Human-Resource Manager Interview Report Assignment

Human-Resource Manager Interview Report - Assignment Example The variables that influence his roles substantially include the store’s formulation of HR initiatives. Emphasizing that the structure of the store was determined by the number of employees, the interviewee expressly noted that the store and his roles employ a HR generalist outlook to administer its HR function areas for the business unit and the different employee teams (Conaty and Charan 34). In responding to the question on the structure of the business, and his office, specifically, he insisted that he prefer HR project teams for the different duties and the initiatives of the store, because they increased the accountability of employees. In a generalized way, he noted that there was limited reliance on cross-functional teams, which are often virtual, and where the HR plays the dominant role. Further, he noted that his office is designed in a way that explores and engages the other functions of the store, because that helps in making better team-based decisions (Conaty and Charan 74). The roles and the responsibilities of the interviewee – according to them – vary from day to day. The interviewee noted that everyday is a fully-engaged workload, where they engage in any or many of the following roles: employee hiring, employee training, reviewing and managing employee relations and firing employees for different reasons. Other roles and responsibilities revolve around the management of employee benefits, payroll review and management, administering employee follow-up and participating in organization-wide decision making meetings (Conaty and Charan 34). Above these roles and responsibilities, the interviewee reviews the human resources, to ensure that they have the required employees, and planning recruitment, where there are gaps. The officer engages in the 45-day review of new employees, together with the departmental managers, which helps improve their orientation and training. The greatest challenge to the HR manager and the organization as a who le is the management of the daily work load. This is a major area of a challenge for the interviewee; because he has to prioritize on the work to be done first, out of the huge load, and delegating other duties to departmental managers and staffs (Conaty and Charan 123). For example, he noted that, in the cases where there is a shortage of sales people, or an employee calls for a sick-leave. He is tasked with the challenge of finding a replacement that can meet the needs of the vacant office. The case becomes more challenging, when they have to call in, employees who are taking their off-days, because many of them are, usually, not willing to accept the duty. Hiring is also a challenge for the officer, because getting wrong candidates for the job can be disastrous to its progress. The most difficult decision they made, while working in the store, was that of reducing the bonuses offered to sales people and the employees in general. Following a detailed outlook of the financial posit ion of the business during the past six months, they had reviewed the financial outlook on the business, and noted that the profitability of the business was being adversely affected by the bonus plans (Conaty and Charan 44). The difficulty in the decision was major, because it was likely to force some employees to leave the business, and many others to lose morale and motivation. The interviewee reported that they liked the roles and the responsibilities of motivating their staffs, training new employees and allocating bonuses and other rewards to the employees. They noted that they liked that aspect, because it helps in tapping the full potential of the staffs. The areas that they dislike for the job are that of

Entrepreneurship Homework Format Essay Example for Free

Entrepreneurship Homework Format Essay List up three success factors for Malincho up to today, and explain the details. 1. The very first success factor for Malincho would be considered is the creative idea of importing feta cheese. Kalin understood clearly consumers’ psychology who live far away from their home country and were craving for â€Å"a taste of home†. He believed that this would be a high-profitable business if he operated it in the States. 2. The second factor contributing to this success is the power of willingness, determination and solidarity. The business would have been failed if Kalin gave up after several obstacles coming to him such as starting up as a deep debt, repacking the damaged cheese or maintaining pricing structure. However, he was still determined and patient until the very end. It was not only Kalin’s effort but also his friends’ support and well-cooperation that brought his entrepreneurship to a new stage. 3. Finally, it was very smart of Kalin to come up with simple way of promoting his products as well as nice service strategy for customers. In detail, Kalin made full use of word-of-mouth method to spread out his business and finally got free advertising by appearing on USA Today. Additionally, in order to ensure customers’ worries when purchasing online products, he used properly the very simple inventory printout and the flexible payment method with either check or credit card. In short, Kalin paid a lot of attention to consumers’ psychology to provide best products for them. Answer to the â€Å"Preparation Questions on page 48 in Chapter.1 1. ( â€Å"Timomon’s entrepreneurship framework† is described in Ch. 2 on page 57) From my point of view, under the Timmons entrepreneurship framework, his success is based on many factors.

Mothers That Work Essay examples -- essays research papers

The Effects of Working Mothers on their Children   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One mother expresses her personal experience and opinion on the effects of her employment on the children â€Å"I am happy to see support for the mom who wants to work outside of the home. By my children seeing me go to work, I am teaching them the values of hard work, commitment, and responsibility. I am also showing them that mothers and fathers share in all responsibilities of raising a family, financial and housework. There is no doubt in either my mind or my child’s that the first priority is each other. Out times together are positive. I have seen too many stay at home moms yelling at their children and worse, the children yelling at their mothers. I do not think this is the message that stay at home moms like to give. Their lives are now more enriched, never been happier, and that they are more fulfilled. Actually, I think a lot of stay at home moms justify their laziness and lack of ambition by saying they are staying at home for the benefit of the children† (abcnews.com 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For many years women have believed that if they returned to work after having children, their children would be harmed by the lack of a mother’s presence. This belief is no longer true. Studies have shown, â€Å"Despite the declining population of young people, the number and proportion of children with working mothers rose steadily during the past decade† (Kamerman 13). In fact, â€Å"1979 was the first time more U.S. children lived in families with a mother in the labor force than in families with a mother who was a full-time homemaker† (Kamerman 13). Mothers no longer have to worry; they are free to choose the career path they want to follow. Mothers can make this decision with confidence because experts believe that a mother who works has a positive effect on her children. Children with mothers in the workforce are taught responsibility, independence, the importance of an education, and also social skills that are acquired from day-care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are still a few experts that argue children are negatively effected by the absence of their mother. They believe that this absence can cause an attachment disorder. Some also report that the lack of their mother can make it harder for a mother and child to form an effective relationship. A recent study suggested ... ...dvantage of group care is the friendships that children develop with their peers during the care. One expert observed that children’s â€Å"contacts with each other often develop a sibling-like quality† (Webb 43). Some children involved in this study even went to one another’s homes to have dinner, to play on weekends, and occasionally, to stay for the night.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mother who works as a professional has an extremely different influence on her children than one who works in a less intellectually demanding job or one who does not work at all. Children learn from the environment and the people that they are exposed to in life, especially in the early stages. When children are exposed to hard working parents it helps them to appreciate the value of responsibility and independence. The importance of a good education is immeasurable and is also a necessity for a child to grow into a prosperous adult. Another important factor that affects a child is the day care environment that the child is exposed to on a daily basis. A good day care provider can teach a child many skills. A child can also learn from the other children that they spend many hours with in day care.

Candide :: essays research papers

Candide Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains enlightmenet and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers disguised by jokes and sarcisam, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life in the 1700’s. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world. The main theme that I got out of reading Candide is optimism. Out of every unfortunate situation in the story, Candide, the main character, has been advised by his philosopher-teacher that everything in the world happens for the better, because "Private misfortunes contribute to the general good, so that the more private misfortunes there are, the more we find that all is well". As Candide grows up whenever something unfortunate happens Pangloss would turn the situation around, bringing out the good in it. Candide learns that optimism is "The passion for maintaining that all is right when all goes wrong ". Candide also believes that he could make the world a better place by spreading his theories on optimism. One could say that Pangloss is an irrational figure, and Voltaire tries to expose how incomprehensible his beliefs are which do not measure up to reality. It is possible, however, that all along, deep down inside, Candide doubted the philosophies of his teacher because of his exposure to immorality in the real world. For example, Candide witnessed the public hanging of two Portuguese Jews simply because they refused to eat bacon for dinner.It was occurrences like these which demonstrated the inhumanity that one person can do to another, leading Candide to disbelieve Pangloss' philosophies. Cunegonde, the object of Candide's affections, wa s thought dead by Candide but she had really been raped and sold into slavery.

Inflation and Pestle Analysis

Pestle Analysis A pestle analysis is one of the most popular and effective methods of analysing the external macroeconomic factors that could impact on a business within a specific industry. Commonly, a pestle analysis will be used alongside other analyses that focus on internal factors. The combination of the pestle analysis with other factors will allow a company to create a strategic management plan of how to move its business forward in a way that maximises the opportunities available to it, externally.A pestle analysis comprises of six factors, namely political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental. The latter two have been recent additions to the pestle analysis (formerly known as pest) and reflect the growing importance of the environment and regulation to companies across all industries. Pestle Analysis – Political Political issues as part of the pestle analysis include all sorts of factors that normally derive from the government in the for m of policies or legislation.For the purposes of the pestle analysis of a self-employed beautician, there is little in the way of trade restrictions and tariffs to be concerned about. With the government currently encouraging parents (and specifically single parents) back to work the beauty industry should see a growing number of workers available. As peak times generally evenings and weekends, this could certainly fall in line with the political drive to encourage mothers back to work as this would be the times where alternative childcare would not be available.Pestle Analysis – Economic The pestle analysis then goes on to look at the economic impact on beauty industry. Key areas for the pestle analysis include inflation rates, interest rates and general economic conditions. The Beauty therapies are usually considered luxury products; therefore, when there is an economic downturn, the number of customers is likely to reduce. Where individuals have less disposable income due to high inflation levels, they will be less inclined to spend money on luxuries.The current economic climate is relatively weak and individuals are not feeling sufficiently wealthy to spend large amounts of their income on beauty treatments. As the pestle analysis has indicated, this to be a particular threat to the beauty industry and this should be something that management looks at mitigating. Typically, this could include reduction in costs and enhanced services for clients. Pestle Analysis – Social When conducting a pestle analysis on beauty therapy, the area of socio-culture presents a much more positive outlook.This part of the pestle analysis considers demographics such as age and wealth as well as issues including career aspirations and general interest in beauty issues. In this case, the beauty industry is doing extremely well. With a growing number of young women carving lucrative careers, there is an increasing demand for beauty therapy. Not only are greater numbe rs of younger individuals earning good wages, but the grey pound is also increasing in strength. There is a growing demand from older people for beauty treatments and an increasing ability by these individuals to be able to afford such treatments.These changing demands have led to substantial diversification and new opportunities within the beauty industry. Pestle Analysis – Technological On the face of it, technological developments may not appear to be particularly relevant to a beauty business. However, in conducting a more detailed pestle analysis, it becomes clear that the beauty industry as it stands has relatively high barriers to entry by virtue of the level of expertise and technology required. As established in the earlier part of the pestle analysis, consumers are becoming more demanding and experimental in the area of beauty therapy.As such, there is a growing need for beauty treatments to ensure not only that they have the latest technology, but also that beautic ians are trained to use such equipment. Whilst basic beauticians may find that they are not prohibited from entering the market by virtue of their lack of technology, the pestle analysis in relation to socio-cultural issues has shown that in order to establish a truly competitive position, companies will have to offer the latest technology and a wide range of options.Pestle Analysis – Legal When looking at the beauty industry from a pestle point of view, it is not surprising that health and safety legislation is both plentiful and restrictive. It is necessary for all beauticians to comply with the basic health and safety regulations, but they should also pay attention to treatment specific requirements. All beauticians will have to be suitably qualified. Insurance will have to be maintained and all necessary employment law provisions complied with.As the workforce is likely to be largely part time and possibly even self-employed, attention will have to be paid to ensure that the correct taxes and paperwork requirements are complied with. Pestle Analysis – Environmental The issue of environmental factors has only just been added to the pestle analysis in a bid to recognise how important this factor can be to the success of a business. Traditionally, in the pestle analysis, a company would consider the environmental issues with which it must comply.In the case of a beauty therapy, this is largely likely to be in relation to dangerous substances such as massage oils and cleaning chemicals. However, a slightly different approach which the pestle analysis reveals is that the environment could, in fact, bring opportunities to a beauty therapy with a growing demand for organic and natural products. Many consumers (as previously analysed in the pestle analysis) will pay a premium for natural products and, as such, being seen to be environmentally friendly will not only ensure regulatory compliance, but may also encourage more customers at a higher value.

women on television essays

women on television essays The quality of American television has become a national disgrace. Young women in America who are displeased with their appearance more likely then not can trace those feelings directly back to images from the media on television. The unrealistic representations of women that the media bombards young women with indicates that the television has become a source for a distorted understanding of gender roles among adolescent women. These images warp young women's views of their own gender identity. The media on television should in an attempt to provide more positive gender identities for adolescent women depict women on television in more realistic ways, should stop reinforcing negative stereotypes of women, and stop portraying women as sex objects in advertising. Television is unrepresentative of the real world. Since most major directors on television are males, they depict a world, which agrees with their concepts of society on television. Young women see women in roles on television as being submissive to men or as not as intelligent as men are. For example, the case of the female mayor on the comedy shows South Park. She went to Princeton, yet she makes moronic decisions for the town and flagrantly poses for photos. The media should show positive roles that young women could identify with and imitate positive behavior from strong female role models. Television besieges women with portrayals of old women fearing the youth of young women. The result of these images is that these ideas create competition among women and divides women. The media should also be aware of the images of women depicted since young women in other countries also see the American television. In developing countries television ownership is rising and as much as sev enty one percent of television programming is from more affluent countries . Equally important would be to stop reinforcing negative stereotypes of women on tele ...

GRE General Quantitative Reasoning Scores

GRE General Quantitative Reasoning Scores   A Concordance Table Between the GRE General and the Prior GRE Scores Many graduate schools out there accept old GRE scores in the 200 - 800 scale as well as the current GRE General scores,  and they use the following concordance table to compare GRE Quantitative scores to get an accurate picture of applicants. If you have received your GRE General Quantitative Reasoning score and want to know how it would compare to the prior GRE Quantitative Reasoning score or work in a graduate program and want to compare students scores from the prior version of the exam, then check out this concordance table below. How Long Are GRE Scores Valid? The GRE policy has changed a little bit since July 2016. For GRE tests taken on or after July 1, 2016, scores are considered part of test-takers reportable history for five years after the test date.  For GRE scores taken before July 1, 2016  the scores are  part of test-takers reportable history for five years after the testing year in which they tested (July 1 - June 30). The GRE enacted the five-year policy to ensure that scores remained valid as older scores may not reflect an applicants  current  quantitative, verbal and analytical ability. Think, for example, how much different you might test if you were in the middle of an advanced math class five years ago when you took the GRE, but havent taken or practiced any advanced math skills since the class ended. Your mathematics and computation knowledge and ability can change quite a bit in a five year span. Or, perhaps, five years ago, you hadnt done too much Verbal reasoning prep, but now you work in an environment that requires you to use reading comprehension skills all day long. Your ability may have shot up over the last five years. ETS wants to ensure that college admissions officers have the best information about testers so they can make the best admissions decisions possible.   GRE Scores and Admissions For those of you using this information for admissions decisions, ETS would like to remind you to keep this in mind: although the current scores allow for greater differentiation between higher ability test takers, if a student received an 800 on the prior GRE, then he or she received the highest possible score available at the time. This must be taken into consideration for all admissions decisions! More GRE Score Information Whats a good GRE General score?GRE General Scores vs. Prior GRE ScoresGRE General Scores for the Top Schools in the CountrySee the Verbal Reasoning Concordance Table The percentile rank listed below is based on students who tested between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015, according to ETS. GRE General Quantitative Reasoning Concordance Table Prior GRE Score GRE General Score Percentile Rank 800 166 91 790 164 87 780 163 85 770 161 79 760 160 76 750 159 73 740 158 70 730 157 67 720 156 63 710 155 59 700 155 59 690 154 55 680 153 51 670 152 47 660 152 47 650 151 43 640 151 43 630 150 39 620 149 35 610 149 35 600 148 31 590 148 31 580 147 27 570 147 27 560 146 24 550 146 24 540 145 20 530 145 20 520 144 17 510 144 17 500 144 17 490 143 14 480 143 14 470 142 12 460 142 12 450 141 10 440 141 10 430 141 10 420 140 8 410 140 8 400 140 8 390 139 6 380 139 6 370 138 4 360 138 4 350 138 4 340 137 3 330 137 3 320 136 2 310 136 2 300 136 2 290 135 1 280 135 1 270 134 1 260 134 1 250 133 1 240 133 1 230 132 1 220 132 1 210 131 1 200 131 1

6th Grade Science Fair Projects

6th Grade Science Fair Projects Ideas for 6th-grade science fair projects can be a challenge to conceive. Projects need to be sophisticated and elaborate enough to show complex thinking but not so complex that they would be impossible for a sixth-grader to execute. These are topics and experiments suitable for upper-grade school or entry-level middle school. General Project Ideas The ideas in this section and the following one are phrased as questions because that is generally how schools require sixth-grade students to announce their projects, as a question, or hypothesis, to be tested and answered. What types of fruits or vegetables are suitable for making a battery?Which apps run down a cell phone battery most quickly or use up a lot of data. This is a good project for making attractive graphs.How much paper is required to register for school? Can you propose a way to streamline the process to make it more environmentally friendly? Would this process save time or money?What exactly does a vacuum cleaner pick up? Use a magnifying glass or microscope to look at the contents of a bag or canister. What types of material are not picked up?Does coloring carbonated water change how its taste is perceived?How long does it take for milk to go bad refrigerated and unrefrigerated? What about juice?Do all crayons have the same melting points? Why or why not?Do different types of carbonated sodas have different pH? Do you think this can affect tooth decay?What types of fruits, vegetables, and flowers can be used to make a pH indicator? Make some indicator solution, write up a protocol, and test home chemicals to explore the color range of your solution. Can you tell different brands of soda pop apart based on taste?Do some plants grow better inside than outside? More Complex Projects The projects in this section tend to be slightly more complex than those suggested in the previous section. They are still appropriate for sixth-grade science fair projects but may take more steps and/or time to execute. What type of air freshener makes a school bus smell best to the greatest number of students?Which type of water contains the lowest amount of chlorine?What type of insulation holds in heat the best?Do different types of knots affect the breaking strength of a rope?Does wiping a doorknob with an antibacterial wipe really reduce the numbers of bacteria? Does using hand sanitizer really reduce the amount of bacteria on your hands?How do different flame retardants affect the flammability and burning rate of cotton?Which cooking method results in the least loss of vitamin C?Does temperature affect the maximum size you can inflate a balloon?Does the color of a crayon affect how long of a line it will write?Does changing the temperature affect how long a pen will last?Do all types of bread mold at the same rate? Tips and Hints By the sixth grade, students should have a good understanding of the steps of the scientific method. The best science fair project ideas will be ones with a hypothesis that is tested by an experiment. Then, the student decides whether to accept or reject the hypothesis and draws a conclusion. This is also a good grade level for presenting data in graphs and charts. Parents and teachers need to understand that sixth-graders still need help with ideas, especially finding ideas that use materials that are readily available and that can be completed within the allotted time frame. One way to come up with a good idea is to look around the house and find topics a sixth-grader may have questions about. Brainstorm these questions and find ones that can be written as a testable hypothesis.

Does Ethnicity Impact on the Way We Experience Music Essay

Does Ethnicity Impact on the Way We Experience Music - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that as a social practice music plays a significant role in the process of constructing national and regional identities and the concept of ethnicity. It has acknowledged vital attention in recent ethnomusicological and other sociological studies. One can find that the study is directly pertinent to the requirements of researchers and professionals in music, musicology, ethnomusicology and social anthropology. Generally, music is considered as the most highly planned human expressions, and it can summarize a social, cultural or ethnic group’s common beliefs and ideologies with a better clarity. The multifaceted music of African-American and Latin traditions proffers a unique opportunity to demonstrate the vibrant relationship between music and culture. Correlation between music and black ethnicity often reveals the changing nature of black ethnicity and various musical styles as they replicate cultural identity. Cultural identity and ethnicity in Sakha are connected with its Pop Music and African –American identity and lifestyle have an obligatory relationship with their music.

Film Kal Penn Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film Kal Penn - Research Paper Example Kal Penn, born in New Jersey in the year 1977, grew up in traditional Indian family. Both of his parents were gujarattti immigrants from India. Most of his roles in his films seem to address racial discrimination. Since his parents were immigrants, he faced racial discrimination from the people in his surroundings. His passion was acting since his childhood. Playing this role in his films may help curb the problem of racial discrimination in America. Films are a form of communication where the information reaches the audience when watching. Kal Penn later involved himself in acting both in school and after school. After landing in television shows like Buffy the vampire slayer, spin the city, and Sabrina the teenage witch, his biography shows us that the work was challenging. His work was sporadic and limited to ethnic roles. At first, he was reluctant at his work to a point where his friends advised him. From this point, he proceeded to change his name (Holder2005 85). This implies the resistance Kal Penn was getting from the audience. Changing his name made his job offers increase by 50%. This implied that Kal Penn could not get job offers because his name was for an Indian. Additionally, the film industry and the media seem to be highly practicing racial profiling. They most likely offered job opportunities to the American dwellers. Again, in his romantic film; American Desi, which explored race and identity of young ethnic group, shows his efforts to explore in the field of racial profiling. Most people face discrimination in love because of their skin color, ethnic group, or religion. The fact that Penny is an Indian actor can make him face discrimination from the Americans. This film illustrates racism practices by the young people. Arguably, Kal Penn seems to fight racial profiling because he turns down his role as a teenage terrorist cast as Ahmed Amar, which he

Is Talkback Radio Important for Democracy in Australia Essay

Is Talkback Radio Important for Democracy in Australia - Essay Example Talkback radio, in its present function is not working as it should be to facilitate democratic practice in Australia. Commonly known as talk radio, talkback radio is a type of radio format giving Australian listeners a venue to discuss political and other current issues (en.wikipedia.org). 1 Democracy is government of the people, for the people and by the people. Given the context of both, it is not unexpected to assume that the prior supports the latter. Talkback radio ideally is democracy in action.Talkback radio's history in Australia dates back to the mid 1920's but was not made legal until the late 1960's. It was not officially permitted as, in radio; there is a difficulty to screen libelous and offensive calls. Following the lifting of previously strict regulations and the development of a tape delay system, talkback radio started being visible once again in 1967. It, however, grew bigger in the 1992 when the Broadcasting Act brought commercial radio deregulation and instead o f its news and current affairs programs being hosted by "journalists", these were handled by "entertainers." 2Why these radio personalities who were considered stars in their own right were classified as entertainers is clearly explained in Adam's and Burton's TALKBACK: Emperor's of Air. Adam's and Burton explained that the infamous talkback radio hosts are, in fact, only presenters. By this, it means that "their involvement is [that] few moments of autocue reading (11)." In this type of arrangement, there are reporters and producers who gather, interpret and develop the data. The final product shall then be broadcasted by the talkback radio host, the figurehead of the show (Adams and Burton 11). The implication of this is that figureheads wield power. While it is plausible that some, although not all, radio show hosts have a limited knowledge of a topical issue, their stand and their opinions greatly influence that of the general public. Two of the most popular radio stations broadcasting talkback radio in Australia, credited mostly to its right-wing hosts, are 2UE and 2GB. The previous began its broadcasting stint 26 January 1925 and was originally called 2EU. The station offers current affairs program in the mornings with and in the afternoons and evenings a more relaxed programming. 2GB that started its operation in 1926 runs on a similar format as that of 2UE. While both are widely accepted, 2GB is considered the more influential of the two. 3 It will be incomplete to mention the two rival stations without considering the major role of their popular programs' figureheads in the growing popularity of both talkback radio stations - John Laws and Alan Jones. Radio Manager of 2UE even, confidently, stated that Laws and Jones "were the two most powerful men in the country, after the Prime Minister (qtd. fr TALKBACK: Emperors of the Air)." 3 For more information please refer to and . John Laws who has worked for various radio stations and even had a short stint at television before settling at 2UE. 4 Laws' return to 2UE propelled the station's rise to the number one spot. Laws' programs are syndicated in Australia and are very much popular in the rural areas. His programs tackle newsworthy issues; even then, he is not a journalist per se, merely a presenter. Notwithstanding Laws' seeming lack of in-depth knowledge of the issues he is tackling, given that he only echoed to the public what was gathered by station reporters, his appeal was nothing short of astounding. His authority influenced much of the listeners' opinions and actions. The same is true for Alan Jones' control over the affairs of the masses and even the political units. According to

Trial by jury has no place in modern Britain Essay

Trial by jury has no place in modern Britain - Essay Example The system of jury trial has been related to the common law. In fact, Norman kings have promoted the specific process sending their judges ‘to preside at jury trials’ (Spooner 2006, p.88). In the above context, the objectivity of the court was ensured through the following practice: the public could choose ‘four people to sit with them’ (Spooner 2006, p.88). Magna Carta has enforced the specific rule in order to ensure that judge will not influence the jury (Spooner 2006). Saxons did not accept the interference of king’s judges with the jury, aiming to keep the court independence from the ruling of the king (Spooner 2006). Today, a similar approach can be used for justifying the non-appropriateness of jury trial in English law. Due to its structure, the English legal system ensures the objectivity in trial, at least at higher level than other legal systems worldwide where the use of jury in trials often causes severe problems in the court procedure. The presence of juries in trial has been, traditionally, considered as a measure for ensuring equality in terms of law, i.e. to ensure that the decision of the court will be fair both for the perpetrator and the public, meaning that no punishment will be imposed unless the person considered as the perpetrator has, indeed, committed the offense involved. It is for this reason that in trial with juries the defendant is given plenty of time in order to present all the evidence available; in this way it is ensured that the crime will be fairly and appropriately evaluated by the jury. In practice, the participation of juries in trials has led to ‘verdicts, which have protected the personal rights’ (Hosterttler 2004, p.155). However, it cannot be stated that trial by jury always lead to the correct verdict or that juries ‘protect the law’ (Hosterttler 2004, p.155). Such perception cannot be acceptable taking into consideration the involvement of other individuals in critical parts of each trial, especially the judge in directing the trial and the lawyers in presenting/ analyzing the evidence involved. From this point of view it could be noted that juries are not indispensable part of criminal law. In the English legal system this view could be also applied, especially since in the particular system, due to its structure and its principles is quite difficult to lead to failures in regard to the evaluation of evidence, minimizing the risks for wrong verdicts. Currently, criminal trials in the English legal system are based on the trial jury, but not necessarily. In minor offences, these that are heard before the magistrate’s courts, the offender has the right to choose between ‘a trial before the magistrate court and a trial by jury before the Crown Court’ (Erastus-Obilo 2009, p.41). On the other hand, in more serious offences, the offender does not have such option. The trial is heard necessarily ‘by judge and the ju ry’ (Erastus – Obilo 2009, p.41). Moreover, the power of jury as factors determining the cases cannot be ignored. In fact, the verdict cannot replace the judgment of the court, but the verdict is the basis for the development of the judgment. From this point of view, the current role of jury in the English legal system is critical. 3. Benefits and implications of the trial by jury The use of the jury system in England has been combined with the principle of liberty; more specifically, the presence of juries in trials in England reflected the liberty of people to participate in important issues related to the law, which, as its name notes, is common among all people in terms of

Questions about Marketing Concepts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Questions about Marketing Concepts - Assignment Example Marketing basically links all the functional departments of an organization to the customer's needs and wants. The idea behind marketing is that the customer is of prime importance and that the most significant task in any organization is first to identify the needs of the customer and then to ensure that all operations are geared toward meeting them efficiently and effectively. Marketing function concerns itself not only with customers but with competitors and suppliers as well. Thus marketing is not just a function but a management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably and responsibly with due regard for the environment and social foundation. A website is a crucial component of the company's to attract current and potential customers. It represents the company globally. A web site is a virtual front-line and direct link to suppliers, distributors, and potential and present customers. It is essential that a website conveys the company's objectives and goals immediately when a browser enters the site. The seven key design elements to achieve an effective web interface are Context, Content, Community, Customisation, Communication, Connection, and Commerce. (Rayporter & Jaworski, 2001) The context refers to layout or design of the website, created by...It is what makes the website easy to find and access and the website simple to use. Content is the text, pictures, sound, video, graphics, downloads, chat rooms, bulletin boards, service, products and information etc that the website contains.The community is described as the ways how the site enables user-to-user communication. E.g. blog, chat rooms etc. It allows users to know the opinions of other users to interact with each other and encourages them to make purchases or visit the site again. Customization refers to the ability of the site to allow different users to personalize their own profiles by means of content and context selection and other personalization tools.

Trial by jury has no place in modern Britain Essay

Trial by jury has no place in modern Britain - Essay Example The system of jury trial has been related to the common law. In fact, Norman kings have promoted the specific process sending their judges ‘to preside at jury trials’ (Spooner 2006, p.88). In the above context, the objectivity of the court was ensured through the following practice: the public could choose ‘four people to sit with them’ (Spooner 2006, p.88). Magna Carta has enforced the specific rule in order to ensure that judge will not influence the jury (Spooner 2006). Saxons did not accept the interference of king’s judges with the jury, aiming to keep the court independence from the ruling of the king (Spooner 2006). Today, a similar approach can be used for justifying the non-appropriateness of jury trial in English law. Due to its structure, the English legal system ensures the objectivity in trial, at least at higher level than other legal systems worldwide where the use of jury in trials often causes severe problems in the court procedure. The presence of juries in trial has been, traditionally, considered as a measure for ensuring equality in terms of law, i.e. to ensure that the decision of the court will be fair both for the perpetrator and the public, meaning that no punishment will be imposed unless the person considered as the perpetrator has, indeed, committed the offense involved. It is for this reason that in trial with juries the defendant is given plenty of time in order to present all the evidence available; in this way it is ensured that the crime will be fairly and appropriately evaluated by the jury. In practice, the participation of juries in trials has led to ‘verdicts, which have protected the personal rights’ (Hosterttler 2004, p.155). However, it cannot be stated that trial by jury always lead to the correct verdict or that juries ‘protect the law’ (Hosterttler 2004, p.155). Such perception cannot be acceptable taking into consideration the involvement of other individuals in critical parts of each trial, especially the judge in directing the trial and the lawyers in presenting/ analyzing the evidence involved. From this point of view it could be noted that juries are not indispensable part of criminal law. In the English legal system this view could be also applied, especially since in the particular system, due to its structure and its principles is quite difficult to lead to failures in regard to the evaluation of evidence, minimizing the risks for wrong verdicts. Currently, criminal trials in the English legal system are based on the trial jury, but not necessarily. In minor offences, these that are heard before the magistrate’s courts, the offender has the right to choose between ‘a trial before the magistrate court and a trial by jury before the Crown Court’ (Erastus-Obilo 2009, p.41). On the other hand, in more serious offences, the offender does not have such option. The trial is heard necessarily ‘by judge and the ju ry’ (Erastus – Obilo 2009, p.41). Moreover, the power of jury as factors determining the cases cannot be ignored. In fact, the verdict cannot replace the judgment of the court, but the verdict is the basis for the development of the judgment. From this point of view, the current role of jury in the English legal system is critical. 3. Benefits and implications of the trial by jury The use of the jury system in England has been combined with the principle of liberty; more specifically, the presence of juries in trials in England reflected the liberty of people to participate in important issues related to the law, which, as its name notes, is common among all people in terms of

Critical Analysis of International Negotiation between Israel and Gaza Essay

Critical Analysis of International Negotiation between Israel and Gaza in 2008-2009 - Essay Example It has been reported that they Qassam rockets have been launched over Israel over three thousand times in 2008. However, principle leaders of Hamas have been enraged by the continuing blockades which Israel have maintained and the lack of any significant political movement made by the agreement from June to December, therefore increased the number of rockets launched over Israel yet again. In response Israel instigated a counter-attack against Hamas, with a combination of air attack and naval attack on the Gaza Strip, ending with more than three hundred and fifty people dead, almost fifteen hundred injured and many buildings ruined. In further retaliation, Hamas leader declared that they would increase the amount of rockets launched, and send into Israel more suicide bombers (Taylor, 2008). On the 27th December air attacks over the Gaza Stripe, initiated by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), found target with over forty hits on Hamas headquarters, buildings and stores. This was the dea dliest day in the sixty years that this war has been raging between Israel and Palestine. These events ignited protests in and around both these countries (Global Voices, 2008). Since the attack on 27th December by Hamas who broke the cease-fire by launching Qassam rockets over their territory, Israel have stated that they then had no alternative but to fight back by declaring hostilities on Gaza in retaliation. The Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, stated that they had attempted all they could in order to halt an offensive attack (Niva, 2009). Niva (2009) however, argues that these sentiments are extensively in opposition with the reality that Israel’s political, and also military leadership took several forceful moves throughout the cease-fire which made worse the crisis with Hamas, and may have even motivated Hamas to generate an excuse for the attack. Therefore, Niva (2009) believes that the current war that is now raging at the beginning of 2009, between

United States and New York Times Essay Example for Free

United States and New York Times Essay What is the article or editorial about (100-150 words)? A 14 year old girl, Malala Yousafzai was shot in head and neck by Taliban while she was in her school bus with fellow students. Malala Yousafzai, who raised her voice for the education rights and opposed Taliban for their actions against women education in her home town, was a symbol of pride for the region. Malala came into attention in 2009 when she was covered by many international media groups for her brave initiative fighting for women rights. She was awarded by many organizations including the government of Pakistan. Malala was taken to a hospital in Peshawar and doctors said that there is a chance that the bullet would have damaged her brain. Many people including the Prime minister of Pakistan Condemned the incident. What are your thoughts? For instance, how does it relate to what we have discussed in class (100-150 words)? I cannot imagine how ignorant one can be and what guts it takes for someone to attack a 14 years old girl who raised her opinion for education rights. Taliban who call themselves the protectors of Islam do not even know that attacking children and elderly is strictly prohibited in Islam and that Islam has given equal rights of education to women. These incidents create a negative image of a region all over the world. We discussed about the women rights in class and that it is not like this everywhere in Pakistan, in fact this action was opposed by everyone in the country. This action by the Taliban determines how coward they have portrayed themselves. It takes a lot  of courage for a girl to come out of nowhere and fight for the rights humanity. In my opinion her efforts created a lot of awareness among the people in the country and especially her region where the literacy rate is less than 50 percent.

Far Right Propaganda A Historical Analysis

Far Right Propaganda A Historical Analysis The parallels between modern far right propaganda and Nazi propaganda leading up to world war two. Propaganda is defined in the oxford dictionary as Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. Propaganda is biased, persuasive and not objective; a form of media usepd to promote a point of view or political stance. Propaganda has been used throughout history to influence and shape views by selectively presenting information and withholding facts. The language and imagery used in political propaganda is carefully selected to conjure an emotional response from an audience rather than a more rational response. The word propaganda is a word derived from the name of a new administrative body of the Catholic Church in 1622 entitled Congregatio de Propaganda Fide which translates as Congregation for the propagating the Faith or informally just propaganda.   Ã‚   There are three different types of propaganda; black, white and grey. White propaganda is the most credible and comes from a source that is identified correctly, and the information in the message tends to be accurate (Jowett and ODonnell, 2012, p.17). The source is often well respected and the information is truthful, however, presented in a way which is biased to convince the audience that they have the best knowledge of political ideology. The best example of white propaganda is newspaper publishing throughout history as the source is clear however the content can vary depending on the political views of the writer. Grey propaganda is a type of propaganda that falls between black and white propaganda; it is often created by a private organisation yet presents itself like a credible source. Grey propaganda can be described best as The source may or may not be correctly identified, and the accuracy of the information is uncertain (Jowett and ODonnell, 2012 p.20). In recent years the problem of fake news stories online is the most obvious version of modern grey propaganda. Black propaganda is the least credible type of propaganda and often comes from a fake or unidentified source and is used predominantly to spread lies. Black propaganda is often created with the intention of being portrayed as a credible source. A good example of the use of black propaganda was seen in the run-up to the 2007 federal election in Australia. Members of the liberal party circulated flyers around Sydney under the pretence of being circulated by an organisation called the Islamic Australia Federation. These flyers recognized the Australian L ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­abour party for supporting Islamic fundamentalists and terrorism. The purpose of this was to conjure fear in the public and alter their political alliances. In Germany in the 1930s, propaganda played a very large part in how the Nazi Party were perceived. Control over what people in Germany could see was heavily restricted which meant obvious propaganda was used in all media including literature, art, music, film, newspapers and radio. Dr Joseph Goebbels was put in charge of propaganda with the official title Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. It was his role to ensure nobody in Germany could see or read anything that could be damaging to the reputation of the Nazi party. Graphic design is key in conveying the messages of propaganda. All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda. This is according to Upton Sinclair, an American author and political commentator, and in the case of Nazi propaganda this was very true and deliberate. Views put across in Nazi propaganda seemed extreme in modern Britain until very recently. The idea that people were taken in by this blatant propaganda seems ludicrous, until you start to look at the startling correlation between imagery and views in Nazi propaganda leading up to world war two and propaganda created by far right groups in recent years. Historical context and Nazi propaganda paragraph Brexit Paragraph Left: A Nazi propaganda film. The images come from a BBC documentary currently on Netflix called Auschwitz: Nazis and the final solution. Right: Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP during the European referendum, standing in front of a UKIP pro-leave poster. Despite not being part of the official leave campaign during the European Referendum in June 2015, Nigel Farage, Leader of far right political party UKIP made constant headlines throughout the campaign. The most controversial piece of propaganda over the last few weeks of campaigning was UKIPs breaking point poster which depicts a long line of refugees trying to reach Europe. The photograph was taken by photographer Jeff Mitchell and shows refugees passing through an old railway line in Slovenia after being kettled by police, explaining the traumatised look on their faces. Jeff Mitchell intentionally took the shot to show the volume of people from an impartial humanitarian point of view as he explains It was a very flat walk, so I scoped out a bridge to shoot from. I knew exactly what lens I was going to use, to compress the group, to show how many people were there. I could have walked with them the whole length, photographing how people were struggling, but you can sum it all up in one picture.. The photograph is now one of the most memorable images of the right wing pro-leave campaign and far right politics in Britain. The text and design of the poster is also important. The banner along the bottom is very simple and easy to read and also looks extremely similar to the format of the leave.eu official campaigns posters which could potentially have been planned to blur the line between the two. The Breaking Point poster was intended to evoke an emotional response from the audience. The image of the hundreds of predominantly male refugees was used so that British people voting in the referendum would feel fear or perhaps a need to protect their country from the unknown. Far right groups use fear and scaremongering in this way to incite hatred of foreigners and different races and religions. In the lead up to World War II, Nazi propaganda films were also used to spark this same sense of fear using volume of people. In my first image you can see a still from a 1941 Nazi newsreel showing the march of Bessarabian Jews in Romania. In this same newsreel, the Jews are also referred to as parasites which links strongly to how refugees are perceived today. The two images have a lot in common in both appearance and political message and both aim to evoke the same response from the audience fear and hatred. Although, different Medias, the photography is similar and has been directly p lanned in order to show as many people as possible in the image. In the case of the Breaking Point poster, UKIP have appropriated this image for their own political cause, whereas in the Nazi newsreel, it is highly likely this was done intentionally. Another parallel between the two images which explain their form and the faces of those photographed is the events leading up to the images. In the photograph of the Jews travelling through Romania they were forced to walk in such a line similarly to the refugees in Slovenia who were kettled by police before being walked in a certain direction. But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success. Adolf Hitler The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. George Orwell US politics The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. Henry A. WallaceRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/henry_a_wallace.html The United States has its own propaganda, but its very effective because people dont realize that its propaganda. And its subtle, but its actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but its funded in a different way. Crispin GloverRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=propaganda+nazi Progressives know there is something very wrong when a nation divided politically has one major network operating as a propaganda arm of the Republican Party and 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists. Bernie SandersRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=right+wing+propaganda

Samuel Clemens in Buffalo: A Woman and an Artist Essay -- Samuel Cleme

Samuel Clemens in Buffalo: A Woman and an Artist Preface While literary critics and historians alike have thoroughly examined the influence of Samuel Langhorne Clemens’ Missouri boyhood and foreign travels on his writing, scholars outside of Western New York consistently overlook the importance of the eighteen months he spent in Buffalo from August 1869 to March 1871. Though a Buffalo resident for the past twenty years, I was also only vaguely aware that Clemens passed through until Dr. Walter Sharrow of the Canisius College History Department mentioned his local stay. The suggestion that America’s best satirist lived in Buffalo—a location that could provide a contemporary wit with a wide range of material—tickled my historical sensibilities. Nearly immediately, I began to speculate why America’s most famous writer would migrate to Buffalo. After I discarded my first ideas—the weather, the Buffalo Bills, the efficiency and effectiveness of our local political leaders—I concluded it must be because of a woman. Indeed, my early research echoed this assumption, reinforcing my interest in Twain’s experience here and inspiring the first section of this paper. When furthering my research, I developed a second point of interest. Two local scholars, Martin B. Fried and Tom Reigstad both suggest that Buffalo was a major point of transition for Clemens. Fried writes, â€Å"His Buffalo experience, scanted in most biographies, has significance because it was the final stage in a long campaign for an artistic existence free of financial worries and of the burdens of journalistic writing.† This suggestion—that his time in Buffalo inspired his development from humorist and journalist to the novelist who produced Huck Finn—intrigued me de... ...287 _____________. 11 and 13 March 1871.Mark Twain’s Letters, vol. 4, 349-350. Langdon, Olivia. 17 June 1868. Mark Twain’s Letters, vol. 2, 286. Twain, Mark. â€Å"Salutatory,† Buffalo Express. August 21, 1869: reprinted in Joseph B. McCullough and Janice McIntire-Strasburg, Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express, 5. Twain, Mark. â€Å"A General Reply.† Buffalo Express. November 12, 1870: reprinted in Joseph B. McCullough and Janice McIntire-Strasburg, Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express, 254. Secondary Sources Martin B. Fried, â€Å"Mark Twain in Buffalo,† Niagara Frontier 5, no. 4 (Buffalo: Buffalo Historical Society, Winter 1959): 89. Justin Kaplan, Mr. Clemens and Mr. Twain, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966), 52. Joseph B. McCullough and Janice McIntire-Strasburg, Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express. DeKalb: Northern Illinois Press: 1999, xix.

Free Narrative Essays - Why Cant We All Just Get Along?

I recall an incident back in my elementary school days, when I was on the playground during an afternoon recess. My friends and I were intensely involved in a emotional game of basketball. I had been playing miserably, so after my fourth brick, I spiked the ball, super bowl touchdown style against the solid pavement. It began a long process of ricocheting off the walls of the coverd area and amidst it's air born flight it somehow managed to collide with the jawbone of a rather thuggish looking 5th grader. At this time, an ominous dark cloud of rage began spouting from the disgruntled upperclassmen's nostrils. A large crowd began chanting, "fight! fight! fight!" that was slowly forming around us like vultures circling to pick at the bones of the unfortunate loser. Realizing that the odds of me emerging alive from this mess weren't very good, I began to think of a strategy that would enable all my major organs to remain intact. I decided to use humor to defeat this barbaric beast. I must have ridiculed and made fun of myself over 200 times. I told him that even if he passed out, in a full body cast , and suffered from leprosy, he still could wipe the floor with my feeble body. I told him if he didn't disfigure me, that I would offer to be his own personal reusable toothpick for as long as he wished. Violence and nonviolence are two very effective ways to solve problems, but for people like me whose brains are stronger than their fists, nonviolence seems much more practic... ...y major origans. After the crowd began laughing at my foolish self- directed jokes, the enraged 5th grader quickly switched from steaming in anger to chuckling along with the rest of the observers. Eventually he lost interest and went along his way, just in time for me to sharpen my basketball skills before the bell rang. Much like the example of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, I too had the choice of taking one of two roads. I knew that taking a violent stand would only lead to a dead end. I chose the road in which many of the most memorable leaders have taken, a road that has been traveled by few. The nonviolent road. There are many ways to solve a problem. As a wise man once said, "A coward strikes with his fist, a warrior strikes with his mind."

Going Back to the Villages to Make a Developed India Essay

India is a country of villages. Nearly five lakh villages exist in In a. While only about 28 per cent of the population lives in the cities, 72 per cent of the population lives in the villages. The villages thus occupy a place of great importance in the country. They are the base of India’s development in every sphere of life. There were many problems in the villages before Independence. There were no schools, hospitals, banks, etc., for the facilities of the villagers. There were no proper roads, electricity and tube wells. As a matter of fact their life was a hell. Since the dawn of Independence, the conditions in the Indian villages are changing very fast. The Government has opened night schools for the adults and primary schools for boys and girls. High schools and Inter colleges are established at every twenty kilometer of distance. see more:non farming activities in indian villages wikipedia The result is that they are now educated, illiteracy and ignorance are thus fast disappearing. . Till recently, most of the farmers were using the old methods of plouhing their’ fields, or sowing seeds and harvesting. However, the farmers are now using new techniques. They plough their fields with tractors, and irrigate their fields with water from tube-wells. With the abolition of zamindari, the person who ploughs the fields is now the real owner of the land. A great change has taken place in the political and social life of the villagers too. Before Independence, they had no say in the affairs of the village. Now Gram Sabha, Gram Panchayat an, Panchayati Adalat are there. Due to the functioning of these bodies, the villagers have now begun to understand their rights and duties. There are changes in others fields also: Roads are constructed by the villagers. Now every village is linked by roads to other parts of the country. Hospitals and government dispensaries have been established to remove the illness and diseases which usually become a curse on community. In short, the fact is that the development of villages is in a transitional stage. Villages are the biggest support for India, from the past to future. They are the one, with which the world recognizes India. They are the one that does not depend on any other cities, but the entire India is dependent on the villages. They contribute to our modern India in every fields starting from agriculture, economy, prettiness of our country. Hence, I conclude that villages are the biggest strength to our India.

Life and Music

Music is as diverse as the people listening to its many different genres. My wife and I are just two of the millions of people around the world who listen to music almost everyday. However, my wife and I have a lot of differences when it comes to music although I can say that we share the same passion for it ever since when we were still at a young age. For my part, learning music was at first an academic task because it was part of a class that I had to take during my earlier days in school. There was simply no chance for me to enjoy music as people should.When I was ten years old, I bought my first AM transistor from my classmate. It was the first time in my life when I got the chance to enjoy the music of the Beatles and other bands playing country music at the time. That moment in my life opened the windows of my imagination inasmuch as it sparked a great deal of musical interest on my part. From then on, I simply just could not have enough of music and I was stuck with the pleas ure of listening to tunes over the radio. My wife has a strong cultural influence coming from the Philippines because she, too, is a Filipino.I recall my wife telling me that she always watched â€Å"An Evening with Pilita Corales† together with her parents when she was still young. Pilita Corales is considered as the Queen of â€Å"Kundiman†Ã¢â‚¬â€traditional love songs written and sung in Filipino language—in the Philippines. If my wife was fond of watching that show way back then, I was fond of watching â€Å"Lawrence Welk† on the television together with my father and mother. Apparently, our differences in our earliest exposures to music hold one reason why my wife and I still have differences today in terms of music.It is interesting to know that despite the fact that my wife lived in a country that is perhaps one of the most culturally rich countries in the world, she enjoyed spending time in the playground than doing folk dances which often involv ed materials that were indigenously available. Those dances, as she recounted, were always played to the rhythm of local music which, at that time in her life, never seemed important to her. She was too young in fact that she found it more fun to play in the school’s playground than to spend some of her idle time listening to local music and performing local dances.I had the same experience when I was still as young as my wife during her childhood days. The only difference, perhaps, was that I was doubly busy or I had a tougher time at school for I did not only have to learn English but I also had to study music as part of the school curriculum. I had to catch up with my school work and so I barely had the time to realize the pleasure of listening to music and enjoying what it had to offer beyond sensory experience. Today, things have changed a lot—and for the better. Fortunately, my wife and I soon learned and appreciated music in our lives.In fact, my wife and I bega n to watch musical plays like â€Å"Annie†, â€Å"The Lion King†, â€Å"Blue Man Group†, â€Å"Tarzan†, â€Å"Mama Mia† and â€Å"Miss Saigon† soon after we got married. Perhaps it was the moment in our lives when we realized that we shared one thing in common after all—the love for music. Each time we are able to watch a musical play, we always love the live performance due to the outpouring emotions that one can feel before a stage of actors and actresses giving justice to a number of different melodies and rhythms that can not be easily heard beyond every performance night.Max Weber understood music as â€Å"a deeply meaningful part of a society’s culture† (Turley, 2001, p. 635), which is perhaps why sooner or later people will begin to realize the importance or the role of music in their lives, regardless of whether or not the music they are listening to is indigenous or foreign. That being the case, it is easy to se e why people can relate music; music touches our inner soul and reaches for the depths of our being that we oftentimes find difficult to express, let alone reach.For me, music helps us remember a lot of things simply because music holds memories. As I see it, music expresses feelings even if there are no words to it and it also raises our level of thinking about freedom. Howard Gardner even categorized our abilities to appreciate and even produce music as part of multiple human intelligences (Pfeifer & Scheier, 1999), which makes sense to say that it is crucial for human beings to have an ear for music. Doing so can broaden our mental horizons and enable us to appreciate life even more.While my wife enjoys listening to the music of the Monkees, Carpenters, Beatles and Michael Jackson as much as I do, I still try to go beyond the sheer pleasure of listening to their music. I teach art and I try to incorporate music into my profession. As much as possible, I try to play music whenever I have my art class so that my students will be able to express their feelings more whenever they hold their brushes and begin painting images with beautiful colors. The way I see it, music is so strong it can evoke our inner feelings and give us the inspiration to make stunning artworks.Because music can stir our emotions and our memories, music can push art students and artists to greater lengths. In general, music helps people unlock the rarely touched parts of their being (Grant, 2003, p. 173). I cannot imagine my life and my wife’s life without music as it has already been an integral part of who we are. Music helps my wife and I remember a lot of things about our past and our culture. It also helps us appreciate our lives and our marriage better each day without having the need to force ourselves to listen to music.

Marketing Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Analysis - Essay Example The high portaging prices, and bureaucracies imposed by sale of bionic products is based on the high production costs and minimized vendor efficiency. The economic policies promote competition through influencing positive performance of sales in artificial limbs. The bionic limb products have extensive sales in the country based on the expected turns of lower annual performance and differences in economic aspects. Primarily, the connection bases its application on global financial crisis that affects most countries’ financial statuses. The governments of such countries predict slow economic growth of their GDP leading to reduced levels of incomes. The implosion on customers’ buying behavior is reduced purchases and solicitation of alternative forms of therapy (Baines & Fill, 2014, p 74). The component is a significant implication of the consideration of bionic components used in making life easier for the users’ lives (Baines & Fill, 2014, p 47). The growth in global population includes various elements of influences within the bionic limb industry. There is an increasing ratio of bionic devices in use through higher levels of patients. The competition increment allows for developments in technology and growth in influence of financial positions for each element of the market. The application of technology offers a viable approach to embracing diversity based on manufacturing’s maturity and capacity (Baines & Fill, 2014, p 23). This concept impacts differently on various levels of innovation in the company. Diversification of technologies allows for increased innovation, interaction, integration, and development potential. The increase in healthcare expenditure coupled with the emergence of extra healthcare facilities the emerging economies to provide more growth opportunities among markets for medical bionic implants. The customers

The ressesion in the fashion industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The ressesion in the fashion industry - Essay Example The fashion industry together with other textile products industry has undergone a downturn due to the financial adversity (Global Recession Impacts on Fashion Industry 2009). Fashion is a complicated business with no standard to define the companies in the industry. Fashion companies belong to a broad of range of firms that produces apparel, footwear, textile accessories and home furnishings. The industry is formed of diverse professionals and firms that include fashion designing, modeling, marketing, retailing, planning and distribution. Fashion includes brands and local sellers to whom the recession has brought in a struggle to sell the products for survival. The impact is felt among the various members of the fashion industry in a different manner and the similarity among the members is their poor financial status. The lavish spending attitude of consumers is now replaced by a cautious closefisted consumer behavior due to the global trend of increasing unemployment, plunging home budgets and the credit squeeze. Some of the few items consumers cut back during financial crisis is fashion accessories and apparels. This has led several fashion companies to contact credit problems. Various companies around the world have already filed for bankruptcy. Even big labels in the fashion industry are faced with financial problem and have declared their negative financial trend. Some companies have gone to the extent of expecting a take over or are negotiating a partnership deal with consenting investors for financial support. Many innovative plans and events are being cancelled and the plans to cut down jobs in regional offices are more of regular news. Fashion labels in fashion cities in the Italy have held discussions with the government to appeal for support and reduce the burden of the financial downturn. Fashion houses are hesitating to show the collection for various seasons in 2009 since the shows are expensive without any guarantee of returns. The

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 67

Assignment Example The drought affected the economy very badly and reduced grain production levels. On top of that, the ‘financial bondage’ was imposed by the IMF and World Bank, although this term is not used in the article. In league with other Western powers and the media, they engaged in lies about Zimbabwe that made matters difficult for the country. Together with the land issue re-erupting after war veterans demanded compensation, these circumstances led to Zimbabwe’s financial woes in 1997 and more troubled years ahead. The land issues have roots in the 1930 Land Appropriation Act, which restricted the native black people’s access to land under British colonial rule in favor of the white settlers. This put pressure on the limited land available to blacks in tribal reserves. After independence, the Lancaster House Agreement only postponed resolving the problem by protecting white owners for another decade. The 1985 Land Acquisition Act did try to alleviate the problem through land redistribution, but problems such as racial tensions and overcrowding persisted. Then the demands of the war veterans only added to the pressure. President Mugabe took a bold step by forcefully taking land back from whites and distributing it among the majority blacks, but favoritism and corruption were evident, and therefore, ordinary Zimbabweans continue to suffer. Zimbabwe is in dire need of addressing issues of inequality, ensuring self-sustenance, protection from outside exploitations, elimination of corrupt and the implementation of fair practices, and above all good governance if it is to prevent a total Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 223 Assignment Example His second argument was based on and backed by observations made by fellow astronomer, Adriaan van Maanen. Van Maanen claimed to have observed he Pinwheel Galaxy rotate. For this to be possible, it would mean that it was revolving at a speed faster than the speed of light, which was impossible. Andrew Mackellar was unfortunate to lose the prize. He made his discovery at a time that World War II was at its peak. All efforts were towards winning the war and there wasn’t an opportunity for him to present his findings to fellow scientists at a

International marketing - the case of Mcdonald's Essay

International marketing - the case of Mcdonald's - Essay Example Differences in culture, behaviour and customer needs across nations have posed new challenges while also providing new opportunities in international marketing. These have altered the segmenting, targeting of the market and product positioning. Thus international marketing strategy is a comprehensive effort which entails deployment of the marketing mix to create a sustainable advantage in the international market place (Wong and Merrilees, 2007). The right marketing mix and the marketing decision can change the brand perception and enhance the firm’s reputation leading to strong brand performance. The power of global brands can be used as a means of international entry but such brands also have to adapt to cultural and other environmental conditions. 2. Company Background McDonald's is one of the most respected and recognized brands in the world. Its success is ascertained from the fact that the organization has over 33,000 franchisees across the world, operating in 119 countr ies and serving over 47 million people each day (Han, 2008). McDonald's has achieved success purely because of its ‘think global, act local’ strategy that it has adopted in all its markets. Initially however, McDonald's had an ethnocentric approach to international marketing as it tried to replicate the home country elements overseas. However, through experience and knowledge it adopted the polycentric approach and focused on the demands of the host country. 3. Standardization and Adaptation Gilani and Razeghi (2010) do not consider it necessary to adapt to the elements of the marketing mix to suit to local tastes as markets have become globalized. However, globalization has not homogenised cultures. Standardization which pertains to identical product lines at identical prices, distributed through identical distribution lines with identical promotional programs (Zou, Andrus, Norvell, 1997), is not feasible in the changed business environment as this demonstrates a produ ct-centred approach whereas organizations need to have a customer-centric approach. McDonald's, in order to fit in to the new market demands, adjusted the entire marketing strategy including how they distribute and promote their brand. The company re-designed its marketing mix based on the product positioning, branding and design. 4. Product Positioning Product positioning is the product’s positioning and image that lends it a distinct value and place in the target segment’s mind (Liu and Chen, 2000). Since buyers differ in their attitudes, lifestyle and behaviour, these differences help in market segmentation. Within each segment product positioning strategy has to differ. McDonald's initially positioned itself as the market leader with low-priced quality food (Need Coffee, 2005). McDonald’s continuously strives to serve the customers better as its vision is to be the ‘world’s best quick service restaurant experience and ensure that every customer in every restaurant smiles (Andidas, 2003). However, as it entered the Asian markets, particularly China, it had to reposition itself. Burgers in China are perceived by the elders as providing nutritional value while the youth seeks taste (Anderson and He, 1998). Even though they do not relish pizzas or fast food, but the Chinese consumers would like to be seen at fast food outlets. McDonald's strategy was to provide the ambience, music and the environment that attracted the Chinese consu

Final research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final - Research Paper Example This paper is, therefore, aimed at discussion some ways the digital revolution has changed journalism. Digital revolution has several impacts on the current journalism as it stands. For instance, it has been argued that, digital revolution increases commercial pressure where the digital models that used to pay for the news do not give this payment anymore as they have other ways to obtain such news for free. This would create an impact on the quality and availability journalism that rely on facts in America. The revolution has seen several consumers use search-powered web to obtain news and read only the selected parts, hence, not paying for news as they used to do. The digital media have, therefore, made news look like a commodity found in the market. The increase in the share of total advertising expenditure also exists, though most of the expenditure goes into paid search. The paid search is mainly controlled by the big media companies such as Google that only aggregates the news but do not create the news itself. Due to such big losses that have hit the journalism industry through the digital revolution, the US news publishers have used the opportunity to turn their reach in order to increase their reach, consumer value and loyalty, and generate some revenue from advertising. Through such attempts, they try to compensate the losses in revenue as a result of new commercial and technological pressures. A major challenge in maintaining such online advertisement sets in when trying to preserve the brand. Such efforts have been seen to attract many consumers, who are fragment and transient. Another challenge is for the small media houses since they are not able to compete fairly in the market. News publishers in the journalism industry are working hard to attract clicks, retain their consumer, boost advertising revenues and increase their visibility extent in the search

Asses the Contribution of Functionalism to Our Understanding Essay Example for Free

Asses the Contribution of Functionalism to Our Understanding Essay Functionalist views are based on that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or consensus. They believe that every part of society performs functions that help keep society running effectively. They use the example of a body to explain the way society runs as each part of our body has to work together in order for us to stay alive this is the same as society according to a functionalist. Education according to Emilie Durkheim (1903) consists of two main functions, creating social solidarity and teaching specialist skills. Social solidarity is the sense of being part of a group or society. Functionalists believe this is key to making education run accordingly as without social solidarity people would only self indulge in their own desires. Education helps to create social solidarity as it helps transmit societies culture, beliefs and values from ‘generation to generation‘keeping society running correspondingly. Schools also act in preparing children for society in real life by teaching the concepts of working together with people you do not always no. his links with working as in work you have to work coherently with people who you will not know. Specialist skills are having the necessary skills to perform their role in education to the ‘bride way’ towards working life. Education helps children prepare for this through teaching children in different a range of subjects which they will then come to specialise in the subjects they are good in which will in turn help them earn mon ey in society in later life. Education also according to functionalists gives all children an equal opportunity to develop on their own individual talents also known as meritocracy which is achieving through your own effort. Davis and Moore (1945) argue that education sorts children into their future educational roles by sorting their ‘aptitudes’ and ‘abilities’ which also links to social solidarity as to do certain jobs you need the necessary qualification and experience. However there are criticisms of functionalists and education. Melvin Tumin (1953) put forward a circular argument and criticises David and Moore by putting forward such questions as ‘how do we know what job is more important? ’ answer ‘because it’s highly Rewarded’ and why are some jobs higher rewarded than others? ’ answer ‘because they are more important’. Marxists believe that society only transmits the ideology of the ruling class therefore it disadvantages the working classes in education. One example is that Marxists prepare the working class for there jobs through education therefore it is only transmitting values of the ruling class. Also Marxists believe that the state is controlled by the ruling classes who transmit the ideology state apparatus which is that it maintains control through controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs through religion, mass media and the education system. This criticises the functionalist view as social solidarity is meant to transmit these values and beliefs which according to Marxists are only means to control the working class. Meritocracy according to Marxists is a myth as we are controlled by the higher classes and we cannot achieve our status we ascribe our status. Another big criticism of functionalism in education is that functionalists believe that everybody at school behaves and accepts all that is taught when this is not the true case. It does not explain why some people come to fail examinations if everybody works in a general ‘consensus’. Dennis Wrong (1961) refers to this as ‘puppets in society’. The new right believe that the state fails to prepare the young for work as the state discourages choice and competition. Another disadvantage is that functionalists cannot explain under-achievement and inequality of opportunity in education. In conclusion Functionalism has a good general understanding of Education but it has quite obvious flaws as not everybody is going to get on in society so it is impossible to have a general consensus. Also the disadvantages of Functionalism in education seem to out weigh the positives therefore functionalism does not give a real positive understanding of education.

The Overpowering Nature of Nurture

The Overpowering Nature of Nurture Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions. (Gladwell, 2005, p.97). We are, to a certain extent, the person we are, but the reality is that for reasons unknown to us, there are just certain people with which we do not click. It may be ground into our genes or it may have been structured into our thoughts and beliefs by the environment. The same goes for our own first impressions. We are naturally going to look a certain way or have a certain talent that gets peoples attention, but we still have the ability to change, at least partially, the first impression we show other people. There is no doubt that genetics determine a part of who we are as individuals, but nature is not the key component when considering who we become, since, as humans, we, through our social experiences and moral development, are constantly being shaped by the world in which we are surrounded. Every person is born into this world an individual and it is those initial seconds and minutes after we are born that show the importance nature. Jensen (2005) states, All humans are unique because of both prenatal differences and postnatal experiences (p.113). Our prenatal differences are significant because they determine our genes and the way our brain and body form. For example, both my parents have blue eyes and I also have blue eyes. I was also not born with any diseases or addictions because my mother took good care of her body when she was pregnant with me. My dad and my siblings have been diagnosed with ADD in the last couple years. While I have not been diagnosed, I do believe that I have it as well, at least at a minimal level or at a level Ive learned to control naturally over the years. All of these factors are things that I have no control over; they are what nature has put together for me in my biological make-up. Another biological factor that many people consider is intelligence. According to Gladwell (2008), some people are born with a high level of analytical intelligence which is the type of intelligence measured by I.Q. tests. Oddly, enough, intelligence has a threshold (Gladwell, 2008, p.80). Therefore, despite the amount of intelligence a person is born with, the rest of that persons intelligence, the intelligence that allows us have things like street smarts, is actually learned; it is at this point that the value of nurture comes into play. Nurture is critical when considering the person we each become. After all, our moral development and social experiences are interlinked and both impact the way things turn out for us and various points in our lives. According to Carol Gilligan and Lawrence Kohlberg, moral development happens in a variety of stages. The stage someone actually progresses to will then vary depending on the experiences and opportunities provided. Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development has six stages and I feel that I am currently between level three and five on his scale, probably depending on the situation (Crain, 1985). In terms of the Heinz dilemma, I agree that the wife should be saved even if it means going against the law to do it. I also know that if I were the druggist, I would not want the death of the wife on my conscious, knowing I could save her. The theory Carol Gilligan created involves three stages, of which I feel I have, in most situations, progressed to the final stage of post-convention al (Hurst, 2013). Interestingly enough, I would credit my higher level of morality to a combination of a religious upbringing, a traditional family life, having to endure the death of my mom, and a sound confidence in myself. It is these social experiences that have helped me understand that while it is important for me to take care of myself, it is also important to consider the needs of others. This understanding of ones own moral development is a contributing factor for the level of success a person can achieve in addition to their social experiences. Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes the influence of an individuals social experiences and upbringing or cultural environments; he states, the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are and shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine (2008, p.11, 19). My level of responsibility for myself and my family, the supportive environment of friends and family I possessed growing up, and the way I was taught to handle various situations have all affected me in where Ive ended up and how I am today. In agreement with Gladwell (2008), Trish Nicholls, who studied the theories of Lev Vygotsky, states, Culture provides the basic orientations that stucture the behavioural environment of the self (1998, par.10). I am lucky enough to say that I do feel successful at this point in my life, but without the culture I was and am currently surrounded by, I dont believe I would have been able to achieve what I have so far. For example, if my parents did not value higher education and travel, and were not veterans, my years after high school may have been significantly different. I would not have had college paid for by the government and I may not have chosen to spend the money I made working traveling. Without the travel opportunities presented to me at my university, I would not value the things I have or see the world with a global perspective. I also would probably not have as much drive to improve our education system because I wouldnt have had any recognition of how it could be better or what else exists in the world. Vygotsky discusses a zone of proximal development that describes each person as having the potential for greatness, but he also emphasizes why scaffolding and our environment ar e so critical in helping a person become great (Nicholls, 1998). All in all, our social experiences and the nurturing that takes place in our life do affect who we become. It is commonly known that life and who a person becomes is the product of the decisions and path taken along the way. Gladwell (2008) describes successful people in the following way, It is not the brightest who succeed [nature]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities-and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them [nurture] (p.267). A large part of the decisions a person makes in their life relates directly to his/her moral development and the experiences he/she has. The reality, though, is that talent, a high I.Q. or the presentation of fantastic opportunities is simply not enough; people must take a combination of everything they are given and use what they know to perfect their first impression of who they really are. After all, we only have one first impression to give. References Crain, W. C. (1985). Theories of Development (pp. 118-136). N.p.: Prentice-Hall. Retrieved from http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers. New York, NY: Back Bay Books. Hurst, M. (2013). Carol gilligans theory of moral development. In Education Portal. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/carol-gilligans-theory-of-moral-development.html#lesson Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Nicholl, T. (1998). Vygotsky. In Mathematics education: Constructivism: Vygotsky and the internet. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from http://www.massey.ac.nz/~alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm

Disposable Containers for a Disposable Environment :: Expository Exemplification Essays

Disposable Containers for a Disposable Society As society goes through its day-to-day activities, it consumes an enormous amount of liquids. Of course, those liquids are packaged in various types of apparatuses, many of which are disposable. But disposable to whom? "Out of sight-out of mind," maybe? Granted, disposable and throwaway containers are a convenience for the moment, but they are rapidly becoming a devastating eye sore. Disposable bottles and cans invite enormous hazards to the environment. Disposable containers create unsightly neighborhoods and countryside. While driving this weekend, I counted 28 Dr. Pepper bottles and 14 Diet Coke cans in a 2Â ½-mile span of roadway. Our neighborhoods and countryside are being plagued daily by enormous amounts of empty bottles and cans. People don't think twice about pitching their empties out of the car window. An uncaring attitude is taking over society. Although Coca-Cola seems to be reaping the benefits of our fast-paced, thirsty society, our beautiful land is not so lucky. On Saturdays, I see Boy Scout Troop 99 picking up trash using separate sacks for the bottles and the cans. By noon, their total bottle and can collection for a one-mile radius generally fills about 17 large garbage bags. Obviously, this is proof that these disposable bottles and cans are destroying the beauty of our neighborhoods. Another example I have encountered is the ugliness presented on Highway 66 between Luther and Wellston. Again, it is common to se e paper sacks full of bottles and cans thrown to the side of the road. Subsequently, the bottles break in pieces over the side of the highway, threatening flat tires for the motorists. Playgrounds are demolished by cans left behind after picnics on Sunday afternoons. Parks have been invaded by party groups too lazy to hit the trash cans. Instead, glass is broken and left behind for others to deal with. In addition to blemishing our neighborhoods and countrysides, disposable bottles and cans cause hazards to the wildlife. Disposable bottles and cans result in tremendous dangers to wildlife in our environment. For the buyer's convenience, throwaway cans are packaged using connected plastic rings to hold the cans in a six-pack. But this packaging method is anything but a convenience to our wildlife. Instead, the plastic rings yield tremendous dangers to our lake and pond wildlife. Ducks, geese and many other types of water birds get tangled up in these plastic rings and struggle for hours to break free. Disposable Containers for a Disposable Environment :: Expository Exemplification Essays Disposable Containers for a Disposable Society As society goes through its day-to-day activities, it consumes an enormous amount of liquids. Of course, those liquids are packaged in various types of apparatuses, many of which are disposable. But disposable to whom? "Out of sight-out of mind," maybe? Granted, disposable and throwaway containers are a convenience for the moment, but they are rapidly becoming a devastating eye sore. Disposable bottles and cans invite enormous hazards to the environment. Disposable containers create unsightly neighborhoods and countryside. While driving this weekend, I counted 28 Dr. Pepper bottles and 14 Diet Coke cans in a 2Â ½-mile span of roadway. Our neighborhoods and countryside are being plagued daily by enormous amounts of empty bottles and cans. People don't think twice about pitching their empties out of the car window. An uncaring attitude is taking over society. Although Coca-Cola seems to be reaping the benefits of our fast-paced, thirsty society, our beautiful land is not so lucky. On Saturdays, I see Boy Scout Troop 99 picking up trash using separate sacks for the bottles and the cans. By noon, their total bottle and can collection for a one-mile radius generally fills about 17 large garbage bags. Obviously, this is proof that these disposable bottles and cans are destroying the beauty of our neighborhoods. Another example I have encountered is the ugliness presented on Highway 66 between Luther and Wellston. Again, it is common to se e paper sacks full of bottles and cans thrown to the side of the road. Subsequently, the bottles break in pieces over the side of the highway, threatening flat tires for the motorists. Playgrounds are demolished by cans left behind after picnics on Sunday afternoons. Parks have been invaded by party groups too lazy to hit the trash cans. Instead, glass is broken and left behind for others to deal with. In addition to blemishing our neighborhoods and countrysides, disposable bottles and cans cause hazards to the wildlife. Disposable bottles and cans result in tremendous dangers to wildlife in our environment. For the buyer's convenience, throwaway cans are packaged using connected plastic rings to hold the cans in a six-pack. But this packaging method is anything but a convenience to our wildlife. Instead, the plastic rings yield tremendous dangers to our lake and pond wildlife. Ducks, geese and many other types of water birds get tangled up in these plastic rings and struggle for hours to break free.

What Are The Main Contrasts To Be Found In Portugal? :: essays research papers fc

What Are The Main Contrasts To Be Found in Portugal?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When answering a question such as this, one must primarily begin by pointing out that not only does Portugal have a great many contrasts within its land, but also that it contrasts greatly with the other Mediterranean countries. Portugal is not to be considered by any means as Spain's poor neighbour, nor should a shadow be cast over it by such a formidable nation. Portugal has a great deal to offer any visitor, it is not merely a tourist's paradise, yet this is regrettably how it is viewed by a large number of individuals. One must also not forget Portugal's history of being, in days gone by, one of the greater maritime nations, one of the more advanced exploring countries of Europe. Whilst Spain was occupied with discovering the Indias and consequently the Americas, Portugal was itself busy exploring Africa and making its own invaluable discoveries, although these are for the most part overlooked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being situated on the westernmost edge of Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal enjoys a relative privacy and independence from the rest of Mediterranean countries. Bordering on Spain on two sides and the sea on the others, the nation as naturally turned towards the sea, from which it draws both its strength and wealth and turned its back on its greatest rival, Spain. Due to its constant waves of invasion throughout the ages, Portugal is a vastly diverse land, not only in geographical terms but also in terms of heritage. It is true to say that Portugal does share a number of similarities with Spain, but it is by no means identical. Rather it is a nation which blends Moorish influences, British tradition and Mediterranean culture to form a truly unique land of peoples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering the diversity of a country such as Portugal, the mention of which immediately conjures up a melange of images from North African to Western European, from hot and balmy weather to snow capped mountains, one must really begin by describing the two principle factors, those of climate and geography, which themselves are interwoven. These in turn have a great effect on and to a certain extent bring about other differences which can be noted within the narrow confines of this nation, such as those of vegetation, economy and landscape.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On examining Portugal in terms of contrasting regions or areas, one must obviously have a starting point and that is generally considered to be a comparison between north and south, the River Tagus (Tejo) being the dividing line. However, Portugal can naturally be divided into three great natural