Saturday, August 31, 2019

Short Biography: Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Spanish Painter, Bartholomew Eastman Muriel Bartholomew Eastern Muriel. Self-portrait. C. 1672-75. 011 on canvas, National Gallery in London I-J. Bartholomew Eastman Muriel was born December 31 1967, he was born Into Christianity he was baptized on January 1, 1618 In Seville Spain. Muriel was the son of Marl Peres, his mother and Gasper Eastern his father who was a barber and surgeon In Seville Spain, Muriel had 13 siblings and he was the youngest one of them all.Muriel was eventually adopted by his relatives because he was not able to provide for himself when his parent's died unlike his older siblings, at the age of level his uncle J. A. Lagers a barber who was married had adopted him. Within a year of living with his uncle, Muriel soon became an apprentice for another relative named Juan Del Castillo. Juan was considered a mediocre painter but a great teacher, they painted paintings for a living and sold them at local fairs and sometimes even sent off to be traded into America.Whi le being under the study of Juan his relative he learned about Flemish Painting, which was a technique used in the 20th century on paintings, they applied layers of a substance that kept the image fresh for years. When Muriel turned 17 he was working independently painting small, religious compositions for the Latin American market, continuing the selling techniques taught to him when he was young. He then started to create a name for himself, selling his paintings at these markets or fairs.Muriel went to the school of Antwerp where he learned how to be more of an advance painter; they mainly learned Baroque paintings that he continued to carry on threw out his art career. During the time he was an apprentice for his relative and attending school, he found interest in other forms of art and artist that inspired him o be more creative and diverse in his paintings. In 1940 Muriel moved to Cadis, he then became Van Dyke's pupil, learning and studying Van Dyke's work he gained an Intere st in studying other masters of art.Muriel set out to travel to study other great masters of art, he found himself involved with the kings painter Velasquez, during his stay there of three years he studied the masterpieces of Titian, Everyone, Tinderbox, and Rueben. In 1645 Muriel moved back to Seville, this Is where the beginning of his career really started. During the year 1 645 he got married to Beaters De Caber y Estimator, during his year he also accomplished 1 1 great masterpieces for the Franciscan monastery In Seville.Because of his 11 paintings he became well known and recognized for his religious paintings, most paintings would be of, Jesus, Vulgar Marry, birth of Christ, Angels, the healing pool, and a few paintings of his family and paintings of the poor In Seville. When he had painted these paintings for the Franciscan, It generated more work for him at cathedrals, churches, hospital, and for private Individuals. Eventually became President of the academy. By 1665 Muri el had enrolled into the Brotherhood Of Charity, by this time Muriel had nine children and only five of them continued in his religious paths.During this time he was enrolled into the Brotherhood, he really flourished and became active in his pieces of art, he had received several demented Jobs and requests, one of them was the infamous painting of the Santa Maria la Blanch which was completed in 1665 and many other commissioned works as well. By this time in his life he had worked nearly 50 years to become one of the most famous Spanish Braque's Painters in the 20th century, it was unfortunate for many when he passed away on April 3 1682.Little did Muriel know that on April 3 1682 while he was working in the Capuchin church of Cadis, that he was going to fall off of a scaffold which lead to sever and permanent injuries that would put him to rest a year later in Seville. A couple of his most inspiring pieces are the Christ Healing the Paralytic at The Pool of Bethesda and The Protes tant Son. The fist image that is very religious and comes from a piece of the bible is Christ Healing the Paralytic at The Pool of Bethesda; it resides in the National Gallery in London.Muriel painted this original painting between 1667 to 1670 unfortunately nice Muriel rarely dated his artwork, actual dates on most pieces is unknown. Christ Healing the Paralytic is Oil on canvas and its dimensions are 237 by 261 centimeter. The painting is presented in the National Gallery of Arts in memory of W. Graham Robertson in 1950. Muriel had painted this originally for the church belonging to the hospital of the Cardiac in Seville, which Muriel happened to be apart of this Brotherhood, which aided in the sick and poor of his native city Seville.The painting represents a piece from the bible, a very strong passage, which is well known in the Christian religion. It is from the New Testament John 5, in the passage it states: † In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, ha lt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he swath unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steepest down fore me. Jesus swath unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath. † This is what Muriel had painted the image from those exact words above! So strong, detailed, full of background and foreground; he has made a masterpiece that tells an amazing story.Therefore no explanation is really needed which makes this painting so historic, life like and unique. The image to th e left is the image of Christ Healing the Paralytic at The Pool of Bethesda. It is kept at the National Art Gallery in London. As you look into the aground of this beautiful painting you can see many things. On the very top there blue sky threw them. Right in the middle of the clouds off to the right there is a small figure in white, with a yellow glow surrounding it, presumably an angel coming from heaven.As you look below the angel you see the structure of the building. Then as you look towards the middle of the background you can see giant pillars, creating high archways and you can faintly see people walking around. In the Middle of the image you see part of a light blue pool right in the middle. As you look more up front from the pool you see what appears to me some sort of encounter gazebos with two tall skinny pillars and some people laying on the ground right on the steps.As you look to the left you can see a person propped up on his elbow, speaking to a man bent over and is engaged in a conversation. The foreground of the image is three men off to the far left both wearing black shirts, one is wearing a red robe while the other is wearing a yellow robe, standing barely in front of them is Jesus wearing a light purple long sleeved gown with a dark green robe, he is reaching his hand out to a man on the ground. This man appears very ill, skin to the bones and bed ridden, as items lay close.His arms are spread off to each side fingers spread apart, he is facing up looking at Jesus and his mouth is open as he must be saying something to him. To the far right of this man there is the front part of a brown and white dog that is sniffing at the ground. This image shows so much if you look closely at it, it is a brilliant masterpiece and is definitely one of a kind, and so beautiful that it captivates and draws you in with ease. Another great painting my Muriel is called the return of The Prodigal Son, created between 1667 to 1670.It was painted on a canvas w ith oils, the dimensions of the canvas are 236. By 261 centimeters, and it was a gift from the Valor Foundation to the National Gallery of Ireland in the city of Dublin. Muriel was originally commissioned by a church to make this painting for the Hospital De la Cardiac, this painting and others Muriel was commissioned to make for the Hospital and the Church. This painting was one of a whole series on The Prodigal Son and even made a final painting to this series called the Return of The Prodigal Son that is located at The National Gallery of Washington.The series ranged from the birth, to feasting with The Prodigal Son and more, although this is the one that started the series. The original painting of The Prodigal Son was also generated from the bible as well as most of his biblical pieces of art. The story behind this painting is as follows, as Renee Dwell mentioned in her article: â€Å"There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, father let me have the share of the estate that will come to me. So the father divided the property between them.A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. He soon came home to his father and said, I have sinned against heaven ND against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men. † So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, â€Å"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I no longer deserve to be called your son. † But the father said to his and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast. Because this son of mine was dead and has come back to fife; he was lost and is found† (1). The story is as entertaini ng as the painting to the left called The Protestant Son, created around the 1670, is filled with emotions, forgiveness, begging, hope, anger, joy, and worry. As you look in the background you see the sky with dark and light fluffy clouds on the top of the painting.To the right is the beginning of a tall building, as the structure appears to be in the middle of the painting, you see some buildings and possible tress fading if as it disappears into the distance. In the middle of the image to the left there is a man holding an ax with a boy leading a cow, they are align away looking behind them to watch the commotion. To the right there are four adults all dressed nice, they appear to be all females. In the foreground of the image there is a woman in a yellow dress, standing there silently holding a vibrant, elegant robe.In the middle of the foreground you see the father wearing a large droopy red robe hunched over wrapping his arms around his son to embrace him close. His son has fal len to his knees looking up at his father, wearing torn and ragged clothes and rather thin looking, falling into his fathers arms as a small white dog Jumps on his leg. It appears they are standing on a step of some sort; their bodies are in the formation of a triangle, becoming the main focal point of the painting. This painting has so much to say if you look at the body language of everyone and the facial expressions.This artist Muriel was chosen as a topic for this paper, because his work was once famous in the 20 centuries and over time has been forgotten. Muriel has tons of beautiful, individual paintings that most of us never knew existed. Once this image was stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago, the beauty, artistry, realism, naturalistic goings, and even the reality of what life was like in Seville captivated me and hopefully it will captivate you as well. It is important to not forget those who inspire us, as they help us make our own creations.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Blue Gold Essay

The short documentary, Blue Gold, presented an issue of our planet’s water supply. Our planet is made out of about 70% of water. However, less than 1% of that water is actually drinkable. The issue is that water is becoming scares and due to lack of rain, the precious water begins to dry out. As the water source rapidly declines, the corporations saw that as a chance to make profit. Therefore, we are forced to buy overpriced water. Summary: Blue Gold did a great job representing the issue and how it affects not only third world countries but first world countries as well. Not only does the documentary talk about the water scarcity problem but they also talk about how the big corporations decided to take control of the situation by owning water and selling it. As the documentary stated, â€Å"water is now a valuable asset†. I am very glad that I got the opportunity to watch this film. Blue Gold opened my eyes to a problem that has been in front of my face the entire time. Shocking information that caught my attention while watching the film is the fact that in Mexico, a plastic bottle of water is more expensive than a glass bottle of Coke-Cola! The idea that Coke-Cola, owner of Nestle, basically took over Mexico and their water supply yet citizens of Mexico are extremely deprived of water is disgusting. Big corporations that are sharks like Coke-Cola are the reason why water is scares. These corporations are they taking over and â€Å"owning† water by literally trapping water in large dams! By doing this, water is not getting is full nutrients because water is suppose to go through the cycle of natural water flow through rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. Not only are these corporations taking over water, they are the ones who are also polluting the water. These corporations dump their wastes into a nearby body of water. Like I stated previously, water needs to flow through a water cycle. As the water is partaking its natural cycle, it is carrying the waste created from the corporations and spreading it through out the world. After watching this movie, it is not even shocking that only less than 1% of the world’s 70% of water is drinkable. Water is no longer available for everyone. It is only available for those who are rich enough to afford it. How sad is that? Children in Mexico drink polluted water from rivers because they are not part of the higher social class that can afford a bottle of clean drinking water. These higher classes are taking over the water source and controlling who gets clean water and who doesn’t. Now that I have watched Blue Gold, I can see how water supply is deprecating. As I drive around, I can see swamps dried out from the lack of rain. We must act now to save this planet’s water because the longer we wait, the more polluted water gets which makes more of Earth’s water unusable. We must spread awareness as well as get some ground rules or laws to prevent these big industries from taking over water as well as dumping whatever they desire. Conclusion: Today, I bought myself a Ethos water bottle from Starbucks and it was sold at a whooping price of almost $3! That is more than a dollar more than a cup of coffee! Watching this movie definitely changed my perspective of water and I am more aware of the situation. I would recommend others to watch this short documentary because the more people aware of the situation, the more people that are willing to prevent and fix this situation.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Repentance in Cry, the Beloved country Essay

Through Paton’s use of faith and forgiveness in Cry, the Beloved Country he demonstrates the concept of redemptive value through Kumalo’s suffering and Absalom’s repentance. Kumalo’s suffering makes the reader feel sympathetic because of the sudden, yet constant, uprising conflicts in the storyline. Absalom’s repentance makes the reader feel reflective because they start to consider the moral lessons being taught in the story. Faith and forgiveness are combined to create the redemptive value of suffering, or repentance. The concept of forgiveness in Cry the Beloved Country is very crucial to the plot because Kumalo has many family members that he needs to forgive before he can leave Ndotsheni to go and help them in Johannesburg. When Kumalo’s wife questions him about his well-being he replies angrily, â€Å"Hurting myself? Hurting myself? I do not hurt myself, it is they who are hurting me. My own son, my own sister, my own brother. They go away and do not write anymore. Perhaps it does not seem to them that we suffer. Perhaps they do not care for it. †(39) Here Kumalo comes to the realization of the importance of this trip to Johannesburg, he must go there to find them and forgive them for the suffering they have caused. When he first goes to find his sister, Gertrude, he is angry at her for shaming his family, â€Å"You have shamed us, he says in a low voice, not wishing to make it known to the world. A liquor seller, a prostitute, with a child and you do not know where it is? Your brother a priest? How could you do this to us? † (61) Kumalo becomes angry interrogating her about her sins hoping, possibly knowing, that between the fear, discomfort, and guilt she feels that she will repent and pray to become a better person. In Book two the perspective shifts to James Jarvis, Father of late Arthur Jarvis, James Jarvis doesn’t have any need to necessarily forgive but he does reconcile a bit while finding things around Arthur’s home and talking to Arthur’s father in-law. While speaking to Harrison, Arthur’s father in-law, James mentions â€Å"‘Although his life was different’, he said, ‘you understood it. ’ ‘Yes, James’ ‘I’m sorry I didn’t understand it’ then he said in a whisper, ‘I didn’t know it would ever be so important to understand it. ’†(175) He feels a bit guilty for not attempting to understand his son’s political importance in life and for not knowing all that he had accomplished during his time alive. In order for someone to forgive another you must also make amends with God, which is why faith is important in the novel. Kumalo talked to Father Vincent about amendment of life, â€Å"‘We spoke of amendment of life’, said the white priest. ‘Of the amendment of your son’s life. And because you are a priest, this must matter to you more than all else, more even than your suffering and your wife’s suffering. † (141) When Father Vincent says that he being a priest matters more than his suffering it demonstrates the important of faith. Father Vincent seems to be suggesting that having a member of Kumalo’s congregation commit murder is more devastating than having his son commit murder. As previously mentioned faith is more important and in this way Kumalo must grieve over the loss of his son and the loss of a member of his congregation. Courage, faith, and hope are all very closely related as courage and hope are commonly religious principle. Knowing the important of faith and forgiveness in Cry, the Beloved Country , after all has been said and done, Absalom is sentenced to death, â€Å"Still kneeling, the father took his son’s hands, and they were not lifeless any more, but clung to his, seeking some comfort, some assurance. And the old man held them more strongly, and said again, ‘be of good courage, my son. ’†(241) Kumalo gives Absalom this simple statement and soon after leaves him to go home and return to Ndotsheni. The first part of the quote, â€Å"and they were not lifeless anymore† is very important because he has transformed from this lifeless criminal into a guilty caring son through faith. Absalom had in fact repented for his crime and can die a forgiven man. The redemptive value of suffering is â€Å"the belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one’s sins or for the sins of another. †(ww. thedefender. org) repentance is equal to this which is mentioned several times through the trial of Absalom Kumalo. The trial is a frustration to the reader because of the honesty of Absalom, â€Å"‘There is no lie in it, for I said to myself, I shall not lie any more, all the rest of my day, nor do anything that is evil. ’ ‘In fact you repented? ’ ‘Yes, I repented. ’†(199) Absalom told the truth and committed a crime out of fear, which brings into question how did he deserve the punishment he was given? He was sentenced to be hung until death, even though this wasn’t ideal, he died with faith, and repentance, and a new family. His moment of true repentance appears to be when he chooses to name his child Peter, this is biblical symbolism for the story of King David, his son was named Absalom and he rebelled against his father. Absalom, soon repented by naming his child Peter, the disciple that denied knowing Jesus. Kumalo knows that Absalom can repent when father Vincent says, â€Å"‘A man may repent him of any evil. ’†(141)This is assuring to Kumalo as now he knows that if his son tries he will be forgiven by God which gives Kumalo peace within. Alan Paton successfully demonstrated the concept of repentance through faith and forgiveness and caused the reader to feel sympathetic and reflective. Paton creates the effect on the reader through Kumalo’s suffering and Absalom’s repentance. The element of repentance is very important to faith and to the story line. Absalom’s repentance is what helps his father and himself deal with the grave sentence of death. Kumalo returns before Absalom’s hanging and continues to live life and move on with the new members of the family.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Week 3 womens health Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 3 womens health - Assignment Example In the ongoing pregnancies in her life, there might occur risks of very preterm delivery, prenatal death, low birth weight, and premature preterm rupture of membranes (Gabbe, 2012). The patient required anticipatory follow-up guidance which I provided. This guideline contained education about pregnancy, birth, and parenting; safe sexual practices, good diet habits, and the importance of early prenatal care. I told her that she should receive and understand all detailed instructions about signs and symptoms of complications such as infection or retained products of conception and also contact information access (Paul et al., 2011). One recommendation, I will consider is to reduce the risk brought about by the previous adverse pregnancy outcome. This is mainly by the discussion of unwanted pregnancies as well as the enhancement of life options. This reduction would help prevent and minimize health problems for the patient and the child (Taylor & James, 2011). In conclusion, both men and women who have acquired the childbearing age should understand the risks involved in childbearing. Pregnancies should, therefore, be planned and intended. Through implementation of the above-mentioned recommendation, the vision of preconception health and outcomes of pregnancy will be

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Mgt 501 management theory and practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mgt 501 management theory and practice - Essay Example The present study would analyze the business dynamics of Mc Donald’s with regards to the aspect of organizational culture and the constituting aspects of internal and external factors that affect organizational culture. The choice of the organization assumes significance considering the fact that the company is one of the best known brands and has operations across diverse geographical regions making the aspect of culture as an extremely vital aspect in determining the company’s business prospects. McDonalds was established in the year 1955 by the legendary personality Ray Croc in the United States of America. The company since then has grown a long way to emerge as one of the most popular restaurant chains having a dedicated presence in almost every region of the world (McDonalds, 2011). The company at its present date has a dedicated presence in about 119 different nations and employing a large number of individuals. The stocks of the company are listed on the bourses of the New York Stock Exchange. The company has been adding new products in its menu list consistently over the years and has also developed an impressive franchising strategy to spread its footprint across the globe. The company has also developed at attractive work culture that has helped in retaining and attracting a talented pool of human resources to meet the challenges of the highly turbulent and fluctuating business environment (McDonalds-a, 2011). Analysis of Organization Culture Organizational culture is an important facet of business organizations in the present business environment. Organizational culture is influenced by both internal as well as external factors. The importance of culture as highlighted by Lussier (2008) who stated that organizational culture is largely an implication of the personality and the work environment in an organization. The author also highlighted some of the internal factors such as organization mission, resources available with a company, s tructure and attitude of the management as the factors that largely influence the culture in an organization (Lussier, 2008, p.46-48). Keyton (2010) identified communication as another strategic factor that determines the aspect of organization culture in a particular company. The author also pinned out the importance of organizational culture towards generating positive and negative values in a company. The author highlighted that positive culture generates greater value while negative culture creates a negative set of values that ultimately helps in generating a favorable working condition. Internal communication has a key role to play in this regard as a smooth flow of information helps in generating positive sentiments in an organization that helps generate long term advantage for a company (Keyton, 2010, p.166). Figure 1: Elements influencing Organizational Culture (Source: Cameron & Quinn, 2011) The figure shown above reflects some of the factors that affect organization cultu re. These include assumptions, official norms and contractual obligations of the company, the artifacts and the behavioral patterns of the individuals in an organization. The figure clearly identifies that behaviors and other artifacts associated with an organization are largely observable and can be monitored and hence influenced by an organization through its policies. Therefore the role of evaluation and monitoring acts

Bullying in schools Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bullying in schools - Research Paper Example Some well-meaning ‘experts’ believe bullying is a normal part of social development and actually aids children in coping with overbearing, dominating types throughout their lives. I believe that bullying is a serious problem and not one to be tolerated. The outcomes of bullying can be very severe; from depression to suicide regardless of which role was played. Thankfully, because bullying behavior typically occurs on a recurrent basis, it can also often be identified and prevented easier and earlier than more deviant behavior in later years, perhaps with the result of a reduction in criminal behavior among adults. Studies looking into the naturalistic behavior of children on the playground indicate that those children who experience low acceptance levels among their peers tend to become bullies. Therefore, it becomes important for teachers to recognize the social structures developing in their classroom to be in better position to head off any dangerous behavior before i t gets out of hand. Intervention strategies can then be used to assist at risk children in learning how best to handle difficult social situations. Field studies have identified several groups with higher risk of bullying behavior as either the aggressor or the victim, which can help teachers in determining when and what form of intervention is appropriate. Barbarin, Oscar A. (November-December 1999). â€Å"Social Risks and Psychological Adjustment: A Comparison of African American and South African Children.† Child Development. Vol. 70, N. 6, pp. 1348-1359. Oscar A. Barbarin, PhD earned his degree in clinical psychology at Rutgers University and finished post-doctoral work in social psychology at Stanford. He is President of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, a Fellow in the American Psychological Association, a Senior Investigator for the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the University of North Carolina and was named the L. Richardson and Emily Preyer

Monday, August 26, 2019

EMA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

EMA - Assignment Example However, the major weakness of the company is skilled labour, they are lacking professional carpenters, who re-modify the old goods or fixed the defected part of the furniture. So, HR department of the company should hire some professional workers who have capability to do this, and help to beat their competitors like IKEA. The company also should hire some professional trainers, who could train the old employees of the company. The company is also lacking a specialist to develop a good marketing strategy for the company’s benefit. The company should hire a specialist who having experience in this filed and help the company to get out through this problem. The company needs to develop some unique strategy in their all functional department so that the Raft can build a strong image into the market. The organisation culture at RAFT is very flexible. The maverick approach which they follow in designing their furniture requires them to have a casual approach towards the organisation. Mick’s realises that his company will not be the next IKEA so he is ok with the fact that they do not have a strict corporate culture. Moreover his business strictly depends on online selling he does not need a strict corporate culture in his company as long as hi products are selling. So the factor which highlights the organisation culture of RIFT is the Maverick approach of doing business. This factor has the biggest influence on the organisational culture since it can showcase the way people work in the company. Raft is dealing with reclaimed wood to make furniture, and there is might possible that the furniture may carry defects. Hence, the cost of wood for the furniture is very low than the fresh wood. Therefore, the furniture which made by the Raft is could be as sort type of used wood. So the Raft should target those customers who are

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What best explains people's willingness to work hard Essay

What best explains people's willingness to work hard - Essay Example anging workplace; motivated employees do not leave when the company is trying to survive in the market, and motivated employees are more productive (ONeil 1994). If the managers want to be effective, they need to understand what drives people work better. It is the complex task and requires the individual approach to every single employee. For example, the research shows that as employees earn more, money becomes less motivating and as they get older the interesting job is of higher value to them. Understanding what motivates people has been analyzed by many theorists. Adam states that employees want to find the balance between themselves and other employees – equity is when employee’s outcomes is equal to inputs and is equal to outcomes of the other employees. Maslow believed that employees have five levels of needs: basic, safety, social, ego and self-actualizing. At first the lower level needs should be satisfied in order for employees to be motivated. Herzberg divid ed motivation into two sections: motivators (achievement, recognition) and hygienes (pay, security). Schein has analyzed motivation from the standpoint of employees and has based his judgment on expectation theory – if the expectations are met, the individual is satisfied and remains in the company while if the expectations are not met, the individual either leaves or deems his expectations as unrealistic or unimportant and stays. McGregor has developed two theories: X and Y describing two different attitudes to workforce motivation and has left it up to managers to decide which one is more appropriate for the given company. Each of these theories has its advantages and disadvantages. Interestingly, Maslow has developed his motivation theory when he observed the behavior of monkey – he noticed that some on the needs take precedence over others. For example, thirst is stronger need than hunger. He continued this idea and created the hierarchy of needs with broader layers: The

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle East politics Essay

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle East politics - Essay Example Shi’ite Islam was declared as the state religion and widespread reforms, covering nearly every department of the state, were introduced. This also resulted in the restructuring of the foreign policy of this company. The new leaders of the state had a whole new perspective for the world, especially their neighboring Middle Eastern states. This new foreign policy was to change the face of Middle Eastern Politics forever. To analyze this new order of politics, we must have a proper insight of the foreign relations between Iran and the other Middle Eastern countries. The first country that may come in mind is Iraq (Menashri‎, 2001, p.‎46). After the dismissal of the Shah of Iran, Shah Raza Pahlavi, who was always considered as a liberal Shah who had ‘strayed’ the people of Iran from the true path of Islam, there was a sudden change of the international views of Iran. This also inducted a huge change in the local policies between countries, such as Iraq and Iran. With the Iraq-Iran war between 1980 and 1988, there was a focus towards the Kurdish factor between the two states. This gave rise to a Kurdish conflict between the two states which was promoted by both of the states. Iraq promoted the movement known as the KDPI (Kurdish Democratic party of Iran) to function inside the Iranian territory at different spots which included Nowdesheh and Qasr-e-Shirin. KDPI was supplied with weapons and various military arms throughout the war and wanted to develop liberated zones inside the state of Iran (Bernard, 1995, p.‎428). Similarly, Iran also indulged in a Kurdish movement as a counter retaliation against Iraq. By 1983, they started funding Kurdish parties such as KDP (Kurdish Democratic Party) and PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) to function inside the Iraqi Premises and cause various un-settlements within the state. This threatened Baghdad

Friday, August 23, 2019

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Religion - Essay Example Many Indians also died while being forced to relocate, a sanitized way to refer to the ethnic cleansing of tribes which were formerly located in the area east of the Mississippi River. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 mandated the relocation of many tribes, predominantly the Cherokee Nation which allowed for a ‘whites only’ America in what constituted the majority of what was the U.S. at that time. The Indian Removal Act was a priority of the President Andrew Jackson administration but was passed only following a contentious four month congressional debate. The Act gave Jackson the authority to negotiate treaties with eastern Indians who wished to retain their sovereignty and relocate west of the Mississippi. However, the Act also allowed those Indians wanting to stay in their home land in the east full U.S. citizenship rights. At that time, most Americans could not conceive the country ever extending west of the Mississippi. According to the Act, relocation was meant to be on a voluntary basis, no individual or tribe was to be forced from their home. The Indian Nations in the southeast did not want to be citizens or leave consequently Jackson used military force against these tribes. Much of the general public assumed that removing Indians was beneficial to them. â€Å"Removal would save Indian people from the depredations of whites and would resettle them in an area where t hey could govern themselves in peace† (â€Å"Indian Removal†, 2007). However, some believed the removal policy was just another excuse for Jackson to exercise his long-standing sadistic and inhumane treatment of the native people and vocally objected against this policy. Among those opposed to the Removal Act were Daniel Webster of dictionary fame, many ministers and Davy Crockett whose passionate opposition to this government policy and his support of the Cherokee Nation cost him his Congressional seat. According to Crockett in response to his

Thursday, August 22, 2019

A view from the bridge Essay Example for Free

A view from the bridge Essay Marco is very different to his brother Rodolfo, who is fair haired and pale, as he is dark skinned and has dark hair, so he is a typical Italian immigrant. At first, Eddie likes Marco very much as he is very strong and hard working. Another longshoreman describes Marco as a regular bull and Eddie himself says that hes a strong guy. The audience respect Marco very much as he works this hard to make money for his family, which is a very manly thing to do. He also matches Eddies ideas on what it means to be a man this way as he is working to save his family and he feels that it is his duty to do so. Eddie feels threatened by Marco because he is more masculine than he is, and this is shown when Marco lifts the chair to show that he is stronger than Eddie. Marco also shows the audience that he is more masculine than Eddie because he doesnt try to continually show his strength to the other characters like Eddie does, and when Eddie breaks the honour code by telling immigration about Marco and Rodolfo, Marco shows the audience again that he is stronger than Eddie because he wins the fight and kills Eddie. At this point the audience do not dislike Marco, even though he has killed Eddie, as Marco claims that Eddie, by telling immigration about them, has killed his wife and children, so Marco sees it as masculine to kill Eddie in retaliation to Eddie killing his family. Eddies views on masculinity, and his actions against those who are different to them, eventually lead to his own death, after he loses Catherine, Beatrice, and his name, so it could be argued that he had no choice but to fight to the death. Throughout the play, the Arthur Miller (the playwright) has carefully selected his language to make the audience view the characters exactly how he wants them to be viewed. For example, he wants us to view Eddie as a strong and caring character, although Miller has also made it clear that he has a low education. He has done this by making Eddie have poor communication skills, and Miller shows us this clearly as he cant hold an argument and he often breaks in the middle of his sentences and sometimes completely forgets what he is talking about if he is interrupted. For example, when he goes to Alfieri to see if there is anything the law can do to stop Catherine and Rodolfo marrying, every time Eddie is interrupted he has to repeat himself to remember what he is saying and he says Listen to me a minute! in frustration that he cannot communicate his ideas effectively, and Miller could have done this purposely to possibly make the audience feel sorry for Eddie towards the end of the play, possibly because he only attacked Marco because he was unable to express his feelings in any other way. Miller has intentionally contrasted Eddie with Marco and Rodolfo, as the audience gets the impression that they are competent of expressing what they think, and so Miller could also have done this purposely as well, as this could make the audience think that both Marco and Rodolfo are more masculine than Eddie because of this quality. Miller may possibly be trying to show the audience that every man shows his masculinity in one way or another, and possibly that the most important quality of all is communication, as the one character who lacks this in the play is Eddie, and the lack of this skill leads to his death. In the play A View from the Bridge the playwright Arthur Miller has shown how masculinity, and how people view it, can lead to hostility and aggression, and he has used Eddie, the protagonist, to help show these ideas to the audience. Overall, Miller has done this very effectively, as Eddies death at the end of the play shows the audience where a mans opinion and a lack of communication can end. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cognition, Memory and Perception Essay Example for Free

Cognition, Memory and Perception Essay Forgetting is the inability of a person to retrieve, recall or recognize information that was stored or still stored in long term memory. (McLeod, S. A. 2008). In terms of short term memory, forgetting is caused by interference between past and new information that most modern accounts that holding on to. In some older models, forgetting is explained using a process of passive deterioration of information. Comparing both accounts, interference seems to have a better explanation of forgetting. Secondly in terms of long term memory, forgetting occurs when one fails to remember and unable to reactivated the memory circuit of given information. In general, forgetting seems to happen in between short term and long term memory. It will occur when information is to be encoded or information is not linked to any memory circuit through interference. (â€Å"What is forgetting in psychology? †, 2008). However, nowadays, there are theories of forgetting in cognitive psychology that are still difficult to test by researches, because one may in fact not forget, but have trouble retrieving information from one’s memory storage. For examples, one forgets about an event such as attending a friend’s birthday party just because the individual were only remembering another event that is more important to him such as a wedding dinner. The examples of the theories of forgetting are encoding failure, decay theory, interference theory, retrieval failure, motivated forgetting and repression. The author of this paper will going to critically asses on the psychological theories on why people forget. According to Freud (1901), the father of the psychoanalytic school, believed that one will forget of what threatens them. For example, experiences that express in abusing, horrifying, hurtful, tense and ego-dissatisfying will pushed back to the unconscious. Based on the opinion of writer on this paper, it is not necessarily that one just forgets about what threatens them but also forgets the information that does not seem important to them. This scenario is similar to the theory of encoding failure whereas the particular information in short term memory that did not manage to encode in the long term memory and the information did not enter to the memory. Besides that, encoding failure also can be result of stress. Based on Yerkes-Dodson Law, too much stress results can cause performance to decline, sometimes sharply if cognitive or nervous breakdown is triggered. A downturn can also be caused by excessive attention to a task such that extra factors that are important get missed. Secondly, the decay theory, this theory suggests that memory traces in the brain will fade over time through lack of use and become inaccessible. Decay theory suggest that forgetting is a psychological process and it is an idea that when a memory has a physical or chemical trace of the experience in the brain when it is laid down. This traces will fade as time passes unless it is reinforced through repeated times of use. For example, when a person meets a new friend, the name of the friend is just like a trace to the brain. But when the person did not manage to meet up with that new friend for a few days, the name of the friend will slowly decay and might not recall it after. However, researchers have not shown that decay theory causes forgetting of something that is stored in the long term memory. In addition, based on the author’s opinion, memory such as driving skills, riding bicycle skills and swimming skills would not decay even though after a period of time, not every memory trace will fade over time. Some studies of the hippocampus have shown a pattern of rapid and then gradual decline of neutral pathways by Anderson (1995).Besides that, there are two types of the interference theory that is, proactive interference and retroactive interference. The definition of the proactive interference is when old information interferes with the new information that cause forgetting. Example of proactive interference theory is when a person who learned many formulas in additional mathematics for a year and learned new sets of formulas for modern mathematics for a month and the person will interfere with the knowledge of additional mathematics while doing modern mathematics. On the other hand, retroactive interference occurs when new information learned interfere with the old information that stored in the memory. Remembering the names of the new students by a lecturer is an example of retroactive interference where the new students name will nterfere with the names that were previously stored. However, researches pointed out that real life interference might not occur so readily. The retrieval failure theory was proposed by (Tulving amp; Thomson 1973). This theory is known as a cue dependent forgetting that explains forgetting as inability to retrieve material due to an absence of the right cues. In order that one person to retrieve information from the long-term memory, they must depend on the type of cue or prompt which they use and this theory explained that why sometimes that one who unable to remember the material that is certain in our memory. For example, a person cannot remember doing his homework until him or her saw the workbook on the table. This proves that the workbook provide the right retrieval cue. According to Freud (1901), the retrieval of the repressed memories is possible only under special circumstances using a few psychoanalytic techniques. On the other hand, there is a tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (TOT) that could help one to retrieve forgotten memories. TOT is an example of how we intentionally search for cues that will prompt the retrieval of a specific memory. For example, a person that forgets their neighbor pet’s name and only remembers the dumbbell which hangs around the neck of the pet. By reading the word dumbbell, TOT assists the person to recall that the neighbor pet’s name was Dumble. Furthermore, the motivated forgetting is a case of retrieval failure referred to Freud, (1901). What it actually meant by motivated forgetting? According to Freud (1901), motivated forgetting is that we are motivated to forget the events or actions that is painful that cannot be solve in the memory by pushing it into the subconscious and actively repressing with it. In other words, these experiences are repressed in the unconscious and unable to retrieve when needed. Besides motivated forgetting causes oneself repression of memory, it is possible that one forgets is based on instructions of others and also known as the intentional forgetting or directed forgetting. Anderson, Baddeley and Eysenck (2009) stated that intentional forgetting also refers to forgetting which is initiated by a conscious goal to forget. McNally, Clancy, and Schacter (2001) also stated that loss of autobiographical memories, especially memories for unpleasant or disturbing events has used to explain the intentional forgetting. However, based on the author’s opinion, motivate forgetting on the memories of pain, unpleasant, and disturbing events are unhealthy to one’s body, physically and mentally. What if the capacity of the subconscious has a limit and it cannot continue to repress any more of the memory of negative events, it will causes an unwanted pressure and stress on the individual emotionally and lead to suicide if it reaches the limit. Last but not least, theory of repression, proposed by the psychologist Sigmund Freud. Freud (1901) stated that the unpleasant memories such as sexual abuse, bullying, torture or any traumatic experience which undergoes the psychological process which automatically and unconsciously prevents emotionally distressing memories from coming into our conscious awareness. In the event or experience in the present such as watching a video, hypnosis or hearing music may triggered the repressed memories back into conscious awareness. However, he stated that, repressed memories cannot deliberately bring back unless it was triggered. The memory researches pointed out that the retrieval memories come back into awareness through suggestion by the patient’s therapist in fact are false memories. In the nutshell, all the theories above that have discussed which are the encoding failure, decay theory, interference theory, retrieval failure, motivated forgetting and repression. Overview of this research, readers can determine that every theories of forgetting have relation between one another and it is all related to the short-term memory and long-term memory. If the short-term memory does not exist, there is no long-term memory. In the author’s point of view, some of the theories that have discussed above are too narrow in scope and did not manage to cover all the factors such as emotion of a person that will lead to forgetting. In the author’s opinion, every psychologist that is doing on the same research should investigate and plan the experiments together so that all the psychologists able to brainstorm on their findings and share their thoughts together in order to improve their theories. Besides that, I believe that, all the human being does not want to repress all those negatives events that had ever happened in their lives into their subconscious mind. This is because after repressing or suppressing those memories into the subconscious mind, it would not provide safety precautions in terms of physically and mentally to everyone. What if one day, one person those who suffer from sexual abuse and torture since childhood and triggered that memory back and do the same thing to others. This will lead to even more people suffers.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Mauritius As A Green Destination Tourism Essay

The Mauritius As A Green Destination Tourism Essay Fifty years ago, tourism was a word rarely used by most people. However, over the time, it has witnessed a dramatic transformation into a multifaceted activity. Travel and tourism have been confined to a privileged few, namely the rich at the early time. Now, tourism has grown to such dimensions and importance that it is regarded as one of the fastest growing industry in the world, transforming into a mean of development for several countries, including many Small Island Developing Countries (SIDS) like Mauritius (UNWTO, 2011). Today, it is understood by people all over the world, many regard holidays as part of everyday life and foreign travel is taken for granted. Consequently, holidays making has become a booming business. Tourism and hospitality industry is now recognized as the worlds largest and fastest growing industry, as it is estimated that between 1950 and 2004, tourism activities have increased from 25 million to 763 million worldwide, with an estimation of 1.6 billion by 2020- an average annual rate of about 6.5 percent (WTO, 2004). Profile of Mauritius Mauritius, an island on the outskirts of tropical Africa, has a nice card to play as a tourism destination and it is endowed with resources and has the potential to be a green destination. Mauritius surrounded by cobalt blue seas with long beaches and soft and silvery sand makes the island an ideal tourist attraction. Mauritius is a fascinating island which is loaded with historic sites, cultural diversity, geographic variations and nature. The Aapravasi Ghat- the Immigration Depot where indentured laborers disembarked, was declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2006. Later on in 2008, Le Morne Cultural Landscapes- which encompasses a natural fortress that was used as a retreat for escaping slaves in the island in the 18th and early 19th century was nominated as World Heritage Site. Black River Gorges National Park is on the tentative list of Mauritius to be nominated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. 1.2 Mauritius as a green Destination Across the globe, public is increasingly concerned about environment issues, thus tourism destinations are realizing that adopting green practices and green management are rapidly becoming a strategic tool that can enhance a destinations competitive advantage. The facts that people are beginning to look at green practices in a whole new way; it is a must to involve sustainability in the hotel industry. The perception of green has change; it has gone from a fringe movement to a mainstream. The tourism market has been diversifying into different sub segments in order to respond to the exact needs and wants of their customers. Tourism is regarded as the main economic pillar of Mauritius, indeed the Travel and Tourism industry brings many positive impacts in Mauritius but the fact that alongside with these advantages, other factors like climate change, pollution and effects of tourism practices have also created a hot issue in the Tourism arena. The negative impacts of tourism activities has resulted in an increasing demand of green destination, meaning destination where there are visible efforts of protecting and sustaining the environment by dealing with issues like carbon emissions, bio diversity conservation, resources usage, water supply and waste management. It can be said that the tourism and the environment sustainability concept are visibly becoming natural partners. Green tourism, for the past couple of years, has been a crucial factor for tourists while opting for a destination. Mauritius has several sites that encourage green tourism such as Pamplemousses Garden (it ranks among the most famous botanical gardens in the world with its giants water lilies and evocation spice plants), Domaine Les Pailles (a natural park spreading over 3000 acres at the foot of a mountain range), Casela Bird Park (which stretches over 25 hectares and contains more than 140 species of birds from five continents), Black River Gorges, Ile aux Aigrette and among others. A green destination can contribute to favourable behavioural intentions: intentions to revisit or an intention to offer positive recommendations to others. 1.3 Problem Statement Although Mauritius is heavily dependent on income derived from tourism, it is important that the countrys natural resources be maintained for future generation to experience. Therefore, going green is a key component of the next phase of change in the industry. To better analyze the relevance of Mauritius in relation to green destination, the concept must clearly be defined: Green Tourism may be defined as In short, green tourism is all about adapting to and mitigating climate change in relation to tourism, about green market, green programmes, green practices and among others. Originally, the term green related in business operations to environmental matters but now it embraces all aspects of sustainable development. Mauritius hosted 925 000 tourists excluding transit and cruise passengers in 2011, whereas in the year 2010 the arrival rate was 898 000. Although there is an increase of 3% which may seem respectable at first sight but, however, it pales in comparison to double digit growth rates earned by Indian Ocean peers, for example Maldives +18%, Seychelles +11% and Sri Lanka +31%. Mauritius registered a decline which was partly offset by greater penetration into Eastern Europe and Asia. Mauritius has plunged from a dominant 41% to 33% of Indian Ocean market in just two short years. The tourists arrival for 2012 was 938 000 and the year 2012 was a difficult year wherein Europe slipped back into recession and this recession is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. It is feared that 2013 may be as harsh as 2012. However, tourism has not reached the end of the journey; it finds itself at a critical juncture where Mauritius has to diverse to a new market segment which is the green market. Mauritius must realize that in order to stay competitive, becoming green must be a principal element of branding and marketing policies. Failing to adopt such an approach may mean losing a loyal customer base. By advertising Mauritius as a green destination, the tourism industry will show their environmental responsibility of tourist operations to attract green tourists and improve their standard with customers. 1.4 Aims and Objectives of the research Green tourism has been identified as one of the most important economy driver for most developing countries. My objective is to market Mauritius as a green destination to benefit from competitive advantage. Therefore, my aims are: To explore the reasons why Mauritius should be promoted as Green-destination To explore the possible ways to build up a sustainable image of the country To focus on the potential ways for establishing green tourism that can benefits local community To examine on some critical issues which could act as barriers from benefitting from green tourism In particular based on the research findings, I will offer recommendations in the field of green tourism in Mauritius 1.5 Organisation of the study This study is organized into five chapters listed as below: Chapter one: deals with the background information, problem statement, research aims and objectives Chapter two: provides a review of the literature on Green Destination Chapter three: presents the methodology of the study, explains the steps involved in developing research design, sampling and data collection procedures Chapter four: includes and presents the findings and results in the statistical analysis Chapter five: summarise the whole study with a conclusion and recommendation. LITTERATURE REVIEW The modern tourists opt for green tourism: Green Tourism, synonymous in meaning with eco-tourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people (TIES, 1990), as they want to lower their carbon footprint. Nowadays, customers no longer accept just linen and towel reuse programs as being enough green practices in the green destination concept. They consider factors that are leading to energy efficiency, a proper waste division, procurement, and water conservation (Heisterkamp, 2009; Wolff, 2008). Tourism destinations and tourism industry need to position themselves to meet these challenges and take advantage of new opportunities arising from changing consumer preferences as well as changing environmental and business practices. Green Research within Hospitality Industry Buying a certificate doesnt make you green said Lyndall De Marco, executive director, International Tourism Partnership, The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum. Being green begins with a thought process De Marco said. What makes hotel sustainable involves an integrated, holistic process that encompasses site use, water and energy use, materials and resources, operations and community and social relations. (DESIGN: Patricia Sheehan, Hotel Design Managing Editor) The global environmental certification program for the travel and tourism industry was developed in 1996 by three international organizations: the World Travel Tourism Council, the World Tourism Organisation and the Earth Council. These organizations jointly launched an action plan entitled Agenda 21 for the Travel Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development. Subsequently, Green Globe, a benchmarking, certification and performance-improvement program based on the Agenda 21 principles, was created. This program identifies the environmental and developmental issues which threaten the economy and ecological balance, and presents a strategy for transition to more sustainable development practices. Hotels receive Green Globe certification by addressing major environmental issues in key areas including: greenhouse emissions, energy efficiency, management of freshwater resources, ecosystem conservation, and waste water and solid waste management. Reasons to go for Green Destination: Eco-tourism is not a new phenomenon. Nature-based tourism has a long tradition (Ousby, 2002). Modern forms of eco-tourism became popular in the 1980s but can be traced back to the wildlife conservation reserves in Kenya opening to tourists in the 1960s (Honey, 2009). Academic study of eco-tourism has grown steadily over the past two decades (Jayawardena et al., 2008). Enthusiasm for the issue reflects the segments buoyancy over the past 20 years (Mastny, 2001, The International Ecotourism Society, 2006) and greater consensus on the meaning of key concepts (Horobin, 1996). A destinations environment, often a core component of its image, is a key factor motivating tourists destination choice and loyalty (Meng and Uysal, 2008; Hosany et al., 2006). With rising concern over the impacts of global warming, there is a danger that tourism operators and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) will exaggerate their eco-credentials. Consumer Demand The last few years have been a considerable increase in consumer awareness of green tourism, partly may be because of extensive media coverage. Consumers are increasingly seeking environmentally friendly products and have a greater understanding of the impacts of green practices and climate change. There are an increasing number of consumers who are willing to change their actions in relation to these issues, and tourism industry can target these consumers to gain a competitive advantage. A range of studies, three of which are referenced below, have been undertaken to look at the correlation between environmental impacts of tourism and changes in consumer behavior. The studies have investigate the gap between what people who have changed their behavior or are willing to pay more for a green experience. Tourists are increasingly demanding that the destinations are pollution free as well as interesting. Consumers awareness regarding green tourism has also fuelled concern among some travelers and made them reluctant to undertake tourism activities such as long haul travel. In May 2008, a joint Commonwealth and State study into consumer awareness found that although consumers feel that the environment is of major important, they have the tendancy not to take responsibility for environmental issues. Many also feel that travel is a compensation to be enjoyed with carefree and without any tension that they are causing any harm to the environment. Their main purpose is to enjoy. The study notes that there is a difference between attitudes and behaviours for approximately 44 percent of those surveyed. However, supporting the findings of the 2007 Lonely Planet Travellers Pulse Survey (24, 500 respondents worldwide) found the following in relation to consumer demand: 84 percent of respondents said they would consider offsetting their emissions in the future (3 percent had done so in the past). 90 percent of people said they would or might purposefully travel in a low impact way; and 93 percent of people said they would or might purposefully partake in environmentally friendly travel in the future. A Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) study also found out that 70 percent of tourists surveyed indicated that they would change their travel pattern or plans in the future to be more green. Another study conducted in India which surveyed Indian consumers about their attitudes towards green practices in the tourism industry showed that 22 percent of the respondents seek out environmental properties (Manaktola Jauhari, 2007). In the United States, 43,000,000 travelers are environmentally concerned (Greening your travel experience, 1998). Gustin and Weaver (1996) found that 73.7 percent of respondents considered themselves environmentally conscious consumers; while 54.3 percent thought of themselves as environmentally conscious travelers. Competitive Advantage Green destinations are becoming increasingly popular due to the current environmental crisis that is occurring worldwide. It has become obvious that the tourism industry does more than its share in damaging and exploiting environmental resources. As a result, more and more tourists are looking for destinations following practices to protect environment. Becoming a green destination can be the foundation for a great marketing strategy and the first step in marketing is providing consumers with what they or need. A growing consumer base exists for green destinations, and marketing the green practices of a destination can help to position it distinctly in the market place. Therefore, going green makes each property unique, and furthermore creates a competitive advantage. Sustainable competitive advantage exists with the ownership or a valuable resource that allows the organizations to perform better or more efficient than their competitors (Graci Dodds, 2008, p.256). For tourism industry, green programmes can provide a competitive advantage, as long as green activities are still optional in the market. Eventually, green practices are becoming a baseline requirement, because the cost of non-renewable energy continues to increase. Therefore, proactive tourism destinations with sustainable green models will have the strongest opportunity of achieving a competitive advantage (Ernst Young Report: Hospitality Going Green). By doing and practicing environment friendly practices destinations gain positive publicity, customer loyalty, hence a definite competitive edge over competitors (Guskin Weaver, 1996). Green hotels create a competitive advantage for themselves by attracting and retaining their employees. Employee turnover is one of the biggest problems and expenses within the hotel industry. However, studies have shown that environmentally conscious hotels have greater employee loyalty. A Canadian study reported that employees are far more likely to identify with an employer whose principles and practices are in tune with current trends (Graci Dodds, 2008). Environmental initiatives have shown to be a valuable way to create passion and encourage team work to achieve a central goal (Graci Dodds, 2008). Team work must be inspired from the top down in a hotel. The Orchard Gardens general manager, Stefan Muhle, said you just cant send out a memo, (Dicum, 2007) All the staffs have to be included front to back. Their heart has to be in it (Dicum, 2007). Each staff member needs to be educated in what the hotel is doing to achieve sustainability goals so they can not only participate, bu t also answer guest questions (Dicum, 2007). By educating staff members, including them, keeping them informed and challenging them to achieve goals, management of green hotels excites their staff and allows them to identify with their organization; which leads to lower turnover rates. Lower turnover rates in turn save the hotel expenses involved with recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. The competitive advantages realized by green hotels do not stop with retaining employees; consumers do seek out green hotels. Green hotels are becoming increasingly popular due to the current environmental crisis that is occurring worldwide. Green hotels are few and far between across not only the United States, but also the world. Therefore, going green makes each property unique, and furthermore creates a competitive advantage. Therefore, sustainable competitive advantage exists with the ownership or a valuable resource that allows the organizations to perform better or more efficient t han their competitors (Graci Dodds, 2008, p. 256). The Cedar House Sport Hotel, for example, has gardens on the roof of their hotel. The gardens attract local birds and insects for guests to observe, which in turn attracts more guests. However, the gardens also serve another purpose, as they cool the hotel during the summer months (Dicum, 2007). Environment Toolkit Unplanned or uncontrolled tourism can be a cause of negative impacts such as the physical deterioration of the destination facilities and the destruction of the natural environment. It can also create conflict at the destination areas on the issues of access, irresponsible behavior by tourists, competition for labour, soil, erosion and land prices (Mathieson and Wall, 1982). Environment responsibility makes ecological sense, because keeping the environment pristine means that tourists will come to appreciate and enjoy the natural beauty of the destination. Gone are the days when going green necessarily meant making large investments in expensive technology. The main reason for tourists to travel to a destination is to look for authencity and real experiences (not artificial culture devised to deceive tourists) such as wildlife, historic townscape, scenery. They also respect local identity, its special features that make a destination different and unique- this could be the Taj Mahal of India, or cobalt blue seas of Mauritius. Tourism is among the highest contributor to green house gas emissions and these emissions are likely to increase with tourism sector growth. Tourism accommodation, transport, events and attractions consume significant amount of fuel, energy and water and can impact the natural environment. Of these, air transport is by far the largest contributor to tourism, accounting for 40% of the sectors contribution to co2 emissions globally. The introduction of low cost carriers airlines has improved accessibility to flights and opened travel markets but in turn has increased energy consumption. These wildlife, historic townscape and scenery form the core products of tourism industry and if these core products continued to be harmed by the pollution or other environmental impacts, then the very foundation on which the industry stands will be eroded. The tourism industry in particular has recently received much attention with awareness of the negative impacts that are having on the environment (Kasim, 2004). Emergence of Alternative Tourism The government has announced a visitor target of 2 million by 2020, therefore Mauritius has recently been experiencing a surge in tourism and tourism-related activities, but this growth is also raising concerns that mass tourism development could lead to the destruction of the countrys fragile coastline, fauna and flora. There has been a narrow thinking in pursuit of increased number of tourists without seriously understanding the benefit that local communities derived from tourism or the real cost of tourism for the local community and environment being assessed. Setting targets for doubling the tourist arrival rate, which were believed to bring much more capital, but this is not the case. Alternative forms of tourism tend to be geared to more responsible tourism. Different forms of alternative tourism serve different purposes. Most forms aim to reduce the adverse impacts of mass tourism. Some forms may aim to reduce or dissipate the influence of the existing industry that has developed under a strong western influence, while some aim only for a new or special market that have emerged as a result of shifts in global trade and the political relationship among different nations. Thus, alternative tourism can be seen both as a vision of the future and as an adaptation to mass tourism, however, are closely linked with the sustainable development paradigm. The benefits of responsible tourism are not far off and unclear. They are achievable, and in most cases, can be perceived immediately. On the other hand, it may take years before the negative impacts of environmental neglect are felt. By advertising Mauritius as a green destination, Mauritius will not just pursue an increase in tourist number but instead they will focus more on what kind of tourists want and these tourists will then be directed to the most appropriate areas as suitable. Creating a Green Destination The breadth and depth of opportunity for a destination to establish green credentials is immense, and continues to grow. There are a number of ways in which a destination can work with the environment to create a unique, compelling, and competitive destination. To name a few: ECO-TOURISM: One of the most popular approaches to Going Green eco-tourism (as a globally recognized and celebrated niche offering) puts engaging with the natural environment of the destination at the centre of the offering. Destinations which take pride in their abundant wildlife, flora and fauna have successfully created traveler experiences which make it possible to be immersed in and involved with nature as a tourism attraction which can be seen, felt and even contributed to. In addition, eco-tourism destinations offer the benefit of an enhanced sense of wellness from being in such a pure environment (even if sophisticated in design, that is: Six Senses Wellness Resorts) with opportunity to partake in excursions focused on being at one with nature. ECO-FRIENDLY: Destinations which define themselves as Going Green from an ecofriendly perspective openly and voluntarily adopt and express environmentally friendly practices which, while seemingly small, can in fact make a big difference when added up. The desire to be considerate of the impact of the industry (or parts of it) on the environment are there, with efforts made to do the little things which are simply the right thing to do. Eco-friendly efforts include basic environmentally considerate changes to existing infrastructure, i.e. frequency of linen washing, keypads in hotel rooms to turn on/off power mains, increased air conditioner temperatures in large spaces, replacement of traditional light bulb to energy saving bulbs, selective recycling efforts (like grey water). Interestingly, destinations venturing into these even incremental practices will notice a positive impact on the bottom line. ECO-POLICIES: Getting more serious about the impact which the industry has on the environment, enforcement of eco-policies by governments and tourism corporations reflects the fundamental philosophy held by leaders of a destination and tourism business towards energy conservation and environmental responsibility. Enforcement of policy removes the window of choice for members of the Tourism community, making changes to existing and future tourism products and services changes to increase energy efficiency and/or reduce wastage of resources a must. These policies do not apply purely to destinations which exist within locations surrounded by greenery and teeming with wildlife. Even the most built-up, uber-urban, heavily-populated areas which could be described more as concrete jungles than even garden cities can successfully impose and activate green policies and incentives. Macau, as an example, has put in place a green hotel awards programme for international developers of resorts and casinos scr ambling to get a piece of the action and place a bet on tourism growth in the new Asian tourism hot spot. The initiative by Macaus Environment Council (now Environmental Protection Bureau), which was introduced in 2007, drives across the industry the importance of environmental management in the hotel sector while giving high-profile, highly-respected recognition to those hotels mobilising environmentally sound management policies. ECO-ENGINEERED: Linked to the above, eco-engineering is the adoption of new generation technology and practices into new tourism products, services and developments, effectively making obsolete old, less energy-efficient methods. This increasing sensitivity to the design and development of tourism industry assets, particularly major structures such as airports, retail centres, theatres, hotels and conference centres, can have a dramatic effect on the impact which the industry has on the environment, both visibly and invisibly. The following eco-engineering concepts are just a few of the energy-smart and environmentally sensitive techniques increasingly being built into new TT infrastructure: o Water heating: heat recovered from the hotels air-conditioning system used to warm water for swimming pools; solar panels for water used in hotels and spas; o Temperature Control: solar glazing in windows and doors assists in maintaining constant interior temperatures; o Lighting: energy efficient lights and lamps; movement sensors for after-hour lighting in common areas and underground parking; keycard room power control; o Air conditioning: sensors automatically switch off air-conditioning in the bedrooms when doors to balconies or terraces are opened; o Irrigation: rainwater is directed off the roofs via an extensive underground pipe network to a large storage tank for use in the gardens; Interestingly, initial investment into green design often proves to be a valuable revenue protector as operating costs can be dramatically reduced. The green economy is a reality, a much needed and a deeply meaningful one. Taking into account the above possible approaches to Going Green, and many others which exist, tourism industry leaders within both the public and private sector need to look closely at how they plan to, and often must, incorporate Going Green into their tourism growth strategy, ethos, Brand and business models. Form follows function. Function follows philosophy

U.S. Foreign Policy in the Late 19th Century Essay -- essays research

The United States, from its inception had a lust for real estate. From the original chants of "manifest destiny" to the calls for the annexation of Indian territories, America has been driven to acquire land. In this country's youth, land was needed for economic expansion; however, by the end of the 19th century, the entire continental United States had been in possession and the citizenry of this country turned their eyes out to sea. The United States no longer sought new lands to farm and work nor did they need new areas for their geological resources; the motives had changed. The United States was now driven by the temptations of world power and political supremacy. The self-absorbed citizenry looked upon their intrusion into foreign areas as a moral obligation; to spread the words of democracy and Christ throughout the world. The Spanish-American War in the final years of the 19th century perfectly demonstrated this "new" imperialism. In addition the American intrusion into Chinese affairs during the Boxer rebellion was also proof for the new motives which governed the international attitude. By the end of the 19th century Spanish forces in Cuba were in an all out battle with nationalist rebels. The Spanish army had tortured and killed thousands of innocent Cubans in their efforts to maintain control of Cuba. The American "Yellow Press" under the leadership of Pulitzer and others wrote horrific articles about the war in Cuba and called for... U.S. Foreign Policy in the Late 19th Century Essay -- essays research The United States, from its inception had a lust for real estate. From the original chants of "manifest destiny" to the calls for the annexation of Indian territories, America has been driven to acquire land. In this country's youth, land was needed for economic expansion; however, by the end of the 19th century, the entire continental United States had been in possession and the citizenry of this country turned their eyes out to sea. The United States no longer sought new lands to farm and work nor did they need new areas for their geological resources; the motives had changed. The United States was now driven by the temptations of world power and political supremacy. The self-absorbed citizenry looked upon their intrusion into foreign areas as a moral obligation; to spread the words of democracy and Christ throughout the world. The Spanish-American War in the final years of the 19th century perfectly demonstrated this "new" imperialism. In addition the American intrusion into Chinese affairs during the Boxer rebellion was also proof for the new motives which governed the international attitude. By the end of the 19th century Spanish forces in Cuba were in an all out battle with nationalist rebels. The Spanish army had tortured and killed thousands of innocent Cubans in their efforts to maintain control of Cuba. The American "Yellow Press" under the leadership of Pulitzer and others wrote horrific articles about the war in Cuba and called for...

Monday, August 19, 2019

Catholicism Views On Other Religions :: essays research papers

How does Catholicism view other religions and religious freedom?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catholics and many other religions have the same view on other religions then there own. Catholics believe that everyone is entitled to their own personal freedom and have there own choices. They share the same vision as the Vatican Council, which is the council that tries to maintain freedom. People nowadays are conscious and there is a growing demand that people should exercise their own judgement. More and more people are demanding other to have there own responsible freedom and act accordingly. Catholics believe that there should be no prevention and excessive restrictions of freedom of individuals. The human society today demands free practice of religions in society. The Vatican council pays attention to these spiritual aspirations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Vatican council declares that humans have a right to religious freedom. Freedom of this kind means that everyone is immune from corrosion and peer pressure and other social group forces. Every individual have their own rights and have there own rights to believe in whatever God they desire. Every individual has the rite to freedom within limits; no men or women can be forced against their convictions. Nor anyone can be restrained from acting in accordance to his or her religion. In association with this the public shall recognized religious freedom, which must be give recognition in the constitutional order.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Vatican council or the sacred council proclaims that obligations bind people’s consciences together. Truth can impose itself on the human mind by the force of its own truth, which wins over the mind. So while the religious freedom, which human beings demand in fulfilling their obligation to worship, God has to do with freedom from coercion in civil society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  God orders, directs and governs the whole world and ways of the human community according to a plan conceived in his wisdom and love. God has enabled humans to share in this law, under gentle disposition of divine providence. For this reasons everybody have the duty and the right to seek the truth in religious matters. Through the use of appropriate means they make ask prudent judgments of conscience, which are sincere and truthful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However in contradiction to all this freedom the Vatican Council's declared that there would be only one church of Christ. The Vatican’s declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions reaffirmed that there is only one Church of Christ that is fully in possession of the truth of the Gospel; that is the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Glorifying the Tudor Dynasty: Shakespeares Richard III and the Perfect

Arts in England flourished and prospered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Furthermore, â€Å"The Golden Age† was characterized by the Queen’s patronizing of theatre, which lead it to gain popularity among England. The sixteenth and early seventeenth century witnessed a period of English nationalism, evidently shown through diffused texts in the English language, rather than in Latin. Additionally, the Queen supported playwrights such as William Shakespeare, which lead to depictions of Elizabethan society in his plays. Consequently, influences from London and the royal family influenced plays such as Richard III. Specifically, the play affected the glorification of the Tudors, leading to the villanization of former king Richard III. This paper discusses and argues the effects of Elizabethan England on the plot, villain, and gender roles- all leading to the glorification of the Tudor dynasty. Firstly, Niccollo Machiavelli’s influences on England during the Elizabethan Era transmit in the plot of the play. Machiavelli, an Italian politician, published Il Principe, which established guidelines on how a prince could get and secure his power. Machiavellian ideas diffused among the political elite of England during Elizabeth’s reign (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). Consequently, Shakespeare adapted these influences to produce the character of King Richard III. The principal influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare’s version of Richard is the Machiavellian concept of â€Å"the ends justify the means† (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). When Richard outlines his plans that will lead him to the throne of the kingdom, Shakespeare shows the influence of this concept because he shows willingness to do anything in ord... ... plot, the characters, and the overall conflicts. Culturally London is present in the events and characters of the play, since Shakespeare manages to take influences from historians and his patron to target a historical figure. Finally, while embedding historical events in his plot, Shakespeare manages to legitimize the rule of the reining dynasty. Works Cited Mclean, Ralph. â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli On Shakespeare.† Britain In Print, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Preis, Dorothea. â€Å"Richard III Society of NSW.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HSC History Extension, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Cambridge: U, 1954. Print. Shapiro, Susan. â€Å"Feminism in Elizabethan England.† History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 â€Å"The Richard III Society.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HRH. The Duke of Clougester, n.d Web. 07 Apr. 2014

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Traning and Placement Project Report on Asp.Net

CHAPTER 1 1. ABSTRACT The Campus Recruitment database project has been specially designed to handle the recruitment needs before the start of recruitment. This project can be considered as a digital diary with many other features embedded in it. This project is used to keep records of candidate, companies and colleges and provide other useful information. The main emphasis is given about the candidate record. In this project we store the all information undergoing at the time of campus recruitment program . There is mainly three users are company, collage and candidate. ompany comes in the collage for recruitment and the collage organize the campus recruitment program for the candidate . The company contact to the TPO of the collage for the recruitment and collage give the notice in the. Newspaper for the recruitment program for the candidate knowledge. This is also used by the company see the previous performance of the candidate. There are a lot of companies, which are taking recru itment for candidate . They chooses the candidate on the basis of the different skill. The company can recruit the candidate for the different jobs.It is hoped that with all the characteristics the project will be found useful to the all recruitment companies as well as candidate and college. CHAPTER 2 2. INTRODUCTION 2. 1 PROBLEM STATEMENT We are making this project to overcome the problem of tpo and company and candidate in the campus selection process we are providing the three user in this project first tpo login who can maintanethe whole record of college and student. Second login of company login and third login is student login. This will beneficial for Take complete record of the college about its name and address of it.Maintaining record of the contact person for a particular college. Maintaining records about all the company which is comes for taking recruitment and the vacancy for the particular jobs. Maintaining records about candidate who are sitting in any campus. What is their performance on any previous campus. Maintaining records of vacant position of different companies and the particular skill record required for that position. Maintaining record about the date in which issue recruitment occur and also about the newspaper in which notice is issued. 2. 2 AIMThe Campus Recruitment database project has been specially designed to handle the recruitment needs before the start of recruitment. This project can be considered as a digital diary with many other features embedded in it. This project is used to keep records of candidate, companies and colleges and provide other useful information. Take complete record of the college about its name and address of it. Maintaining record of the contact person for a particular college. Maintaining records about all the company which is comes for taking recruitment and the vacancy for the particular jobs.Maintaining records about candidate who are sitting in any campus. What is their performance on any previ ous campus. Maintaining records of vacant position of different companies and the particular skill record required for that position. Maintaining record about the date in which issue recruitment occurs and also about the newspaper in which notice is issued. 2. 3 STUDY OF CURRENT SYSTEM The Campus Recruitment database project has been specially designed to handle the recruitment needs before the start of recruitment. This project can be considered as a digital diary with many other features embedded in it.This project is used to keep records of candidate, companies and colleges and provide other useful information. In this project we are maintaining the all record of the student to make the easier in the selection process and providing the all information of the college and student. to make the easier the selection process in company we are making this project. CHAPTER 3 3. FEASIBILITY STUDY Feasibility reports describe one or more design solutions to a specific problem and determine if the proposed solution is practical and feasible.Preferably, more than one solution is offered, in which case the report compares the various designs and determines which option is best. Design and feasibility reports are essentially the same type of document, differing only in the amount of emphasis placed on practical and economic viability of the design in comparison with other possible solutions. A design report, often very similar to an internal proposal, focuses on describing one specific implementation. A feasibility study, on the other hand, also emphasizes the investigation and comparison of alternative solutions.Design reports and feasibility reports are crucial for decision making and product development in almost any technical organization. They document an engineer's thinking through a solution to a problem, a description of the solution, and the reasons why that solution should be implemented. Managers need accurate and comprehensive feasibility and design reports t o decide where to commit scarce resources. In addition, an accurate and comprehensive design report helps in developing other documents, such as formal proposals, specifications, and work plans. 3. 1 OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITYIn this project we are providing the help to the company for selection process and tpo to maintain the all record which are record the company for selection and all the material of company written papers and hr round question and technical question which will help to the student to prepare for the selection. it think this project will be helpful for company ,tpo and student. 3. 2 TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY For the design and development of the system, several software products have been accommodated.  · Database design –sql server, Interface design – . NET Framework. , Coding – C# or any other supported Language.This software’s have the  enough efficiency in  producing  the system. Therefore the project is technically feasible. 3. 3 ECONOMICAL FEASIBILITY This softaware will be good in economically because it reduse the company effort to know about the college andabout the student for the selection process. inthis software this software available company peppers will help to the student for the selection and save money the attend any coaching for the company preparation andthis will be also help to the tpo to maintain the record of the student instead of the hard copy. is software ecinomacally is good it take not more spacein the ram and hard disk and maintenances’ also easy. CHAPTER 4 4. ANALYSIS & MODELING The first step in developing anything is to state the requirements. This applies just as much to leading edge research as to simple programs and to personal programs, as well as to large team efforts. Being vague about your objective only postpones decisions to a later stage where changes are much more costly. The problem statement should state what is to be done and not how it is to be done. It shou ld be a statement of needs, not a proposal for a solution.A user manual for the desired system is a good problem statement. The requestor should indicate which features are mandatory and which are optional, to avoid overly constraining design decisions. The requestor should avoid describing system internals, as this restricts implementation flexibility. Performance specifications and protocols for interaction with external systems are legitimate requirements. Software engineering standards, such as modular construction, design for testability, and provision for future extensions, are also proper.Many problems statements, from individuals, companies, and government agencies, mixture requirements with design decisions. There may sometimes be a compelling reason to require a particular computer or language; there is rarely justification to specify the use of a particular algorithm. The analyst must separate the true requirements from design and implementation decisions disguised as req uirements. The analyst should challenge such pseudo requirements, as they restrict flexibility.There may be politics or organizational reasons for the requirements, but at least the analyst should recognize that these externally imposed design decisions are not essential features of the problem domain. A problem statement may have more or less detail. A requirement for a conventional product, such as a payroll program or a billing system, may have considerable detail. A requirement for a research effort in a new area may lack many details, but presumably the research has some objective, which should be clearly stated. Most problem statements are ambiguous, incomplete, or even inconsistent.Some requirements are just plain wrong. Some requirements, although precisely stated, have unpleasant consequences on the system behaviour or impose unreasonable implementation costs. Some requirements seem reasonable at first but do not work out as well as the request or thought. The problem state ment is just a starting point for understanding the problem, not an immutable document. The purpose of the subsequent analysis is to fully understand the problem and its implications. There is no reasons to expect that a problem statement prepared without a fully analysis will be correct. 4. 1 DOMAIN ANALYSISThis software is dependent on manual updation regularly without updating its nothing means in this software required to update student information by the tpo and college information. Companies exam pattern and papper. need to work in company login. 4. 2 APPLICATION ANALYSIS This software is very usefull for the tpo. tpo can manage the student record for the campus recruitment by the use of this software tpo can manage the all record of the student and keep the all information of the college for the company need. it is also very good software for the company by the use of this softaware company can update recruitment in the software.CHAPTER 5 5. DATA FLOW DIAGRAM CHAPTER 6 6. SYS TEM ENVIRONMENT The system environment specifies the technical specification of requirements for the developing software. The goal of this, it completely and consistently specifies the requirements for the software products in a concise and unambiguous manner 6. 1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS RAM: 512 MB (Recommended) Processor: Pentium III 450 MHz Hard Disk Space: 3. 5 GB (Includes 500 MB free space on disk) 6. 2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Operating System: Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Sql server. .net frame work CHAPTER 7 7. ADVANTAGES Take complete record of the college about its name and address of it. †¢ Maintaining record of the contact person for a particular college. †¢ Maintaining records about all the company which is comes for taking recruitment and the vacancy for the particular jobs. †¢ Maintaining records about candidate who are sitting in any campus. What is their performance on any previous campus? †¢ Maintaining records of vacant position of different compani es and the particular skill record required for that position. †¢ Maintaining record about the date in which issue a recruitment occur nd also about the newspaper in which notice is issued. 7. DISADVANTAGES †¢ Minimum 512 mb ram required for this project. †¢ Minimum 3. 5 gb hard disk required for this project. †¢ It cannot run below p4 processor. †¢ Maintenance required for this software. CHAPTER 8 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY †¢ Asp. net unleashed: stephen walther †¢ Sql server 2000: mike gunderloy †¢ Sams teach yourself c#. net in 21 days †¢ Programming asp. net: jesse liberty †¢ Beginning c#. net: richard blair ———————– Tpo Con-tact COLLEGE Company Recruit STORE DATAbase ISSUE ISSUE Skills Newspaper JOBS Candidate NOTICE

Friday, August 16, 2019

Europe vs. the United States of America Essay

Executive summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The time of the masses when individuals were forced to all think alike has long set. The contemporary period makes significant efforts to encourage individuality and diversity of opinions among society members. This generally leads to major differences in lifestyle, regarding basically all moments of live from the act of being born up until the death. Currently, these differences are most obvious between the countries of the Middle East, which promote a rather delicate human rights policy, and the rest of the globe that has strict rules regarding civil rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However the differences between the countries of the Middle East and the rest of the world seem to be most relevant at the time, there are also numerous elements that generate diversity between countries that promote similar civil rights as well as similar social, political and economic policies. A relevant example of such differences is obvious in the relationship between two great contemporary powers: the United States of America and Europe represented by the European Union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last decades have supported the U.S. as the irrefutable global leader in economics, finance, politics and military equipments and capabilities. However, history teaches us that Europe is not to be neglected. The old continent has always been able to rise above its enemies and, today, some specialists believe that it might be just a matter of time until Europe regains supremacy. â€Å"It is too soon to tell whether Washington and Brussels will head down the same road Rome and Constantinople – toward geopolitical rivalry – but the warning signs are certainly present.†[1] Economic differences   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The are numerous features of the economy that differentiate Europe from the United States, the most relevant of which being the historical factor, the status of their currencies, the citizens’ life styles determined by the levels of productivity, the unemployment rate, the formation and supported growth of the European Union or the administration of small and medium-size companies. The historical factor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The historical factor basically refers to the two world wars Europe was involved in and which brought about dramatic consequences upon the society as a whole and its individuals. Economically destroyed after the First World War, Europe sought aid from the United States, which soon became their main creditor in all domains from education and medical care system to politics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the years 1920 the world’s economy registered impressive growths in both Europe and the United States. Such impressive was the growth that it boasted up all economic activities and drove manufacturers towards overproduction. The overproducing of goods and services, combined with the already existent shortages generated the crash of the New York Stock Market. This led the United States, and automatically its debtors, into the great economic crisis of 1929–1933, known as the Great Depression. While recovering from the depression, the American countries focused most of their finances onto supporting their own economy, leaving the European countries without their main creditor. The currencies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Highly relevant to the economic sectors of U.S. and Europe are their currencies. Up until January 1999, when the EURO was introduced, the U.S. dollar was the second strongest currency of the world (following the GBP, Great Britain Pound). Today, the American dollar is only the third strongest currency in the world, being preceded by GBP and EURO. However the strength of the U.S. currency has decreased, the USD continues to remain the safest currency. Proof of this stand the statistics of the International Monetary Fund. The statistics reveal that from 1999 to 2006, the accumulation of USD has only decreased from 70.9% to 65.7%,[2] the currency still detaining majority. Productivity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another significant difference that balances power towards the United States focuses on the industrial and production sectors. However there are several countries in Europe that register increased levels of life standard, the overall European standard of living is inferior to the U.S. For instance, â€Å"productivity in the three big European countries, Germany, France and Italy, stopped catching up with the United States’ productivity in the early ‘90s, and then lost ground in the recent slowdowns and the U.S. speed-up.†[3] Unemployment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A direct consequence of the decreased productivity rate is the increased number of unemployed citizens in the European countries, compared to a rather stable and controlled unemployment rate in the U.S. Besides productivity, Edmund Phelps believes that responsible for the large unemployment rate is the demographic factor. As such, the continuous increase in the European birth rate generates an overpopulation of the continent, an overpopulation that Europe is unprepared to support and hire. The European Union   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The European Union was established in the year 1992 and its main objective is to improve the general features of the continent in order to make it highly competitive on the international market, and reach a high level of economical, financial and political development.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However up until today Europe is still inferior to the United States, the European Union has contributed significantly to the strengthening of Europe’s international position. â€Å"The United States already feels pressured by the euro and the growing strength of Europe’s economy and its top corporations. The EU’s geopolitical ambition is still limited, but there are clear signs of wind in the sails.†[4]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A highly relevant example of the European strengthening position is statistically represented by the financial reports on American and European investments. More and more iconic symbols of the American economy and life style have been auctioned and bought by European investors. For instance, â€Å"among dozens of emblematically American companies and products now owned by Europeans are Brooks Brothers, DKNY, Random House, Kent Cigarettes, Dove Soap, Chrysler, Bird’s Eye, Pennzoil, Baskin-Robbins, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.†[5] Small and medium-size companies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The same study points out that Europe is better qualified in their activity of administrating and financing their local businesses. Properly handling the small and medium-size companies is a factor of economic growth as these companies can easily become highly competitive, contribute to the economic growth of the continent or hosting area and generate available jobs. â€Å"65 percent of European jobs in 2002 were in small and medium-sized firms, compared with just 46 percent in the U.S.†[6]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characteristic to both small and medium size companies, as well as to large corporations is the human resource policy. Europe offers better services for its employees that the U.S. For instance, on giving birth, European female workers are a granted forty-six weeks maternity leave paid with two thirds of their salary (Sweden) or three months of maternity leave and full salary (Portugal), whereas the â€Å"U.S. federal government guarantees nothing.†[7] Social differences   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However besides the previously presented issues there are numerous other relevant economic features that differentiate Europe from the United States of America, one has to also consider the social differences. Upon research numerous elements catch the attention, such as the cultural differences that derive from the diverse points of view on religion, education system or crime rate. Crime rate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The criminality rate adherent to Europe and U.S. is approached in most cultural analysis studies and the conclusions are basically the same: America allows far more criminal actions than the continent. â€Å"What really strikes an old European in looking at the American way of life is the toleration of brutality†[8] says European Felix Voirol. The unbiased opinion of American Tony Judt from the New York Times states: â€Å"Yes, Americans put up huge billboards reading ‘Love Thy Neighbor,’ but they murder and rape their neighbors at rates that would shock any European nation.†[9] Migration of population and work force   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America was globally perceived as the land of all opportunities, a land that makes dreams come true, that respects and protects individuals and with employers that pay them fair salaries. This was the motivation of millions of Europeans who fled their countries in search of a better life provided by the American land. However, the current situation has changed in the meaning that Europe has improved their general standards of living and has accordingly increased salaries, limiting the number of migrates to the U.S. Religious differences   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The predominant religious culture promoted by the Americans is Puritanism. The main controversy regarding Puritanism is the fact that the Puritan doctrine preaches the purity of both the soul and the body, but the American society seems to pay more attention to the body cleanliness, in the meaning of virginity that that of the soul’s. â€Å"A naked human body is â€Å"indecent† and, taken as dangerous for minors, simply censored. In contrast there are countless scenes showing people knocking themselves out, dropping to the ground bathed in blood or taking each other’s lives in ever more brutal way†[10], a state of facts that Europeans don’t understand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, what is even more different in the religion of the U.S. when compared to the religion of Europe is the limited intervention the Church has upon the government. Religious freedom is more obvious in the U.S. that in Europe, continent almost entirely Christian. Shel Horowitz, editor at the Global Travel Review states: â€Å"The absence of state-sanctioned religion makes a huge difference to the cultural minorities in the U.S. As a Jew, I’m not at all sure I’d be comfortable living in a country where Christianity or Islam was completely intertwined with the government.†[11] Conclusions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Along the years, renowned thinkers such as Adam Smith or Emanuel Kant have promoted the belief that national and international differences reside in culture and personal views of morality. The thinkers of today state that international differences reside in the diverse implementation of economical and political policies. This multitude of opinions reveals the fact that in order to best analyze the similarities and differences between countries, one needs to focus on both social as well as economical features.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, a nation is a mixture of individuals with different backgrounds, opinions and capabilities. These individuals form up groups in accordance with their interests and the totality of these groups forms a country. To better understand the overall features of a country, as well as what are the elements that differentiate it from other nations, the researcher needs to clearly analyze the characteristics of all the groups that form the country. The analysis has to be developed from all possible points of view, including economy, politics, culture, technology or finance. Bibliography: Edmund S. Phelps, July 2006, Economic Culture and Economic Performance: What Light is Shed on the Continent’s Problem, Venice Summer Institute, Venice International University, San Servolo, 27 pages Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages The International Monetary Fund, 2006, Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 2, New York City, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17726, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7, http://www.taboo-breaker.org/lifestyle/america.htm, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Shel Horowitz, Europe vs. the U.S., Global Travel Review,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.frugalfun.com/europe-us.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Jim Blair, Guns and Pizza: The USA vs. Europe, Big Issue Ground,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.bigissueground.com/politics/blair-gunspizzausaeurope.shtml, last accessed on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   March 16, 2007 Timothy Garton Ash, December 22, 2002, United States of Europe vs. United States of America, Boston University Press,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.buworldofideas.org/shows/2002/12/20021229.asp, last accessed on March   Ã‚   16, 2007 Open Source Usage: Europe vs. the USA, January 13, 2007, Info World,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2007/01/open_source_usa.html, last   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   accessed on March 16, 2007 George Irvin, January 16, 2007, Europe vs. USA: Whose Economy Wins?, The New Federal List, http://www.taurillon.org/Europe-vs-USA-Whose-Economy-Wins, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Simon Gordon, March 13, 2003, SAN adoption in Europe vs. United States, Search Storage, http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid5_gci885852,00.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Howard LaFranchi, March 18, 2004, US vs. Europe: two views of terror, The Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0318/p01s01-usfp.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 V.A. Gijsbers, Atheism In Europe vs. U.S.; Values; Truth; Sects, Positive Atheism,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9745.htm, last accessed on March 16, 2007 Europe vs. US, the challenge, Tourist Blog,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://blog.touristr.com/articles/2007/02/06/europe-vs-us-the-challenge, last accessed on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   March 16, 2007 Matt Asay, January 13, 2007, Open Source: Europe vs. USA, Asay Blog   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://asay.blogspot.com/2007/01/open-source-europe-vs-usa.html, last accessed on March 16, 2007 [1] Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages [2] The International Monetary Fund, 2006, Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) [3] Edmund S. Phelps, July 2006, Economic Culture and Economic Performance: What Light is Shed on the Continent’s Problem, Venice Summer Institute, Venice International University, San Servolo, 27 pages [4] Kupchan, Charles, November 11, 2003, The End Of The American Era, First edition, Vintage Publisher, 416 pages [5] Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 2, New York City [6] Ibid. [7] Ibid. [8] Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7 [9] Tony Judt, February 10, 2005, Europe vs. America, The New York Review of Books, Volume 52, No 2, New York [10] Felix Voirol, Old World vs. the New World, In defense of the â€Å"European quality of Life†, No. 7 [11] Shel Horowitz, Europe vs. the U.S., Global Travel Review