On Making Friends

As a human being, one can hardly do without a friend, for life without friends will be a lonely voyage in the vast dark sea or one in the barren desert. Traly, a friend gives out light and warmth like a lamp. For this reason, I have always felt it a blessing if a friend comes to console me in my sadness, cheer me up in my low spirits, or heartedly share with me my happiness. It is wonderful, too, to feel that someone is standing by me and ready to provide help and encouragement in my pursuit of a noble and glorious cause. For millions of years, people have heaped beautiful verses and essays upon friendship.Yet, they, too, have mercilessly accused false friendship, for there are always some mean characters who approach you and act as dear friends when you are wealthy or influential, but desert or even betray you the instant you come down in the world or are entrapped by unfortunate things. Therefore, people all attach great importance to the recognition of true friendship. And a faith ful friend is considered even more precious than a priceless pearl or a precious stone. The old saying â€Å"A friend in need is a friend indeed† has become the teaching and standard for true friends.Still, it is natural that different people observe different principles in making friends. Some view it important to make friends with whom they may share similar interests or hobbies with. Others are liable to befriend VIPs so as to gain some favors or privileges. And I am of those who think very little of similarity or position or power. So long as a person has a heart of gold, being warm-hearted, selfless, honest, open-minded, but not brutal, cold, shortsighted nor narrow~minded, I am willing to make friends with him or her, give my due support and help, and remain faithful to him or her all my life. On Making Friends As a human being, one can hardly do without a friend, for life without friends will be a lonely voyage in the vast dark sea or one in the barren desert. Traly, a friend gives out light and warmth like a lamp. For this reason, I have always felt it a blessing if a friend comes to console me in my sadness, cheer me up in my low spirits, or heartedly share with me my happiness. It is wonderful, too, to feel that someone is standing by me and ready to provide help and encouragement in my pursuit of a noble and glorious cause. For millions of years, people have heaped beautiful verses and essays upon friendship.Yet, they, too, have mercilessly accused false friendship, for there are always some mean characters who approach you and act as dear friends when you are wealthy or influential, but desert or even betray you the instant you come down in the world or are entrapped by unfortunate things. Therefore, people all attach great importance to the recognition of true friendship. And a faith ful friend is considered even more precious than a priceless pearl or a precious stone. The old saying â€Å"A friend in need is a friend indeed† has become the teaching and standard for true friends.Still, it is natural that different people observe different principles in making friends. Some view it important to make friends with whom they may share similar interests or hobbies with. Others are liable to befriend VIPs so as to gain some favors or privileges. And I am of those who think very little of similarity or position or power. So long as a person has a heart of gold, being warm-hearted, selfless, honest, open-minded, but not brutal, cold, shortsighted nor narrow~minded, I am willing to make friends with him or her, give my due support and help, and remain faithful to him or her all my life.

Introduction to Economics Exercise 1

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS Exercise 1 1. What determines that a resource be scarce? Why is scarcity important in defining Economics as a science Resources are seen as being scarce, when the wants exceed the resources. The fundamental problem of economics relates to the choices made in the face of limited resources and unlimited wants. 2. Read your local newspaper and economic magazines. Explain the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. From your research, give three examples of microeconomic and macroeconomic issues.Microeconomics relates to the study of households and firms and the interaction between these different economic actors. Macroeconomics, however, relates to the study of the economy as a whole, and in particular problems pertaining to growth, unemployment and inflation. Examples of microeconomic issues: 1. price ceilings/floors 2. positive/negative externalities 3. elasticity Examples of macroeconomic issues: 1. inflation 2. unemployment 3. economic growth (GDP) 3. Regarding the concept of Opportunity Cost, comment how your opportunity cost of going to the movies may be affected when: a.You have a final exam the following day b. The University will be shut down for a month starting today c. The same movie will be shown on TV tomorrow a) increase b) decrease c) increase 4. Explain if the following statements are true or false, Explain your reply d. The opportunity cost of choosing a certain activity is equal to the sum of all the benefits of all the alternatives not chosen. e. Opportunity cost is a subjective measure a) False – the opportunity cost of choosing a certain activity is equal to the cost of the next best alternative forgone. ) True – opportunity cost relates to the individual, in that they must choose how to maximize their own utility/happiness, and opportunity cost can vary from individual to individual. 5. Under what conditions is it possible to expand the Production Possibility Frontier (If it is not possib le, explain your reply) The PPF can expand during periods of technological innovation or the discovery of new resources. Or through the process of trade. 6. a) England 2/6 = 1/3, USA 1/5 b) Wheat = England, Clothes = England c) England = Wheat, USA = Clothes ) England should produce wheat and USA clothes. Using the following table Hours of work needed to produce one unit | England| USA| Wheat| 2| 1| Clothes| 6| 5| | | | a. What is the opportunity cost of producing wheat in England and in the USA b. Which country has an absolute advantage in the production of wheat, and of clothes c. Which country has a comparative advantage in producing wheat and producing clothes d. Which country should specialize in the production of wheat? And of clothes? a. GRAPH b. GRAPH c. GRAPHThe Price is above market equilibrium: If the price exceeds the equilibrium price, a surplus occurs and there will be competition among the sellers and price will come down to the equilibrium point. This way the equilib rium is tried to maintain in each of the cases. d. GRAPH Price is below the market equilibrium: If the price is below the equilibrium a shortage occurs and there will be a competition among the buyers and the price will rise to the equilibrium level. This is also another way to restore the equilibrium though there are changes that are occurring in the market in the prices. . The inferior good demand will decrease when consumer income rises. These goods are affordable and adequately fulfill their purpose, but as more costly substitutes that offer more pleasure become available, the use of the inferior goods diminishes. f. A  complementary good  is a  good  with a negative  cross elasticity of demand. This means the demand for a good will decrease when the price of the complementary good is increased. g. If there is a rumor that price for this good will increase, demand will probably increase too. Consumers want to purchase the product before any increase.All the market will be affect; we will see an increase of demand for main and complementary goods. Shortage will probably appear and price will increase to search equilibrium. Rumor will be reality. 7. Using the following demand and supply table Price| Demand| Supply| 1. 25| 8| 28| 1. 00| 14| 24| 0. 75| 20| 20| 0. 50| 26| 16| 0. 25| 32| 12| a. Graph the demand curve and the supply curve b. Identify the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity c. Assume a price of 1. 00, Identify if there is shortage or surplus in the market and how the market forces behave to reinstate the equilibrium d.Now assume the price is 0. 50 and repeat the question above e. Now assume this is the market behavior for an inferior good, what would happen if the consumers income would increase from $ 25 to $ 32 a week f. Assume this markets complementary good? s price increases, what would happen in this market g. Assume there is a rumor that the price for this good will increases in the following days. How do expectations affec t this market? What will be the final outcome? For all the questions above you must support your answer with a graph. 8.Price elasticity of demand : (0,1)/(-0,2) = -1,5 The demand is elastic and sensitive to price changes. 9. Price elasticity of demand : ((0,38-0,5)/0,5) = -0,24 -24% ((26000-10000)/10000) = 1,6 160% (-0,24)/(1,6) = -0,15 The demand is elastic and sensitive to price changes. 10. a. Vodka: luxury good or superior good, making a vodka more expensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. b. Table Salt: necessity good, necessity goods are usually produced by a  public utility.We can't live without and won't likely cut back on even when times are tough c. Furniture: normal good, this does not necessarily refer to the quality of the good, but an abnormal good would clearly not be in demand, except for possibly lower socioeconomic groups. d. Perfume: luxury good or superior good, making a perfume more e xpensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. e. Beet: inferior good, we can replace beet by others foodstuffs more expensive, better quality or that give more pleasure like a meat. f.Sugar: necessity good, necessity goods are usually produced by a  public utility. We can't live without and won't likely cut back on even when times are tough. 11. Decision making is based on costs and benefits. That means you make purchases if the marginal benefits are greater than the price. Thus, when you decide to make a purchase, you are likely receiving something worth more to you than what you had to spend to buy it, or else you wouldn’t have bought it. That net benefit, minus the equilibrium price, is consumer surplus. 12. GRAPH b. With a price of 4$, Bert buys 2 bottles.His CS for 2 bottles: (7-4) + (5-4) = 3 + 1 = 4$ c. With a price of 2$, Bert buys 3 bottles. His CS for 3 bottles: (7-2) + (5-2) + (3-2) = 9$ 13. G RAPH A price ceiling occurs when the government puts a legal limit on how high the price of a product can be. In order for a price ceiling to be effective, it must be set below the natural market equilibrium. When a price ceiling is set, a shortage occurs. A price floor is the lowest legal price a commodity can be sold at. Price floors are used by the government to prevent prices from being too low.For a price floor to be effective, it must be set above the equilibrium price. 14. a. 4P – 80 = 100 – 2P 6P = 180 P = 30$ Q = 40 The equilibrium price is 30$ and the equilibrium quantity is 40 bushels b. GRAPH c. (0. 5) x (20) x (40) = 400 $ Consumer surplus (0. 5) x (10) x (40) = 200 $ Producer surplus 400 + 200 = 600 $ Surplus Equilibrium 15. f. The difference between marginal utility and total utility The marginal utility of a good or service is the gain or loss from an increase or decrease in the consumption of that good or service.All goods and services have their own m arginal utility. The total utility is the sum of all marginal utilities for a good or service. Total utility is the aggregate sum of satisfaction or benefit that an individual gains from consuming a given amount of goods or services. The more the person consumes, the larger his or her total utility will be. g. The principle of diminishing marginal utility Diminishing marginal utility is to use or consume a good or service with the most important or efficient utility for us.

Donald Marc Allens Struggle with Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Donald Marc Allens Struggle with Cancer - Essay Example Marc Allen’s experience was a revelation, one that drew his attention to the importance of frequent screening among other forms of medical checkups. Marc Allen is a thirty-five-year-old American currently living in Manhattan. He works in the office of the attorney general as one of the clerks. He, therefore, enjoys comprehensive medical cover from the government among other associated benefits. Besides such, Marc Allen has additional health insurance. He sought the product soon after the formulation and successful implementation of the Obama care health act. The act made insurance services both affordable and available. He is a family man, married to Marie Marc Allen and the two have three children schooling within the New York State. He, therefore, lives as many other middle-class Americans facing similar challenges but prioritizing the health of their families a feature that validates the numerous health insurance policies he has both for himself and the other members of his family. He explains his experience with prostate cancer as one of the most infuriating. Given his young age, he did not think that he would suffer from such a disease. Prior to the diagnosis, Marc Allen lived a busy life concentrating on both his legal work and his family. Never did it occur to him that he would suffer from such a disease. He, therefore, did not go for any form of screening until he was admitted with abdominal pains. It was then that the doctors advised that he undergo a thorough screening of other types of tests. The screening proved that he had prostate cancer and was therefore to undergo a series of radiographic in one of the most sensitive parts of his body. He explains that the diagnosis was a scare since he had not anticipated such a disease. He lived in denial for a while but with the support from his family and the advice from his doctors, he opted for the radiology treatment since the doctors explained that he had high chances of surviving.  Ã‚  

Global issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Global issues - Essay Example The disclosure should also be backed by the independent monitoring of pay and working conditions. Violators of the laws when found should be corrected in ways that protect the workers and their jobs. There are moral and economic implications that come with the decision of not being concerned about sweatshops operating in developing countries because they provide quality clothes. The moral implication is that human dignity is not upheld. It provides the basis for the obligation of the employer to the employee. Respecting the dignity of workers requires the adherence to the laws of labor, meeting the safety standards and provision of a wage. Many aspects of the American lifestyle are attributed to the trade with Asia. Commerce with developing countries like China is crucial to its economic prosperity. Their manufacturing investment in developing countries is in the tens of billions of dollars and they also have plants that they operate on a contract basis. Hence the developing countries help in building up their economy. There are three major types of economic systems-traditional, command and market. Most of the countries in the world can be identified with one of them. In the traditional economy, the allocation of resources is based on rituals, habit or custom. The main advantage is that everyone knows which role to play. There is little uncertainty over what to produce, how to produce or for whom to produce since one follows their customs. The main disadvantage is that it discourages new ideas and new ways of carrying out things. The command economy is whereby a central authority is responsible for what, how and for whom they should produce products. The main advantage is that the system can drastically change direction in a short period of time. The main disadvantage is that it is not designed in a way that will meet the wants of the consumers even though

Poem Analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem Analyze - Essay Example The description he gave to the woman is lampoon or could be compared to caricature of the conventional love sonnet. Analysis of Sonnet 130 Shakespeare symbolic use of terms in describing his mistress is manifested in Sonnet 130. Some of the comparisons are: (2) corals are more reddish compared to his lips/, (3) the breast is brownish gray compared to the white snow/, (4) the hair is black and not golden brown/, (8) compared to perfume the breath of his mistress is nasty or unpleasant. However, to Elizabethan, reeks would only mean simply â€Å"breaths forth’/. Those were some of the physical attributes Shakespeare gave to her mistress and this is extra ordinary to consider. It would be so hard to distinguish whether it is a compliment or an insult considering that this is an attribute being given to the beloved one. According to Shakespeare, (9) the voice of her mistress is not pleasing compared to music/ and the latter part of the Sonnet, (11) Shakespeare compared his mistre ss to a goddess that walk on the ground which expresses his admiration to the mistress/ and has considered his mistress to be rare among those that could be given false representation and ridiculous comparison (Hale, J. 2002). In line three, (3) Shakespeare uses the word dun in comparison to his mistress brownish gray breast.

The tutoring business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The tutoring business - Essay Example Customers can be reached through different forms of communication. Through networking, the customers can be reached by email, cell or telephone as well as social network sites such as face book and WhatsApp. These forms of communication are fast, secure and efficient. Video conferencing can also be used to conduct business. For instance, skype is a method of communication that enables two people to communicate face to face through the use of video system though they may be located in different places. The other effective method of reaching customers is the use of cell phones. Voice calls can be made or text messages can also be used to link people from different areas. This helps the tutors and the students to exchange vital information. Direct interaction between the tutors and their students can also help these two groups to link with each other. Through face to face communication, the tutors and the students can know each other better quite easily. In order to provide customer ser vice, there are different styles that can be used. The most important thing that we are going to take into consideration is to listen to all their concerns. Effective listening to the customers is a very important component of conducting business. When we listen to the customers, we will be in a position to understand their needs. The other step that we will take in order to provide quality feedback is to provide them with feedback so that they may get to know their progress in learning other languages.

Edgar Degas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Edgar Degas - Research Paper Example He had come from a family that was extremely musical: his mother was an opera singer, though not a professional one, while his father Auguste used to arrange recitals to be performed by musicians in their home. Degas mother passed away when he was just thirteen years old; after that, both his father and grandfather had a great influence in his life (Edgardegas.net, 2010). He studied at the Lycee Loius le Grand whereby he attained a baccalaureat in literature in the year 1853. Degas began his life as a painter when he was still a teenager of eighteen years old; he had changed his room to be an artist’s studio and after graduating registered as a Louvre copist. Auguste however was not for the idea of his son becoming a painter, and he urged him to enroll in law school. In November 1853, Degas reluctantly went to study law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris; however, he was not so enthusiastic about it. When he was still a copist, he produced a number of copies of R aphel that were quite impressive; working on them, he studied other works done by contemporary painters with examples of Delacroix and Ingres (Edgardegas.net, 2010). In the year 1855 he was admitted into the Ecole Des Beaux-Art School in Paris, but after studying there only on year, he left school so that he could take three years traveling, studying and painting in Italy. There he painted painstaking copies of Michelangelo’s work, a renowned Italian Renaissance painter, as well as Da Vinci. He developed a classical linearity reverence that was a distinguishing characteristic even of the modern paintings he had done (Edgardegas.net, 2010). According to Growe, (2001), in 1859 Degas went back to Paris and made a name as a painter. He took the traditional approach whereby he painted large portraits mostly belonging to family members and big historical scenes with examples of Semiramis Building Babylon, the daughter of Jephtha and the Scene of middle Age war. He then went to subm it his works to a group of French teachers and artists who would be in charge of exhibitions that happened in public. The group had extremely conventional and rigid ideas of proper artistic form and beauty; therefore, it was indifferent to Degas paintings. In 1862, Degas had a chance of meeting Edouard Manet, a fellow painter at the Louvre, and the two developed a friendly rivalry within no time. In 1868 Degas was one of the important members of the avant-garde artists group that included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. They used to meet regularly as the Cafe Guerbois so as to discuss ways that artists could use to interact with the modern world. The Franco-Prussian war began in July 1870, and Degas decided to volunteer to be part of the French National Guard. As the war was ending in 1871, the Paris Commune took control of the capital for approximately two months previous to Adolphe Thiers went ahead to establish again the Third Republic at the time of a bloo dy civil war. In order to avoid the Paris Commune tumult, Degas took a long trip in New Orleans to visit his relatives (Growe, 2001). Degas came back to Paris in 1873, and here he met with Sisley, Monet and a few other painters. They went ahead to form the Societe Anonyme des Artistes which was a group that was obligated to have exhibitions which were not under the Salon’s control. The group would later come to be identified as the Impressionists despite the fact that Degas fancied the name â€Å"

Intellectual Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Intellectual Property Law - Essay Example England has been slow in adopting these rights as it is perceived as clashing with the principle of Freedom of Expression. The English contend that intellectual property rights costs public good. Advances in digital technology have shaken the grounds on which intellectual property stand. This has made people to focus more attention on coming up with ways of ensuring freedom of expression that would enhance the public domain whilst rewarding creativity. Image rights promote invention and creation that promote quasi monopoly or monopoly rights so as to accord creativity the credit it deserves. Celebrities in music, sports and media world have gained profound significance in the contemporary world. Product sellers and advertisers are increasing approaching celebrities for work as they want to be associated to this fame. Competitive brand ambassadors help popularize products and increase sales. The financial benefits that accompany the status of such celebrities implore the need to have a mechanism of protecting celebrities. Red Croz would need to know that there is the need to balance between their public and private lives. They are prone to misuse and exploitation, even if indirectly, by those who live and work around them. Image rights promote the right to privacy hence upholding the human dignity of such celebrities (Passman 2012, p.2). ... A device mark logo involves an image, for example, that of an animal. Red Croz’s logo is a stylized mark. The most common way to protect a logo is using trademark. Even so, this depends on how the mark will be used. When using a logo as a combined mark, it is enough to use a single combined registration. In instances where the elements in a logo are used separately, each element is registered separately and also in combination (Kemp & Hill, 2005). Copyright registration can also be used to protect a logo. In the United Kingdom, the creator of a work gets its copyright automatically. A contract is needed to change ownership of such a work. In the United States of America, one needs to register copyright of a work through Library of Congress. Proof is needed to stop another individual or business from using another’s logo. This is because the other business or individual could claim that their logo was stolen or copied. Establishing upfront solid evidence is important if logo copyrighted through registration. This evidence would be needed in a court of law when challenging logo infringement (Passman 2012, p.4). A logo can also be registered as a design or a trademark. Registering a logo as a design is more powerful than registering it as a copyright. Registering a logo a design helps deter logo copying. This registration allows a business or individual to stop others from using logos that are too close to theirs even if they did not copy them. In the United Kingdom and in the European Union has an allowance for design registration of logos. The registration is renewable after every five years for a period of twenty five years. Design registration of a logo is given a period of one year after which

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 20

Globalization - Essay Example Modern infrastructure development has helped bring the dream of globalization closer home. Today, Countries no longer make decisions on their own but guided by international policy. The collaboration between nation states of the world means that we are all responsible for the future of this world together. Globalization has economic grounds. Without the financial gain, there is no globalization. However, economies did not create globalization but globalization largely depends on them. Because of technological advancement, globalization is achievable today. International business can be done all thanks to technological progress easily. Technology infrastructure has improved the way we do business and has positive effects on globalization. (Castells, 2006) Business outside the global perspective kills the business driving home the point each company aims at achieving international standards. The nation state is central to regulating the approach to globalization. The world of today is marred by lots of problem. Most of these problems are an identity-related crisis. Religion is as a platform for the war in the Middle East. Religion is but one of the avenues for globalization and cannot be used to advance national let alone international agendas. It is impossible for a nation to read from a confined script on matters nation and at the same time embrace globalization. The Middle East continued conflict is as a result of shutting off globalization and embracing religious backdrops in everything they do. Such restrictions and backgrounds breed resistance not towards religion alone but fundamentalism Europe and America appreciate the fact that slavery helped built the societies we see today in Europe. Slaves from West Africa worked on sugar plantations in the Caribbean Islands. While the slaves provide the labor, the French provided capital and the English machinery and industry. The three worked hand in hand and eventually saw the industrial revolution.

Evolution Theory Essay Example for Free

Evolution Theory Essay Darwin spent five years exploring the world. Darwin traveled to many places mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. As he traveled from place to place, Darwin was surprised, by the similarities between the species. He wrote in his journal of the Galapagos Islands, there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of America, though separated from that continent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in width. At this early stage of his life, along with graduating college Darwin soon began collecting evidence for his theory of Evolution and natural selection. While on his journey Darwin made many observations. They were mainly about the different species he saw on the Galapagos Islands. Each island had a different variation of birds. He noticed that the beak sizes of the finches were different on each island because of the size seeds they ate. Darwin noticed that organisms reproduce more offspring than can survive. Each individual offspring has unique characteristics that can be hereditable. Most of Darwin’s observations focused on the idea of natural adaptions. Darwin noticed that the body parts an animal used the most for survival, evolved over periods of time. Meaning if a giraffe tends to use its neck a lot, it will extend in length throughout time. This is an organism’s natural adaption to, living within its environment. These observations lead to the theory of Evolution. Aside from this Darwin observed the competitive field among organisms. An organism’s physical adaption can either make or break them. Survival of the fittest is key in every habitat. Through evolution, organisms have been allowed to make physical and behavioral adaptions that can be beneficial towards survival. In his theory Darwin states that organisms have visible differences. This difference can be inherited from the offspring’s parents. Another point is that organism’s produce more offspring than can survive. From these organisms that are produced, many do not reproduce later on in life. Since so many organisms are reproduced there is a fight for the survival of the fittest. Individuals best suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully. The characteristics that make them best suited to their environment are passed on to offspring. Individuals whose characteristics are not as well suited to their environment die or leave fewer offspring. Organisms change over time, this is the theory that Darwin tries to prove known as evolution. It is believed that organism adapt t their environment and change over periods of time. The species that live in present day are descendants form those in the past. All organisms on Earth are united by one common ancestor. These are the major points form Darwin’s theory of Evolution. I feel that Darwin’s theory is very accurate. Organisms adapt over time and this adaptions help with natural survival. Evolution occurs over periods of time and has leaded us to our modern state. Every organism is the descendant of a prehistoric ancestor. There are visible similarities, but sometimes it may be hard to tell an organisms’ ancestor. I feel that if changes occur gradually it can be easily noticed that organism’s physical, behavioral and outer appearances change.

Anthropology Concepts Derived from Functionalism and Culture

Anthropology Concepts Derived from Functionalism and Culture Malinowski: His approach to anthropology was based on functionalism and culture. Functionalism ascribes meaning, function, and purpose to the elements within a whole. Culture defines that whole, and it constitutes the entity in which the various functional elements act and are interdependent. Malinowskis understanding of functionalism was in large part derived from a system of balanced reciprocity that he observed while conducting fieldwork. This system is known as the Kula Ring and involves annual inter-island visits between trading partners who exchange highly valued shell ornaments. The goods used in Kula exchanges consist of two types: necklaces (soulava) and armbands (mwali). Neither trade item is particularly well made or crafted of rare materials. He inferred that the principal motivation for the enormous expenditure of time and effort involved in Kula expeditions to be non-utilitarian. In the system, each participant is linked to two partners. One partner trades a necklace in return for an armband of equivalent value. The other makes a reverse exchange of an armband for a necklace. While each Kula partner is tied to only two other partners, each contact has an additional connection on either end of the distribution chain. This eventually forms the Kula Ring and this links more than a dozen islands over hundreds of miles of ocean. Malinowski reasoned that the expense and preoccupation with Kula trade must be functional in nature and most likely served to solve fundamental spatial problems in the Islanders lives. He argued that Kula Ring served three functions in Trobriand society. First, it serves to establish friendly relations among the inhabitants of different islands and maintain a pattern of peaceful contact and communication over great distances with trading partners who might or might not speak the same language. It provides the occasion for the inter-island exchange of utilitarian items. These utilitarian items are shipped back and forth in the course of Kula expeditions. Finally, they reinforce status, since the hereditary chiefs own the most important shell valuables and it is their responsibility for directing ocean voyages. Sahlin Second, symbolic objects and gifts have long been recognized as a form of interartion that can create meaning for group memebers, especially in terms of fostering connection among group memebers or between groups. Polanyi (1944) and Sahlin (1972) showed how, until very recently in human history, was not about gaining profit but about forging and maintaining group solidarity. Marcel mauss: To give, to accept, and to reciprocate. Door Janet T. Landa Malinowski rejected the notion that Kula gift exchanges were motivated by economic considerations. Rather, Malinowksi emphasized that the motives were social and psychological. Thus began a long debate among anthropologists attempting to to unravel the puizzle of the Kula ring. As a result of subsequent work by anthropologists, a view began to crystallize that the instrumental function of the Kula Ring was the creation op political order via the creation of networks of alliances among stateless societeies so as to facilitate commercial trade. This view, implicitly or explicitly, attributed an underlying economic function to Kula gift exchanges and did much to explain a major puzzle of the Kula ring. The anthropological viewpoint – that the Kula gift exchange system creates primitive laws and order in a stateless societies – is consistent with modern PR PC theory, which emphasizeds the importance of institustions in facilitating exchange. Richard Posner (1980) in his ins ightful paper on the economic functions of institutions of primitive societeies, explains the Kula ringa as an institution that facilitated trade. Quoting Belshaw (1965), Posner says: â€Å" The Kula itself wsa not oriented to mindividual trade in ints ceremonial activities. But alonghside the kula persons visiting theru partners took advantage of the oppurtunities to engage in trade. Malinoswki makes point that kula partners would exchange gifts of a trade character in addition to vaygu ‘s (the ornamental objects exchanged in the kula ring), and the szecurity afforded by the partenership would make it possible for the visitor to make contact with other persons in the village and trade with them. An explanation of the Kula ring in terms of its role in facilitating trade, while explaining the major puzzle of the kula ring, leaves unanswered tow other major puzzles of the kula ring – not explained by anthropologist or anyone else. The two puzzled, which this paper will attempt to explain, are 1. Why is the Kula trade organized in the form of a ring of connected partners? and 2. why in the kula ring are there two different ceremonial goods circulating in opposite directions perceptually around the ring? In this chapter we on PR-PC theory of the economics od signaling to develop a theory of the Kula ring that will unravel the Kula puzzles. Fundamental to our theory of the Kula ring is the assumption that transaction costs are positive. The emphasis on the importance of the foundations of modern PR-PC theory and modern monetary theory. Recdently, the insoight that â€Å"institutions matter† in a world with positive transactin costst has been extended to explain certain institutions of primitive societies. The theory of the kula ring presented in this chapter is consisten with the transaction costst approach to intitutions in emphasizing that the kula ring is an institutional arrangement that emerged primarily in orde to economize on transaction costs of intertribal commercial exchange in stateless societies. WAY OF GIVE AND TAKE IN KULA A visiting Kula partner arrives with a â€Å"solicitary gift† (e.g. food) and is given an â€Å"opening gift†, say a necklace, from his host Kula partner, the must be reciprocated woth a counter-gift, an armshell, of equivalent value at a future date. It should be noted that no kula valuables are carried on overseas kula expeditions; the visiting kula partner visits his host partner in order to receive gifts and not to give them. Between any two kula partners, the is an institutionalized delayed reciprocity, involving two opposite kinds of objects. But at the same time, each of these two objects must be passed on in one direction only so that a chain of unidirectional trading kula partners is built up in the kula ring. The global structure of the kula exchange is one that is characterized by cyclical, indirect reciprocation between connected pairs of partners (levi-strauss 1969). Furthermore, a time limit is also prescribed for a recipient of a gift to pass it on to one of his partners: A man who is in the kula, never keeps any article for longer thas, say, a year or tweo. Even this exposes him to the reproach of being â€Å"niggardly† and certain districts have the bad reputationj of being â€Å"slow† and â€Å"hard† in the kula†¦ (Malinowski, 1961). In this Kula gift exchange the equivalence of the closing gift is left to the giver. What are the mechanisms for ensuring that the partners will honor the obligation to reciprocate? Four mechanisms can be identified. 1. Role of â€Å"intermediary gifts†: if a kula partner cannot repay his partner when the latter visits him, he must reciprocate the opening gift with a smaller gift, and â€Å"intermediary gift†, given in token of good faith, which itself must be reciprocated by his partner. Thus the time interval between receiving the opening gift and reciprocating the closing gift is bridged by a series of smaller gift exchanges between Kula partners. 2. Role of reputation: A kula partner who does not repay a gift will eventually lose his reputation and Kula partners. 3. Role of â€Å"give and take† moral code in which the wealthy man is obligated to share wealth: the higher the rank the greater the obligation 4. Role of public magical rites and ceremonial acts: magical rites and public ceremonial acts always accompany an overseas Kula expedition; these rites and ceremonies â€Å"act indirectly on the mind of ones partner and make him soft, insteady in mind and eager to give kula gifts†. Malinowski also suggested the use of sorcery by a kula trader against the defaulting partner. A third set of rules governs membership in the kula ring. Kula exchange is not free exchange between anonymous parties whenever the opportunity arises. Strict rules govern who can enter the Kula ring. To enter the ring, a man must inherit a kula object and magic from his father or mothers brother. Once he obtains a kula object, he can initiate a kula partnership with his fathers or mothers brothers partners or other partners in the kula ring. Once a kula partnership is established, it is a lifelong partnership and is passed on from generation to generation: â€Å" Once in the kula, always in the kula.† Not all East Papuo-Melanasionans in massim, however, can participate in the Kula ring. For example, ceratin â€Å"inferior† sub-clans in Kiriwana are excluded. A man can have few or many partners depending on his rank. A commoner in the trobriands would have a few partners who lived in nearby islands, whereas a chief would have hundreds of partners distributed over several islands. But there is a geographic limit beyond which no kula traders, not even the most influential chief, has any partnerd and the furthest limits of kula partnership are the same for all the memebers of the kula community. Thus, for example, no man in SIneketa has any partners in Kitiva, and no man in S.E. Dobu or Dobu island has Kila partners in Sineketa. Beyond the geographic limit , however, a kula trader still know the mnames of his indirect partners, i.e. the partnersfo his partners.. Participants of the kula ring regard the kula trade as acircular system (Damon 1983). The pattern of kula exchange is ver comples. The simplest structure of exchange would be one in which: If we were to imagin that in the kkula ring, there are many peopke who have only one partern at each side, the the ring would consist of a lartge number of closed circuits, on each of which the same article swould constantly pass. However, the actual structure of the kula exchange is much more complex since Every small kula man , as a a rule, has on one side or the other, the big one, that is a chief. And every chief plays the part of a shunting –station for kula objects. Having so many partners on each side, he constantly transfers an object from one strand to another. EIGEN TEKST (uit boven staande site ge parafraseert) Structure of intertribal commercial trade Anthropologists that studied Malinowskis account of the Kula ring (Campbell 1983; Dalton 1978); Mauss 1979; Sahlins 1969; Uberoi 1971) , feel that Malinowski underestimated the importance of the economical function of the Kula ring, and the way in which it made commercial exchange much easier. Looking closer at the trade process, it is noted that there is a division and specialization of work. Different parties have different specialties for which they are known (e.g. yams, wooden bowls, pots, sago, canoes, etc.), and there is a certain pattern in the different kinds of those finest products that are exchanged between islands in the Kula ring (e.g. yams from the Trobriands against pots from the Amphletts). MAIN POINTS ACCORDING TO MS KOMTER Its all about relationships, social capital. Kula the ring of power, identity/status Identity confirmed by what you receive Will the kula survive ïÆ'   essay question Right of passage Obligations (inner) Generosity ïÆ'   exoectations of return Magic Role of taking risks ïÆ'   negative more important than positive experiences, dare to be courageous. Going through all shit makes you a man. Classical anthropologists and ethnologists like Malinowski, Mauss and Là ©vi-Strauss studied the origins of social order by focusing at a very concrete habit that appears to be wide-spread in archaic society: the exchange of gifts. The principle of give-and-take, or reciprocity, proves to be the main underlying rule, and it is this principle that fulfills a crucial role in creating social ties, trust and community. The exchange of gifts makes possible other types of exchange: of material and nonmaterial goods, services, help and information. These anthropologists not only described the practices of gift giving in great detail but also pointed to their manifold – social, religious, psychological, esthetical, juridical – functions. The functionalist approach exemplified in the work of Malinowski is echoed in Durkheims views on the functions of mechanical and organic solidarity. From the anthropological studies a greater range of possible motives for solidarity can be dis tilled compared to the studies by sociologists. GOOD QUOTES Levi-Strauss: Goods are not only economic commodities but vehicles and instruments for realities of another order: influence, power, sympathy, status, emotion; and the skillful game of exchange consists of a complex totality of maneuvers, conscious or unconscious, in order to gain security and to fortify ones self against risks incurred through alliances and rivalry. Radin 1971: There is no such thing as a free gift Levi-strauss 1969: Exchanges are peacefully resolved wars and wars are the result of unsuccessful transactions.

warriors of god :: essays research papers fc

Warriors of God by James Reston Jr. is a non-fictional view of the third crusade. This particular crusade spanned from 1187-1192, containing many gruesome battles and a lot of intense moments between Islam and Christianity. Reston supplies the reader with a little background to the third Crusade when he talks about the first Crusades happening since 1095. Reston gives a fairly impartial view of this holy war. He discusses the battles, politics, and emotions of the Crusade as an outside party and if he takes any side at all it is with the Muslims. He often speaks badly of King Richard and he speaks well of Saladin, the sultan. He portrays Richard as a greedy, anti-Semite, who is intolerable of other religions, while he shows Saladin as tolerant to the Jews, reasonable, and an overall good leader. Reston wrote this book mostly to inform readers about the third Crusade but also to add some of his own insights. His thesis was a little unclear but he stated that the Crusades were the most violent event in history all the way up to Hitler’s rein. Reston did a good job in proving this when he told of battles and then analyzed them. He told of a time when King Richard had twenty thousand Muslims executed and when Saladin had Reginald of Chatillon beheaded along with many other Christian prisoners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reston is a well established writer, his most famous work being Galileo. Reston made a very extensive bibliography with many primary and secondary sources. He had about forty-five primary sources and about ninety secondary sources so I would say that he is now an authority on the third Crusade and probably all of them for that matter. Saladin says straight out in this historical book that Richard the Lionheart, King of England is a homosexual. This has been debated and so one really knows for sure one way or another so to call him an unquestionable homosexual is a little unusual. Reston says that Richard was gay with his childhood friend who in the future would rule France, Phillip Augustus. This relationship would later come into play in the book when they have to work side by side to overthrow the Islamic Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way that Reston told the story in Warriors of God was very well done. He would tell a chapter from Richard’s point of view and then one from Saladin’s.

Janies Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Janie's Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, there are many lessons on a person's search for identity. Janie's search for identity throughout this book is very visible. It has to do with her search for a name, and freedom for herself. As she goes through life her search takes many turns for the worse and a few for the better, but in the end she finds her true identity. Through her marriages with Logan, Joe, then Tea Cake she figures out what is for her and how she wants to live. So in the end, she is where she wants to be. In Janie's early life she lived with her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny and Janie were pretty well off and had the privilege to live in the yard of white folks. While Janie was growing up she played with the white children.­ While she was in this stage, she was faced with much criticism and was called many names, so many that everyone started calling her alphabet, "'cause so many people had done named me different names." Soon she started piecing together what she knew of her odd identity. Then one day she saw herself in a photograph and noticed that she looked different, that she had dark skin, and she said, "before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah wuz just like de rest." From this point, Janie fell into somewhat of a downward spiral, setting her off of the path toward finding her own identity in society. Finally when she was older Nanny saw her doing somethings under the pear tree that she thought were unacceptable. Nanny quickly arranged a marriage between Janie and a well-off local man, Logan Killicks. In this marriage Janie resisted. She felt as if she was losing her freedom was well as her identity, she wasn't Janie anymore she was now Mrs. Logan Killicks, and she was somewhat obligated to do what he wanted. Not long into this marriage, Janie has had enough, and when the chance to go away with a smooth, romantic man, she takes the chance. The man Janie left Logan for was named Joe Starks. Joe was a smart man who started his own town, Eatonville. In the beginning of her relationship with, Joe, she felt loved, something she never really felt while she had been with Logan. At first, when she ran away with Joe, she felt as if she was finding her new identity, but all there was for her to find was a great maze not always

Condition of the heart :: essays research papers

Condition of the heart. Heart disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and because of this, a variety of conditions tend to occur over time. One of these conditions is atrial fibrillation that, according to the American heart association, â€Å"an estimated two million Americans have an irregular heartbeat† (MNN, 2005). It can be seen at times in apparently healthy people, but generally happens in persons older than 65 years of age, and if they are younger than 65 years old, they may suffer conditions such as hypertension, or coronary heart disease. Atrial fibrillation is â€Å"a common heart rhythm problem† (CNN,2005). People with this condition may have symptoms such as palpitations, which is usually the â€Å"classic symptom†. Some others may complain of shortness of breath, fatigue, dypnea, chest discomfort and lightheadedness (Yee and Rozewicz, 2003). A fib is not commonly life threatening; however, it could lead to complication if not treated properly. Atrial fibrillation may be sporadic or chronic. In sporadic atrial fibrillation, a person may have symptom that comes and goes, don’t last long, and stopped by themselves. However, with chronic A Fib, it lasts until is treated. Some people may have this condition and do not even know it until they go to the doctor for a physical exam. The causes of atrial fibrillation may be difficult to tell. However, in cases such as cardiac surgery, hyperthyroidism, long standing- hypertension, ischemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, tachy-brady syndrome, holiday heart syndrome or moderate to heavy intake of alcohol, and other such as electrolytes imbalance, can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (Hiller, 1999). An according to the American Heart Association, 15% of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation. As a result treating, A Fib is an important way to prevent stroke. (MSNBC, 2005) Normally, in order to pump blood, the heart muscles must contract and relax in a coordinated rhythm; these are controlled by electrical signals that travel through the heart muscle. The heart consists of four chambers, two upper chambers (atria) and two lower chambers (ventricles). The upper right chamber has a group of cells called the sinus node, the hearts natural pacemaker. The node produces impulses that initiate each heartbeat. During normal rhythm, the impulse goes first to the atria, and then passes to the connecting pathway, which is located between the upper and lower chambers of the heart and is known as atrioventricular node.

Evaluate the Possible Ways to Market a New Business Essay

For my business studies coursework, my new business will be a Junior Tennis Academy for talented tennis players aged 3-18. Its name will be named after where it is based, at St Georges College, Weybridge. Therefore its name will be The Weybridge Tennis Academy. It will provide top coaching for young talent, as well as providing state of the art facilities which include four indoor tennis courts, three artificial clay, eight acrylic and three grass courts, as well as a gym where the players can train to help get fitter and stronger to help give them that physical edge over their competitors. We offer these services because tournaments are played on many different surfaces and we need to train our players to the highest possible standard. We also offer a re-stringing service at extremely competitive prices as well as official Weybridge Tennis Academy merchandise supplied by a top sports company, which is available for purchase at a discounted price. These facilities will help the business because ‘Tennis Parents’ will see that our company has better facilities for their child than another tennis academy down the road. Tennis is a very expensive sport, so therefore our business is not only aimed at the players playing, but also the parents paying. Tennis parents are notoriously pushy people and they are usually quite well off, so therefore the more facilities we can offer, the more likely they will come to us. Usually, when money isn’t a factor, people go for the best product, and by offering so many facilities, we have that competitive advantage over our competitors. With our location being in Weybridge, we automatically have good transport links, such as the M25 and Addlestone and Weybridge train stations. This will target all people living in and around London. London is the biggest city in Britain, so therefore we have many more potential customers compared to a tennis academy in for example Northumberland . My business’ aim is to fill a gap in the market. It will meet a demand for a Tennis academy open to all standards, rather than one where you have to be invited to join. For example the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, a 32 million pound facility is only open to players who have been invited. The Weybridge Tennis Academy is open to young players of all standards but with the same facilities as the National Tennis Centre. Therefore many more players will pass through the doors of my academy because it is open to a wider range of players. This will then lead to my business making a profit because there is not any other competition in the local area. During this coursework I will need to investigate the potential market and location to enable me to situate my business in the best possible location to help make as much profit as possible. I will also have to research the local competition to identify my main competitors and the buying habits of the local consumers to see what they look for most when investing in a product. The importance of Marketing Marketing is selling ‘the right product, at the right place, at the right time and at the right place.’ The marketing mix, sometimes known as the four P’s is used to describe the key elements that a consumer wants and needs when buying a new product. I will need to find out what a consumer looks for, and make sure I find the right elements to help make my business successful. My business has to offer the customer a better thing than the local competition otherwise my business will fail. This means that my business will have to offer the customer something that no other tennis academy offers in the local area. This is because obviously if every academy offered the same thing as my business my business would have no competitive edge which will lead to failure. The Weybridge Tennis Academy needs to offer the customer what they want and need. This will then identify the first stage of the marketing mix which is product. The second stage of the, marketing mix is place. Place means how the customers are going to access my academy. There are many factors affecting this decision. It has to be in a place where customers can easily get to, as well as somewhere where there are many potential customers. My business will be situated in St Georges College, Weybridge (hence the name of the business). By being in Weybridge, there are many convenient transport links, such as the M25 or Weybridge or Addlestone train station. Addlestone train station is in fact situated less than a mile away from the centre, which means that there are many good transport links. This will then draw customers in from all around London and the South East. The third section of the Marketing Mix is Price. The Price is how much the product is being sold for. The price is very important to any business because it is normally one of the first things to be looked at when a consumer is considering buying a product. The customer has to think that the business is good value for money, and by comparing the prices of local competition, I will come up with an appropriate pricing method for my business. It is important that I take into account how much the business has cost to build because obviously if the expenditure is higher than the income, I will have made a loss rather than a profit There are many pricing strategies available to me, for instance cost plus pricing, which means setting a price by adding a fixed amount or percentage to the cost of making the product. This means that however much I spend on my Tennis Academy; I will add a percentage of money to this amount and charge the customers that amount. By doing this, I will always make a profit because I will be getting my money back on the expenditure, plus an added amount. The second pricing strategy I could use is to set a price based on competitors pricing. This means that I would look at the price of my competitors’ product and I would make that cheaper or better value to help make customers buy into my product. The fourth and final section of the Marketing Mix is the promotion. Promotion means how your product is shown to the customer, obviously if the customer does not know the business is there they cannot buy it. One example of this is advertising. There are many ways of promoting a business; it could be through a newspaper, television, internet and radio. These are examples of advertising through the media. Another way of promoting your business is through merchandising. This is a crucial way that I plan to promote my business through players buying official Weybridge Tennis Academy Merchandise, wearing it to tournaments and promoting the company through people seeing the companies name or logo on a back of a player’s shirt. Most players at my academy will be competing against players from other academies. This is a way of promoting because other players will see the company’s logo and the tennis parents may well look into the possibility of sending their child to my acade my. However ways such as sales promotion, which could include special offers, price discounts or free gifts, would not be appropriate because my business is looking for long term customer rather than short term customers. To get the best results I will conduct numerous experiments and research which will help me to find what the customers want and need. I will conduct questionnaires, surveys and interviews with other people finding out what they look for in investing in a tennis academy. I will also research statistics such as the number of competing juniors in the south east and also the amount of tennis academies in that area. This will then help me gain a competitive advantage over my competitors. Market Research Market Research is used by a business to try and find out what people want and also what competitors and doing and planning. Market Research helps find out who the customers are, whether they will like the product, how the business can be promoted, how much the customers willing to pay, what type of customer will be interested, how the profile of the customers can be built, whether the business is in the right location and how the products will be distributed. There are two main ways of conducting research. Field/Primary research is used to find out new information, and Desk/Secondary research is useful for looking at an entire market, and analysing trends for future reference. I will use both to research how my business can best achieve its goals and how it can beat competitors to getting customers. Field/Primary research is the process of manually entering the population and asking first hand questions. The advantage of using this method is that it is specific to my business, meaning that it is up to date and relevant. This means that I can ask any questions on any subject, and receive answers that are highly relevant and suitable for my research. There are many techniques which can be used, such as surveys, questionnaires and interviews. I believe that by conducting the research in the area where my business will be situated, I will achieve the most relevant and suitable results. However, to ensure that the data is accurate you need to use large field samples which can be expensive and very time consuming. Desk research is useful for looking at an entire market, whilst analysing past trends for future reference. For example I would have to look at the trends of tennis academies across Britain. Desk research has already been researched and accessed by other companies, so it therefore already exists and therefore it takes no time to conduct or find the data you want. The data can be accessed through the internet, newspapers, government records and market research. Desk research is good because it is easy to obtain and it is cheap. The disadvantage is that it is not specific or relevant to your business. It can also be biased or out of date which severely affects the reliability. I will try and collect Qualitative data so I can then see exactly what people want, as well as their thoughts and feelings. This will then help me know what customers want which will help me gain an edge over the competitors. I will do this by interviewing a select amount of people and finding out what they look for in a tennis academy. The questions asked will be based on how much people will pay, how the location will affect their decision and once again what they look for when investing in a tennis academy. After I have found out the information, I will access it and make it relevant to my business. By knowing what customers look for in a company, I will know what to include when I am trying to promote my business. For instance if a lot of people want indoor courts to make sure that it can never be cancelled or so that there child can play all year round, I will make sure that the fact that my academy has indoor courts is highly publicised. Also, by knowing what customers want, I will have an advantage over my competitors. Evaluation Number of Competing Juniors: Berkshire-149 Essex-343 Hampshire-274 Kent-338 Middlesex-450 Surrey-536 Total number of competing juniors in the south east-2090 Information obtained from www.lta.org.uk Juniors includes all players born in 1990 Tennis academies in the south east: Clive Asprey Tennis Academy-Aldershot Sutton Junior Tennis Centre The National Tennis Centre-Roehampton Win Tennis-Bisham Abbey Esporta-Croydon Westway-London These are all TENNIS ACADEMIES this does not include any ‘LAWN TENNIS CLUBS’. Lawn tennis clubs are open to any people and are therefore not relevant to my business. These academies are my main competitors because it is invitational only. There are roughly 2000 competing juniors in the South East and there are six tennis academies (not including my academy) in this area. Therefore on average there are around 300 children to every academy. Obviously this would not be the case in reality but it gives a good idea of the Academy/Player Ratio. INFORMATION OBTAINED BY WWW.YELL.COM 1st Interview 1) What are the 3 main things that you look for in a tennis academy? The three main things I look for are the ability for the academy to get my child to its full potential, therefore I know that I am paying for excellence and I know my money’s being put to good use. The ability to play all year round is very important because I therefore know that sessions can never be cancelled due to weather and my child can therefore train all year round. Lastly the coaches have to be highly qualified and I would like to know a bit about them so I know that they can emphasize with players when they are going through tough times. 2) How would the location affect your decision of where to send your child? There would have to be good roads such as motorways because obviously I don’t want to be travelling all the time. Also if my child is of an age that he could travel on his own, I would like there to be easy to access buses and trains for him/her to use. 3) How important is the cost of the tennis academy? I wouldn’t mind paying a lot of money as long as the results were shown. Also if I had a younger child, I would want to pay less at first until I see that he/she was improving and that he was committed. As he/she improves I would be more inclined to pay more. 2nd Interview 1) What are the three main things you look for in a tennis academy? I would firstly look at the academy’s credentials, for instance its results of members, and the proof of its results. It would also have to be good value for money, so therefore I would need to be seeing an improvement in my child’s progress. Also the location is important because I don’t wish to be travelling all the time. 2) Why is the location an important factor in choosing where to send your child? I have got a busy life and I don’t wish to be travelling all across the countryside after I’ve had a long day at work. It has to be easy to attend so therefore good transport links are vital. 3) How important is the cost of the tennis academy? Obviously there is the factor of whether it can be afforded but the price is not important. I would have to see that my money is being put to good use so therefore the investment has to match the progress. 3rd Interview 1) What are the three main things you look for in a tennis academy? I look at the facilities of the academy, for instance whether it has indoor courts. I would also like to know the standard of the players that attend the academy and the background of the coaches. The attitude and the atmosphere of the academy are crucial because I have to know where I am sending my child. 2) Is the location an important factor in choosing where to send your child? Obviously I don’t want to be travelling too much and it has to be reasonably local otherwise we’ll spend more time travelling than actually playing. Also I don’t want to be paying a fortune for the transport fees, for instance petrol or train/bus fares on top of the price of attending the academy. 3) Is the cost important? The cost is obviously very important otherwise our whole life would be being run by tennis. I would prefer to pay less at the start and once I have seen an improvement or a commitment start to increase the price. Evaluation of Questionnaires: I have found out that what most people want is value for money. This means that however much they put in, they want out. This therefore means that the more they pay, the bigger the improvement in their child’s ability they would expect to see. Therefore I think I will give special offers to new customers, such as they get the first term half price so that they know that it is what their child wants to do and also if they do not see an improvement they have the opportunity to pull out. This was suggested to the people that I interviewed and it seemed a popular idea. Secondly, they found the factor of indoor courts crucial as that meant they could play all year round. As my academy would have this facility, this is a good thing, however many other academies have indoor courts and this therefore does not separate us from our competitors. Many people thought that the location was an important factor. Many parents have busy lives and they do not wish to be travelling all over the place. My academy is situated in a place with good public transport links, there are two train stations within two miles of the academy, and it is situated two miles from the M25. This was once again explained to the interviewees and they seemed to be in favour of the placement of my academy. Many people didn’t mind about the cost of the academy, as long as they saw the results. This was touched upon earlier and I will use a penetration pricing method, which means that I will make the price quite low at the start to try and draw customers in and then increase it as they see an improvement. This was a major aspect that the people that I interviewed would look for in tennis academy and this will help me gain that competitive advantage. Overall the research I conducted was extremely useful as it told me what customers wanted and needed, as well as giving me statistics that would help me gain a bit more knowledge in this type of business. I found out the amount of competing juniors in the south east, as well as the number of academies. It also told me how customers felt, for instance about the price and location of the academy. The information I have found out will help me in making the decisions about the academy, such as the pricing, structure and promotion of the business. Conclusion/Judgement Overall I believe that my tennis academy will work. There are six full time academies in the South East, not including my one, and there are over two thousand regularly competing juniors in the same area. This means that the ratio of Academies/Players is 6:300. Obviously in reality some academies have more players than others because of reputation, facilities, transport and cost. My academy has state of the art facilities, as explained earlier. It is also situated in a place where there are good channels of distribution and good transport links. This means that customers will be attracted because it is easy to get to. The cost will be determined by a ‘Penetration’ Pricing Method. This means that my prices will be low for new customers, so that parents then know that their child is improving, or enjoying the experience. Most parents interviewed wanted their money to be payed back through improvement of their child’s development. Therefore if I charge low prices at the start, for instance half price for your first term, and the child makes a big improvement, the parent is more likely to want to pay more from then on. If the child does not improve, the parent will then be giving the option of continuing with the programme. This will then help company/customer relations. This will then help my academies reputation, which will then attract more customers. As my academies reputation builds, more profit will come in and we can start charging higher prices. To help promote my academy, I will seek sponsorship from sports companies such as ‘NIKE’, ‘Adidas’, ‘Wilson’, ‘Babolat’, ‘Prince’, ‘Head’, ‘Dunlop’, ‘TTK’ and ‘Lacoste’. I will also sell official Academy merchandise such as training kit, match play kit, and tracksuits which will be worn to tournaments by players and other players will see them. This is a way of free advertising as the children/parents would be paying for the kit and wearing it around showing it off to other players and parents. I will also look to gain funding from the ‘Lawn Tennis Association’ who gives funding to academies that have regularly competing juniors. These are called ‘Satellite Clubs’ and they are given funding which helps pay for the costs of balls, rackets and other training equipment. As my academy builds in reputation, I will look to gain more funding which wi ll help me make more profit. Overall there is a lot of potential in this product. I believe that people will be attracted to my product because of the facilities, meaning the product itself; the price, meaning that I will make it cheaper at the start to draw customers in; the promotion, for instance the official merchandise that will be seen in tournaments; and finally the place; meaning the channels of distribution. This will attract customers because of where it situated, meaning that it is easy to get to. However my tennis academy does have a lot of competition, which means that I will have to use the knowledge that I found out through the market research to help gain the competitive advantage over my rivals.

Why Teeagers Run Away from Home

It is critical that the number of youth who run away from home is increasing at a dangerous rate, and millions of parents suffer every year because their children run away from home. These parents say it is like a never-ending nightmare, and they are left to struggle with the question of why their child would leave home. Too many teenagers run â€Å"from† something rather than â€Å"to† something, but runaway teenagers claim they leave home in search of safety and freedom. Running away from home is usually a quick decision, and that choice is made on impulse rather than logical reasoning.One problem every teenager faces on a daily basis is stressful situations, but this can come to such an extreme that the only choice is to leave. Runaway teenagers are often victims of poor problem-solving, and they do not see alternative solutions other than leaving home. The romanticized view of living on the streets lures young teenagers to leave home, but they do not realize the har sh reality they will face. Teenagers run away from home on impulse, and they think it is easier to run away rather than to fix the problem.There are several reasons children run away from home, but a prominent reason is unstable and stressful family situations. One problem teenagers face these days is that both parents may work, and their mom and dad are not around much. Absence of a parent does not make the heart grow fonder, and oftentimes a runaway will complain that she is not loved anymore. Some teenagers run away as a response to a divorce between their parents. Since they have never experienced a situation like this, a teenager does not know how to react, so they escape to wield power over, get attention from, manipulate, or punish their parents.The death of a close family member can have a detrimental impact on a young teenager, and it can cause them to suffer an acute personal crisis and leave. For many teenagers, death is an obstacle that is hard to deal with, and without coping mechanisms, could quickly lead to running away from home. Major reasons teenagers run away from home are unstable and stressful family situations, and often include lack of parental guidance, divorce, and death of a family member.The main reason why kids run away from home is because they do not have good problem solving skills, and running away from home is an â€Å"either-or† kind of solution. Teenagers run away because they do not want to face something, and that includes unwanted emotions. They are trying to avoid any type of accountability, for the fear of consequences outweighs the possibility of a harsh, real world experience. The adolescent who has run away has run out of problem solving skills, and leaving home seems to solve their immediate problems.Running away becomes a quick fix, and it is the product of black-and-white thinking. If the circumstances are right, a teenager can run away at any time if they do not see an alternative solution. The willingness to leave can develop from a variety of reasons, for teenagers often do not know that what they are facing can be dealt with using other strategies. Running away from home shows poor problem solving skills, and the fear of consequences and accountability, not being able to see alternative solutions, and thinking it solves immediate problems are all signs of poor problem solving.Another factor is that teenagers often idealize running away, and they develop a romanticized view of life on the streets. Teenagers think that if they leave home, they will have all of the freedom they have ever wanted, and that they can control what happens to them. For some, running away makes them feel free, unsupervised, with no curfew hours, homework, dress code, and eating habits, but some just seek adventure and are pressured by their peers.Teenagers always want to find their own answers to their own problems, and this often leads to arguments between parents and children. Running away seems to offer a rebellious teen the chance to make choices for themself, and this thought is very tempting to many. Runaway teenagers have a very glamorous view of an independent life style, and they do not realize the struggles they will face. They have a naive picture in their head of a world filled with nice, fun, harmless people, but in reality, one is always cold, hungry, and struggling.Teenagers think to highly of a life away from home, and this is because they are naive, looking for control, and they want to make their own choices. Running away from home seems like an adventure or the key to freedom, and as if â€Å"no one can tell me what to do. † Unstable family conditions are often the cause of teenagers running away from home, and for many teens this is a difficult obstacle to face. A teenager who runs away from home is often a victim of poor problem solving skills, and they are looking for an easy escape from their problems.Teenagers are intrigues by the thought of living on the ir own, and often times have a romanticized view of a harsh and cruel world. Any child can run away at any time if the circumstances are right, and if they are under enough stress, any kid can justify running away. Do not forget that running away is like any other action, so in order to do it, one needs the ability, the willingness, and the opportunity. Kids have to ability and opportunity to run every day, so all it really takes is the willingness to do it.

Meaning of Life and Success Essay

Success is a person or thing that desired aims and achieves or attains fame or any form of accomplishment which will always make them proud or happy at the end of either the day, month or year. The word success was originated in the mid-16th century from a Latin word successus and a verb succedere meaning come close after. When I hear of the word success there are two things that come in mind, hard work and determination. Hard work is one of the main and most important building blocks in my success foundation. Working hard is one of the best and most accurate ways to think about being successful. Success cannot be earned unless you strive and work hard for it, because it is a word that comes with work and if work is not done then the meaning of the word can’t be accomplished. Like Einstein said â€Å"If A is a success in life then A equals x plus y plus z. work is x; y is play and z is keeping your mouth shut† for instance to me as an athlete working hard and in playing hard rather than running my mouth are the best way of being successful in game point stands in my career. Determination is a very critical and important aspect when it comes to success. To be determined to achieve any goals or aims is a very important choice of being successful. Bertrand 2 Determination can to be physically, spiritually and emotionally which all combines with hard work and if you combine both hard work and determination together you will always get a good result of success. Being successful in life can be one of the precious and happiest moments in life that can last for a long time if and only if you do what is expected of you to keep the success going on. Success can be advantageous in many ways; Accomplishing a goal, moving on to a new goal, brings happiness and fulfillment, set new and personal records, inspire, motivate and give you strengths to aim high and set bigger goals. But it’s not always everybody that’s successful that is happy or satisfied with their success. The isn’t that much difference being successful than being a failure, like the good old quote that say â€Å"the difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength not a lack of knowledge, but rather the a lack in will† this quote is very simple and well understood and the quote’s point is clearly pointed out, which state the main difference between a successful person and others which is the will to be the successful person that they are. To be successful person there should be some sought of guidelines to help you achieve or attain success. Thinking about success also brings about the thought or idea of failure â€Å"In order to success your desire for success should be greater rather than your fear of failure†. An important and inspiring quote as this from one of the favorite, idol and inspiring actor in the movie industry and in the society should and is been considered by a lot of fans to be very important in achieving success rather than having the fear of failure because his path of success has given or got him to where he is at the moment.

UK’s Barclaycard and the Need to Outsource

In the 21st there are two terms that keep on buzzing in the headlines: globalization and global telecommunications. These two are related because if technology continues to improve then the whole planet goes high-tech – each person beginning to realise that the world is shrinking and every year or so improvements in mobile communications, the Internet and the proliferation of wireless devices makes it easier to communicate with one another. One major implication of technology change is a concept called outsourcing.This idea is nothing new but UK’s Barclaycard is just one of the many global corporations that acknowledges the need to outsource. But it is not as simple as that, Barclaycard had to make a difficult decision, to choose between two places where they can outsource a portion of their operations – whether to ship some of their work to India or the Philippines. Overview According to Richard Bolin, Director of The Flagstaff Institute, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA , the phenomenon of outsourcing is nothing new and even as early as 20 years ago there are industrialised countries who made the connection between outsourcing and profitability:Japan intentionally got rid of sewing factories to Southeast Asia by 1981. They couldn’t waste their precious labour supply on low value sewing operations. This is what outsourcing is all about. If a company does not outsource, it will die. And if its country does not find new industries to replace the inefficient ones, it will not attract new investment and better jobs. Everybody has to understand this (Bolin). Bolin is just one of many business leaders that place their faith in outsourcing and believing that this strategy is not a threat to the nation’s economy.In the long run it will benefit the economy because it will create a very efficient system where the following positive outcomes can be expected (Brown, 2005): †¢ Increase sales opportunities †¢ Prevent missed opportunities à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Reduce annual costs almost immediately †¢ Enable business to focus on core competencies †¢ Reduce or eliminate customer complaints †¢ Increase customer loyalty In a nutshell, outsourcing is the obtaining of services from an external source, outside the company.A more technical definition uses the term Business process outsourcing (BPO), â€Å"†¦BPO occurs when an organisation turns over the management of a particular business process such as accounting or payroll †¦ the underlying theory is that the BPO firm can complete the process more efficiently† (Brown, 2005). It is easy to comprehend that if global corporations fail to figure out the beauty of outsourcing then they will be left behind by their competitors.They will eat the dust left behind by those who were able to grasp the idea that allowing others to do low value operations is the future of effective business management. It is similar to hiring a driver to do the more redundant work of driving in order to free up the CEO to do more important tasks. The positive feedback is the main reason why business process outsourcing is such a hot topic in the world today. But it does not mean that everything will turn out to be great whenever a company decides to outsource part of its operations overseas.There are obviously so many things to consider. Each case must be treated separately and a thorough analysis of the operation, the core values of the company as well as pertinent information regarding the outsourcing destination must be considered prior to the decision to shut down one portion of the operations component of the firm and outsource it outside the country. Barclaycard UK A casual overview of companies that decided to outsource part of their operations overseas will reveal that most of them have a common denominator.These companies are either in the manufacturing industry or it is a business that relies heavily on Information Technology. Those in manufacturing w ill find the conditions in China particularly attractive because of the availability of cheap labour as well as the competitive costs of building and maintaining factories. Those in need of IT personnel will turn to India simply because this is a nation where there is a relatively high concentration of English speaking people that are at the same time tech-savvy and many are knowledgeable about current trends in the IT sector (Pogson, 2008).Barclaycard is one European powerhouse that could not afford not to outsource. Barclaycard is part of the Barclays Group a conglomerate that can be found in the United Kingdom. It is Europe’s largest multi-brand credit card and also provides other forms of consumer lending businesses. Barclaycard continues to lead the way in Europe and according to their official press release they are the most recognized brand in UK with over 10 million retail customers.But they are still expanding – there are currently 8. 8 million credit cards in issue outside the UK and the firm also maintains operations in over fifty countries and four continents. According to another expert, outsourcing is unavoidable and yet he cautions that it must be likened to a journey, requiring adequate planning and coordination (Pogson, 2008). This is especially true for Barclaycard. It is not an ordinary firm responsible for the manufacture of cheap products.It is a company that handles a very important aspect of European business which is the issuance of credit cards and various lending services. In other words this is a type of business that requires high level thinking and performed by not only the most technically proficient people in the planet but also those that have the highest integrity. There are three possible destinations if Barclaycard decides to outsource part of their least important operations outside the country there are three possible candidates: India, Philippines, and the Republic of Ireland.Considering first the Republic of Ireland, it is easy to gauge that it will not be as cost-effective as transferring the operations to India or the Philippines. The only possible advantage is that the Republic of Ireland is culturally similar to the UK and the English speaking inhabitants will never pose a problem in terms of communication. But other than these two considerations, it is doubtful if Ireland can compete in terms of outsourcing rates when comparing the wages of workers in Europe to those in Asia. Considering India It is not hard to put India on top of the list.There are many advantages of using the skilled workforce of India to tackle the outsourcing needs of Barclaycard. According to finance experts at Moody’s, â€Å"India will remain a top outsourcing destination because of its tech-savvy and English-proficient urban workforce whose wages are much lower than their western counterparts† (Moody’s Investors Service, 2009). The nation has a population of more than one billion people . From this number there are millions of educated English speakers entering the workforce each year (Kobayashi-Hillary, 2004).The Indian workforce provides a compelling argument as to why Barclaycard should outsource to India. Trevor Foster-Black is the managing director of Coalition Development, a UK research company that provides information to recruitment firms and he remarked that their company uses researchers from India to structure and format data and he adds, â€Å"It would be very difficult to find such high-calibre people to do similar work in London †¦ They arrive at 4am our time and everything’s finished by the time we arrive† (Kobayashi-Hillary, 2004).It is truly amazing to realise that the location of India can be a source of another advantage; in essence Barclaycard’s operations can be sustained 24 hours a day and seven days a week due to the time differences. If Barclaycard will use the same strategy in their UK offices they would incur sign ificant costs in terms of payroll alone. One can only imagine the numbers that will be generated by overtime and other costs related to keeping an operation functioning round the clock.But if they will outsource to India, the executives at the UK headquarters can send part of their workload to their people in India and they can work while the executives are going to bed. This ensures that workflow is not interrupted and therefore Barclaycard can achieve cost-efficiency very quickly. If Barclaycard will outsource all of its call centres to India then the same level of efficiency and cost savings can be expected. The English speaking workforce in India will ensure that credit card holders can be assured of easy access to customer representatives 24/7 wherever they are in the world.The low outsourcing rates in India will also allow Barclaycard to maintain a 24 hour cycle operations without downtime and therefore Barclaycard is just a phone call away whenever a customer encountered prob lems with their credit cards. Barclaycard will definitely find it worthwhile to invest in India but globalization as well as rapid development in technology can create weakness out of strength. This means that India can be a victim of its own success. According to one commentary there are two issues that concerns would be investors: 1) security; and 2) the unravelling of a top IT service provider, Satyam.These problems are forcing European companies to create more geographically dispersed portfolio of IT outsourcing providers (Overby, 2009). India is bordered by Pakistan on one side and one only has to remember Pakistan’s association with extremists groups to understand the spate of terrorist attacks in India. It is high time therefore to consider an alternative and a quick glance at Asia will reveal that there is none better than the Philippines. Considering the Philippines There are many advantages in choosing this country as a BPO destination and these are listed as follow s:1. Outsourcing rates are low and can easily compete with those of India; 2. Transportation such as flights coming from the Western hemisphere is arguably better than other Asian countries; 3. It is culturally compatible with the United States because it was a U. S. commonwealth in the early 20th century up to 1946; 4. English is widely spoken and can be considered as the second national language; and 5. The most successful outsourcing engagements in this country are for call centres (Mezak, 2006).If seems that both countries are evenly matched in many aspects pertaining to BPO. The Philippines can boast of a highly-skilled workforce considering that it has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia, even higher than India. The only reason that India can offer more tech-savvy workers is due to the fact that there are a billion people in India while the Philippines has only less than one hundred million people. But in the English department both countries can provide excellent servic e.When the Americans came to this nation in the early part of the 20th century the country was exposed to world class education systems and even if the Americans left in the middle of the 20th century the Filipinos were able to adapt and they were able to create a system that can produce top calibre graduates annually. But there is one problem with the Philippines, â€Å"†¦it is the lack of skilled project management and experience with large software development projects †¦ it is easier to find body shops offering programmers than vendors with well-structured and well-managed teams of programmers† (Mezak, 2006).This is where India has a clear advantage over this tiny island nation. Yet, again the Philippines will not give up that easily, based on a 2007 report, Barclaycard already closed its call centre in Manchester and since the Philippines excelled in this type of business process outsourcing then it must be considered as a future destination of Barclaycard†™s call centres. Conclusion Without a doubt, outsourcing is a must if a global conglomerate hopes to stay competitive in the 21st century.If one considers outsourcing, there are three things will easily come to mind, cost-efficiency, cost-efficiency and more cost-efficiency. There is no executive in this planet that will pass up the opportunity to streamline operations and make more money in the process while retaining customer loyalty through the creation of customer friendly operations. With globalisation comes wage increase and various overhead costs that can easily force a company to bankruptcy if excess fat is not trimmed down.Instead of reducing the size of the company it is much better to outsource. With the advent of modern technology and the efficiency of 21st century transportation services it is easy to do business on a global scale. Barclaycard is just one of the many European powerhouses eager to outsource and there are three destinations: the Republic of Ireland, the Philippines and India. The Republic of Ireland already dropped out of contention considering that it is located in Europe and logic dictates that competitive outsourcing rates can only be found in Asia.Considering the fact that Barclaycard is into the credit card business and that outsourcing requirements entails the capability to provide English speaking and tech-savvy personnel there are only two remaining contestants bidding for the rich rewards of outsourcing contracts – India and the Philippines. At first glance it seems that India is the best choice for Barclaycard. This is because India has already proven itself in the BPO business especially in the IT sector which is a major requirement for Barclaycard.It boasts of English speaking and tech savvy personnel that can easily handle communication needs of the said UK firm. Moreover, if there is a need for programmers, the ability to communicate with English speaking Indian programmers are a definite advantage as compared to the hassle when communicating with programmers from other countries with poor English proficiency. There are other non-tangible advantages for India. While the Philippines was under the control of the American in the early part of the 20th century, India was for many centuries under the hegemony of Great Britain.If the Filipinos were heavily influenced by American culture, Indians were heavily influenced by British culture. As many will know there is quite a difference between U. S. English and U. K. English. If this is an important consideration for Barclaycard’s outsourcing needs then India will win hands down. If one combines this with the technical capabilities of Indian workers then this combination of factors will be very difficult to beat. On the other hand India has its share of weaknesses. India is suffering from a bad image following the debacle of Satyam, one of India’s top IT providers.The scandal that hounds Satyam will easily make future investors une asy with the idea that they are placing all their eggs in one basket. If this is combined with the recent spate of terrorist attacks then capital flight will most likely follow. If there are less investors willing to invest then India’s IT infrastructure will not be upgraded and more bad news will follow. The security threat is also serious because outsourcing is a strategy with inherent risks and yet CEOs are willing to beat the odds with the promise of profitability and efficiency.But if terrorist attacks will continue then there is a chance that operations can be affected. Barclaycard could not afford to lose one day of inactivity due to security problems. It is therefore logical to consider the Philippines as an alternative. It is also a nation blessed with English speaking and tech savvy personnel. Furthermore, the Philippines is lagging behind India thus it will remain competitive with its outsourcing rates to attract more customers and investors. If Barclaycard will ch oose the Philippines then it can expect more savings and therefore increase the satisfaction of key investors.On the other hand the Philippines is not yet ready to wrest the crown away from India. The debate will never end. There are strengths and weaknesses for both countries but it seems that Barclaycard has spoken. Two years ago Barclaycard made an important decision, â€Å"Barclaycard will move some of its operations to India following the announcement it is to close its Manchester call centre this summer† (Ferguson, 2007). While the Philippines is also strong in the call centre industry, India can provide something that is beyond the grasp of the Philippines.It is a country that is culturally similar to the United Kingdom and therefore the Indians are more adept with UK English as compared to the Filipinos. Furthermore, India was once under the domain of Great Britain and therefore Indian laws and their current legal system closely mirrors that of the UK and so for Barcl aycard it can be argued that it is easier to do business in India as compared to the Philippines. References Brierley, S. (2005). The Advertising Handbook. UK: Routledge. Buttle, F. (1996). Relationship Marketing. UK: Paul Chapman Publishing, Ltd. Brown, D.(2005). The Black Book of Outsourcing How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ferguson, T. (2007). â€Å"Barclaycard Closes Call Centre, Offshores to India. † CBS Interactive Retrieved 09 March 2009 from http://services. silicon. com/ offshoring/0,3800004877,39166239,00. htm Kobayashi-Hillary, M. (2004). Outsourcing to India. Germany: Springer-Verlag. Mezak, S. (2006). Software Without Borders. California: Earthrise Press. Moody's Investor's Service. (2009). â€Å"India to Remain Among Top Outsourcing Destinations: Moodys.† Retrieved 09 March 2009 from The Economic Times. http://economictimes. indiatimes. com/Infotech/ITeS/India-to-remain-among-top- outsourcing- destin ations-Moodys/rssarticleshow/4241062. cms Overby, S. (2009). â€Å"Philippines Looks Beyond the Call Center for Future Outsourcing Growth. † Retrieved 09 March 2009 from CIO Magazine http://www. cio. com/article/483178/Philippines_Looks_Beyond_the_Call_Center_for_Fut ure_Outsourcing_Growth Pogson, I. (2008). Outsourcing from the UK to the Far East. In Outsourcing and Human Resource Management R. Taplin (Ed. ). UK: Routledge