The “hongs” or Trade Houses of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, the pearl of Asia has been the center of trade and finance in Asia since the early 20th century. In a short history of about 150 years, Hong Kong has become the source of growth for many nearby economies. In a certain sense, it can be even said that it is a merchant city founded and managed by Traditional â€Å"hongs† or trade houses of Hong Kong were the pillar of the economy. Jardine Matheson and Hutchison were major hongs that led the economy and the Hong Kong & Shanghi Bank were the financier of these hongs and has today grown to become one of the largest bank in the world. These firms were the critical factors of the growth for Hong Kong's economy. Their role however has changed overtime. They are no longer the de facto leaders of Hong Kong as they were in the mid 1800's. Their role has diminished as Hong Kong grew to become more international, and the 1997 handover to the People's Republic of China has further altered their position. Some hongs that adapted well to the changing times prospered while others either The territory of Hong Kong is located at the mouth of the Pearl River, a little southwest of the Guangdong Province of the PRC. Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the Opium War in 1842. Many believe that the British hongs were behind lobbying the British government into fighting the Chinese Government and the settlement of the island. Kowloon was annexed in 1860, and the New territories were leased for 99 years in 1898. In 1984, the British and the PRC government agreed that Hong Kong as a whole would return to Chinese soverienty in 1997. However, a system of one country two systems were also agreed upon where Hong Kong would retain its status as a free port, with it's laws remaining unchanged for 50 years. It's main mphasis is to preserve Hong Kong's laws and economic freedom, thus to enhance the position of Hong Kong as a economic center. The Large British owned hongs were originally trade and warehouse companies established by the British in the early days of Hong Kong colonialism, they have since grown in to major commerical conglomerates. They hold interest in cargo handling, manufacturing, real estate, and even retailing. They are the engine of the Hong Kong economy. Since Britain took over the port city in 1842 to use as a gateway to the Chinese markets, the business of Hong Kong had been business, and the power was eld by the hongs. The first traditional hong was the Jardine Matheson. It was once seen to be more influential than the colonial government but nowadays it has become a minor player compared to Li Ka Shing's Hutchision Whampoa. Li Ka Shing, the Chairman or â€Å"Taipan† of Hutchision Whampoa, became the first Chinese to own a traditional hong. Li's drive and business ability helped foster Hutchision into a global conglomerate. Hong Kong Bank grew from a small trader's bank into one of the Jardine, Matheson & Co. was founded by 2 Scottish merchants, William Jardine and James Matheson in Guangdong in 1832. It was an opium trader that were the pioneers into the China trade. Eventually James Matheson takes control from 1836. It played a key role in the founding of Hong Kong and became the first to purchase land from the colonial government in 1842. Jardine expanded into other trade products in other Asian countries like Japan and South East Asian countries and also enters the ship/cargo handling industry and the real estate business. After World War II, Jardine moved their head office from Shanghi back to Hong Kong and it offically goes public in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1961. The 1970's saw Jardine orming many ventures and aquisitions such as the joint venture with the Robert Fleming of UK to create the Jardine Fleming & Co. , a holding company the aquires many foreign and local firms and diversifies Jardine's business. The mid- 1980's saw some mismanagments and misguided aquisition especially after the 1984 Sino-British announcement on the return of Hong Kong. Jardine wanted to diversify more abroad in fear of the Chinese takeover because their relations with the PRC was not good. It aquired the British construction giant Trafalgar House and ther various retail chains in Europe o that Jardine could emphasize more in Europe, but these investments would turnout to be disappointing in the future. The current taipan, or CEO is Alasdair Morrison. He has tried to undo many past mistakes and to rejuvenate the 160 year old hong. Morrison has sold off many losing companies and has a greater emphasis on profitability. The management has been changed to more aggresive and experienced managers such as Ronald J. Floto who previously worked as Kmart Corp. and is known for his turn-around ability. But most importantly, Morrsion has been trying to improve ties with Beijing. He realises that the China market as an indespenable location and has tried repeatly to mend the differences made by the previous Today, the Jardine Matheson group is a multinational enterprise that operates in over 30 countries and employs some 160,000 people. It is divided into eight core companies : Jardine Pacific(general trading), Jardine International Motors(Car dealership), Jardine Fleming, Jardine Lloyd Thompsion(Insurance), Jardine Strategic, Dairy Farm(supermarket and convenience stores), Hong Kong Land(Commerical property), and the Mandarin Oriental(luxury hotel chain) . Last year's sales were US$11. 2 billion and a operating profit of US$190 million was made. The profits fell 34% from last year, and share prices have fallen almost 60% since it moved its primary listing from Hong Kong to Singapore. The main problem with Jardine is that it needs to use its large cash resources to boost market shares in existing profitable businesses and make aquistions in core business while assests in Asia are still cheap from the Asian crisis. It also needs to refocus on Asia, because it is where it's main expertise and connections are, but the controlling family, the Keswicks with nly a 4. 9% share are reluctant to invest heavily back to Asia and especially China. The Keswicks have held control through cross ownership to build a financial defense against hostile takeovers. Li Ka Shing has tried but failed to take over Jardines in 1988 but many still believe that Li has not given up but is rather waiting for an opportunity. Although the current taipan, Morrison is trying to shape up Jardine again, many are doubtful as long as the Keswicks still retain the controlling shares. Jardine Matheson has had a astonishing past, but many fear that the golden days of the past John D. Hutchison Company was founded in 1828. Being one of the first major traditional hongs in Hong Kong, it had made vast investments in port facilities and other infrastructure projects in the colony. In the 1960's, in an effort to revitalize the hong, John Douglas Clague, the last British CEO of Hutchision made huge investments in not only in Hong Kong but It reoragnized itself to the Hutchision International and up til the early 1970's, many believed that Hutchision would indeed make a comeback as a dominant firm in the colony. However, losses started to occur from 1973, and being overstretched and hort in liquidity it lost the favors from its investors and creditors(most importantly the Hong Kong Shanghi Bank). Eventually the Hong Kong Bank would step in to take up 33% of Hutchision International and within 2 years merge with a subsidary, the Whampoa Dock Company and create the Hutchision Whampoa. Hong Kong Bank was looking for a suitable investor to take over the pre-opium war hong and eventually they chose a rising real estate tycoon, Li Ka Shing. There are many reasons that Hong Kong Bank chose Li Ka Shing, but two reasons stand out the most, His reputation as a honest nd able businessman and his contacts with the government in Today, Hutchison Whampoa has grown into one of Hong Kong's largest blue chip companies with over 70,000 employees worldwide. The Group operates five core businesses : Property Development and Investment, Ports and related services, Retailing and manufacturing, Telecomminications and Media, and Hutchison Whampoa Property develops residential and commerical properties for sale and lease. Its portfolio includes some of Hong Kong's largest private housing projects and several landmark developments in the Mainland. The group's expertise in port investment and management stems form its pioneering operations in Hong Kong. Its port operations arm, Hutchison International Port Holdings, is now exporting its professional experience and expertise to ports in different Watsons operates three of Asia's most innovative retail chains:Park'N Shop supermarkets, Watson's personal care stores, and Fortress, selling domestic electrical appliances. The manufacturing division produces and distributes a wide range of food and beverages throughput Hong Kong, the mainland and other Hutchison Telecom operates a wide range of intregrated elecommunications services worldwide and is one of the world's major providers of mobile communications The Group has major shareholding in Cheung Kong Infrastructure, which holds interests in infrastructure and related businesses, and power plant projects such as the Hong Kong Electric. It is the sole supplier of electricity to Hong Kong Island. Husky Oil, is one of Canada's largest privately owned oil and gas For the fiscal year ending in December 31 1998, The Hutchison Whampoa Group had a net profit after tax of HK$8. 7 billion. It was lower than HK$12. 2 billion from 1997. The Asian crisis which rought on pressures on the entire Asian region. It experienced a period of unprecedented asset and price deflation coupled with severe recessionary conditions. These conditions had the hardest impact on the Property/Development and Retail/manufacturing operations of the group in 1998. Li Ka Shing's another main weapon in Asian business is his strong ties to the Chinese Government. He has been favored since being the first Chinese to take over a western hong in the late 1970's. He also played a large role in the transition period for the `97 handover of Hong Kong. Currently he has a trong influence in the policies that effect Hong Kong both through his contacts with Beijing and the Chief executive, Tung Headquartered in London, HSBC holdings is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. The HSBC Group's international network comprises more than 5,000 offices The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghi Banking Coporation limited. Hong Kong Bank, as it is known for short, was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. The inspiration behind the founding of the bank was Thomas Sutherland, a Scot who was then working as the Hong Kong Superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. He realised that there was considerable demand for local banking facilities in Hong Kong and the China coast and he helped to establish the bank in March 1865. Then, as now, the bank's headquarters were at 1 Queen's Road in Hong Kong and a branch was opened in April 1865 in Shanghai. Throughout the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, the bank established a network of agencies and branches based mainly in China and South East Asia but also with epresentation in the Indian sub-continent, Japan, Europe and North America. In many of its branches the bank was the pioneer of modern banking practice. From the outset, trade finance was a strong feature of the bank's business with bullion, exchange and merchant banking also playing an important part. Additionally, the bank also issued notes in many locations throughout the Far During the Second World War the bank was forced to close many of its branches and the head office was temporarily moved to London. However, after the war the bank played a key role in the reconstruction of the Hong Kong economy and set about further iversifying the geographical spread of the bank. The post-war political and economic changes in the world forced HongkongBank to analyse its strategy for continued growth in the 1950s. The bank diversified both its business and its geographical spread through acquisitions and alliances. However, the bank remained committed to its historical markets and played an important part in the reconstruction of Hong Kong where its branch network continued to expand. In 1965 the bank purchased a controlling interest in Hang Seng Bank, which had been established in Hong Kong in 1933. By the 970s the policy of expansion by acquisition of subsidiaries with their own identities and specialisations was firmly in During the 1980s the bank concentrated on moving into those markets where it was not yet fully represented. Hongkong Bank of Canada was established in 1981 and HongkongBank of Australia Limited in 1986. In 1987 Marine Midland Bank, based in New York State, became a wholly owned member of the Group and its principal subsidiary in the United States. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, was established in 1991 with its shares quoted on both the London and Hong Kong stock Already almost two years have passed since the handover Hong Kong to the PRC. It is hard to judge the impact of the handover to the Hong Kong economy, due to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. What is definite however is that Hong Kong has suffered a difficult 1998 and is still in the process of recovering. The good news is that the fallen prices of 1997 got rid of a lot of the bubbles that was being accumulated in the territory. Large landowners like Li may have had some losses but 1999 saw the economic prices and activities picking up again. Many say that the worst is over and that recover is in process. Already land prices have recovered a lot of its losses during the 1997-8 The problem in the territory is more a political one. Many incidents have brought attention to the problem of implementing the â€Å"one country, two system† policy, which is fundamental in the Hong Kong Basic Law and which will guarntee the independent governing of Hong Kong. The main attraction that has made Hong Kong what it is today is it's efficiency and lassie faire approach of the government. If the mainland interferes too much in Hong Kong, it status will decline as the international free port city that has made it so prosperous.

How to Overcome a Fear

It is natural for everyone, even the most courageous people, to have fears, which are the body’s bad emotional reactions to something frightened. However, when fears limit people’s everyday routine and keep them from living their life normally, it is time to take control, which is not an easy work. Most people want to overcome their fears, but are not sure how. Here are 4 steps which will be helpful to overcome fears. The first step is analyzing the fear. The more clearly you understand your fear, the easier for you to find how to handle it.Therefore, in this very first stage, you need to identify your fear: its name, its cause and its effect; and determine whether there is a good reason for the existence of the fear because some fears can be healthy emotions that protect you from danger. After that, you also should think about what exactly you want to change. It means that beside the big goal: overcoming the fear, smaller ones is necessary to be set to help you get the re. For example, if your fear is heights, you may want to be able to go on a hiking trip with the outdoor club at school.One more important thing is that all this fear analysis should be written down as a journal. It will be a good way to track your progress of conquering your fear and also a guide for the next time when you have another problem. After the fear is analyzed, in this second step, it will have to be taken control of. It depends on what your fear is. If you are afraid of something because it is a mystery, try exposing yourself to it in small doses until you gain a better understanding and your fear begins to dissipate.Or, if you are frightened by a particular thing, confronting head-on will be the best way to overcome it. No matter which situation you are in, taking control of a fear is not easy. It will take many times before you can declare it conquered. During that long period, to give up is simple and to keep trying is difficult. When you face with setbacks, it can be tempting to give up. Hence, stay determined to persevere even when it seems impossible to get past your fear by keeping these pointers in mind: do not confuse fear with fate and do not let other people hold you back.Changing the way of thinking about fear is the next step. It has to be admitted that sometimes fear also incite feelings of exhilaration and even passion. That is why people enjoy extreme sports, horror movies or other risky games. Try to reframe your fear in a positive light and acknowledge the thrill it can offer and you will not find it frightened anymore. Moreover, fear can be used as a tool to help us identify problems and solve them effectively. It is a guidepost warning us when something needs attention.Once the discomfort of the initial wave of fear passes, examine it more closely to see what you can learn. When you start seeing fear as a source of energy or an opportunity for promotion, you might even embrace its role in your life. Finally, give the fear a pl ace in the life because there is no way to eliminate it totally. Like joy or sadness, fear is a valid emotion. It builds your character and teaches you how to act with courage. Also, do not wait until the fear has been completely overcome to give yourself a pat on the back for your effort.Celebrate each milestone and when you see how good it feels to gain an edge on the fear, you will be ready to face the next one head-on. In conclusion, there are four major steps to help people overcome a fear: analyze the fear, take control of it, change the way of thinking about it and give it a place in the life. All of these steps are not simple and often take much of time and effort to be successful. However, nothing is impossible if you really want and try your best to gain it.

Paintings of Vincent Van Goh and Paul Cezanne Essay

Paintings of Vincent Van Goh and Paul Cezanne - Essay Example The essay "Paintings of Vincent Van Goh and Paul Cezanne" analyzes Vincent Van Goh and Paul Cezanne and their individual works â€Å"The Rocks† and â€Å"The Ravine†. . What can be demonstrated through art, as well as what this paper will show, is that to fully enjoy and understand art, the key idea to keep in mind is that understanding and interpretation comes through finding and knowing what it is that draws you to the masterpiece and how you got there in the first place. Just as with the case of history books, the paintings by the great artists of the time serve as a historical record of the goings on of the time. Often times painters chose to express the world around them the only way they may have known how, and that was through some for artistic expression. Little bits of color, as they are arranged throughout the canvas, find themselves forming together to create images of life, love and the wonder, as well as the amazement that can come with it. They serve as a portal to the imagination as no other artistic creation can. Many people travel to museums such as the Louvre in Paris to experience the greatness that hangs along its walls. To stare into the eyes of the portraits of subjects, or to witness the grander and vastness of the great seascapes and landscapes which provide for a sense of freedom from that which may be otherwise hindering creative thought. With that being said, the works in this analysis pay tribute to the notion that, with creative expression, can come insight.

Alienation and Emancipation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alienation and Emancipation - Essay Example This thesis was presented in the broad frame of the doctrine of political alienation. The theme of economic alienation was broached in a separate concluding section of the article. Here he offered a trenchant formulation of the idea that the economic life in the 'state of egoism' is a practical religion of money-worship. He gave the religious analogy a special new twist and emphasis by calling the practical religion 'Judaism'. This may have been prompted by Hess' reference to the 'Christian merchants and Jewish Christians'. It capitalized upon the fact that the German term 'Judaism' (Judentum ) had the secondary connotation of 'commerce'. So Marx describes Judaism or commerce as a religion in which money is the god: 'What is the worldly cult of the Jew Huckstering. Who is his worldly god Money. ' And further: 'Money is the jealous one God of Israel, beside which no other God may stand. Money dethrones all the gods of man and turns them into a commodity. Money is the universal, independently constituted value of all things. It has, therefore, deprived the whole world, both the world of man and nature, of its own value. Money is the alienated essence of man's work and his being. This alien being rules over him and he worships it.' (Karl Marx's, 1959). Following Hess, Marx conceives the practical religion as a material form of self- alienation corresponding to the spiritual form as analyzed by Feuerbach: 'Selling is the praxis of externalization.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW - Essay Example In order to give Dicky proper legal advice, it would be in order to understand the exact terms and conditions that his employment or engagement with Smythe and Dickinson stated. The importance of this contractual agreement would be to know if Dicky’s terms of employment terms provision spelled out agreements on whether the company was either the sole owner or joint owner of any work produced in course of employment (Sumpter 2006, p.77).. This is because section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the criteria for ascertaining the ownership of any copyright material and provides that any work produced in the course of employment belong to the employer who is deemed as the first owner. In the event that there are no such terms or regulations, Dicky will be perfectly be in a right position to fully own the work. Under the copyright laws in England, there are certain qualifications that one has to fulfil before they are fully covered or protected by the law on copy right. First, a person must be a citizen of Britain based on the qualifications that are set by the British Nationality Act 1981 (Ross 2008, p.46). The other requirement is originality, it has to be ascertained that without doubt the work (Valuation Guidelnes) was his (Dicky’s) own expression of ideas and invention to be the first owner under Copyright, Designs and Patents Act S.11(1). This is of interest, as it will help in understanding the actual position of the nature of the legal position from which the company is claiming rights. Dicky can argue that the company has no copyrights over any of his productions when he undertakes it independently even if employed by Smythe and Dickinson. The other requirement to gain copyright is fixation, as was held in the Merchandising Corp v Harpbond (1983), for instance the work has to be in a material form of which the valuation guidelines are in print and Dicky’s Antiques is in a DVD. Having ascertained Dickys terms of employm ent, citizenship, fixation and originality such that the Valuation Guidelines were his creative creation work; Dicky should understand the rights that a copyright holder have in relation to that particular original idea, which is automatic in UK upon meeting copyright requirements. Section 16 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act gives the copyright holder the right to copy the work and issue it to the public as well as broadcasting the work in a cable service program (McCombs 2011, p.21). All copyrighted material must possess originality as proposed in the case of University of London Press v University Tutorial Press (1916) 2 CH 601. This case discussed the doctrine known as sweat of the brow doctrine and if the word â€Å"original† is taken to refer to the originality of an expression for a certain piece of work to gain copyright protection (Harms 2008, p.133). The concept of originality tries to evaluate the relationship between the author of a particular piece of wor k and his work and is essential for a piece of work to gain copyright protection in England. This is expressly provided for under Section 1(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s.1(1) and involves judicial reasoning and logic in the solution of cases. In order for Dicky to succeed in his defence, he must

Essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 6

Questions - Essay Example Hence the Palestine had to be kept in the hands of Arabs as they hoped that the Arab unity would help forge war against common enemy. However the movement experienced a major setback in the defeat of Arabs in the Arab Israeli war of 1967 and death of Abdul Nasser in 1970. Jewish nationalism also caused the conflict due to the numerous persecutions and massacres they faced. They were also expelled in most European countries and hence had to look for their own land free from persecution that they believed was Israel. Another reason for this was the British decision to end mandate that made Arabs perceive it as breach of the agreement that made them furious as the British support for their independence was broken. The Arab treatment by the Israeli denied them basic political rights and freedom as they were seen as threat to Israeli. They imposed policies that hurt the Palestinians hence the revolt against the military administration that was set to govern their resident in the West Bank and Gaza. The rise of the Palestinian nationalist movement against state formation led to the 1948 Arab –Israeli war termed as the war for independence. The Arab resistance against giving part of their land to the Jewish without being informed was viewed as a threat to the independence of Palestinian nation. The Israeli also took better part of the land leaving them with worst lands and this angered them leading to conflicts and subsequent formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization that used terrorism to frighten the Jews to return their land. Zionism was formed as a national movement with an aim or goal to create and support the Jews national state in Palestine that was the ancient home to the Jews. It originated from the eastern and central Europe in the late 19th century. The centre of this movement was established in Vienna. It therefore strived to create a home in

Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay

Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Essay Example Rather than let go of her illusions, or lose herself, Blanche descends into insanity, telling the doctor at the end of the play, Blanche has a poetic quality in her speech, whereas Stanley is down-to-earth, crude and cruel, reflecting the brutality Williams has given him. When they talk together, they might really be trading punches or throwing stones at each other. In Scene 2, when he demands the papers regarding the loss of Belle Reve (Beautiful Dream, a major symbol) their exchange suggests a fight with more than mere words. Her language never loses refinement, grammatical correctness or poetic inference, while Stanley appears to have little education or regard for the proper use of English. He relies on fact, she, on fantasy. Blanche, white, for purity and truth, and light. She fears light, it will show her as she truly is and destroy the pure and beautiful facade she wants to create, especially for Mitch, yet she refers to the death of her young husband as, She considers that time and that light in her life to constitute the purity and innocence she pretends to still possess. Making Mitch cover the light bulb with the Chinese lantern symbolizes her fear of exposure, her aging, her past, and her loss of all illusions. Her constant singing of 'Paper Moon is almost a cry for acceptance - 'but it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me'. How poignant those words become when Mitch confronts her with her lies and tries to rape her. Both the polka and 'flores para los muertes' come together in Scene 9 as a powerful symbolic message of Blanche's loss. Sex and death are threaded throughout the play, and Blanche sees desire as the opposite of death to explain her sexual encounters with the young men back in Laurel. She is signing the death warrant of her dreams, of a life with Mitch. The polka, or Varsoviana Waltz is introduced on the night her husband killed himself, again sex and death linked, and it appears each time she speaks of him. As Stanley goads her closer to madness, we hear it, and she hears it in her head, together with the voices, music and noises of life outside Blanche's illusory 3. world. The sounds are symbolic of her diminishing sanity, existing only in her head, or are they telling the audience what a harsh, wild place the real world can be Conversely, the 'blue piano' symbolizes life, sex, love and vitality for Stella and Stanley. It means life, the polka means death. Elysian Fields, from Greek mythology is a happy resting place for

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures Essay

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures - Essay Example (Hollander, P. 1988 p 130) In addition, it will help visitors on Africa to recognize conflicts, which may arise, to accept, and work through difficulties in a positive manner, to identify positive areas of conflict, to accept difficulties they face as natural occurrences, to change to adapt to the African situation and work within the terms and conditions that exist. Finally, is to develop positive appreciation on the reasons of African culture as per the differences. On the other hand, this comparison will help Africans to understand how they can cope with the European cultures. It will also help Africans who want to understand European background. The Africans will also understand why it is hard for the Europeans to fit in to the society in a foreign country and why they act in strange ways. It will also smoothen the tensions which a rise between the Christians of Europeans and African background working together in African setting. In many occasions both sides are not aware why th e difficulties are arising. Differences between African and European Cultures Telephone: Two people communicate by a process. They can be communicating through English, Kiswahili or any other language. For example in USA, children are given basic telephone skills when they are young. Children learn the correct way of answering and calling when they are young before even going to school. Therefore, the Europeans who are in Kenya or the Kenyans who are in European countries should not assume such a background. Cultural assumptions concerning greeting and encounter are complicated by lack of training and experience. Every European must introduce them on the phone even if they are close. This is because of the formal procedure required in their background. However, as per Africans they call or answer and go direct to the point without introduction, which will make communication between Africans and Europeans hard. Permission to leave This is whereby one asks for permission before leavin g to another place or destination from where he/she was before. According to African culture and background, the owner of the house, office, or even compound as whole can leave in his own pleasure without even informing the workers as he/she is the head or is over everyone (Gannon, 2004 p.230). However, in the side of the Europeans one must seek for permission to leave even the father must seek permission from his children before leaving. Therefore, when the Europeans and African are working together they might not understand each other the Europeans will be asking for permission to leave even he /she is the employer. This will leave the Africans wondering. This will be opposite in the side of Africans as they can leave whenever they wish. Missionaries and Modesty In Europe, it was in fashion for women to wear floor length dresses, which had high collars. While in Africa, it was a fashion for women to wear nothing above the waist. This was quite inappropriate as according to the Afr icans they were adhering to their culture while the Europeans were also doing the same. This brought a lot of troubles and misunderstanding as according to Africans especially Zaire they knew that any woman who was covering his body above the waist was prostitute. It was ironical as missionaries were trying to turn good, morally upright, and modest women of the community into prostitutes. Contrasting African and European Cultures

Job Search Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Job Search Assignment - Essay Example I am a post graduate in computer applications (MCA) from (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦University of †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.) of the 2010’S batch with hands-on training in three applications and three languages. I also had my diploma in Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and have a work experience with a construction company as a junior designer. Along with my course, I completed applications like C, C++, CORE Java, VB, UNIX shell scripts and html. I have done a project based on .net. My track academic record is considerably good as I have scored 82% marks in aggregate. I am glad to assume that obtaining an opportunity to work for this organisation will be a fantastic opening. Also, this job is a lucrative one and hence I can fulfill the requirements of my family and earn higher levels of reputation among my people. I am confident that my communicative skills will help me withstand the possible constraints of my career. Finally, on my selection, I promise to abide by the commands and help others maintain the decorum of the unit. Thank you Yours faithfully, (Name) Research Portfolio of Infosys Limited My readings on various sites and news letters have given me a clear outline of the prestigious organisation, Infosys Limited. As I know, it was established with seven people as members and with a capital of US$250 headed by N.R.Narayan Murthy, a great visionary and six of his fellow engineers in the Indian city of Pune in 1981. It signed up the first client, Data Basics Corporation in New York and continued operations there till 1983 when it relocated the corporate headquarters to Bangalore in India. After four years of local business settlements, the business associate opens its first international office in Boston, US in 1987. During the international exposure and business acceleration period the firm innovatively developed Employee Stock Options Program (ESOP) and acquired ISO 9001/TickIT Certification and then, the organisati on was promoted to a public limited company with larger segments of market capital. In 1994 the company opened a development center at Fremont and moved it corporate headquarters to Electronic city in Bangalore (Infosys, Official website). The company was focusing on foreign market segment stimulation with a view to set up e-Business ventures and opened global development centers in Toronto and Mangalore in 1995. the desired growth rate of company’s profit inspired the promoters to turn their attention toward public welfare by introducing charitable and youth empowerment programs; with this in mind, they established the Infosys Foundation in 1996. Henceforth, the subsequent years were meant for the skyscraping growth of the company in every field. Following the opening of an office in Toronto in Canada it was assessed CMM Level 4 in 1997. After this accreditation, the company never had a time turning back; each year was a power switch to accelerated growth of its business out let. In 2001 it touched US$ 400million and the CEO was rated among Time Magazine’s 25 most influential businessmen in the world and the company was rated as the Best Employer by the Business World. In 2004, the revenues reach US$ 1 Billion and Infosys Consultancy was launched (Infosys, Official website). The silver jubilee year of the company’

Comparing the ways Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker convey horror through writing Essay Example for Free

Comparing the ways Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker convey horror through writing Essay Through this essay you will see how although the writing style of Edgar Allen Poe in The Black Cat and the style of Bram stoker in The Judges House is completely different, they both manage to achieve the same effect leaving the reader anxious, excited, mystified and scared. Both these authors stories were written before the nineteen hundreds, a time when people were just understanding the ways the world works. In this time horror stories were very popular. The perspective of both Poems is different. In The black cat Poe writes in a first person perspective: Today I die and tomorrow I would unburden my soul. Where as Stoker writes in a third person perspective: Malcolm Malcolmson made up his mind. The use of third person in this story displays the feelings of more than one character and you can build up more fear than first person by using devices such as rhetorical questions by other characters for example when Mrs Cranford cries not the Judges house! it creates the feeling of horror and helplessness. First person perspective makes you feel sorrow for the character. If Edgar Allen Poe had written the black cat in Third person perspective You wouldnt get the emphasis of his emotions, how he feels regret of what he has done, fear of this new animal and superstitious about the strange imprint on the wall. For example, when he writes gradually, very gradually I came to look up on it with unutterable loathing. This really emphasises the hated of the animal, an emotion that would not have been able to have been shown to that extent in third person. It is also more believable as it is through the eyes of the beholder. At the start of the black cat Poe starts off very secretively, he writes of something horrible that has happened to him, but he will not expand on what this occurrence is: These events have terrified, tortured and destroyed me. This suspense adds to the mystery of the first scene. Poe writes, tomorrow I die showing something horrible has happened to him. The fact that this is not in chronological order keep you wondering throughout the story what is going to happen and keeps you in suspense. It also keeps you trying to link the current storyline to death, for example, when it says about the new cat: It was a black cat a very large cat-fully as large as Pluto and closely resembling him you are thinking how this new cat could be linked to his death. Stoker, however has a very different approach to build up mystery. He uses setting whereas Poe does not. When he describes the lodgings he describes it as a gothic residence: with heavy gables and small windows set higher than was customary in such houses. Gothic residences have always been associated with death and fear in horror movies. He describes the village as empty: desolation was the only term for conveying a suitable idea of its isolation the idea of a desolate empty place is the perfect setting for a horror story. The fact that the house has been empty for so long indicates something dreadful has happened there. The locals all seem to know something dreadful about the house. It seems that Malcolm is the only person who doesnt know whats going on there. When Mrs Cranford cries at him not the judges house! it creates a feeling of dread for what is going to happen to Mr Malcolmson. Poe uses superstition to add to the mystery. The first little bit of superstition is when he reveals that his wife believes that all black cats are witches in disguise. This brief, initial introduction of superstition creates mystery in your head, and it makes you think, what if black cats are really witches in disguise. When the cat imprint appears on the wall, the character tries to dismiss the supernatural happening with a far fetched logical explanation. He tries to say that someone tossed the hanging corpse of the cat in through the window to try and wake him up. He then tried to say that because the wall was freshly spread plaster, it did not fall down. He said that the ammonia from the carcass had made the impression on the wall. Edgar Allen Poe had purposely made this string of events unbelievable so that the reader would know that there was something strange going on. I think that the imprint was a symbol that the cat was not dead and that it was an omen that it was going to come back to haunt him. The new cat was very suspicious, the fact that it looked a lot like Pluto made you think that it was a demonic symbol of Pluto. The cat gets more and more attached to him but he is reluctant to interact with it because he feels the supernatural element of this situation. He begins to hate the cat and the fact that it is always around him: Its evident fondness for myself rather disgusted and annoyed me but he wont harm the cat for fear of what will happen and regret of his previous crime: at times although I longed to destroy it with a blow I was withheld from doing so partly by memory of my former crime but chiefly let me confess it at once by absolute dread of the beast. The fact that it wont leave him alone, and that drives him madder and more angry makes it seem like the new cat is testing his willpower to leave it alone. His fear grows as the cat follows his every step. The only difference between Pluto and the new cat was a white splodge on its belly. It turns out later that this splodge is actually a image of gallows. The image grows in size until the character can clearly make out the image. his realisation of what this means is clearly shown in this quote Gallows! oh mournful and terrible engine of horror and crime of agony and of death. He has realised his fate death. He feels remorse for what he had done to Pluto. He knows that this beast is an image of Pluto. A symbol of god: a brute beast to work out for me-for me, a man fashioned in the image of the high god oh insufferable woe! He believes its is god in disguise of a cat Stoker also uses supernatural elements. Every night the rats come out and make a lot of noise. They run up and down the alarm bell. They all stop suddenly a run away as a giant rat comes down the alarm bell. The rats are scared of this larger rat indicating that this rat is evil. Stokers description of the rat makes it sound evil: It showed its great white teeth and its cruel eyes shone in the lamplight. When Malcolmson throws a book at the creature to try and scare it, but it does not flinch. But when he throws a bible at the rat it scampers away. This indication of good/evil shows that the rat is evil. It is well known that Satanic beings such as this rat fear holy objects such as a bible and a cross. When Malcolmson realises that the rats eyes are identical to the picture of the Judge the figure of the judge disappears. He then turns round and sees the judge. The judge smiled in a cruel way: With his baleful eyes glaring vindictively, and a smile of triumph on his face The judge does not say much in this last scene, I think this is important. Stoker did this so his character was not totally revealed. He remained a mysterious character. The descriptions of horror in The Black cat are very in depth: I grasped the poor beast by its throat and purposely cut out one of its eyes from its socket.. He doesnt linger on this for long. These shock tactics really build up the horror in this story by making you feel horrified and shocked. Another example of this is when he kills his wife: I withdrew my arm from her grasp, and buried the axe in her brain. This again shows the shock tactics used when describing the horror scenes. His violence gets gradually worse. All his violence is triggered by anger or drink: Through the instrumentality of the fiend intemperance had (I blush to confess it)experiences a radical alteration for the worst. I grew day by day more moody, more irritable regardless for the feeling of others. First he verbally abuses his wife, this turns to physical violence towards his wife and animals except Pluto: I suffered myself to use intemperate language towards my wife. At length I even offered her personal violence. My pets of course were made to feel the change in my disposition. I not only neglected, but ill-used them. Then he cut out Plutos eye when he scrammed him on the face. This again is due to him drinking. Poe writes one night, returning home much intoxicated. The guilt of doing this to Pluto and the sadness that it once had loved him got to him and he hung the cat in cold blood: I hung it with tears streaming from my eyes this shows his remorse when hanging him. The guilt of what he had done prevented him from hurting the new cat, until one day when the cat nearly tripped him up in the cellar he grabbed and axe, but his wife prevented him from killing by grabbing the axe. He then split her head open with the axe. The violence gradually gets worse and worse, building up the horror as it goes along. Stoker uses less graphic description, but instead uses reactions of characters to create the fear: not the judges house. This, I think is one of the main advantages of introducing characters into the plot. A disadvantage is that it can take the focus of the main character. They both use pattering to create fear in their stories. In the Judges house the same thing happens every night. He drinks too much tea, then out came the rats making all the noise and finally they all stopped when the large rat emerged. This also happens in the black cat. His violent acts are all triggered by alcohol. Pattering creates suspense, which in turn makes you wonder how does this link with what is happening in the story. The two writers both use logical explanations to try and explain why these things are happening. In the black cat, The character makes up a ludicrous explanation to explain why there was an imprint on the wall. He tries to say that someone must have thrown the cat through the window in an attempt to wake him up. He says that the wall didnt fall down because it had just been plastered and that the ammonia from the carcass has made the imprint on the wall. In The Judges house Malcolmsons explanation for all the events that are happening is that he was drinking too much tea and it was making him delusional. Both of these are deliberately far fetched so that the reader knows that something super natural is going on. Stoker uses a more descriptive style in his writing. He describes the scene, the weather and the people in far more depth than Poe: The carving of the oak on the panels of the wainscot was fine, and on and round the windows and doors it was beautiful and of rare merit. I prefer the descriptive writing of Stoker because it creates an image in your mind. Especially with the weather. Stoker uses the weather to great effect. When the thunder was lashing down toy could tell something bad was going to happen. This effect is used in a lot of horror stories. In my opinion, I prefer Stokers method of creating horror. I think the introduction of characters brings in a new element to the story. It creates an atmosphere of bewilderment and isolation. I say isolation because everyone seemed to know what was going on but Mr Malcolmson. However, as a whole I think I preferred The Black cat by Edgar Allen Poe. I think this is because I am used to modern stories, and this storyline is a bit more advanced and modernised than The Judges House. As I am used to modern horror stories I can relate to this story better. I think that the plot has some realism to it, more so that Stokers story. I dont think Stokers story was linked together very well and it all seemed a bit distant.

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Nike Marketing Essay

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Nike Marketing Essay Nike is known by everyone everywhere. They have created dominant brand recognition. Nike is the number one athletic apparel company in more than ten countries. They have distribution centers all over the world. The advertising agency Nike has contracted has grown to three offices, each in different countries, to better reach their target audience on a local level. You can go anywhere in the world with the Nike logo and almost anyone would recognize the brand. This show how their hard work in the advertising department has paid off. In 2006, Nike spent $134 million in marketing. With a revenue total of $16.3 billion in 2007, Nike can certainly afford such a large marketing bill. Nike is strong regarding its research and development department based on its growing and ground-breaking product range. The Nike Sport Research Laboratory is responsible for innovative ideas like the NikeID online store where customer can purchase custom made shoes. Nike started out making only sneakers now m akes things from specific sports equipment to performance apparel. Nike defiantly knows how to expand well into the athletic sporting market. Nike has a strong presence overseas and sales their product worldwide. They always have the elite athletes promoting their product. They have Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and before they had Michael Jordan. Those athletes have helped in playing a role in creating brand loyalty. They have achieved this through 40 years of athletic of consistently developing superior products which appeal to consumers both domestically and internationally. Weaknesses One serious weakness with Nike is that they ignore to see problems in their labor and factory conditions. In the 1980s, Nike contracted most of their manufacturing to factories in poor nations such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico in order to get the lowest manufacturing costs. Instead of paying higher wages, they were able to increase profits by paying lower wages to people in less developed countries. In 1996 Nike was uncovered for child labor laws in Pakistan. This led to a lots of negative publicity. Many people began to boycott their product. Many human rights groups formed alliance to protest the treatment of employees in these overseas factories. Even students at the University of Oregon, a college which depends heavily on the donations of Nike founder Phil Knight, rallied and signed petitions against the company, which put a strain on the relationship between the two organizations. Nike saw a small drop in sales after this scandal broke. Though this scandal has tarnis hed Nikes reputation for more than 15 years, they have remained on top throughout it all. Another issue Nike needs to address is that it has such a high price for apparel compared to its competitors, granted the quality is high but many consumers are turned away by the expensive price. Opportunities One great opportunity for Nike is to promote their brand as fashion as well as athletic wear. There are many consumers who see some Nike products as a fashion sneaker and wear their sneakers for that purpose instead of just athletic wear. Sneakers like the air force 1s and sneaker collections like the air maxes, Nike dunks, and the Jordan collection are worn as fashionable sneakers just as much for performance. In celebration of the Olympics this summer, Nike revealed a new product line meant to celebrate Nike classics, such as the Air Force 1, the Nike Dunk. Nikes greatest opportunity is Chinas market which is expanding speedily. China was a $600 million dollar business for Nike and the largest business Nike had outside of the United States in 2006. Nike is the leader in the market for sports apparel in China; it still has the opportunity to grab a larger market share, which could result in hundreds of millions of dollars more. Nike is the first company to work with Chinese athletes and create a look which includes their culture. Nike has created a competitive advantage over its competitors. Nike has an even greater opportunity to take advantage of on the China marketplace when they sponsored the 2008 Olympics in Beijing this summer. This event was watched by billions worldwide and allowed Nike to strengthen their relationship with China by proving their products value. Once Chinas marketplace has been established, expansion into other countries can do the same. It has a good judgment of marketing by sponsoring top athletes from different sports. Nike has prominent athletes from all major sports, which allows them to connect with a wide variety of consumers. Threats Some threats that the Nike Company may have are their competitive brands. Since Nike is the highest priced athletic brand name that puts them at risk for losing many of their customers. Nike faces a lot of competition. The shoe industry alone is highly competitive. This competition makes it hard for Nike to constantly set themselves apart from their competitors. As an pioneering leader, Nike is regularly the source of replication. For every new improvement, Nike has a very short lead time before their competitors release a similar product. The industry itself is becoming increasingly price competitive. Nike produces a high quality product and sets its prices as a result. Nike is well known as a first-rate priced product. With this sort of replication, competitors can sell similar products for a cheaper price. Price sensitive customers will then go with Nikes competition. Nike has many competitors, just looking at the shoe industry. While they are currently the best in the industry in terms of market share, in 2005, two of Nikes largest competitors, Adidas and Reebok, merged into a single company in an attempt to close the gap between themselves and Nike. When Nike b ecame the victim of public scrutiny over its oversea factories, both companies started to make improvements in their oversea factories to improve their image over the industry best. Another strong competitor is New Balance, a privately owned company based in Massachusetts which produces mostly women sneakers. New Balance is dedicated to selling products that are made in the U.S.. With Nikes poor public opinion of overseas manufacturing, this could be a big benefit for New Balance. New Balances commitment to customer loyalty allows them to spend less on marketing. Other competitors include Skechers and Puma. Skechers main focuses is on stylish footwear, using popular media personalities such as Carrie Underwood for its marketing. The German based company Puma is also a rapidly growing company. Puma introduced a five year plan starting in 2006 to expand into India and China, as well as launch five new product lines. Companies like these are not big enough to be a threat to Nikes succe ss now, their swift growth makes them possible threats in the near future, and Nike will need to monitor their success. Recommendations Nike is obviously the top of its business, but no company is invincible. Nike has several avenues of advancement. If they want to continue to build on lead and maintain their dominate status in the industry, they need to take a hard look at their mission and define it in S.M.A.R.T terms. This will give the company a constant goal and a direction to move in instead of being complacent waiting for its competitors to catch up. They need to make it clear not only that they want to stay on top, but how they will stay on top. They have a unique opportunity with Google their and Joga.com. The ability to reach some of their target customers in such a fashion could be a huge marketing advantage. The site needs to be finished before other networking sites take over. Nike needs to know what its competition is doing and needs to prepare to counter anything the competition puts up against them. The most important thing they can do is improve labor circumstances in factories. The hard part for Nik e is maintaining low costs while still keeping the brand equity they are known for. In order to do this Nike needs to have fewer suppliers and more calculated relationships with the ones they already deal with. Making these adjustments, their reputation will become positive and they can gain back the customers they lost due to negative publicity. Nike has always been associated with high quality retail products. They now need to be associated with the same type quality when it comes to labor and manufacturing conditions.

Children At Work :: Essays Papers

Children At Work Autonomy, Responsibility and Child Labor-Introduction and Conclusion Child labor has recently become a very touchy subject throughout the world. Well known corporations and clothing and sporting goods distributors that have for decades been taking advantage of cheap labor in third world countries are seeing their names and images tarnished by allegations of child labor practices and obscene working conditions. Child labor is nothing new to the world. It has been a part of almost every society in recorded history. From ancient times, children have been a part of the economic survival of their families, particularly in industries like the farming and crafting industries. What remains confusing is the exact definition that separates child labor from just children doing work. Child labor is meant to define unfair, abusive work whereas work is an important part of the sculpting of most children. There is no question in society that some forms of labor are acceptable and some are not. Children may work without being abused and in many countries and even some American cultures, it is both necessary and integral that children perform some laborious duties. The line between work and child labor is most commonly drawn where normal tasks are replaced with exploitative tasks and children are expected to do things that go well beyond the borders of inhumane. An example of this overstepping the boundaries is the following text taken from an actual court case in 1833 following an investigation into the practice of child labor during the British industrial revolution: "Have you ever been employed in a factory? --Yes" "At what age did you first go to work in one? --Eight" "How long did you continue in the occupation? --Four years" "Will you state the hours of labour at the period when you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? --From 6 in the morning to 8 at night." "Fourteen hours? --yes" "With what intervals for refreshment and rest? -- An hour at noon." "When Trade was brisk what were your hours?--From 5 in the morning to 9 in the evening" "Sixteen hours? --Yes" "With what intervals at dinner? --An hour" "During those long hours of labor could you be punctual, how did you awake?-- I seldom did awake spontaneously; I was most generally awoke or lifted out of bed, sometimes asleep, by my parents.

Terrorism and Culture of the Middle East Essay -- Muslim Cultural Reli

Terrorism and Culture of the Middle East Introduction In 1993, a Harvard political scientist named Samuel P. Huntington wrote a controversial article entitled â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations† in Foreign Affairs. At this point the Gulf War was still fresh in the minds of most Americans. The most poignant issues at the time were the threat of Suddam Hussein, nuclear weapons, and the establishment of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Also months later, the World Trade Center was bombed, which left six people dead and many more injured. These events were perhaps the beginning of Huntington’s hypothesis: â€Å"the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and different groups of civilizations.† Eleven years later, recent events have lead many to believe that Huntington’s prediction was correct. In a world where many global issues stem from opposing nations and/or cultures, Huntington’s hypothesis proves to be relevant. Based on the increased and more severe activity taken by non-western civilizations to preserve religion and customs in a world that is increasingly influenced by Western philosophy, cultural differences among civilizations has presented itself at the forefront of international relations today. Faith and religion go hand in hand, especially when you begin to examine the teaching of multiple groups. Although these two words have different meanings, they are often mixed up, merge and appear to have one meaning. Faith is defined as a belief in, devotion to, or trust, in someone or something without having proof. Religion on the other hand is taking these beliefs and turning them into attitudes that you live and govern your life by. As you see with the religions of the world today, ... ... http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/mepp/index.htm http://www.state.gov/ Huntington, Samuel P. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations.† Foreign Affairs. (Summer 1993): 1-22. â€Å"Iraq and Straw; Israel and Road Map.† Israel National News. 23 Mar 2003. < http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=41128> Jenkens, Brian Michael. â€Å" The future Course of International Terrorism.† World Future Society. 2001. < http://www.wfs.org/jenkins.htm> Shibley, Telhami. â€Å"American Foreign Policy Toward the Muslim World.† Summer-Fall 2001. SAIS Review. Terrorism: Questions and Actions. May 2003. Remnick, David. â€Å"After Madrid.† The New Yorker. 29 March 2004. United Nations Home Page. 2000-2004. < http://www.un.org/english/>

How to Write a Synthesis Essay :: Synthesis Essay

The main purpose of a synthesis essay is to make insightful connections. Those connections can show the relationship(s) between parts of a work or even between two or more works. It is your job to explain why those relationships are important. In order to write a successful synthesis essay, you must gather research on your chosen topic, discover meaningful connections throughout your research, and develop a unique and interesting argument or perspective. A synthesis is not a summary. A synthesis is an opportunity to create new knowledge out of already existing knowledge, i.e., other sources. You combine, â€Å"synthesize,† the information in your sources to develop an argument or a unique perspective on a topic. Your thesis statement becomes a one-sentence claim that presents your perspective and identifies the new knowledge that you will create. Before writing your synthesis 1. Narrow a broad or general topic to a specific topic: In a short essay, completely covering a large topic is impossible, so picking a specific, focused topic is important. For example, the broad topic of global warming would need to be narrowed down to something more specific, like the effects of automobile exhaust on an ecosystem. 2. Develop a working thesis statement: A working thesis statement should include a rough idea of your topic and the important point you want to make about that topic. Writing this statement at the top of a rough draft or outline and looking at it often can help you remain focused throughout the essay. However, the thesis statement that you begin with is not set in stone. If you find that your essay shifts topic slightly, you can change your thesis in later drafts so that it matches your new focus. 3. Decide how you will use your sources: After completing your research and gathering sources, you may have a large or overwhelming amount of information. However, the purpose of a synthesis essay is to use only the most important parts of your research, the information that will best support your claim. At this point, you must decide which sources, and/or which parts of those sources, you will use. 4. Organize your research: Now, decide the order in which you will present your evidence, the various arguments you will employ, and how you will convince your readers. Writing your synthesis In the following synthesis essay the author found various sources on the same topic and used certain parts of those sources to support the thesis statement. How to Write a Synthesis Essay :: Synthesis Essay The main purpose of a synthesis essay is to make insightful connections. Those connections can show the relationship(s) between parts of a work or even between two or more works. It is your job to explain why those relationships are important. In order to write a successful synthesis essay, you must gather research on your chosen topic, discover meaningful connections throughout your research, and develop a unique and interesting argument or perspective. A synthesis is not a summary. A synthesis is an opportunity to create new knowledge out of already existing knowledge, i.e., other sources. You combine, â€Å"synthesize,† the information in your sources to develop an argument or a unique perspective on a topic. Your thesis statement becomes a one-sentence claim that presents your perspective and identifies the new knowledge that you will create. Before writing your synthesis 1. Narrow a broad or general topic to a specific topic: In a short essay, completely covering a large topic is impossible, so picking a specific, focused topic is important. For example, the broad topic of global warming would need to be narrowed down to something more specific, like the effects of automobile exhaust on an ecosystem. 2. Develop a working thesis statement: A working thesis statement should include a rough idea of your topic and the important point you want to make about that topic. Writing this statement at the top of a rough draft or outline and looking at it often can help you remain focused throughout the essay. However, the thesis statement that you begin with is not set in stone. If you find that your essay shifts topic slightly, you can change your thesis in later drafts so that it matches your new focus. 3. Decide how you will use your sources: After completing your research and gathering sources, you may have a large or overwhelming amount of information. However, the purpose of a synthesis essay is to use only the most important parts of your research, the information that will best support your claim. At this point, you must decide which sources, and/or which parts of those sources, you will use. 4. Organize your research: Now, decide the order in which you will present your evidence, the various arguments you will employ, and how you will convince your readers. Writing your synthesis In the following synthesis essay the author found various sources on the same topic and used certain parts of those sources to support the thesis statement.

Frostbite Chapter 14

FOURTEEN TWO GUYS I'D NEVER MET before were squaring off against each other. They looked to be in their twenties, and neither noticed me. The one who'd bumped into me shoved the other one hard, forcing him to stagger back considerably. â€Å"You're afraid!† yelled the guy by me. He had on green swimming trunks, and his black hair was slicked back with water. â€Å"You're all afraid. You just want to hole up in your mansions and let the guardians do your dirty work. What are you going to do when they're all dead? Who'll protect you then?† The other guy wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. I suddenly recognized him- thanks to his blond highlights. He was the royal who'd yelled at Tasha about wanting to lead Moroi to battle. She'd called him Andrew. He tried to land a hit and failed; his technique was all wrong. â€Å"This is the safest way. Listen to that Strigoi-lover, and we'll all be dead. She's trying to kill our whole race off!† â€Å"She's trying to save us!† â€Å"She's trying to get us to use black magic!† The â€Å"Strigoi-lover† had to be Tasha. The non-royal guy was the first person outside of my little circle whom I'd ever heard speak in her favor. I wondered how many others out there shared his view. He punched Andrew again, and my base instincts- or maybe the punch- made me leap into action. I sprang forward and wedged myself between them. I was still dizzy and a bit unsteady. If they hadn't been standing so close, I probably would have fallen over. They both hesitated, clearly caught off guard. â€Å"Get out of here,† snapped Andrew. Being male and Moroi, they had greater height and weight than I, but I was probably stronger than either one alone. Hoping I could make the most of that, I grabbed each of them by the arm, pulled them toward me, and then shoved them away as hard as I could. They staggered, not having expected my strength. I staggered a little too. The non-royal glared and took a step toward me. I was counting on the fact that he'd be old-fashioned and not hit a girl. â€Å"What are you doing?† he exclaimed. Several people had gathered and were watching excitedly. I returned his glare. â€Å"I'm trying to stop you guys from being any more idiotic than you already are! You want to help? Stop fighting each other! Ripping each other's heads off isn't going to save the Moroi unless you're trying to thin stupidity out of the gene pool.† I pointed at Andrew. â€Å"Tasha Ozera is not trying to kill everyone off. She's trying to get you to stop being a victim.† I turned to the other guy. â€Å"And as for you, you've got a long ways to go if you think this is the way to get your point across. Magic- especially offensive magic- takes a lot of self-control, and so far, you aren't impressing me with yours. I have more than you do, and if you knew me at all, you'd know how crazy that is.† The two guys stared at me, stunned. I was apparently more effective than a taser. Well, at least for several seconds I was. Because once the shock of my words wore off, they went at each other again. I got caught in the crossfire and shoved away, nearly falling in the process. Suddenly, from behind me, Mason came to my defense. He punched the first guy he could- the non-royal. The guy flew backward, falling into one of the pools with a splash. I yelped, remembering my earlier fear about skull-cracking, but a moment later, he found his feet and rubbed water out of his eyes. I grabbed Mason's arm, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged me off and went after Andrew. He shoved Andrew hard, pushing him into several Moroi- andrew's friends, I suspected- who seemed to be trying to break up the fight. The guy in the pool climbed out, fury written all over his face, and made moves toward Andrew. This time, both Mason and I blocked his way. He glared at all of us. â€Å"Don't,† I warned him. The guy clenched his fists and looked as though he might try to take us on. But we were intimidating, and he didn't appear to have an entourage of friends here like Andrew- who was shouting obscenities and being led away- did. With a few muttered threats, the non-royal backed off. As soon as he was gone, I turned on Mason. â€Å"Are you out of your mind?† â€Å"Huh?† he asked. â€Å"Jumping into the middle of that!† â€Å"You jumped in too,† he said. I started to argue, then realized he was right. â€Å"It's different,† I grumbled. He leaned forward. â€Å"Are you drunk?† â€Å"No. Of course not. I'm just trying to keep you from doing something stupid. Just because you have delusions of being able to kill a Strigoi doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else.† â€Å"Delusions?† he asked stiffly. I started to feel kind of nauseous just then. My head spinning, I continued toward the side room, hoping I didn't stumble. But when I reached it, I saw that it wasn't some kind of dessert or drink room after all. Well, at least not in the way I'd been thinking. It was a feeder room. Several humans reclined on satin-covered chaise lounges with Moroi by their sides. Jasmine incense burned in the air. Stunned, I watched with an eerie fascination as a blond Moroi guy leaned forward and bit into the neck of a very pretty redhead. All of these feeders were exceptionally good-looking, I realized just then. Like actresses or models. Only the best for royalty. The guy drank long and deep, and the girl closed her eyes and parted her lips, an expression of pure bliss on her face as Moroi endorphins flooded into her bloodstream. I shivered, taken back to when I too had experienced that same kind of euphoria. In my alcohol-hazed mind, the whole thing suddenly seemed startlingly erotic. In fact, I almost felt intrusive- like I was watching people have sex. When the Moroi finished and licked the last of the blood away, he brushed his lips against her cheek in a soft kiss. â€Å"Want to volunteer?† Light fingertips brushed my neck, and I jumped. I turned around and saw Adrian's green eyes and knowing smirk. â€Å"Don't do that,† I told him, knocking his hand away. â€Å"Then what are you doing in here?† he asked. I gestured around me. â€Å"I'm lost.† He peered at me. â€Å"Are you drunk?† â€Å"No. Of course not†¦but †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The nausea had settled a little, but I still didn't feel right. â€Å"I think I should sit down.† He took my arm. â€Å"Well, don't do it in here. Someone might get the wrong idea. Let's go somewhere quiet.† He steered me off into a different room, and I looked around with interest. It was a massage area. Several Moroi lay back on tables and were getting back and foot massages from hotel staff. The oil they used smelled like rosemary and lavender. Under any other circumstances, a massage would have sounded great, but lying on my stomach seemed like the worst idea just now. I sat down on the carpeted floor, leaning back against the wall. Adrian walked away and returned with a glass of water. Sitting down as well, he handed it to me. â€Å"Drink this. It'll help.† â€Å"I told you, I'm not drunk,† I mumbled. But I downed the water anyway. â€Å"Uh-huh.† He smiled at me. â€Å"You did nice work with that fight. Who was the other guy that helped you?† â€Å"My boyfriend,† I said. â€Å"Sort of.† â€Å"Mia was right. You do have a lot of guys in your life.† â€Å"It's not like that.† â€Å"Okay.† He was still smiling. â€Å"Where's Vasilisa? I figured she'd be attached to you.† â€Å"She's with her boyfriend.† I studied him. â€Å"What's with the tone? Jealous? You want him for yourself?† â€Å"God, no. I just don't like him.† â€Å"Does he treat her badly?† he asked. â€Å"No,† I admitted. â€Å"He adores her. He's just kind of a jerk.† Adrian was clearly enjoying this. â€Å"Ah, you are jealous. Does she spend more time with him than you?† I ignored that. â€Å"Why do you keep asking about her? Are you interested in her?† He laughed. â€Å"Rest easy, I'm not interested in her in the same way I am you.† â€Å"But you are interested.† â€Å"I just want to talk to her.† He left to fetch me more water. â€Å"Feeling better?† he asked, handing the glass to me. It was crystal and intricately carved. It seemed too fancy for plain water. â€Å"Yeah †¦ I didn't think those drinks were that strong.† â€Å"That's the beauty of them,† he chuckled. â€Å"And speaking of beauty †¦ that's a great color on you.† I shifted. I might not have been showing as much skin as those other girls, but I was showing more than I really wanted to with Adrian. Or was I? There was something weird about him. His arrogant manner annoyed me†¦but I still liked being around him. Maybe the smartass in me recognized a kindred spirit. Somewhere in the back of my drunken mind, a light clicked on. But I couldn't quite get to it. I drank more water. â€Å"You haven't had a cigarette in, like, ten minutes,† I pointed out, wanting to change the subject. He made a face. â€Å"No smoking in here.† â€Å"I'm sure you've made up for it in punch.† His smile returned. â€Å"Well, some of us can hold our liquor. You aren't going to be sick, are you?† I still felt tipsy but no longer nauseous. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Good.† I thought back to when I'd dreamed about him. It had been just a dream, but it had stuck with me, particularly the talk about me being surrounded in darkness. I wanted to ask him about it†¦ even though I knew it was stupid. It had been my dream, not his. â€Å"Adrian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He turned his green eyes on me. â€Å"Yes, darling?† I couldn't bring myself to ask. â€Å"Never mind.† He started to retort, then tilted his head toward the door. â€Å"Ah, here she comes.† â€Å"Who- â€Å" Lissa stepped into the room, eyes scanning around. When she spotted us, I saw relief break over her. I couldn't feel it, though. Intoxicants like alcohol numbed the bond. It was another reason I shouldn't have taken such a stupid chance tonight. â€Å"There you are,† she said, kneeling beside me. Glancing at Adrian, she gave him a nod. â€Å"Hey.† â€Å"Hey yourself, cousin,† he returned, using the family terms royals sometimes used around each other. â€Å"You okay?† Lissa asked me. â€Å"When I saw how drunk you were, I thought you might have fallen in somewhere and drowned.† â€Å"I'm not- † I gave up trying to deny it. â€Å"I'm fine.† Adrian's usual expression had turned serious as he studied Lissa. It again reminded me of the dream. â€Å"How'd you find her?† Lissa gave him a puzzled look. â€Å"I, um, checked all the rooms.† â€Å"Oh.† He looked disappointed. â€Å"I thought you might have used your bond.† Both she and I stared. â€Å"How do you know about that?† I demanded. Only a few people at school knew about it. Adrian had spoken about it as casually as he might have my hair color. â€Å"Hey, I can't reveal all my secrets, can I?† he asked mysteriously. â€Å"And besides, there's a certain way you two act around each other †¦ it's hard to explain. It's pretty cool†¦ all the old myths are true.† Lissa regarded him warily. â€Å"The bond only works one way. Rose can sense what I'm feeling and thinking, but I can't do it back to her.† â€Å"Ah.† We sat in silence a few moments, and I drank more water. Adrian spoke again. â€Å"What'd you specialize in anyway, cousin?† She looked embarrassed. We both knew it was important to keep her spirit powers secret from others who might abuse her healing, but her cover story of not having specialized always bothered her. â€Å"I haven't,† she said. â€Å"Do they think you're going to? Late bloomer?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"You're probably higher in the other elements, though, right? Just not strong enough to really master any?† He reached out to pat her shoulder in an exaggerated show of comfort. â€Å"Yeah, how'd you- â€Å" The instant his fingers touched her, she gasped. It was as though a bolt of lightning had struck her. The strangest look crossed her face. Even drunk, I felt the flood of joy that came pouring through the bond. She stared at Adrian in wonder. His eyes were locked onto hers too. I didn't understand why they were looking at each other like that, but it bothered me. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Stop that. I told you, she has a boyfriend.† â€Å"I know,† he said, still watching her. A small smile turned his lips. â€Å"We need to have a chat someday, cousin.† â€Å"Yes,† she agreed. â€Å"Hey.† I was more confused than ever. â€Å"You have a boyfriend. And there he is.† She blinked back to reality. All three of us turned toward the doorway. Christian and the others stood there. I suddenly had a flashback to when they'd found me with Adrian's arm around me. This wasn't much better. Lissa and I were sitting on either side of him, very close. She sprang up, looking mildly guilty. Christian was regarding her curiously. â€Å"We're getting ready to leave,† he said. â€Å"Okay,† she told him. She looked down at me. â€Å"Ready?† I nodded and started to clamber to my feet. Adrian caught my arm as I did and helped me up. He smiled at Lissa. â€Å"Nice talking to you.† To me, he murmured very quietly, â€Å"Don't worry. I told you, I'm not interested in her in that way. She doesn't look as good in a bathing suit. Probably not as good out of one either.† I pulled my arm away. â€Å"Well, you'll never find out.† â€Å"It's okay,† he said. â€Å"I have a good imagination.† I joined the others, and we headed back toward the main part of the lodge. Mason gave me as strange a look as Christian had given Lissa and stayed away from me, walking toward the front with Eddie. To my surprise and discomfort, I found myself walking beside Mia. She looked miserable. â€Å"I†¦ I'm really sorry about what happened,† I said finally. â€Å"You don't have to act like you care, Rose.† â€Å"No, no. I mean it. It's horrible†¦I'm so sorry.† She wouldn't look at me. â€Å"Is†¦that is, are you going to see your dad soon?† â€Å"Whenever they have the memorial,† she said stiffly. â€Å"Oh.† I didn't know what else to say and gave up, instead turning my attention to the stairs as we climbed back up to the lodge's main level. Unexpectedly, Mia was the one who continued the conversation. â€Å"I watched you break up that fight †¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said slowly. â€Å"You mentioned offensive magic. Like you knew about it.† Oh. Great. She was going to make a play at blackmail†¦or was she? At the moment, she seemed almost civil. â€Å"I was just guessing,† I said. No way was I going to bust Tasha and Christian. â€Å"I don't really know that much. Just stories I've heard.† â€Å"Oh.† Her face fell. â€Å"What kind of stories?† â€Å"Um, well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ I tried to think of something neither too vague nor too specific. â€Å"Like I told those guys†¦the concentration thing is big. Because if you're in a battle with Strigoi, all sorts of things can distract you. So you've got to keep control.† That was actually a basic guardian rule, but it must have been new to Mia. Her eyes widened with eagerness. â€Å"What else? What kind of spells do people use?† I shook my head. â€Å"I don't know. I don't really even know how spells work, and like I said, these are just†¦stories I've heard. My guess is you just find ways to use your element as a weapon. Like †¦ fire users really have an advantage because fire'll kill Strigoi, so it's easy for them. And air users can suffocate people.† I'd actually experienced that last one vicariously through Lissa. It had been horrible. Mia's eyes grew wider still. â€Å"What about a water user?† she asked. â€Å"How could water hurt a Strigoi?† I paused. â€Å"I, uh, never heard any stories about water users. Sorry.† â€Å"Do you have any ideas, though? Ways that, like, someone like me could learn to fight?† Ah. So that's what this was about. It actually wasn't all that crazy. I remembered how excited she'd looked at the meeting when Tasha had talked about attacking Strigoi. Mia wanted to take revenge on the Strigoi for her mother's death. No wonder she and Mason had been getting along so well. â€Å"Mia,† I said gently, catching hold of the door to let her pass. We were almost at the lobby now. â€Å"I know how you must want to †¦ do something. But I think you're better off just sort of letting yourself, um, grieve.† She reddened, and suddenly, I was seeing the normal and angry Mia. â€Å"Don't talk down to me,† she said. â€Å"Hey, I'm not. I'm serious. I'm just saying you shouldn't do anything rash while you're still upset. Besides †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I bit off my words. She narrowed her eyes. â€Å"What?† Screw it. She needed to know. â€Å"Well, I don't really know what good a water user would be against a Strigoi. It's probably the least useful element to use on one of them.† Outrage filled her features. â€Å"You're a real bitch, you know that?† â€Å"I'm just telling you the truth.† â€Å"Well, let me tell you the truth. You're a total idiot when it comes to guys.† I thought about Dimitri. She wasn't entirely off base. â€Å"Mason's great,† she continued. â€Å"One of the nicest guys I know- and you don't even notice! He'd do anything for you, and you were off throwing yourself at Adrian Ivashkov.† Her words surprised me. Could Mia have a crush on Mason? And while I certainly hadn't been throwing myself at Adrian, I could see how it might have looked that way. And even if it weren't true, that wouldn't have stopped Mason from feeling hurt and betrayed. â€Å"You're right,† I said. Mia stared at me, so astonished I'd agreed with her that she didn't say anything else for the rest of the walk. We reached the part of the lodge that split off into different wings for guys and girls. I grabbed a hold of Mason's arm as the others walked off. â€Å"Hang on,† I told him. I badly needed to reassure him about Adrian, but a tiny part of me wondered if I was doing it because I actually wanted Mason or because I just liked the idea of him wanting me and selfishly didn't want to lose that. He stopped and looked at me. His face was wary. â€Å"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you after the fight- I know you were just trying to help. And with Adrian†¦nothing happened. I mean it.† â€Å"It didn't look that way,† Mason said. But the anger on his face had faded. â€Å"I know, but believe me, it's all him. He's got some kind of stupid crush on me.† My tone must have been convincing because Mason smiled. â€Å"Well. Hard not to.† â€Å"I'm not interested in him,† I continued. â€Å"Or anyone else.† It was a small lie, but I didn't think it mattered just then. I was going to be over Dimitri soon, and Mia had been right about Mason. He was wonderful and sweet and cute. I would be an idiot not to pursue this †¦ right? My hand was still on his arm, and I pulled him toward me. He didn't need much more of a signal. He leaned down and kissed me, and in the process, I found myself pressed up against the wall- very much like with Dimitri in the practice room. Of course, it felt nothing like how it had with Dimitri, but it was still nice in its way. I put my arms around Mason and started to pull him closer. â€Å"We could go †¦ somewhere,† I said. He pushed back and laughed. â€Å"Not when you're drunk.† â€Å"I'm not†¦ that†¦ drunk anymore,† I said, trying to pull him back. Giving me a small kiss on the lips, he stepped back. â€Å"Drunk enough. Look, this isn't easy, believe me. But if you still want me tomorrow- when you're sober- then we'll talk.† He leaned down and kissed me again. I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he broke away once more. â€Å"Easy there, girl,† he teased, backing toward his hallway. I glared at him, but he only laughed and turned around. As he walked away, my glare faded, and I headed back to my room with a smile on my face.

Attitude Theories – Essay

Attitude Theories Attitudes are our positive and negative evaluation of a situation or object. Attitudes can be divided into three distinct components the cognitive, affective and the behavioral. They may take the form of the implicit attitude, explicit attitude and the dual attitude. The components of attitudes are the cognitive which helps people structure the world to make sense to them, the affective which helps people cope with emotional conflicts and the behavior helps people achieve rewards and gain approval from others. One way that attitudes can be formed is through the classical conditioning theory. Classical conditioning is â€Å"learning through association when a neutral conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces an emotional response† (Franzoi 2010,p. 157). Classical Conditioning is the affective component of attitudes. An example of classical conditioning would be â€Å"the soft click of the switch that turns on a noisy bathroom fan would have little effect on your behavior. After the click a conditioned has been paired with a loud noise an unconditioned on several occasions you might begin to react to the click alone conditioned response† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 161). Another example would be the famous study the dogs salivating at the saw or smelled food but not tasted it. Then they salivated at the sight the person bringing the food. Classical conditioning can be very useful in helping in the learning in shaping attitudes to protect us from overcoming certain fears in life and also help acquire aversion to certain foods. Classical conditioning is a gradual process. Using this conditioning can help shape, form different attitudes in many of life situations. Classical conditioning of attitudes occurs below the level of conscious awareness. The other very influential way to shape attitude is the Operant conditioning form of learning. Through the behavioral component (Franzoi, 2010, p. 158). The Operant conditioning is a type of learning attitudes in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement maintain, changed and weaken if ollowed by punishment through consequences. Operant conditioning occurs when some action towards an object is rewarded or reinforced. Doing this enough times, the subject will do probably repeat it in the future. Also if behavior is not rewarded or is punished then future actions are less likely to occur. An example of a positive operant conditioning would be related to basic biological needs. Positive reinforcement include food when you are angry and conditioned rein forces include money, status, trophies and praises from others. When we hear† you must clean your room before you watch TV† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 172). This can shape a person’s attitude. A negative example of this â€Å"stimuli, other subway riders are moving away to escape the stench of a person’s cologne† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 173). When people ride in the future they will remember that person and avoid them. This would definitely shape one’s attitude towards this person. Doing well will help shape attitude about eating habits. Since, they did not have a good experience with bad situations that will also shape attitudes. We can use the operant conditioning in teaching techniques such as learning computers, aggressive driving, traffic safety and all goal oriented tasks. In conclusion we have discussed how attitudes can take form. They shape through the implicit attitude form which is activated automatically from our memory or through the explicit attitude which is consciously held. These attitudes are seen in classical, operant conditioning. References Bacon, R. and Kalsher, M, (2008). Psychology: From Science to Practice 2nd Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon Franoi, S. (2010). Social Psychology 5th Ed.

Village Uplift

India is an agricultural country. So, it is a country of villages. Most of the Indians live in the villages. India cannot improve if her villages do not improve. The present condition of villages: The present condition of the Indian villages is very bad. The Indian villagers are ignorant. That do not know how to read and write. They do not know hygiene. They rest upon the superstition and the blind faith. Hence, they fall easy prey to the epidemics. Their health is also very bad. They are weak and frail. Their outlook is very limited.They quarrel among themselves over petty affairs. The village touts and litigants drag the innocent people into bad litigation. People do not know improved method of cultivation. They have forgotten their traditional cottage industry. Hence, their financial condition is not good. The able-bodied young villagers flock to the cities to work in the factory. So, the agriculture suffer in the village area. The bullocks are neglected. The cows are very poorly milch. How to uplift the village: The literate people, the students and the educated persons should look to this problem.Free and compulsory primary schools should be opened in every village. Night schools should be opened for the grown-up people. The villages should keep their village neat and clean. Sanitary work should be regularly done. Dispensary should be opened in every village centre. People should be taught improved method of farming. The village industries should be revived. The cattle wealth of the villages should be looked after. Bee-keeping and poultry-farming should be encouraged in the villages. The village Panchayat should be active in the respect.The villages should not quarrel among themselves over the pretty affairs. Co-operation, good neighborly-hood and fraternity should be infused among them. Co-operative farming should be encouraged. Conclusion: Village upliftment is no doubt necessary. The villagers should know their duty for this. They should think of the we lfare of their village. The Government has provided Community Project, National Extension Scheme and the village Panchayat system. The villagers should make the best use of them.

Push and Pull Strategy Essay

Push Strategy A â€Å"push† promotional strategy makes use of a company’s sales force and trade promotion activities to create consumer demand for a product. The producer promotes the product to wholesalers, the wholesalers promote it to retailers, and the retailers promote it to consumers. A good example of â€Å"push† selling is mobile phones, where the major handset manufacturers such as Nokia promote their products via retailers such as Carphone Warehouse. Personal selling and trade promotions are often the most effective promotional tools for companies such as Nokia – for example offering subsidies on the handsets to encourage retailers to sell higher volumes. A â€Å"push† strategy tries to sell directly to the consumer, bypassing other distribution channels (e.g. selling insurance or holidays directly). With this type of strategy, consumer promotions and advertising are the most likely promotional tools. Pull Strategy A â€Å"pull† selling strategy is one that requires high spending on advertising and consumer promotion to build up consumer demand for a product. If the strategy is successful, consumers will ask their retailers for the product, the retailers will ask the wholesalers, and the wholesalers will ask the producers. A good example of a pull is the heavy advertising and promotion of children’s’ toys – mainly on television. Consider the recent BBC promotional campaign for its new pre-school program – the Fimbles. Aimed at two to four-year-olds, 130 episodes of Fimbles have been made and are featured everyday on digital children’s channel CBeebies and BBC2. As part of the promotional campaign, the BBC has agreed a deal with toy maker Fisher-Price to market products based on the show, which it hopes will emulate the popularity of the Tweenies. Under the terms of the deal, Fisher-Price will develop, manufacture and distribute a range of Fimbles products including soft, plastic and electronic learning toys for the UK and Ireland. In 2001, BBC Worldwide (the commercial division of the BBC) achieved sales of  £90m from its children’s brands and properties last year. The demand created from broadcasting of the Fimbles and a major advertising campaign is likely to â€Å"pull† demand from children and encourage retailers to stock Fimbles toys in the stores for Christmas 2002. Difference Between Push And Pull Strategy Push marketing is when you use various activities to get your message in front of your ideal client. The marketer is in control of what the message is, how it is seen, when and where. Marketing activities that encourage your prospect to seek you out and find out whether you have something of value to offer them. Pull marketing activities build relationships and can include blogging, podcasting, article marketing and networking (both on and offline). Pull marketing uses the law of attraction, incorporating all the components of your personal brand to attract and retain these people as your biggest fans. Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice the prospect to buy your product or service. Some classic examples are â€Å"half off!† or â€Å"bring in this coupon to save 25%† or â€Å"buy one get one free†, etc. With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased, time limited value so that the customer will come into your store to buy. Pull is not about pulling consumers in; it’s about giving consumers a reason to pull us in. Remember truism #1 – they’re in control; they (not we) decide where they go and what they experience. We’ve lost the right to pull consumers anywhere (if we ever really had that right at all.) Pull means that we to go to them, join their communities, give them reasons to voluntarily draw us into their personal media experiences. We’re not interrupting them. They’re opting into us.

The True Followers of Holy Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The True Followers of Holy Christ - Essay Example Consequently, they could only be included in the religion through holy bath or baptism in order to associate them with their parents as the followers of Jesus Christ. Infant baptism, according to the American Catholic Organization, only makes sense if parents are true Christian disciples. If they are not, then it makes little sense to initiate their children into a Church which calls for a commitment to living the mission of Christ (2012). Baptism is conducted with the same religious fervor as the ancient Jews used to make arrangements for the execution of circumcision of the newly born boys in order to demonstrate their love and affiliation with the first patriarch Abraham (Diamont, 2005); the same is the case with baptism, which seeks its roots in the earliest Christian era, when the Church had maintained rigorous standards for the entry of non-Christians in the faith; consequently, the saints used to baptize the people embracing the faith, which used to be the sign of the grant of pardon from all the previous sins they had committed before converting to Christianity (Latourette 1975). In addition, baptism is also performed by repeating the ways of Jesus Christ, as New Testament manifestly reveals that Jesus was baptized himself by John (Luke 3:21; Matthew 3:16; Mark 1: 9-10). Later, the saints including Augustine of Hippo and others were also baptized at the eve of adopting the faith (Augustine 2011). Gradually, the tradition earned the status of an essential religious sacrament to be performed on all the newborn babies. Being the part of old tradition, which has become a sign and symbol of the adopting Christianity as faith, the Catholics still stick to the ritual of baptizing their young ones in order to demonstrate their unflinching belief in Jesus Christ as Savior on the one hand, and the source of spiritual guidance, and worldly and eternal bliss on the other. Thus, baptism has become an integral part of Christian faith, which is performed on infant bab ies and converts with great religious fervor and enthusiasm in all parts of the globe at large. PART II Baptism/ Initiation Rites in Christianity and Islam: Initiation in Christianity: While discussing the initial Catholic rites other than baptism, confirmation and Eucharist are also included in the list. The Sacraments of Initiation are the initial sacraments by which persons become members of the Catholic Faith (saintanne.org). All the three initiation rites are conducted equally on the young members of Christian faith as well as on the adult converts. Baptism is the bathing in a pool, tank, brook or river etc, which could be performed while standing, sitting, or kneeling in some water, where another Christian then lowers him under the water and then brings him back up out of the water, which is literally called immersion; the same word is found in the Bible (clarifyingchristianity.com). The same process is conducted on the infants with the help of their parents, while they take i n their arms or laps during the process. Like baptism, confirmation also maintains an important place in basic Sacraments. Baptism corresponds, according to Pope St. Leo, to our bodily birth, while confirmation corresponds to our bodily growth (Hardon 1998).