An into to Business Studies End-of-Module Essay

An into to Business Studies End-of-Module - Essay Example ists Threats Low shelf life of cut flowers Highly competitive market Fluctuations in demand depending on various macroeconomic factors Competitors might seek the advantage of poaching the talented employees of Arena Flowers Seasonal business with low profit margin Tough to manage inventory levels efficiently The SWOT analysis of the company can be done taking into account each of the three key business areas as presented in the table shown above (Preston, 2012, p.30-31). It indicates that there are some of the concerning weaknesses of the company which it can improve upon to be able to run its business efficiently and increase its profitability, ultimately being successful in achieving the goals and objectives of the company. In addition to the weaknesses, the company can improve upon the identified threats to become proactive to the situations and add to its competitive advantage in the market. The primary threat identified for the company is from its competitors. Hence, the company can think of expanding its businesses in places where the competition and could easily win the market share there. The company needs to device a strong and diverse marketing strategy to promote and advertise its business which would ensure that it would be able to increase its brand significantly. Efficiency could be achieved in its business operations if the job responsibilities are delegated to all the employees in an effective manner. The company needs to use the latest technology available to design its inventory management system through effective future forecasting of the future sales demand of its products. In order to achieve its goal of becoming one of the largest companies in the industry it needs to have a competitive advantage which could be achieved through strengthening its core competencies and investing more on research and development to innovate new products that could attract large number of customers to buy its products. Focus should be on recording pre-tax prof its rather than after-tax profits to be able to attract prospective investors to invest in the company. All these initiatives can help the company to achieve its objectives and build up a sustainable business. Question 1 (b) Factors Influencing Organisational Culture Organisational culture is an important aspect of analysing a business organisation. In the context of Arena Flowers various factors can be identified which acts as a driving force in developing the cultural environment observable within the company and the business activities carried on by it. One of the major factors influencing the culture of Arena Flowers is the influence of its cofounder Mr. Wynne who is

Globalisation Of Culture Global Culture Cultural Studies Essay

Globalisation Of Culture Global Culture Cultural Studies Essay Thus, globalization is often constructed as an impersonal and inevitable force in order to justify certain policies or behaviors, however praiseworthy some of them might be. In a broader historical sense, Mazlish (1993:6-7) and Robertson (1992:68-71) cogently argue that not only capitalism or advocacy movements but also Christianity, Islam, and Marxism have made global claims and harbored global pretensions. The start of globalization is also a contested issue (Held et al. 1999). World-system theorists maintain that the expansion of European capitalism in the 16th century marks the start of globalization (Wallerstein 1974; see also Waters 1995:2-4). Robertson (1992:179) argues that globalization took off between 1875 and 1925 with the time-zoning of the world and the establishment of the international dateline; the near-global adoption of the Gregorian calendar and the adjustable seven-day week; and the establishment of international telegraphic and signaling codes. term globalization was first used around 1960 in its world-wide sense as opposed to its much older meanings of the global as something sphericalor universal. It is far from a uniform and inexorable trend. Rather, globalization is a fragmented, incomplete, discontinuous, contingent, and in many ways contradictory and puzzling process (Guidry, Kennedy, and Zald 1999; Held et al. 1999:43proponents of the feeble thesis focus almost exclusively on the economic and financial aspects of globalization to the detriment of political, social and cultural ones. The literature offers and discuss evidence in support of political and cultural globalization that is, on the whole, qu ite persuasive. (Castells 1996:66-147) The anthropologist Jonathan Friedman (1994:210-211) asserts that globalization is the product of cultural fragmentation as much as it is the result of modernist homogeneity, and that what appears as disorganization and often real disorder is not any the less systemic and systematic. At the ideological and cultural level, globalization has been observed as a symptom of late imperial culture as Aijaz Ahmad calls it as the most recent and highest stage of imperialism (Ahmad: 2002). Does Globalisation Produce Convergence? A second contested issue in the literature on globalization has to do with its consequences as to the convergence of societies towards a uniform pattern of economic, political, and even cultural organization. Most famously expressed in modernization theory, the spread of markets and technology is predicted to cause societies to converge from their preindustrial past, although total homogeneity is deemed unlikely. The critique of the presumed convergent consequences of globalization. Political scientist Robert Cox (1996:28, 30 n. 1) writes that the social and ethical content of the economy may be organized differently in various parts of the world. Historian Bruce Mazlish (1993:4) argues that no single global history is anticipated. So It should be noted that some sociologists reject the very terms of the convergence debate by arguing that globalization homogenizes without destroying the local and the particularistic. For example, Viviana Zelizer (1999) argues that the economyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ differentiates and proliferates culturally in much the same way as other spheres of social life do, without losing national and even international connectedness. Thus, globalization is not seen as precluding or contradicting diversity. Like Zelizer, Robertson (1995:34-35) sees the global as the linking of localities. A final aspect of the convergence controversy has to do with the impact of globalization on inequality across and within countries. The evidence unambiguously indicates that there is today more inequality across countries than ten, twenty, fifty or even one hundred years ago. Stunningly, the gap in per capita income between rich and developing countries has grown five-fold between 1870 and 1990 (Pritchett 1997; Temple 1999). There are, however, several noteworthy developing countries that have managed to close half or more of the gap since 1960, e.g. South Korea, Taiwan, and Ireland. Very few developing countries, however, have consistently grown faster than the most advanced ones since 1980. Thus, development levels appear not to be converging as a result of globalization. By contrast to cross-national UNDERSTANDING CULTURE: What is culture? Culture is itself is diacritical rather than a substantive concept. In Frederick Jamesons words, culture is not a substance or a phenomenon in its own right, it is an objective mirage that arises out of the relationship between atleast two groups.No group has a culture all by itself: culture is the nimbus percieved by one group when it comes into contact with and observes another one. In a globalise economy culture is deemed as a matter of choice as much as of inheritance, and thus as a potentially less oppressive, and hence less politicising, category of identification than colour or ethnicity, class or gender. (See, Bennette, 1993:3-4) CULTURE AND GLOBALISATION: Global Culture When we talk about globalisation, we are in a sense talking about unity of the states across the globe. How this unity is brought up? Then how does it link the states together? What are the major contributors in this unification process? Along with a myriad of intellectuals I will also sum- up with an answer, global- culture. However, it is one of the measures required for the unification process. One set of theorists, who are pro-global- culture say, that the global culture is making the world closer and more united. The people of the world are combining their differences and being more cooperative towards one and other. This process of emerging global culture can be seen in times of need when everyone has pulled together to strive for peace and freedom. Although, there exists a wide range of religions of which people are becoming tolerant, forming a homogenised society. On the other hand there are also philosophers who scorn global culture for the reason, that the local culture and morality are all at stake. If we say that the global culture is the synonym of the common culture, then there are wide range of opinion on it. Wight uses the term common culture so loosely that it is unclear whether he has in mind a deep, historic sense of culture, or the more superficial agreed rules that compose a contractual society. (James 1993: 277-8) Alan James, System or society?, Review of International Studies 19: 3, 1993. I argue that to certain extent global culture is a common culture among the people of the world. Further, Appadurai, Arjun in Difference in global cultural economy talks about five dimensions of the global culture 1) ethnoscape, 2) technoscape, 3)medioscape, 4) finanscape and 5) ideoscape. Origin of Global Culture: To get through the idea of the origin of the global culture, I am at consensus with Barry Buzan, the way he differentiates the origin of the global culture by the way of Vanguardist and Syncretist accounts. Vanguardist account emphasizes the centrality of Europe in the expansion story and projects a rather one-way view of cultural transmission from the West to the rest of the world. The Syncretist account puts more emphasis on the interplay of civilizations during the expansion process, and takes a more fluid and interactive view of cultural transmission generally. (Buzan:3 ) Buzan says, that before working through these two accounts and their consequences, it helps to keep in mind that prior to them there are two models of expansion by which a global international society could have evolved from the late classical world. In that world there were several centres of civilization whose degree of contact with each other ranged from quite intense (the Islamic world with both Christendom and the Hindu world) through fairly thin (Christendom and China) to more or less absent (the civilizations of Eurasia and those of Meso-America and the Andean highlands). From that starting point, one way of reaching a global-scale international society would have been for the various civilizational cores of the classical world to expand into increased contact with each other, so requiring that they develop rules of the game to mediate their relations in a polycentric international society. In such a case, global international society would have developed on the basis of cultu ral diversity, perhaps along the lines shown by the Indian Ocean trading system before the European arrival. The other way would have been the takeover of the whole system by one civilizational core, the imposition of one culture on the others, and the absorption of all the others into its particular rules, norms and institutions. This monocentric model is close to most historical accounts of what actually happened. (Buzan: 3) . In Vanguardist terms, the development of a global interstate society has been almost entirely a function of the expansion of the West. From the sixteenth century onwards, the rise of European power quickly crushed the two civilizational areas in the Americas and eroded, and eventually overwhelmed, the four in Eurasia. By the end of the nineteenth century virtually the whole of the international system was recreated in the image of Europe, as in the Americas and Australia; or directly subordinated to Europe, as in the African and Asian colonies; or desperatel y trying to catch up with Europe in order to avoid being colonized, as in the few most resilient parts of the classical world: the Ottoman empire, Japan and China. The triumph of European power meant not only that a sharp and permanent rise in the level of interaction took place, but also that western values and institutions-the so-called standard of civilization-dominated the whole system in imperial fashion. This mixture of coercion and copying runs in close parallel to Kenneth Waltzs idea that anarchy generates like units through processes of socialisation and competition. (Waltz 1979:74-79) Looking at this process in Wendtian terms.(Wendt 1999: 247-50) outsiders might emulate the core because of direct coercion, or by calculation or consent. Whatever the mechanisms and whatever the rationales, the effect is one of a sub-global Vanguard remaking the world in its own political image. This account rests on a sharp distinction between West and non-West, and less sharp differentiations among the different cultures and civilizations within the non-West. It has parallels with other stories of expanding imperial cultures where westernization is a similar process to Sinification, Romanization, Russification, Islamization and suchlike. In explaining the breakout of one culture to dominate others, a Vanguardist account inevitably puts a lot of emphasis on cultural difference generally, and on the exceptionalism of the Vanguard culture in particular. As in much nineteenth-century European imperial discourse, exceptionalism easily drifts not only into a ranking of cultures from superior to inferior (civilized, barbarian, savage) but also into a racist ranking of peoples as superior and inferior. (Hobson 2004: 219-42) Because it rests on differences of both culture and power. (Buzan:6) Robert ONeill and John Vincent also noted the unequal relations between the West and the Third World and the consequent regional diversity of international society, with some Third World unity around non-alignment, development, and the elimination of colonialism and racism. (O Neill 1990: 283-5) The challenges to the West come in two forms. The first is that non-western powers manage to reduce inequality by developing, and then use their new power both to assert different cultural values and to resist the solidarist western values of human rights, democracy and the liberal market. The West has lost the dominance of the second phase, and its prospect is one of continued relative decline as countries like China, India and Iran acquire the elements of modernity, and the corresponding power, that the West has made available. Its only hope is that the homogenizing effects of capitalist development will reduce cultural difference at the same time as they redistribute power. But if culture is viewed in essentialist terms as more or less fixed, then in terms of the instability hypothesis the move to a multicultural foundation and a redistribution of power spells permanent trouble and weakness for international society. (Buzan: 7) The second type of challenge comes not from opposition combined with strength, but from weakness, whether oppositional or not. Part of the legacy of decolonization is an array of weak and failed polities that are unable to play their part in the game of states. Somalia, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and other notional states represent holes in the fabric of international society. Their levels of internal disorder make it difficult to pursue the western agenda within them, and provide bases for criminals and terrorists acting against the West. (Buzan: 7) The Syncretist account is based on the idea that it is the normal condition of human affairs for cultural ideas to flow between areas of civilization. Cultures thus evolve not only in response to their own internal dynamics, but also because of encounters with other cultures, even remote ones. The Syncretist account challenges the strong Vanguardist distinction between West and non-West, and its corollaries of w estern exceptionalism and superiority. (Buzan: 11) Rather than European international society emerging pristine out of a unique and self-contained European civilization, in the Syncretist account the development phase in Europe involves very significant interaction with the other civilizations of Eurasia and North Africa. As Wight notes, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the crusades brought Europe into close contact with the Islamic world, adding to the contact already created by the earlier Islamic occupation of Spain, the two episodes together serving as the channel for the acculturation of medieval Christendom. (Wight: 52). Almost at the same time, the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia brought Europe into contact with China and enabled increased transmission of ideas. The rise of the Ottoman empire from the late thirteenth century, and its conquest of Constantinople in 1453, meant that a rising Europe was neighbour to, and in regular contact with, a hostile and powerf ul non-European culture. Given that classical Greece is sometimes used as a comparator for Europe in discussions of the relationship between culture and international society, it is a nice irony that the Ottoman modifier to the story of a pristine European development runs in close parallel to the way in which the Persian empire shared a system with the city states of classical Greece, initially as the greater power, and then as the victim of Greek expansion. (Wight: 46-109). To sum up: the Syncretist view is that culture and international society are both malleable. They can and do change; cross-cultural interactions are the normal condition of international society, and flow in many directions. The Syncretist account suggests that for two reasons there is less cultural difference between the West and the rest of the world than the Vanguardist account supposes. First, the emergence of European international society was not a pristine process but took place during a long period of s ustained cultural interaction with the other civilizations of Eurasia and North Africa. (Buzan: 19) This outcome envisages the triumph of the Vanguardist process. Either the Vanguard displaces and replaces other cultures, or it converts the rest of the world to its own standard of civilization, creating a universal culture based on a widespread acceptance of Western values, practices and institutions. We know that replacement did not and will not happen, so this outcome now rests on the success of westernization. The degree of cultural unity necessary to stabilize international society would come from the success of westernization, and would go a long way towards mitigating the contradiction between hegemonic practice and the legitimating principle of sovereign equality in present-day international society. This outcome would eliminate OHagans tension as to whether international society represents the values of a dominant culture or a neutral mode of communication across cultures. This outcome envisages the triumph of cultural mixing and adaptation. It is therefore in principle not wedded to any particular set of values, practices and institutions, but is normatively open, allowing these to emerge in the syncretic process. In practice, since the Syncretist account largely accepts the monocentric model, the actual homogenization would reflect the considerable success that the West has already had in projecting onto other cultures many of its values, practices and institutions: sovereignty, diplomacy, nationalism, the market and so on. The expectation here is also that international society will be strong and fairly uniform at the global level, but not exclusively based on western values. Rather, some mixture will emerge as western power wanes and the power and influence of non-western cultures rise. Here too we can find those who think that homogenization will result from the global operation of capitalism, though in this version the undoubted cultural carrying capacity of the global market will work both ways, with the West being as transformed as transforming by the cultural flows across the planet. There is plenty of Syncretist evidence to point to here, from the popularity of Asian food, fashion and film, and This outcome envisages the partial failure of both the Vanguardist project and the process of Syncretism. Such failure might occur for various reasons. The West might lose power before it can convert the rest. Political and cultural resistance in the non-West might be strong, particularly against the more recent and more liberal elements of Western international society. Global- culture and Religion Whether societies are becoming less or more secular? is another point of debate, but in the present context, to a certain extent, the societies are becoming secular . Religion became a categorical model for the ordering of the national society and their relations during nineteenth and early twentieth century. So it became an aspect of International law. The argument I want to raise here is there is a distinction between the culture and the religion? Some equate, culture with the civilisation and inturn, civilisation with the religion; which is not true practically. During seventies and eightees there were church and state conflict prevailing, in the same way as today we think of global culture and the religion. Here comes the issue of diffusion of the religion, and then its global- foci. I agree the way Robertson differentiates between the world and worldliness, on the similer terms as Max Weber does. (Robertson: 143) The major consequences of globalisation have been (1) the transmogrification of traditional religions and belief systems; (2) the beginning of the disintegration of the traditional social fabrics and shared norms by the invasion of consumerism, cyber- culture, newfangled religions, social fads, and changing work ethics and work rhythms; (3) the fast spreading anomie (in the Durkhemian sense) forcing an ever increasing number of individuals to fall back upon for moral and social support the easily accessible pretentious religious banalities; and (4) attributing to religion the creation and acceleration of extremist, fundamentalist, and terrorist tendencies in the third world countries, which are intended to destabilise them, and strike at the root of their civilisation, and multicultural and pluralist nature. (Radhakrishnan: 1403) The nature and functions of religion in society have been Under speculation and discourse for several centuries; the approaches to the understanding of religion philosophical, theological, anthropological, sociological and the related dimensions of religious ideas have been very old; and the nexus between religion and society has been very close, with wide, complex, intricate and elaborate ramifications: The role of religion in giving spiritual and moral sustenance to individuals, the related regulation of social life and moral order, creating and regulating cultural forms, and the inte- gration of society. One may go with the French sociologist Emile Durkheims postulate (endorsed by, among others, the English anthropologist A R Radcliffe-Brown) that the main role (or function) of religion [is] to celebrate and sustain the norms upon which the integration of society depends [Geertz 1968: 402]. While on religion and globalisation, it is important to know whether globalisation unites or divides religions; results in newfangled religions; and has a direct nexus with fundamentalism and religion-linked terrorism. It is also important to ascertain whether for its new imperialist project globalisation has been exploiting different religious forms; whether fundamentalism and religion-inspired terrorism have increased since the advent of globalisation; and whether religions, far from being belief sys- tems in their traditional sense, have spawned new dimensions which are far removed from the spiritual and religious realms. (Radhakrishnan : 1406) Challenges to the global culture: For Transnational corporations, However there are signs evidencing that the national culture no longer affects companies, when they enter other markets, because new global rules are becoming more important instead. Instances of Global- culture: To my way of thinking and after reading so many scholars, I come up with the following instances, which evidence the emergence of the global culture. People are having a shared belief of freedom, and safety across the globe. All do have some common issues like Human Rights, environment protection, Freedoms, technology- savvy practices, feminist issues, health- issues and all other who make the whole world unified in claiming them. Global culture is also emerging slowly in parts of the world. For example, Europe used to have different forms of money and now they have switched to one shared currency, the euro-dollar. Although there are many different form of money throughout the world, someday that might change. The world is shrinking. The things which were common to one particular country or region are now accessible to the world at large. Like Italian, Chinese, Mexican And Indian food. The world commercial market has given rise to the trans- national corporations. Although arranged marriage persists in many cultures today, as modernization proceeds and many areas become part of the global economy, parental influences on marriage continue to decline. Young people who work for wages rather than on the familys land no longer depend as highly on their parents resources. As Western popular culture-including motion pictures, television, music, and fashion-spreads around the world, many young people are drawn to Western notions of love, romance, and individual choice. In some places, such as Japan, people combine modern Western and older cultural practices. For instance, parents and computer matchmaking services help find prospective mates, and the individuals can accept or reject the proposed match. Since its inception in the 1950s, rock music has moved from the margins of American popular music to become the center of a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Closely connected with youth culture, rock music and musicians have helped to establish new fashions, forms of language, attitudes, and political views. However, rock music is no longer limited to an audience of teenagers, since many current listeners formed their musical tastes during the golden age of rock and roll. Similarly, while rock has historically encouraged new creative expressions, the innovations of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix have defined a tradition to which successive generations of musicians have repeatedly turned for inspiration. Natural resources are conserved for their biological, economic, and recreational values, as well as their natural beauty and importance to local cultures. For example, tropical rain forests are protected for their important role in both global ecology and the economic livelihood of the local culture; a coral reef may be protected for its recreational value for scuba divers; and a scenic river may be protected for its natural beauty. The same is the case with conservation of Water, the whole world collectively is in favour of water conservation policies. Cultural exchanges, across the world, for example, the spread of islam or Christianity has been seen in last few years as increasing. Internationalisation of the Media like radio, television, newspaper and internet are linking together the world at large. Apperception of Western culture as an attribute of the world today, as an outcome of the global expansion of industrial capitalism, which for the first time integrated the world into a global system centered in Europe. Major constituent of Western culture have ceased to be ethnic and have become internationalized as intrinsic constituent of a world shaped by the development of the West. Even the idea of art as a self-sufficient activity based on aesthetics, is also a product of Westernisation. The traditional art of other cultures, as well as that of the West from earlier eons, was a different type of creation, determined by functions of a religious, representational, or commemorative nature. Is a Global Culture in the Making? Perhaps the most popular and controversial of the debates about globalization has to do with the rise of a global culture. Actually, there are only a few scholars who maintain that a global culture is in the making. The idea goes back to Marshall McLuhans slippery concept of the global village (McLuhan 1964) The global culture driven by symbols, images, and the aesthetic of the lifestyle and the self-image-has spread throughout the world and is having some momentous effects, including the standardization of tastes and desires, and even , anthropologist Arjun Appadurai (1996:4, 21) argues that individuals and groups seek to annex the global into their own practices of the modern, and that consumption of the mass media worldwide provokes resistance, irony, selectivity, and, in general, agency. Some of the most persuasive arguments against the idea of the emergence of a global culture come from anthropologist Clifford Geertz. He observes that the world is growing both more global and more divided, more thoroughly interconnected and more intricately partitioned at the same time [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Whatever it is that defines identity in borderless capitalism. And the global village it is not deep going agreements on deep going matters, but something more like the recurrence of familiar divisions, persisting arguments, standing threats, the notion that whatever else may happen, the order of difference must be somehow maintain (Geertz 1998:107-110). Like Geertz, sociologist Anthony Smith is skeptical, and notes an interesting initial problem with the concept of global culture: Can we speak of culture in the singular? If by culture is meant a collective mode of life, or a repertoire of beliefs, styles, values and symbols, then we can only speak of cultures, never just culture; fo r a collective mode of life [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] presupposes different modes and repertoires in a universe of modes and repertoires. Hence, the idea of a global culture is a practical impossibility, except in interplanetary terms (Smith 1990: 171). However, I argue that this notion is wrong, and the global culture is not only in existence, but it is flourishing as well. LOCAL versus GLOBAL Local culture and social structure are now shaped by large and powerful commercial interests in ways that earlier anthropologists could not have imagined. Early anthropologists thought of societies and their cultures as fully independent systems. But today, many nations are multicultural societies, composed of numerous smaller subcultures. Cultures also cross national boundaries. Some people fear a loss of cultural diversity as U.S. media companies become dominant. Such companies tend to bundle their products so that a blockbuster movie is promoted by selling soundtracks, books, video games, and other. However, the under- developed countries companies do not have such a control, even any sort of control over the market. On the one hand, as world beat became a more visible feature of the international popular musical landscape in the late 1980s and early 1990s, popular music scholars began to analyze its economic and cultural implications. Most analyses focused on the inequalities characterizing the bilateral relationships between north and south and accused the industry of exploiting Third World cultural resources. Others were concerned about the potentially disastrous consequences of homogenization and westernization upon folk cultures being swept up in and transformed by what has been called global culture flows. The most trenchant critics also charged the world music industry with racism, for ignoring the harsh realities of economic and political subordination experienced by Third World peoples of color, and instead constructing images of cultural authenticity in order to satisfy the desires of northern whites safely to consume exotic otherness. More optimistic observers, for example, have sugges ted that the powerful forces of cultural and economic hegemony are being resisted by culturally and technologically savvy Third World musicians who are taking control of the production of their own music, revitalizing local musical traditions by modernizing them. Furthermore, the international popular musical landscape, so long dominated by U.S. and European pop and rock, has unquestionably been diversified and enriched by the increased circulation of musics from multiple locations around the globe. To better understand the national and global linkages, Some observers would argue that it is inappropriate to distinguish Afro-Brazilian from Brazilian music, since black expressive cultures have contributed so profoundly to what is understood to be national culture. Perhaps no other artistic field in Brazil has been so deeply influenced by black cultures than popular music. Nevertheless, it is useful and necessary to identify distinct styles and movements in Brazilian popular music that are associated particularly with black urban communities. The past 20 years have seen the proliferation of Afro-Brazilian social, political, and cultural movements that explicitly reject the traditional belief in a unitary national culture. Yet, for the most part, contemporary Afro-Brazilian musical countercultures continue to be racially inclusive. An increasingly globalized world economy has intensified the influx of African and diasporic musical cultures, particularly from the United States and Ja maica, to major Brazilian cities. These forms of music and their attendant cultural styles, modes of dress, and dance steps have been widely appropriated and transformed by young urban Brazilians. Several broad currents in contemporary Afro-Brazilian music may be identified: contemporary samba, soul/funk/hip-hop, reggae, axà © music, and mangue beat. (See, Encarta) Another example of globalised music culture Samba emerged in the 20th century as the preeminent national music of Brazil. Modern urban samba was developed in the predominantly black favelas (shantytowns) on the morros (hills) of Rio de Janeiro, and now globalised. In addition to music, there are plethora of dancing style,

Case Study on Dave Barry :: History

Case Study on Dave Barry Much can be learned about Dave Barry's personal life by reading his books, which are compilations of the articles that he has written. His articles can be seen every Sunday in the Daily Break section of The Virginian-Pilot. He is a comedy writer who often points out annoying aspects of everyday life and makes fun of them. All of the following excerpts have been taken from the book entitled, "Dave Barry is not making this up" (unless otherwise noted). He uses a lot of parentheses to add asides, which further explain what he has written. Another technique in his writing that I have noticed is personification, sometimes in the form of quotes. All of these techniques are used in the following excerpts from an article entitled, "Food For Thought." Another problem is that our ant is starting to sag, both in the front (or, in entomological terms, the "prognosis") and in the rear (or "butt"). It doesn't look like one of those alert, businesslike, "can-do" ants that you see striding briskly around. It looks depressed, like an ant that has just been informed that all 86,932 members of its immediate family were crushed while attempting to lift a Tootsie Roll. But the ants that showed up at our experiment were total morons. You'd watch one, and it would sprint up to a Cocoa Krispie, and then stop suddenly, as if saying: "Yikes! Compared with me, this Cocoa Krispie is the size of a Buick!" then it would sprint off in a random direction. Sometimes it would sprint back; sometimes it would sprint to another Cocoa Krispie and act surprised again. but it never seemed to do anything. There were thousands of ants behaving this way, and every single time two of them met, they'd both stop and exchange "high-fives" with their antennas, along with, I assume, some kind of ant pleasantries ("Hi Bob! "No, I'm Bill!" "Sorry! You look just like Bob!"). This was repeated millions of times. I watched these ants for two days, and they accomplished nothing. It was exactly like highway construction. It wouldn't have surprised me if some ants started waving orange flags to direct other insects around the area. A technique found often in Barry's articles are graphic indicators, especially italics. The above excerpt shows how he uses them to indicate exaggeration ("This was repeated millions of times") and also to emphasize words ("†¦accomplished nothing).

Literature Local and Foriegn Essay

The story is told in flashbacks as Emilio Aguinaldo thanks the US government for giving him the opportunity to attend the full restoration of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946. The film begins with his capture by Philippine and US forces under Frederick Funston’s command in 1901, then flashes back to 1886, when an old woman gives Aguinaldo and childhood friend Candido Tirona cryptic prophecies. Ten years later, Aguinaldo is inducted into the Katipunan and later assumes leadership of its Cavite chapter while becoming mayor of Cavite El Viejo. When trouble breaks out in Manila in late August 1896, Aguinaldo tries to assure the Spanish provincial government of non-interference and covertly marshals his forces despite a lack of weapons. Learning that the Spanish mostly put their forces in Manila, Aguinaldo finally mobilizes his troops and take the fight to Spanish troops in Cavite. As the rebels gain ground in Cavite and several provinces, its Magdalo and Magdiwang factions convene to elect a provisional government. Andres Bonifacio oversees the Tejeros Convention, which elects Aguinaldo as president, Mariano Trias as vice-president, and himself as interior minister. He storms out of the convention when Daniel Tirona objects to his election. Aguinaldo’s brother Crispulo informs him of his accession and convinces him to leave his troops just as he was seeking to defend against the Spaniards at Pasong Santol. The rebels are defeated and Crispulo is killed. Meanwhile, an embittered Bonifacio establishes his own revolutionary government and is later arrested. Aguinaldo is concerned about Bonifacio’s actions and wanted him exiled, but the War Council advises his execution. Several months later, Aguinaldo leaves Cavite with most of his forces intact and makes it to Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan, where he signs the Pact of Biak-na-Bato and heads for Hong Kong. There he meets with US officials who approach him with offers of support and recognition of a new Philippine Republic amidst the Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo returns to the Philippines and formally declares independence from Spain. As the Malolos Congress convenes, Felipe Agoncillo tries to represent the new nation at the Treaty of Paris negotiations, but gets stonewalled at every turn even as US forces gradually arrive in the Philippines. The Philippine-American War breaks out in February 1899 and Antonio Luna is appointed commander of all Filipino troops. He is assassinated three months later and the Filipino troops are gradually routed by the Americans. As a result, Aguinaldo’s forces travel all over northern Luzon to escape the Americans. General Gregorio del Pilar volunteers to lead some troops in holding them off at Tirad Pass and buy Aguinaldo time to get away. His loyal courier is later captured by the Americans while getting some medicine for his son. Now aware of Aguinaldo’s hideout, Funston plans his capture. Having been made to accept US rule over the Philippines, Aguinaldo lives a quiet life, which is marred by Hilaria’s passing in 1921. He meets and marries Felipe Agoncillo’s niece Maria in 1930. Over the next few decades, the couple witness Philippine history unfold once more as he is defeated in the 1935 presidential elections, Japanese occupation and the restoration of full independence. In 1962, an elderly Aguinaldo and his wife comfort each other over President Diosdado Macapagal’s decree to restore the actual date of the Philippine declaration of independence. In his final hours, the same woman who gave him his prophecy appears to him one more time. The movie is partly based on Aguinaldo’s Memoirs of the Revolution. Writer-director Mark Meily states that the project had its genesis back in 1998. Over the intervening years, careful research was made in order to accurately portray Aguinaldo’s life, especially facts that have been glossed over in history books. These include his conduct over the trial of the Bonifacio brothers and his other actions during the Revolution. Meily himself was brought into the project as director after Ejercito pledged never to work with original director Tikoy Aguiluz because of their rift over editing Manila Kingpin. Shooting took place over 43 days at select locations in Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan, with the Las Casas Filipinas de Azucar in Bataan substituting for urban scenes. Critical reception The movie garnered mixed reviews. The Philippines’ Cinema Evaluation Board graded the film at A. [5] Phillip Cu-Unjieng of the Philippine Star said it â€Å"vividly recaptures† one of the Philippines’ most turbulent periods in history by exposing the infighting among the Katipunan’s members and how Aguinaldo wanted to resolve them. He noted that the film’s quality makes it almost stand out as much as Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. [6] Philibert Ortiz-Dy said making the film was tricky, but dragged towards the end. [7] The movie garnered most of the awards at the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival, winning the plums for Second Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Cesar Montano), Youth Choice Award, Best Float, Best Sound, Best Musical Score, and Best Make-up.[8] Columnist and radio show host Jessica Zafra, however, was critical of the movie’s treatment. She said the depiction of Bonifacio’s death raised questions about its authenticity. She added that the film itself â€Å"does Emilio Aguinaldo a disservice by portraying him as a victim of circumstance† and even highlighted the â€Å"amnesia† prevalent among contemporary Filipinos.

Family Planning Essay

Introduction Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling] and management, and infertility management. Family planning is choosing the number of children in a family and the length of time between their births. When you start searching for options in family planning, it’s important to understand all of your choices and which might be best for you. When you’d like to postpone a pregnancy, artificial and natural methods of family planning can help you do so. Also, if you’re ready to plan a pregnancy, it’s important that you have the knowledge to maximize your chances for conception. Family planning is the voluntary planning and action taken by individuals to prevent, delay or achieve a pregnancy. Family planning services include counseling and education, preconception care, screening and laboratory tests, and family planning methods. Family planning methods include abstinence, natural family planning and all FDA approved methods of contraception including hormonal contraception and contraceptive supplies such as condoms, diaphragms and intrauterine devices. It is a fundamental aspect of enhancing the health outcomes of women and children. There are many family planning options ranging from contraception and birth control to abstinence and other natural methods to the latest medical technology breakthroughs. Rationale Family planning is method of rationally deciding the size of your family. Using family-planning methods can help decide how large your family should be as well as how long to wait in between children and how to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Proper, non-coercive, science-based family planning can help you create a family that meets your needs and wants. Access to effective methods of birth control is an important component of family-planning services. A healthy relationship between two partners generally includes periodic sex. Having sex may result in pregnancy. Helpful family planning should allow you access to safe and efficient methods of birth control. An ideal form of birth control should be easy to use, have minimal side effects, reduce transmission of disease and be easily reversible. Family-planning workers may distribute condoms, fit a woman for an IUD or give her birth-control pills. Family planning can help you limit the size of your family. Families with more children may struggle financially and emotionally. Parents may not be able to provide each child with adequate resources such as access to educational opportunities. A family-planning worker can help you decide how large you would like your family and help you find methods to achieve that goal. Read more: Rationale of Family Planning | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5403126_rationale-family-planning.html#ixzz2KRvrvU4l Read more: Rationale of Family Planning | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5403126_rationale-family-planning.html#ixzz2KRvkT2X4 Objectives Goals in family planning should include balancing the desire for children with emotional, physical and financial needs. Or, if you do not wish to have children, it’s important to recognize this and plan accordingly. Significance of the Study This study will show clearly the effects of Family Planning on the people of our Brgy Basing Binmaley and Brgy. Patayac Sta. Barbara. The importance of this Study is to provide information to government and educate the people on the need to control birthrate, and will also assist husbands and wives to enjoy sex without unwanted Pregnancies, to help to space their children well and conveniently too; to limit the size of individual family to suit economic state. It also helps to reduce the possibility of health dangers through frequent birth and benefits to teenagers to prevent unwanted pregnancies instead of preventing child births through abortion and also on their choice of methods of contraceptives which will be effective for their age group. Scope and Limitations This present study is focused on â€Å"Effect of Family Planning† This study on â€Å"Effect of Family Planning â€Å" will used 10 respondents compressing of selected Family in our Barangay in Basing Binmaley and Barangay Patayac Sta. Barbara Pangasinan, where the researchers are living. The research subjects will answer the prepared questionnaires. II. Methodology / Research Method There are many options for family planning out there, and it is confusing to sort through all of them. Each one has different effectiveness ratings, but some are more comfortable (for some people) than others. Reading through a simple breakdown of all of the family planning methods available will help you weed out the ones you are not interested in, so you can go about researching just the ones that are of interest to you. Read more: Different Family Planning Methods | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_4866824_different-family-planning-methods.html#ixzz2KS3dngqt

Protecting the Innocent essays

Protecting the Innocent essays Capital punishment should be abolished in the United States. There may have been a time when capital punishment was needed and acceptable, but that time is far behind us. The concepts and beliefs supporting capital punishment are outdated and have no place in our modern society. There is no longer a need to perform executions to maintain a safe society. There are two opposing viewpoints on the issue of capital punishment, and both present strong arguments with valid points. One side maintains that capital punishment is an ethical response to crime, and the opposing side believes capital punishment is not an ethical legal action. Undeniably capital punishment does offer some advantages to our society, such as deterrence and incapacitation. However both of these can be gained without the death penalty. There is no proof that the death penalty is a deterrent to criminals, and incapacitation can be achieved by sentencing offenders to life in prison. A common misconception is that executing an offender costs less than life long imprisonment. The cost of apparatus and maintenance of the procedures attending the death penalty, including death row and the endless appeals and legal machinery, far outweighs the expense of maintaining in prison the tiny fraction of criminals who would otherwise be slain (Draper 46). A report issued in1998 by the Judicial Conference of the United States found the cost of sentencing a defendant to the death penalty is higher than imprisoning the accused for life. This is due to the high cost of providing representation in federal death penalty cases (www.uscourts.gov/dpenalty.htm). Cases involving the death penalty take longer to prosecute and therefore have higher costs than other cases. The state is usually responsible for paying the accused legal fees, as most cannot afford a lawyer. Some legal firms do handle capital punishment cases pro bono but the majority of defendants are un...

4 Good Reasons to Go out and Vote in Elections

4 Good Reasons to Go out and Vote in Elections It can be tedious standing in line  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ often for a significant period of time  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ to do something that youre not sure will make a difference. And if youre like many Americans, your day is already crammed full of must-do tasks and errands so you simply dont have time to stand in that line to vote. Why put yourself through it?   Because it often makes a difference. U.S. citizenship grants most the right to vote in American elections, and many new citizens cherish this right. Here are some of the reasons that they stand in line, and why you might want to do so as well.   The Role of the Electoral College   The Electoral College has something of a bum rap, especially over the last couple of decades. Its often said that leaders in the U.S. are chosen by the people in a majority vote, but is that the case with the presidential election? Doesnt the Electoral College interfere with the peoples majority? Yes, sometimes it does, but not very often. Five presidents have been elected to the White House after losing the popular vote: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush, and Donald J. Trump. Technically, electors are supposed to vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in the state they represent. Population varies by state so the college is set up to accommodate this. California has more electoral votes than Rhode Island because its home to more voters. If a candidate wins a populous state such as California by just a small margin, all the states electoral votes still go to the winning candidate. The result? Lots of electoral votes, but maybe only a few thousand more popular votes. In theory, at least, that candidate may have received only one additional vote. When this happens across several large, populous states, its possible for the candidate with fewer popular votes to win in the Electoral College.   Voting Is Still a Privilege   Regardless of this wrinkle, democracy is a privilege that should not be taken lightly. After all, the Electoral College has prevailed over popular vote only five times and weve had 45 presidents. Many new immigrants know firsthand what its like to be governed by leaders who have not been chosen by the people all the time, not just in isolated elections. This is why many of them come to this country –  to be part of a democratic structure where representatives are elected by the people. If we all stopped participating in the electoral process, our democratic government could wither away. Pride in Your Adopted Homeland   Elections take place at the national, state and local levels. Taking the time to understand the issues and evaluate what each candidate has to offer helps to establish a sense of community and kinship for immigrants with fellow citizens across the nation. And state and local elections typically are decided by a majority of the people.   Its a Responsibility   The USCIS Guide to Naturalization says,  Citizens have a responsibility to participate in the political process by registering and voting in elections. In the naturalization oath, new citizens swear to support the Constitution of the United States, and voting is an integral part of that Constitution. No One Likes Taxation Without Representation   As a U.S. citizen, you want a say in where your taxes go and how this country is run. Voting for a person who represents shared visions and goals for your country is an opportunity to become part of the process.

Redesigned SAT Writing and Language Test

Redesigned SAT Writing and Language Test In March of 2016, the College Board will administer the first Redesigned SAT test to students across the country. This new Redesigned SAT test looks incredibly different from the current exam! One of the major changes is the retiring of the Writing test. It will be replaced by the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section, of which, the Writing and Language test is a major part. This page explains what you can expect to find from that portion when you sit for the exam in 2016.   Check out the Current SAT vs. Redesigned SAT chart for an easy explanation of each tests format.  Want to know even more about the redesign? Check out  Redesigned SAT 101  for  all  the facts.   Aim of the SAT Writing and Language Test According to the College Board, The basic aim of the redesigned SAT’s Writing and Language Test is to determine whether students can demonstrate college and career readiness proficiency in revising and editing a range of texts in a variety of content areas, both academic and career related, for development, organization, and effective language use and for conformity to the conventions of standard written English grammar, usage, and punctuation. Format of the SAT Writing and Language Test 4 complete passages 4 sections44 multiple-choice questions 11 questions per passage35 minutes 8 minutes 45 seconds per passage if youd like to plan your time. You will not be given only 8 minutes 45 seconds per passage – you may distribute the 35 minutes any way youd like.    Passage Information What exactly will you be reading on this Writing and Language test? Well, first, each of the four sections passages will be between 400 - 450 words for a total of 1700, so each is a manageable portion of text. One of the passages will be from a career perspective. Another text will relate to History or Social Studies. The third passage will relate to Humanities and the fourth will relate to Science. Youll also see one or more graphics in one or more of the test sections. In addition, the purposes of each passage will vary somewhat. One or two of the passages will make an argument; one or two will inform or explain; and one will be a nonfiction narrative. So, if youre a visual learner, here is an imagined example of what your Writing and Language test could look like: Section 1: A 425-word argument passage about the need for diversity in the workplace. 1 chart showing the percentages of ethnicities in healthcare. 11 questions Section 2: A 410-word passage explaining Julius Caesars reign. 11 questions Section 3: A 430-word passage arguing for an increase in nutrient-rich foods in cafeterias of Floridian schools. 1 table describing the daily nutrition of available lunches. 11 questions Section 4: A 435-word passage telling a story about a specific doctors use of robotics in her surgical procedures. 11 questions Writing and Language Skills Tested Youll have 44 questions; might as well figure out the skills those questions are designed to measure! On this exam, you should be able to do the following: Development: Add, revise, or retain central ideas, main claims, counterclaims, topic sentences, and the like to structure text and convey arguments, information, and ideas.Add, revise, or retain information and ideas (e.g., details, facts, statistics) intended to support claims or points in text clearly and effectively.Add, revise, retain, or delete information and ideas in text for the sake of relevance to topic and purpose.Relate information presented quantitatively in such forms as graphs, charts, and tables to information presented in text. Organization: Revise text as needed to ensure that information and ideas are presented in the most logical order.Revise text as needed to improve the beginning or ending of a text or paragraph to ensure that transition words, phrases, or sentences are used effectively to connect information and ideas. Effective Language Use: Revise text as needed to improve the exactness or content appropriateness of word choice.Revise text as needed to improve the economy of word choice (i.e., to eliminate wordiness and redundancy).Revise text as necessary to ensure consistency of style and tone within a text or to improve the match of style and tone to purpose. Use various sentence structures to accomplish needed rhetorical purposes. Sentence Structure: Recognize and correct grammatically incomplete sentences (e.g., rhetorically inappropriate fragments and run-ons).Recognize and correct problems in coordination and subordination in sentences.Recognize and correct problems in parallel structure in sentences.Recognize and correct problems in modifier placement (e.g., misplaced or dangling modifiers).Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense, voice, and mood within and between sentences.Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun person and number within and between sentences. Conventions of Usage: Recognize and correct pronouns with unclear or ambiguous antecedents.Recognize and correct cases in which possessive determiners (its, your, their), contractions (it’s, you’re, they’re), and adverbs (there) are confused with each other.Recognize and correct lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent.Recognize and correct lack of agreement between subject and verb.Recognize and correct lack of agreement between nouns.Recognize and correct instances in which a word or phrase is confused with another (e.g., accept/except, allusion/illusion).Recognize and correct cases in which unlike terms are compared.Recognize and correct cases in which a given expression is inconsistent with standard written English. Conventions of Punctuation: Recognize and correct inappropriate uses of ending punctuation in cases in which the context makes the intent clear.Correctly use and recognize and correct inappropriate uses of colons, semicolons, and dashes to indicate sharp breaks in thought within sentences.Recognize and correct inappropriate uses of possessive nouns and pronouns as well as differentiate between possessive and plural forms.Correctly use and recognize and correct inappropriate uses of punctuation (commas and sometimes semicolons) to separate items in a series.Correctly use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive and parenthetical sentence elements as well as recognize and correct cases in which restrictive or essential sentence elements are inappropriately set off with punctuation.Recognize and correct cases in which unnecessary punctuation appears in a sentence. Preparing for the Redesigned SAT Writing and Language Test The College Board and the Khan Academy are offering free test prep for students interested in getting ready for the exam. You read that correctly: Free. Check it out!

Arguments for abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Arguments for abortion - Essay Example Moreover the extent of abortion has also reduced a great deal because of the spread of awareness regarding safe sex and encouraged use of contraceptives, among even people living in the rural and backward areas of the world. The legality of abortion is a much debated topic in most countries around the world with some countries’ constitutions looking down upon the subject and others allowing it with certain exceptions and till a certain date of the growth of the embryo. Many people are even concerned with the ethical issue of abortion and whether or not it involves killing another soul; all these controversies have caused a great deal of scarring on the right that women have over abortion too, because after all they carry the child and have to go through all the pain and physical trauma. (Mappes, Thomas A., and David DeGrazia) Most abortions that take place are due to unintended pregnancies and the abortion takes place depending upon the gestation period of the embryo because i f the embryo has grown into a foetus of 5 or more months, it may not be possible to carry out an elective or therapeutic mode of abortion as by the time, the baby is almost fully developed. Many abortions are carried out because of issues ranging from rape and incest to health risks being posed to the woman’s body and her inability to carry the child due to lack of nutrition, proper health care facilities etc. In many cases, the abortion may be spontaneous, resulting in a miscarriage, when the embryo or the foetus faces an unintentional expulsion. This usually takes place before the 24th week of gestation. If a miscarriage takes place before 37 weeks of gestation then it is termed as a premature birth and not an abortion or miscarriage because by this time, the live infant is delivered, and may in many cases be a still born. Such spontaneous abortions may be caused by accidental trauma or even stress. (Mappes, Thomas A., and David DeGrazia) The medical methods of having an ab ortion till the early gestation period include ingesting medicines containing mifepristone misoprostol combinations of 200 mg followed by 800 mcg of vaginal or buccal misoprostol and these medicines may be effective till the 9th gestation week. In most European countries like France, Britain, Switzerland and Nordic countries this is the most common medicine used by people and they tend to abort their pregnancies before the 9th week. In the United States of America on the other hand, the number of women ending their pregnancies in such early weeks are far lower. The surgical methods used till 15 weeks of gestation are suction or vacuum aspiration where a syringe is used to remove the foetus or the embryo and the placenta with an electric pump. (Mappes, Thomas A., and David DeGrazia) Many doctors also use the method of menstrual extraction where a cervical dilation is not required. Another method encouraged by the World Health Organization is called Curettage where the walls of the ut erus are cleaned with a curette, leading to very less chances of infection and bleeding. In many backward areas of the world, several unclean and unhygienic methods are used that are very unsafe and tend to cause deaths among pregnant women in their attempt to have their child aborted such as the insertion of objects like hangers and knitting needles inside the vagina to remove the foetus or embryo. The issue of abortion is one of the most widely discussed debates in the world today; it involves the riddance

King Tut Tomb object 21a-yy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

King Tut Tomb object 21a-yy - Research Paper Example King Clothing presents a puzzle to many researchers. The clothing is among the few artifacts that can give details related to the appearance and physique of the young king. The king clothing was kept in a box that was sealed and kept in the museum, and a little research has been done concerning the same. There have been indications that the king has feminine looks by some researchers. The king clothing showed measurement that was indicating that he had wide hips.Clothing was an important aspect of the king. The clothing was designed in a specific manner for the king and worn in occasions. The king used royal robes during his tenure as king depending on the occasion. The collars were made of precious gems as well as gold. The waist was covered with a white cloth which made a short skirt like the dress. In their bodies, they wore no shirt. The pharaoh armbands and armlets were made of gold and had specific crowns, which were related to their kingdom. This clothing was significant in th eir lives as they showed their power and position.Egyptian kingdom worshipped gods. The pharaohs were given the status of god this happened even after their death. The pharaoh being a god figure was expected to dress in a manner that made him significant among his people. This is the reason why most of the pharaoh’s clothing and other adornments were made of gold.Some of the clothing that was found in King Tut tomb was his personal royal clothing while others were buried with him for different purposes.... The collars were made of precious gems as well as gold. The waist was covered with a white cloth which made a short skirt like dress. In their bodies, they wore no shirt. The pharaoh armbands and armlets were made of gold and had specific crowns, which were related to their kingdom. This clothing were significant in their lives as they showed their power and position (Maggie, 2013). Religious purpose Egyptian kingdom worshipped gods. Each god had its own purpose in the citizen’s life. The pharaohs were given the status of god this happened even after their death. The pharaoh being a god figure was expected to dress in a manner that made him significant among his people. This is the reason why most of the pharaoh’s clothing and other adornments were made of gold (Maggie, 2013). Symbolism Some of clothing that was found in King Tut tomb was his personal royal clothing while others were buried with him for different purposes. The ceremonial robe was one of his royal clothi ng which was used by all pharaohs. His sandals were made of beads and leather. There was a leopard skin cloak and pad of fine linen. Appearance of archer’s gauntlet was an indication that he was a trained archer. This was supposed to help him as he was on his way to the new world. The king was supposed to be buried armed with all requirements for survival in his journey to the next world (Potter, 2011). gods represented in tomb King Tutankhamen’s tomb had a painting of Hathor who was conceived as the goddess of the West. The goddess was supposed to welcome pharaoh to the underworld. Including the cloth in the pharaoh tomb was to make sure that he had sufficient clothes for his journey into the underworld. Other objects that were included in this box included

Design history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Design history - Essay Example ifferent time periods and thus have different styles,, Lucian Bernhard’s Priester Matches (1905), and Stefan Sagmeister, AIGA poster (1999 they are all innovations that derive from the social problems at that time and given place. It is significant that these innovations were made to solve social problems. William Morris’s design of a chapter cover for Ruskin, The Nature of Gothic, clearly shows that it evolved from a social concern in which the Industrial Revolution caused a deficiency of aesthetic advertising and artwork. People did not want to spend their time on flyers that ultimately disappear and be surpassed with new artwork within a few days. William Morris realized that this problem came out of the Industrial Revolution and he attempted to fill society with beauty through decorative and ornamental artwork. He believed that beautiful designs would benefit the people and help to build morality in the people as well. Thus, his beliefs are clearly demonstrated in his design. As a leader of the art and crafts movement, he used very ornamental decorations on the borders of the cover and he showed how he considered aesthetics as an important part of his design. He borrowed medieval imagery and adapted it to a style more suited to the 19th century. His designs helped propel th e art and crafts movement and replaced amateur designs, which lacked aesthetics. Similarly, Bernhard’s innovation was also one of the most successful designs that met the social needs of the day. After the Industrial Revolution, many new businesses were established. At that time, every company’s advertisements followed Art Nouveau. The typical advertisement of the day was busy and crowded looking. Within this vast amount of companies, it was really hard to identify one from another. In contrast to the ornamental and decorative style that dominated advertising and artwork at that time, Bayer’s design was definitely an innovative style. Unlike other advertisements, he did not use

Technology and the Curriculum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology and the Curriculum - Essay Example In later years, students can make use of ICT to do research and create innovative pieces of work. Libraries are available online, where students are able to access a wide range of literary and scholarly work of famous authors. Technology must be incorporated into the curriculum so that students may enjoy their educational activities while enhancing independent thinking. Technology is required not only for learning but also for social adaptation (Wilmarth, as cited in Jacobs, 2010a, p.80) and media literacy (Baker, as cited in Jacobs, 2010b, p.133) that is beneficial for students in their personal and professional lives. For example, In case of capturing digital images and making videos, children would require digital cameras and camcorders, respectively. The hardware required has got its benefits and weaknesses. The benefits include easy capturing of images and trouble-free video recording (Sheskey, as cited in Jacobs, 2010c, p.195). There is ease of use together with fun and educational learning. The main weakness of this hardware is that it is too expensive to be used by young children at EYFS and primary stage. If the camera is too complex in structure for young kids to understand, they will get frustrated and might stop using it. Still, with correct supervision, all technological tools can prove to be very beneficial for students. Skype is one example of such a forbidden resource that can prove to be very helpful for students (November, as cited in Jacobs, 2010d, p.186). With the growing use of ICT in schools, there is no reason why children with special needs should be ignored. There are a lot of technological tools available in the market and online that help children with special needs adapt to their new learning environment which is more efficient and more helpful to them. These tools help children who find difficulties such as language hurdles, cultural hurdles, writing trouble (dysgraphia), reading difficulties (dyslexia), math

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA Essay

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA - Essay Example a good move especially for those who are aiming to enter employment that require a lot of communication and whose goal is to reach partners, investors and customers on a global scale. Although there are those who claim that it is not necessary for students to learn English in countries such as America because they can learn the language in their own home countries. There may be some weight to such arguments but one should also consider that the main goal of students is to have a keen ability to understand and express themselves using the English language. Therefore, moving to an English-speaking country will be of great help when it comes to assimilation. For instance, a Chinese student who has very little ability in communicating in English, will find it difficult to learn when he is regularly speaking in Mandarin. However, when the student moves to America, he will be forced to speak, read and write in English for him to be able to survive. Such need to communicate well now becomes a necessity for survival. In other words, speaking in English becomes a part of the student’s everyday life, making his learning

Thesis statement and Reaction Response Paper Essay

Thesis statement and Reaction Response Paper - Essay Example In many ways Doyle’s friendship with nationalists and individuals interested in the self-determination of people groups caused him to be viewed by individuals within the United Kingdom’s power structure as something of an outsider or, even worse, as something of an enemy. However, regardless of his tacit support for Irish Independent and other issues of a more domestic nature, Doyle also spent a large majority of his life campaigning against the immorality and injustice that colonialism represented. Within his piece entitled â€Å"The Crime of the Congo† Doyle illustrates the way in which the colonial powers of Britain, as well as many other European powers, were negatively impacting upon the happiness, well-being, and self-determination of an otherwise industrious and proud people fully half a world away. As a function of detailing how exceptionally horrific colonialism was, specifically within the Congo, Doyle focuses upon issues relating to long hours, slavery, a focus on profit and production with a disregard for humanity, and the innate levels of cruelty, and other issues that most Europeans might not be familiar with. Accordingly, with respect to the long hours, Doyle related to the fact that even though slavery was outlawed within Europe, it was still readily practice within many of the colonies. For instance, the individuals that were responsible for primary production and transporting the goods from one place to another oftentimes woke up at 6 o’clock in the morning and worked until 8 in the evening (Doyle, 2011). Whereas this was uncommon to say the least within England, the nature of the work and the manner by which these individuals were treated was tantamount to nothing more than slavery. If profits are high, they push for even further profitability and even more production; something that the individuals that are virtually enslaved in this process cannot

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA Essay

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA - Essay Example a good move especially for those who are aiming to enter employment that require a lot of communication and whose goal is to reach partners, investors and customers on a global scale. Although there are those who claim that it is not necessary for students to learn English in countries such as America because they can learn the language in their own home countries. There may be some weight to such arguments but one should also consider that the main goal of students is to have a keen ability to understand and express themselves using the English language. Therefore, moving to an English-speaking country will be of great help when it comes to assimilation. For instance, a Chinese student who has very little ability in communicating in English, will find it difficult to learn when he is regularly speaking in Mandarin. However, when the student moves to America, he will be forced to speak, read and write in English for him to be able to survive. Such need to communicate well now becomes a necessity for survival. In other words, speaking in English becomes a part of the student’s everyday life, making his learning

Wall Street Journal Articles for International Accounting Article

Wall Street Journal Articles for International Accounting - Article Example There is high likelihood that the streamlined standards will have major impact on the financial reporting over a wide cross-section of organizations and industries. For this reason, it is important that various audit committee members remain updated on the progress of this initiative in order to identify areas of particular concern and facilitate smooth transition period from the old processes, systems, and financial reporting to newly adopted ones. The proposed revenue model requires recording of the amount of revenue in a pattern that reflects the transfer of control of the goods and or services in question. The FASB recently released a proposed Accounting Standard Update (ASU) touching on classification and measurement of financial instruments. This made with the object of increasing the convergence between US GAAP and IFRS and above all simplify classification methods. Concerning leasing accounting, the boards intend to provide an open and steady representation of leasing transac tions in the financial statements by taking into consideration information relating to the rights and obligations that comes with lease contracts. This article is related to the international accounting particularly International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS) in a number of ways. First IASÂ  39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement of 2003 categorically stipulates the requirements for the recognition and measurement of financial assets and liabilities as well as certain contracts that relates to purchase and sale of non-financial items. Additionally IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation also summarizes mandatory accounting requirements for the presentation of financial instruments especially with regard to their classification into financial assets, liabilities and equity instruments. The same case applies with the IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, which outlines the requirements for recognition and measurement for f inancial instruments. IAS 17 Leases also touches on the policies and disclosures concerning leases contracts. This is a clear indication that the initiative of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to streamline accounting standards should not contravene terms of IFRS or IAS with respect to financial instruments, revenue recognition and lease accounting. 2. Philbin, B. (February 22, 2013). SEC Pressed Citi for More Details on Brokerage Joint Venture The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently requested Citigroup Inc to come out and defend how it was disclosing and valuing its brokerage joint venture with Morgan Stanley to its investors in its 2011 annual report a few months before it was forced to take approximately $3 billion write-down on the business. It is believed that the business events played an integral role in paving way for exist of Vikram Pandit as the chief executive officer. This request was intend to make the New York Company expand on its language in its report to the investors about valuation and disclosures regarding ownership the business formerly known as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. The request has not been a onetime event but rather entangle in correspondence, which began in April 2011 and continued into last summer when Citigroup was asked to avail a copy of the report it used to establish the value

Macro Environmental Factors Affecting The Industry Marketing Essay

Macro Environmental Factors Affecting The Industry Marketing Essay 1.0 Introduction This report shall examine Coles Supermarket, Western Australia Based, Australian grocery retailer, and its position in the Australian supermarket industry. Through examination of Coles internal operations it is hoped that a better understanding of Coles s strategy, and subsequent success, can be gathered. Hence recommendations for future sustained competitive advantage can be formulated based on the findings from an examination of the external environmental factors affecting the industry. 1.1 Coles Supermarket The focal grocery retailer of this report is Coles Supermarket, specifically, its food and retail grocery business. Coles operate 742 stores across Australia, has taken its total sales to $30 billion in 2010, a rise of 4.2%, and now controls around 35% of the industry. Hence, Coles is the second place in the market leader, with its leading competitor, Woolworths controlling 40% of the market (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). However, with major environmental changes on the horizon it is debatable if Coles can increase such numbers in future. C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 1, Coles full financial year revenue2008-2010, and Coles Operate stores (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). 2.0 External Analysis Significant trends in macro-environmental dimensions will be discussed, specifically socio-cultural and economic trends and how they will impact Coles profitability in future. The Porters five forces model may be utilized to assess the state of the competitive environment, and finally the attractiveness of the industry to Coles in the future shall be examined. 2.1 Macro-Environmental factors affecting the Industry Socio-Cultural Factors: One major social trend is the increasing consciousness towards health and well-being, reflected in a movement towards organic produce and healthy alternatives. This trend offers an opportunity for Coles, as currently there are few players in the market offering organic foods, and sales of organic foods are set to rise over the long-term (IBIS, 2011). It also constitutes a potential threat in that farmers markets and niche supermarkets which specialize in such produce will thrive in the environment. Another social trend would be the increasing number of consumers who are time-poor. Consequently, there is a higher demand for time convenience. i.e. the ability to patronize a store when consumers have the time. The ability to provide fulfill this need has been possible by extending in trading hours. In addition, Coles is providing further convenience through expansion of its product range as much as possible, and created new business such as Coles Express. Economic Factors: The current economic climate has resulted in lower spending levels, especially with flexible goods. Hence, consumers are switching to private label brands for cost savings. Subsequently, supermarkets are increasing their private label offerings. This enables them to compete on the basis of price while realizing the higher margins. Provision of private labels also enables supermarkets to compete on the basis of choice convenience, i.e. offering a low-cost alternative. 2.2 Porters five Forces Analysis In this section, the attractiveness/profitability of the Australian supermarket industry in current times shall be assessed. This will be followed by an examination of Coles relative position in said industry. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitutes is high, as Coles laces many indirect competitors, such as convenience stores, specialist grocery stores, and farmers markets. Evidence suggests these indirect competitors are viable substitutes to Coles and cause serious threats in the future: Convenience stores have also experienced an expansion in product offerings and would he competing directly with supermarkets in the provision of choice convenience and wide product range. With the increasing trend towards healthy alternatives, Farmers markets selling organic produce are also poses a potential future threat. However, the threat posed by specialty stores is perceived to be minimal with the rise of increasingly time-poor consumers. Rivalry amongst Existing Competitors: A high degree of rivalry exists in the land is a direct result of the small number of major players in the market and their lack of perceivable differentiation due to the generic nature of the services and products provided. Therefore, competition is primarily based on price, but other competitive factors include product choice and store location. Three main drivers of an increase in future rivalry are the private retailer IGA, Actions and Woolworths which in the leading position. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers used to be very low. With Woolworths and Coles controlling more than 75% of the market (Fenner, 2011), many local Australian producers have an extremely limited selection of intermediaries to choose from (McKinna, 2011).Therefore, in many cases, Coles or Woolworths is the major purchaser, perhaps even the only purchaser, of a producers production. Even major international brands such as Kellogs and Nestle do not dare to upset either retailer; such is the power of their market-share (Wade, 2002). However, this is set to change, with the existing of the Action supermarket and the expansion of IGA, along with the Federal Government and The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) recent push to lower competition barriers in the Industry (Hewett, 2011). Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers is set to be moderate in future due to a potentially larger selection of intermediaries to consign to. Bargaining Power or Buyers: Whilst low, the buying power of consumers is also set to increase in future. Once again, the aggressive push by the Federal Government and ACCC to lower competition barriers and allow new competitors to enter the market is set to increase consumer choice (Hewett, 2011), consequently increasing consumers bargaining power. Further driving the increase of consumer bargaining power would be the rise of price comparison websites such as grocery.bestpricedirectory.com.au which enables consumers to compare prices and choose the cheapest alternative. Both factors are set to bring consumers future bargaining to a more moderate level. Threat of New Entrants: The threat of new entrants is very low, and is set to remain unchanged. An insidious combination of local zoning laws and leasing agreements with landlords has resulted in an artificial scarcity of grocery store sites (Hewett, 2011). As such, this has deterred many new entrants from entering the market, especially overseas players interested in the Australian grocery industry. This is further aggravated by preferential treatment for Coles and Woolworths by landlords, due to their enormous pulling power in terms of consumer traffic (McKinna, 2011). Furthermore, potential entrants to the Australian grocery market must compete with Coles and Woolworths incredible economics of scales. Thus the investments in infrastructure, and facilities would be massive, and the expertise to manage them all would be specialized and rare. Thus, very few firms have the expertise or resources required for such a significant undertaking, and only a few players such as IGA and Action are able to do so (McKinna, 2011). 2.3 Comparison of industry attractiveness for Coles From the Porters Five-Forces analysis in the previous section, the Supermarket industry until a few years ago presented moderately high to high attractiveness for Coles, the most important reason or which was the high barriers to entry and weak bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. Hence profitability would be high for Coles at that point of lime. However, future environmental changes are set to change the attractiveness of the industry to Coles to moderate. Hence, Coless profitability is set to decrease from high to moderate in future as well. The main reasons for this would be the increase in bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, along with the greater intensity of firm rivalry with Woolworth, Action and expansion of IGA.C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 2, Attractiveness and Profitability of Industry to Coles in near future As such, the ability to outperform its rivals and maintain its competitive edge rests on Coles resources and capabilities, and more importantly how those resources and capabilities are utilized in the future, when industry attractiveness and profitability has decreased from previous levels. 3.0 Internal Analysis This section will begin with an assessment of Coless position in the food chain (i.e. extended value system) the firm participates in. It will be followed by an examination of the significant functions within Coles Value Chain that delivers the most value to the firm. Finally, Coles most significant resources and capabilities shall be identified and discussed in detail. Coles 3.1 Examination of the Food Chain Coles participates in C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 3, Coles Food Chain From the above diagram, it can be observed Coless function in the food chain is to provide producers with a channel to reach end consumers. This is because the producers Coles works with concentrate solely on production, hence those producers require to go-between with retailing expertise and infrastructure. For many of Coles suppliers, Coles is a major buyer, if not the only buyer of their produce. Thus, Coles exerts great influence over many of the small local producers and can state things like farm sizes, crop type, agricultural methods and prices the producers receive, which are based on Coles product and process quality specifications (wade. 2002). 3.2 Value Chain Analysis of Coles Coles mission statement specifies how Coles Down Down, Prices Are Down and Quality food costs less at Coles. Thus, all the value-creating activities of Coless business are all geared towards delivering the above promises (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). The three main value-creating functions involved in delivering the firms promises are: 1. In-Bound Logistics: Coles is essentially a retailer. Hence it does not produce the products it sells. Instead, it controls the distribution network of its products. Within this function there are two significant activities which contribute to the firm: Procurement and Logistics: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 4, In-bound logistics summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). Coles produce goes directly from producers to a national or regional distribution centre, where it is certified for quality then transported directly to stores. In addition, Coles owns and operates of all the trucks and distribution centers involved in its distribution network. This puts it in a better position to prevent worker strikes and enables greater control in ensuring punctuality of shipments. Moreover, operating the distribution centers (DCs) and trucks in its supply chain puts Coles in a better position ensure optimum distribution efficiency and product quality (Coles Supplier, 2011). 2. Operations: This involves two primary activities that ensure customer convenience and value, Quality Assessment and Inventory Management: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 5, Operation Summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). From the time the stock arrives at the retail store to when the products are put on display, constant checks are made to detect and remove defective products. Furthermore, for each stock unit there is a Minimum Presentation Level (M.P.L)'. Sophisticated Point of Sale (POS) technology keeps track of the number of stock units sold for a particular product, and once stock levels fall beneath the M.P.L, a re-stocking order is dispatched to the relevant distribution centre (Coles Supplier, 2011).In addition, Coles utilizes an advanced forecasting program to forecast future changes in demand due to environmental factors such as seasonal changes or economic trends. 3. Marketing and Sales: Two main activities are involved in increasing sales and enabling Coles to compete effectively, In-store Promotions and Organizational Dynamism: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 6, Marketing and Sale Summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). Coles holds weekly specials to boost short-term sales of certain products where prices of certain items are reduced by a large percent (Coles Supplier, 2011). This is supplemented by the distribution of sales catalogues informing consumers of the weekly specials. Highly effective in boosting short-term sales and inventory turnover, an example would be how Coles would normally sell $2000-$3000 worth of toilet paper per week, but that amount increases to around $8000 during its weekly special (Coles, 2011). A significant capability of Coles would be its ability to keep up with consumer trends and environmental changes, enabling the formulation or new strategies to compete effectively (Coles, 2011). For instance, to keep up with current consumer lifestyles and preferences, Coles introduced its selection of easy to prepare meals under its Coles Quality Food brand in conjunction with its monthly online interactive Coles Feed Your family Recipe guide which provides recipe suggestions and nutritional advice for healthy living (Coles, 2011). 3.3 Assessment of Coles Significant Resources and Capabilities Coles adopts an integrated competitive strategy, i.e. it utilizes a combination of both cost leadership and differential elements to compete, with its efficient supply chain to minimize costs, and its brand image to differentiate itself based on quality. In addition, strategic factors such as minimization of future threats and keeping the firm flexible in wake of environmental changes are also critical to Coles survival. Thus, with the above factors in consideration, Coles three most significant resources and capabilities are: Highly Effective Supply Chain: Coles efficient distribution network is both a resource and a capability in its in-bound and out-bound logistics. The end of tangible and intangible assets such a technological capabilities and supplier relationships, it is highly valuable as it was the significant cost- savings achieved throughout its entire logistics network that enabled Coles to come closer to Woolworths (McKinna, 2011). The level of cost saving benefits provided is non-substitutable by any other resource. It is also difficult o copy as the level and scope of the technological capabilities involved is highly specialized and staggering. However, should Coles posses an unfavorable public image or sell products undesirable to consumers, possessing an efficient distribution network would be irrelevant. Thus, by itself an effective supply chain is insufficient as a distinct competency, and must be supported by other competitive advantages. Brand Reputation: Coles reputation as quality food was built over many years. This was done via positive consumer experiences with its products which can be attributed to its stringent quality assessment procedures throughout its supply chain (Urban, 2007), as well as its Quality Food Cost Less at Coles advertising campaign. Hence, this brand reputation is valuable, as it provides meaningful differentiation to its competitors, and has directly contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction. It is also non-substitutable, as the benefits provided cannot be matched by any other resource. However, it is neither rare, nor hard to copy, with most of its rivals also claiming to sell fresh and Quality food. More importantly, fresh food and quality products have come to become a basic expectation of consumers. Thus, this reputation is not a distinct competitive advantage; rather it is a point of parity that Coles must possess in order to compete. Effective Top Management: Despite recessionary pressures and rising inflationary rates, Coles is still able to achieve growth rates at higher than. This can be attributed to Coles effective top management, in particular CEO John Fletcher (Fenner and Raja. 2011). Further, the relations within the Coles Group top management is a significant factor perceived as enabling Coles to compete effectively with AGI in future and the main competitor such as Woolworths (Fenner. 2011). Thus, the capability of top management in steering Coles through the current economic climate and continuously achieving high growth rates makes it a valuable resource. As such, it is non-substitutable by any other resource, and is hard to copy as it is difficult to obtain capable and effective senior managers. However, it cannot be considered rare: as Due to the mature nature of the sector, most of the companies operating in the Australian Grocery Industry also have capable senior management. Therefore, effective t op management is not a distinct competitive advantage, but a point of parity that is utilized in conjunction with other factors such as efficient supply chain to enable Coles to outcompete its rivals. 4.0 Recommendation The recommendations presented by this report are classified into short-term and long- term recommendations: Short-term Recommendations: In the short-term, Coles should invest more in advertising. More specifically, Coles should create advertisements representing how their Coles Quality range of healthy meals to go fits into consumers everyday routines. This would heighten brand recall of Coles in consumers minds, which increases purchase likelihood. More importantly, by creating advertisements linking Coles to healthy, easy to prepare meals that are conveniently available at reasonable prices, this would increase the chance of making Coles identical with convenience and healthy consumption, a valuable point of differentiation in a market where Quality food cost less are now points of parity. Long-term Recommendations: It is recommended for Coles to focus more on convenience and an enjoyable shopping experience in the long-term. Coles current program to refurbish stores should be supplemented by measures to improve store atmosphere, such as the inclusion of relaxing music and having cheerful, enthusiastic and helpful staff to create an enjoyable shopping experience. More importantly, in the long run it is recommended for Coles to invest in more profitable industries and businesses. As mentioned earlier, the attractiveness and profitability of the Australian supermarket is set to fall in the future. Thus, Coles should focus in new businesses in which sales growth are projected to rise over the long term, such as Coles Express and Coles online shopping. 5.0 Conclusion Coles Supermarkets business strategy has been analyzed in this report which base in Western Australia. Examination of Coless external environment such as socio-cultural trends as well as the deteriorating economic climate had been conducted to gain understanding of current industry trend. The industry attractiveness was found to have declined in recent times, due to difference factors such as a rise in supplier and buyer bargaining power, greater intensity amongst rivals and higher threats from substitutes. Internal operations it is hoped that a better understanding of Coles s strategy. Coles control of the distribution network of its products helps ensure quality and distribution efficiency. Coles three most valuable resources and capabilities were found to be its highly efficient supply chain, its brand reputation and its effective top-level management. With recommendations for short-term and long term strategies may perhaps ensure sustainability of Coles supermarkets future.

Comparing the Rich versus the Poor Essay -- Poverty

Rich v. Poor Take a moment and picture a child half naked in the streets. His body has been harshly neglected. Little to no calf muscles exist. His ribs are plainly countable. One, two, three up his left side. You can do the same to his right. Malnutrition only vaguely begins to describe his condition. The worst of anorexia doesn’t even compare to this child’s inhumane state. As for shelter, he lives in a dilapidated hut. Food is a luxury, as the child may be fed only three or four times a week. He’s expected to die by the age of five due to severe malnutrition and disease. This is the grim portrait of an Ethiopian child in absolute poverty. His life doesn’t allow for the basic essentials of food, shelter, or clothing. In today’s world poverty is not only viewed in terms of average income/wealth, but as the lower end of distribution regarding income, education, health accessibility, nutrition, productivity, participation in politics, etc. Thus, poverty is defined as the â€Å"economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain certain minimal levels of health services, food, housing, clothing, and education generally recognized as necessary to ensure an adequate standard of living† (Funk & Wagnall 1). Adequate, however, depends on the standard of living for each country. There are two different types of poverty today—relative and absolute. Nearly half of a billion people live in relative poverty—â€Å"meaning that some citizens are poor, relative to the wealth enjoyed by their neighbors† (Singer 218). To put these figures in terms one can relate to, it’s estimated that about 10% of human life resides in relative poverty. This is a substantial amount, but their condition is quite well ... ...ay, â€Å"prevent something very bad from happening, without [thereby] sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Singer 229), and we should. Works Cited * Hardin, Garret. â€Å"Living on a Lifeboat.† Contemporary Moral Problems. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1974: 246-257. * â€Å"Poverty.† Funk & Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia. 1992: 1-2. * Quadrini, Vincenzo.; Rà ­os-Rull, Josà ©-Và ­ctor. â€Å"Understanding the U.S. Distribution of Wealth.† http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org * Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review v. 21 no2. Spring. 1997: 22-36. * Singer, Peter. â€Å"Rich and Poor.† Practical Ethics. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993: 218-246. * Speth, James Gustave. â€Å"The Plight of the Poor: The Unites States Must Increase Development Aid.† Foreign Affairs v. 78 no3. May/June. 1999: 1-3.