusion of the heart and the brain. One of the leading practitioners has commented that despite its long standing existence, it is a serious problem that 70– 80% of bystanders who witness cardiac arrest are unwilling or unable to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Ewy G , 2007). Furthermore, it has been suggested that Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation may be good for patients with respiratory arrest. In light of this it is said that a new system of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation (CCR) or Continuous-chest-compression CPR (CCR-CPR) or chest-compression-only CPR or Cardiac-only Resuscitation, specially for out of hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation in adults (Ewy, 2003). The main change in Cardiocerebral Resuscitation with respect to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is that in the case of Cardiocerebral Resuscitation the chest compressions are administered nonstop. Numerous studies and significant peer-reviewed research has supports Cardiocerebral Resuscitation (CCR). This effort of devising Cardiocerebral Resuscitation was based on the studies carried out by other researchers in the past. Such studies were aimed at performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation with chest compressions alone (Hallstrom, Cobb, Johnson, & Copass, 2000). A team of researchers have posited that in the case of realistic model of out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, continuous chest compressions without assisted ventilations resulted in significantly better 24-hour postresuscitation neurologically normal

You are hired as a consultant by Alpha Omega Technical Industries ( Case Study

You are hired as a consultant by Alpha Omega Technical Industries ( TechInd) - Case Study Example The company, ΑÎ ©Ã‚  TechInd, has been enjoying huge vertical growth over the past six months, and this paper provides a network solution for satisfying these demands. First, ΑÎ ©Ã‚  TechInd must recognize, as well as understand, its vertical market segments as spread out in such cities as Miami, Rio de Janeiro, Frankfurt, Dubai, and Shanghai in addition to its Los Angeles headquarters. This will assist in targeting a specific clientele base where the company has sufficient expertize or experience. Operations in the channel of a vertical market require an understanding of that sector. ΑÎ ©Ã‚  TechInd has to understand the diverse trends, compliance and regulatory challenges, competitive tendencies, terminology, as well as other core business milieu attributes. Precisely, specializing in vertical market growth will assist ΑÎ ©Ã‚  TechInd in understanding its market and commodities, bringing additional insight towards its customers, as well as becoming an essential ingredient of its business operations. Existence of viable and logical divisions of data storage and search to enhance splitting of data remains a central idea of this system. Such a logical division could play an integral role in avoiding duplication of files on the server as staff members are left with the option of guessing where they should put their information. This paper supports the idea of saving on space via acquisition of several servers to be coordinated from the head office in order to avoid running out of space. Such servers could offer an effective platform for file sharing across the organizational spread. This would prevent staff members from storing their work information on their personal machines or lacking trust in the file server (Cyber Security, 2007). Importantly, any database can become unfeasible due to software or hardware failure, or both. Furthermore, it

The Dynamics of Elite Politics during the Jiang Era Article

The Dynamics of Elite Politics during the Jiang Era - Article Example The article notes that there was a transformation under Jiang Zemin in Chinese elite politics from the previous political regimes. Jiang managed to bring reconciliation and ensure that the elites are on the same book and line of thought. This is evidenced by the few personal rivals or outspoken critics of his leadership (Shambaugh 4). Largely, Jiang managed to build on the policies set by other regions well. The manner of policymaking in the Jiang era was more of a direct deviation from the previous administration. In the process of policymaking, the leader prioritized consultation rather than imposing of particular policies. I think this approach showed the dimension that the leader wanted China to take for the sake of the future. For a leader who was criticized for not being as visionary as the others, Jiang clearly paved the way for a more liberal China that was ready to adopt the inclusive model of decision-making. By harmonizing the political elites, he was creating an open system that encouraged sharing of ideas for the development of the country. He borrowed the concepts of inclusion from other leaders who had attempted it but was keen to make it a success. That said, it shows that his focus was streamlining elite politics to accept the concepts of inclusion politics fully. He achieved this goal to a large extent in his leadership. The composition of the political elites in Jiang Era demonstrates a mixed composition and a wealth of ideas from both the old policymakers and new entrants (Shambaugh 7). Both bear different ways of tackling problems, but critics argue that the new entrants were raw in terms of decision making and experience. However, it appears as necessary for the change in composition of the top brass of politicians so that there can be different views that achieve modern approaches. The fact that the military composition, in terms of military leaders has taken another dimension shows the desire of the leader to

Ocean Park Brand Equity Essay Example for Free

Ocean Park Brand Equity Essay I am genuinely tank to Mr. Nicholas Tam for supporting me all the time and spending many hours on my final year project. This was totally appreciated that he provided many professional and useful advices and recommendations to me. Otherwise, I would also like to thanks Mr. C. N. Lo as my second marker and give me suggestion to improve my project. ABSTRACT Ocean Park Hong Kong is a home-grown treasure. It is also one of the most popular amusement parks in the world, providing educational, conservation and entertainment. Ocean Park Hong Kong has brought joy to local and overseas visitors throughout her 30-year history. She lets everyone in Hong Kong has a special and memorable experiences. In these 30 years, it experienced many impacts that are occurred by outside and inside of the organization. They also recorded a deficit for a certain years. But it was carried out the revolutions continually. Afterwards, the business is still running. Recently, some information indicated that the ranking of the most popular amusement park of the world, which is the Ocean Park Hong Kong higher than Hong Kong Disneyland. Finally, through survey, focus group interview and brands performance measures, to conclude that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Better leadership, better quality, builds up customer loyalty. CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION Ocean Park is one of the theme parks in Hong Kong. â€Å"Marine† is the majority theme of the park. It is located at the Southern District of Hong Kong, and it was opened on 10 January 1977. It was constructed at a land granted by the government, and then the funding of construction is granted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), and it also operated by HKJC. In January 1979, Ocean Park introduced a Killer Whale for the visitors. It becomes a one of the selling points of the park. In the inception stage, there is not enough amusement rides for the public. But, there was expanded their scale of the park, and increased much more amusement rides into the park. The operating capital of Ocean Park was depends on the revenue from tickets and donation from HKJC in earlier stage. It also has a significant deficit for a long time because the price is set on the low side. In 1 July 1987, the â€Å"Ocean Park Ordinance† is constituted by the government. HKJC will granted that they are established the trust with $200M funding. In this time, Ocean Park becomes a non-profit making organization and needs to self-finance. The park changed their business to commercial-oriented, and increasing its ticket price. Thus, the park enhanced its financial conditions to be positive. In 1998, the park recorded deficit again caused by some factors, such as East Asian Financial Crisis. Although it received 2 pandas from China, it still could not increase the visitor’s attraction of the park. The park also closed the water attractions and the Middle Kingdom. And then, it introduced more amusement rises for visitors especially for the teenagers such as the Abyss Turbo Drop and the Mine Train. In Fiscal Year 2004/2005, there are more than 4 million visitors during a year. This is renewing the record since the park is opened. It is caused that PRC government implemented the â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme† under CEPA. Ocean Park revealed its redevelopment plan in 2005, which will upgrades the quality and availability of features at the park. This is response the impacts from the opening of Disneyland. Ocean Park is also held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment project in November of 2006. According to the Attraction Attendance 2008 releases by Economics Research Associates (ERA) and Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) on 16 April, Ocean Park is the world’s number 15 theme park, Asia’s 5th theme park (Judith Rubin, 2009). (Appendix 1b) 1. Industry Background The tourism industry is one of the four key industries in the Hong Kong economy. There were two types of tourism which were inbound tourism and outbound. For inbound tourism, there were 5 groups of sub-industries which included retail trade, hotels and boarding houses, Restaurants, Cross-boundary passenger transport services and others. The value added of tourism in 2006 and 2007 were HK$45,300 Million and HK$52,300 Million. There was increased around 14% from 2006 to 2007. And the employment in this industry in 2006 and 2007 was 176,300 and 193,800. There was increased around more than 8% from 2006 to 2007 (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2009). (Appendix 9) In order to support the poor economic condition, Hong Kong government was provided some supporting projects to the tourism industry such as â€Å"the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)† and â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme†. These projects both were cooperated with PRC. Ocean Park is one of the participators in the amusement park market. Its major competitor is Hong Kong Disneyland. Before Disneyland involved its business in Hong Kong, Ocean Park was the only one participator in this market during the other amusement parks were closed their business such as Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park. On the other hand, the amusement park from neighbor country should also be the major competitors for Ocean Park such as Happy Valley from Shenzhen, PRC. As a famous landmark of Hong Kong, Ocean Park was a successful company in this industry. In accordance with the Attraction Attendance 2008, the 2008 attendance was equal to 5. 03 Million. It was a leading brand of the amusement park market (Judith Rubin, 2009) (Appendix 1b). In conclusion, Ocean Park should be capturing the opportunity derived from increasing attendance and the supporting from government, and focus its competence for facing the threat generated by intensive competition from the neighbor country. 2. Statement of issue In past certain years, Ocean Park faced impacts in different period of time, for example, East Asian Financial Crisis, SARS, and external environment. For the financial issue, Ocean Park was faced the financial distress on past certain years especially for the East Asian financial crisis. Besides, for the external environmental issue, Ocean Park should also be faced to the new entrants of Hong Kong amusement park market that was Disneyland. Ocean Park was a domestic famous brand in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Disneyland was an international famous brand. The overall size of organization of Ocean Park should be smaller than Disneyland. 3. Purpose of the study Propose of this study is to understand customer’s brand equity of Ocean Park. A result of questionnaire survey is to ascertain the sources (Brand Equity Ten) of brand equity of Ocean Park. Base on the findings of the survey, propose that the critical success factor of the theme park. CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW The Brand Equity Ten will be applying in this study, which is an effective method to evaluate brand equity. Ten sets of measures grouped into five categories, are shown in Table 1. The first four categories are to measure customer perceptions of the brand. The four categories of brand equity are including loyalty, perceived quality, associations, and awareness. The last category is to collect information from the market based information rather than directly from customers (D. Aaker, 1996). 1. Loyalty Measures Since it is now widely recognized that it is much less costly and much more profitable to keep existing customers than to win new ones, customer retention become an important goal for most organizations. In principle its simple: you just have to keep your existing customer (N. Hill, J. Alexander, 2006). The Hong Kong amusement park industry was created a monopoly loyalty during there was only two participators in the market, such as Ocean Park and Disneyland. The loyalty of these two amusement parks might be generated by devotion of its customers, for instance, the customer would be sought some adventure experiences at Ocean park during there was provided many thrill rides. Besides, if the customer would be found some story of fairy tales, they would go to Disneyland, it is because customer can be met many famous characters like Mickey Mouse. 1. Price Premium â€Å"A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount a customer will pay for the brand in comparison with another brand (or set of comparison brands) offering similar benefits†(D.Aaker, 1996). For the admission fees of both Ocean Park and Disneyland, there was a large difference between parks. For instance, in the adult’s general admission fees, Ocean Park was HK$208, and Disneyland was HK$350. Therefore, the price premium should be HK$142. 1. Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures â€Å"Perceived quality is often the key positioning dimension for corporate brands (such as Toshiba or Ford) and other brands that range over product classes (such as Weight Watchers, Kraft, and store brands such as Safeway Select). Because these brands span product classes, they are less likely to be driven by functional benefits, and perceived quality is likely to play a larger role. (D. Aaker, 2009) For Ocean Park, it provided different amusement facilities to visitors. Besides, Disneyland provided the story of fairy tales to visitors. Visitors could earn the different experiences during they are visiting these two parks. They would use the last experience to evaluate the perceived quality of the parks. â€Å"Leading brands are perceived to be relevant, unique and compelling. They inspire customer loyalty and enable organizations to charge price premiums. They increase bargaining power with business partners, make it easier to hire and retain talented employees and provide organizations with clear strategic direction and platforms for future growth. †(B. VanAuken, 2007) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were performed their services at a unique and compelling ways. For example, Ocean Park provides a lot of amusement facilities for visitors; some facilities were very unique in Hong Kong such as Giant Panda Habitat. On the other hand, Disneyland arranges many owned international famous characters that visitors may take some photos with them. 2. Associations/ Differentiation Measures â€Å"The key associations/differentiation component of brand equity usually involves image dimensions that are unique to a product class or to a brand. The challenge, then, is to generate general measures that will work across product classes. † (D. Aaker, 1996) Since Ocean Park was opened, it was established a personal image for visitors that it was provided some messages like ocean protection and education, exciting experience. Visitors had no doubtful that the meaning of Ocean Park, and they was knew that it was not an amusement park only. Also, Disneyland was generated a dreaming place for visitors to enjoy a childlike and entertaining tour for their each visit. But it was not provided other functional characters to the public such as educational activities. 3. Awareness Measures â€Å"Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory. Brand awareness can measured through brand recall or brand recognition. Brand recall reflects the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category. † (P. Chandon, 2003) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were achieved to brand awareness. For Ocean Park, visitors may be bethought its owned characters when they were went to it such as Dolphin, Giant Panda, thrill rides and etc. On the other hand, also, Disneyland was gained the high level of international attention. Visitors were recall its owned characters like Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, and they can be got this memory outside it such as TV and other side-products of its owned characters. The dimension of differentiation in the association category is a summary of brand associations (D.Aaker, 1996). 4. Market Behavior Measures 1. Market Share â€Å"The performance of a brand as measured by market share (and/or sales) often provides a valid and sensitive reflection of the brand’s standing with customers. When the brand has a relative advantage in the minds of customers, its market share should increase or at least not decrease. † (D. Aaker, 1996) The performance of an amusement park can be measured by some elements such as its functions, service level, customer relationship management and etc. It can be grew its admission income during the higher service performance that it can be performed. 2. Price and Distribution Indices â€Å"Market share can be a particularly deceptive brand equity measure when it increases as a result of reduced prices or price promotions. Thus, it is important to measure the relative market price at which the brand is being sold. † (D. Aaker, 1996). â€Å"Market share or sales data are also extremely sensitive to distribution coverage. Sales may be dramatically affected when a brand gains or loses a major market or expands into another geographic region. A measure of distribution coverage is thus a second logical companion measure to market share. † (D. Aaker, 1996). As an amusement park, the market price data was equal to the admission income of a year, because this was majority source for capturing its operating resources. Besides, it indicated that the admission income might be affected by the change in attendance directly. On the other hand, the price and distribution indices should be reflected the market share that can be evaluated by admission attendance during a year. This may be found out the true picture of the growth of admission attendance rather than depends on admission income. CHAPTER III – METHODOLOGY 1. Sample Design Data will be collected by using a questionnaire. It is use to measure customer perceptions of the brand along with the four categories (D. Aaker, 1996). The questionnaire is use to survey those people who are visited Hong Kong Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland before. It is to ensure that the data from respondents are effective and reliable. The questionnaire will be distributed to them through e-mail, and the respondents are classmates, teachers, familiars, friends, and colleagues. 100 samples were collected through this survey. 2. Questionnaire Design First, questionnaire is used to measure the four categories, which are Loyalty Measures (price premium and satisfaction/loyalty), Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures (perceived quality, and leadership), Associations/Differentiation Measures (perceived value, brand personality, organizational associations, and differentiation), and Awareness Measures (brand awareness). Second, setting demographic factors, respondents were required to answer their personal information, including gender, age, monthly income, occupation and education. It is in order to compare the general information with the 25 items, and find out the critical success factor of Ocean Park. Nine dimensions including 25 items, plus 5 items of general information, there are totally 30 questions. Third, this study will compare with Disneyland because it is the mainly competitor in Hong Kong. The questionnaire format is Part A is Ocean Park, Part B is Disneyland, and Part C is the general information. â€Å"5-point Likert Scale† is usually used in questionnaires, and is the most widely used scale in survey research. †. There were used 5 choices of answer question for respondents to answer their questionnaire except general information. It was included â€Å"Strongly Disagree†, â€Å"Disagree†, â€Å"Neutral†, â€Å"Agree† and â€Å"Strongly agree†. (Answers. com, 2009) Fourth, set â€Å"Missing Data†. It is to reduce or ignore the answer of unclear, ambiguous or answer more than one choice, etc. The questionnaire format could refer to Appendix 7. 3. Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS) SPSS was established in 1968 by Norman H. Nie, C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale H. Bent. They want developed a revolutionary software system in order to turn raw data into representative information in an easily way. According to the SPSS’s website, â€Å"This revolutionary statistical software system was called SPSS, which stood for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Nie, Hull and Bent developed SPSS out of the need to quickly analyze volumes of social science data gathered through various methods of research. † (SPSS INC. , 2009). In addition to statistics analysis, the features of the base software, which are included Descriptive statistics (Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptives, Explore, Descriptive Ratio Statistics), Bivariate statistics (Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate, partial, distances), Nonparametric tests), Prediction for numerical outcomes (Linear regression), and Prediction for identifying groups (Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-means, hierarchical), Discriminant) (Wikipedia, 2009). In this report, there was using SPSS to analyze the statistical information, there are included Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis, Mean and Standard Deviation, Crosstab Test. 1. Reverse Scoring In order to calculate some opposite data in one dimension, there should be rescored the negative data to turn into positive data. This can be increasing the reliability and correlation among data in one dimension. â€Å"Items that are negatively worded in a scale must be rescored in a positive direction in order to match the other items in a scale† (S. Stark, et. al. , 2001). In the questionnaire, Question 22 25 of Part A and B was used this function that in order to find out the reliable and correlated data, and these sets of data should be opposite to other data in same dimension. 2. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis â€Å"Cronbachs alpha measures how well a set of items (or variables) measures a single unidimensional latent construct. When data have a multidimensional structure, Cronbachs alpha will usually be low. Technically speaking, Cronbachs alpha is not a statistical test it is a coefficient of reliability (or consistency). (UCLA Academic Technology Services) There were used the Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliability. The output table will then be displayed the Cronbach’s Alpha of the dimension. 3. Mean and Standard Deviation â€Å"The mean, indicated by ? (a lower case Greek mu), is the statisticians jargon for the average value of a signal. It is found just as you would expect: add all of the samples together, and divide by N. † (S. Smith, 2007) It is the use to find out the average in a group of population. There were calculated the means by all of the scoring of each question. Afterwards, added up the separate mean from all dimensions which were found out the total mean of each category. â€Å"The standard deviation is one of several indices of variability that statisticians use to characterize the dispersion among the measures in a given population. To calculate the standard deviation of a population it is first necessary to calculate that populations variance. Numerically, the standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Unlike the variance, which is a somewhat abstract measure of variability, the standard deviation can be readily conceptualized as a distance along the scale of measurement. † (R. Hoffman, 2002) Besides, the standard deviation was displayed on the output table of SPSS in order to analyze the dispersion of the result of nine dimensions. 4. Crosstab Test â€Å"Cross-tabulations give us much more insight into the data than do simple profiles or frequency distributions. Cross-tabulations are an example of bivariate analysis (i. e. , examining the relationship between two variables). However, cross-tabulations are of limited value, too, because we are realistically restricted to examining the relationship between only two variables at a time (e. g. , customer status and age; customer status and income; etc.). If we try to examine a cross-tabulation of more than two variables at a time, the results are very difficult to visualize and interpret meaningfully. † (SmartDrill, 2008) There was used the crosstabulation to compare the variability of general information. This can be easily found out the difference between two set of data. 4. Focus Group â€Å"Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate services or test new ideas. Basically, focus groups are interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One can get a great deal of information during a focus group session. † (C. McNamara, 2006) 5. Data Analysis. 1. Calculated the mean and standard deviation for all of 9 dimensions in order to find out the overall performance of both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 2. Used SPSS reverse scoring function in order to make some conflict data that reversed into same way. This can make that the reliability must higher than origin data. Besides, Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis can be found out the reliability of all of the dimensions, and ignored some irrelative items in the dimensions. This can improve the reliability for each dimensions that if deleted the items. 3. Calculate the mean with both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 4. Used crosstabulation to compare which the general information of both Ocean Park and Disneyland such as age, gender and income, 5. After used of SPSS, there were formed a focus group that was invited 7 interviewees in order to discuss the issues that occurred in the result from SPSS. 6. Besides, found some corporate information of Ocean Park and Disneyland which how to performed the market behavior. 7. Match the result of mean analysis and the result of crosstabutaion analysis, in order to find out the source of brand equity and the critical successful factor of the theme park. CHAPTER IV – RESULTS. 4 Sample and Descriptive Statistics This survey totally collected 100 samples, 57 respondents are male and 43 respondents are female. The majority respondents aged between 20 to 24 years olds (83%). In the monthly income group, nearly 50% of respondents their salaries were $5,001 to $10,000 per month. Monthly income was â€Å"less than $5,000† which had 41% of respondents. Many of respondents were students and workers (80%). Over a half of respondents had education level at diploma levels or associate degree, and 37% of respondents had education level at undergraduate or postgraduate. (Appendix 2) 2. Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis. This research has nine dimensions which are belong to the four categories. The dimensions are including 25 items. Use the Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliabilities between the 25 items and the nine dimensions. The reliability test in order to define questions whether it is fit/relative to the nine dimensions. This can find out which items can be more significant and which are the insignificant. The existence of the items was whether or not to affect the result of the dimensions such as completion, reliability and accuracy. (Appendix 3) 3. Mean and Standard Deviations Table 2: Comparison of Mean and S. D. of dimensions with Ocean Park and Disneyland |Categories |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland |Mean Differences |Ranking | | | |Mean |Std. Deviation |Mean |Std. Deviation | | | |Loyalty Measures | |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland | |Price Premium |Medium |High (Negative) | |Satisfaction/ Loyalty |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Quality |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Leadership |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Value |Medium |High (Negative) | |Brand Personality |High (Positive) |Medium | |Organizational Associations |Medium |Medium | |Brand Awareness |High (Positive) |High (Negative). | |Market Share |- |- | |Price and Distribution Indices |Medium |Medium | 1. Loyalty According to the result after crosstab the items, it found that in the loyalty category, the effect of price premium for Ocean Park was medium. The acceptability of the admission price for Ocean Park was relatively higher than the Disneyland. Its admission price was cheaper than Disneyland. Comparatively speaking, the effect of price premium for Disneyland was high. The acceptability of the admission price was low, that was relatively expensive. The influence of price premium on Disneyland is negative. Besides, the result reflected that price was not the determining factor for respondents to switch brand. On the other hands, the effect of satisfaction for Ocean Park was high. The park was better than Disneyland in satisfied customers needs and wants. Loyalty was built by a cumulative result, which were the customers’ past visit experiences with the brands. The result indicated that the opportunity of respondents’ revisit the parks was based on their last visit experiences. Ocean Park was better than Disneyland, respondents were willing to recommend Ocean Park to others rather than Disneyland. The influence of satisfaction on Ocean Park is positive. However, the effect of satisfaction for Disneyland was high. It brings a negative influence on the park. In satisfied customers needs and wants, Disneyland was worse than Ocean Park. Respondents were unsatisfied with their last visit experience. Only seldom of respondents would revisit the park on the next opportunity and recommend the park to others. During the result of satisfaction was negative, the management from Disneyland would improve the quality for satisfying customers’ needs and wants. 2. Perceived Quality/Leadership. The result reflected that there was a linkage between perceived quality and leadership, Compare with Disneyland, Ocean Park was popular and more innovative, it was the leading brand in Hong Kong, and overall Ocean Park was better in quality. It implied that better leadership, better quality. It helps Ocean Park to keep closer relationship with loyal customers and less of switchers. The effect of perceived quality/leadership for Ocean Park was medium. Oppositely, Disneyland was worse, it was not innovative enough and not much popular than Ocean Park, and therefore Disneyland was not the leading brand in Hong Kong. One of reasons might cause by the negative news about the park. The effect of perceives quality/leadership for Disneyland was high and negative. 3. Associations/Differentiation Ocean Park could provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for Ocean Park was medium. Disneyland could not provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for the park was high and negative. Ocean Park had its own personality and it was interesting. Respondents had a clear image of the type of person who would visit the park. The effect of personality for Ocean Park was high and positive. Disneyland also had its own personality. However, seldom of respondents were agreed the park was interesting. Normally, respondents had a clear image for what type of person would visit the park. The personality of Disneyland was medium. The personality of Disneyland was indistinct. It could reflect the respondents’ imagery, which was a key driver of brand personality. About the organization management of Ocean Park, the results reflected that respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust and admire the Ocean Park Company. But the respondents thought that the organization association with Ocean Park had credibility. The effect of organization for the park was medium. On the other hand, many respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust with Disneyland, and admire the Disneyland Company, and the credibility of organization association. The results implied that the respondents were lack of knowledge about the organization management beheld Disneyland. The effect of organization for the park was medium. Organization management back of the theme parks is usually ignored by the visitors. It is because its lack of attractive for the visitors associated with its services. Therefore, the effect of this dimension with both companies was medium. Overall, Ocean Park and Disneyland were different. 4. Awareness Recognition of Ocean Park and Disneyland were high. Respondents had heard of the two parks, it was important for the exist brands. Moreover, respondents were knew what the parks stand for, it reflected that customers had a level of brand knowledge. Besides, respondents were no opinion about Ocean Park, but respondents had opinion with Disneyland. The result of brand opinion implied that respondents were less confidence with Disneyland. The effect of awareness for Ocean Park was high and positive, and for Disneyland was high and negative. . 5. Market Behavior For the market share measure, there was lack of information to compare the sales performance between Ocean Park and Disneyland. Therefore, the effect of market for both Ocean and Disneyland would not be evaluated. As the result, the market price was not compared between Ocean Park and Disneyland, because Disneyland’s admission income was not being provided in the Annual Report individually. The financial information of Hong Kong Disneyland was combined with European Disneyland. In the distribution coverage, the result of Attraction Attendance 2007 and 2008 (Appendix 1a b) indicated that Ocean Park had higher indicated that Ocean Park had recorded higher attendance rather than Disneyland. It is implied that Ocean Park should be more successful on the admission income, and gained a large number of visitors rather than Disneyland. On the other hand, Disneyland had higher distribution coverage on the world, because it involved that its operations were involved 5 countries in the world. Besides, Ocean Park had lower distribution coverage in the market, because it only had one amusement in the world. As a result, both of Ocean Park and Disneyland were medium in the effect of market price/ distribution indices. To conclude that after use high/low method to compare with the two parks, it found that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Table 3 shown each category has a key driver of influence. Loyalty, the key driver is satisfaction. Perceived quality and leadership measures, leadership variable in this category should be considered. The key component of associations and differentiation measures is including the personality. In the category of awareness measures, brand awareness is the important component. Attendance of distribution coverage in market behavior is the most important. Matching mean analysis with crosstab test analysis, it found out that the loyalty is the most influence category among the brand equity of Ocean Park. The dimension of satisfaction in the loyalty category is the critical success factor of Ocean Park. CHAPTER VI – DISCUSSION During the study, there were faced such problems. This part of discussion would point out the problems, in order to share the editor’s opinions with those people who would having study or survey in the future. 1. Questionnaire Setting 1. Sample of the survey is not many, only collected 100 samples, representation of the result is low. 2. The method of collecting the data is not good enough. It is because through e-mail, which is inconvenience, low efficiency, and usually will ignore by addressees. E-mail is a passive method, and the respondents their replies are also passive. 3. Questionnaire is distributed to visitors through e-mail. Some respondents had their feedback about the questionnaire, such as wrong words, the questionnaire format, etc. 4. Focus on the questionnaire design, it could be improved. For example, in the price premium, the questionnaire did not ask respondents some questions about the â€Å"dollar metric†, and market research approach (conjoint/ â€Å"trade-off† analysis). Therefore, the dimension of price premium can not be accurately and clearly to analysis whether it can build up customer loyalty and whether it is important part of loyalty measures. 2. Information Collection 1. In the category of Market Behavior, there were not found some accurate information about the â€Å"Market Share† and â€Å"Market Price†. That is the admission price of Disneyland. According to the Disneyland Annual Report 2008, the financial information about Hong Kong Disneyland was displayed that it was combined the financial information associated with European Disneyland. This is indicated that the financial information should not be compared with Ocean Park directly, because any changes of the financial information may be occurred by both Hong Kong and European one. Therefore, the related information should not be really reflected the true information especially for Hong Kong Disneyland. 3. SPSS Data Entry and Output 1. When setting the questionnaires, sometimes, may need to set some reverse questions. For example, asking respondents that â€Å"Ocean Park is different from Disneyland† and â€Å"Ocean Park is basically the same as Disneyland†, that is reverse question.