Thursday, October 31, 2019

Urban Issues in Canadian Cities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urban Issues in Canadian Cities - Essay Example Canada is a highly urbanized country, with the majority of its population being city centered in the world. The issues that Canadian cities face on an urban level are divided into three main categories social, economic and ecological. All these play a major role in the overall urban growth of the area. A good interlinked transport system is one of the most basic requirements of a good urban space. Since interaction is one of the most important factors to let the urban environment flourish, a nicely designed transportation system is the backbone of an urban environment. (Le Gates, 2009) There has been a greater increase in population in Canada after the year 1996. More people have started to move into the cities and hence the economic and social factors are changing too, there has been an increased demand. There are basic elements that define a good urban space, legibility, permeability, variety, robustness, richness and visual appropriation. Any urban space can be analyzed with respect to these elements. Keeping the Canadian Cities in the view, one can look into the urban space that is offered by these cities. First of all, let’s look into what these elements mean. Legibility is basically defined as the ease with which one can understand the layout of the space; this includes both the physical form and activity patterns. Permeability both visual and physical describes the level of penetration that an urban space offers. A good urban space usually has the higher level of legibility and permeability. Variety includes both the visual elements and the mixed land use that break the monotony of an urban space. Robustness is basically the quality of urban space that allows multiple uses of the same space, more or less appropriateness. Richness is the quality of build environment in the urban space, whereas the visual appropriateness means how the visual elements can add up to the other elements  of urban design. (Alto, 1993)

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Business strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business strategy - Essay Example The country has high political stability. However, the government has imposed certain trade regulations. For example, there is a strict restriction on the import and export of raw materials used for automobile manufacturing. Economical Factors: - The economic factors play an important role in the success of an industry. The economy of Japan is said to be highly stable and the country is currently witnessing an economic boom. The current GDP of the country is $5.984 trillion and the per capita income is $36,200 (CIA, 2013). The figures clearly reflect the robust nature of the economy of the country. The strong economy of the country is a positive indication of further growth of Honda in Japan. Social Factors: - The total population of the country as of 2012 is 127,368,088 (CIA, 2013). The major religion of the country is Shintoism which nearly accounts for 83.9 %, while Buddhism and Christianity accounts 7.14% and 2 % respectively. The major language is Japanese. The literacy rate is 99 %. In addition studies suggest that people of Japan are extremely passionate about cars. Hence the societal factors of Japan are extremely favourable for Honda’s business. Technological Factors: - Technology is a crucial factor for every business. The importance is more when it comes to the automotive industry. Honda depends heavily on technology to manufacture its products and market its products. In addition, technology is playing a critical role in the research and development function of the company. However, the favourable factor is that Japan is a technologically developed country and offers a strong technical infrastructure for the companies doing business in Japan. Environmental Factors: - With increasing awareness of environmental sustainability, car manufacturers are forced to come up with products which are eco friendly. Moreover, due to global warming, the Japanese government has imposed several restrictions on the use of petroleum products. This is why Honda h as come up with eco friendly cars such as Honda Hybrid. Japan has a different weather pattern and climate, which can negatively affect the engines. Hence, the weather of Japan can be a possible threat to the company. Legal Factors: - There are strict regulations imposed by the Japanese government on the automobile industry. Most of them are related to the safety of passengers, and welfare of the employees. In addition, there are some restrictions with import and export products to USA. Porter’s 5 Force Analysis Porter’s 5 forces model is another strategic management tool used to analyze the attractiveness of an industry. In this context of the study, Honda belongs to the automobile industry of Japan; hence the automobile industry of Japan will be evaluated. The analysis is presented below: - Force Density Properties Bargaining Power of Buyers High The principal reason behind this is the availability of a large number of car manufacturer and marketer in Japan Bargaining Power of Suppliers Low Suppliers of raw materials of the automobile industry are in large numbers. However, there are certain accessories which can be imported from some other parts of the world but due to stringent trade regulations; companies are bound to dependent on local suppliers. Threat of New Entrants Low The initial investment required to set up an automobile business is very

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Strategic Management at Sainsburys

Strategic Management at Sainsburys Introduction The word â€Å"strategy† is often over-used in a fuzzy manner. Therefore this simple and straight-forward definition of strategy given by William E Rothschild, the business leader and an ex-General Electric veteran is one of the best available. He defines strategy as â€Å"What do you want to achieve or avoid? The answers to this question are objectives. How will you go about achieving your desired results? The answer to this you can call strategy.† The highlight of this definition is that it clearly distinguishes strategy from â€Å"objectives.† This assignment examines strategic management at Sainsburys, during various booms and busts from the days of its launch till date. The analysis is done within the various conceptual frameworks of strategic management in general and Michael Porters five forces model, in particular. Strategic Management An articulate, well-laid out and well-executed strategy is the cornerstone of long term prosperity of any business. Strategy operates at various levels, starting with Business or Corporate strategy. Since the ultimate goal of a business is to gain leadership position in one or the other form, business strategy shapes marketing strategy, competitive strategy and growth strategy. Corporate Strategy This is an organisation wide strategy that directs and controls the composition of all business activity. It starts with a clear and quantified mission statement. This area is a preserve of top management. Decisions are taken on: How resources will be allocated across the organisation Portfolio of activities for the firm Clear definition of the objectives One of the key ingredients of good strategic management is organisational leadership and its ability to clarify strategic intent. Driven by vision, it is â€Å"an articulation of a simple criterion or characterisation of what a company must become to establish and sustain global leadership.† (Source: Pearce et al pp 340). Competitive Strategy In an ideal situation of a monopoly, competitive strategy has no significance. But in reality this is never the case. In near perfect competition, leadership position comes to a business only by gaining sustainable advantage over its competititors. At times this also determines the growth paths that a business should take. For instance, evaluating a move away from core competence into a completely unrelated business, or initiating take-over of another business that can offer synergies. The five forces model Michael E Porter proposed the five forces model in 1980 in his book â€Å"Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors.† In this widely respected and accepted framework he suggests that there are five generic forces that act upon a business irrespective of what industry it operates in. These forces are: Competitive rivalry within the industry between existing businesses: The significance of this force in a sector such as the UK grocery retail sector, with large number of players, is the erosion of loyalty because of perceived commoditisation. Threat of new entrants: If the barriers to entry are low because of low capital investment or lack of regulation, it can create further pressure with price cutting. Bargaining power of suppliers: Leads to lack of control over the supply chain Bargaining power of customers: Erodes loyalty and causes switching Availability of substitutes: Once again erodes customer loyalty and causes switching. This is a real pressure on UKs retail sector. To counter these forces and gain competitive advantage a firm can adopt either or a combination of two business strategies: Comparative advantage / cost leadership: This emerges from economies of scale. It is a firms ability to source and produce at cost which is lower than its competitors and therefore earn higher margins. It does not necessarily mean offering lower price in the marketplace. Differential advantage / differentiation: Is a firms ability to create a unique perception about itself vis-à  -vis its competitors in the marketplace. It allows a business to cultivate loyal segments of customers. Sainsburys Background Founded and launched in 1869, J Sainsburys PLC has as rich a history as modern London. John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury launched their first store named Sainsburys at Drury Lane and quickly expanded to a chain of four shops by 1882. â€Å"Throughout companys history, the Sainsbury brand has been synonymous with good-quality, well-presented products, with 50 and 60 per cent of the range being sold under the various versions of Sainsburys brand.† (Source: Varley). An average Sainsburys supermarket today stocks approximately 30,000 products 50% of which are its own label. The company not only wants to deliver high quality products but also wants to be seen as doing this by its customer. (Source: Thompson et al pp 192). The mission of revival: In the last decade, the company has lost its leadership position to Tesco and ASDA.. Currently it has between 16-17% market share, and is placed at third position. In 2004, there was a change at the top level. In 2005, its new chief executive clarified the companys strategic intent by launching an organisation wide revival programme â€Å"Making Sainsburys Great Again† and announced a mission of increasing sales by  £2.5bn by the end of 2007-08. As a result of this turnaround program, at the end of this financial year, Sainsburys â€Å"has reported sales growth ahead of expectations.† (Source: BBC New Website) Competitive strategy: If history of successful businesses is analysed, it will clearly emerge that winners are in the top slots because of the risks they have take. Businesses hungry for long-term success identify gaps and problem areas and attempt to provide solutions to their customers. Leaders at the helm do this with a combination of instinct backed by objective analysis of emerging trends. This is precisely what Sainsburys did in an extremely tough economic and social environment during and after the World War II when external forces were threatening its existence. In a pioneering move in the UK market, the grocery chain re-engineered its store operations by adopting the American format of food-retailing. Its first â€Å"selfservice† store launched in 1950 immediately after the World War II, when food and other resources required for subsistence were scarce, became a success because it solved a major problem faced by customers it busted shopping queues. (Source: Sainsbur ys website). Such moves are evident through out its existence and its march towards becoming one of the best known retailers in the history of British business. Sainsburys today: A move towards consolidation and growth The company plans to focus on three of its core areas: Sainsburys Supermarkets, Sainsburys Online and Sainburys Bank Steps taken since 2004 in the retailing business: Price reduction across a number of products. Improving availability. Introduction of over 3000 new items. Introduction of nutritional labelling branded â€Å"Wheel of health† on over 1500 products. Introduction of â€Å"Try cards† under the slogan ‘Try Something New Today built on healthy eating plank. The initiative aims to add value to the food shopping habits and changing food consumption habits. Its success measured by â€Å"over 7 million ‘Try cards picked up in stores.† Engaging its 3500 smaller scale suppliers by launching a campaign â€Å"Supply Something.† The initiative is aimed at making local supply chain robust. Increasing non-food product categories especially to generate a minimum of  £700m sales. Initiating community participation programs such as â€Å"Active Kids campaign† involving donations of equipment to schools. Attempting to become a responsible corporate citizen by setting targets of reducing carbon emissions and introducing re-cycling. The company has a sourcing office in Hong Kong â€Å"Sainsburys serves 16 million customers each week in 455 supermarkets and 301 convenience stores across the country. The company employs 148,000 colleagues commited to delivering ‘Great Food at Fair Prices.† maintains the companys official website. All the above activities are aimed towards gaining either diffrential or cost leadership or a combination of both. The future There is an increase in sales in the grocery business over the last financial year amounting to Pounds 324 million a growth of 458.6% over 2006. However financial services that accounts for just 1.7% of the total sales has seen a fall of 11.8% over 2006. The organisation states one of it values as â€Å"Getting better Every Day.† In the current tight economic scenario, Shareholders are expecting most of the retailers to use their real estate assets for generating additional liquidity. But in a move completely reverse of the expectation, Sainsburys has tied-up with their lessor British Land. â€Å"Sainsburys also announced it was teaming up with British Land to create a  £1.2bn joint venture to run 39 superstores across the UK. The supermarket says it will invest  £273m into the venture, in which it will have a 50% stake. The stores are currently owned by British Land and leased to Sainsbury for 20 years.† (Source: BBC News Website). Land is the fundamental element in a large scale retail business and store location, store design and merchandise are all important critical success factors. It can be safely concluded that this recent collaborative move by Sainsburys is a deliberate long term. By investing in developing its stores, it can further hope to get a differential advantage over its competitors.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Lack of Man in Lac Léman Essay -- Literary Analysis

The narrator of Hubert Aquin’s novel Next Episode cannot breathe; he’s drowning. The author presents water as a deadly force that has the ability to stifle life. Aquin employs the characteristics of water to represent the narrator’s inability to express his national identity and therefore himself. Multiple symbols are used throughout the book, such as fire and ice, but water is an overpowering and important aspect of the book because it conveys a sense of inertia in the individual. This notion of water is connected to the repression of Quebec nationality. The book discusses water in a variety of different contexts: as the primary foundation for the story (as interpreted by the translator), as a metaphor for self and as a replacement for language. Water, weaved into a nationalistic allegory, is given conflicting attributes and is both a life giver and life taker simultaneously. This double approach to the basic element of water embodies both his drive to express h im nationality and his incapacity to authentically vocalize his own existence. The tale begins below the waters of Lac Là ©man, as the narrator states â€Å"it’s in the area of this invisible lake that I’ll set my story† (4). The lake is central to the story, as it is this water (or water which flows from it) that he speaks of in terms of the self and language. The place names of this body of water are also significant for French-Canadian nationality. The translator Sheila Fischman has as much literary power as the narrator. This is because without having read the French edition of the text, the English edition modifies meaning concerning the image of water. Fischman does this by consistently using the French name for the lake â€Å"Lac Là ©man† instead of using its English name â€Å"Lake ... ...erves to corroborate the asphyxiation of a definitive French-Canadian national narrative. Water at once embodies the narrator’s want to express his nationality and personal identity, but also his inability to do so. Ultimately, Water becomes a type of liquid courage for the narrator that never produces substantial results, so he looks towards a future revolution to conceive a genuine national identity. Works Cited Aquin, Hubert. Next Episode. Trans. Sheila Fischman. Toronto: McClelland & Steward Ltd. 2010. 1,4, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24-25, 46, 49, 52, 53, 67, 74, 84, 122, 128. Stewart, Susan Louise. â€Å"Beyond Borders: Reader ‘Other’ Places in Children’s Literature.† Children’s Literature in Education 39.2 (2008): 95-105. 98. Springer E-Books. Proxy. Queen’s University Lib., Kingston. 1 Nov. 2010

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Trade Union and Human Resource Management

Rebore, R. W. 2001. Human Resources Administration in Education: A Management Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Buletin Stiintific; Dec2010, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p121-128, 8p, 1 Diagram, 2 Graphs De Cieri, H & Kramar, R 2008, Human resource management in Australia, 3rd edn, McGraw Hill, Sydney. Diane Kubal; Michael Baker; Kendra Coleman Performance Improvement; Mar 2006; 45, 3; ABI/INFORM Global Text book Maffei, Steven1 Review of Business; Fall2010, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p91-97, 7p Becker,BE,Huselid, Ma & Ulrich, D 2001, The HRM scorecard: linking people, strategy and performance, Harvard Business School Press. Kleynhams R. , Markhan L, K. , and Van S. , Human resource Management, 2nd Edition, Person Prentice Hall, South Africa(2006) Oliver,Richard(1980), ‘A cognitive model of the antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions’ , Journal of Markting Research, 17, 460-469 Russell S. Winer(1987), ‘A Framwork for the Formation and structure of Consumer Expectations: Review and Propositions,’Journal of Economic Psychology, 8,3, 469-499 Webb S. ,& B. (1896). History of Trade Unionism, London: Londman Pongpangan, A(1979). Labour union: Background, concept and structure(translated from Thai title). In â€Å" Labour relations class material†, Bangkok: Chulalongkom University. Tosuwanjinda, V (2002). Labour relations: The key to the cooperation between employers and workers (translated from Thai title). (5th Ed. ). Bangkok: Nititham Press Wilawan, K. (2007). Labor relation(translated from Thai title). (10th ed) Bangkok:Winyuchon Press. Greenwood, M. , and H. De Cieri. 2006. Stakeholder theory and the ethics of human resourcemanagement. In Ethics in human resource management and employment relations, eds A. Pinnington, R. Macklin and T. Campbell, 119–36. Oxford: Oxford University Press Maltby, J. , and R. Wilkinson. 1998. Stakeholding and corporate governance in the UK. Politics 18(3): 197–204. Journal of Advertising; Summer2009, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p37-51, 15p, 1 Diagram De Witt, R (1993). The structural consequences of downsizing. Organizations Science, 4(1), 30-40

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

My Roles as a Teacher Essay

My role as a ICT tutor, sometimes requires me to be mentor or even an absent friend to support my learners emotionally through their learning. All of this provides me the means to enable learning to the best of my ability. I have a responsibility to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills they require to become effective learners. Also the responsibility to meet the high standards of professional and ethical behavior required by the learner, and my profession itself. The responsibilities listed below provide guidance for me as a teacher. * To demonstrate the highest standards of professional behaviour, exercise professional judgement and act in a considerate and sensitive manner when interacting with students, or caregivers, staff and the public. * To be conscious of the need for equitable treatment of all students, including those with disabilities or other special needs; to meet the individual learning needs of students and assist each student to maximize his or her learning outcomes. To be familiar with the provisions of legislation relevant to my official responsibilities. * To perform my duties efficiently and effectively and with honesty, integrity and fairness at all times * To ensure that decisions are made fairly and conveyed promptly both within the Department and to those students and members of the public who have a right to know. * To use information gained in the course of employment only for proper and appropriate purpose. To use public resources economically * I must not, under any circumstances, have sexual relationships with students. It is irrelevant whether the relationship is homosexual or heterosexual, consensual or non-consensual . The age of the students or staff member involved is also irrelevant. * I must not, under any circumstances, engage in conduct of a sexual nature with a student. Improper conduct of a sexual nature by me against a student includes sexual intercourse and any other form of child sexual abuse (which must be notified) as well as but not limited to: inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature; obscene language of a sexual nature; suggestive remarks or actions; jokes of a sexual nature; obscene gestures; unwarranted and inappropriate touching; sexual exhibitionism; personal correspondence with students in respect of my sexual feelings for the student; and deliberate exposure of students to sexual behavior of others. Prescribed medications and non-prescribed medications (such as analgesics) should only be administered in accordance with departmental guidelines. You must not give students alcohol or other drugs, or encourage or condone the use of alcohol or other drugs by students. * I must not, under any circumstances, use any form of discipline that includes any threat of physical violence or harm, corporal punishment or engage in any form of behaviour which could cause physical, emotional or psychological harm of any kind to students. Several examples of good or acceptable behaviour Teacher-student relationships †¢ Participate in social contact with a student only after obtaining informed consent of the student (and principal where appropriate); such contact includes meetings, sporting events, phone calls or electronic communications, e. g. , emails and text messages; †¢ When acting as a student’s mentor, develop a relationship with clear professional boundaries that cannot be misinterpreted as a personal, rather than a professional, interest in the student. If a student develops a ‘crush’ on you, inform a supervisor, so independent, sensitive advice and support are available; †¢ Praise and recognise all students when appropriate, so they all feel fairly treated. †¢ Physically contact students in a way that makes them comfortable, e. g. , shaking hands, a congratulatory pat on the back. †¢ To be alert to cues from students about how comfortable they are in your proximit y and respect individual needs for personal space. †¢ Be aware of cultural norms that may influence interpretation of your behaviour towards students.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Fifty-fourth Regiment of the Cival War Essay Example

The Fifty The Fifty-fourth Regiment of the Cival War Essay The Fifty-fourth Regiment of the Cival War Essay The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Union army was thefirst Negro regiment in the Civil War.They were formed in March of 1863, and were organized at Camp Meigs in Readville, Massachusetts, right outside of Boston.The fifty fourth regiment proved that the Negro man could fight and was willing to fight contrary to popular demand. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves of the rebelling territories in the south.Then In January 1863 the War Department authorized Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts to raise a regiment of Negro soldiers in his state (McPherson 173).During thefirst six weeks only one hundred men from Massachusetts volunteered.After the poor turn out Governor Andrew made up a committee to raise money for the recruitment of Negro soldiers.Then in February of 1863, Governor Andrew appointed Shaw as the colonel of the fifty-fourth Massachusetts.All of the offi cers of the fifty-fourth were also white. Shaw was a twenty-six year old member of a Boston abolitionist family.All of Shaws officers were white abolitionists. After the recruiting process was over all of the Negroes were sent to Camp Meigs.The fifty-fourth started their training on February 21, 1863.Soon after the men of the fifty-fourth started their training they were told that they would get paid ten dollars per month instead of the thirteen dollars they were promised during recruitment.Shaw then wrote Governor Andrew insisting that his, entire regiment including white officers, would refuse pay until his soldiers were given the same payment as all the other Massachusetts troops. Yet Congress did not enact legislation granting equal pay to black soldiers until June 15, 1864. (Kashatus American History)After the Negroes had started their training the Confederate Cong

Monday, October 21, 2019

Should Canada and the US trade essays

Should Canada and the US trade essays Should Canada and the US trade with China? With all the civil rights abused in China, should the Canada and the US be trading with them? In the view of one side, we should not trade with China because of these abused rights. It is thought that if we stop all trade with them, we will have an impact on their economy and they will at least cut down on their civil rights abuses in order to regain our trade and economy. But the view of the other side believes that if we keep trade with China, we can have an impact on their abuses through political pressure. Which side is correct? It is argued that trade with China is not helping the to eliminate their abuse on civil rights, rather supporting them because we are not penalizing them for their abuses, only doing what they want, investing money into their economy. The question could be raised is about how important trade with China is to our economy, and with China being twenty five percent of the worlds population, it is a very big market, and we gain plenty from this market, so how can we afford to miss out on this market. So how does trading with China help to eliminate the civil rights abuse? When our Priminister or the United States' president go to China to talk about trade issues or to have other political meetings, they also plan their trip to include talking to China about their civil rights abuse. This is one way that we can put political pressure on China. This leaves us with the question of weather or not these talks actually accomplish any thing. After all, when we talk to them about the abuse instead of pulling out some of the investments in their economy, do they just listen and tell us what we want to hear for the time, or do these talks effect them? Say we were to think that pulling our trade and investments out of China would impact them, it defiantly would, and surly would hurt their economy and make them think about decreasing if not eliminating the civil rights ...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Blockbuster Hbr Case Essay Example for Free

Blockbuster Hbr Case Essay One of Blockbuster’s biggest value drivers is geographic location. Most people, especiall in urban areas live pretty close to a Blockbuster location. Availability of titles is also a value driver that not all video stores can provide. Their reputation is also a value driver. Economies of scale are one of Blockbuster’s largest cost drivers. The ability to negotiate with movie studios with leverage while their competitors can’t as effectively win lower prices for inventory purchases gives a huge advantage. The aforementioned reasons are ammunition to defened against competitors. Geographic location and leveraging the brand name recognition are two of the most important advantages that Blockbuster has that none of its competitors can easily overcome. After the formation of Blockbuster, the first major technological substitute to come along was the DVD (the digital versatile disc) and the DIVX (digital video express disc). There was a fierce battle between these two rival substitutes as they waged war. Both were looking to become the sole technology that would replace VHS. Blockbuster remained on the sidelines for the first few years after these technologies were introduced even though 8 major motion picture studios had committed to either DIVX or DVD (6 for DIVX and 2 for DVD) Once Antioco had made a decsion as to back DVD for a multitude of reasons, Blockbuster’s decision would lead to the demise of DIVX. Antico decided that DVD offered the most promise. They were more widespread, DVD player units were more readily available and they were cheaper. About a year after Blockbuster decided to back DVD, Circuit City decided to give up on the DIVX technology. Blockbuster also faced competition from consumer’s decsion to buy DVDs as opposed to renting them(sell through). Antioco saw this as a potential threat and decided to sell through used DVDs at a discount at Blockbuster stores. Along with some promotions, such as a free rental with the purchase of a movie, Antioco’s plan was expected to triple Blockbuster’s share of the video sales market. In 2003 Disney developed a technology much like DIVX called EZ-D. The plan was eliminate the return of rented videos as the disc would be discared 48 hours after opening because a chemical would render it useless. The technology ultimately failed as Blockbuster did not back the technology because for just a few dollars more (EZ-D discs retailed at $5-$7) consumers could outright purchase a DVD with unlimited use. One of the newest substitutes to threaten blockbuster is online video sales. This market is cannabilizing Blockbuster’s sell through numbers and Blockbuster is countering with their own online sales. Another is home delivery service. Even though this service had promise with more than a few firms, they all failed for a multitude of reasons and never posed a real threat. Netflix, a video subscription service with no late fees is also a substitute that Blockbuster is facing. After much initial success, Blockbuster decided to start their own subscription pricing model in which consumers can pay a flat fee each month for unlimitied rentals at their retail outlets. Eventually adding the feature where consumers can opt to either receive/return the discs through the mail similar to netflix or to receive/return them at a retail location to satisfy an immediate need. This option gives them a competitive advantage over Netflix. Blockbuster Hbr Case. (2018, Oct 22).

Friday, October 18, 2019

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned Speech or Presentation

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned - Speech or Presentation Example The data came from a random survey of 100 participants who actively exercised daily. They were asked to list the main form of exercise they partake. Their weight as well as the average hours of work out per day were recorded and the calories burnt computed based on the averages reported on literature. In particular its expected that a person weighing 70kg would burn 560,490, 245 and 420 calories by running, jogging, walking and cycling for one hour respectively. Statistica analysis was performed using simple tools such as graphs, table of summaries, correlation analysis and regression analysis. To begin with, the distribution of respondents with regard to their main form of exercise is summarized by the pie chart below. In this case, there were equal numbers of respondents per form of exercise (Kutner, et al., 2005). A summary of the various parameters of interested is presented in the following table. It is clear that the average weight of respondents was about 80Kg in all the categories. Moreover people worked out an average of 3.5 hours per day burning 1000 and 2600 calories. A look at the trend in the calories burn out for various forms of exercise was done by plotting line graphs. To begin with, a line graph of calories burnt against the hours worked our is presented hereunder. On average, the more hours of cyclingp, the more calories are

Comparison of Plato and Confusius and Their Contemporary Relevance Essay

Comparison of Plato and Confusius and Their Contemporary Relevance - Essay Example This opposition is important as they can be contrasted to see the differences in the worldviews that were held in these civilizations at that point of time. Both these philosophers offered different viewpoints to the existing ones and they served to challenge the existing hierarchies in certain ways. They were however, used later on, to enforce the hierarchies that were practised by the state. Thus, even though they are separated by a great geographical and cultural distance the two works do exhibit certain similarities that place them together as two of the most important philosophical treatises to have come out of the ancient world. This paper shall seek to compare and contrast the works of both these philosophers and analyse their contemporary relevance. The paper shall also seek to analyse the different emphases of the two authors and how the ideas that the two philosophers talk of is relevant even for the people of today. This, the paper shall argue is the main reason for the ti meless appeal that is a characteristic of both the works of philosophy. The paper shall look at the Apology, Crito and Gorgias by Plato and the Analects of Confucius for a discussion of the views of the two philosophers. Plato placed great emphasis on the life of the human being as an individual. He sought the development of the individual. He did not propose the development of the individual at the expense of the state. He however, did propose a certain degree of independence as far as mental activity is concerned when it came to the individual and the state. This can be seen in his mockery of the apparatus of the state when it came to his trial. These events are talked of at great length in Plato’s Apology. In this tract, he laments the lack of individual freedom that is provided by the state to its citizens. Such a lack of freedom would result in the intellectual stagnation of the people. This is what had happened to people of Athens, according to Socrates. They had become used to the ways of Athenian society and were reluctant to change themselves. The people had forgotten to question traditions. Such questioning was what would lead to a better society and better individuals, according to Socrates. This is what he seeks to covey to the court when he talks of how it would be futile to look for men who are more knowledgeable than him since he was one of the few people who had accepted the fact that he was not wise. By this he seeks to make it clear that what he knew was not sufficient but only a beginning. His attempt is to make clear the infinite nature of knowledge and expose the hollow claims of knowledge that were made by his contemporaries. He thus, seeks to say that knowledge should bring in people a recognition not of their worth but of their worthlessness. This, according to him would be a true lesson in humility. He explains this in this passage, where he describes his encounter with a person who was considered to be very wise- So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is - for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him. Then I went to another, who had still higher philosophical pretensions, and my conclusion was exactly the same. I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him (Plato).

Analysis of Leadership and Management Research Paper

Analysis of Leadership and Management - Research Paper Example Hence, change is a continuous process in an organization. It acts as an effective tool, which helps the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Change is possible only when the employees are ready to accept the change. Therefore, change leads to the transformation from the old state to the new state, which helps an organization to understand its external and internal conditions. (Collett, n.d.). Successful change management requires employees support and top management support. When the change cannot be managed in a systematic way, there will be a decline in productivity and quality. Therefore, while implementing the change generally people are not mentally and physically fit to accept the change because employees are shifting their old way of doing the things and thus there will be lack of confidence and disloyalty among the employees. Last but not least change will lead to an increase in absenteeism. In case of effective change management, there will be an increase in pro ductivity and organization standard, the employees will start contributing ideas and providing solutions towards the problems, employees’ interest, and motivation level rise up.  Ã‚   To exist in the competitive market, an organization needs to bring behavioral change in employees in order to help them to adjust to the new organizational culture. Therefore, change focuses on creating a new product. For example, Tea Gardens, Jute Mills etc are lucrative organizations but they have been changing from hand to hand perhaps because the new ones are not competent like the earlier ones. That is how changes are continuously going from years to years. Change always requires an extra effort to learn new things since it provides an opportunity for people to feel responsible for the accomplishment of work. From the theories and models of the change management, we generally develop our understanding of planned organizational change. According to Kotter’s framework, change management focuses on increasing employee motivation and encouraging him/her to adopt the change (Heathcote & Taylor, 2007, p.2-7). The reason behind the successful organization change is strong leader ship and educating the employees about the change that will occur in day-to-day activities of the organization. Kurt Lewin represented the three-stage process of change in order to bring the change in the organization. His model is, known as Unfreeze- Change – Refreeze. At the Unfreezing stage, the managers educate the people about the change.  Ã‚  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Direct & eMarketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Direct & eMarketing - Essay Example To assert that the internet is just another channel to market is an understatement. It has revolutionized the way in which marketing is done. The advent of the New Media and Internet has increased possibilities of online marketing and internet retailing with new features of interactive shopping, pod casting and e-marketing. Consumers are connected to online shopping sites with WiFi, Internet or 3G mobile phones. E commerce has taken a new dimension in retailing with increasing number of people shopping online and even making flight bookings online (Papers4you.com, 2006). There is a range of access platforms such as web, e-mail, mobile phones and interactive digital TV that comprise the online channels which e-marketers use to build and develop relationships with customers. E-marketing, as specialists of CISCO puts it, "is a generic term utilized for a wide range of activities - advertising, customer communications, branding, fidelity programs - using the internet. More than the simple development of a website, e-marketing focuses on online communications, direct dialog with consumers who thus participate to the creation of new products, finding efficient methods to win customer's fidelity and ease their business-making process. eMarketing is the sum of activities a company makes with the purpose of finding, attracting, winning and retaining customers" (Otlacan, 2005). Accordingly, e-marketing allows relational exchanges in digital, networked and interactive environments. As a way of online shopping, e-marketing include service providers selling services and retail businesses selling items to customers and auctioneers as well who create marketplaces where citizens can buy and sell goods through the internet (Summers, Smith, et al, 2003). The tools used are a wide array of electronic possibilities that very much involve electronic mails. Practical illustrations of how internet marketing works are observed in the processes on which eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon.com undertake to facilitate its business. People who've got used to eBay don't often stop to think how amazing it is - an online marketplace where you can buy things from all over the world, without leaving your home. You can get things that you would never think anyone would bother to sell, and you can get them cheaply. The powerful search engine means that you can find things you'll like without even knowing exactly what you're looking for. Customers can buy goods from these online shopping sites by logging on to their websites (www.ebay.com). As online retailers, these businesses provide customers with pictures and descriptions of the products posted for sales transactions. In the case of Amazon.com, customer reviews of their books in addition to the book descriptions are provided. The sales process is conducted with the use of credit cards. Customers are required to enter the information from the credit card into the computer. With the information coming from the credit card, the modem sends out the details to the financial institution. Credit card is undoubtedly the dominant method of payment used to shop online. As the popularity of online shopping grows, many online retailers have increased their credit card security on their websites. Online retailers use encryption technology to make credit card information more secure and provide the padlock or unbroken key symbols in the

Occupational Health and Safety Management Essay - 1

Occupational Health and Safety Management - Essay Example Occupational health and Safety management promotes a safe and sound working environment for the workers and also ensure health to them. Safety and health of the employee are crucial to any organization as it is directly related to the productivity of an organization. According to (BIS,2010)â€Å"Health and safety are important aspects of an organization’s smooth and effective functioning. Good health and safety performance ensures an accident-free industrial environment†. As the working environment becoming riskier, all organization are more aware of the health hazards looming around them and hence implements an OSHMS to ensure safety and security of the employees. â€Å"OHSAS 18001 is designed to place a proactive and preventative emphasis on risk control factors by identifying and assessing the likelihood of hazards in the workplace. OHSAS 18001 can be implemented by organizations of all sizes and in any industry†(TUV). When an organization conforms to the stan dards and regulation of OHSM then the employees, clients and all people related to the firm are ensured safety. The OHSM initiated occupational health and safety policies, plan them effectively, implement it and also monitor and take corrective action. They make sure that the organization consistently follow their guidelines and make improvement in the work place environment. The OHSM also implement conditions on the site layout in case of construction companies in order to avoid fatalities and risk.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Analysis of Leadership and Management Research Paper

Analysis of Leadership and Management - Research Paper Example Hence, change is a continuous process in an organization. It acts as an effective tool, which helps the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Change is possible only when the employees are ready to accept the change. Therefore, change leads to the transformation from the old state to the new state, which helps an organization to understand its external and internal conditions. (Collett, n.d.). Successful change management requires employees support and top management support. When the change cannot be managed in a systematic way, there will be a decline in productivity and quality. Therefore, while implementing the change generally people are not mentally and physically fit to accept the change because employees are shifting their old way of doing the things and thus there will be lack of confidence and disloyalty among the employees. Last but not least change will lead to an increase in absenteeism. In case of effective change management, there will be an increase in pro ductivity and organization standard, the employees will start contributing ideas and providing solutions towards the problems, employees’ interest, and motivation level rise up.  Ã‚   To exist in the competitive market, an organization needs to bring behavioral change in employees in order to help them to adjust to the new organizational culture. Therefore, change focuses on creating a new product. For example, Tea Gardens, Jute Mills etc are lucrative organizations but they have been changing from hand to hand perhaps because the new ones are not competent like the earlier ones. That is how changes are continuously going from years to years. Change always requires an extra effort to learn new things since it provides an opportunity for people to feel responsible for the accomplishment of work. From the theories and models of the change management, we generally develop our understanding of planned organizational change. According to Kotter’s framework, change management focuses on increasing employee motivation and encouraging him/her to adopt the change (Heathcote & Taylor, 2007, p.2-7). The reason behind the successful organization change is strong leader ship and educating the employees about the change that will occur in day-to-day activities of the organization. Kurt Lewin represented the three-stage process of change in order to bring the change in the organization. His model is, known as Unfreeze- Change – Refreeze. At the Unfreezing stage, the managers educate the people about the change.  Ã‚  

Occupational Health and Safety Management Essay - 1

Occupational Health and Safety Management - Essay Example Occupational health and Safety management promotes a safe and sound working environment for the workers and also ensure health to them. Safety and health of the employee are crucial to any organization as it is directly related to the productivity of an organization. According to (BIS,2010)â€Å"Health and safety are important aspects of an organization’s smooth and effective functioning. Good health and safety performance ensures an accident-free industrial environment†. As the working environment becoming riskier, all organization are more aware of the health hazards looming around them and hence implements an OSHMS to ensure safety and security of the employees. â€Å"OHSAS 18001 is designed to place a proactive and preventative emphasis on risk control factors by identifying and assessing the likelihood of hazards in the workplace. OHSAS 18001 can be implemented by organizations of all sizes and in any industry†(TUV). When an organization conforms to the stan dards and regulation of OHSM then the employees, clients and all people related to the firm are ensured safety. The OHSM initiated occupational health and safety policies, plan them effectively, implement it and also monitor and take corrective action. They make sure that the organization consistently follow their guidelines and make improvement in the work place environment. The OHSM also implement conditions on the site layout in case of construction companies in order to avoid fatalities and risk.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Speech - The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

Speech The Meaning of Life Essay Is human life just a dream, from which we never really awake, as some great thinkers claim? Are we submerged by our feelings, by our loves and hates, by our ideas of good, bad, beautiful, and awful? Are we incapable of knowing beyond those ideas and feelings? Is the reality we know a reality imposed to us by nature? Are the reality and the meaning of life a creation of men, such as music, or love or colors? When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity that lies before and after it, when I consider the little space I fill and I see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am unaware, I rest frightened, and astonished, for there is no reason why I should be here rather than there. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time have been ascribed to me? Love gives meaning to our lives as do friendship, or art or faith in God. These are factors of true happiness, of inner peace, of feelings of harmony, allowing meaning to our existence. But there is the other side. There is the cruelty of life, the pain, the evil, not to talk of death. When the Tsimtsum sank, not only was Pi shoved face to face with the unknown, but he also lost his family, the core of his human context. Instead, he had to try to survive. Life of Pi is a story about struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable odds. Throughout the novel, characters are seeking the meaning of life. Pi abandons his lifelong vegetarianism and eats fish to sustain himself. Orange Juice, the peaceful orangutan, fights ferociously against the hyena. Even the severely wounded zebra battles to stay alive; his slow, painful struggle vividly illustrates the sheer strength of his life force. As Martel makes clear in his novel, living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes heroic things to survive. However, they will also do shameful and barbaric things if pressed. Exactly like humans. It is between these pendulums the positive, the one that gives happiness and meaning, and the negative that our lives are lived. And when we meditate about all that, we arrive at a diverse and disagreeing set of thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention. I hope I have clarified the thoughts of some, to be aware of the vast world we live in and the astounding beings we truly are. Speak to others of your thoughts and knowledge; I am sure they will be willing to listen.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Advertising Revenue In Print Media

Advertising Revenue In Print Media When discussing the advertising as a revenue tool for the investments in the print press industry, we must have a deep look in the advertising industry and all the forces that forms the market and drive the investors to invest their capitals in the print press industry and the revenue is one of the factors which attract investors to access the market with high expectations for a great rate of revenues for their investments. Around the world, the Print Press industry is growing as a source of information and knowledge in the life. The Print Press organization is considered a corporation for good investments and good revenues. The unique factor about the Print Press is that the unlimited source of finance and funds based on the values of the suppliers, the advertising is one of the most popular forces in the Print Press industry which give it good revenue for the business. Therefore, the Print Press allows the high risk investors to transfer their investments into a high revenue market with excellent profits and exchange rates for the stockholders. The press industry is an effective element in the markets and in the daily life of all countries and people. In the researches there have been indicators to tell the benefits of the advertising revenues for any type of industry, the newspapers and magazines are publications containing news, information, and advertising. General newspapers have articles about political events, crime, business, art, entertainment, society, and sports. The traditional newspapers contain columns expressing the personal opinions of writers, with sections for advertising and comics. In 1990s, the availability of news via 24 hours TV channels and the Internet posed an ongoing challenge, while the advertising revenue makes up the bulk of most newspapers income which has been shifting from Print Press to digital media, and result a big decline in profits. A large number of newspapers and magazines worldwide had launched their online versions in order to follow ahead or stay with audiences. The cheaper print press increased literacy with growing in the emerging of electronic media and the newspapers are continued to grow. The main revenues for the Print Press come from advertising, the contribution from sales; the newspapers generate more than 80% of revenues through the advertising activities, and the remaining revenues from the sales. When there are no advertising, it is called editorial contents, which means the articles in the newspapers and its guests or writers when they express their opinions. The newspapers have many traditional advertisers, and there are many different channels for these advertising to come to the newspapers, by direct request, or agencies. Due to the press industry consolidation, the advertisements are much less to give the required revenues, and the newspapers are seeing these advertising shifting to the new media platform. The categories of advertisements are shifting into many types of digital websites, auto sites, and TV channels. With the new technology in our lives, the advertising media are varied and include the internet websites, rich media platforms and mobile networks. Recently the advertisement industry is mostly recognized as opposite editorial contents which pay a fee to be included in the newspapers. The advertisers include their products or techniques such as new design for advertising, and promotions for the customers. It is usually closer to the press release than the objectives of newspapers story. Introduction Advertising process is a form of communications which include the product name or the service name and how could they be benefit for the consumers. That process is often attempt to affect the potential purchase behaviors of customers towards a particular products and services. With the variety of advertising methods and types, the modern marketing and the use of information technology is affecting the purchasing decisions made by customers and lead the market forces to make some revenues for the producers. The main targets of commercial advertising are to increase the rates of consumptions of their products and services, which will increase the advertising revenues for the producers, and enhance the image of the products and services in the market to encourage the customers for more consumption. There are several elements and factors influence the advertising procedures and trends in the market. The different types of media in advertising could be used to deliver the advertising message to the customers; this message includes the image and benefits of the products and services. Traditional media of advertising may be placed by agencies on behalf of the companies or the organizations. Many organizations spent a specific amount of money on advertising and promotion items other than the consumed items or services which could include third party in the advertising or interest groups with targets of controlling the market trends towards their benefits. The money which is spent is indicating the size of the advertising industry and the revenues of them throughout the Print Press. The advertising communication is used to influence the individuals to purchase a specific product or service, or support a political ideas, it could be displayed on newspapers, magazines, and other digital types of advertising. According to a study by Booz Company, thanks to the bold steps taken to promote innovation and efficient management of more aggressive cost on the basis of the success of new strategies, media organizations may be able to prepare a better future. There are two major powers reducing the profits of the print media. The first is the continuous change in the areas of expenditure which marketers focus away from the paid advertisements in favor of other priorities advertisements from outside the budget, what would be a major amount of marketing expenditures when the economy recovers. The second orientation, which toppled the long-term profitability of publications, it is the birth of digital media. Literature Review Literature Strategy In the study, there are some important concepts to put in concern with all the other principles of the advertising researches, these concepts are related to the literature review of the Print Press. Starting from the first step of planning to plan for the study, then starting to plan the research and beginning to collect information for the study, all these steps and phases required for the literature caring and planning. The study of effects of advertising on the revenues of the print press industry is involving with all the strategic decisions and marketing plans for the most benefits of the advertising. This study will be more effective with help of the marketing researches and activities too. Only the start which is considered a critical phase to decide the segment of customer who the message from the advertisements are going to be focused on, and the researches will indicate the effects of the advertising as whole on the print press and all types of media. Generally, it could be relatively related to few of the newspapers which have revenues under certain amount of money, and use the responsible departments for performing these researches to increase the income for the newspapers. However, a variety of elements and factors are affecting the size of advertisements in a newspaper than another. Among some studies and researches, we have to introduce some unique services and products in order to attract the consumers and readers to purchase the products or use the service that will increase the size of advertising and the benefits for the newspaper from these advertisements. So, the strategy for literature marketing researches must be aware of most of the factors for the market forces, and the other effective elements for perfect planning and introducing the best plan of advertising revenues. The availability of marketing solutions to enable the media to focus on the broader marketing budget, with a bigger share of the budget information paid. And provides research networks and paid advertising is an effective way at the level of cost for marketers to guide the public about their methods of electronic marketing of certain goods. The building offers a wider range of solutions for marketers an opportunity for media organizations to compete more according to their own laws with research networks and advertising. They can strengthen the relationship with the more committed audience, and thus to get deeper information for the conduct of the consumer, and enhance their level of development of the content up to consumers and serve their interests. The publishers also have the opportunity to attract spending marketed through paid advertisements in the media to help marketers build their brands, through marketing solutions that help marketers build and electronic means for the mar keting of certain goods of their own. Advertising Industry In the advertising industry, all the managements of the print press are working together so that they can manage a strong strategy for the increase of the size of advertisements in the newspaper, the design of the advertising and the contents of the advertising are going to be determined by a shared members of both sides the newspapers and the producers. Customers trends are changing and the advertising message should meet these changes and encourage the customers to head towards these products or services in order to encourage the producer to advertise again and again. The actions by customers towards specific advertising are going to determine the ability to make the advertising again or stop it and change to another media, besides the message contents and the products brands or the services quality all these elements are going to affect the size of advertisements in a newspaper. Advertisers need to advertise their products and services to others to establish relations of reciprocity, mutual interests, and mutual benefit, the form and manner that is consistent with the nature of the times, and by relying on a Bellman, who was dispatched from the rulers of the kings and princes, who was wandering around the market brings people around the drum to tell them his message, and resorted to this activity class referees calls that have been used to deliver orders and decisions to the masses and to determine their approach to the authorities in order to achieve the Governor demands of them, the traders hire roaming the streets calling for advertisers on the arrival of ships and goods. Within the tenth century AD became advocates widespread phenomenon in many European cities. These traders were hired to guide customers to their stores and give them an idea of the prices of goods and the store, as well as trade and economic activity back on the market, which was working hard as he could to attract people to his merchandise and tell them their advantages and disadvantages, and hide the stock extent possible so that people deny it, that is publicity in the beginning took the form of oral audio. In the view of most historians that the external signs on the shops are the first forms of advertising, he has used the Babylonians, who lived in what is now Iraq for signs of such propaganda to their stores since 3000 BC. Advertising Plan The main strategy for advertising is the strong marketing plan for the print press organization or the newspapers and magazines. With a strong marketing position and good marketing team, the newspaper will be able to attract many advertisers in order to put their advertisements in the newspaper. The current researches are targeting the description of the advertising method or the advertising plan, but the deep looking here is about advertising campaign which will lead to excellent revenues for the producers and the newspaper. Starting with this point, the current researches aim to contribute a descriptive study of the situation of the print press sector, by describing the advertising portfolio of each of the firms in the sector, and looking at the changes the companies have made in recent years. Thus, these researches are adopting the product image as its unit of analysis from which to analyse the sectors situation and the trends in its evolution. Integrated advertising plan is the key to success and should include market research, customer groups that targeted by competition, positioning, product or service they sell, pricing, and marketing. Begin advertising and planning, advertising effective current information about the market. Study the ads of other projects in community, and consult with any professional associations related, help us with this interactive tool to assess the strengths and weak advertising. Pricing Strategy It is most important factor affecting the advertising size in a newspaper, when they set the pricing for advertisements they must be careful and consider the market with competition and set the acceptable range of prices which will be accepted by the advertiser. The strategy for pricing the advertising products and services depend on different segments and channels for the evaluation of the changes in the market. These changes might need to be affecting the prices and also gain more segments form the market. The prices are very effective in advertising and the size of advertising in the print press, the changes in the market will lead to changes in the organization strategy and pricing strategy to be more flexible in order to meet the needs of both customers and producers. When the producer is known with all the prices of the market, he will be considered with the size of the advertising and the content of the message he want to deliver to customers, it will indicate the ability to take the advertising or delay the advertising for another time. The researches distinguished between different pricing strategies, such as high promoter and low promoter organizations, without relying on product differentiation considerations. A segmented switcher perspective enables us to resolve some varied results found in previous models. There is one way available to the printed media in order to cope with their own business models for success in marketing the new digital environment, and through four strategies as a minimum: Deepen relations with readers on the target areas of concern. Focus on the flow of revenue outside the framework of marketing and trading. Redesign of the content delivery model (with a special focus on reducing costs) and the emphasis on content-profit article written for the unique and reflect the brand. Innovation of new products and pricing models. Marketers are aware that the leading force in the launch of digital media to communicate with consumers. And spend the companies that offer e-marketing offers for certain goods such as blogs and mobile applications more money on these offers, compared with other digital ads. And often are designed electronic means marketing of certain goods to attract registered users. The media printed a special relationship with its readers who trust the content of publications and appreciate its credibility. The sites of high-quality e-enable the printed media to develop a close relationship with its readers: consumers become more committed and willing to recording and exchange of personal data for the meeting offers for them. The challenge of media organizations on how to increase offers new content and consumer-oriented, without the added costs beyond to create content and difficulty of operational income scalability that can be achieved. I tried some media organizations to enhance the value of online advertising for the brand by directing them towards the target groups of the public. In the coming years, there will production for the majority of revenue in the digital media for advertising and sponsorship. However, the increase of income by the name of the registered user may play a vital role in creating flows of income and achieve an overall growth of vinegar faster. And media organizations can continue to pursue these sources of revenue in the digital arena with the recognition that there are limitations to the size of the public who can attract in the case imposed a tariff on content to consumers. Research Methodology Advertising researches are special type of studies which are specialized form of marketing researches; they aim to improve the efficiency of the advertising according to the market trends. These researches are focusing on a specific advertisements or campaigns, or may be directed at a more general understanding of how advertising works or how consumers use the information in advertising. There are different types of advertising researches, such as customized advertising and syndicated advertising; the first one is conducted for specific clients to address the client needs. The second type of researches is single research study conducted by a research company with its results available, for sale, to multiple companies. Before the advertising researches, the media used for advertising such as radio, TV, print, outdoor billboards, or Internet, these methods would apply to gather the required information for testing the benefits of the advertising before starting advertise. The focus is on what the advertising will do for the product or the service and the increase of revenues from advertising for the print press. In our research about the advertising and its effects for the print press industry, we are going to follow several methods of data gathering and analyzing, all the information related to the advertising and the print press industry, which will lead us to the desired results and approaches form the study. The essential facts her are that we have an important role for the advertising to refresh the market and increase the sales for specific products or services, the size of the advertising is effective element for the revenues of the print press for these advertising. There are many different ways to perform the advertising researches, most the organizations are using one or more of the several basics of the advertising researches or methods of advertising, such as: Surveysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ With questionnaires and concise, we can analyses the groups that represent the target area in the market. When increasing the size of the sample of questionnaire, the results of the questionnaire will be dependable. The surveys are working very fine for the researches and studies, which make it a powerful tool in the advertising methodology. Focus Groupà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is a moderated method using the scripted series of questions or topics which lead to discussing among a group of people. It is usually lasts one or two hours and it takes at least three groups to get balanced results. Personal Interviewsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Similar to the focus group, but include the unstructured questions, and usually last for about an hour. Its a valuable insight to customers attitudes and excellent way to uncover the issues related to advertising and new products or services development. Observation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The individual response to surveys and focus groups are sometimes at the actual behavior of customers everywhere. We observe the actions and reactions by several methods to give more accurate picture of customers usage habits and shopping patterns. Questionnaire Successful newspapers measure the profitability of their advertising, territories, customer groups, and segments. This information helps management determine whether any products or advertising activities should be expanded, reduced, or eliminated. The first step in marketing-profitability analysis is to identify the functional expenses such as advertising and delivery, incurred for each activity. Next, the newspapers measure how much functional expense was associated with advertising through the advertising campaign. Third, the newspapers prepare a profit-and-loss statement for each type of advertising. Print Press and Media organizations can follow the tracks consumer shift focus to new flows of income resulting from the readers rather than to produce for marketers. But these challenges even greater, readers pay to meet the content difficult to find elsewhere, and which is difficult to imitate or copy. It has bypassed some of the publications of consumer reluctance of consumers through the development of credibility by a unique research cannot be found elsewhere on the Internet. The media organizations also find new ways to configure a particular brand as centers addressed by the community or data, and impose the cost of meeting additional benefits save people time and contribute to building their networks and social identity. Questionnaire is one of the cheapest ways to collect data on a particular topic by a very large segment of people and through this data, you can do an analytical study on that subject. It is important to know that the effort to get the strong design of the questionnaire questions on the place and the size and shape to take it out inevitably give data that could be utilized to make a particular decision on the subject to be studied. It is important to develop a questionnaire to the definition of phases, beginning with the things that will be tested and ends extraction results. Each stage must be designed very carefully because the final result depends on the interdependence of all stages, although that way all the data through the questionnaire is the cheapest way, but it can be expensive in terms of design and the extraction results. Questionnaire Factors: Determine the targets of the questionnaire. Written questionnaire. Surely we will not get required results if there is no clear goal and a specific work of the questionnaire, the more difficult goal or purpose is not clear where a waste of time participants and wasting the resources of the owners of that questionnaire. For example: Suppose that there is a program for computer and there is a problem in use by multiple users and resolve this problem have been identified target, (identify points of dissatisfaction with the user interface program and how it affects negatively on its performance). We might think that this really is the goal, but in fact not the case. The duty of the questionnaire designed to determine precisely what is meant by non-user satisfaction Is it to learn the program or in the strength and performance of the program or the difficulty of learning the program and whether it is important to the user quickly learn the program, also must determine what is meant by performance the program. The questionnaire is designed to clear, we must be very careful in defining the target and floating to general things might be understood in several aims, objectives and summary of the tower will, if we find it difficult to write a questionnaire, remember that we did not take sufficient time in defining the objectives of the questionnaire. Questionnaire: Name: Age: Nationality: Income: Job Title: Address: Favorite Newspaper: Magazines: Reading times: Purchasing: Attractive Ads: Interests in Ads: Important Ads: The advertising questionnaire is not easy to start, but with random groups in the society, we got some results to help us evaluating the importance of ads for people, these results could be summarized as: 95% of readers are not looking for advertising. 70% are interested in advertising. 40% are actual customers for advertising products and services. 90% are attracted to the colors and design of advertising. 30% are attracted by the contents. Analyzing and Interpretation of Data The results of advertising are not encouraging for the advertising itself, but the importance of advertising is deniable for all organizations, no one will know about any organization or services without advertising or announcing, from here we find the importance of advertising itself. Only the print press advertising became very shortly used and sometimes not effective for the investors. For the Print Press newspapers and magazines it is a very important source of income, and in the UAE market there more than one newspaper based on advertising, which make this industry very profitable and include a high range of income for the newspaper or the magazine. A recession can take place lasting change in the environment and the media, with the emergence of increasing pressure on newspapers and magazines. Decreased in the total advertising revenue in the year 2008, was recorded in newspapers, magazines and consumer publications for institutions of a decline in print ads more than two to three times. According to a study by Booz Company, thanks to the bold steps taken to promote innovation and efficient management of more aggressive cost on the basis of the success of new strategies, media organizations may be able to prepare a better future. Advertising agencies is administered by the advertising expenditure for the big advertisers usually. So, form a strategic relationship between advertising agencies and print media, such as TV channels, is considered a sine qua non of any means but this does not prevent the TV channel to organize visits to some identifiable potential advertisers to introduce them to the canal and nature of the audience and that does not hold any advertising agreements only with the advertiser through the ad agency, and can be made of those visits in coordination with the agencys ad spender do not forget that there are some spenders who want to deal with the advertising means directly, and these could be targeted through the channel directly. With the global crisis had entered a tunnel to free press, the crisis and closed dozens of them in Europe with fierce competition and rising costs for distribution of homes and declining advertising revenue, with The New York Times report to fall by more than one-third in the early months of 2009, compared to last year, prompting the majority of these newspapers to reduce the number of employees is clearly to control costs and balance of income and some of which is to ensure the superiority and control through their monopoly contracts to ensure the distribution of the newspaper not to compete in some public areas, for example, newspaper Metro which has a monopoly of distribution in the subway in London, which gives it a significant advantage to advertisers and reached the monopoly as a result of a contract signed with the supervisor of the subway, and the paper fears losing its monopoly contract with the end of next year, and newspapers seeking competition to get the deal attractive and profitable, which means that free newspapers are paid to monopolize the distribution in some important sites of density of human permanent, a type of expenses and costs it cannot support a free press, but with large advertising revenue and has from the outset as a strong entity in the market transactions. Does not deny that major news organizations in the world seeks through information services, the broad sense to make more of the extra revenue and complementary services, particularly the print press is not a printer of books and information services and press services for the sale of diverse press kit for the participants, diversity and excellence, credibility and depth, which newspapers offer European and American major, and was provided by the expansion of the Al-Ahram Arabic press in prior years ago. With the Internet age, the e-press services and other value-driven can become an important income for publishers releases provided they need Internet browser with high quality and very distinguished and diverse specialization in the form of news is interesting and attractive. In the light of the high cost of editorial quality and excellence and financial requirements in the form of large fixed costs and expenses in progress, the waiver of the press free from 15% to 20% of total revenues represented by the income distribution as a result of lack of interest in article releases and non-remittance of available and presented to the reader levels and high rates and high in light of the predominance of advertising material and clout, this kind of newspapers make a reduction in expenses and issuance costs more than the value distribution of income by the cost of editorial distinct rise inevitably and of necessity for the investigator from the sale proceeds are paid in case of traditional printed newspapers, This means that the decision to sell free of charge in the beginning and the end reflects the economic and financial accounts for the quality of new and updated list of the press on the concept of a new focus primarily on the advertising material which occupies the interface and the first priority and with the press material back to second and third, which means that there is a new industry was prioritize and re-arrange their sources of income and revenues, and also re-select the services and the quality of the target readers and the nature of influence, and thus contact printed advertising message aimed at focusing on the promotion and advertising and promotional goods and services rather than the promotion of ideas and press services of various kinds and forms, which fall under the industry opinion and conscience of the world. And even avoid publishing press crises and obstacles and avoid falling into the dark tunnel of indebtedness, the awareness and understanding the limits of economic and financial relationship between advertising revenue and the number of pages of the newspaper and also their relationship to the number of copies printed must be completely clear in the minds of managers and editing, and indicators show that the standard financial and economic mainstream press to the success of the paper and not stumble and ensure the realization of revenue and profit for the appropriate activity requires that a material ad rates estimates ranging between 25% minimum and a maximum of 40% of the total material printed in emergency situations of need, which means that the press material about 60% on average year to ensure balance and ensure the rights of the reader and provide a press release that variety and sometimes can be as high advertising material to at most 45% of the total printed material. And sets it in the end the newspaper ads pricing paper also determines the efficiency of the ad and its failure or success which are not only relate to access to the declarations and dissemination, but also linked and closely associated with success in the collection of ad revenue on a regular basis and without delay, while ensuring a minimum level of bad debt ad uncollected by the fact that the basic rule in advertising is the prompt payment, and the payment deadline must be the exception to the rule, even in large scale advertising campaigns and extended periods of time, the legal control of the financial rights of uncollected immediate should be the object of attention and scrutiny when agreeing to contracts with advertising campaigns to ensure letters of bank guarantees in the conditions of customers who Aidfon full value advertising directly. The same applies to set discounts for older customers, the exaggerated and left outside the scope of controls cause the loss of an important aspect of advertising revenue, and requires complete control and control the outcome of the advertising material as the main outcome of the financing costs and expenses of publishi

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Body Image Essay -- essays research papers

Body Image   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purpose of this study is to further explore and examine the influences of mass media on male’s and female’s personal body image satisfaction and the awareness and internalization of societal pressures regarding appearance. For a number years evidence surrounding the insecurities that women have towards their own bodies has been widely published. More recently, it has been suggested that men are falling victim to media and societal pressure, and are developing insecurities traditionally associated with women. Much of the body dissatisfaction that we see today can be attributed to the enormous disparity between our current cultural beauty ideals and our actual bodies. Although most of the research surrounding the influences of media on body image has taken the form of analyzing exposure through the examination of such things as magazine content, recent research has begun to focus on an individual’s awareness of societal pressures, as well as one’s acceptance, or internalization, of these societal standards (Cusumano & Thompson,1997).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every culture has standards of beauty. Through the ages and around the world,people have evaluated the appearance of themselves and others. A person’s body image is his or her concept of their physical appearance. The mental representation which may be realistic or unrealistic, is constructed from self-observation, the reactions of others, and a complex interaction of attitudes, emotions, memories, fantasies, and experiences, both conscious and unconscious. A pleasing appearance has often been associated with higher status, better opportunities to attract a mate and other positive qualities. We live in a society that thrives on first impressions. Many people interact with large numbers of new people everyday, especially in their work lives, and we often have little information about who these people are, but we do know how they look. We try to size them up based on how they are dressed, how they talk, how they move and their overall physical appearance. People tend to judge a fat person as lazy and self-indulgent and a thin person as organized and disciplined and these stereotypes are reinforced by the media. A study done by Franzoi and Herzog (1987) examined what body parts and functions young adults... ...ents magazines. This ratio closely reflected the ratio of the incidence of eating disorders in women to the incidence of eating disorders in men (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997). According to Botta the available reports suggest that media do have an impact on body image disturbance, both directly through body image processing and indirectly by encouraging males and females to endorse their respective ideals and by establishing what they see as realistic ideals (Botta, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The present study seeks to examine the influence of exposure to media ideal body images and the awareness and internalization of those ideals on males and females. The results of previous studies indicate that the media plays a role in not just reflecting societal perceptions of male and female body image, but in shaping those perceptions. Media stereotypes, advertising ploys, and the fashion industry have all lead to the introduction of the unrealistic ideal body shape that we compare ourselves to. How we feel about our bodies and how our bodies look to us in the mirror is an important aspect of our self esteem and for many Americans the media tells us how we should feel and look.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Ode of the West Wind by Percy Shelley Essay -- too a skylark, spirit,

Percy Shelley was a rebellious writer. Many of the things that he had written didn’t really follow the social standards of his time. Many times, he would call something out or introduce many ludicrous ideas. He also was a huge fan of William Wordsworth, a poet who thought the Industrial Revolution was ruining our connection towards nature. So, Shelley tended to follow this theme, except in a more rebellious way and Adam Kirsch agrees when he states, â€Å"Unlike the average radical, then, Shelley didn't just challenge social taboos; he openly violated them, living his personal life in accordance with unpopular principles like equality, women's rights, and free love.† (Kirsch, Adam). One of the many tools Shelley used in his writing was the use of personification, or treating non-human things as if they were human. For example, Ode of the West used personifies the wind which is shown throughout the poem as he speaks to the wind like he would a person. In To a Skylark, he admires the bird and uses many creative images to express the wonder and magnificent qualities of the skylark. Percy Shelley’s poems Ode of the West Wind and Too a Skylark both use imagery to show links between spirit and nature, and they each use personification of different things to show these connections. First of all, both of Shelley’s poems Ode of the West Wind and Too a Skylark use imagery to illustrate connections between nature and spirit. Ode of the West has many magnificent images that are described throughout the poem. Shelley used many illustrating words that really formed a picture of what he was talking about. The connection of nature and spirit are shown in lines such as, â€Å"Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, / Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O... ...that show connections between spirit and nature. Works Cited Donovan, Josephine. "Aestheticizing Animal Cruelty." College Literature 4(2011):202. eLibrary. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. Kirsch, Adam.. "AVENGING ANGEL ; Books." New Yorker, The. 27 Aug. 2007: 85. eLibrary. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. Knapp, John. "The spirit of classical hymn in Shelley's "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty"." Style 33. 1(1999):43. eLibrary. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Neth, J., Michael.. "The Shelley-Byron Conversation.(book reviews)." ANQ 9. (1996):61(4). eLibrary. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. William, James , 1792-1822 (1792-1822) The Complete Poetical Works of Shelley including materials never before printed in any edition of the poems: Edited with textual notes by Thomas Hutchinson Oxford The Clarendon Press 1904 xxvii, 1023 p. Preliminaries, introductory, and editorial matter omitted; non-English verse omitted.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Employment Law Legal Process Paper Essay

To handle a complaint of discrimination effectively, an employer should have a basic understanding of the process and procedures used by the EEOC to enforce the federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination. By knowing in advance what to expect, an employer can best prepare its defense. EEOC ProcessAny individual who believes that his or her employment rights have been violated may file a charge of discrimination with EEOC. Charges may be filed by mail or in person at their nearest EEOC office. Once an employee or applicant files a charge, the EEOC then serves notice on the employer, usually by mail, that a charge has been filed against them. This notice normally includes a copy of the actual charge filed by the employee or applicant. All laws enforced by EEOC, except the Equal Pay Act, require filing a charge with EEOC before a private lawsuit may be filed in court. There are strict time limits within which charges must be filed. A charge must be filed with EEOC within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation, in order to protect the charging party’s rights. This 180-day filing deadline is extended to 300 days if the charge also is covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Employers must understand that the persons who evaluate and decide the outcome of employment discrimination cases (the EEOC investigator, federal or state judge, and/or jury) have keen senses of fairness and expect that employees will be treated in a fair manner. As a result, employers are exposed to substantial liability for any acts, including perceived acts, of discrimination in the workplace. Employers should take any charge of discrimination seriously and the employer must keep in mind that, at a minimum, it needs to have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for taking the action in question. In addition, an employer’s response will be evaluated by persons who have a different perspective than the employer. What may appear to an employer, as a benign, routine employment action, can be perceived by a jury as the most pernicious, discriminatory deed. With this in mind, an employer should structure its response to show that its action was not only legal, but also fair (Bu reau of National Affairs, 2002). Resolving the Discrimination ChargeThe filing of the charge triggers an EEOC investigation into whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe that the employer did in fact illegally discriminate against an individual. An employer may be asked to submit a written statement of position to explain its version of events. At some point in the investigation, a fact-finding conference might be held (Bureau of National Affairs, 2002). Relatively informal, a fact-finding conference is attended by the charging party, respondent and necessary witnesses. No official record is made and witnesses are not placed under oath. Most employers bring counsel to the conference. After concluding its investigation, the EEOC makes a determination as to whether there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged discrimination occurred. The investigation starts with a review of all documents in the employee’s personnel file, and should be expanded to include, among other things, a review of applicable company policies, at least one interview with potential witnesses, and a review of internal documents for any prior incidents similar to the action on which the complaint is based. The lack of effective anti-discrimination policies can be damaging to an employer’s case. On the other hand, a well-publicized, strictly enforced, non-discrimination policy can prove invaluable to an employer defending against a charge of discrimination. By reviewing its policies, an employer also may discover that the complaining employee did not follow proper company procedure in reporting the complaint. All of this information can be used by the employer in responding to the complaint. A reasonable cause determination indicates that â€Å"it is more likely than not† that illegal discrimination took place. A no reasonable cause determination means that the EEOC has not found sufficient evidence to support a finding of discrimination. While a â€Å"no cause† finding does not bar the complaining party from subsequently filing suit in state or federal court on the same claim, as a practical matter most employees do not pursue their claims after the EEOC issues a â€Å"no cause† finding. If the evidence establishes that discrimination has occurred, the employer  and the charging party will be informed of this in a letter of determination that explains the finding. EEOC will then attempt conciliation with the employer to develop a remedy for the discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). If the case is successfully conciliated, or if a case has earlier been successfully mediated or settled, neither EEOC nor the charging party may go to court unless the conciliation, mediation, or settlement agreement is not honored (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). If EEOC is unable to successfully conciliate the case, the agency will decide whether to bring suit in federal court. However, no statements made by any party during the conciliation process can be used in any subsequent lawsuit. If EEOC decides not to sue, it will issue a notice closing the case and giving the charging party 90 days in which to file a lawsuit on his or her own behalf (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). CONCLUSION Employees who believe that they have been discriminated against by an employer, an employment agency, or a labor union have the right to file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Employer’s need to ensure that discriminatory practice or action, if it did occur, is stopped, and that it does not occur again. By properly handling the charge at its early stages, an employer can reduce significantly, or possibly eliminate the potential liability. The Bureau of National Affairs, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2006, from http://www.bna.comU.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved September 11, 2006, from http://www.eeoc.gov

Thursday, October 10, 2019

House of Saud Essay

The â€Å"alternative† visions of the nineteenth century all sought to Oppose authority and protect local community. Feedback/Reference: See pp. 600-601 2. The Wahhabi Movement sought to institute pure Islam and challenge The Ottoman Empire. Feedback/Reference: See p. 604 3. Allied to Wahhabi Movement leaders was the Najdian House of Saud of The Arabian Peninsula. Feedback/Reference: See p. 604 4. Which of the following did Shaka not use in his command of the Zulus? Mercy Feedback/Reference: See p. 605 5. The Taiping Rebellion of China gained momentum from all except which of the following? Government reforms aimed at relieving economic pressures by lowering taxes Feedback/Reference: See p. 608 6. Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping society demonstrated all but which of the following? Free opium use Feedback/Reference: See pp. 609-610 7. Which of the following best describes what reactionaries sought to accomplish? To reverse democracy and secular influence Feedback/Reference: See p. 612 8. Which of the following best describes what liberals sought to accomplish? To limit state power while expanding that of the individual Feedback/Reference: See p. 14 9. Which of the following best describes what radicals sought to accomplish? To reconstruct society economically and politically Feedback/Reference: See p. 614 10. The materialist theory of history generated by Marx and Engels taught that what mattered was How goods were produced and how that shaped social relations. Feedback/Reference: See p. 618 11. Insurgents opposed to powerful colonizing nations generally preached a message that reflected all of the following except Strong statements of universal love and toleration. Feedback/Reference: See pp. 618-622 12. What did Tenskwatawa advise his followers to do to rid Indian lands of the white man? Return to the traditional Indian rites and lifestyle Feedback/Reference: See p. 619 13. Why did Mayan rebels stop their drive to rid the land of imperialists during the Caste War? Planting season came, so the Mayans went home. The insurgencies discussed in this chapter were most commonly Destroyed with brute military force. 16. All of the following are true about Usman dan Fodio’s Fulani movement except It expected women to remain completely uninvolved in political action. Feedback/Reference: See pp. 604-605 17. Nationalism in Europe Slowly gained strength over the nineteenth century by pushing education and culture to unify †the nation. † Feedback/Reference: See p. 614 18. Mayan identity developed from all but which of the following bases? Close ties to the sugar and hennequen producers who felt threatened by new taxes Feedback/Reference: See p. 623 19. Which of the following best describes the utopian socialism of Charles Fourier? The organization of people into phalanxes that would preserve diversity in tasks and classes, but in which merchants did not exist Feedback/Reference: See p. 615 20. The charismatic leaders in this chapter offered all but the following: Decentralized states where power rested in the hands of the people

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Banana

Banana. When I look at this word, neither an ice cream sundae nor monkeys come to mind. Instead, I see my former self: yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Not long ago, when one got to know me, my native color of yellow peeled off, revealing the color of white that consumed the heart of me. When I entered high school, I began to feel ashamed and inferior because of my ethnicity. This was odd because I live in Hawaii, the paragon of racial diversity. But suddenly, I became aware of shared characteristics Caucasian girls seemed to posses. To me, they were beautiful, intrepid, intelligent, gregarious, and especially confident- all the qualities I longed to have. I began to feel ugly and small, even envious of their defined facial features and the strong certainty, with which they presented themselves. This admiration soon devoured me that I even tried to create double-eyelids with strips of tape. Thus, I was dubbed the nickname â€Å"Banana† by my sister. Soon, my mother and friends identified me as this deceiving fruit. This insecurity consumed me even more when I attended a leadership program in New York City. There, I met the most bright and self-assured girls. As I acted as a spectator throughout the week, my admiration for Caucasians rapidly grew. The division between Asians and Caucasians that constantly lingered in my mind was clearly illustrated one night when SeRyeong, one of the few Asians at the program, and I joined three Caucasian girls to Times Square. As we walked through the Friday night crowd, the three girls were in their own clump, always in front of SeRyeong and me. Everytime we tried to catch up to them, this gap always found its way back. This unconscious form was a mockery that bolstered my assumption: Caucasians would always be better than what I could ever be. To justify my insecurity, I began to blame the Asian race, especially my Asian pare nts. I convinced myself of the stereotype that Asians are raised to be submissive, demure, and vulnerable. I was never encouraged to openly raise questions. My family neither converses effusively at the dinner table nor always says â€Å"I love you† at the end of phone calls like my Caucasian friends do with their parents. When my parents and I get into a fight, I can never defend myself. Because of their academic expectations and tough love, I can neither achieve their full satisfaction nor that of my own. I believed these characteristics were the reasons why I was a small, insecure banana. But by constantly scorning my parents and Asian upbringing, I literally like a banana, bruised often and easily. Slowly, I began to realize that my insecurity was not a result of my ethnicity, but of me; my assumptions of Caucasians and Asians did not matter. I only blamed Asians to justify my assumptions and to hide from the fact that I was setting myself up for my own misery and insecu rity. I was my own hindrance from becoming the confident person I longed to be and could be; I was bruising myself. All this despondency, jealousy, and deprecation were completely avoidable, thus I’m the only one to blame. Although my trip to New York City was just about a year and a half ago, as a young woman who is about to become an adult, I had to overcome my weaknesses. As I mentally grew and matured during this time, I knew I needed to let go of this hindering mindset. My years as a banana have been turbulent and belittling, and truthfully, I am still in the process of shedding away my â€Å"Banana† name. But, I cherish these years for I learned that I am my most powerful catalyst. I am no longer oblivious to myself as a possible weapon of obstruction from becoming the best of me. I am beginning to let go of my immature and narrow assumption that I need to be Caucasian to feel beautiful, smart, and confident for I can embrace these characteristics regardless of my ethnicity. I am learning to no longer see myself as solely â€Å"Asian†, â€Å"wannabe-Caucasian†, or â€Å"Banana† for these distinctions do not consume me; I alone define myself.