The Core Concepts Of Economics - 1241 Words

Introduction The two factors Demand and Supply are the core concepts of economics. Demand states the quantity of a product one requires to fulfill his needs at particular price stand. On the other hand supply refers market offering of a product at specific price level. There are numerous constituents that affect the Demand of a product. For example Price, availability of alternative products in market, price of the alternative products, buyers’ income, buyers’ purchasing power parity, number of buyers available in the market, changes in buyers’ taste and preferences etc., on the other hand supply of a given product is also affected by various factors for example. Price of the product, prices of factor of production, changes government policies, introduction of new technologies, firms’ goals and objectives etc. We need to understand technical aspects of demand and supply before explaining about factors other than the price that affect demand and supply in a particular country. Demand and Supply Mechanics Marshal concludes that there is a negative relationship between price and demand as when the prices of any particular product rises, demand get decreased and when prices fall of a product demand of that product will increase, keeping all other factors constant that has an impact on demand of a product. However, there is a positive relationship between price and supply of any product keeping all factors constant that have an impact on quantity supply. When price of theShow MoreRelatedIndustrial Location Theory As Defined By German Economist Alfred Weber1506 Words   |  7 Pages transport, etc.) while simultaneously producing a large market of demand. With this being stated, some Weber’s assumptions of this theory are that 1). the consumer is economically rational, which means that the market economy is based upon the concept that all consumers have total market knowledge (what goods are available and how much they cost to produce). Given such knowledge, each time you consum e (demand) a product, you rationally select the good that is the cheapest cost of equal qualityRead MoreThe Smell Based Alarm Clock855 Words   |  4 Pagesa beep in the event that the scent alone is insufficient in waking up a person. According to Malicdem (2016), sensorwake makes use of a reusable scent capsule that lasts for 30 awakenings, which lasts for roughly a month. There has been moderate economic growth in the Australian market. Statistics for the year 2014 indicate that there was a moderate increase in the pace of consumer spending (RBA, 2015). There has also been a decline in unemployment rates to 5.75%. There has also been a decline inRead MoreThe Expansion Of Urban Development Essay1466 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Transportation infrastructure has always shaped the evolution and economic position of cities. First, our major cities largely grew around seaports. Next, urban development took place along rivers that formed the backbone of the industrial revolutions in the United States. Railroads opened up landlocked interiors of nations, fostering a third wave of city growth outward from their main terminals. Then, the expansion of suburban roadway systems created a fourth wave of urban development. WeRead MoreTrade Liberalization And Socio Economic Development Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesTRADE LIBERALIZATION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVE LOPMENT IN NIGERIA; 1999-2010 BY Ugwoke, Obiora Francis Department of Political Administrative Studies University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria And Okechukwu S. Amadi Department of Political Administrative Studies University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Abstract This paper sought to evaluate the concept of Trade Liberalization and Development in NigeriaRead MoreThe Academy Of Business And Entrepreneurship Charter School1408 Words   |  6 PagesI. SCHOOL DESIGN The Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School is a K-12 model school utilizing a unique combination of PA Common Core Standards aligned curriculum and specialized programming with a focus on developing 21st Century skills to prepare students for their post- secondary goals. It will open its doors in 2014, starting with 240 students in grades K-5 and add a grade a year to reach K-9 during the course of the initial charter. However, as the model is envisioned as a fullRead MoreSocialism And Laissez Faire Of The United States1147 Words   |  5 PagesNations have debated on which economic direction their country will direct its footsteps since the creation of societies. The United States, being one of the most stereotypical capitalistic nations, began as a Laissez-faire nation, but throughout the centuries America’s economic standpoint has shifted more into Socialism rather than Laissez-faire. The second largest economy in the world, China, is widely understood as being a socialist country, however, for the past years they have been inclinedRead MoreInternational Relations And Security : Is Security The Ultimate Value?1176 Words   |  5 Pagesthoughts is that of warfare or the protection from. To be secure from attack from foreign governments or non-state violent actors. However, security is much more encompassing. One can look into Buzan’s five areas of security, military, political, economic, societal, and environmental, to begin to define what security actually encompasses. Military security is the most common thought when discussing this topic. Military security means that the state has offensive and defensive capabilities to protectRead MoreWhat Is Power And What Forms Can It Shape? International Relations? Essay1672 Words   |  7 Pagesthree political theories of realism, marxism and social constructivism define power in association with the taxonomy principles of concepts. Therefore, it is the purpose of this essay to examine the taxonomy principle that form the corresponding concepts of power with the appropriate political theory, along with providing an analytical observation of how each concept affects international relations. Before the essay delves into a analytical observations of the forms of power, taxonomy mustRead MoreContemporary Mainstream Approaches : Neo Realism And Neo Liberalism1527 Words   |  7 Pagesof the social realm (history, philosophy, economics, political science, sociology, international relations and etc.) Marx called these divisions â€Å"both arbitrary and unhelpful.†The main concept of Marxism is class struggle. Unlike other political theories, Marxism believes that society as whole is the susceptible to conflict between classes. The conflict is often between the proletariat (the workers) and the bourgeoisie (the capitalists). In the economic realm, Marx also senses a tension betweenRead MoreTraditional Trade Theory, New Economic Geography Theory And The Interplay Between Globalization And Competition1602 Words   |  7 PagesThis study identifies four strands of thought that outline the factors which can lead to the over-concentration of services; traditional trade t heory, new trade theory, new economic geography theory and the interplay between globalisation and competition. It is from this four factors in which the negative effects of the over-concentration of services are created. These negative effects will be discussed and analysed in a bid to understand what can done to reduce them. Polycentricity and territorial

Journalist and Pr Relationship Free Essays

1. The question for the essay is â€Å"Journalism and Public Relations: Symbiosis or Parasitosis? † Journalists and Public Relations (PR) practitioners interact with each other everyday as part of the process of news production. Journalists communicate towards public relations practitioners with requests for information or material to help produce the stories they are writing. We will write a custom essay sample on Journalist and Pr Relationship or any similar topic only for you Order Now While public relations practitioners advise stories and deliver journalists with information they have created themselves in hope to be published in the newspaper. The relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners is, and has always been, complicated. The relationship between these two is one of mutually dependency if not symbiotic, but also ambivalent if not hostile. This ambiguous relationship has arisen due to the misconception of the outlook and the values of each profession. Shin and Cameron (2004) deem both parties bring conflict to the relationship through the nature of their roles and goals, and the values, attitudes and views they hold of each other (Callard, 2011). Journalist perception on public relations practitioners has a negative connotation to it, often troubled by the often about the levels of ‘information subsidy’ (Gandy, 1982) in the context of the way in which public relations material is able to shape the news by providing information that enables them to conform to there own agenda. Whereas public relations are concerned with the misunderstood perspective journalists have upon the role that public relations play. (Charron, 1989) Journalists are said to strive for objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and balance, and do not withhold information, hide or advocate for particular agendas, or act unethically (Belz, Talbot, Starck, 1989). Public relations is regarded as more subjective, serving the interests of the client first and foremost’ (White Hobsbawm, 2007) Although the tensions between the to industries may be strained, this is a relationship based on need n order for each other to succeed, whether each of them w ill admit it. . Even though they may have differences, both professions have the similar objectives created around there public. The main intention of journalism profession is to provide it public with accurate, reliable trustworthy information to the general public. Public relations objective is to influence a certain target public, intended to influence the opinion of this audience to promote an individual or organisation that the firm is looking after. The ‘adversarial relationship’ between the two professions is commonly viewed as journalists being the gatekeepers who serve the public through offering them ‘a window to the world’ (Singer, 1998) and public relations practitioners subsequent  the ‘press-agentry’ model (Grunig and Hunt 1984) where the purpose of the practitioner is to expand publicity for their particular organisation through controlled ‘information dissemination’. But in an ever-competing world the tables have begun to turn, with journalist not being as pure as they make out to be. Journalists have a responsibility to an unspoken ethical code to produce stories of truth and reliability, as journalists are the source between the public and it knowledge of news information. Foxification as well as the news of the world scandal has tampered the perception of trust worthy journalism. Foxification was the misrepresentations of facts to the public by the fox network for the purpose of perpetuation their prejudiced conservative agenda and profit gain. Which was the same found with the news of the world scandal early last year, where unethical conduct in order to gain profit. So the foundation of apprehensive that journalism has on public relations becomes unjustified. The central elements to the functioning amongst journalist’s and public relations relationship is the subject of access to information. In an era where news is produced and consumed as fast as possible, the Internet has provided media with a new platform to serve its publics with the most up-to-date news. But evidently this no longer means that journalists have he day to write a story for the next day’s paper, journalist are looking at having to produce any where between 6-10 stories every time they enter the newsroom. 3. In March 2010 10 hard-copy news papers where analyised on Australia news and commentary website Crikey and the Independent journalism which concluded that nearly 55% of the stories discover were driven by some sort of public relations influence. The requirement of journalists doing more with less has insured the relationship between the two professions is securely bound together fostering a dependence on PR practitioners and their public relations materials. It is this demand placed upon each profession, which has manufactured what we now know as ‘churnalism’ the practice of journalists churning through press releases to manufacture news content as quick as possible the reader. Journalists are being asked to do more with less resources . . . forcing them to rely more and more on information from public relations practitioners . . . they are being forced increasingly into reactive, passive positions rather than pursuing their own investigations. (Gower, 2007, p. 2-3) Churnalism. om invites people to paste press releases on to the site and compare the copy with more than three million articles published by national newspaper websites, the BBC or Sky News since 2008. The site then offers a percentage score indicating how much of the release was copied and pasted by journalists. One of the founders of the Churnalism site Chris Atkins produced a fake press release about a â€Å"chastity garter† containing a micro-chip whic h would send a text message to the woman’s partner communicating of the partner was about to be unfaithful, to show how influential public relations press on the content of journalists stories. The story became the most read story on the Daily Mail’s website for that particular day. And was then repeated by many media outlets including that of a USA morning television show. This example just highlight the extent to how much journalist rely on the content that public relations practitioners have provided them with in order to produce stories. But this also placed an ethical responsibility upon public relations to produce press 4. releases, which are truthful as public relations practitioners rely on journalist to use these to promote their organisation. In the case of both public relations and journalism the related notions of trust and truth are central to their professional activities. The importance in creating a strong trustworthy relationship with journalist even more crucial to public relations practitioners as this is their main source of contact with their target publics. Public relations agencies aim to build an ongoing relationships with journalists as the better relationships they can build, the more influence they can exert on the media. A journalist is more likely to pay attention to a press release that’s timely, from a known source and targeted to the specific journalist’s need. So it is a public relations practitioner job to make sure they know and understand the style and sought stories each journalist would report on, making it more likely for their press release to be picked up. Making it crucial to insure that the press releases are informative and truthful. Public Relations practitioners will offer journalists media kits, face-to-face meeting and invite them to private lunches and launches gaining an exclusive scoop to create a goodwill relationship between the two parties. But as public relations is the primary contact between organisations and the media, public relations people can control the access to information given to journalist, enabling them tremendous lead way in negotiating with journalists. It’s a bit of you scratch my back I will scratch your back type on partnership. In today’s world, public relations and journalists go hand in hand. Journalists and public relations practitioners play distinct roles in their individual professions. On a whole public relations and journalism work together in order to achieve the same ultimate goal. Approaches may be different but both professions are mutually dependent upon one another and as well as one of symbiotic. In order to move forward with media coverage, both journalism and public relations need become accustom to the presents of each profession as by accepting what each party has to offer allows both industries to get ahead. How to cite Journalist and Pr Relationship, Papers Journalist and Pr Relationship Free Essays 1. The question for the essay is â€Å"Journalism and Public Relations: Symbiosis or Parasitosis? † Journalists and Public Relations (PR) practitioners interact with each other everyday as part of the process of news production. Journalists communicate towards public relations practitioners with requests for information or material to help produce the stories they are writing. We will write a custom essay sample on Journalist and Pr Relationship or any similar topic only for you Order Now While public relations practitioners advise stories and deliver journalists with information they have created themselves in hope to be published in the newspaper. The relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners is, and has always been, complicated. The relationship between these two is one of mutually dependency if not symbiotic, but also ambivalent if not hostile. This ambiguous relationship has arisen due to the misconception of the outlook and the values of each profession. Shin and Cameron (2004) deem both parties bring conflict to the relationship through the nature of their roles and goals, and the values, attitudes and views they hold of each other (Callard, 2011). Journalist perception on public relations practitioners has a negative connotation to it, often troubled by the often about the levels of ‘information subsidy’ (Gandy, 1982) in the context of the way in which public relations material is able to shape the news by providing information that enables them to conform to there own agenda. Whereas public relations are concerned with the misunderstood perspective journalists have upon the role that public relations play. (Charron, 1989) Journalists are said to strive for objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and balance, and do not withhold information, hide or advocate for particular agendas, or act unethically (Belz, Talbot, Starck, 1989). Public relations is regarded as more subjective, serving the interests of the client first and foremost’ (White Hobsbawm, 2007) Although the tensions between the to industries may be strained, this is a relationship based on need n order for each other to succeed, whether each of them w ill admit it. . Even though they may have differences, both professions have the similar objectives created around there public. The main intention of journalism profession is to provide it public with accurate, reliable trustworthy information to the general public. Public relations objective is to influence a certain target public, intended to influence the opinion of this audience to promote an individual or organisation that the firm is looking after. The ‘adversarial relationship’ between the two professions is commonly viewed as journalists being the gatekeepers who serve the public through offering them ‘a window to the world’ (Singer, 1998) and public relations practitioners subsequent  the ‘press-agentry’ model (Grunig and Hunt 1984) where the purpose of the practitioner is to expand publicity for their particular organisation through controlled ‘information dissemination’. But in an ever-competing world the tables have begun to turn, with journalist not being as pure as they make out to be. Journalists have a responsibility to an unspoken ethical code to produce stories of truth and reliability, as journalists are the source between the public and it knowledge of news information. Foxification as well as the news of the world scandal has tampered the perception of trust worthy journalism. Foxification was the misrepresentations of facts to the public by the fox network for the purpose of perpetuation their prejudiced conservative agenda and profit gain. Which was the same found with the news of the world scandal early last year, where unethical conduct in order to gain profit. So the foundation of apprehensive that journalism has on public relations becomes unjustified. The central elements to the functioning amongst journalist’s and public relations relationship is the subject of access to information. In an era where news is produced and consumed as fast as possible, the Internet has provided media with a new platform to serve its publics with the most up-to-date news. But evidently this no longer means that journalists have he day to write a story for the next day’s paper, journalist are looking at having to produce any where between 6-10 stories every time they enter the newsroom. 3. In March 2010 10 hard-copy news papers where analyised on Australia news and commentary website Crikey and the Independent journalism which concluded that nearly 55% of the stories discover were driven by some sort of public relations influence. The requirement of journalists doing more with less has insured the relationship between the two professions is securely bound together fostering a dependence on PR practitioners and their public relations materials. It is this demand placed upon each profession, which has manufactured what we now know as ‘churnalism’ the practice of journalists churning through press releases to manufacture news content as quick as possible the reader. Journalists are being asked to do more with less resources . . . forcing them to rely more and more on information from public relations practitioners . . . they are being forced increasingly into reactive, passive positions rather than pursuing their own investigations. (Gower, 2007, p. 2-3) Churnalism. om invites people to paste press releases on to the site and compare the copy with more than three million articles published by national newspaper websites, the BBC or Sky News since 2008. The site then offers a percentage score indicating how much of the release was copied and pasted by journalists. One of the founders of the Churnalism site Chris Atkins produced a fake press release about a â€Å"chastity garter† containing a micro-chip whic h would send a text message to the woman’s partner communicating of the partner was about to be unfaithful, to show how influential public relations press on the content of journalists stories. The story became the most read story on the Daily Mail’s website for that particular day. And was then repeated by many media outlets including that of a USA morning television show. This example just highlight the extent to how much journalist rely on the content that public relations practitioners have provided them with in order to produce stories. But this also placed an ethical responsibility upon public relations to produce press 4. releases, which are truthful as public relations practitioners rely on journalist to use these to promote their organisation. In the case of both public relations and journalism the related notions of trust and truth are central to their professional activities. The importance in creating a strong trustworthy relationship with journalist even more crucial to public relations practitioners as this is their main source of contact with their target publics. Public relations agencies aim to build an ongoing relationships with journalists as the better relationships they can build, the more influence they can exert on the media. A journalist is more likely to pay attention to a press release that’s timely, from a known source and targeted to the specific journalist’s need. So it is a public relations practitioner job to make sure they know and understand the style and sought stories each journalist would report on, making it more likely for their press release to be picked up. Making it crucial to insure that the press releases are informative and truthful. Public Relations practitioners will offer journalists media kits, face-to-face meeting and invite them to private lunches and launches gaining an exclusive scoop to create a goodwill relationship between the two parties. But as public relations is the primary contact between organisations and the media, public relations people can control the access to information given to journalist, enabling them tremendous lead way in negotiating with journalists. It’s a bit of you scratch my back I will scratch your back type on partnership. In today’s world, public relations and journalists go hand in hand. Journalists and public relations practitioners play distinct roles in their individual professions. On a whole public relations and journalism work together in order to achieve the same ultimate goal. Approaches may be different but both professions are mutually dependent upon one another and as well as one of symbiotic. In order to move forward with media coverage, both journalism and public relations need become accustom to the presents of each profession as by accepting what each party has to offer allows both industries to get ahead. How to cite Journalist and Pr Relationship, Essay examples

Film Review Walt Disneys Frozen Essay Example For Students

Film Review Walt Disneys Frozen Essay Disney, as a production company, has been around for many years. From their first full-length animated movie, Snow White, in 1937, to the most recent Disney Film, Planes: Fire Rescue, Im sure close to everyone has seen one Disney movie. Disney has been around to not only entertain, but to also educate people all over the world. The BBC news reported that the 2013 hit film, Frozen, soared through the charts, becoming the fifth top-grossing Disney film of all time, and the number one top-grossing animated film, ever. One thing that almost all Disney films have in common is a family lesson tied into the story line. Frozen, portrays a close family tie throughout the film, by showing that a good relationship with family is based off loving, accepting, and fighting for your family, regardless of any hardship. Frozen, proves to be a family-based film, by showing that to have a good relationship with your family, it requires lots of love. Olaf, a main character in the film, says, Love is putting someone elses needs before yours. This quote simply and clearly proves the importance of love and family, by clarifying that the characters do just that. There are many different types of relationships built off of love, including the love of siblings between Elsa and Anna. This love we see between the two sisters is what also sets Frozen apart from other Disney films. It is one of the only films with a strong, profound relationship between two sisters. The evidence of true love is apparent when Anna gives her own life to protect Elsa from Hans. Furthermore, when Anna risks everything, to make the journey to find Elsa and bring her home. Family is such an important theme in all Disney movies, and, Frozen, is no different. The theme of learning to accept our family members for their actions, and personalities are other lessons that, Frozen, implies. However, this wasnt apparent from the start. In fact, at the beginning of the movie the them was opposite. In the beginning of the movie Elsa’s family forbids her to show her powers. They wanted her to hide it to protect the kingdom, and her family. After Elsa’s magical powers got out of hand, and harmed her little sister, her parents both thought it would be best if they hid Elsa’s powers from everyone. The king, Elsas father, even said, â€Å"We’ll lock the gates. Well reduce the staff. We will limit her contact with people, and keep her powers hidden from everyone. Including Anna. † This is a great example of a way society today teaches us to hide our imperfections from the rest of the world. However, the theme changed by the end of the movie. Anna learns of her sisters powers, yet she still accepted Elsa, and fought both the society and her family, to bring her back. When Elsa came back, both her family and society accepted her by realizing that Elsa had no intention of hurting anyone. This contributes to the idea that over time, society will learn to accept you for who you are, and so will your family. One of the most important lessons, Frozen, portrays, is how family member’s fight for each other regardless of the circumstances. A great display of this is shown in the end of the movie, when Anna goes looking for her sister, Elsa. The whole town had already seen the worst in Elsa, as they thought her magical powers would destroy the kingdom. However, Anna had complete faith that Elsa would never want to intentionally hurt someone. After disregarding everyone’s opinion, Anna goes looking for her sister. Anna tries to convince Elsa to come back to the kingdom. After Elsa refuses to come back down with her Anna replies, â€Å"For the first time in forever, we can fix this hand in hand. We can head down this mountain together. You dont have to live in fear. Cause for the first time in forever, I will be right here. † The writer’s intention was to show how family is supposed to come together, and help out. .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .postImageUrl , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:hover , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:visited , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:active { border:0!important; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:active , .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3 .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub15701bd56c29cd5966b984d9b344ed3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Compare how the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet is portrayed in Luhrmanns 1997 film and Zefferelis 1968 version, which version is more successful? EssayAnna and Elsa displayed true love and support. The movie, Frozen, has a lot more invested into it, besides the billions of dollars it has grossed, or the many awards it has won. Frozen, teaches viewers valuable lessons about family, and life. It teaches viewers to maintain a good relationships with family. The characters of Frozen show this throughout the movie by Elsa and Annas close relationship. They go through rough times to prove their love for one another, and even by risk their own lives. This film teaches us a lot about family and relationships. Bibliography: Frozen Becomes Fifth-biggest Film. BBC News Entertainment Arts. BBC News, 27 May 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. Disneys Tarzan Review. Disneys Tarzan Review. Animation Artist, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. Frozen. Dir. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Perf. Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, and Josh Gad. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2013. Film.

The Past is a foreign country Essay Example

The Past is a foreign country Paper The Past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. Referring to L. P. Hartleys novel The Go-Between and Philip Larkins poetry anthology The Whitsun Weddings, explore the significance of the past. Whats gone and whats past help, should be past grief. L. P. Hartleys novel and Larkins poetry demonstrate the lack of reality in this philosophy, a point that Shakespeare clearly implies with the use of the auxiliary verb should. Although a foreign country our capacity of memory allows us to continue living in that strange land making the events that occurred there very much present grief. The devastating history of The Go-Between epitomises the power that the past has to dictate our lives. That one summer in adolescence can affect the next fifty years of a mans life illustrates the influence that the past has on the present. Similarly, the poetry of Philip Larkin portrays how alive and existing the past is, in memorabilia, in our children, in artifacts and in ourselves. A post mortem of Leo Colstons metaphorical death, the novel The Go-Between, tells the account of how a boy was prematurely forced into adulthood, an adulthood never lived out. The events that occurred at the age of twelve crippled Leo to such an extent that even in his sixties he has not recovered; he is dried up, the husk of a man. One summer in his youth holds more significance for him than any other time, it is the only time in his life that Leo lived but also the time at which he gave up on his existence and died. We will write a custom essay sample on The Past is a foreign country specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Past is a foreign country specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Past is a foreign country specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Leo Colston of pre-1900 remained at Brandham Hall, where they do things differently, and it is only at the age of sixty-four when he returns in person that he is able and dares to start living once more. After opening Pandoras box, his diary from that eventful year, he decides to confront the past. Despite Leos advance in age he still possesses childhood nostalgia contained in a box, which like him is battered, all these years later. He stored away memorabilia from his early days, evidence that he had not recovered from what happened in the past. In this searching exploration of the nature of memory as termed by Douglas Brooks-Davies, we are shown the ability that the faculty has, as well as memorabilia, to contain the past. Colston was unable to throw away his physical memories just as much as he was unable to rid them from his mind; he did not have closure on the events that took place in Norfolk, it was unfinished business. The prologue of this bildungsroman sees Leo Colston unable to resist the enervating power of his boyhood diary, and so he once again opens the door to his disturbing past. Both the prologue and epilogue of the novel are evidence of the great significance the author places on the past, shown in the pathetic life he has created for green Leo Colston, a now cindery creature, a dull dog. Many factors contributed to the breakdown of the young go-between, not solely the revelation of the sexual act. The twelve-year-old Leo Colston was emotionally immature. He knew nothing of the facts of life and believed that by being a go-between he was a messenger of the gods so high were the Maudsleys in his esteem. Therefore when plunged into water too deep for him, acting as the lynch-pin of the whole business, he was destined to get hurt. After weeks of manipulation by his adored Maid Marian, amounting to psychological child abuse on her part, he was then sadistically forced by a hysterical Mrs. Maudsley to witness the two bodies moving like one. Leos downfall had almost reached its peak. The climax arrived however with the news that Ted Burgess had gone home and shot himself, releasing the metaphorical trigger that was to kill Leo the schoolboy and force him into an unpleasant adult world. The Diary for the year 1900 is a snapshot of naivety, as regards to both Leo and society, echoing the line from Philip Larkins poem MCMXIV: Never such innocence again. Both Leo and England were ignorant of the capabilities of man. Later England was to be disillusioned by the atrocities of two world wars and on a personal scale Leo was to lose his faith in the morality of man. It could be argued that had this novel not been set at the turn of the twentieth century but one hundred years later at the turn of the millennium, Leo Colston would not have suffered a nervous breakdown. Due to advancements in technology there would have been no need for a messenger to aid a secret love affair. The romance between Marian Maudsley, aristocrat and the farmer Ted Burgess would probably not have needed to be a secret at all due to the lack of such a segregated class system in todays society, and also due to the much improved status of women who are now far more liberated as regards sexual relationships and marriage. It is also improbable that an adolescent approaching thirteen in todays society could be as nai ve as Leo concerning the facts of life. The past therefore also has significance in terms of context and as the setting for L. P. Hartleys novel. In The Go-Between L. P. Hartley accurately recaptures the mood of the late Victorian period, through his novel the reader is allowed to witness not only Leos past but also the age in which Leslie Poles Hartley lived. The novel contains many similarities to the authors life and to a certain extent is autobiographical. Lord David Cecil praised Hartleys ability as a historical and social commentator believing him to be One of the most distinguished of modern novelists (And) a sharp-eyed chronicler of the social scene. The Epilogue of the novel shows most effectively the relationship between the past and present. When Leo Colston returns to the village near Norwich where the frightful trouble occurred, it is to a landscape as foreign to him then as when he first arrived there as a pubescent schoolboy. Whilst Leo has lived a monotonous existence for fifty years the most changeful half a century in history has taken place in the world around him. Yet other things remained unaltered. Marian Maudsley still has the power to bewitch Leo, to emotionally blackmail him, to make him carry out a final errand of love. Despite himself Leo is compelled to enter the world of Brandham Hall once more to deliver Marians words to her grandson, Ted Burgess grandson, the character of Edward symbolising the legacy we create in our children. As long as people continue to procreate they will never truly die, but live on through their offspring. Although his farmer friend had taken his own life all those years ago, Leo sees Ted Burgess once more in the face of his grandchild. On seeing the Hall, Leo allows himself to start recollecting fully the time he spent there. As he revisits the foreign country of his past he allows himself to stop being a stranger there and to understand that past land and the events that took place there. Also a foreigner in the world of emotion his entire adult life, Leo Colston will be no longer as he attempts to lay his ghosts to rest. In his anthology The Whitsun Weddings Philip Larkin explores the concept of past and its different aspects. With Afternoons he examines the passing of time; generations growing old without hardly noticing, then looking back at their pasts, their youths, from the hollows of afternoons. Mr. Bleaney was a person of the past and yet his personality lives on through the tales of his landlady and the stamp of bleakness that he left on the hired box. Yet it is in poems such as Love Songs in Age where Larkin truly observes the role that the past plays in our everyday lives, the ability nostalgic souvenirs have to comfort and move us as well as to disappoint. As in The Go-Between a tatty keepsake is the key to unlocking the past, again memories both fond and painful. The tone of the first verse is very matter of fact, simply informing the reader of how a widow accidentally stumbles upon some old, uncared for songbooks. Although unloved she could not face throwing them away as they took so little space. The simplicity of the language used complements the everyday value of the subject matter whilst at the same time informing the reader of the domestic situation of the lady in question. The repetition of One emphasises the lack of importance that the items held for the widow, but almost as though they knew of their own significance they had waited. Now however, in the autumn of her life they awaken nostalgic recollections as she vividly remembers the unfailing sense of being young and in love. The second stanza of the poem creates an optimistic mood, an illusion of sentimental love that makes her feel youthful once more like a spring-woken tree. Yet in the closing stanza Larkins underlying theme of cynicism emerges as the widow realises that the ideal of love portrayed in the song words is merely an illusion. Alliteration emphasises the lack of truth in the promise love makes to solve, satisfy and set unchangeably in order. In confronting this painful reminder from the past the widow also has to face the reality of the present, the two are entwined. The sentimental illusion of romance aimed too high and could not fulfil its promises; It had not done so then, and could not do so now.

The American Obesity Epidemic essays

The American Obesity Epidemic essays When talking about the word epidemic you always think of weird diseases, like the flu, SARS, and AIDS. Right now in America, there is an ongoing epidemic. It is caused not by viruses or bacteria, but by human nature. Its called obesity. There is no one way to solve this serious problem. We as a nation must work together to find ways to help cure this disease. Now I will talk about some of the things that I think we need to do about obesity in America. In Websters Handy College Dictionary, obesity is defined as being, very fat." That is simply what America is becoming. In fact, according to studies by the CDC, over 58 million American adults are overweight, with an additional 43 million classified as obese. This problem is not limited to grown-ups. Even us kids are getting fatter and fatter. Only 4 percent of children were overweight in 1982, while by 2001, that number had increased to an astonishing 25 percent for white youths, and 33 percent for blacks and Hispanics! This jump can be associated to two main factors: consuming too many calories, and a lack of exercise. As high-fructose corn syrups and other new sweeteners were introduced in the 1970s, there was an explosion of new varieties of snack foods and soft drinks, which also led to a great increase in consumption of junk food. This is very evident at school. For example, for lunch at Kennedy Middle School, some of our choices include pizza, burritos, and many different varieties of chips. There are almost no vegetable or fruit items available. Thats not all. We can also get soda and junk food at vending machines after school. While most of you in the audience, me included probably eat these foods, if their consumption is not regulated, young people will start to think that it is okay and even healthful to eat junk food in large amounts. Another kind of food that has been eaten more and more by Americans is fast food. That...

Your Syndicated Newspaper Column †Proving Yourself to Editors

Your Syndicated Newspaper Column – Proving Yourself to Editors Imagine, seeing your Still reading? Good. If the obstacles don’t scare you, you’re on your way. Writing a column is your first step toward syndication. Finding publishing sources and composing your query are the next two. Newspaper editors are the key. You want your column printed in numerous papers, which requires finding numerous editors. You can purchase email lists for a price – often a hefty one. Since I’m trying to keep the cash flowing into my bank account, not out, I find addresses myself – one editor and one state at a time. Most states have a newspaper association website. Some include names of newspapers, editors and email addresses. If that’s the case, you’ll get your information there. It isn’t always this easy. Don’t fear. You can find your information elsewhere online. One website, Mondo Times, bills itself as the worldwide media directory and provides newspaper listings In your initial email, send a short letter describing the column. It’s important to communicate key elements within a few sentences: First paragraph: Pair your name with the name of your column. Include a one or two sentence writing

The Boreal Forest Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Boreal Forest - Case Study Example This case study analyzes the current status of boreal forest with reference to the biodiversity restoration. A restoration gap analysis of the forest was carried out, based on the ecological characteristics of the historic reference state. This gap analysis put forward a method for viewing the forest degradation and measuring its deviation with reference to its state (Kaufmann, 2003). It was found in the case study that the ecological characteristics in the study areas are relatively higher than rest of the region, mainly due to the recent logging that took place in the region that greatly affected the area of study. However when compared to the reference state of boreal forest, the area has definitely lost some of its important ecological qualities because of early human activities. In order to be successful there is a need of developing strategies in order to restore the degraded region of the forest, and landscape level approaches should also be implemented. The restoration of the ecological qualities will not just be based on the reserves but also on production forests. In such kinds of forest the management strategies are adapted to the normal functioning of ecosystem. Considering the aspects of restoration and its management while planning and formation of reserves will help in ensuring the goals related to the long term species conservation are met (Angels tam, 2000). It was concluded in the case study that restoration ecology is of great importance for the conservation of species on landscape level in existing as well as managed forest reserves. It is necessary that in the commercial forests, management should be adapted for the natural functioning of the ecosystem to every possible extent. Management and restoration strategies must also be incorporated in the formation and planning of reserves for increasing the effectiveness of long term goals associated with species

An Ancient Tragedy Oedipus King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An Ancient Tragedy Oedipus King - Essay Example This is because; it utilizes the universal literary devices in a very effective manner. As will discuss, in this paper. The play is about a young boy, and his parents. The boy’s name is Oedipus. He was the son of a king (Laius). The king finds an oracle, which was predicting the fate of his son. The oracle was foretelling that the king’s life would be taken away by his own son, who would then take over his wife. The son’s sole intention of killing his father was to marry his own mother; due to this, when Oedipus was born, the king tied his legs and discarded him on a mountain, with a hope that nature would take over the role of eliminating him from the world. This was a strategic manner, of preventing the oracle’s prophecy from taking place. Unfortunately, the young boy did not die. He was saved by a shepherd and landed on another king’s palace (King Polybus). Polybus was the king of Corinth. When the shepherd handed him Oedipus, the king took him i n whole heartedly, as he did not have a son of his own. Oedipus grew up believing that Polybus was his real father. However, as time passed, Oedipus began questioning his parentage. He decided to consult with Delphic god and heard some word leading him to Laius. He fled from his foster father’s house. During his flee; he unwillingly murdered his real father. Coincidentally, when he went to Thebes, he answered a riddle correctly. This earned him a ticket to the bereaved king’s house. He took over the kingship and married the king’s wife. They were very successful in life and bore children. However, there came a great calamity in the town. On consulting the oracle, it was realized that he there was blood guiltiness. Oedipus denounced the crime, as he was not aware of it. He puts his foot forward to track the person responsible for the crime. Gradually, the play reveals that Oedipus is the man responsible for his own father’s death. One of the major themes o f this play is the theme of fate. To begin with, the oracle to Laius states clearly Laius’ fate; â€Å" he would demise a victim, at his son’s hands.† (711-714). In addition, Oedipus says â€Å"I was destined to sleep with my mother†¦I was fated to take the life of my father† (791-793). Both oracles show that fate was the determinants of the main characters life, and so they could do nothing about it. The theme of fate and fortune recurs in many parts of the play. For instance, fortune made it possible for Oedipus life to be saved from the mountains. Fate made Oedipus start questioning his parentage and made him flee away from his foster father’s house. The killing of his real father was an act of fate. The manner in which Oedipus came to sleep with his own mother can only be explained by fate. It is also fate that led Oedipus, to his real father’s kingdom. Most incidences in the play are beyond human understanding and can only be expla ined as destiny. Fate is a common theme amongst many Greek writings. The writer of this play was not an exception and utilized this theme perfectly. This theme helps explain things that are beyond human understanding, and hence is considered as a very strong literature device. Another theme of the play is that of freewill. The play reflects that human’s freewill has its own limit. As much as human beings have a desire for things to go according to their own wish, it is not always possible to accomplish this. For

The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas Aquinas Essay Example for Free

The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas Aquinas Essay Thomist philosophy as the only true Christian philosophy3 , regarded to the best of its kind. As we delved into the study of the aesthetics of Tomas Aquinas, the interesting thing about it that there seemed to be no singular book written about the topic among his great body of philosophical oeuvre. It also have been said that he seemed to be not written a clear, specific aesthetic theory4 . Yet his appreciation of beauty and aesthetics and his artistic personality are spread throughout and very much evident in his works. Now lays a problem for me, our contemporary era in the 21st century has no relevant comparison to the medieval times. Our contemporary times with the technological advancements and societal developments and upheavals present little resemblance to the conditions of the Middle Ages. To my mind the world we are living in, i. e. my life and my way of thinking, is anything but medieval. Studying the philosophies of St. Thomas, made me think if there is any significance of his aesthetic principles to my artistic future. Now comes the question: do the aesthetic principles of St. Thomas still be applicable to our fickle fast-faced times of â€Å"anything-is-possible† and â€Å"art-isover†5 mentality? In these era of mobile phones, Internet, iPodâ„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, iPadâ„ ¢s and Digital Cameras, where beauty is a sinuous shape and titanium casings to to die-for, do integritas, proportio, and claritas6 still ring true to the contemporary artists like Vik Muniz7 , designers at Apple ®, or to the recent OSCARâ„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s best picture movie director of â€Å"The King’s Speech†, are they even applicable to other arts such as performance art like dance? What got me interested in this particular topic is stating the obvious: I am curious if St. Thomas aesthetics and appreciation of beauty is still relevant to me? With a 700 years between us, can his teaching still have any impact to me? A newbie artist / graduate student. 3 4 5 Ralph McInerny, Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (London: Penguin Books, 1998) p. xxvii Umberto Eco, The Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas (Milan: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1970) p. 19 Arthur Danto, The End of Art in the Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (New York: Columbia Uni- versity Press, 1986) pp 85 6 7 Thomas Aquinas, â€Å"Summa Theologica† Q39, Ar 8. Vik Muniz is a Brazilian Artist who is famous for bringing multi-media artform to the wide acceptance of the public. See his TED video presentation of his life, work and artistic philosophy: http://blog. ted. com/2007/04/20/vik_muniz_on_te/ Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 4 Tomasso D’Aquino His education and professional life Thomas from the land Aquino was born in the thirteenth century Italy, in 1225, at a time of resurgence in the appreciation of the classical literature, philosophical writings and concepts. He was born to an aristocratic class, and having been well provided for, had been educated at the nearby monastery of Monte Cassino. He was exposed very early in his life to musical education thanks to the resources of his landed family. Having been honed early in rhetoric, grammar, dialectic in his trivium years and later, quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy8 , the appreciation of the finer arts of music, poetry and literature came very natural. Through his education that his aesthetic sense was developed. His early grasp of musical harmony shows in his liturgical musical compositions later in his professional life. His solid background in rhetoric is well evident in his voluminous writings of the Summas, Commentaries, Letters, etc. All these presents us, modern people, a deep artistic appreciation of the many creative talents of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas wrote on his appreciation of beauty of the arts was coming from the breath of his education and experience and not merely coming from detached point of view of an observer or mere intellectual. Before becoming a friar himself he had already a highly-developed sense of artistic talent and aesthetics. Much was said about how Tomas became a Dominican, a mendicant order of friars, much to the consternation of his wealthy family who had designs for him to become a landlord himself or become an Abbot of the nearby Benedictine Abbey, Monte Cassino, much like his uncle the Abbot Sinibald. But Tomas had other plans. He became a Dominican, this ambition was instrumental to his success as the leading thinkers of all history. It was with the Dominicans that 8 Ralph McInerny, editor, Thomas Aquinas Selected Writings, (London: Penguin Books, 1998) pp. x Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 5 his in-depth intellect was nurtured and encouraged and given credence. It was a match simply planned in heaven! Tomas became a protege of Albertus Magnus, a giant among the intellectuals in the Dominican order. But earlier on, in his education at the University of Naples Tomas was introduced by one of his teachers, Master Lawrence, a Transylvanian, of to the great writings of Aristotle9. It also have to be noted that the classical philosophies at that time had a resurgence by way of Alexandria. The islamic scientists and scholars have been known to have and propagated the ideas championed by Plato, Aristotle 10, Plotinus, Boethius and many more. St. Albert the Great nurtured Tomas’ talent and intelligence to maturity. To cite a few of his compositions, â€Å"The Office and Mass of Corpus Christi† is surely the most admirable liturgical service ever composed, the â€Å"Adoro Te† touches deep emotion and has been considered as a great poetry. Tomas was not only exact in his theology but also a master of prosody11 . Tomas became a bright young teacher himself after being conferred a master at the University of Paris. He was under the tutelage of his great mentor, Albertus Magnus and eventually out-shined his master. A contemporary of Tomas was Giovanni Di Fidanza, who later became Bonaventure, a Franciscan who later became a saint himself. The two had a mutual respect for each other but that relationship was later tested by a religious controversy, which we will not be discussing, as the scope of this paper is limited. The two former classmates went on their separate directions, Thomas became a renowned teacher and philosopher, had two stints as regent master of the Parisian Dominican house and Bonaventure, a noted Theologian, eventually became the Minister General of the order of Franciscans. Both led parallel lives and both died in the same year, 1274, a mere four months of each other. Bonaventure was eventually declared a â€Å"Doctor Seraphicus† and we know Tomas is â€Å"Doctor Angelicus† and the â€Å"Doctor Universalis†. St. Thomas died early without finishing his greatest work, the third part of Summa Theologica, about Christ. Around six months prior to his untimely 9 Peter Strather, Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes An Audiobook (Blackstone: London, N. d. ) Ibid. David Knowles, â€Å"The Evolution of the Medieval Thought† 2nd ed. (Longman Group: Essex, England, 10 11 1988), p235 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 6 death, he had another vision of God that changed his point-of-view. Apparently he had conversation with God while saying a mass, this vision had shown him the magnificence and grandeur of God. After which, he ‘hanged his writing instruments’, so to speak. His reasoning was that all his writings were mere ‘straw’ compared to the majesty of God. Tomas was canonized a saint some fifty years after his death, but not without controversy within the theological community, largely brought by the Franciscans 12 and other theologian opposed to his theoglogy. But Pope Leo XIII, an ardent Thomist scholar, prevailed in 1879, citing in his encyclical Aeterni Patris that the theology of Thomas is philosophia perenis, whose philosophies are to be taught in all the religious schools from there on after. Thus, the prophesy of Albertus Magnus came true, that the ‘dumb ox’s bellowing will be heard to the ends of the earth’, and it is still being heard as of this day, loud and clear. 12 â€Å"St. Thomas Aquinas†, New Advent website, 7 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School Medieval Concept of Beauty and Art Gothic Cathedral in Lyon, France (Photo Credit: Majella Salceda-Tresvalles, 2008) Let us start by understanding the concept of beauty and art during the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty is very much different from appreciation of arts. Way back in the classical times in Greece, Arts, or Ars, as it was known then, as techne (‘ ’, meaning craft)13 were related to craftmaking only, unlike what we know of art today. The artist then was a craftsman that churns the requirements of the religious to come up with tall churches, golden vestments and bejeweled chalices. The monarchs and landed too are among the privileged few that can afford to have beautiful things to adorn their palaces and splendid residences. Medieval thought, like the classical thought, did not considered that art necessarily had to do with the production of beautiful things or stimulation of aesthetic pleasure. As â€Å"Ars† (art) signified a technique for constructing objects. If some of these objects appeared to be beautiful, this was a side issue. However this â€Å"side issue† is central to modern philosophy, to which the artistic experience is always somehow connected with aesthetic experience. 14 13 14 Steve Shipps, (Re)Thinking ‘Art’: A Guide for Beginners (USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008) pp. 4 Eco, Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas, pp. 3 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 8 A survey of the history of medieval aesthetics provides ample evidence of the two of the elements in medieval culture: (1) philosophical reflection on beauty; (2) a concrete and conscious awareness of the beauty of things and the aesthetic reality of art. Some historian assert that the two are in fact independent of each other, the metaphysical reflection on beauty was something quite separate from the everyday, concrete aesthetic sensibility at that time. In the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty in the everyday living was grounded on the ordinary taste. It cannot be denied that the medievals had aesthetic sense, yet it must be noted too that during those times, they lack in the proper artistic semantics unlike what we have in our â€Å"advanced† era of the 21st century. But not knowing the terminologies does not mean that they did not admire what beauty was. One only has to survey the designs of medieval cathedrals, musical compositions, commissions to produce various metal functional implements, to agree that truly there was medieval aesthetics. The integration of the temporal pleasures to the theological beauty was very much evident in the Middle Ages, i. e. temporal pleasures admiration of the beauty of a church, theological beauty- church architectural design served to â€Å"give praise† to the divinity of God. If art could simultaneously instruct and delight (prodesse et delectare) this was because the medieval sensibility like the whole medieval culture as a whole, was an â€Å"integrated† sensibility. 16 This integration was used to the fore by the church, choosing the art in churches to simultaneously instruct and enhance worship. The Catholic Church was the biggest benefactor or client for the artisans, art was used for religious, court and political purposes only. Whether one favors that the only appreciation of beauty was limited to theological aspects or only of this earth, or both, the apparent system of aesthetic sensibility, i. e. its limitations in semantics should be taken into account within the cultural framework of the medievals at the time. Lets face it, the wheels of history was moving slowly during that time, and inventing new words and discovering new things took time.

Are Most of The Errors Which EFL Learners Make Due to Interference from

Introduction It is commonly assumed that where there are differences between L1 and L2, the learner's L1 will probably interfere with the L2 (negative language transfer), whereas, when L1 and L2 are similar, the L2 will assist the L2 learning (positive language transfer) (Ellis, 1994). Therefore, we tend to believe that most of the errors are account of negative transfer. This is partly true according to many empirical studies of errors which have showed that many errors are common to different linguistic backgrounds. The L1 is, therefore, one of various sources of errors, and there might be other reasons which should be considered (Krashen, 1988). Approaches to Errors Errors are made when learners of L2 produce incorrect language because they do not know the correct form, while mistakes are made when learners produce incorrect language although they know the correct form (macmillandictionary.com). Learners can correct their own mistakes, but by definition, they can not correct errors. Errors are considered to be partial acquisition of the target language. In fact, errors should be viewed as "the tip of the iceberg" of a dynamic process of foreign language acquisition (brj.asu.edu). Instead of treating the developmental stages in learners' language as errors, it may be better to view these errors as partial acquisition. This point of view and many others concerning errors, however, neither overlook nor neglect the positive and negative influence of L1 on L2...

Psychological Influences of Midlife Transition in Men Essay

Understanding human development has, for quite a time, concentrated on childhood and adolescence and it took some time for researchers to shift considerably on exploring adulthood. This does not indicate however that there is a dearth of data about specific facets of the adult life (e. g. marriage, life expectancy, occupation, retirement, etc. ). Still, one may consider that there is a very restricted understanding of the basic principles of adult development. Consider for example one significant phase in the adult life cycle, specifically that which has been acknowledged as the â€Å"midlife† crisis. Isn’t it a fact that individuals, in one point of their lives, regardless of the phase they are in, experience critical moments? Perhaps we should consider the â€Å"midlife† as a transition or a common phase in an individual’s life as Dr. Fred Horowitz, an executive coach who has worked with hundreds of business owners, executives and professionals assisting them in the transition process sees this phenomenon. One may assert nonetheless that this stage is one of the most critical stages in an individual’s life cycle, next to adolescence, since individuals experiencing crisis during the midlife transition may end up re-living the extreme options to the crisis a particular individual is experiencing at that particular time. Passage to this phase of the life cycle may well be considered of equal importance as the understanding of separation anxiety of a two-year old or the questions on identity and self-expression commonly experienced by the adolescent. The midlife transition is developmental and inherently built into the structure of the personality and the Self. It is Psychological Influences 3 at this phase that the deepest inner strivings of the soul press for expression, even if that expression threatens a well-structured world and sense of identity. As much as undergoing the â€Å"midlife† transition† is inevitable, so is the recognition that in spite of the confusing and serious psychological influences that accompany this phase in the life cycle, an understanding leading to acceptance of these facts, can serve as a threshold for growth and change. In this connection, I have found two articles that provide insights on what could be considered debilitating psychological effects of man’s passage to this particular phase in the life cycle: 1) Les Brown, H. (November 09, 2008). â€Å"Is the Man in the Mirror a Fraud,† and 2) an article titled, â€Å"Crisis in Middle Adulthood: Age 45- 65. † Both articles describe this transitional phase, where the man who could not overcome the pressures accompanying the transition, puts on a â€Å"psychological defense mechanism. † L. Brown refers to such response as projection. On the other hand, â€Å"Crisis in Midlife Adulthood,† points to â€Å"stagnation† or â€Å"self-absorption† as a direct psychological response of an individual undergoing this transition. Les Brown, while positioning his article on a latest book titled, â€Å"Irritable Male Syndrome,† written by Dr. Jed Diamond, centers on the family as he considers it as the main context in which this male psychological response to midlife transition is most discernible. He rationalizes that in this context where a man experiences the most intimate relationships is where he is also most vulnerable— â€Å"When a guy’s inner world starts to come unglued, the first to notice it are those who love him. † As a result, the man ‘projects’ a personality that is entirely different to what he really is in real life as the Psychological Influences 4 ‘midlife male’ sees all around him in his most intimate surroundings reflections of his own (supposed) shortcomings. † The process continues: 1) the male perceives a reality (which is assumed to have been distorted by his present psychological state) and assumes that such circumstance poses a threat to his personality; 2) as he moves from the source of the reflection he carries and projects a self-image (presumably to defend himself of being unmasked of his real emotional state); 3) his significant others perceive the obvious change however are uncertain of what is really going on with the â€Å"midlife male. † They try to act out as what is the â€Å"midlife male† tries to picture to them as what should be their response to his behavior. The â€Å"midlife male† still sees such behavior in a different perspective. The seemingly unending and continuous empowering of â€Å"cultural bias, faulty assumptions, and dysfunctional belief,† results to the â€Å"midlife males† feeling of â€Å"shame. † Les Brown ends with a reminder to the â€Å"midlife males† who are in constant struggle as they try to understand the transition phase. He provided an analogy of the â€Å"reflection process† to the literal â€Å"mirroring† act— what the person is seeing is â€Å"exactly the person [his] going to need to confront, and, in spite of [his] fears, he’s not a fraud†¦[rather] he is the person [you’d] need to know for the first time. † He ends by pointing out the imperative nature of this life cycle that one’s reaction to the process may undeniably shape what the person will become afterwards. Though the presentation of the writer’s ideas relative to â€Å"midlife transition† is obviously clear and lucid, however, his earlier attribution to a recent writing on the subject did not make him as credible as the author he earlier referred to. It sounded much Psychological Influences 5 more of marketing strategy than a call for credibility. It would have been better had he presented his ideas first then anchored them on not just one reference, which would made him sound more authoritative on the subject –matter. The second article, alternatively presents a general understanding on middle adulthood, specifically the â€Å"crises† that both genders experienced during the midlife transition. A brief characterization of the â€Å"crises† experienced by the two sexes were delineated in the article. At the end, however, the writer differentiated two models that apparently â€Å"explain such events as the midlife transition and the midlife crisis. † Such transition seems illogical and unnecessary and made the presentation of the articles idea unclear. I would consider the second article rather loose since it presents a number of although related thoughts do not present a holistic clarification of what these separately identifiable elements are. A little explanation on different aspects in the subject (middle adulthood) made his presentation unacceptable. Ideas were presented from the specific to the general, but the relatedness as well as the transition from one of the sub-topics to another could not be considered conclusive of foregoing statements. Also the fact that there was no reference to the author or other authority on the subject (except for Erickson, though reference to authority was not rationally done) made the presentation less acceptable. In conclusion, both articles although to some extent served their purpose as being content articles could not be considered successful in providing new insights in the subject matter. Finally, in a word of hyper-mediation, which is the primary facet of the Psychological Influences 6 Web and the internet, writers as those specified here, should have maximized what their medium could offer (though this is not part of the review, I still consider this part and parcel of that which contributes to the efficiency of the distribution of specific content to its intended audience). As such hyperlinks may have been considered in presenting the articles they have written. References: Les Brown, H. (November 09, 2008). â€Å"Is the Man in the Mirror a Fraud? † Retrieved April 06, 2009 from Midlife Mastery Website: http://www. midlifemaster. net/2008/11/for-the-past-few-days-ive-been-reading-dr- jed-diamonds-newest-book-the-irritable-male-syndrome-with-rapt-attention-in- adv. html CliffsNotes. com. Crisis in Middle Adulthood: Age 45–65. Retrieved April 06, 2009 from Cliffnotes Website: http://www. cliffsnotes. com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/topicArticleId- 26831,articleId-26814. html

Develop and implement policies and procedures Essay

The current legislations for safeguarding children where defined in the children act of 1989. Including children’s rights to protection them from abuse, the right to express their views and be listened to. Although different British governments have said that it regards itself bound by the Convention and refers to it in child protection guidance, it has not become part of the UK law. There is no single piece of legislation that covers safeguarding children and young people in the UK; different laws and guidelines cover different parts of the UK-England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NSPCC 2010) EYFS (2012) Child protection- being aware of any concerns regarding a child in their home or childcare setting, the welfare requirements state that a Suitable person check should be carried out – following the safer recruitment policy for all staff as an employer we must ensure that necessary steps are taken to ensure that we safeguard all children and their welfare is pa ramount. The recruitment process consists of checking Staff DBS, qualifications, references from their last employer, training, support and skills- to ensure staff have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge and clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and thorough robust induction is carried out with each new member of staff. Outdoors, indoors and equipment must be suitable for the individual child’s needs. staff child-ratios- staffing arrangements must be arranged to meet the needs of all children. Ensuring safety at all times. The organisation must plan to ensure every child attending receives a enjoyable learning experience. Documents used within the nursery setting, such as policies and procedures, registers, registration forms, learning journals, accident and incident forms. Children’s act (2006) – Child’s commissioner for England, has a duty to local authorities and their partners e.g. health services to promote the well-being of children and young people. 1.2 Evaluate how the national and local guidelines, policies and procedures  for safeguarding affect day to day work with children and young people. The children’s act 1989, children schools and families, babies and young children, every child matters, CAF, health care, National and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding all affect a nursery practitioner’s day to day work ; In my Childcare practice The Education Act 2002 poses a duty on education authorities to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people. This affects my day to day work as I must be aware of and abide by the child protection procedures of my setting and the local authority, I must know the signs of abuse, how and who to report my concerns to, remain professional, act in a timely manner, record my findings, maintain a safe environment, be aware of the health and safety of children and to be able to undertake any further training required. As the safeguarding officer for the nursery I must be approachable for staff to express the concerns and support them throughout the child protection flow chart. Child Protection In my settings policies and procedures for safeguarding it states that all employees, volunteers and students should be properly vetted by carrying out a DBS check before they commence employment. We also request 2 references one of which is their most recent employer, we check their suitability, as well as qualifications ensuring we have seen the original certificates. Daily Risk assessments Risk assessments are an important factor in safeguarding children and in my day to day work, before I use an area in the nursery I would check that it was safe and suitable before Staff carry out any activity with the children I require them to carry out a risk assessment first to make sure all involved is safe, for example, if They were to plan an activity, in the garden I would need to risk assess the area for rubbish, small objects, dirty areas etc that may have blown in, broken toys or equipment, the weather and that the gates are secure. Ensuring the voice of the child or young person is heard Advocacy safeguards children and young people and protects them from abuse and poor practice. The government developed national standards for advocacy practice to ensure that children are able to speak out and have their views heard. The national Standards for the provision of children’s advocacy 2002 is this standard. This affects my day to day work as I need to know how to access advocacy services should a child require it and a child can request that I act as an advocate for them and in that case I will need to know where to look for support from the advocacy services. This then empowers the child to be heard and listened too. Supporting children and young people and others who may be expressing concerns Following my settings policies and procedures, if a child or young person were to express any concerns I would in my day to day work show a child that I am taking them seriously, that I am here to listen and have empathy, I would reassure the child that I will help in any way I can, I would record the conversation following the correct procedure, I would not make promises, or say that what has been discussed is confidential, I will not come to my own conclusions or ask questions and I would seek support and advice from the LADO. If a member of staff informed me that a child had disclosed something to them I would ask them to record all details, not to discuss with any one else unless needed. I would record what I had been told and I would ring Care line and seek advice if needed. 1.3 Explain how the processes used by own work setting comply with legislation that covers data protection, information handling and sharing. In my setting all data information is kept confidential, locked in a filing cabinet and only shared on a need to know basis. we work closely with children and their families building up a working in partnership. We have a duty of care to ensure the safety and welfare of every child. We want all families to feel safe and secure about leaving their child in our care. We follow the EYFS and this states ‘The provider must take necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’. Therefore as practitioners we are responsible for ensuring that our policies, procedures and practices  effectively safeguard each child our care every day. And that all staff are responsible and understand about safeguarding and how we use this in our setting to keep everyone safe. Staff attend training to refresh their skills and knowledge. We also have a policy of the week displayed in the staff room to ensure policies and procedures are kept fresh in staffs minds. We have a robust recruitment and no staff will start work in the nursery without the necessary checks taken place such as DBS check, 2 references one from the current or most recent employer and that they are suitable with skills knowledge and experience as well as qualifications in childcare. Also when children start the nursery we complete registration forms with the primary carer of the child which consist of application form, care plan if needed and an all about me, this is shared with the child’s key person. the EYFS Sets the standard that all early years providers must meet. It sets to provide quality, consistency, secure foundations, partnership working and equal opportunities. The four principles should make the setting –A unique child, Positive relationships, Enabling Environment = Learning and Development and support children in the 7 areas of learning. From this we follow the key principles and put into them into practice in the setting. We use the online learning journals as well as a paper based assessment on all children. In our setting part of our job is to empower children and young people. If they feel confident and self-assured they are more likely to feel safe and secure. It is my and other staff’s responsibility to help make them feel empowered and protect themselves. Some children find it difficult to respond to their peers, doing activities where they interact and use their own ideas to promote play this will also help them to boost their confidence and learn what they enjoy and what they don’t. Role modelling behaviour helps them to understand how not all children like to be touched, hugged or hold hands and learn what different people like and how we should behave with our peers. Staff talk to the children about kind hands and voices and how to play nicely with each other. Our nursery will work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form. To this end we will: Maintain a professional level at all times Create an enabling environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image †¢ Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development Provide a safe and secure environment for all children Always listen to children, allowing them to freely talk without being questioned. Build relationships with families to gain trust and confidence

An Analysis of The Odyssey essays

An Analysis of The Odyssey essays The Trojan War was over, and Odysseus tricked the enemy into bringing the huge wooden horse inside the city walls of Troy. The Trojans had no idea that the Greeks were hiding inside. That night, while their enemies slept Odysseus and his men snuck out of the horses' belly, they let in their fellow soldiers who came back under the cover of darkness. Troy was destroyed and the Trojans were vanquished. It was time for Odysseus and his warriors to return home. This was the starting point for the story of the Odyssey. 10 years later in Ithaca, Odysseus' son Telemachus called a council of the men due to the inspiration he received from goddess Athena. He asked them how they could let his mother get taken advantage of. Antinous, one of the leaders of the town, put the blame on Penelope, who was still grieving her husband, Odysseus. Antinous felt Penelope should forget about Odysseus because he was probably dead. It should be noted that because Odysseus did not give proper respect to the god Poseidon, he was doomed to roam the seas for all time. Telemachus asks his countrymen to fit him a ship so that he could find news on his father. Back in his own hall, Antinous tried to make peace with Telemachus, but he would have none of it. The other suitors would mock the young boy for his show of defiance. They were determined to have everything Odysseus once possessed, including his wife, Penelope. They boarded the ship and sailed to a cave where Cyclops lived. They offered him food and he readily accepted. He also took it upon himself to eat two of Telemachus' soldiers! Well, it didn't take them long to see that this was not the best of the situations. They escaped the cave. They sailed back to the kingdom of Ithaca where Odysseus eventually returns to reunite with his wife and son. However, after 7 years, Telemachus didn't recognize him immediately. He proved his identity by telling him a story that onl ...

Monomer Definition and Examples (Chemistry)

Monomer Definition and Examples (Chemistry) A monomer is a molecule that forms the basic unit for polymers, which are the building blocks of proteins. Monomers bind to other monomers to form repeating chain molecules through a process known as polymerization. Monomers may be either natural or synthetic in origin. Oligomers are polymers consisting of a small number (typically under 100) of monomer subunits. Monomeric proteins are protein molecules that combine to form multi-protein complexes. Biopolymers are polymers consisting of organic monomers found in living organisms. Because monomers represent a huge class of molecules, they are commonly categorized into various subgroups such as sugars, alcohols, amines, acrylics, and epoxides. The term monomer combines the prefix mono-, which means one, and the suffix -mer, which means part. Examples of Monomers Glucose, vinyl chloride, amino acids, and ethylene are examples of monomers. Each monomer may link in different ways to form a variety of polymers. In the case of glucose, for example, glycosidic bonds may link sugar monomers to form such polymers as glycogen, starch, and cellulose. Names for Small Monomers When only a few monomers combine to form a polymer, the compounds have names: Dimer: Polymer consisting of two monomersTrimer: Three monomer unitsTetramer: Four monomer unitsPentamer: Five monomer unitsHexamer: Six monomer unitsHeptamer: Seven monomer unitsOctamer: Eight monomer unitsNonamer: Nine monomer unitsDecamer: 10 monomer unitsDodecamer: 12 monomer unitsEicosamer: 20 monomer units

Higher Education in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Higher Education in England - Research Paper Example Reports from the Guardian point to the fact that the government's failure to extend access to higher education caused higher drop out rates and lower number of students who attend university (Smith a), 2006). Current statistics on from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) caused disappointment among government leaders and ministers who advocate for the yearly rise on the population of students apply to universities (Smith a) 2006). Considering the funds that the government has disbursed in order to widen the access of individuals from all walks of life to enable them to gain entry to higher education institutions, many have expected that the results of these efforts can put a halt to the declining trend. The government is spending about 300 million pounds in order to attract and increase the rates of individuals who attend higher education institution to 50 percent until 2010 (Smith a) 2006).  The National Union of students has affirmed that the current figures on the tuit ion fees which continue to increase during the previous decades have a huge impact on the number of applications to the higher education system. The union national president, Gemma Tumelty said that the current figures and the declining number of applications to colleges and universities in England have 'real effect' on the choices of students which in turn thwart and discourage other prospective students to pursue their goals of achieving university degrees. The decrease stood lower in England at 4 percent - lower than in the rest of the country (Smith b) 2006) as the top-fees have not been put into effect in England yet. Clearly, what hinders many prospective students from entering higher education in England was brought about by the rising fees imposed even on poor students and the marginalized sector of the society. The impact of the 3,000 increase in tuition, which will be put into effect in September, poses worries among university officials already nervous about the declining student population. This only means that universities and colleges across England will have to apply extra efforts to promote higher education to prospective students and individuals who are from poor families and are already apprehensive about their escalating debt (Smith a) 2006). HESA figures strengthen this view as it contends those students from the disadvantaged families and who come from the lower rung of the social ladder.

Native American Iconography and depictions in Art of 18th and early Research Paper

Native American Iconography and depictions in Art of 18th and early 19th century - Research Paper Example While not all such depictions were blatantly racist or derogatory (though of course some were), almost all contributed in some way to the dissolution of the Native American culture that is seen today. One of the most well-known artists and writers of the late 1800s is George Catlin. Catlin traveled extensively in North America, South America, and Europe, and wrote numerous illustrated books about his experiences (Reich 111). One of these was the ponderously titled â€Å"Letters and notes on the manners, customs, and condition of the North American Indians†, in which Catlin describes at length many of the tribes of North American native that existed while he was traveling (Catlin and Shippard). In both his words and his sketches, Catlin seems to have the utmost respect for the people about whom he is writing, at least relative to other writers of his time. For example, in Plate 11 of â€Å"Letters and notes†, Catlin sketches a man named Stu-mick-o-sucks, who was at that time the chief of the Blackfoot Nation, and in Plate 13 sketches his wife Eeh-nis-kim. Catlin makes positive comments about their ceremonial dress that they were wearing when he drew them, and states that Eeh-nis-kim had a â€Å"pleasing countenance†. He also referred to Stu-mick-o-sucks as a â€Å"dignity†, in the same way that he might refer to a foreign king of Europe (Catlin and Shippard). In addition to his sketches of Stu-mick-o-sucks, Catlin sketched other warriors and Native American tribesmen in their full ceremonial dress. These sketches made up Plates 29-31 in â€Å"Letters and notes†. He referred to their clothing as â€Å"handsome† and in all ways indicated that he found their clothing to be interesting and even beautiful. This viewpoint differed from others of his time that found their manner of dress to be primitive and barbaric (Catlin and Shippard). Catlin expounds at length on the methods that the Native Americans used to soften the leather that

NewCorp Scenarios of Workers Protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NewCorp Scenarios of Workers Protection - Essay Example The essay "NewCorp Scenarios of Workers Protection" talks about the employment laws that stipulate rights of workers and it is the duty of all employers to ensure that they safeguard the rights of their workers by offering good working conditions. In the case of NewCorp, Paul has been exposed to work in a dangerous environment, which has made him be claustrophobic. He explains that the condition arose because of working in the confined spaces and if this issue is taken to court and he proves this, the court will rule in his favor and compensation will have to be made. The working environment has had a case before of another worker who was injured while doing his job and this proves that the environment is not conducive. The occupational safety act requires that employers provide safe working environment for all employees. The specific duty standards set rules that guard employees from being exposed to the hazardous working environment and in this case the confined spaces. NewCorp has exposed its workers to the hazardous working environment, and this has resulted to one of the employees being injured and Paul becoming claustrophobic. The organization has the responsibility of ensuring that it sets down safety standards for all workers and failure to do this means that it has violated the set rules, which will require them to pay compensation in the event that an employee is injured. NewCorp has also violated the Occupational Safety Act that gives it a general duty to provide an environment.

Li Fung: An Analysis

Li Fung: An Analysis Rahul Jacob, Inside Track: Traditional Values at the Click of a Mouse, Financial Times, August 1, 2000, p. 14. Online bookseller Amazon.com transformed the book industry forcing traditional book retailers to respond. Some information in this section comes from previous Harvard Business School Case Studies: Li Fung: Beyond Filling in the Mosaic-1995-98, (HBS Publishing No. 398-092) Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Anthony St. George; January 1, 1998; and Li Fung (Trading) Ltd., HBS Publishing (No. 396-075) Gary Loveman, Jamie OConnell, October 26, 1995. With a press conference the following day, William was confident of the Groups performance and lifung.coms prospects. But he knew that important issues remained unresolved: Was there any chance of channel conflict or cannibalization between the offline business and the start-up? How would the market react to the start-up once it was launched the following year? And how specifically would e-commerce ultimately transform his familys century-old company? Company Background Li Fung was founded in 1906 by Williams grandfather, Fung Pak-Liu and his partner, Li To- Ming in Guangzhou, China as an export trading company selling to overseas merchants. In the 1920s and 1930s the company diversified into warehousing and the manufacture of handicrafts. Shortly after Fung Pak-Liu passed away in 1943, his son Fung Hon-Chu assumed charge of the company. Two years later, silent partner Li To- Ming retired and sold his shares to the company. The company retained Lis surname, a homophone Im not an Internet guy, Im a business guy, quipped William Fung, managing director of Li Fung Trading Co. Clad in his chinos and black American Eagle T-shirt, Fung looked much more like a new economy entrepreneur than the selfdescribed offline, old economy relic: Im 51, Im more than a grey hair in Internet terms, Im a fossil.1 Nor did lifung.com, his elder brother Victors new online company, resemble a typical Internet start-up, particularly with a 96-year-old parent born at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In August 2000, the day before beta launch of the new business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce portal, William described the challenges facing Li Fung: About three or four years ago, Victor and I discussed the Internet and how it impacts us. Our starting point was a defensive posture: Would the Internet disintermediate us? Would we get Amazoned2 by someone who will put together all of the information about buyers and factories online? After a lot of research we realized that the Internet facilitates supply chain management and we werent going to be disintermediated. The key is to have the old economy know-how and yet be open to new economy ideas. EXHIBIT 1 Li Fung Consolidated Income Statement (December 31, 1999), in HK$* 2000 1999 1999 1998 (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (June 30) (December 31) (June 30) (December 31) Turnover 10,267,606 16,297,501 6,583,730 14,312,618 Cost of sales (9,262,171) (14,585,881) (5,895,432) (12,891,709) Selling expenses (191,616) (354,124) (143,136) (287,524) Administrative expenses (87,741) (867,842) (56,436) (747,725) Profits before taxation 328,943 613,861 208,936 471,098 Taxation (29,805) (36,638) (14,536) (16,425) Profit after taxation 299,338 577,223 194,400 454,673 *In August 2000, US$1 _ HK$7.78. for profit in Chinese, which, along with Fung, a homophone for abundance, had an auspicious ring when combined. Li Fung relocated permanently to Hong Kong at the end of World War II, expanding its operations to include toys, garments, plastic flowers, and electronics. In the early 1970s, both Fung brothers had just returned from the United States: William had earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and returned to the business in 1972. Victor had recently completed his PhD in economics at Harvard University and, following a two-year stint teaching at Harvard Business School, rejoined the business in 1974. Their return heralded Li Fungs transition from a family-owned business to a professionally managed firm, with a planning and budgeting system in place for the first time. William and Victor, the third generation to run the company, felt that the next logical step in growing the company was to go public. In 1973, Li Fung became the holding company for the Group and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). Throughout the 1980s, Li Fung expanded its regional network of offices throughout the Asia-Pacific region as more sources of supply emerged in the rapidly industrializing Asian economies. In 1988 the Group was privatized and streamlined, incorporated in Bermuda in 1991, and its trading activities were again listed on the HKSE in July 1992. With the 1995 acquisition of Inchcape Buying Services (formerly Dodwell), Li Fung expanded its customer base in Europe while simultaneously shifting its sourcing network beyond East Asia to include the Indian subcontinent, the Mediterranean, and Caribbean basins. By 2000, Li Fung was a $2 billion global export trading company with 3,600 staff worldwide, sourcing and managing the global supply chain for high-volume, time-sensitive consumer goods. (Exhibit 1 shows recent Li Fung financial data.) By 2000, 69 percent of LiFungs sales were in the United States and 27 percent in Europe. Key customers included The Limited, Gymboree, American Eagle,Warner Brothers, Abercrombie Fitch, and Bed Bath Beyond. Tesco, Avon Products, Levi-Strauss, and Reebok had become customers within the last two years; Royal Ahold, GUESS? jeans, and bebe had signed on in 2000. Li Fungs product mix included hard and soft goods. Soft goods referred to apparel, including woven and knit garments for men, women, and children. Hard goods included fashion accessories, festive or holiday products, furnishings, giftware, handicrafts, home products, fireworks, sporting goods, toys, and travel goods. Hard goods provided higher margins than soft goods because, despite a generall y lower item value per unit, they required higher value-added services for orders that were also usually much smaller than soft goods orders. Hard goods items such as watches, shoes, suitcases, kitchenware, or teddy bears required an inspector for quality control evaluation for even the smallest batch order, thereby greatly increasing what Li Fung could charge. Margins for soft goods were roughly 6 percent to 8 percent, while we get an order from a European retailer to produce 10,000 garments. We determine that, because of quotas and labor conditions, the best place to make the garments is Thailand. So we ship everything from there. And because the customer needs quick delivery, we may Product Development Raw Material Sourcing Production Planning Factory Sourcing Manufacturing Control Quality Assurance Export Documentation Shipping Consolidation Fashion Accessories Festive Products Furnishings Garments Giftware Handicrafts Home Products Sporting Goods Toys Travel Goods Li Fung Total Value-Added Package EXHIBIT 2 Li Fung Total Value- Added Services Source: Company documents. divide the order across five factories in Thailand. Effectively we are customizing the value chain to best meet the customers needs. Five weeks after we received the order, 10,000 garments arrive on the shelves in Europe, all looking like they came from one factory.5 Li Fung clients benefited in several ways: supply chain customization could shorten order fulfillment from three months to five weeks, and this faster turnaround allowed clients to reduce inventory costs. Moreover, in its role as a middleman, Li Fung reduced matching and credit risks, and also offered quality assurance to its customers. Furthermore, with a global sourcing network and economies of scale, Li Fung could offer lower cost and more flexible sourcing than its competitors. In addition, through acquisitions and global expansion, Li Fung was extending this knowledge base to sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. Finally, Li Fung provided up-to-date fashion and market trend information to clien ts. As a result of its Camberley acquisition in 1999, it started offering clients virtual manufacturing or product design services. According to Victor, Li Fung does not own any of the boxes in the supply chain, rather we manage and orchestrate it from above. The creation of value is based on a holistic conception of the value chain. In recent years, however, Li Fung had begun to improve operations by controlling or owning strategic links in the chain. In some cases, Li Fung offered raw material sourcing. In the past when clients placed an order, Li Fung would determine the manufacturer best suited to supply the goods, and that factory would source its own raw materials. But Li Fung understood its clients needs better than its manufacturing plants did, so by offering raw materials to its suppliers, the company both ensured greater quality control and bought larger and thus more cost effective amounts of raw materials, thereby producing cost savings for each manufacturer. In such cases, Li Fung also earned revenue by charging its factories a commission on each raw material purchase they made. By mid-2000, ne arly 15 percent of Group sales involved Li Fungs raw material sourcing service. Joan Magretta, Fast, Global, and Entrepreneurial: Supply Chain Management, Hong Kong Style, An interview with Victor Fung, Harvard Business Review, September-October 1998, p. 106. Corporate Culture and Compensation From the 1992 privatization on, the division of labor between the Fung brothers was clear-cut: as Group chairman, Victor was primarily concerned with the Groups strategic issues and long-term planning; as Group managing director, William attended to everyday operations of the publicly listed trading arm, or as he joked in a recent interview, Victor is the deep thinker, and I just make the money.6 In another interview, Victor joked that William calls me the visionary, meaning that I dont really know whats going on.7 But both brothers lived in the same apartment building as their mother and sisters and conversed every day to keep abreast of developments at Li Fung. The duo created a strong synergy that was described by the CEO of the Groups e-commerce venture as A combination of both thought leadership and execution, with the unique relationship between Victor and William cementing the entire organization. They create a very particular kind of culture that blends pragmatism and, at th e same time, a recognition of and openness to innovation. According to Victor, once the business was successful, it was essential to keep an open mind and rather than resting on their laurels, that the challenge was to move past success and look forward. Furthermore, Victor held that it was imperative to cultivate a corporate culture that not only tolerated but encouraged diversity, or in his words, keep the culture so that it remains humble, agile, and responsive all the time and keep the people externally focused. Biannual retreats were held in Hong Kong, senior management meetings attended by division-level managers in order to foster communication across the Group. Li Fungs 3,600 employees were spread around the globe in offices ranging in size from 6 staff in Saipan to 1,100 in the Hong Kong head office. Five of the 48 offices were hubs-Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, and Turkey. Each 8 Joanna Slater, Corporate Culture, Far Eastern Economic Review, July 22, 1999, p. 12. (except the Hong Kong office) had 200 to 300 employees. Li Fung was entrepreneurial, allowing senior managers to run 90 small, worldwide management teams as separate and individual companies. These dedicated teams of product specialists focused on the needs of specific customers and were grouped under a Li Fung corporate umbrella that provided centralized IT, financial, and administrative support from Hong Kong. This decentralized corporate structure allowed for adaptability and rapid reaction to seasonal fashion shifts. As a meritocracy, performance-based promotion and compensation were cardinal principles. Each of Li Fungs top executives negotiated individual compensa tion packages. In contrast to companies that restricted executive bonuses to a fixed percentage of salary, Li Fung bonuses were based on profits with no ceiling. Its not every company that calls its executives little John Waynes. But for Li Fung, the image captures perfectly the drive, dedication, and independence of the companys far-flung managers. As Li Fung extended its geographic reach, it also expanded its mix of cultures. And to manage the mix it uses a simple formula: give managers the freedom to work as they see fit, so long as they get the job done.8 Tripartite Growth Strategy In 2000 Li Fung saw its future growth coming from a combination of organic growth, expansion through acquisition, and extension of its supply chain to new markets via the Internet. Organic Growth Since 1995, the Group had grown organically by receiving more orders from existing clients and by securing new mandates from strategic clients. Li Fung further extended its network and diversified its sourcing around the globe with new offices in places as diverse as Bangladesh, sub-Saharan Africa, and Manchester, England (see Exhibits 3 and 4). Louis Kraar, The New Net Tigers, Fortune Magazine, May 15, 2000, p. 310. Joanna Slater, Masters of the Trade, Far Eastern Economic Review, July 22, 2000, p. 10. The Mediterranean Cairo Denizli Florence Istanbul Izmir Oporto Tunis Turin South Africa Durban Madagascar Mauritius South Asia Bangalore Bombay Chittagong Colombo Dhaka Karachi Katmandu Madras New Delhi Sharjah North Asia Beijing Dallan Guangzhou Hong Kong Liuyang Nanjing Qingdao Southeast Asia Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Jakarta Johor Bahru Manila Phnom Penh Saipan Singapore The Americas Guatemala Honduras Mexico City New York Vancouver Seoul Shanghai Shantou Shenzhen Taipei Zhanjiang EXHIBIT 3 Li Fungs Global Network Source: Company documents. Central America 3% Hong Kong/PRC 40% Southeast Asia 20% South Asia 8% Korea 12% Taiwan 9% Europe 6% Africa 2% EXHIBIT 4 Li Fung Sourcing Markets (Q1 and Q2, 2000) Source: Company documents. David Wilder, Internet Key to More Gains for Li Fung, South China Morning Post, September 4, 2000, Business Post, p. 1. In 1996 Li Fung adopted a three-year plan system, one which William described as having been adopted directly from the economic planning system of the Chinese Communist Party, that allows the company to look ahead, but not too far ahead. William elaborated: We thought that the Chinese had a neat system. They have five-year plans, fixed; we have three-year plans, fixed. We dont want moving goalposts, we want set goals. At the beginning of every three-year plan we sit down and look at the business from its fundamentals. We use backwards planning, we recognize where we want to be in three years time, identify the gaps between that and where we are now, and see what we have to do to get there. During its first three-year plan (FY1993-1995), entitled Filling in the Mosaic, Li Fung focused on filling in the gaps in its network of offices to cover new sourcing markets. The second three-year plan (FY1996-1998), Margin Expansion, was launched immediately after the Inchcape acquisition to in crease its profitability. A third three-year plan Doubling Profits (FY1999-2001), established the goals of doubling profits every three years and achieving $3 billion in annual sales. Investors liked the results: Li Fung outperformed the Hang Seng Index by over 75 percent in 2000. The reward was inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Country Index for Hong Kong in May 2000, subsequent inclusion in the HSI in August 2000 and on the FTSE World Index Hong Kong Section in September 2000. With a market capitalization of $6.6 billion, by mid-2000 Li Fung was the nineteenth largest Hong Kong stock trading with a company record price to earnings (P/E) ratio of nearly 60_. A local newspaper declared: It is difficult to find a bad word [about Li Fung]. It could be a poster-child for shareholder value, with a return-on-equity of 60.2 percent at the end of last year. The firm is well positioned to benefit from the opening of the mainland market and Beijings accession to the World Trade Organization, with 40 percent of sourcing on the mainland and Hong Kong.9 Acquisitions Li Fungs acquisition strategy was based on buying rival sourcing companies, thereby gaining new client accounts, integrating their operations, and eventually bringing the operating margins of these acquired units up to Li Fung levels. In 1995 Li Fung acquired Inchcape Buying Services, a 100-year-old company roughly the same size as Li Fung and its closest competitor. The Dodwell acquisition brought access to sourcing markets on the Indian subcontinent and European export markets. This acquisition took nearly three years to be fully absorbed into Li Fungs operations. Within three years, Dodwells operating margins increased from 0.8 percent to 3 percent, primarily through the provision of Li Fung value-added services to Dodwell customers. In December 1999, Li Fung acquired the export trading operations of the Swire Group, Swire Maclaine and Camberley, which were Li Fungs next two largest Hong Kong-based competitors, and in the process became the only listed supply chain management company in Hong Kong. Like Li Fung, Camberley did not own its factories. Instead, it provided virtual manufacturing in the form of in-house design, pattern and sample making, and raw material sourcing. Manufacturing was subcontracted to factories in China. Through Camberley, Li Fung gained access to the design process- another link in the value chain-as well as access to new clients such as the Asia buying offices of Laura Ashley and Ann Taylor. As it had with Inchcape, Li Fung expected to bolster its own bottom line by raising the operating margins of these two companies. With a robust cash flow and the solid financial performance of past acquisitions, Li Fung was in position to continue growing its business by further acquisitions. By August 2000, Li Fung was nearly five times the size of its two closest local competitors, William E. Connor and Associates and Colby International, which had twice postponed the IPO of its B2B portal in 2000. See Appendix A for more details on the intranet and extranet. E-Commerce A core element of Li Fungs three-year planning system included an introspective look at whether we are still relevant, including whether or not we are going to be disintermediated. Part of its response was an Internet initiative of its own. In 1995 Li Fung launched an intranet to link the Groups offices and manufacturing sites around the world, thereby expediting and simplifying internal communications. The progress of orders and shipments could be tracked in real time, and digital imagery allowed for online inspection and troubleshooting. For example, past quality problems with Bangladeshi production would require an on-site Li Fung inspector to send physical samples to Hong Kong by express mail, whereas the intranet now allowed a high-resolution digital photo to be sent via the intranet for real-time response and remedy. In 1997, Li Fung launched secure extranet sites. Each site linked the company directly to a key customer and was customized to that customers individual needs. By 2000, 10 such extranets were in place, each taking nearly 6-9 months to fully implement, from design to testing of the user interface. Through each site, Li Fung could carry out online product development as well as order tracking, obviating much of the cost and time necessary to send hard copies of documents back and forth. Furthermore, with Li Fung as the key link between manufacturers and retailers, the extranet provided a platform for the two to interface, thus streamlining communications as the order moved through the supply chain. Customers could track an order online just as it was possible to track a UPS delivery. This monitoring of production also promoted quick response manufacturing. Until the fabric was dyed, the customer could change the color; until the fabric was cut, the customer could change the styles o r sizes offered, whether a pocket or a cuff would be added, and a number of other product specifications. According to William, some customers went as far as connecting their entire ERP (enterprise resource planning) system to Li Fungs extranet system. Li Fungs IT division had 60 people, all based in Hong Kong, but software development of both the intranet in 1995 and its extranets in 1997 was outsourced.10 Successful implementation of these systems provided the initial building blocks of Li Fungs e-commerce solution and with them in place, the Fungs became further aware of the extent to which integration of Internet technology enhanced internal efficiency and improved communication between Li Fung divisions and customers and began to consider extending the organizations online presence. Competitive Threats The Fung brothers said that they decided to go online to avoid being disintermediated. But a closer examination of local B2B portals and online exchanges led Victor to conclude that the online threat to their offline business was far less than first imagined. People from the first wave were so far out and garbled in their thinking that we felt that there was no immediate threat, he noted. Therefore, we needed to think through e-commerce properly, to formulate a proper response. In Victors words, B2B exchanges were a molecule thick and a mile wide, based on many depthless relationships. Li Fung preferred narrow and deep relationships nurtured with fewer customers and including value-added services. As William professed, The same reason why we were not disintermediated by the offline guys is going to be the reason why were not going to be disintermediated by the online guys. However, William discovered on a 1999 visit to the United States that Li Fungs old economy retail customers felt seriously threatened by Internet pure plays. At first this hype did not make much sense: I asked my friend at Toys R Us, Why are you concerned about eToys? It does about $28-$30 million in sales whereas you do $11 billion, and it loses as much as its entire turnover? How can you worry about them? And the first lesson I learned was that its not their size that is the threat but the fact that investors are throwing money at them. William discovered that Internet companies could use the money that was pouring in to damage offline competitors, often by acquiring them or their key people. They can hire away all of the talent that you have. The biggest weapon is the money they have. At one point, they could have hired away my entire management. Other possible threats came from online companies acquiring an old economy trading company, or from offline companies like Japanese trading companies or local sourcing firms that could partner with a dot-com and become a competitor overnight. William hinted that the Swire Maclaine acquisition was a defensive move to preempt acquisitions by new economy companies. William gave his view of the Internet revolution: I started off saying that the Internet is just another technology that affects the way information is transferred and people communicate with each other. It has a very dramatic impact, more dramatic than the fax. But for me its yet another in a series of technological changes that affects our business that we have to be keenly aware of. It may be the most important change until now, but it is probably not the last. According to Victor, The Internet is a revolutionary technology, but new technology is nevertheless still technology. Li Fung always has been aggressive in adopting new technologies. When the telephone came along, my grandfather was shocked. When the fax came around, the technology changed our turnaround time into just days. With Internet technology, now we get answers within hours. When broadband and WAP comes online, there will be even less lag. Bubble In Once the Fungs determined that Li Fung needed an e-commerce strategy, the remaining question was how and in what shape it would emerge, how specifically e-commerce would eventually add value to Li Fung, and whether it would use the existing IT department of 60 or absorb a new team of entrepreneurs. Victor felt strongly that their e-commerce strategy should come from within the company, not outsourced as the intra- and extranets were, or as he phrased it, bubble in, not bubble out. According to Victor, only if the solution was an internal one could he be certain that the technology would pervade the entire Li Fung organization. Neither did Victor care to start a brand-new entity separate from the parent: Im not interested in starting a dot-com division, getting a high valuation with, a $13 million cash flow, and then spinning it off. I want Li Fung to be around for another 100 years, not just 5 or 15. To start a pure Internet division is as equally absurd as starting a fax division, a division that exclusively uses faxes. To better grasp the fundamentals of embarking on a new IT venture, Li Fung added two new technical directors to its board, one a technology company CEO, the other an academic. According to William: The one thing certain about our business is that it will be constantly changing, so we need to install a mechanism for monitoring external environmental changes that impact our business. We decided a long time ago that we were an information and knowledge-based services company, so anything to do with information technology is crucial to us. We keep up with whats happening with board members who can help us scan the horizon. Enter Castling In 1997, Michael Hsieh (HBS 84), president of LF International Inc., Li Fungs venture capital arm and 15-year Li Fung veteran, received a telephone call from John Suh (HBS 97), CEO of Castling Group, an Internet start-up company that, like the chess move allows you to defend your king and simultaneously position your rook for attack, used the Internet to both defend the offline, old economy companies against online companies threat to their markets while simultaneously extending their own online presence. The two met in San Francisco to discuss how a focused combination of technology and supply chain reform could transform retail. Hsieh, well aware that Li Fung was working on its own e-commerce strategy, noted: As a VC, I see numerous business plans that say that with Li Fung behind an online exchange, we create significant value and therefore offer you 5 percent if you join us. However most of the plans do not make sense. They offer very little value and the founders lack either industry or technology expertise. John had the right blend of technology and business sense, the right mix of right and left brain. Like the Fungs, Hsieh favored a bubble in approach. He compared outsourcing e-commerce implementation to a third-party consultant for a $10 million fee as putting the fox in the chicken coop. It created a risky dependency on outsiders, particularly if future design changes were required and also provided outsiders with proprietary information, strategy, and the entire business model. Finally, Hsieh remarked: As a venture capitalist, I always have to think about the strength of the management team and what could go wrong with the venture. Can they deliver? Do they know the industry? Is this a credible business proposition? What if there is a negative reaction? By late 1999, the time was right to act on their initial meeting. Hsieh commented that both the evolution of Castling from B2C to B2B and Li Fungs needs complemented each other nicely; John had a real appreciation for the supply chain and a record for building successful e-commerce models. In December 1999 Hsieh joined Castlings board and LF International invested in Castling. They subsequently co-invested in an initial round of financing for lifung.com, and Castling committed key managerial staff to lifung.com. Suh described Li Fung as the perfect strategic partner. They have an entrepreneurial philosophy rooted at the core of their system. Theyve got an aggressive and visionary leadership team at the for efront of supply chain management. And theyre ready to operate according to the rules of the new economy. In one fell swoop, San Francisco-based lifung.coms management team was immediately staffed with Castlings professionals, serving as vice president of Business Development, vice president of Operations, director of Marketing, and CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Suh stepped down as CEO of Castling, retaining the position of nonexecutive chairman, and signed on as CEO of lifung.com. Apart from Suh and CTO Derek Chen, 20 percent of lifung.coms initial staff came from Castling, amounting to an in-house e-commerce incubation team that represented a slight twist on Victors bubble in strategy. Suh and Chen, the latter formerly of Andersen Consultings Advanced Network Solutions Group, brought along their experience from Castling e-commerce strategy projects for jcrew.com, hifi.com, giftcertificate.com, and ferragamo.com. The rest of the team came from either within Li Fung (e.g., the se nior vice president of Merchandising) or from outside the Li Fung organization (e.g., the vice presidents of Sales and of Marketing). To facilitate the integration of the new online entity into the Li Fung fold, a senior manager was tasked to provide an interface between the two groups. By Q3 2000, lifung.com had 40 full-time professionals and 25 consultants, with 80 full-time staff expected by years end. For B2B ventures, moving first and fast was often a prerequisite for dominance. Scarcely a year had passed since the initial meeting with Castling and its first round of financing. According to Suh, there were three stages of launching an online venture: the business strategy, the design-build-test phase, and then actual execution. Moving quickly, Suh remarked, Requires a fundamental trust in an organization that best arises from the experience of a team that has built things together, with members who know each others strengths and weaknesses. We do a lot of team building, becau se without trust you cannot move at the speed required. There are certain elements critical to the success of a dot-com . . . openness and constant communication are essential because there are so many skills and inter-functional dependencies that must be navigated for a successful launch. At lifung.com, we have a great mix of people, individuals with 30 years of merchandising experience, a deep operations staff,