Surrealism Research Task

Artists: Andre Breton (1896-1966): A French writer and poet, best known as the â€Å"Founder of Surrealism†. Rene © Emigrate (1898-1967): A Belgian Surrealist artist who became well known for his witty and thought-provoking images that challenges observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. Marcel Decamp (1887-1968): A French- American painter, sculptor and writer who challenged conventional thought about artistic processes and art marketing through subversive actions.He famously dubbed a urinal art and named it Fountain. Max Ernst (1891- 1976): A German painter and sculptor who was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism, and famous for his declaiming works. Man Ray (1890-1976): an American modernist artist best known for his experimental photography and as creator of the Ray-O- Graph. Joan Mirror (1893-1983): Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist known for his childlike, colorful paintings and as the inventor of automatic drawing.Giorgio De C horizo (1888-1978): A Greek-born Italian artist who founded the Metaphysical art movement, characterized by his dreamlike works with sharp entrants of light and shadow which often had a vaguely threatening, mysterious quality. Yves Tangy (1900-1955): A French surrealist painter known for his nonrepresentational surrealist paintings which of vast, abstract landscapes, mostly in a tightly limited palette of colors. Salvador Dali (1904-1989): A Spanish surrealist painter best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work.Friday Kohl (1907-1954): A Mexican painter, not strictly part of the surrealist movement, best known for her self-portraits which offer an uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form. M ©ret Oppenheim (1913-1985): a German-born Swiss, Surrealist artist, and photographer, best known for her sculpture series of a teacup, saucer and spoon covered with fur from a Chinese gazelle. James Gleeson (191 5 -2008): An Australian artist best kno wn for his works that delved into the subconscious using literary, mythological or religious subject matter. 2.Andre Breton surrounded himself with a group of artists with similar interests and together they formed the concept of surrealism. The social relationships between these prominent surrealist artists were important to their art making as hey collaborated with each other and received feedback and ideas from each other. Breton was especially important as he was the leader of the surrealists, and it was under his guidance and charisma that they created their art, and developed the idea of surrealism. It has also been said that at times the group was only held together by the personality of Breton. . The initial response to surrealism was that the wider public did not understand it, or were shocked and offended by it. Art critics made fun of it and saw it as very poor. Despite this the movement soon gained a devoted following and audience. . Surrealism can be defined as a 20th-c entury literary and artistic movement, developed from Dadaism that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous Juxtaposition of subject matter. Two Surrealist Manifestos were issued by the Surrealist movement, in 1924 and 1929.They were both written by And © Breton. The First Manifesto defined Surrealism as: â€Å"Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express verbally, by meaner of the written word, or in any other manner the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern. † Group of 20th century surrealists The Surrealists wished to create art that was completely free of rational thought or censorship.They promoted freedom of expression and art that was not limited or altered by personal or societal morals or decorum. They were attempting to spark a revolution in consciousness that would â€Å"change life† and society. 5. Surrealism started in Paris, with the first Manifesto being released in 1924. Although principally literary to begin with, the movement quickly expanded into the usual arts (Breton courted Picasso assiduously, to no avail), and its first painting show – La Painter Surrealists – was staged at Galleries Pierre in 1925. The movement continued to thrive in Paris during the late sass.The movement was introduced to the international stage during the sass with major shows in Brussels, Copenhagen, London, New York and Paris. It rapidly became a worldwide popular phenomenon with branches in England, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Egypt, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania and Hungary. Between 1930 and 1935, Salvador Dali and Rene Margarita produced some of their most memorable works and helped establish the usual style of Surrealism. By 1939, many of the major surrealists, including Andre Breton, Max Ernst and Andre Manson, had re located to the United States so as to avoid the impact of World War II in France.After World War II, Andre Breton returned to Paris, though society mood of post-war depression was not receptive to the whimsical style of Surrealism. Despite this, major surrealist exhibitions were held in Paris in 1947 and 1959, and surrealist ideas and techniques made their mark on many of the post-war art movements. There is no clear agreement about the end of Surrealism. Some art experts consider that it dissolved after the war; others mark the death of And © Breton in 1966 or Salvador Dali in 1989 as the end of Surrealism as an organized movement. 6.Surrealism started in Paris by Andre Breton, and quickly grew as a movement to accommodate many different artists in Paris. Just prior to World War II, a number of significant Surrealist artists moved together to New York to avoid the impacts of war, and Surrealism became a popular movement in the U. S. A. Also, while there was no organized surrealis t movement in Australia, many Australian artists adopted the style ruing the sass's. 7. Surrealism came about as a movement due to many factors and surrealist artists were influenced by many different sources.The surrealist movement grew from Dadaism, but had a more positive take on Dadaism fundamentally negative message. The most prominent intellectual influence on the idea of Surrealism was the theories of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. Andre Breton and other surrealists were very impressed with Fraud's insights into the unconscious, which they thought would be a major source of untapped pictures and imagery. They used his theories to get past the boundaries between fantasy and reality.Surrealist artists were also rebelling against bourgeois society acceptance of the horrors of war and their general complacency towards social, cultural, and political issues. The Surrealists wished to shock, offend or provoke a reaction in society in an at tempt to make them think more about their conforming to society expectations and acceptance of their nation's governance without question. They were attempting to spark a revolution in consciousness that would â€Å"change life† and society. A section of The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Busch A section of The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Busch 8.Surrealist artists got their inspiration from various prior movements and artists. The Surrealists wanted to create art that was marvelous and mystical. The detailed fantasies of Hieronymus Busch (1453-1516) and the menacing engravings of prisons by Giovanni Battista Praises (1720-1778) were significant sources of inspiration. In terms of nineteenth century styles, surrealists thought Impressionism too naturalistic, and preferred Pre-Raphael and Symbolist works, such as the astigmatism etchings and strange paintings by Max Clinger (1857-1920), and the vivid Oceanic primitivism of Paul Gauguin.Aside from Dada, two other significant painting style influences on Surrealism were the 19th century Symbolism movement, and the Italian school of Metaphysical Painting, originated by Giorgio De Chorizo. Surrealists also got inspiration from several different writers. One such writer the surrealists claimed they owed much inspiration from was Gallinule Billionaire, who compose hallucinated, luminescent poetry and also who provided the name for the surrealist movement. Other writers included the Gothic 18th century English authors, whose novels depicted mysterious happenings, cruelty, madness and eroticism. . Surrealist artists use numerous techniques to provide inspiration for their imaginative artworks. Many of these are said to free imagination by producing a creative process free of conscious control. The importance of the unconscious as a source of inspiration is central to the nature of surrealism. Popular techniques include: Frontage: a method of creation in which one takes a pencil or other drawing tool and makes a â€Å"rubbing† over a textured surface. The drawing can either be left as is or used as the basis for further refinement. Invented by Max Ernst in 1925.Declaiming: A process of spreading thick paint upon a canvas then?while it is still wet?covering it with further material such as paper or aluminum foil. This covering is then removed (again before the paint dries), and the resultant paint pattern becomes the basis of the finished painting. Involuntary Sculpture: Surrealism describes as â€Å"involuntary sculpture† those made by absent-minded manipulating something, such as rolling and unrolling a movie ticket, bending a paper clip etc. Photometer: The making of a composite picture by cutting and Joining a number of photographs.Automatic Drawing: Invented by Andre Manson, Joan Mirror, and Paul Sleek, the technique of automatic drawing involved using a pen or other drawing instrument and letting it wander over the page without any conscious plann ing. Exquisite corpse: a method by which a collection of words or images are collectively assembled. It is played like a game in which players wrote or drew on a section of paper, folded it to conceal part of the writing or drawing, and then passed it to the next player for them to continue it on.Paranoiac-critical method: a technique invented by Salvador Dali in which the artist invokes a paranoid state (fear that the self is being manipulated, targeted or controlled by others). The result is a deconstruction of the psychological concept of identity, so that subjectivity becomes the main aspect of the artwork. Found Object: art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects or products that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function. 10. Many experiences and events from their culture or era influenced the surrealist artist's art practice.Salvador Dalais artworks often included symbols of war and violence, in reference to the war brewi ng in his home country of Spain. He also often included soft objects such as the clocks in The Persistence of Memory' or his self portraits, which were most likely influenced by Dalais feelings towards his own impotence. Max Ernst is well known for his absurd illustrations cut out of books of grotesque hybrids of humans and birds, an ongoing theme in Errant's work throughout his life due to the childhood trauma of his pet cockatoo dying night his sister was born.Rene Margarita's works featuring people with cloths covering their faces is said to have been influenced by the state Margarita's mother was found in after committing suicide by drowning-with her dress covering her face. Marcel Duchess's Futurism inspired piece The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) was inspired by a performance of the stage adaptation of Recourse's novel Impressions diffuser which Decamp attended in 1912. 1 1 .The surrealists were rebelling against what its members saw as the destr uction brought on by the â€Å"rationalism† of European culture and politics in the past and had deed to the horrors of World War l. They were also rebelling against many conditions of their culture, such the complacency of bourgeois society, sexual repression, as well as current political theories or figures such as capitalism, Fascism, and fascist leaders such as Doll Hitler and Franco. Margarita's Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe) 12.Surrealist artists intended to revolutionize the human experience, by freeing people from what they viewed as false rationality, and restrictive customs and social structures. As Andre Breton claimed, the true aim of Surrealism is â€Å"long live the social evolution, and it alone! â€Å". For example, Margarita's â€Å"The Treachery of images [This is not a pipe)† aimed to challenge the linguistic convention of identifying an image of something as the thing itself, and was a reaction to the â€Å"Rationalism† that surre alists believed led Europe into World War l.Margarita intentions in creating his work â€Å"The Rape†, which depicts a woman's head with breasts and genitals on the face instead of facial features, was to comment on the common view of women at this time as simply compromised objects that exist only for male satisfaction. Duchess's intentions in reading his artwork â€Å"fountain† which was a urinal laid flat on its back rather than it usual upright position, was to challenge society and the art world's idea of what was or what could be art.He wanted to bring about the idea that art did not have to be created by the artist, it could simply be an everyday object selected by the artist and altered so it no longer had a practical use. 13. Many of the Surrealist artists developed a trademark style, technique or motif that appeared throughout their works. Joan Mirror has become well known for his colorful, biomorphic forms, roughly metric shapes, and barely recognizable obje cts expressed in multiple media, from ceramics and engravings to large bronze installations.Yves Tansy's artworks usually feature vast, abstract landscapes, mostly in a limited palette of colors, only occasionally showing flashes of contrasting colors. Typically, in these alien landscapes are various abstract shapes, sometimes like shards of glass, sometimes like giant amoebae. Man Rays trademark was that of rich photographs depicting nude women who exuded a sense of subtle eroticism as well as strength and strangeness. His nudes were also often in interesting positions or posed with objects to add to the sinister tone.De Chorizo was known for his use of motifs?empty arcades, towers, elongated shadows, mannequins, and trains among others?that he arranged to create â€Å"images of forlornness and emptiness† that also convey a feeling of â€Å"power and freedom†. Salvador Dali used many symbols in his works. The motif of the â€Å"burning giraffe† in many of his p aintings represented a premonition of war, his roaring Siberian tigers symbolized Dalais wife Gala when angered, the wooden crutch homebodies death and resurrection as well as possibly impotence, and grasshoppers were symbols of decay. 14. Art Practice refers to the way in which an artist creates their artworks.The two predominant styles of practice in surrealism was the technique of abstract surrealism, often with the use of automatism, or the realistic, dream-like form of surrealism. Joan Mirror became well-known for his use of automatism, while Salvador Dali gained worldwide success for his realistic, dreamboats paintings. Salvador DALi Soft self-portrait with grilled bacon 1941 oil on canvas 1. Xx. 0 CM Salvador DALi Salvador Dali was born May 1 1, 1904 in Figures, Spain. From an early age Dali was encouraged to create art and later went on to study art at an academy in Madrid.During his studies, he was influenced by several different artistic styles, including Metaphysics and C ubism. In the sass's Dali went to Paris and began interacting with Picasso, Emigrate, and Mirror. During his time in Paris, Dali painted a number of works that displayed Picasso influence, and did much experimentation with his art, leading to his first Surrealist phase in 1929. He created oil paintings which were small collages of his dream images. His work employed a meticulous classical technique, influenced by Renaissance artists, which contradicted the â€Å"unreal dream† setting he created with strange hallucinatory figures.Even before this period of his art, Dali was an avid reader of Sigmund Fraud's psychoanalytic theories. As his style matured, Dalais works became more and more affected by Freud and were increasingly shaped into dreamlike illustrations. In 1929, Dali met the Russian Gala, who would become his wife and muse. By 1930, Salvador Dali had become a tortuous figure in the Surrealist movement, with his painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) being produced to much acclaim. The painting shows melting pocket watches in a landscape setting.As war approached in Europe, specifically in Spain with the rise of the fascist leader Franco, Dali clashed with members of the Surrealist movement. In a â€Å"trial† held in 1934, he was expelled from the group, but that did not prevent him from continuing his painting, which took on a technical brilliance combining meticulous detail with fantastic and limitless imagination. Joan Mirror The Nightingale's Song at Midnight and the Morning Rain 1940 Joan Mirror (1893-1983) was a world renowned Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramist who was born in Barcelona.Mirror moved to Paris at an early age, where he began to develop his unconventional style of art making. He soon became known in the art world as a Surrealist because of his love for automatism and the use of sexual symbols in much of his work. Joan Mirror was against the established painting methods of the time, and is often said to ha ve been the founder of automatic drawing. During his career, Joan Mirror experimented with many different types of art arm, refusing to commit to one artistic movement, even experimenting with tapestry.Joan Mirror also began to delve into other aspects of media, including ceramics and window paintings. At the time of his death, Joan Mirror was bedridden from heart disease and respiratory complications. He died at his home in Palm, Mallory on December 25th, 1983. He is buried in his home town of Barcelona, near a museum that is dedicated entirely to his work. Today, his works are displayed in museums and galleries all over the world, and sell for anywhere between $250,000 and $17 million. By Lucy McKnight

International Journal of Water Resources Development Essay

This paper investigates the use of inland waterways on three continents-Asia, Europe, and North America with an in-depth focus on the transportation of agricultural, industrial and energy products. It is found that there are great variations on the use of inland waterways in their importance from one country to another. This variation in use of inland waterways depends on economic, technical, social and political considerations. Certain considerations like cost-effectiveness or technical feasibility are universal. Additionally, this discrepancy can be explained to a certain extent by geographical conditions, but lack of realization of the potential benefits to the national economies also plays an important role. Some countries – especially the oil-importing developing countries – are now making determined efforts to expand and modernize their waterways transportation systems, but generally there is a lack of national master plans for transportation, including inland waterways, so their development is still taking place on a piecemeal basis. There are many major considerations for using inland waterways, and some of these issues are interrelated. Five major considerations are: (i) economic efficiency; (ii) employment potential; (iii) energy use; (iv) environmental factors; and (v) socioeconomic requirements. As might be expected, the recent rates of growth of inland water transport in different parts of the world have not been uniform. The growth rates have not been similar even within a specific region. For example, in Asia, cargo handled by inland waterways increased by 12% in China in 1982, and by 9. 1% in Burma during 1982-83. In contrast, cargo handled in Bangladesh declined by 4% during 1982-83. Asia. Inland waterways are an important means of transportation and communication for a significant percentage of people in Asia, especially those living in river basins and deltaic areas. Countries like Bangladesh and Thailand have always relied on transportation through their rivers which cover almost the entire length of the countries from north to south. Europe. No uniform pattern of inland water transportation (IWT) emerges in the various countries of Europe. If the West European countries are considered, in general the total tonnage of goods carried has declined over the past decade. The reduction can to some extent be attributed to the decline in economic activities. North America. For Canada – water transport has historically played a dominant role in the Canadian economy because of the nation’s size, geography and presence of a large number of water bodies. Among the major constraints for IWT in Canada are the shortness of the season due to the freezing of waterways, the relative inflexibility of capacity in some areas and vulnerability to major variations in water levels in different river sections at different times during the year. For the USA there are three different systems can be identified geographically: Atlantic Coast and Pacific Coast waterways and the Mississippi river-Gulf Intercoastal system. There is no inland connection between these three systems. An analysis of the situation with respect to inland waterways transportation clearly indicates the great variations in their importance and use from one country to another. While geographical conditions can explain this anomaly to a certain extent, lack of realization of the potential impact of IWT on national economies continues to be an important factor. The expansion of IWT in developing countries has more potential than in developed countries, where this mode of transportation is more mature. Without a national transportation policy, development of IWT can proceed only on an ad hoc, piecemeal basis.

The U-boats Come to America, PDF attached and CITED Assignment

The U-boats Come to America, PDF attached and CITED - Assignment Example The mobilization for World War I was no easy task as the nation was still divided regarding Wilson’s decision to enter the way. Nevertheless, WWI became a focal point in American history because it gave an opportunity for America to assert its dominance as a foreign power and give rise to social reforms. Without a doubt, WWI was a turning point in American history because it gave an opportunity to America to display its awesome power. World War was a war that was indisputably fueled by American propaganda by portraying the Axis power as supreme evil. Unmistakably, this was a heavy task since so many European descents resided in America. The sinking of the U-boat was undoubtedly a huge catalyst that initiated the American involvement. This is greatly depicted via the article in the newspaper which states, â€Å"The U-boats come to America.† The author states that â€Å"It may be argued that the foreign assumptions are purely subjective.† (Skeet 2) However was evident that the United States Navy had to prepare itself for the worse and was already aligning itself with future Allies. It is clear that this was to issue somewhat of Propaganda to rally the American citizens. Europe’s condition at this point was tense, and the American aid to Allies illustrated the fact that America’s involvement was much needed (Michaels 40). Suddenly, the American economy was jolted with a huge shock as it began to produce war-related goods. The United States did not hesitate to supply its war-related products such as weapons, supplies, and ships in order to change the tide of the war (Ebert 9). Although American troops were sent overseas, they fought very little and were responsible for providing moral support. Secondly, World War I was a focal point in American history because it gave rise to social reform throughout the nation. Women and African Americans, in particular, were two groups that were able to take an opportunity to break their â€Å"cult  of domesticity†.

Bacterial Meningitis - Pediatric Research Paper

Bacterial Meningitis - Pediatric - Research Paper Example Diagnosing Bacterial Meningitis Bacterial meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges caused by bacteria, which may be fatal to the individual. It can be caused by several types of bacteria, of which the most common are Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis, affecting varied age groups. In children, clinical manifestations of the condition may be fever, stiff neck, headache, lethargy, irritability, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia, which are all non-specific but may suggest the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis when there is a combination of one or more of these symptoms (Scheld, Whitley, & Marra, 2004, p. 384). Through lumbar puncture (LP), the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is examined to confirm the diagnosis, but in cases where LP cannot be performed like in the presence of a focal intracranial mass lesion, a cranial computed tomography (CT) scan or a cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is obtained (p. 385). The respons ibility of the nurse is to conduct a thorough physical assessment and note the presence of Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s signs. ... n important role in initiating supportive interventions to ensure proper ventilation, reduce inflammatory response, and prevent brain injury, with the goals of reducing intracranial pressure (ICP), maintaining cerebral perfusion, treating fluid volume deficits, controlling seizures, and providing safety measures (Kyle, 2008, p. 500). ADPIE In assessment, the nurse performs a neurologic examination that includes the six areas of neurologic functioning in order to gauge the extent of the client’s mental state that would jeopardize his safety. He or she notes all aspects of the child’s health, including changes in feeding patterns. One of the priority diagnoses in bacterial meningitis is Risk for Injury related to decreased level of consciousness (LOC) secondary to meningeal irritation. Because there is decreased cerebral perfusion, the patient may experience altered consciousness that would compromise his or her safety. The aim of the nurse in her care is to provide safet y measures and prevent further complications, and educate the client’s family on promoting a safe environment. The nurse monitors for fever, nuchal rigidity, or irritability, watches vital signs, and for increased ICP and altered responsiveness, in order to detect common sequelae such as subdural effusions or septic arthritis and ensure prompt treatment (â€Å"Nursing Care,† n.d.). It is also important to measure the intake and output of the client, with measuring urine specific gravity, restricting sodium, and obtaining daily weight to determine possible fluid retention and prevent cerebral edema. As shock is also possible to occur, the nurse continuously monitors vital signs, blood pressure, capillary refill, and level of consciousness in order to prevent the complication or quickly respond once

Introduce a case study of the Korean industrial (or trade) policy Essay

Introduce a case study of the Korean industrial (or trade) policy - Essay Example Domestic savings were very low, and there was little available domestic capital. This obstacle was overcome by introducing foreign loans and inaugurating attractive domestic interest rates that enticed local capital into production. Of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, only South Korea financed its economic development with a dramatic build-up of foreign debt, debt that totaled US$46.8 billion in 1985, making it the fourth largest Third World debtor" (Wikimedia Foundations, Inc). It was this strategy that worked well for Korea. Specifically, "The government mobilized domestic capital by encouraging savings, determined what kinds of plants could be constructed with these funds, and reviewed the potential of the products for export. In this sense, the will of the government to undertake economic development played a crucial role; the role of the government, however, was not limited to such measures as mobilizing capital and allocating investments" (Wikimedia Foundations, Inc). It was vast savings and investment that brought Korea to instant stardom. However, it was trade liberalization that made it surpass a perilous regional economic crisis: The Asian Economic Crisis in 1997. "Korea's economy has achieved an impressive recovery from the Asian crisis, with its GDP per capita having been restored to pre-crisis levels, according to a report on the trade policies and

Management of Family Owned Real Estate Properties in London Dissertation

Management of Family Owned Real Estate Properties in London - Dissertation Example 1.3 Statement of the problem Fritz (1997) conducted management studies, which explored some of the complexities/ difficulties that are normally encountered in the management of family owned business and he concluded that the management of family owned businesses is quite different from other types of businesses and even the difficulties experienced are unique and rarely experienced in other types of business. In the studies conducted by Fritz (1997), he established that there are five common complexities that are normally experienced in the management of family owned business including real estate business. These complexities include family feuding that arises due to failure of the family members to separate their personal lives and business. The other complexities include nepotism, lack of a proper succession plan, inclusion of emotions in the running of the business, and the loss of crucial non-family employees who may opt to leave the company because of family conflicts and restricted growth opportunities since certain senior positions are preserved for the family members. It is because of these common complexities that family members of real estate businesses in London opt to use the services of property agents in order to avoid encountering these common complexities (Poutziouris et al 2006). 1.4 Research objective To establish how property agents have reduced the complexities involved in the management of family-owned real estate properties in London 1.5 Research objectives

Incident Management Team #7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incident Management Team #7 - Essay Example Nature of the incident and the different types of skill sets of the employees determine the members of an incident management team. The line officer is responsible for analysing the nature of the fire incident and to formulate suitable teams to tackle it. He must decide in which category the incident comes and what are the immediate priorities of the teams formed. The line officer must make the team members aware of the nature of the incident and he must provide a brief about the main objectives and immediate objectives of the team in action at the incident place. For example, if the fire causes threat to the life of the people, then the team’s immediate objectives must be to save the life of the people. Incident Management starts as the smallest unit and then changes the structure of the unit according to the complexity of the emergency. Team development is an important part in the management of a fire incident. The members of an IMT (Incident Management Team) should work as a team, and learn the knowledge and skills needed to perform effectively in stressful, dynamic conditions. â€Å"Team decision-making is a critical aspect of effective IMTs, and this skill must be developed by the team as a whole in an exercise/activity environment so that it can be applied appropriately during an emergency† (Incident Management Team Development) In an incident management team, there will be command staffs and general staffs. The type of the incident determines the whether to allocate different positions to the staff or not. The incident management teams are designed to tackle fire and safety related problems. The preliminary aim of the IMT’s is to protect the life and property of the public from the dangers caused by fire like safety issues. As a fire fighter I have to obey the commands from my superiors in saving the life

Smart Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Smart Goals - Essay Example I will begin at the end of my final semester in school. Goal 2 Smart: I would like to acquire the require expertise in running my own business Measurable: I want to have the best effective skills in business management Attainable: I will seek attachment in a business oriented establishment in order to acquire required management skills. Realistic: I will work in the company for a full time basis, but within a period of three months in order to venture in my own business Timely: I will begin at the beginning of my final semester in school Goal 3 Smart: I want to acquire the required market research market skills to develop exceptional operational strategies Measurable: I want to implement the most effective market research strategies in my business venture Attainable: I will take part in market research project used in existing business ventures Realistic: I will occasionally take part in research projects regardless of my occupational ventures Timely: I will begin taking part in rese arch projects immediately

Production and Cost Relationships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Production and Cost Relationships - Essay Example Profit is measured as the difference between the revenue generated deducted with the costs incurred. Thus, in order to maximize profits, the company could either ensure that it is generating the highest revenue possible by increasing price and quantity demanded or minimize the costs that it incurs (Pindyck and Rubinfeld 2005). This paper will focus on the latter. The following chapters will look at the relationship of average cost, marginal cost, and marginal product in the aim of helping a business organization attain its goal of profit maximization. In the course of its operation, a business organization incurs various costs in order to ensure that products are designed, manufactured, and distributed to customers (Cepeda 2005). In order to understand average total cost, it is best to have a comprehension of what comprises the total cost that a business organization faces. In general, the company is faced with two different costs which make up its total cost namely fixed cost and variable cost (Brue and McConnell 2005). Fixed cost, as the name implies is fixed and does not vary with the level of production. An example of fixed cost is the payment for rent of production plant or retailing store. On the other hand, variable costs are those costs which changes when the quantity of production is changed (Cepeda 2005). Examples of these are the cost of materials and labor which are needed in the production of one unit of a product. The sum of the total fixed cost and the total variable cost is the total cost. Dividing the total cost with the number of quantity produced by the business organization will yield the average total cost (Brue and McConnell 2005). Table 1. Numerical Example for Average Total Cost Quantity Total Fixed Cost Total Variable Cost Total Cost Average Total Cost 50 $600 $1250 $1850 $37 100 $600 $2500 $3100 $31 150 $600 $3750 $4350 $29 200 $600 $5000 $5600 $28 250 $600 $6250 $6850 $27.4 300 $600 $7500 $8100 $27 In order to illustrate fixed cost, it is best to come up with a numerical example. Suppose that a company manufactures figurines and incurs fixed cost as follows in a month: $200 for building rent; $300 for administrative expense; and $100 for utilities. On the hand, it incurs the following variable cost per unit: $10 direct material and $15 direct labor. The company's production capacity is 300 units per month. Table 1 shows the company's variable cost and fixed cost at each level of quantity produced. On the other hand, Figure 1 shows the short run average total cost curve. It should be noted that as the quantity produced is increased, ATC declines because of economies of scale, managerial specialization, and use of more efficient labor. Figure 1. ATC Curve in the Short-run However, in the long run, ATC curve will begin to inflect because of the diseconomies of scale as production expands further (Pindyck and Rubinfeld 2005). Thus, the long run ATC curve will tend to slope downward at first and begin to

Evolution Of Female Sexual Identitity Essay Example for Free

Evolution Of Female Sexual Identitity Essay Female sexuality and their sexual identity is categorically becoming less â€Å"straight†. Emerging expressions of human sexuality in females once considered â€Å"abnormal† like bisexuality and bi-curious behavior- specifically in Americans under the age of 40, have gone from a shaming `closeted` behavior, to significantly more `normal` and overt. This paper will discuss the evolution of female sexuality from the 1950s to the present as perception and expression of female sexuality underwent significant undermining and rethinking in the past half decade. The paper relied on various sources that documented this â€Å"emergence† to support the above-mentioned thesis. Human Sexuality   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Britannica Online defines sexuality as human tendencies and behavior associated with sexual arousal. It is how humans express sexual sensation and intimacy and is largely influenced by biological/physiological circumstances, societal attitudes towards sexual behavior, and one’s leniencies and/or psychological make-up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A person’s anatomy can only set so many boundaries on one’s sexual behavior. Many variations in human sexuality occur through a person’s upbringing and habituation. Cultural differences often instigates enormous variations as a certain sexual behavior may be considered taboo or deviant in one society while others may consider the same behavior to be perfectly acceptable and healthy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sexuality includes under its wide umbrella discussions aside from actual physiology other topics such as those on gender, sexual orientation, personal acceptance of sexuality (how we view our sexuality which may differ from our actual physiology), sexual dysfunctions, sexual activity, social sexual structures (marriage, morality, and legal aspects), sexual misconduct, sex in the media and sex education as well as research on sex and sexuality among others. Throughout history, every aspect of human life has allocated a generous portion to sexuality. There are always laws, in every society and in every era as to how sexual behavior is to be enacted. Sexuality and societies views towards it have changed continually throughout the ages. Human sexuality has many aspects to it; defining who, what when, where, why, and how we are to express sexuality. Human physiology has an enormous effect on our sexuality. Genetics decides how the rest of human life will be played out. A person’s sex will have innumerable consequences during the course of life. Many factors determine the sex of a person. Hormonal changes during pregnancy, the time of conception, even temperatures dictate the sex of an unborn baby. Human physiology, culture, and preference, as well a variety of other factors makes certain forms of sexual expression possible. Society plays an equally immense part on human sexuality. Social norms affect how sexuality can be expressed.   Sexuality is part of human social environment, guided by rules of behavior. Society is, in parts large or small, responsible for the way a person’s self schema, self-esteem, self-efficacy, among others. Gender is a function of a person’s social milieu and it must be noted that cross-cultural differences in behavioral attributes towards sex thus, differing effects on gender. The cultures to which we belong dictate our sexual behavior throughout life. Human sexuality is in a great part a function of the cultural norms of our societies; such as customs regarding marriage, homosexuality, and self-eroticism, among others. Often these norms are dictated by politics and religion, etc. Subcultures are formed when an individual’s sexuality dissents from the conventions of the local culture. Because culture dictates what is proper in bed many sex issues are taboos conceived by society. Feedbacks from the society around us at large exert a great influence on sexual behavior and to some extent even sexual performance. The possibility of an unfulfilled sexual desire because of cultural influences as to what is right and wrong happens as a result of the lack of communication. Also education on sexuality and health plays a part in the proper and healthy expression of sexuality. Changes in how women expressed themselves have gone through a significant change over the years following WWII. Sexuality in females and how they identify themselves sexually is now more open to the fluidity of sexual expressions. Female Sexuality The world shifted from valuing women equally with men to a patriarchal society that gave less and less premium on the female population and their significance in human civilizations. According to Francoeur et. al. in Female Sexuality: Challenging Cultural Repression, human cultures   experienced this change in an Axial period as early as the first millennium. This occurred in three separate geographic locations: in China; India and Persia, in the Eastern Mediterranean (Israel and Greece). â€Å"The transformation consisted of a shift from being a female dominated consciousness to a male-dominated, individualistic consciousness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Society changed from a mythical, collective, ritualistic culture to a more rigid, analytical, and rational one (Pastoetter, 2004). Women and their roles as well as their power and place in civilization gradually changed and eventually, the shift to a male-centered world due mainly to factors such as: the rise of a patriarchal, monotheistic Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Women began to take secondary positions to men until they have come to be considered secondary to males and even lesser individuals; a source of evil and corruption. The Second Axial period is the one we are going through right now. This is according to theologian Ewert Cousins(1981). Centuries old forces are building up and soon according to cousins, we will reach a point where society will have to set up a new equilibrium point. Friendship-pleasure based values are now gradually gaining momentum over heterosexual-coital-procreative values. However, to achieve more gender-equal societies, we must be able to first understand and solve issues of the repression of female sexuality worldwide. It is no secret that various forms of repression exist in societies worldwide in varying degrees as potential and actual damage. In their study, Francoeur et. al. (Female Sexuality: Challenging Cultural Repression), they discuss in Part 1, 12 years worth of sexological research showing that women in a lot of places worldwide are being sexually repressed and they hardly derive pleasure from their relationships. Examples of repression are prohibitions on talking or acknowledging sex, sexual needs and preferences even when talking to a spouse. The second part dealt with restrictions to loveplay such as female genital mutilation. Repression and lack of sexual gratification is a probable reason why many women are now found to be masturbating, cheating on their husbands, or seeking gratification from same sex relationships. Masturbation is a topic that is controversial with men but exponentially more so for women. According to, it was found out in research that over 95% of all men have masturbated and surprisingly an enormous percentage of women at 89% also practiced self-eroticism. The practice of masturbation is a constant source of shame and ridicule even for men despite of the mounting number of studies that disprove the myths surrounding self-stimulation; even the researches that prove that masturbation is indeed a physically as well as psychologically healthy practice isn’t gaining much acceptance (Vause, 2004). In more liberal societies, female masturbation raises the question of why they do it and the reverberant answer is that, they are not getting enough sexual gratification from their sexual partners. Unfortunately, in spite of sexual fulfillment being healthy for partners, sexual double standards, sexual repression, and centuries of bad rep stifle women’s efforts to achieve fulfillment either through their partners or by doing it themselves (Vause, 2004). Another possible repercussion of the repression that women are getting even in this day and age is, especially for married women, to seek an outside â€Å"source† of sexual pleasure; outside meaning extra-marital. Adultery among married, â€Å"Christian women†, was recorded by Michelle Langley, in Womens Infidelity: Living in Limbo: What Women Really Mean When They Say, Im Not Happy,† as cited in â€Å"In Search of Intimacy; Wandering Wives† by Sybil C. Mitchell. The ten-year study shows women are as much prone to cheat on their spouses as their husbands are. In fact she goes further by adding that it may even take a lot more effort for women, who are by their nature just moving into their sexual prime, than men who by the time they 30 are slowly moving off of their sexual peak. It is remarkable to note though, the different treatments that society has given in view of men and women’s infidelities. Even in indiscretions/sin men are less likely to be persecuted (sometimes they are even glorified for it), than women (Mitchell, 2005). What women have to realize is that the affair or string of affairs is indicative of something more deeply seated in her, said Taylor. A woman feels a deficiency within herself. And certainly, there may be issues that both the husband and wife need to deal with together. Said an Christian minister, Elder Anthony Taylor (Mitchell, 2005). Another emerging trend in female sexuality from the 50s to the present is the rise of homosexuals (lesbians), Bisexual, and bi-curious women. Considered part of the wide rubric of human sexual variation, the three above-mentioned categories have recently enjoyed a lot of limelight with all the kissing on national TV and in bars all over the metro. Homosexuality is an increasingly familiar phenomena nowadays and not just with gay men,; the population of women who are exclusively attracted to another woman in all aspects of human personality. Another emerging trend is the Bisexuals. According to the pioneering study by Alfred Kinsey, human sexuality is not black and white, straight or gay; rather, he believes it is a continuum. His findings show that although there is a pronounced polarization of sexuality as either exclusively heterosexual or homo sexual, there is also a significant part that is in-between. Kinsey model was drastically improved upon by Fritz Kline’s Sexual Orientation Grid that had the bisexual option. Although, disputes still rage as to the acceptability of bisexuals in established social groups that include even homosexuals. The debate about what qualifies as bisexual still rages on and though some say that it is only the stepping stone to homosexuality, others argue that it is indeed a distinct possibility that a person may be able to relate to both sexes (Fairyington, 2005). In the paper, The Vagina Dialogues; Bi-curious women are here but not quite queer. Welcome to the new Lesbian Chic, the authors discussed a new breed of women who are straight but are kissing and groping even having sex with other women. They are not bisexuals, nor are they exclusively homosexual. They are called Bi-curious women. According to studies a large number of women involved in these kinds of relationships tend to do it for the viewing pleasure of a man while others contest simply liking the act as the primary reason for their involvement. At any rate, these women occupy an even more controversial status than bisexuals as even the lesbian community is â€Å"getting tired† of girls who want to try kissing another girl (The Vagina Dialogues; Bi-curious women are here but not quite queer. Welcome to the new lesbian chic, 2005). In many clubs like the Axis Club in Phoenix, many â€Å"lesbian† couplings are sighted. In fact, it is so common in bars like this that you almost expect them. Homosexual or girl-to-girl activity is often seen in pornography targeting men (The Vagina Dialogues; Bi-curious women are here but not quite queer. Welcome to the new lesbian chic, 2005). In conclusion, it safe to note that indeed, times are changing and with it so are the views and practices â€Å"behind closed doors† especially as it relates to women. New trends in a sexually dichotomous society such as America are emerging and the rest of the world is taking the hint. Endnotes: â€Å"Call them bi-curious. These women dont come out so much as try it out think Anne Heche, not Ellen DeGeneres. Men are in their past; men may be in their future. But for the moment, theyre hooking up with a woman, and its cool. Dabbling isnt particularly new. Straight women slept with other women long before June Miller taught Anaà ¯s Nin a thing or two. And female college students have long expressed their heightened consciousness by shagging their roommates. (Theres even a term for that: Lesbian Until Graduation, a.k.a. LUG.) But this is different. Ask an Arizona State University student today which of her friends has kissed another girl, and she may well fire back, Which one hasnt? When Pepper Schwartz, a sociologist at the University of Washington, wrote Sex and the Yale Student in 1971, the topic of bi-curious couplings never even came up. That would be impossible today, she notes. A pair of cute blond lesbians, Lauren Levin and Lauren Blitzer, has inked a deal to write a book called Same Sex in the City: So Your Prince Charming Is Really a Cinderella. It hits stores next spring. Its not underground anymore. It would have been unthinkable for the girls of Beverly Hills, 90210 to jump into bed together, but when Marissa and Alex did it last year on The OC, no one even feigned surprise. It was scandalous when Ellen came out; it was just another piece of celebrity gossip when she started hanging with the once-married Portia DiRossi. And so just like that, Jen Sincero found herself landing smack in the middle of the zeitgeist. The Straight Girls Guide made it to number 7 on the Los Angeles Times best-seller list. Sinceros Website started getting 8,500 hits a day. And Sincero began teaching workshops to girls who want to learn more, including one next week at Phoenixs MADE Art Boutique. The workshops almost always sell out. Even Sincero is shocked by that. These are people who not only want to have this taboo sex, but theyre willing to show up in public and admit it! she exalts. The reason for that is simple enough: Sex between two women isnt taboo anymore. Instead, its become so damn trendy that its changing the way we understand feminism, gay rights, and even human sexuality itself. (The Vagina Dialogues; Bi-curious women are here but not quite queer. Welcome to the new lesbian chic, 2005) † â€Å"Why is it so hard for us to wrap our minds around bisexuality? Our cultural struggle to conceptualize bisexuality stems in part from the freighted history of the term. When it first appeared in a dictionary in 1824, bisexual referred to people possessing the characteristics of both sexes, now referred to as intersexuals (or, popularly, as hermaphrodites). In the mid-1860s, Karl Heinrich Ulrich postulated that men who have same-sex desires have female souls trapped inside male bodies. Subsequent sex researchers argued that people who desire their own sex have an inverted gender identity. From this sort of logic it was deduced that bisexuals are psychosexual hermaphrodites. Freud upended the conversation on bisexuality beginning in the early 20th century when he used the term in the modern sense and hypothesized that all people are initially bisexual before a fixed, usually hetero-, sexual identity takes hold. Basing his theories upon contemporary ideas, later discredited, as to the biological bisexuality of the fetus, Freud hypothesized that everyone had a primary and innate bisexual disposition with respect to sex-object choice. But instead of arguing that bisexuality might be a normal manifestation of this inherent predisposition, Freud went on to spin an account of normal human development whereby same-sex desires are repressed or sublimated and heterosexual ones allowed to arise, relegating homosexuality and bisexuality to exceptional states that develop as the result of a series of psychological malfunctions.† (Fairyington, 2005) Reference: Fairyington, S. (2005). Bisexuality and the Case against Dualism. The Gay Lesbian Review Worldwide. Mitchell, S. C. (2005, Dec 17-Dec 21, 2005). In Search of Intimacy; Wandering Wives. Tri State Defender. Pastoetter, R. T. F. R. J. N. B. O.-O. J. (2004). FEMALE SEXUALITY TODAY: Challenging Cultural Repression. Cross Currents, 54(3), 55. The Vagina Dialogues; Bi-curious women are here but not quite queer. Welcome to the new lesbian chic. (2005, Sep 15, 2005). The Phoenix New Times. Vause, M. (2004). Doing IT Ourselves; FEMALE MASTURBATION PAST AND PRESENT. Charlottesville: Spring/Summer 2004.

Business Proposal On Tailor Made Adventure Holidays Tourism Essay

Business Proposal On Tailor Made Adventure Holidays Tourism Essay This report puts forth a unique business proposal, based on tailor-made adventure holidays. This business plan encompasses unique holiday packages for adventure lovers residing in the United Kingdom, attractive deal of prices and promises of delivering a true value for money experience to our customers, a clear understanding of the market, the anchoring segmentation, marketing and pricing strategies that confirm a competitive edge over existing players in the market, along with the financial projections made in light of realistic terms and conditions. To deliver our customers an entire experience to value, rather than a mere service for a value. Our aim is to make it a very simple and pleasant experience for our customers at every step, i.e. right from the time they consult us to bookings made, to the time their trip comes to an end and even after that we intend to live up to the needs of a good and lasting customer relationship. To encourage eco-tourism. Our second aim is to actively encourage eco-tourism. Any kind of harm caused to the ecology, if witnessed, would certainly not be entertained. Our effort towards this aim would be, say, taking care of the camels during camel safari that is amongst one of our packages for trip to Rajasthan in India. Also, not causing any kind of disruptions to the space and milieu of various animals, during trips to forests, would be highly acknowledged. Especially, during trips to forests in Africa which form a paradise for several endangered species. Our objectives are: To be the first choice of our prospective customers. We wish to be the first choice of the adventure lovers in the UK, seeking to book adventure trips for themselves. To rule the niche market of exclusive tailor-made adventure holidays. Considering the fact that we belong to an extremely niche market, it is one of our prime objectives to dominate the market, where customers come to us by choice, and not just by chance. To cover as many as, all the adventurous destinations round the globe by 2020. We intend to take our customers to numerous destinations to adventure the real variety of adventure! Right from the soft adventures like balloon safaris through the royal palaces of the incredible Rajasthan in India to extreme adventures of confronting the ultimate wildlife in the bushes of Amazon. In years to come, not only cover, but we also intend to discover such adventurous destinations round the globe that are still waiting to be seen and experienced. Product PRODUCT The product we would be offering is the various packages to the destinations mentioned below. Destinations Europe Asia Africa Polland India Spain Thailand Amazon Turkey Tanzania Uganda Initially, we have chosen these eight destinations because, they exhibit variety in adventure. Our packages to these destinations would be promoted by the following names: Phenomenal India Wild Tanzania Thai venture Enticing Poland Frantic Amazon Sensational Spain Kingkong Uganda Thrill In Turkey CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR PRODUCT Exclusively for UK residents wanting to book an adventure tour. Our main focus as far as customers are concerned, are the people residing only in the United Kingdom and the ones who want to go for an adventure trip in particular. Tailor-made in true sense. We are different from other tailor-made tour companies as we provide for freedom of choice in every sense. For e.g. definitely, apart from our advice and suggestions; our customer is given a wide range of choices to make according to his requirement and convenience with respect to selection of hotel rooms (whether deluxe or economy), option of booking Air tickets with us, including or excluding the meal option and so on. Also, our customer is free to decide the combination of adventure activities within a destination, like, he may choose a combination of Tiger Safari and Paragliding in two different places within India that we offer. For all age groups. We are open to all age groups because we offer a mix of soft as well as extreme adventure. The customer decides the price is our key selling proposition. Other agencies offer packages inclusive of all its features for a set price. We would offer only what the customer is seeking for and he pays only for what he chooses. Thus, it is the customers choice of place, adventure and price too! All procedures are just at a click of a button. Our official website would provide for easy accessibility to complete information of our products, booking and payment procedures and all the required guidelines to our customers all over UK. Market analysis Market research is just like the foundation of any business research. Thus, it is one of the most crucial functionality that makes a piece of information more reliable and evident. Businesses, small or large, need this kind of research, not only to keep a track of the market, but also, to understand what and how certain strategies need to be introduced into the business to keep in pace with the uncertain market situations. For a start up business like ours, market research and analysis is of great onus, to determine the feasibility of a new business. Our market analysis comprises of reports from Keynote and other websites like CNBC, that discuss about the UK travel market. The following data largely talks about our market, the customer behaviour persisting in the market and the trends, that in turn suggest us how can our business reach the desired levels of profit. TRENDS IN OUTBOUND TOURISM According to Keynote, the UK tourism market, in total is divided into three categories namely, inbound, outbound and domestic. The combined market yielded  £74billion in the year 2008; out of which the contribution of domestic and outbound was as good as 77.9%. The outbound market increased by 20.6% during 2004-2008; being quite remarkable. (KEYNOTE: A Report on Overseas Tour Operators, 2009) Analysis The table above clarifies the total UK market for tourism. This table was used to identify and understand value and number of overseas holidays made. It implies that outbound travel or overseas trips are greater than others, by value. This says, in UK tourism market, role of outbound is significant. This also means UK population, appreciates trips abroad and hence would buy our packages as we offer mix and range of many countries. PATTERN OF HOLIDAY TRIPS ABROAD Statistics highlighted by Keynote show, that holiday trips both domestic and abroad, estimated up to 120 million; almost equating to two holidays per resident. Figures put forth a lucrative amount of 64.1%, being the share of the total amount of money that people in the UK spend on holidays abroad. In volume (Million Trips) By value ( £ Billion) (KEYNOTE: A Report on Top Markets: Transport Tourism, 2010) Analysis This report was used to identify holiday trips made abroad. Trip abroad can mean a visit to family or friends, or a business trip, or a holiday trip. These two graphs help us in narrowing down to holiday trips only. This shows customers spending on holidays abroad. According to the graphs above, although the outbound holiday trip is less in number as compared to domestic trip (by number of trips made); but, is definitely much superior with respect to value. It can be understood as; value of one overseas trip is equal to value of three domestic trips, concerning the price of package. This also shows outbound holiday trips generate more money than domestic trips. ADVENTURE TRIPS MADE, IN PARTICULAR It is interesting to note that, average expenditure made on activity trips abroad is much higher than that of domestic ones; which is estimated up to a significant  £1,000 in comparison with a mere  £193 respectively. By Volume (Million trips) By Value ( £ Billion) (KEYNOTE: Report on Activity Holidays, 2009) Analysis This report from Keynote helps us to narrow down to adventure holidays in particular. This data is used to investigate, the interest and buying behaviour of UK population towards activity holidays. Total holiday trips abroad comes to 39 £bn, and the total of adventure holiday trips abroad is 7.7 £bn. These figures tell us that out of all holiday trips made abroad, 20% are only for adventure. This is a very positive figure for us, because, there are so many types of holidays like, Sightseeing, Beach holidays, Historic attractions, Honeymoon holidays, Spa holidays etc. Amongst this scattered range, adventure holidays has a good 20% share, which says all; that people in UK like adventure holidays and they spend too accordingly for it. RANKING OF DESIRED DESTINATIONS The following are the favourite destinations, where people prefer to go for holidays. Especially, 13.4 million visits have been made solely to Spain, which makes way for it to top the list of most preferred holiday destinations that people of UK tend to choose. (KEYNOTE: A Report on Travel agents and Operators, 2009) Analysis These are favourite places where people of UK like to visit. According to this report, largest number of tourists is for Spain. We have used this report, to decide onto the choice of countries to offer to the customer. Looking at the statistics, we chose Spain, Turkey, Poland and India, as these are the destinations consumers like to visit. Our other choice of country i.e. African countries is done for a reason that, several UK consumers are yet to explore these regions as tourist places. Our research and observation shows, African market for adventure holidays is still unexplored and untapped for UK customers and the beautiful aspect of this is, the variety and thrill in adventure that Africa has; is what UK consumer will love. So, what intend to offer places they typically go in accordance with what they like and also place that they would like to go, if given a chance. It is more like introducing African adventure holidays to UK consumers in a refined and tailor-made way. US, the second favourite, will be offered in years to come. ROLE OF INTERNET IN BOOKING TOURS (KEYNOTE: A Report on Holiday Purchasing Patterns, 2009) Analysis This table is been used to see the importance of internet for holidays. The chart above reflects the source of information for the last holiday taken in last 12 months (in % of adults) This table supports that, internet is the largest source used by people to book their holidays. This would be very fruitful to us because, as we are a virtually operating tour company, we would have the largest number of potential customers finding us and seeking information. The figure for information from tour operator is also pretty decent. So, in a way, we are likely to benefit in this situation, both, through internet users as well as our physical presence. CUSTOMER SOPHISTICATION According to a Keynote report based on Purchasing Patterns (2009), customer sophistication in terms of their awareness about technology usage has seen a steep rise. Moreover, their ideas about holidays have only and only grown clearer about how exactly they wish to design their trips; further adds to attract them towards our type of service. A survey by CNBC says, Holiday Are a Necessity for Britons Further it mentioned that, Despite the fragile economic recovery, 91% of Britons surveyed are still keen to take their annual holiday, according to the British Travel Awards. Lorraine Barnes Burton, CEO of British Travel Awards, told CNBC Thursday that people are more likely to cut back on other discretionary spend before they cut back on their holiday (CNBC SURVEY, February 2010) FORECAST With respect to a report on Keynote, activity holidays abroad are expected to grow from 5.6 million trips to 6.1 million trips during the year span from 2009 to 2013. Moreover, the expected increase by value, during the same span is  £5.3 billion to  £6.7 billion. (KEYNOTE: A Report on Activity Holiday, 2009) Analysis Considering factors like recession and consumer spending, tourism is definitely in a little unstable situation. But the best part is, things are moving towards positive and the forecast table supports this. Outbound activity holidays are expected to rise in the next three years. The growth is predicted to be comparatively higher in 2012 and 2013. Forecasts further show that outbound activity holidays will continue to generate more revenue compared to domestic activity holidays. There are few more implications regarding the forecast related to Political and Economical issues. Factors like, more specific regulatory issues relating to tour operator licensing and customer safety and restrictive entry visa requirements. There was decline in UK GDP in 2009. However, 2010 observed a 1.2% increase and the prediction for 2012 expects a rise by 2.5%. COMPETITORS As mentioned earlier in this report, we belong to an extremely niche market. Our research says, there are quite a few tailor-made tour operators and travel companies specialized in designing adventure trips; but very few direct competitors i.e. both tailor-made as well as specialized in adventure trips in particular. This gives us a stronger chance to make our presence felt in the market with the help of appropriate strategies. The following are our indirect competitors: Tailor-made holiday Tour operators Tailormade Travel Kirkir holidays Travelbag.co.uk Kuoni travels Audley travels Theres a long list, of about 40tailor made holiday operator companies in UK. These are the most known and popular. They are not direct competition, but there is obviously a threat because they have adventure holidays. There is another aspect to this too that, customers who like tailoring their holiday might look for tailor made adventure holiday as well. Adventure Holiday operators The Adventure Company Explore! World-wide Adventure Travel Adventure Sports Holidays Activities abroad Footloose Adventure Travel Addicted to Travel Active Adventure High Adventure and Wild Expedition These are the tour operators which have only adventure activities. They are even bigger threat, because customer looking for adventure holiday would not necessarily try for tailor made holidays unless he is looking for same. The following are our direct competitors: Tailor-made adventure tour operators Wild Frontier Adventure travel Adventure tours and Tailor made holidays Tailor-made Explore Adventure Holidays Responsibletravel.com Imaginative traveller These four are our main direct competitors, all UK based. Undoubtedly, these travel companies have a wide range of destinations to offer. But, they tailor only to the extent of preferred types of rooms in a hotel, flight bookings. A customer is definitely free to state specifications if any; but, anything more than this might or might not be arranged for. This is what is common in all these adventure tour operators. How are we different from our direct competitors Intensely Tailor-made: We welcome choices made by our customers in light of not only hotel rooms, flight seat specification; but also, to the extent that our customer is free to choose his own adventurous activities at various destinations that we offer. The Kingpin pays only for what he chooses to: By this we mean that our customer has the liberty to make a choice of even the activities at the destination he decides to go. He can choose his own combination of adventure according to his preference and most importantly pays only to the extent of what he chose. Thus, our packages have flexible pricing benefit. Strategy formulation Target segment Our segmentation is divided in two parts: By Age We would be considering all the age groups. Especially, age group ranging from: 30 years-49 years. While, 18 years-29 years and 49+, if applicable. By Class Affluent class. Upper middle class. Basically, our customer can be anyone who can afford to spend an average of  £1,000 for holiday trips as we provide for a blend of adventure with desired levels of luxury. The following table represents the weekly disposable income categorized by age. Considering this information can help us know who can be our prospective customers and how can we generate sales. (KEYNOTE: A Report of Market Assessment on Extended Financial Families, 2005) Analysis Age groups ranging from 30 years-49 years have the highest weekly disposable income; which also form our prime focus for selling packages. Second highest is the age group that ranges from 50 years-64 years of age; which implies that these are people who have money but most probably might not be keen to go for extreme adventure trips. So, we can sell them our packages that ensure soft forms of adventure, say, a balloon safari Rajasthan, India or boat cruise in the forests of Amazon. It shows that we have a good amount of prospective customers. It reflects that the market indeed has the type of customers we looking for, who can potentially buy our services if we can reach them. Competitive position The following table is a glance of what our direct competitors are offering and how different are we, to this regard. These are the specimen forms that are provided in either of the cases under specialized tailor-made holidays. DIRECT COMPETITOR VENTURE FUN TOURS CUSTOMERS PERSONAL DETAILS CUSTOMERS PERSONAL DETAILS CUSTOMERS CONTACT DETAILS CUSTOMERS CONTACT DETAILS CUSTOMERS POSTAL DETAILS CUSTOMERS POSTAL DETAILS EXTRACT INFORMATION: like, how did they hear about us etc. EXTRACT INFORMATION: like, how did they hear about us and so on. DATE OF TRAVEL DATE OF TRAVEL CLASS OF TRAVEL: Business/Economy DURATION OF TRAVEL: Default or set by customer. OTHER SPECIFICATIONS INCLUDE: Flight only/ Self drive/Camper van/ Coach. OTHER SPECIFICATIONS INCLUDE: Flight details- Economy class/Business class (both for International Domestic flights) Preferred Local transport- Coach/ boat cruises/local trains. Meals: Yes/No ; if yes, then Vegetarian/Non-vegetarian; Meals on certainly specified days; Go for the default program. CHOICE OF DESTINATIONS CHOICE OF DESTINATIONS CHOICE OF HOTEL CHOICE OF ROOMS IN HOTEL: Deluxe/Economy/Suite. CHOICE OF DURATION AVAILABLE PACKAGES AVAILABLE PAKAGES AVAILABLE ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES: By Default or chosen by the customer. PRICES OF PACKAGES (fixed) PRICE OF PACKAGE: Set by Customer. SPECIFICATIONS, IF ANY FURTHER SPECIFICATIONS SWOT Analysis The following are the strengths of our business, which grants us certain opportunities: STRENGHT OPPORTUNITY 1. Intensively personalized/tailor-made. Customers needs completely meet our offer. 2. Price of customers choice. Customer is free to stick to his budget. 3. UK has large no. of holidays abroad. We have a large prospective market to attract. 4. 20% of total holidays abroad comprise of adventure holidays in particular. A Large number of people from UK like to go for adventure trips. The following are the weaknesses that might probe into a threat to us in respective ways: WEAKNESS THREAT 1. We are yet to enter the market. The existing companies are presently more recognized. 2. Acts of terrorism tend to badly affect tourism. Reduced sales are a loss to the company. 3. Reduction in the currency rate of Sterling Pound due to recession. Might affect the spending ability of people on holidays thus, may lead to stagnancy in sales. + Pricing Strategy: Our pricing strategy would be Skimming Pricing. Segment: This pricing strategy implies skimming a segment of customers in the market; as, in our case it is mainly the rich class and upper middle class people. Cost of Production: Our average cost of production per package is approximately  £1,000. This includes payments to all our non-labour resources right from hotels/resorts to flight booking to activity operators to local transport providers so on and so forth. Cost Differentiation: It is not possible for us to compete much on grounds of cost differentiation. Hence, our prices are not very different from what other service providers like us are offering, but our service is undoubtedly more personalized. At the most, we can probably give certain discounts in peak season to our customers. For example, discounts for couples or kids in a family, who are below 10 years of age or school/college trips. Negotiation with Suppliers: Negotiation with suppliers might enable us to procure concessions on costs, so that we can either yield a greater profit margin or give discounts to customers to expedite sales. Competitive Pricing: The prices of our packages range from a minimum  £800 to  £1,500 and higher, depending up on how much a customer is willing to spend. This price though is for 7 to 8 days, unless the customer wants to pay more and extend his holiday; other operators quote this price for approximately 15 days. But, we justify our prices because of the extent to which our packages are flexible and personalized. Marketing strategy Throughout our main marketing tag line would be; YOUR place, YOUR priceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ thrill too of YOUR choice!!! Web page: Our official website would be the prime place to promote our service. Hence, we would aim to build a very strong and impressive web page. Our web page would be clear and easy to understand. We would provide for online chat service. If the customer has a query or complaint, this service would facilitate personal contact. Online ads: As we are virtual travel operators, next best choice would be online ads. Online ads reach to large audience at a fast rate and are cost effective as well. For this, we would use Business Internet Directory and Axandra; which would cost us  £289/year and  £52/month respectively. We may also opt for such other online services that offer us still lower prices. Another advantage of this strategy is that we get to choose a keyword for which we want to come in first 10 choices in search engine; so that our customers can find us easily. Digital displays: We wish to have our digital display and banner at Heathrow International Airport. The digital display would have clips of destinations and would depict the tailor-made aspect clearly. The banner (1533/month) would show picture of a popular destination with the name of our company. Expenditure in both the cases would be  £1,533/month. Such ads would be displayed only six times in a year, i.e. those six months would be during and around the peak season. Billboards: Billboards would be put in four main city centres of UK; mostly in Finchley, London and the one in Cardiff. It would be for four months in a year in each of the cities. Billboards will have new features or aspects each time. This would cost us about  £500/month. Brochures: Brochure distribution in city malls would also be done. Around 200-250 brochures and pamphlets would be distributed, say, on any four days of a month. Tie ups: We would try to tie up with restaurant joints like Pizza hut or Burger King and convince them to have a contest or something. The trips awarded to winners then would be managed by us. Universities: Contacts would be made with Universities and our contact details would be furnished to them. We intend to help students by providing them information or internal interviews for their dissertations or research on any topic related to travel, tourism and hospitality. This would make us popular among students and universities. (All costs of advertising are included in Costing, under the heading Advertising.) Costing Costing here will cover costs that would be incurred initially, i.e. at the time of establishing the business; the monthly expenditures like, the rent, electricity charges, salary etc; costs incurred depending up on the type and the number of employees we would be hiring; also, costs anchored to our packages. The following are the costs represented in a tabular format along with their explanations. INITIAL AND MONTHLY COSTS: INITIAL COSTS (In Pounds) Security Deposit 1,000 Rent 500 Equipments 2,500 Advertising (6months) 10,000 Registration 350 TOTAL: 14,350 £ Explanation: Initially we would require paying a security deposit of  £1,000 i.e. double the rent, along with the rent of the first month being  £500. So, that makes it  £1,500 towards rent in the first month. Equipments would include computer systems, printer, scanner, fax machine, Xerox machine and so on. We would enter into a contract with an advertising agency for six months, which would cost us  £10,000. Cost of registration would come up to  £350. MONTHLY EXPENSES (In Pounds) Rent 500 Electricity 100 Water 40 Telephone 16 Stationary 1,000 TOTAL: 1,656 £ Explanation: Monthly rent would be  £500. We would get into a contract with SWALEC, according to which we would have a fixed post-paid amount to pay every month, which would be  £100 each month, which comes up to  £1200 per year. Water charges incurred would be approximately  £40. A special deal with Talk Talk service providers would grant unlimited international calling in a fixed rate of  £16 per month. Stationary would include pen, pencils and erasers, staplers, punching machines, papers, files folders and so on. STAFF WAGES: TYPE OF STAFF (In Pounds) Manager (Salaried Employee) 1,800 Customer service Executive (Full time) 1,200/Month Customer service Executive (Part time) 472/Month TOTAL: 3,472 £ Explanation: We would employee a Manager, who would be a salaried employee and would be paid  £1,800. We would require to employee a full time Customer Care Executive, who would be paid  £1,200 each month. We would also recruit a part time Customer Care Executive having a salary of  £472 per month. COSTS OF INDIVIDUAL PACKAGES: The cost of individual package means the cost incurred to make a particular package. This cost includes expenses to reach to different activity operators; which refers to contacting them or making contract with them, or giving them information or getting information. This cost is counted under the head of telephone cost. (Example: calling the operator dealing with winter sports in Poland and making the deal.) There is no cost involved for signing the deal, its a rapport built by communication modes like emails and telephone. This essentially lets the suppliers know that we too exist in the market, and that we can provide potential customers to them as well. This makes a win-win situation possible for both the parties. With time, we would get more and more familiar with suppliers in the market. Good supplier-relationship will lead to the scope for acquiring concessions also. Keeping aside the profit margin as  £150- £200, all the remaining price of the packages that range from  £1000- £1200- £1500, is the cost behind the packages that we would incur. In the third year, we expect a reduction in cost of sales, as we would be getting discounts from suppliers. Staffing resourcing STAFF Initially, we would be employing: One Manager. One full time Customer Care Executive. One part time Customer Care Executive. The following are the details of their job profiles, criteria of selection, likely remuneration and methods of recruitment. Type of staff : Manager Job profile : Managing and co-ordinating the team of customer care executives. Communicating courteously, in case required to deal with a client personally. Analysing market and financial statistics to mould strategies if necessary. Handling customer complains. Establishing contacts and networking with various hotels, resorts and activity operators, being one of the main demands of our service. Training the staff. Job specification : An MBA graduate or holder of a post graduation degree in Hospitality Tourism. Preferably should have a work experience of minimum one year. Excellent communication skills required. Must know to implement leadership qualities. Well versed with basic managerial skills. Remuneration :  £1,800 per month i.e.  £21,600 per year (8 hours/day, Mon-Fri, salaried employee) Type of staff : Customer care executive Job profile : Receiving calls of the customers. Handling customer queries. Suggesting and advising customers to design trips that best suits their choice and budget. Explaining the features of the various products if required. Co-ordinating with the resort and activity operators based on the instructions given by the manager. Managing the data base and information system. Job specification : Any graduate, preferably in the fields of Management or Hospitality Tourism. Preferably should have some work experience in any kind of hospitality service. Must possess excellent persuasive communication skills. Must hav

The Global Warming Controversy Essay -- Climate Change, Air Pollution

The globe is being rocked by extreme weather and the hottest temperatures on record. As the average global temperature soars, there are floods, droughts, unusually cold winters, forest fires, and huge storms. Are all of these horrors being caused by human-induced global warming? The source of global warming is a very controversial topic. Some scientists think that global warming is a natural part of the Earth’s cycle because the Earth has always had natural heating and cooling cycles. Other scientists believe that global warming is caused by humans dut to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the accumulation of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels. These scientists believe humans are the source and solution to the problem. Global warming, regardless of the source, is causing many adverse effects to the planet, such as the affect it causes on aquatic animals and the melting icecaps. Scientists believe that by cutting our carbon emissions through political action and finding alternative sources of energy we can stop the damages of global warming. The world today is divided in two different points of view regarding global warming. Although most people claim that recent human activities and the use of fossil fuel cause global warming, there are also a few scientists who claim otherwise. According to these scientists, global warming is not caused by humans and it is just another natural cycle the Earth has been going through since the beginning. What’s more, it works quite the opposite of what environmentalists are saying. Global warming won’t be harmful and actually will benefit the humanity, as it had been about 1000 years ago. Global warming has become popular polit... ...points ®. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Michigan State University Libraries. 28 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010222254&source=gale&userGroupName=msu_main&version=1.0 "WARMING SIGNS. " Science World 6 Mar. 2011: 18-21. Education Module. ProQuest. MSU Library, East Lansing, Michigan. 22 Oct. 2014. http://www.proquest.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu:2047/ William D Nordhaus. "'The Question of Global Warming': An Exchange. " The New York Review of Books 25 Sep. 2014: 92. Research Library Core. ProQuest. MSU Library, East Lansing, Michigan. 22 Oct. 2014. Williams, Nicole. â€Å"Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own â€Å"Inconvenient Truth†Ã¢â‚¬  Tennessee Center for Policy Research. 26 Feb 2007

The Night Nurse :: essays research papers

An Unforgettable Night After reading Joyce Carol Oates story, â€Å" The Night Nurse,† revenge is what is found. This story starts off by a woman by the name of Grace Burkhardt, collapsing at a shopping mall because of a reason that was unknown at the time. She is taken in an ambulance to a hospital where she undergoes an emergency surgery for a blood clot that is in her leg that could have traveled to her heart. Grace’s stay in the hospital that night was not how she expected. The worst pain a person can indure, is the one who is left out.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the story Grace explains herself as being laid back. â€Å"I am behaving well, look how calm and civilized† (654). Grace never screamed out at the shopping mall. She tried to act as calm as possible. Even though Grace was in so much pain, she never sobbed to God or never did she ask, â€Å"Am I dying? Will I die† (654)? Shortly after the doctors took care of Grace, she went into surgery. After this is wh en her attitude begins to change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After surgery Grace just lied in bed in so much pain. She cried out â€Å"help me†¦. I’m so cold, I’m so frightened† (654)! This is when the reader notices the shift in Graces attitude. Her attitude shifts into a tone that can practically be heard by the reader. As many times as Grace cried out for help the reader could tell she was desperate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the day was over, Grace was about to go through a night that she would never forget. She began to beg God, unlike in the beginning of the story, â€Å"Help me through the night† (655). The pain from Grace’s surgery was so severe, that she called for a nurse repeatedly. Finally a nurse came in to give her a bedpan so she could urinate. After Grace used the bedpan she waited for the nurse to come back and retrieve it, but she never came back. She needed a nurse also to bring her a blanket because she was freezing cold. Once again there was no nurse to be found.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Grace laid there waiting, she began to drift into her years at college. She thought about her several administrative positions she held during her years at Wells College. During these years people had always praised her. Grace always seemed to be favored by others.

Analysis of the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay -- History, Nuclear Weapons

The Cuban Missile Crisis remains an example of one of the most terrifying events in history for the people of the world. A very real threat existed for the crisis to escalate and create World War III, which would include the annihilation of countries and cause unimaginable damage from the use of nuclear weapons by the United States and the former Soviet Union. The conflict had historical roots in the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, as well as in the history of relations between the United States and Cuba. The strife between the United States and Cuba culminated when Fidel Castro overthrew a government publicly supported by the United States, although political and military officials in the United States secretly welcomed the events. However, it soon became clear that the takeover of Cuba by Castro would result in escalating conflict between it and the United States, something that quickly became more evident in the Bay of Pigs invasion and Operatio n Mongoose; both designed to eliminate Castro from the political field in Cuba. The Soviet Union supported Castro’s regime and Cuba’s stand, and forced its hand with the placement of nuclear missiles on the island. The United States countered, and the two countries played out their hands to determine the fate of the world. In the end, the United States and the Soviet Union came to an agreement, both sides attempting to avoid a nuclear war. To this day, the way in which the threat was diffused remains an important model in studying how to avoid future conflicts that threaten the world. The history of relations between the United States and the former Soviet Union paved the foundation that would culminate in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The battles b... ...s a model in many ways for how not to handle negotiations; many of the benefits of studying this event, in fact, are to identify how to do just that, as well. Although the outcome was ultimately positive and nuclear war was avoided, the tactics and countermoves of the United States and the Soviet Union had the potential to backfire and cause nuclear destruction. The conflict with the United States and Cuba contributed to the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Each country was attempting to solidify its power as not just a superpower, but the superpower of the entire world. As a result of this, one of the most terrifying events in the history of the world, even today, emerged – The Cuban Missile Crisis – and we still use it today as an example to prevent any possible errors that might once again escalate to create an event of such severity.

Importance of Partheon

One of the most well known places in Greece would be the Athenian Acropolis, where the Parthenon resides. Built in dedication to the Greek Goddess Athena, the current temple was constructed after the original temple was destroyed in the Second Persian Invasion in 480 B. C. The Parthenon is a most prominent figure in Classical Greek history, designed by Callicrates and Ictinus with the supervision of Phidias over the order of Pericles to show the wealth and the extravagance the Athenian power was capable of. Though in restoration, its value becomes clear ooking at its sculptures and realizing the extensive history it holds.Being over 2000 years old, the history of the temple is astronomical. Just by looking at it, the affects of an ancient battle and rule are clear. Construction began in 447 B. C. , and ended in 438 B. C. The Parthenon was purely a temple to Athena, up till the 4th century. The building held many treasures, the most magnificent being a statue of Athena in full armor h olding Nike, Goddess of Victory, made purely of ivory and gold. This statue was lost and eventually destroyed in the 5th century, Athens now eing a province of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century, the building was turned into a Christian church.It remained this way for around 250 years, the actual structure remaining intact, but with most sculptures of the Greek Gods destroyed. Then it was the Ottomans' who took control, and turned the temple into a mosque. Under their control, it was maintained, until the 17th century. 1678 was when the Parthenon took a direct shot from mortar fire from the Venetians, and since the building was being used as a store for gunpowder, a huge explosion occurred, leaving most of the destruction visible today. The Venetians soon took control and took whatever they could from the structure, and wrecking the rest, leaving it nearly empty.Whatever was left was then taken by the British in 1801. We can only tell what the sculptures and depictions look like t oday thanks to a Flemish artist, Jacques Carrey who made drawings in 1674. Restoration for the broken and worn building started in 1975. While the Parthenon will never look like it did centuries ago, we are now doing our best to restore it. Not only can you see the outcomes of historical events on the Parthenon, but mportant events and figures of Greek mythology are a part of, and used to be what the Parthenon was for.Just about all of the pieces involving their mythology are lost, but the ones we know of give us more knowledge on the subject. From the art left by Jacques Carry, we see the birth of Athena, which whom the temple was built for, on the East Pediment. The setting is dawn, as we see horses at the South end rising up Helios, and horses at the north end tired and fatigued. We can picture the main gods around Zeus, with Hephaestus and Hera near. Hephaestus was the one to strike Zeus's head, splitting it, after complaining of headache, giving forth to Athena in full armor.Th en there's the West Pediment, showing the aftermath of the fight between Athena and Poseidon over Attica, the region of Athens. Hermes and Nike are on the side with Athena, while Iris and Aphrodite are on the side with Poseidon. Both are moving away from the center of the pediment where Zeus threw down a thunderbolt, pediments tell of major events in mythology evolving Athena. The Parthenon has survived through time, and it tells quite a tale on Ancient Greece. It has been part of major events in history evolving Greece, and shows us important events in mythology.When we look at what the structure holds and gives to us, it's importance becomes clear. Not only is a marvel to look at, but shows us what Athens had been capable on. It has survived, but not without wounds, though steps are being taken to finally get the temple to what it used to be over 2,000 years ago. Short Essay Ancient Greece, architecture wise, is most well-known for its astounding temples. Having an important role in their religion, they were most wide-spread. The Parthenon is one of the best well-known temples, built for the Goddess Athena.Temples such as the Parthenon were very common, held an important spot in Ancient Greece, and is simply an amazing work of art. From the details of the columns to the frieze, the Parthenon was, and still is a testament to the beauty of Ancient Greek architecture. Located in Athens, the Parthenon stands on top of The Acropolis. There are actually many acropolises, but the one holding the Parthenon has its special title for its significance. There are many temples dedicated to gods, such as the Temple of Aphaea, the Temple of Hephaestus, and the Temple of Zeus.Temples are what Greek architecture is best known for, so it should be no surprise that they were fairly common. They were used as a place of sanctuary and of religious purposes. The Parthenon had its place as being built for Athena, for Athens success during that time. Not only did they serve a religi ous purpose, but a way to show power. No ordinary city would build such a work of art, you needed money and power. It also did show how artsy and amazing artists some Greeks were, you could look at the olumns and see very fine details, from the drawings you can see the realistic look of the statues placed inside, and outside the building.The fact that these very lifelike sculptures were crafted and moved without the machinery we have today is unbelievable. From the pediments, you see important bits of mythology play out before you, and from the ruins you can see the affects of time and destruction. No other work of art can hold as much history as the Parthenon has, it's been through the time of the Ancient Greece to the 21st century, all the way gathering scars from new rule and battles. I think the whole building itself is astonishing, but also very informal.While the building currently is nothing compared to what it looked like when finished long ago, knowing it is being restored lets us know this magnificent work of art has not been forgotten. The Parthenon holds a spot in Greek history, and serves its purpose in their ancient religion. While temples like it are common, none are as well known, or hold as much of a historical significance. It's a beautiful structure to behold, mostly when it is completely rebuilt. It's overall a stunning building, very fitting of a Goddesses place of worship.

African American vs. Caucasian Americans Essay

At first glance some people might consider this paper to be on the racial side, however it was all written by observations made. There are many differences between African Americans and Caucasians, some people don’t see the differences because of ignorance . You must read the paper with an open mind and take none of this to heart. African American and Caucasians function differently in public surroundings. When you see a young African American you usually see them in groups of four of more. However, when one of them gets into a disagreement five to ten more show up in their defense. They are a very close knit group of individuals. I have also noticed that when you see a young African American walking around they are usually singing, talking very loud or running around. Also when they are in groups they are very loud and take over the area that they occupy. On the other hand when you see Caucasians they are rarely in groups of three or more. To top it off when someone in one of their groups gets in trouble the rest of the group is nowhere to be found. Most times when you see young Caucasian people in a group they are for the most part within a normal speaking level. These two groups tend to act differently in the public due to their cultural differences. There are a number of differences between the churches of African Americans and Caucasians. At most typical African American churches there are no true sermons. The African American churches tend to do more entertaining rather than teaching. They also do a great deal of singing and dancing involved in there praising of God. They emphasize fellowship in their churches especially after church when they all gather and close the celebration with a meal together. However at a typical Caucasian church there are a few differences. To start it off when you first walk in you get a program detailing what will be happening through the service. They tend to structure the whole service around a sermon or story. The service every week is very predictable as to what will happen. The Caucasian churches are more there to teach the ways of the lord as they have interpreted it. Although not all the African American and Caucasian churches are along this line a majority of the main stream ones are.

Political leaders Essay

Must acknowledge the excessive and racially disproportionate incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders and grapple forthrightly with ways to eliminate it. The first step is to reevaluate the current strategies for fighting drugs. Policy makers in each state, as well as in the federal government, should reassess existing public policy approaches to drug use and sales to identify more equitable but still effective options. In particular, they should examine the costs and benefits of relying heavily on penal sanctions to addressdrug use and drug trafficking and should look closely at law enforcement strategies to identify ways to make them more racially equitable. We believe each state as well as the federal government should subject current and proposed drug policies to strict scrutiny and modify those that cause significant, unwarranted racial disparities. In addition, we believe the state and federal governments should: * Eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws that require prison sentences based on the quantity of the drug sold and the existence of a prior record. Offenders who differ in terms of conduct, danger to the community, culpability, and other ways relevant to the purposes of sentencing should not be treated identically. Judges should be able to exercise their informed judgment in crafting effective and proportionate sentences in each case. * Increase the availability and use of alternative sanctions for nonviolent drug offenders. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should ordinarily not be given prison sentences, even if they are repeat offenders, unless they have caused or threatened specific, serious harm — for example, when drug sales are made to children — or if they have upper level roles in drug distribution organizations. * Increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. * Increase the availability of substance abuse treatment and prevention outreach in the community as well as in jails and prisons. * Redirect law enforcement and prosecution resources to emphasize the arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, e. g. , drug king pins, rather than low level offenders and street level retail dealers. * Eliminate different sentencing structures for powder cocaine and crack cocaine, drugs that are pharmacologically identical but marketed in a different form. Since more blacks are prosecuted for crack cocaine offenses and thus subjected to the higher penalties for crack offenses that exist in federal and some state laws, the crack-powder sentencing differential aggravates without adequate justification the racial disparities in imprisonment for drug offenses. * Eliminate racial profiling and require police to keep and make public statistics on the reason for all stops and searches and the race of the persons targeted. * Require police to keep and make public statistics on the race of arrested drug offenders and the location of the arrests. To facilitate more inter-state criminal justice analyses, the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U. S. Department of Justice should annually compile and publish state-by-state statistics on the racial impact of the criminal justice system as it applies to drug offenders, including statistics on arrests, convictions, sentences, admissions to prison, and prison populations. II. THE EXTENT OF U. S. INCARCERATION In the year 2001, the total number of people in U. S. prisons and jails will surpass two million. 12 The state and federal prison population has quadrupled since 1980 and the rate of incarceration relative to the nation’s population has risen from 139 per 100,000 residents to 468. 13 If these incarceration rates persist, an estimated one in twenty of America’s children today will serve time in a state or federal prison during his or her lifetime. 14 There is a considerable range in prison incarceration rates among U. S. states (Table 1). Minnesota has the lowest rate, 121 prisoners per 100,000 residents, and Louisiana the highest, with a rate of 763. Seven of the ten states with the highest incarceration rates are in the South. 15 Almost every state has a prison incarceration rate that greatly exceeds those of other western democracies, in which between 35 and 145 residents per 100,000 are behind bars on an average day. 16 The District of Columbia, an entirely urban jurisdiction, has a rate of 1,600. 1 See Human Rights Watch, Cruel and Usual: Disproportionate Sentences for New York Drug Offenders (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1997). Thirty two states have mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses. Bureau of Justice Assistance, â€Å"National Assessment of Structured Sentencing† U. S. Department of Justice (February 1996). Mandatory sentences are not responsible for all excessive drug sentences. In Oklahoma, for example, a jury in 1997 gave a sentence of 93 years to Will Forster, an employed father of three with no prior criminal record who grew marijuana plants in his basement. 2 Michael Tonry, Malign Neglect: Race, Crime, and Punishment in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); David Cole, No Equal Justice (New York:The New Press, 1999); David Musto, The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973). 3 See, e. g. , Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine, â€Å"The Crack Attack, Politics and Media in the Crack Scare,† in Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine, Crack in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997) .4 Barry R. McCaffrey â€Å"Race and Drugs: Perception and Reality, New Rules for Crack Versus Powder Cocaine,† Washington Times, October 5, 1997 citing results of a survey published in 1995: Burston, Jones, and Robert-Saunders, â€Å"Drug Use and African Americans: Myth Versus Reality† in the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education. Ninety-five percent of respondents pictured a black drug user while only 5 percent imagined other racial groups. 5 According to the United States Sentencing Commission, 88. 3 percent of federal crack cocaine defendants were black. United States Sentencing Commission, Special Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy, 1995, Washington, D. C. , 1995, p. 156. The sentencing laws of at least ten states also treat crack cocaine offenses more harshly than powder. 6 See Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project â€Å"Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Law in the United States,† (New York: Washington, D. C. , 1998) 7 The requirement of proof of intent has been a formidable barrier for victims of discrimination in the criminal justice system seeking judicial relief. See, e. g. , â€Å"Developments in the Law: Race and the Criminal Process,† 101 Harvard Law Review 1520 (1988). 8 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Par. I, Article 1,3. In the Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, Vol. , ST/HR/1/REV. 5 (New York: United Nations, 1994), p. 66. Also available at http://www. un. org/Depts/Treaty/. 9 See CERD, General Recommendation XIV(42) on article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention, U. N. GAOR, 48th Sess. , Supp. No. 18, at 176, U. N. Doc. A/48/18(1993). See also, Theodor Meron, â€Å"The Meaning and Reach of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,† 79 The American Journal of International Law 283, 287-88 (1985). 10 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation on Par. I, Article 1 of CERD. 11 See Todd R. Clear, â€Å"The Unintended Consequences of Incarceration,† (paper presented to the NIJ Workshop on Corrections Research, February 14-15, 1996). 12 Allen J. Beck, â€Å"Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1999,† Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (April 2000). 13 Ibid. ; Kathleen Maguire and Ann L. Pastore, eds. , 1998 Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (1999), Table 6. 36. 14 Thomas P. Bonczar and Allen J. Beck, â€Å"Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison,† Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (March 1997). 15 In each of the twenty years since 1978 for which data is available, the South has had significantly higher incarceration rates than any other region. See BJS, 1998 Sourcebook, Table 6. 37 . 16 The number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants varies worldwide from about 20 in Indonesia to about 685 in Russia. In Western Europe, the rate ranges between 35 in Cyprus and 145 in Portugal. Andre Kuhn, â€Å"Incarceration Rates Across the World,† Overcrowded Times, April 1999, p. 1. International rates of incarceration include prisoners awaiting sentences as well as all sentenced prisoners, whereas state prisons in the U. S. only confine convicted prisoners with sentences of more than one year. Therefore, the actual difference between foreign rates of incarceration and U. S. prison incarceration rates is even greater than suggested. http://www. hrw. org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-03. htm#P222_42059.