Informative Speech on Funerals

Death, sounds scary right? But, have you ever thought in something else besides the moment itself? Have you thought about what your body is going to be done with? Oh sure, a regular funeral or a cremation may come right away to your head. But, let’s stop at regular for a moment. What is actually a regular funeral? Is it really putting your body in a coffin and burying it in a graveyard? What would you think if I tell you that you can have a Coca-cola coffin, a fish or a car coffin? What would you think if I tell you that your relatives can keep your skull as some sort of souvenir? What would you think if I tell you that you can even be buried in the sky? You would probably think I’m crazy or something, but I’m not. This is actually the way in which some people from Ghana, Austria and China carry on their funerals. For the Ga tribe, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. They believe that when their loved ones die, they move on into another life and they make sure they do so in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived. These coffins are designed to represent an aspect of the dead person’s life, such as a car if they were a driver, a fish if their livelihood was the sea or a sewing machine for a seamstress. They might also symbolize a vice, such as a bottle of beer or a cigarette. Now, let’s travel to Europe. Hallstatt. It’s between a mountain and lake, so therefore has very limited burial space. To solve this problem they would allow for the remains of their dead to lie in the cemetery for 12 years only. When the time was up the bones would be exhumed and moved to a charnel, but the skull would be kept. It would be tastefully decorated with the name of the deceased, a cross and plants. It would then be displayed in a chapel. Although cremation has now been allowed in the village this custom still takes place. So, what about being buried in the sky? We’ll have to go all the way to the southwest of china. The Tibet. For Tibetans the most common and regular funerals are the Sky Burials, which consists of cutting a person’s body in â€Å"strategic† places (euphemism for â€Å"likely to attract wildlife†) and placing the loved one on top of a mountain or temple. Then just wait for the magic to happen! The magic being that the vultures will then pick apart the flesh until what’s left is a pile of bones, which are either mashed into a bird feed pulp. This type of funeral is considered to be environmental friendly, because it doesn’t involve any wood burning or waiting years until the body is turned into organin matter. It’s the most effective way of getting rid of human bodies. Tibetans call the practice jhator, which means giving arms to the birds. And also legs, torsos and heads as well. So, if you want to have a classy funeral with a fancy coffin that represents your lifestyle you’d like it to happen in Ghana, but if you’re looking for a strange, creepy, sadististic, and environmental caring funeral your best choices may be Hallstatt, in Austria, or the Tibet, in China. What are regular funerals for you now?

Oscar Wilde the Happy Prince and Other Stories Essay

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet, novelist, author of short stories as well as playwright, and it was his comedies which made him famous. In spite of that, it looks like his works remain only a reflection of his great mind. He was always fascinated by the public – for his work he needed immediate reaction. Probably he was a better storyteller than writer. Nevertheless, Oscar Wilde was a very talented student, with great memory. He studied at Trinity College in Dublin and later on in Oxford. He decided to go to London to make some money and, especially, become famous. In order to get respect of the upper classes, he had a perfect plan. Being aware of the fact that it was necessary to entertain or shock people to be noticed, he started to wear extravagant clothes. And this became his image.. Despite the fact that he got married and had two sons, he fell in love with a young, not very talented poet. As it was illegal to have a homesexual relationship at his time, he was found guilty and sent to prison. As he mentioned later on, there were two important events in his life: going to study to Oxford and being sent to prison. After being released from prison, he never returned to London. He lost joy to write (he wrote only one ballad and letters) and his health was very poor, too. Eventually he died in Paris, abondened with a smile on his face saying: „I have lived above my circumstaneces and it seems I will die above my circumstances as well. â€Å" Oscar Wilde is well-known for his plays, for example A Woman of No Importance, Salome (French and English version), An Ideal Husband, or The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde was also a great poet, known for his Poems, Ravenna, The Sphinx, or The Ballad of Reading Gaol (his last work written in prison). Nevertheless, the most of his works is prose – for example The Canterville Ghost, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories (novel, which was like a prediction of his future), The Picture of Dorian Gray (very famous novel), De Profundis (a letter to his friend from prison), The Letters of Oscar Wilde (letters written at the end of his life), or the Happy Prince and Other Tales (fairy tales), which are so beautiful that I would like to desribe them more. The Happy Prince and Other stories is a book of fairy tales which consists of the following stories: The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, The Remarkable Rocket, The Young King, and The Star-Childe. Despite the fact that the first two fairy tales are Oscar Wilde’s best-known fairy tales, my favourite ones are The Devoted Friend, The Young King, The Star-Childe, and especially The Selfish Giant. In my opinion, these stories are not only naive and sad, but give us also a moral lesson, which makes them a little bit more positive. The Happy Prince is a fairy tales about a statue of prince that sees all things happening in the city. One day a swallow passes by, he asks her to take some brilliants from his coat and bring them to the poor people who need it. Every day they work together. But as winter approaches, the swallow has no more time to leave and dies as it is already so cold. In consequence, the prince’s heart breakes. The statue already looking ugly is being torn down in the end. As we can see, the world is sad and not even a statue can bear all this sadness. Whoever decides to improve this horrible situation, ends up very badly. The world around us is superficial and very cruel. Whoever has nothing else to offer is forgotton and taken off. People care only for things that shine. People care for surface, not inner heart. In such world, people with sensitive hearts die, without understanding. The Nightingale and the Rose is a story about a student who longs for dancing with a beautiful girl. She demands a flower for that. The Nightingale sees the student sad and wonders why. After the students explains his situation, the nightingale decides to help the student, but in order to make a flower red it needs to color it with its own blood. And so he bird sings the most beautiful song till the dawn, when the flower gets finally red. For the rose, the nightingale gave up its life. But when the student appears with the rose, the girl throws the flower away saying she has already a different boyfriend to dance with as he brought her a nice gift. The student walks away – he does not believe in love anymore and returns back to his studies. The Nightigale knew the beauty of life. It was living it every day. Just people are so spoilt, they are so blind that they do not recognize what is important in life – gifts, books, etc. – this is what give a meaning to their empty lives. The Nightingale knew Love and for Love it gave up its life. People not knowing Love cannot appreciate it though. That sad world is.. (again). The Selfish Giant is a little bit different fairy tale as it also brings a moral lesson. The Selfish Giant lives alone in a beautiful garden. Once he leaves for a visit out of town. After his return he notices children got used to play in his beautiful garden, which is only his. He throws children out of his garden. And winter comes, but it seems it will never go away. It is already sunny everywhere, only his garden is still covered with snow. He wonders what happened, but one day he hears beautiful music outside. When he looks out, he sees spring has eventually come to his garden, too. He notices the children got into his garden as well. And suddenly he realizes how foolish he has been. He wants to welcome children in his garden and let them come to his garden anytime from now on, but frightened kids run away. Only the smallest boy stays alone in the corner of the garden, where the ground is still covered with snow. The Giant puts the litte boy up into the tree and falls in love with him. But this little boy comes back to his garden nevermore. Nobody knows where he is from. The Giant is very sad and wonders every day why the boy never appears again. One winter day he sees him eventually in his garden. It is very strange because he stands in the same corner, but this time under the tree full of blossoms. The Giant runs to the little boy and aks why his hands are wounded and the little boy answers these are the wounds of love. His last words are: „You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise. â€Å" In my opinion, this is a very impresssive story as it works with a picture of Christ. It also contains Christ’s words and legacy. It shows us how to live, it shows us how to love – it tells us what love it, it even gives us hope that Paradise exists and, moreover, it shows us how to get there. All good deads are not lost. Good deads and love just open the door to the universal (never-ending) love. The purest love is to give and not to expect – just enjoy the love from giving. The message is so pure and clear that it needs no other explanation. I think there can’t be a better, nicer ending, as this is the nicest end of all ends. The Devoted Friend is a fairy tale with a moral message, again. It desribes a relationship between little Hans, who lives in a garden with beautiful flowers, and a Miller, who declares to be a friend of Hans, but he just stops by when he needs some flowers. All winter long Hans does not have his flowers and for that reason even a source of income, but the Miller never stops by – he explains his wife, who admires him, that people when feeling bad should be left alone. Once the Miller decides to help Hans and give him his old wheelbarrow as a present. Afterwards, the Miller starts to ask Hans to do different kinds of work saying that friends should help each other. Hans feel obliged to help the Miller, which brings Hans his death eventually. I think this story is very important for several reasons. First, it is a psychological analysis – it desribes different kinds of characters and shows consequences of certain actions. While Hans is a nice boy who believes in good nature of people, the Miller is a selfish man who uses everybody around him for his own benefit. A good man ends up badly while a bad man lives on without any harm. Second, the story has a philosophical aspect. While Hans follows his feeling, the Miller follows his reason. Philosophers may contemplate about the proportion of feeling and reason needed for healty life. Third, it brings us a moral message, again. It is actually Hans’s fault that he ends up so badly. If he could say no to the Miller, he could live on. If we let ourselves be used and manipulated, other people will do so. Fourth, the story shows us a relationship between the exploiter and the exploitee, so we may actually capture functioning in the capitalistic world. The Remarkable Rocket is a story about a rocket that thinks it is very special, despite the opinion of the surroungings. It should be used for the king’s wedding, but it not even fired in the end. The Rocket ends up in mudd, still persuaded about its importance. After meeting with a Frog, the rocket still believes it is very important and nobody understands it. In the end, some people find it and throw it in the rubbish. In this fairy tale, we can see different kinds of characters, again: the Rocket, the Cathrine Wheel, the Roman Candle, the Crackers, the Bengal Lights. Let us look how they quarrel over Romance, for example: „But love is not fashionable any more, the poets killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody believed them, and I am not surprised. True love suffers, and is silent. Romance is a thing of the past. â€Å" „Romance never dies. It is like the moon, and lives for ever. â€Å" As we can see, Oscar Wilde is a master in comparisons and metaphores. Oscar Wilde is a very good psychologist, too (thanks to his fine eye), but now I would like to mention a different aspect that is very typical for his work. The Rocket is a representative of hypocrytical society. There are many examples of hypocrytical behaviour in this story. Of course, Oscar Wilde makes fun of it. The problem occurs when the Rocket meets the Frog – the same people meet. The Rocket sees itself like in a mirror, but it does not change anything about its behaviour. Let us look at some excellent perceptions and remarks (on this topic as well as others): „Arguments are extremely vulgar, for in good society everybody holds the same opinions. â€Å" „If you say the same thing over and over a great many times, it becomes true in the end. â€Å" „Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away with all one’s prejudices. â€Å" Oscar Wilde is well-known for his citations, which are included in his works. Sometimes he offeres us even definitions – for example the definition of imagination, which we can find in this story as well: Why, anybody can have common sense, provided that they have no imagination. But I have imagination, for I never think of things as they really are – I always think of them as being quite different. â€Å" Another fairy tale is called The Young King. The Young King appears to be back in the palace after his mother’s death. He grows up in the country where he was sent as a little boy as his mother had him with a foreigner of not acceptable position. Being the only child, he is brought back to become a king. He loves beauty so much. But later on has three dreams which reveal him the truth about being a true king. He refuses all jewellery for his coronation, but people do not want to accept him being a king without showing wealth. In the end, lights from the windows „sewâ€Å" him the nicest dress of all. And he is forgiven and accepted as a true king. In this fairy tale, I appreciate the importance of our dreams. Dreams give us answers to our questions many times. The future king has seen the lives of poor people working for him and so he feels responsible for them. He wants to be a good king in his heart, on the other hand he loves beauty so much, too. He fights this contradiction in his dreams. But in the end he follows his inner voice and gives up all unnecessary things to become a true king. The last fairy tale is called The Star-Child. It is a fairy tale about a little boy that is found left alone in the woods. He is covered in an expensive cloth, but nobody is found around him. So one good man decides to take him home despite the fact that he already has a big family. As the little boy grows up, he becomes very beautiful, but also very proud. Not knowing his parents, he believes they must be very special. Once a very ugly lady comes along and stares at him. Suddenly she says he is her son – she has travelled all the world to find him. But the little boy is so disappointed and sad that he refuses her saying he cannot be her son. At once, his appearance changes. Everybody laughs at him and so he decides to travel round the world to find his mother and apologize to her. He can’t find her anywhere, but while travelling he becomes a better man. After a lot of suffering, he gets into the city where his parents live and finds out his parents are the king and the queen and he is the future king. I find this story very impressive. It shows us that only through suffering we become good people, moreover, at the end of our road we are crowned kings, which is a parallel to Jesus, again. A difficult road through life brings us eventually the biggest reward, which we have not even dreamt about. Outer beauty is here to confuse us while inner beauty is the one that matters. Oscar Wilde became a symbol of sensitivity, knowledge and humour. And I am happy his extravagant clothes enabled him to become famous and capture his excellent ideas.

Frequency Response of Netwroks (Electronic Engineering) Lab Report

Frequency Response of Netwroks (Electronic Engineering) - Lab Report Example Current was determined by monitoring the voltage across 100 ? resistor. The CRO was used to record the current and voltage waveforms. The above procedure was repeated for the series connection of a resistor and inductor. Voltage across the inductor was measured at 100 Hz. The frequency response of the RC low-pass filter was measured over the frequency range 100 Hz to 100 kHz. At R = 1 k?, C = 0.01 Â µF, the attenuation at 15 to 20 frequencies were logarithmically recorded over this range. This procedure was repeated with R= 10 k?. The LF oscillator was connected to the RLC series circuit and with R=100 ? the voltage across the capacitor and inductor, and current through the circuit at frequencies between 1 kHz and 100 kHz determined by measuring the voltage across the series resistor. The band-pass filter circuit was constructed and voltages Vo and Vi measured over the range of frequencies 1kHz to 100 kHz. The band-stop filter circuit was also constructed and Vo and Vi again measure d over the range of frequencies 1kHz to 100kHz. A Twin-T filter was then constructed with R1 = R2 = 100 ? and C1=C2=0.01Â µF. ... 1000 4.673 0.301 0.00301 1552.492 0.000644 2000 4.627 0.561 0.00561 824.7772 0.001212 3000 4.551 0.83 0.0083 548.3133 0.001824 4000 4.47 1.093 0.01093 408.9661 0.002445 5000 4.37 1.32 0.0132 331.0606 0.003021 6000 4.253 1.596 0.01596 266.4787 0.003753 7000 4.11 1.802 0.01802 228.0799 0.004384 8000 3.962 1.989 0.01989 199.1956 0.00502 9000 3.84 2.123 0.02123 180.8761 0.005529 10000 3.701 2.268 0.02268 163.1834 0.006128 Figure1 The capacitance is the gradient of the line which is 6?10-4 F By calculation C= 1/2?f Xc and at f =10000 Hz and Xc =163.1834 ? then, C = 1 / 2*?*10000*163.1834 = 0.4126 F which reasonably agrees with the experimental values. The small difference between the calculated value and the measured value may be due to inaccurate readings or as a result of rounded figures. 2) Measuring VL and VR in figure6 with R=100 ? and C=0.01uf Table.2 ? (Hz) VL (v) VR (V) I (A) XL (?) 1/XL 100 1.443 4.379 0.04379 32.95273 0.030347 1000 0.675 4.36 0.0436 15.48165 0.064593 2000 1.299 4.23 0.0423 30.70922 0.032564 3000 1.867 4.028 0.04028 46.35055 0.021575 4000 2.317 3.791 0.03791 61.11844 0.016362 5000 2.709 3.53 0.0353 76.74221 0.013031 6000 3.033 3.273 0.03273 92.66728 0.010791 7000 3.273 2.907 0.02907 112.5903 0.008882 8000 3.328 2.705 0.02705 123.0314 0.008128 9000 3.488 2.496 0.02496 139.7436 0.007156 10000 3.592 2.32 0.0232 154.8276 0.006459 Figure 2 From the gradient, the inductance obtained to be 15.6 mH The inductive reactance XL at 100Hz is XL=2fL=2?3.14?100?15.6?10-3= 9.8 ? At f = 100 Hz from the table above XL = 32.95273 ? The difference is due to experimental errors and errors in reading of results. 3) Measuring Vo , Vi , the gain and calculating the frequency response Table.3 ? (HZ) Vi (V) VO (V) Gain Gain in dBs 100 4.634 4.638 1.000863 0.007494 160

School change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

School change - Essay Example The school discussed in the paper is of elementary level so the points discussed will relate to this specific system only. Most of the people are aware of the basic image portraying a school girl or boy getting a bad result card or report. What happens if the result is given out directly to the students? More than often the child scared of the consequences either hides the report till the time to hand it back or may even destroy it. Some of them will return it to the teacher with forged signatures of their parents and both the school and the parents are unaware of the fact that the students are misusing the trust. Through this method which is mostly used by the schools it is most likely that the information is lost. Even the data of the students is easily tampered in the schools website or online data. Keeping in view of the lapses that may occur schools need to devise more appropriate communication plans that will lead to a beneficial mutual bond with in the community. The existing form of sending the report cards home and compiling the data is now out of date and extremely risky. The first step is to analyze or assess the basic need of how the communication channels can be built between the parents and the school. Survey on the need of communication will be conducted. This survey will have questions or address issues where people can provide their feedback. It will be sent with a letter addressing all those who are willing to give their time for the survey. The letter will be from the Principal of the school and will have the mission and vision statements available along with a brief idea about the schools objectives and goals. The forms thus collected will become the basic data from which further steps will be developed. Secondly the school will invite people for an in-house session where the Principal of the school will address them and share the concerns the school has

Evaluating Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Evaluating Change - Essay Example From this study it is clear that the role of change masters in guiding the change process is to examine the present situation alongside the desired future state and to establish the strategic plan towards achieving that objective; however, the most daunting task for change masters is to get others to buy into the change vision and to support it. Most importantly, honoring the past while moving boldly towards the future is imperative for the success of organizational transformation; nonetheless, it is not uncommon for many organizations to be insensitive to, and to disregard their past in the change process by thinking that the old is bad while the new is good. This paper outlines that during the reform initiative at our workplace, the organizational transformation process was sensitive to, and honored all the past organizational successes and accomplishments, which were all attributed to the smoothness and efficiency of the previous work processes. The change agents were careful not to discard everything about the old processes as bad, especially because they are the firm foundation on which the present position of the organization was built. In this respect, past work designs and task allocation among the staff were hailed as the building blocks upon which the previous successes and accomplishments of our organization were found; as such, the change initiative started off by chatting a way forward from the existing organizational work design. The change masters observed that the prevailing work design was effective and only needed minor adjustments to make it water tight in view of the shifting global business environment because of emerg ing challenges and threats to business survival and profitability.  

BIOLOGY GENETICS PROBLEMS AND ANTIBIOTICS Essay - 1

BIOLOGY GENETICS PROBLEMS AND ANTIBIOTICS - Essay Example All combinations are represented and would therefore occur. After pollination a plant with rough stems and yellow flowers with pollen from another plant of the same species having rough stems and white flowers, adequate precautions being taken to prevent pollination occurring in any other way, 80 seeds were obtained. The F1 phenotypic ratio is 3:1:3:1, rough yellow, smooth yellow, rough white, smooth white. The genotypic ratio is 1:1:2:2:1:1. All combinations have occurred, but two showed elevated results according to genotypic and phenotypic ratios. In the fruit fly Drosophila the wild type (normal) is grey in colour with wings that extend beyond the tip of abdomen. Among the mutants of Drosophila are two which are respectively distinguished by dark body colour (ebony) and a vestigial condition of the wings (vestigial) In guinea pigs, black coat colour is dominant to brown and short hair is dominant to long hair. These characters are not linked. A breeder has only stocks of pure breeding, long-haired brown and pure breeding, short-haired black guinea pigs. Since the breeder only has stocks of pure breeding long haired brown which would be homozygous recessive (bbss) and pure breeding short haired black which would be homozygous dominant (BBSS), F1 would yield 100% black short haired guinea pigs, with heterozygous genotype BbSs. (a) Self-pollination of one of the F, plants – self pollination of genotype TtGgRr would yield 64 genotypes total, 27 possible genotype combinations, and 8 phenotype combinations. The most notably going to the heterozygous genotype TtGgRr with 8 times. Phenotypes were tall green round, short green round, tall green wrinkled, short green wrinkled. There were no yellow plants. There were 8 possible genotypes yielding only genotypes leading to green and no yellow plants. Normal (wild-type) strains of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have greyish brown bodies if developed on food media free of silver salts, but

The SNOW Mountain Hotel, Human Resource Management Essay

The SNOW Mountain Hotel, Human Resource Management - Essay Example The paper discussing different types of marketing approach using human resources management. Also, it represents internal and external drivers of the business partner model. The models internal drivers are majorly cost control. The organization makes great cost savings through a shared resource management base. It is also driven by the need to harmonize the various departments with the overall business strategy and goal. This ensures that the company maintains a steady trend of growth towards the present and future objectives of the organization. The model is also is implemented as a solution to a business need and as such it helps in solving the human resource problem such as the fire-fighting condition facing Snow Mountain Resort’s human resource department. The model operates as a solution to the problem of resource allocation. Form the external end, the model is driven by the need to provide uniformity in the level of quality accountability and professionalism in the deliv ery of services. Snow Mountain Resort is one among a stream of hotels of its nature and the customer associates the level of service of each of the hotels with the name. As such it important to ensure that the standard that is set by the company is maintained across all the hotels that affiliates with the name. The theory is also driven by modernisation especially in the face of technological development and the introduction of virtual management as an administrative option. This makes the reality of resource sharing more realistic. Value to the Business According to (Price, 2011), the adoption of the model presents certain value based issues that go to the approach and actual integral bottom line performance and productivity impact. Like the various other practical human resource models, the business partner model requires a particular set of skills from its proposed

The last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci - Essay Example The most noticeable aspect of Florence was that it was a self governed and most importantly an independent city." (Renaissance) The city grew with leaps and bounds because of its strong economic background to match this, the city also boasted of a strong political philosophy, these factors contributed in the immense success of Florence during the period of the Renaissance. The economy of Florence was centered on the manufacturing of goods or trade of cloth so inevitably meant that the most powerful people in the city had to be the people who represented the textile workers. Workers in Florence were experts when it came to transforming wool into cloth of an excellent quality; they wee well acquainted with the ways to do the same. The process was a quite complicated one which involved dying of wool, cleaning the wool and a host of other processes. The Palazzo Vecchio was constructed in the year 1299. This was also the home of the Florentine guilds. This portrays the Florentine culture that was the home of many Italians. This was a place where influential people would gather and decide complex issues like voting and other important things. The guild members were all from good backgrounds, the background of the people was the most important factor that determined whether they were good enough to become guild members or not. Some guild members were lawyers, sculptors while other members included solicitors, masons and builders. Florence was a very different city; it was unlike Venice or for that matter any other city during the time of Renaissance. Sea trade did not flourish in Florence as much as it did in Venice because the people of Florence had many other interests which fetched them much more than Sea trade, this was primarily the reason why Sea trade never flourished in Florence. Banking was one of the most common professions during the time of Renaissance; many families tasted success being bankers in Florence. The gold coin Manufactured in Florence was a trademark of purity and was accepted the world over by people. The buildings and the sculpture are very famous and looked upon by many people all across the globe, some of the buildings built at that time still stand, his goes to show the pain and the efforts which were out in by the people at that time. Renaissance was a revolutionary period which saw tremendous changes take place in Europe. Renaissance is a French word which means rebirth; many a thing changed during the period of renaissance for instance the Political changes in Europe, social changes which took place during that time etc. This paper will throw light upon Gr'newald's Isenheim Altarpiece. Gr'newald was a very prolific artist of the Renaissance period; he was mainly involved in making religious paintings. This paper will provide an insight on his masterpiece which is known as the Altarpiece which is now located in France. In addition to this the paper will also throw light upon two other masterpieces. (Gr'newald's Isenheim Altarpiece) Mathis was one of the most famous painters of the Renaissance period. He was not well known until the late 19th century which brought him to the limelight. The details about this great artist are still obscure, for the reputation that he had back then, people expect a lot of information about him but the fact is that even his real name is not known by the people. The name

Pricing Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Pricing Decisions - Essay Example All the articles provide a framework through which managers and stakeholders within the marketing environment can understand pricing dynamics. In order to enhance objectivity of results obtained, these articles employ the use of scientific research processes in acquiring information. Therefore, findings at the end of each article reflects experimental results on pricing policies, efficiency of pricing models and the relationship between pricing decisions and productivity. Introduction In actual marketing context, product and service pricing plays a significant role in influencing attitude of current and potential consumers. In a competitive environment, consumers may avoid purchasing goods from a given manufacturer because of higher prices compared to other producers in the industry. On the contrary, Kunnumkal and Topaloglu (2010) say that setting product and service prices depend on the production cost as well as profitability objectives of an organization. In this case, any produce r has to reach a compromise between retaining consumers and pursuing its goals of profit maximization. According to Hoseason (2003), pricing models and policies contained within these articles proposes empirical mechanisms through which producers can achieve such an essential compromise. One article holds the opinion that pricing decisions should be in line with observed or expected customer behavior. In this case, all decisions regarding product price should take into consideration implications resulting from implementing adopted policies. Contrarily, other articles insist on the role of production cost in determining market price of products and services. Such a model seeks to establish an economic balance between production efficiency and pricing policies. Importance of the Study With respect to significance of information contained within the articles, one should acknowledge the fact that empirical pricing models are instrumental in responding to real world marketing problems. I n practical context, the economic forces of demand and supply may not prove realistic and responsive in explaining price elasticity. According to Mandy (2009), prices may be affected by other variables like distribution mechanisms, marketing channels and retail strategies. In this case, manufacturers need to appreciate resourcefulness of experimental approaches in making pricing decisions. Low price on products and services may induce customers’ propensity to make buy decisions. However, setting such low prices should be in synchronization with other determinant factors like cost of manufacturing and expected revenue of an organization. According to Leo, Chris and Verma (2012), certain market segments, especially those involved in tangible products are known to being more price sensitive compared to service delivery markets. In such cases, pricing decisions should be a function of price sensitivity variables and expected revenue. This explains why pricing policies are formula ted after thorough consideration to aspects of marginal costs and profits. Article 1 - Retailer Dynamic Pricing and Ordering Decisions: Category Management versus Brand-by-Brand Approaches, Kopalle et al, 2010. According to Kopalle, Hall and Krishna (2010), the aim of this article is to determine the effects of category management in influencing ordering decisions and sustaining profitability at a given pricing levels. It seeks to develop an empirical

Living in the Global Community What then shall we do Essay

Living in the Global Community What then shall we do - Essay Example These matters bring a level of insecurity to this world because their implications are much higher than one can expect. Further, it is always a desirable act to understand that living in a global community calls for many sacrifices. People need to comprehend where the other person might come up from, what his dispositions are and what the entire society is going through before deducing a statement or forming an opinion. This paper takes a look at just that and finds out how people’s views have shaped up the world in the time and age of today. Considering how people believe in the dictum of bringing in global harmony, the first and foremost thing to notice, analyze and properly understand is that perspectives might not entirely be true. For the people living in North America, these issues might not be that huge because they are lucky to receive many benefits and facilities at the hands of their own governments. These especially include the likes of Canada, Mexico and the superp ower nation of the world – the United States of America. ... The North Americans are of the opinion that the entire world must listen to them and follow their dictum, which is not a very practical and understandable thing in essence. What these people forget is the fact that they are nearly 1/8th of the entire world’s population and hence cannot rule the nuances of the globe all on their own. One should believe that their view is biased more than anything else as they have long taken this world and its people for granted. Since they are at the zenith of being hailed as the most developed nations in the world, no one can deny the fact that they ought to think as such. For the people living in â€Å"low human development† countries this is something of a major problem. This is because the â€Å"low human development† countries expect a great deal at the hands of the nations which have made it big within the global landscape but the same does not come about as a result of which there is a global divide amongst nations. The pe ople within such countries are undernourished and not given their due which is a sad anomaly if seen properly within the thick of things. The global bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Bank (WB) and other significant trade and educational institutions have a significant role to play within the utilization of resources for the sake of the â€Å"low human development† countries because these are suffering on a number of different counts, and now is the time to make amends. The people within such countries feel that they have been hard done by because their rights have been usurped by the countries that have been already developed and are on the pathway to achieve further progress in the future. This is a

MacBeth versions comparison essay Essay Example for Free

MacBeth versions comparison essay Essay There are many differences between interpretations of William Shakespeares MacBeth. This essay wall contrast Shakespeares original version and a movie version by Roman Polanski produced in 1970. Three major differences will be discussed. One difference between Shakespeares and Polanskis version is the absence of the scene in England in Polanskis version. In the Original MacBeth, MacDuff goes to England to convince Malcolm to return and fight MacBeth. The scene of the longest of the play; it is very drawn out and lengthy. Polanski simply eliminates this scene and shows Malcolm back in Scotland. The reason I feel that Polanski did this is that the scene detracts from the continuity and action of the play. The play is equally effective without the scene, and more streamlined. Another difference between the original and Polanskis version is the scene where MacBeth kills the king, Duncan. In the original, Shakespeare was not allowed to show the death of a divine right ruler, so he showed MacBeth coming out of the kings bedchamber after he had committed the murder. For Polanskis version, however, he had no such limitation, and could show anything that he chose, so he showed the actual murder of Duncan, where Duncan wakes up, and MacBeth cuts his throat after stabbing him. The reason that Polanski inserted this scene was to show how cold-blooded MacBeth was, and that he would do anything to achieve his goal of becoming king. A third difference is the use of the letter that MacBeth writes to his wife describing how he has become Thane of Cawdor and the witches three predictions. In the original, the letter was read by Lady MacBeth, and then not mentioned again. In Polanskis version, Lady MacBeth takes out the letter after everything with her and her husbands plan has gone wrong, reads it, and then kills herself. The reason that Polanski did this is that the letter is a useful device to cause Lady MacBeth to kill herself. She reads the letter, and its all this happy news, but she and MacBeth are miserable, and all the good things in the letter have gone awry. There are scenes also in Polanskis version which are not even included in the original. One of these such scenes would be the scene where the traitors from the war are being executed. They are brutally hung with cast iron brackets on their neck. This scene is very successful in showing the brutal treatment of traitors, the treatment that MacBeth would get if he was caught in his plan. The original did not do such a good job on this. Another of these such scenes would be the dreams that MacBeth has about Fleance killing him and Banquo helping him. Due to the extreme lack of technology in Shakespeares time, this was not possible. The dreams sequence serves to show how haunted MacBeths dreams are, and how worried he is about losing the throne to Fleance because of the witches predictions. There are many differences between these two version of MacBeth, and each of them, I believe, serves its own purpose to enhance and better the play.

Understanding Gender Based Violence Sociology Essay

Understanding Gender Based Violence Sociology Essay Gender-based violence both reflects and reinforces inequities between men and women and compromises the health, self-respect, safety and sovereignty of its victims. It encompasses an extensive assortment of human rights violations, including sexual exploitation of children, rape, home brutality, sexual battering and harassment, trafficking of women and girls and numerous detrimental customary practices. Any one of these abuses can leave profound mental scars, damage the wellbeing of women and girls in common, including their reproductive and sexual health, and in some instances, results in death. Violence against women has been called the most insidious yet slightest renowned human rights oppression in the globe, and is a demonstration of historically uneven supremacy dealings between men and women, which have led to dominance over and inequity against women by men and to the hindrance of the complete progression of women, that cruelty against women is one of the critical social mech anisms by which women are compelled into a subsidiary position compared with men. Around the world, as many as one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or maltreated in some other approach most frequently by someone she knows, including by her spouse or another male relatives; one woman in four has been ill-treated during pregnancy. Violence against women mutually violates and impairs or nullifies the gratification by women of their human rights and elementary freedoms. In all societies, to a superior or minor extent, women and girls are subjected to corporal, sexual and mental violence that cuts across ranks of earnings, class and customs. This is a subject which endangers womens lives, bodies, mental uprightness and autonomy. Violence may have reflective effects, both direct and indirect, on a womans reproductive health, including: unnecessary pregnancies and limited admittance to family planning information and contraceptives, treacherous abortion or injuries unremitting throughout a lawful abortion subsequent to an unwanted pregnancy, compl ications from recurrent, high-risk pregnancies and lack of follow-up care, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, continual gynecological problems as well as mental tribulations. Gender-based violence also serves by purpose or outcome to perpetuate male authority and control. It is sustained by a custom of silence and denunciation of the significance of the health penalty of violence. In addition to the impairment they exact on the individual stage, these outcomes also exact a communal duty and position an intense and needless yoke on health services. According to Murphy and Ringheim, four factors have been constantly linked with violent behavior: norms of male privilege and possession of women; male supervision of possessions in the family; male execution of decision-making in the family; and concepts of masculinity attached to supremacy and nobility (2001). Moreover, UNFPA recognizes that violence against women is inextricably linked to gender-based inequalities. When women and girls are anticipated to be generally submissive, their conduct in relation to their health, together with reproductive health, is unenthusiastically affected at all stages of the life cycle. When investigating the extenuating conditions lack of resources, education, healthcare and the sex trade, we find great and competent relations, and understand that these factors enable the perseverance of this phenomenon. The pervasiveness of home violence in a given society, thus, is the outcome of implicit reception by that society. The way men analyze themselves as men, and the way they think of women, will verify whether they use aggression or intimidation against women. Studies of very young boys and girls show that even though boys may have an inferior acceptance for annoyance, and an inclination towards rough-and-tumble play, these tendencies are dwarfed by the magnitude of male socialization and peer demands into masculinity roles. UNFPA recognizes that ending gender-based violence will mean changing cultural concepts about masculinity, and that procedure should dynamically appoint men, whether they are strategy makers, parents, spouses or little boys. Cross-cultural studies of wife abuse have found that nearly a fifth of peasant and small-scale societies are essentially free of family violence. The existence of such cultures proves that male violence against women is not the inevitable result of male biology or sexuality, but more a matter of how society views masculinity. Most domestic violence involves male anger directed against their women partners. This gender difference appears to be rooted in the way boys and men are socialized biological factors do not seem to account for the dramatic differences in behavior in this regard between men and women. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Some husbands become more violent during the wifes pregnancy, even kicking or hitting their wives in the belly. These women run twice the risk of miscarriage and four times the risk of having a low birth-weight baby. Looking at the pprevalence of and reasons for domestic violence among women from low socioeconomic communities of Karachi, cross-sectional study were conducted to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence and identify the reasons for it among 400 married women aged 15-45 years in low socioeconomic areas in urban Karachi. Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. The prevalence of verbal abuse was 97.5% by the husband and 97.0% by the in-laws; the prevalence of physical abuse was 80.0% and 57.5% by the husband and in-laws respectively. Financial issues were the commonest reason for domestic violence followed by infertility and not having a son. The prevalence of domestic violence in this sample of women is high. There is a need to address this problem with efforts from health workers, policy-makers, nongovernmental organizations and others (Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2007). The majority of sexual assault victims are young. Women in positions of abject dependence on male authorities are also particularly subject to unwanted sexual coercion. Rape in time of war is still common. It has been extensively documented in recent civil conflicts, and has been used systematically as an instrument of torture or ethnic domination. Now, with precedents set at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Tanzania, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, at The Hague, for mass rape, other acts such as sexual assault, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and forced pregnancy may qualify as crimes of torture, crimes against humanity, and even some as crimes of genocide. This vicious cycle of development, identity and gender-based violence in fact explains the empirical evidence of the association between gender based violence and poverty, the individual risk factors of alcohol and substance abuse, ma le unemployment, male educational status and childhood experience of violence. Poverty, lack of education and lack of healthcare increases both vulnerability and the likelihood of exposure to gender based violence. There has also been the prevalence of the sex trade among women as a means of earning income which ultimately has unbearable the consequences on its workers and on women in general. The objectification of women is also a pressing issue that cannot be ignored. Violence, and womens fear of it, limits womens choices in virtually all spheres of life. It has long-term, as well as short-term consequences on womens physical and emotional well-being. It detrimentally affects womens ability to gain an education, earn a livelihood, develop human relationships and participate in public activities, including development programmes. There are different types of problems all over the world that women face, from the wealthiest countries to the poorest. In many countries, women are not entitled to own property or inherit land. Social exclusion, honor killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage among others, deny the right to health to women and girls and increase illness and death throughout the life-course. It will remain difficult for us to see sustainable progress unless we fix failures in health systems and society so that girls and women enjoy equal access to health information and services, education, em ployment and political positions. Reports by UNICEF, State of the Worlds Children, state that reasons for such disparity include the fact that women are generally underpaid and because they often perform low-status jobs, compared to men. UNICEF notes that the data isnt always perfect, and that generalizations such as the above can hide wider fluctuations. In Brazil, for example, women under the age of 25 earn a higher average hourly wage than their male counterparts. (p.39)Women not only earn less than men but also tend to own fewer assets. Smaller salaries and less control over household income constrain their ability to accumulate capital. Gender biases in property and inheritance laws and in other channels of acquiring assets also leave women and children at greater risk of poverty. Paid employment for women does not automatically lead to better outcomes for children. Factors such as the amount of time women spend working outside the household, the conditions under which they are employed and who controls the income they generate determine how the work undertaken by women in the labor market affects their own well-being and that of children (2007, p.36). Moreover, according to the United Nations, in no country in the world do men come anywhere close to women in the amount of time spent in housework. Furthermore, despite the efforts of feminist movements, women in the core [wealthiest, Western countries] still suffer disproportionately, leading to what sociologists refer to as the feminization of poverty, where two out of every three poor adults are women. The informal slogan of the Decade of Women became Women do two-thirds of the worlds work, receive 10 percent of the worlds income and own 1 percent of the means of production (Robbins 1999, p.354). Historically, economic recessions have placed a disproportionate burden on women. Women are more likely than men to be in vulnerable jobs, to be under-employed or without a job, to lack social protection, and to have limited access to and control over economic and financial resources. Policy responses to the financial crisis must take gender equality perspectives into account to ensure, for example, that women as well as men can benefit from employment creation and investments in social infrastructure. According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2009, The economic and financial crisis puts a disproportionate burden on women, who are often concentrated in vulnerable employment, are more likely to be unemployed than men, tend to have lower unemployment and social security benefits, and have unequal access to and control over economic and financial resources. International statistics of the International Labor Organization showed that The economic crisis is expected to in crease the number of unemployed women by up to 22 million in 2009, the International Labor Office (ILO) says in its annual Global Employment Trends for Women report (GET), adding that the global jobs crisis is expected to worsen sharply with the deepening of the recession in 2009. In most societies, rape and domestic violence have on occasion provoked public outrage, but it has been left to womens organizations and movements to take more concerted action. The North does not have all the answers to this problem as gender-based violence is very much in existence in the developed world. Because gender-based violence is sustained by silence, womens voices must be heard. UNFPA puts every effort into enabling women to speak out against gender-based violence, and to get help when they are victims of it. The Fund is also committed to keeping gender-based violence in the spotlight as a major health and human rights concern. Another fascinating fact is that gender based violence is rampant in developed counties as compared to the developing countries. For instance, in a place like the U.S, despite the fact that advocacy groups like National Organization for Women (NOW) have worked for two decades to halt the epidemic of gender-based violence and sexual assault, the numb ers are still shocking. Murder, Intimate Partner Violence or Battering, sexual violence and assault are common phenomena. To the astonishment of most women across the globe, there is such a low conviction rate in gender-based violence cases, women are not believed by men and apparently even by fellow women. The judiciary imposes light sentences on such cases and even to some they are released on very modest bail or a mere warning. UNFPA advocates for legislative reform and enforcement of laws for the promotion and the protection of womens rights to reproductive health choices and informed consent, including promotion of womens awareness of laws , regulations and policies that affect their rights and responsibilities in family life. The Fund promotes zero tolerance of all forms of violence against women and works for the eradication of traditional practices that are harmful to womens reproductive and sexual health, such as rituals associated with puberty. Possible victims have been offered legal, medical and psychological support, and medical referrals when necessary. Attention has been paid to involving communities, and to creating support networks for gender-based violence victims that include both police and health-care providers, along with counseling services. UNFPA has also held workshops for health providers on recognizing the effects of gender-based violence on womens health, and on how to detect and prevent abuse and assist victims. These have stressed the need for confidentiality and monitoring. This body has also strengthening advocacy on gender-based violence in all country programmes, in conjunction with other United Nations partners and NGOs as well as advocating for women with parliamentarians and womens national networks. There have been strategies to counter violence against women and support the survivors. Case studies come from times of peace and times of armed conflict. Sections suggest strategies for transforming attitudes and beliefs in different societies that condone such violence, for supporting individual survivors, and to ensure that governments and NGOs fulfill their duty to protect woman. Womens rights around the world are an important indicator to understand global well-being. A major global womens rights treaty was ratified by the majority of the worlds nations a few decades ago. Yet, despite many successes in empowering women, numerous issues still exist in all areas of life, ranging from the cultural, political to the economic. For example, women often work more than men, yet are paid less; gender discrimination affects girls and women throughout their lifetime; and women and girls are often are the ones that suffer the most poverty. Many may think that womens rights are only an issue in countries where religion is law, such as many Muslim countries. Or even worse, some may think this is no longer an issue at all. But reading this report about the United Nations Womens Treaty and how an increasing number of countries are lodging reservations, will show otherwise. Gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development for all of society, so the importance of womens rights and gender equality should not be underestimated. As part of its work to counter gender-based violence, UNFPA has supported training of medical professionals, to make them more sensitive towards women who may have experienced violence and to meet their health needs. Governments are not living up to their promises under the Womens Convention to protect women from discrimination and violence such as rape and female genital mutilation. There are many governments who have also not ratified the Convention, including the U.S. Many countries that have ratified it do so with many reservations. Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand since it furthers the cause of child survival and development. It produces a double dividend: It benefits both women and children. Womens equal rights and influence in the key decisions that shape their lives and those of children must be enhanced in three distinct arenas: the household, the workplace and the political sphere. Gender equality is not only morally right, it is pivotal to human progress and sustainable development. Furthermore, this will be taking us closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goal Number 3-promoting gender equality and empowering women-will also contribute to achieving all the other goals, from reducing poverty and hunger to saving childrens lives, improving maternal health, ensuring universal education, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability. Pressure must be maintained on national governments to prioritise the coordination of programmes and policies across sectors such as health, justice, social welfare and education to ensure that the composite needs of survivors of violence are addressed. Of equal importance is scaling up responses that work media campaigns, hotlines, and one-stop crisis centers and so on. Basically, gender based violence limits women as human beings, drains their energy and hope, and constricts the possibilities of creating a new vision of society. Since it includes threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private, Violence against women is a violation of womens human rights, a cause and consequence of gender inequality, and a major cause of womens ill health. It is a detriment to their well-being, very often a crime, and a significant cost to the resources of the wider society. As a consequence, there are policy issues across the whole range of subjects that concern governments. These issues are particularly important in the area of crime, health, family, education and economic well-being.

Impacts on Quality of Life and Performance

Impacts on Quality of Life and Performance Steps Towards Success Abhay Shrivastava Abstract— Success in general means achieving an aim or attaining one’s goal. To some people success is living a comfortable and respectful life, some believe that success is a journey of hard work through endless efforts to achieve the desired goal, while others think having hefty amount of money is a real success. But for me â€Å"success is living your dreams and fulfilling your desire.† In the process of getting success one either achieves it or fails in his efforts. It is said by a great poet that â€Å"the real taste of success can only be understood by a man who have tasted the defeat†. Sometimes success also depends on the fate but that’s not true in every case. Even if the fate is not favoring us we can lead towards success by putting extra efforts and doing hard work. But fate without efforts leads us nowhere. One needs to put himself/herself into his/her goal whole heartedly. Success is also affected by the priorities of life, someone wants to grow professionally while the other satisfies themselves by holding the responsibility of family i.e. their personal life or some people wants to get the higher rank in society. For all such people success mean differently. Index Terms— Success, Hard work, Efforts, Goal, Aim I. Introduction This paper is about what makes a difference in the quality of life of people, what makes a difference in their performance, so that they get the result they want. Everybody wants to be successful but to be successful one first has to understand what success means. Success in general means achieving an aim or attaining one’s goal. To some people success is living a comfortable and respectful life, some believe that success is a journey of hard work through endless efforts to achieve the desired goal, while others think having hefty amount of money is a real success According to the great motivator Tony Robbins â€Å"success is being able to do whatever you want, with whom ever you want, where ever you want as much as you want†. According to Jack Canfield â€Å"success is fulfilling your soul’s purpose† Every scholar has given a different definition about success but according to me â€Å"success is living your dreams with both open and closed eyes and knowing the art of fulfilment.† In the process of getting success one has to face many hindrances, many setbacks a lot of pain. But if a person faces them with courage, he/she can be successful. But most people don’t do that after trying once or twice they say to themselves that it can’t be done, it is not possible. We all know that Mr. Edison invented the bulb after more than 10,000 attempts. What if he had stopped trying after 10-20 attempts. We would not have bulbs. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. Nothing is impossible if you are ready to take the chance. If you don’t know how to do the task what you are trying to do then take the guidance from the person who has already done that. Technical education can be achieved easily but attitude of â€Å"not quitting† has to be developed. A study shows that most of the people quit their task when they are about to succeed, they quit when they are at the doors of success. In ‘ YOU CAN WIN’ Mr Shiv Khera writes that every success story is a story of great failure, he shares the life history of a man who failed in business at the age of 21, was defeated in a legislative race at the age of 22, failed again in business at the age of 24, his sweetheart died when he was of age 26, had a nervous breakdown at age 27, lost a congressional race at age 34, lost a senatorial race at age 45, failed in an effort to become vice-president at the age of 47, lost senatorial race at the age of 49, and was elected as the president of United States at the age of 52. This man was Abraham Lincoln.[1] So it is important to make continuous efforts in making your dream come true. II. SOME HINDRANCES IN SUCCESS Fear of failure/success. Lack of self-confidence. No plan. Procrastinating. Family responsibility. Financial security issue. Insincerity about goal. Stress. Underestimation. Comparison with others. Worthiness. Negative Attitude Doing too much alone. Lack of priority. Lack of training. Lack of resources. Most of the hindrances described above are not real, they are imaginary. They can be resolved by keeping certain points in mind. We all know what is holding us back. Usually most people wait for ideal conditions never get that. And successful people make the condition favourable for them. III. Following steps will help you in reaching on acme of your life You: Everything starts from and with you. If you are ready, you can do anything. If you take the responsibility of your life, state and condition, if you stop blaming and complaining, then you will start believing in yourself, you will begin to discover your strength capability. What happens when we blame others for our mistakes, we neglect our weaknesses rather than focusing and overcoming them. If we complain about something we are being pessimistic, we focus on the lack of resources, we focus on what went wrong rather focusing on what can be done now. So we should stop blaming and complaining and should start accepting and taking the responsibility of our life. Nightingale said that â€Å"all of us are self-made but only the successful will accept it† so start believing in yourself. Goal Setting: Goal setting is the most important factor in getting success. It’s like knowing the destination where you want to reach. Most people are running without any goal, without knowing where they want to go. So set a goal first. It is important to set a goal in order to make an action plan. While setting a goal we should remember one thing, we should not just set a goal, we should set a goal with time limit. Because if we time bound ourselves, our brain starts working faster. It wants to produce the result before the deadline. For example if you want to lose weight rather saying â€Å"I want to lose weight† say â€Å"I want to lose 5 pound before 10 May 2014†. Vague goals lead to vague results. Try to be more specific with time, when we have particular time duration to perform a task our brain functions more efficiently, with more concentrations. We all know the functionality of GPS system when we put the exact destination it shows us the way. What if we just put the name of the lane or city where we want to go, it will take us to the starting of that lane or city not at our destination. So we have to be more specific about our goals. â€Å"What and By When†. Because the things that we schedule are the things that we get done. Dream Big Visualize: Gen. Wesley Clark (Former Head of NATO) said â€Å"It doesn’t take any more effort to dream a big dream than it does to dream a small dream†. You have the ability to do things that you can’t even imagine. Most people don’t realise that majority of people fail not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit and many don’t aim at all. It is important to dream big because if we dream big we visualize big, if we visualize big we put more efforts to make it real. It increases our efficiency, our dedication and concentration increases to turn the dream into reality. Dream big, don’t think how you are going to do it, that’s going to come in due time. You are going to develop a plan of action; you will become the person who will attract the people and resources according to your need. Here is an example of turning a dream into reality. Everyone knows ‘Chicken soup for the soul’ fame Jack Canfield and Mark. One day they decided to sell 1 million copies of their book. They didn’t know how they were going to do that, they just visualized it every day and night, one day after a seminar Jack took a bus to his home, the lady sitting next to him recognize him and asked â€Å"you are chicken soup guy? What you and Mark are next up to?† he replied â€Å"we are trying to sell 1 million copies in one day† she replied â€Å"I can help you in doing that† he asked how? She said â€Å"we are buyer for the WB bookstore all over the world† and rest is history. They sold 1 million copies in one day. Our visualization has power. Our mind can’t rationalize between reality and visualization. An experiment was done on a bunch of people; they were asked to close their eyes and imagine themselves standing on the roof of the world tal lest building without any railing. Some of them started shivering and some stepped back, their brain didn’t rationalize between reality and visualization. If we visualize our dream daily we force it to become reality. A study from Duke University Para Psychology center shows that our thoughts have ultimate power. Whatever we visualize we send this energy upto 250,000 miles. It’s like sending email up to 250,000 miles asking for response, and the important thing is someone always responds sooner or later. Like in the case of Jack and Mark, they just visualized their goal and got the reply few weeks later. Dr Masaru Emoto a Japanese author and entrepreneur described the power of thought in his book â€Å"The hidden message in water†. He said water has the capability to store energy. He did an experiment on water. He took a sample of water and told some people to send negative energy (like useless, dirty, poisonous etc.) to the water and then took another sample and ask some people to send positive energy(like beautiful, calm, necessary, tasty etc.) then froze both the samples at 20 degree below 0. Once it was frozen they put both under the microscope. As the water started melting, it formed crystal and it was seen that different kind of energy formed different kind of crystals. The water which received positive energy made beautiful crystal and the water which received negative energy formed distorted crystal. They did this experiment on LAKE BIWA (The largest freshwater lake in Japan), and on Saint Crolx River that divides the state Wisconsin and Minnesota, on Mississippi river . Why it is important because 85% of our body is made up of water by generating positive energy, by constantly thinking positive we create positive energy inside us and vice versa.[2] Figure 1. Photo of negative energy water and positive energy water. Stay Optimistic: Being optimistic, having a positive attitude contributes a lot in one’s success. Shiv Khera says â€Å"positive thinking does not guaranteed success; positive thinking increases the probability of success† [1]. Having a positive attitude makes a pleasing personality, it energizes you, it increases your enjoyment of life, inspires other people around you, help people in becoming a contributing member of society an asset to their country. For an organization to stay optimistic is very necessary as it helps in reducing stress, increases profit, breeds loyalty, makes for a congenial atmosphere, increases productivity, fosters teamwork, solves problems, improves quality and creates a healthy environment in organization. Whenever we are positive we see good things happening around us, we become productive and if we are negative we see bad things and become destructive. You have to take the garbage out otherwise it will start stinking. As we all know Mr Thomas Edison at the age of 67 lost his factory to fire. After watching all his lifetime effort going up in smoke he said â€Å"all our mistakes are burnt up. Thank god we can start anew†. In spite of this whole tragedy he invented the phonograph. What an attitude, what if we all take this attitude and keep looking for sunny side in every situation. It doesn’t mean to overlook the mistakes. It means to learn from the mistakes and move ahead. Don’t get stuck in your past experiences of failure, focus on the future plan. Whenever you feel negative go to a smiling baby. It is found that whenever a baby smiles it omits positive energy. Their aura is positive. One day a kid was playing a game ‘connect 4’ with his father. Father won 10 round consecutively then he stands up and says â€Å"Son, I am bored. I don’t want to play anymore. I am going to bed†. Son replied â€Å"no, it’s not over until I win.† They played several other rounds. After 11 rounds kid won and then he stood up and said â€Å"I am ready to go to sleep now†. This should be the attitude of every person who is chasing his dreams. After facing any failure everyone should say â€Å"it’s not over until I win†. Environment: Environment plays a major role in one’s success. It is seen that majority of the people who are successful spend most of their hours working with the people of their interest. It has been seen that if you spend most of the time with optimistic people your attitude also becomes optimistic and vice versa. You have to choose your environment according to your need. You have to throw negative people out of your life who are draining your energy, who keep telling that you can’t do it, who weaken you. You have to change your environment from negative to positive by being around people who nourish you, who give you energy, appreciate your efforts, encourage you and inspire you. There is a saying that â€Å"birds of a feather flock together†. If you run around with looser you will end up a looser. If you want to become a singer spend your time with singers better than you, if you want to be a dancer spend your time with dancers better than you, if you earn Rs 10,000 a month and want to earn Rs 20,000 start spending your time with the people who are earning RS 20,000. By constantly spending your time with the people of your kind of interest you learn the skill to get the desired result. Take Action: Will to win is worthless until you have the will to prepare. Just by dreaming big, visualizing and spending your time with the right is not fruitful until you take action in order to achieve your goal. It is said that â€Å"Standing on earth thinking of sky, how would you ever get to fly†. You can’t achieve your aim just by visualizing it the whole day; you also have to make a constant effort in order to improvise yourself to get the mastery on the particular subject. It is like sitting in a car and thinking to reach the destination without starting the car. First you have to put the key in then start driving after some time you will reach the destination. So take the step towards your dream. To get the result that only 5% of the population has, you have to have the guts to do what only 5% of the population is willing to do. Jim Rohn says â€Å"you can’t hire other people to do your pushups for you†. To make yourself fit you can’t hire other people to do exercise on your behalf similarly to become successful you can’t rely on anyone else; you have to take action on your own because nobody cares about your dream more than you do. So take action in order to make your dream come true. IV. Conclusion Every single person can achieve his/her aim, everyone can make their dream come true just by deciding â€Å"WHAT, HOW and WHEN†. What do you want? How you are going to get it? And by when you want it? You can achieve you goal. Getting success is like knowing the combination to a lock, if you know the lock it doesn’t matter who you are boy or girl, black or white the lock has to open. By following the steps discussed above everyone can make their dream come true. . We spend years in school learning about the lives of other successful people, but we devote hardly any time at all to studying ourselves. I believe that all of us are unique, have different potential and different qualities but all want to attain their aim. I once heard that everyone is born unique but most of us die copies. The major factor of failure is, not believing in ourselves and doubting our potential. I believe that we all have the capability to produce gold. The paper guides us in finding and nurturing our goodness to unlock the keys to achievement. It motivates us to do what we must do to get on and go on with our lives. Keeping in mind, Shiv Khera’s view that the best idea will not work until we work upon that idea. . My Paper offers practical tips and strategies for pulling yourself out of discouraging situations. Life does not always present us with an ideal situation in which we pursue our dreams. Paper explains how to dream, how to set goals, and how to equip yourself with succeed. References Shiv khera, â€Å"You can win†(references) Dr Masaru Emoto, â€Å"The hidden message in water†(reference) Les Brown, â€Å"Live your dreams†. (references) Dr. David Schwartz â€Å"The Magic of Thinking Big†. (references)

Discussion of the four noble truths of Buddhism Essay -- essays resear

Q2. Outline and discuss the four noble truths: is the Buddhist view of existence optimistic or pessimistic? The question of the Buddhist view of existence being optimistic or pessimistic is one which is many have an opinion on. It could be said that the four noble truths provide the views of the Buddha in the way that life is led and more importantly, should be led. Certainly, the end goal is clearly optimistic, the attainment of spiritual enlightenment, or nirvana. However, the Buddhist view of life as we lead it is often deemed pessimistic as it is so concerned with suffering. As there is more than one school of thought to, â€Å"is the Buddhist view of existence of optimistic or pessimistic?† our understanding of these truths is crucial to the answer. The first noble truth is the full understanding of suffering. In an obvious way, people are aware of suffering and know when they have unpleasant sensations such as hunger, cold, or sickness. However, the first noble truth includes â€Å"awareness of all the ramifications of suffering because it encompasses the very nature and essence of suffering† (Gethin, 1998). This includes knowledge of the subtle as well as the obvious aspects of suffering. The obvious aspect of suffering is immediate pain or difficulty in the moment. Subtle suffering is more difficult to understand because it begins with happiness. In that respect it might be considered a â€Å"pessimistic† view that happiness leads to suffering. However, it is a fundamental Buddhist belief that the â€Å"very nature of happiness must change because it is impermanent.† (Gethin, 1998). To non- – Buddhists situations that might give one greatest happiness may be those which are the most actively desired and pursued e.g. love marriage and children. However, the need to maintain this happiness makes the happiness itself a suffering in Buddhist terms. If a sufferer is not aware of his suffering, s/he will never have the motivation to eliminate it and will continue to suffer. On the other hand if one becomes aware of suffering, one may be able to overcome it. In the same sense with the more subtle forms of suffering, if a person is happy and becomes aware and accepts that the happiness automatically includes the seed of suffering, then s/he will be much less inclined to become involved in the attachment to this happiness. One will then think. And so the first truth is that ... ...sting in contrast to worldly happiness which is exciting for a time, but then changes. In contrast, this ultimate liberation and omniscience is a definitive release from the defilement which is the cause of suffering. Their cessation is the most deeply moving peace. Within that peace all the powers of liberation and wisdom are developed. It is a very definitive release from both suffering and its result and four main qualities of this truth of cessation. First, it is the cessation of suffering. Second, it is peace. Third, it is the deepest liberation and wisdom. Fourth, it is a very definitive release. Cessation is a product of practising the path shown to us by the Most Perfect One, the Lord Buddha. The actual nature of that path is the topic of the fourth noble truth, which is called the truth of the path because it describes the path that leads to liberation. 7211, essay two Bibliography. Cush, D, (1994), Buddhism, Hodder and Staughton, Gethin, R, (1998), The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, (pp. 74 –96) Sumedha, Ajahn, (2001), The Four Noble Truths, www.buddhanet.net Francesconni, (2001), The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, www.dharmawest.com

Pearl in Scarlet letter :: essays research papers

One of the most complex and elaborate characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living Scarlet A to Hester, as well as the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. This connection leads to many different views of Pearl’s character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the child, â€Å"†¦whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion.† (81). From the beginning of her life she is viewed as the product of a sin. Physically, Pearl has a â€Å"beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child.† (81-82). The exquisite dresses and her beauty cause her to be viewed as even stranger from the other typical Puritan children, whom are dressed in traditional clothing. As a result, she is accepted by nature and animals, and ostracized by the other Puritan children. â€Å"Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world†¦ the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children.† (86). Pearl was not accepted by the children; her unavoidable seclusion was due to the sin of her mother. On the rare occasion that the children show interest in Pearl, she lashes out at them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The members of the Puritan society view Pearl as a weird, strange little girl, born from a sinful act. However, the characters with a closer, more in depth relationship to the child, feel differently towards Pearl. â€Å"She is a strange child! I hardly comprehend her! But thou wilt love her dearly, as I do, and wilt advise me how to deal with her† (186). Hester describes her unbalanced feelings and emotions to Dimmesdale. This statement shows that although Pearl’s quirks and oddities cause her to become â€Å"strange† in the eyes of others, they form into a love from Hester. This relationship between Hester and Pearl is important because both are ostracized for their irregularities and for the sin and shame of Hester. Dimmesdale responds to Hester’s statement with, â€Å"I have long shrunk from children, because they often show distrust- a backwardness to be familiar with me.

Memory, Imagination, and Consciousness in Funes the Memorious and Meurs

Memory, Imagination, and Consciousness in Funes the Memorious and Meursault  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Consciousness separates humans from sense perceiving â€Å"garbage heaps.† Jorge Luis Borges, in â€Å"Funes the Memorious,† and Albert Camus, in â€Å"The Stranger,† explore the causes of consciousness. They are philosophers who write fiction to answer the question, â€Å"What makes us aware?† An imperfect memory and imagination define our reality. Funes can be aware of other realities because has a perfect memory. Meursault reveals that the missing element for Funes to possess consciousness is imagination. I will define consciousness, assess memory and imagination as essential, discuss metaphor as a manifestation of consciousness, and isolate the affect of the awareness of other consciousness’. Without memory, we could not compare a past object or idea with a present one. Memory allows us to enhance past objective observations with present sensory perceptions. Because we have an imperfect memory, that is, we cannot remember every detail, we embellish. We give a past idea or object an identity independent from the external world because we perceive and imagine it differently than our initial sensory reaction. We change our original reaction with our imagination. Thus, creative people experience life more vividly. In the process of consciousness, we first remember something imperfectly, and then qualify it with other embellished thoughts. The act of thought, then, is not consciousness. Thought is the comparison of one object to another. We are not conscious because we notice a difference between two things. Once, we embellish the relationship however, we create an internal reality that is an imperfect copy of our true sensory reaction. We possess consciousness... .... Together, Camus and Borges show us that through our imperfect memories and our distorting, lying imaginations, we obtain an individual identity. Works Cited Borges, Jorge Luis. Labyrinths: â€Å"Funes the Memorious†. New York: New Directions Publishing Co., 1964. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. New York: Random House, 1988. Christ, Ronald. The Narrow Act: Borges’ Art of Fiction. New York: Lumen Books, 1995. Hart, Thomas R. Jr. â€Å"Borges’ Literary Criticism.† Modern Critical Views: Jorge Luis Borges. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 5-20. Jaynes, Julian. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Boston: Houghton, 1976. Mà ¼ller, Max. The Science of Thought. London: Longmans Green, 1887. 78-9. Sarte, Jean-Paul. â€Å"An Explication of â€Å"The Stranger.† Camus. Ed. Germaine Brà ©e. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1962.   

The Premature Burial

â€Å"The Premature Burial† reflect the terror that the characters suffer from and lead them to be isolated from the society. The use of the single effect in Poe's short stories supports the structure and the actions in the story. The use of the words † premature, horror, interments, buried while alive, entombment† and others support the overall atmosphere, which is full of fear and terror from being not dead yet but buried.According to John Kitterman â€Å"The Premature Burial† is a story that â€Å"presents the experience of being buried alive from the first-person point of view†,The unnamed narrator suffers from the horror of being buried alive. As he says â€Å"To be buried while alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality†(357). According to John Snart the narrator believes premature interments are commonplace.From the beginning of the story the narrator starts to tell t he reader about some events that show the human sufferings because of the premature burials. Those events and his illness keep the narrator's life full of fear and terror from being buried alive. â€Å"Fearful indeed the suspicion –but more fearful the doom!. It may be asserted, without hesitation, that no event is no terribly well adapted to inspire the supremeness of bodily and of mental distress, as is burial before death†.The narrator shows his fear not only from the premature entombment, but also from the suffering that he would face inside the grave while trying to get out. Moreover, he starts to describe the atmosphere inside the tomb and the presence of the â€Å"Conquror worm† and the things that keeps him torrified from being in grave while alive. According to Freud the interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious. The narrator beleives that most of the buried people are victims of premature burials, and those beleives a re repressed

A brief History about football Essay

Argyle has 69 sponsors this season that all helps the club in one way or another by sponsoring them money witch helps the everyday running of the club from security to help pay the team wages and transport to away games and keeping home park looking clean and tidy. scale and econmic importance Plymouth Argyle is of a great econmic importance to the city of Plymouth, the scale of with is involving people with jobs locally within the club to helping company sponsors like ginsters who takes on more staff as need to keep up with demans and getting their lines of food to the ground on time. There is many people that benifit from the club like on match days there is over fifty security staff working keeping everyone safe,also catering staff selling the drinks and food threw out the game and staff taking tickets and money on the turnstiles leading up to the game. When the football season starts Plymouyh Argyle helps bring money into Plymouth and everyone locally benifits from this as every home game, home and away fans travel to Plymouth some spending the nite or more others just spending the day in Plymouth but during the duration of their visit they will spend money in our shops,pubs,clubs,food outlets and other places. Role of education in the sport Plymouth Argyle play a big role locally to show people from all walks of life that there is plenty of jobs at a football club even if u can’t play football, from being a cleaner or doing ground maintenance all the way up to being a member on the board. there are plenty of opportunies of all different kinds of jobs that may interest people to getting involved with there local team. Plymouth Argyle runs many different kinds of clubs to educate people with day to day running that happens at the club. They ran a programme last year called kick off that helped people get back on track in life and do good and give a little back to the community. During this programme they taught them basic computer skills, built their confidence up and taught them other skills that may help them get a job in the future and keep out of trouble and not go back to old addictions. Plymouth Argyle also educates children and adults on why they should keep to a healthy diet and the positives they will get from it, and why junk food is no good for them in many ways. Influence from media and sponsorship P1. 5. There is lots of influence from media to do with Plymouth Argyle. It can be good our bad for the club or the person or players involved, for example our local newspaper the herald does a write up about the club and how they did or what’s going on. It can be good to attracts people to come watch the teams next home game when the team is doing good or they have signed new players but it also has its down side when the team is not doing as good as expected and negative things are put in the paper or they get on at one player. Plymouth argyle has there own website run by the fans for the fans where they can get all the latest gossip speak to other people online watch clips of the latest games and managers comments on how the team preformed last. This site is also first to get any breaking news to do with Plymouth argyle. Televised games has a big influence on the income profit for the club each season so the better the team does in the cup and the league the more chance there is to be televised by either sky sports or bbc what pays for the rights to televise the teams and helps both teams that our playing out and they get better national publicity and also get paid for there team being televised. Plymouth Argyle has over 70 sponsors this season including coca cola who sponsors the league that Argyle plays in. The money that the sponsors pay to sponsors Plymouth Argyle gets used in many different ways from helping with the everyday running of the club to team transport, players wages, ground maintenance, and better facilities within the club for the fans and the players. The sponsors get a board around the ground advertising there company and some times get a mention at half time and some times get a few free tickets to a selected home game. p3. Employment Plymouth Argyle has many people employed behind the scenes that helps keep the club day to day running run smoothly. There is over 70 members of staff that do there part thought-out the week without including the squad of players and the extra staff that is needed for the home games like security, police, catering staff and turnstile staff. Here our a few of the names and the job that they do for Plymouth argyle football club. Paul Stapleton who is the chairman, Robert Dennerly who is the vice chairman, Tony Wrathall & Phill Gill who are directors, Michael Dunford who is chief executive, Ian Holloway who is team manager. All these People and many more play important roles within Plymouth Argyle football club. Without each Person playing there role then the club would not run smoothly and would struggle. p. 3. 4 Level of participants Plymouth Argyle play there football in the second tier of English football know now as the coca cola championship, it use to be known as the first division until coca cola sponsored the old division one ,two and three changing the name of all three leagues. Plymouth Argyle is a well established team within the championship with this being there third season and been playing there football in the coca cola championship since it changed its name from division 1. Plymouth Argyles best position in the league and in the clubs history was last year where they ended up finishing 11th in the table. Financial turnover of the club. Here below is a table showing how the club as developed financially since 1994, and how the club itself as made a high percentage in profits and is still climbing. (www. footballeconomy. com/stats2/eng_plymouth. htm)

Airasia’s Strategic Management

Case Study: AIRASIA AirAsia was launched in 2002 by Tony Fernandes, at the time a pioneer of low-cost flights in Asia. At first, the company operated three Boeing 737s. In 2004, after a very successful public offering, AirAsia was listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange and from there grew rapidly. As of 2011, the AirAsia Group has 93 aircraft spread across 12 hubs (see appendix 1) and is flying to more than 60 destinations in 16 countries with 130 domestic and international routes.AirAsia operates 3,500 flights every week on domestic and international routes from nine regional hubs in Malaysia, Thailand (Thai AirAsia) and Indonesia (Indonesia AirAsia). AirAsia’s head office and its main base is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. This terminal handles 48. 4% of AirAsia’s traffic (see appendix 2). AirAsia is the leading low-cost carrier in the world and won the Skytrax award for World's Best Low-Cost Airline in 2009 and 2010.In addition, the company is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and has a long-haul arm, AirAsia X, which currently flies to China, India, Iran, Taiwan, the UK and Australia with plans to launch services to Japan and South Korea. This report will use the PESTEL framework to evaluate the opportunities and threats presented by AirAsia’s external environment. It will then apply a SWOT framework to analyse the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the AirAsia group.Finally, this report will list three recommendations, to be evaluated by the AirAsia board of directors before implementation. To begin, a PESTEL framework will enable us to understand all the macro-environmental factors affecting AirAsia. 1. Political Opportunities Deregulation and privatization present Air Asia with opportunities for new routes. For example, the ASEAN governments signed the ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on the Full Liberalisation of Passenger Air Services (an open skies policy) in 2010.From 2 015, designated airlines from ASEAN countries will be able to fly to any city with an international airport in a member nation. AirAsia will therefore have the opportunity to penetrate undeveloped markets in the ASEAN region by opening new routes. However, it should be noted that foreign competitors will have the same opportunity and new routes will require the utilization of more aircraft. The Malaysian Government has always supported the Malaysian airline industry. One example of this is the opening of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.Further, the Malaysian Government has helped all low-cost carriers (LCCs), and in particular AirAsia, to develop a competitive edge by reducing their operating costs and improving their logistics. Secondly, the Malaysian Government has given AirAsia, along with all Malaysian airlines, significant tax incentives (see appendix 3). These tax-incentives in fact helped AirAsia to cover a substantial part of its loan inte rest when purchasing aircraft. It is also important to highlight that other Southeast Asian countries are often substantially state owned.This allows the government to control the airline and protect it from competition. As an example, AirAsia established a joint venture with Shin Corp when it began operating in Thailand with Thai AirAsia. AirAsia had a holding of 49% of Thai AirAsia while the remainder was held by Shin Corp. , owned by the former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (2001 -2006). Threats AirAsia and its competitors can also be negatively affected by government decisions. For example, unless the Malaysian government makes an effort to minimise crime, travellers may choose to visit other destinations.Low-cost carriers are also suffering from recent delays in the construction of a new permanent low-cost carrier terminal (Expected to open in October 2012), work being undertaken by the Malaysian government. These delays reduce the ability for low-cost carriers to expand their capacity by catering for new passengers. Barriers to trade between countries may also inhibit low-cost carriers in Malaysia from entering more protected markets like China where the government tightly controls the airline industry.Civil conflicts and conflicts between regional governments can also affect AirAsia’s operations. For instance, there has been a resurgence of violence in Southern Thailand and terrorism attacks have occurred in the rest of Thailand and Indonesia. Additionally, Malaysia's recent decision to explore oil-rich waters off the coast of Borneo has led to increased tensions with Indonesia. These tensions could harm customer confidence and affect all businesses operating in Southeast Asia. 2. Economic OpportunitiesThe economic situation in Malaysia is stable. As an illustration, from 2004 to 2010, Malaysia's average interest rate was 2. 91%, its average inflation rate was 2. 77% and its average unemployment rate was 3. 43%. In addition, the Gove rnment of Malaysia has a current account surplus that enables them to continuously boost domestic demand, resulting in an average annual GDP Growth of 4. 5% between 2000 and 2011. The global forecast for all Asian countries for 2011 anticipates an average GDP growth of at least 3% for 2011.Countries like China, India and Indonesia are expected to experience GDP growth exceeding 6% (see Appendix 4). Although, economic downturns are always complicated for any business to negotiate, they can also present certain opportunities for companies like AirAsia because, for example, aircraft leasing costs are often reduced by about 40% at such times. Thus, companies with ‘deep pockets’ are able to invest and expand their fleet at a very competitive price. Threats Fluctuating oil prices are a major challenge for airlines.For example, in 2009 and 2010 the price of jet kerosene price represented between 40 to 55% of AirAsia CASK (cost per available seat kilometre). From the latest inf ormation, the fuel price in 1Q11 was US$117 per barrel, relatively high when compared with 1Q10 when the price was only US$99. 6 per barrel. Fluctuating oil prices have a major impact on operational costs. This is why all airlines use fuel-hedging contracts to stabilise the price they pay for the purchase of jet kerosene. By hedging fuel, Air Asia paid an average price of US$107 per barrel in Q1 2011 from (see Appendix 5).The last decade was very prosperous for several Southeast Asian airlines and the Asia Pacific domestic LCC penetration by capacity has expanded rapidly, and has reached a saturation level in several countries. For instance, in countries like the Philippines (61. 8%) or Malaysia (56. 5%), more than half of the region's airline seats are supplied by low-cost carriers compared with the world average of 24% (see Appendix 9). 3. Social/Cultural / Demographic Opportunities Firstly, Southeast Asia offers an important advantage to airlines because the egion is comprised of multiple ethnic groups that are able to speak several languages. For example, Malaysia is composed of several ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese, Indian and Thai – and this provides a company like AirAsia with the ability to find staff that can speak several languages, something which is useful as they rapidly expand their business outside Malaysia. Secondly, the rapid urbanization of Southeast Asia clearly helps airlines because it forces governments to develop important infrastructures and open new airports in order to facilitate the flux of people between countries.According to the UN, seven out of the 15 most populated cities in the world (;10 million) are predicted to be in Asia by 2025 (see Appendix 6). Thirdly, rapid economic growth also drives a rapid growth in the middle class within Asia’s large population. According to the latest OECD forecast, the amount of money spent by the Asian middle class is expected to represent 59% of the total amount spent by t he middle class in the world by 2030 (see Appendix 7).By analysing average household consumption within Asia, we can also confirm that the communication and transport spending category will increase from less than 10% in 1995 to 15% in 2015 and this will definitely increase the demand for air travel between Asian countries (see Appendix 7). Threats The emergent middle class is growing more rapidly in countries like India and China. It is likely that these countries will develop foreign LCC competitors that will have a higher growth rate as well as a larger economy of scale than Malaysian airlines like AirAsia. 4.Technological Opportunities By utilizing information technology, airlines have been able to reduce their operating costs. LCCs were clearly the most effective players in the airline industry at implementing breakthrough information technologies. By implementing e-ticketing systems and using e-commerce to bypass traditional travel agents, LCCs have been able to ‘leanâ⠂¬â„¢ their processes by removing unnecessary costs. Furthermore, new, state-of-the-art aircrafts are more fuel-efficient than older models, and this has helped airlines to reduce their fuel consumption.AirAsia has implemented these technologies and they have contributed to their operational efficiency. Today, AirAsia has the world’s lowest CASK (cost per available seat kilometre), at just US$3. 52 in 2010 (see Appendix 8). It has achieved this by implementing the following best practices: a powerful Yield Management as well as Computer Reservation System (Novitiate Open Skies), a global Enterprise Resource Planning System (powered by Microsoft Business Solutions) and a Customer Relationship Management system provided by Siebel.Threats By being highly dependent on technology, LCCs incur costs in ensuring that their systems operate smoothly and safely (i. e. from backup systems and maintenance). In addition, by relying heavily on online sales, LCCs expose themselves to large f inancial losses when system disruption occurs. 5. Environmental/Legal Opportunities Firstly, AirAsia has the youngest fleet in Asia, with the new Airbus A320 and A330 providing improved fuel efficiency.This is fortunate because the EU has adopted a new policy (coming into effect January 1, 2012) that requires all airlines to pay for greenhouse gas emissions released on journeys to and from EU airports. Secondly, labour unions in Asia are relatively weak when compared with EU or USA and this helps airlines in Asia to remain competitive by reducing their overhead cost to a minimum. Threats Natural disasters force airlines as well as airports to reduce or shut down their operations for hours or even days.In the last decade, airlines have been exposed to Hurricanes, snow, fog, H1N1 influenza pandemic, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. SWOT| Opportunities| Threats | O1) The population of Asian middle class is booming and will reach almost 700 million by 2012O2) Lots of potential to exp and and exploit growing markets in China, India, Japan and Korea as well as the long haul approach in Europe (AirAsia X)O3) Higher fuel costs may force some competitors out of the industry | T1) ASEAN Open Skies will increase competition, for example Singapore Airline and Thai Airways will start LCCs in 2012T2) Saturation of he LCC market in the Philippines and MalaysiaT3) Aviation regulation and Government interference will impact AirAsia’s passenger capacity (recent delays in the construction of the new, permanent low-cost carrier terminal (Expected opening date October 2012)T4) Accidents and disasters affecting customers| Strengths| Weaknesses| S1) Cost leadership: The world’s lowest CASK (Cost per available seat kilometre) with $US3. 52 in 2010. S2) Economies of scale: The biggest and youngest fleet among the LCCs in the region, with an average age of 2. 5 years.S3) Single aircraft fleet (which reduces maintenance and training costs)S4) Double digit growth of all A irAsia subsidiaries; AirAsia achieved record profit in Q42010S5) Quick turnaround of 25 minutes, which is the fastest in the regionS6) AirAsiaX has the world best fleet-utilisation, in excess of 17 hours, achieved by focusing on price-sensitive, time-insensitive customers S7) Profit margin is the highest margin in the LCC industry with 23%; by way of comparison, Ryanair's profit margin is 20%S8) The highest ancillary revenue in the LCC industry (through services like pick a seat, cancellation, baggage supersizing, excess baggage, cargo, as well as travel and tours through AirAsiaGo. com, e-coupon with AirAsia Megastore or Hotels with TuneHotels. om)S9) Brand name is well established in Asia PacificS10) Good at using IT to deliver low-cost operations (ticketless travel, online booking, online check-in)S11) Strong management team consist of industry experts with fast decision making processes (entrepreneurial)S12) Not sensitive to seasonal factors due to the high diversification of ro utesS13) Partnership ANA S14) Virgin Group has 20% share in AirAsia XS15) Weak labour unions | W1) AirAsia load factor fluctuates a lot and is not optimal. W2) Limited human resources due to low costsW3) Non-central location of secondary airportsW4) Heavy reliance on outsourcing (maintenance, repair). W5) Not financially strong enough to compete with â€Å"deep pocket† international airlines, e. g.Singapore Airline's new LCC | * | Main Recommendations| * | O3 with W1 = Recommendation 1 (CI to benchmark European LCC Load factors)O2, S13,S14 with T2 = Recommendation 2 (Partnership to enter new countries due to high LCC penetration level in Southeast Asia)S4 with T1 and W5 = Recommendation 3 (IPO of Thai and Indonesian AirAsia as well as AirAsia X to finance future growth)| Recommendations 1) Load factor As can been seen from the SWOT analysis, AirAsia is outperforming its competitors in terms of operation in several fields. It has the world’s lowest CASK, the worldâ€⠄¢s highest ancillary revenues per passenger and is the largest discount carrier in South East Asia.However by analysing the cost structure of Air Asia, it is clear that revenue can be improved by increasing the passenger load factor from 75% to more than 85%, something Easyjet has been able to do (see Appendix 10 for more information). The CI team must be deployed to investigate in detail the strategy that Easyjet has used. 2) LCC penetration in Southeast Asia is reaching maturity level need for diversification Appendix 9 and the SWOT together highlight the fact that domestic LCC penetration by capacity (seats) within Southeast Asia is starting to reach its maturity by exceeding LCC penetration worldwide (30% of Southeast Asian flights are supplied by LCCs compared with 24% in the world).Countries like the Philippines and Malaysia are clearly the most mature, with more than 50% of airline seats supplied by low-cost carriers. By analysing LCC penetration per country, we can see that AirAsia can leverage its AirAsia subsidiaries(Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia) to enter new countries with very low LCC penetration rate, such as Taiwan, Indonesia, China and Japan. The recent partnership of AirAsia with the Japanese airline ANA underlines the possibilities of this strategy. LCC penetration within Japan is only 9. 1%, far more than China with 6%, Indonesia with 5. 2% or the empty market in Taiwan with 0%. Meanwhile, Air Asia X (in which Virgin Group has an ownership position along with Air Canada) could be used to enter the difficult market in China more deeply.CI teams (AirAsia, Virgin Group, Air Canada) should be able to share information and knowledge in order to define several scenarios for future collaboration within China. 3) IPO to finance growth The construction of the new, world-class low-cost carrier terminal in Kuala Lumpur is expected to be completed in October 2012. Once built, it will be able to serve over 30 million passengers a year and, with exp ansions, will have the capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers a year. By analyzing the forecasted growth of AirAsia as well as it cost structure (see Appendix 11) we can see than the current economic downturn has increased the cost of aircraft by 212%, mainly due to the credit crunch.In addition, AirAsia’s ability to finance the expected growth forecasted is limited because its current structure includes only one publicly listed company that is used to finance all the capital expenditures for Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and AirAsia X. One solution to cope with this situation of high growth and important capital requirements is to launch IPOs in 2011, especially because AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia are performing very well in 2011. The proceeds of IPOs could enable AirAsia to buy new planes and fund growth in order to compete with Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways who will start their own LCCs in 2011. In order to optimize the IPO the CI team will evaluate the best time for implementing this strategy.In, addition, the CI team will also evaluate the possible risks that IPO will have on the autonomy of AirAsia. Appendixes Appendix 1 AirAsia Group fleet composition: Q1-2011 Source: http://www. airasia. com/iwov-resources/my/common/pdf/AirAsia/IR/AA_1Q11_Analyst_Presentation. pdf Appendix 2 AirAsia's extensive domestic and regional network Source: http://www. airasia. com Source: http://www. centreforaviation. com/profiles/airlines/airasia-ak Appendix 3 Malaysian government Tax Incentive Source: http://www. centreforaviation. com/profiles/airlines/airasia-ak Appendix 4 Asian countries GDP Forecasts Appendix 5 Jet Kerosene prices Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & US Energy Information AdministrationAppendix 6 Top 15 most populated cities in the world (>10 million) are predicted to be in Asia by 2025 Appendix 7 Emerging middle class in Asia Source: http://www. oecd. org Source: http://www. adb. org Appendix 8 AirAsia has the world’s lowest CASK (Cost per available seat kilometre) with 3. 52 USD in 2010. Selected airlines RASK and CASK: Three months ended 30-Jun-2010 (RASK = Revenue per available seat kilometre and CASK = Cost per available seat kilometre) Airline| RASK| CASK| AirAsia| USD 4. 87| USD 3. 52| Air Arabia**| USD 4. 88| USD 4. 43| Tiger Airways| USD 4. 61| USD 4. 58| JetBlue| USD 6. 72| USD 6. 04| COPA| USD 7. 37| USD 6. 58|Norwegian Air Shuttle| USD 7. 34| USD 6. 82| Southwest| USD 7. 73| USD 6. 84| Vueling| USD 7. 68| USD 6. 91| China Southern Airlines**| USD 7. 32| USD 6. 98| Thai Airways| USD 6. 76| USD 7. 15| WestJet| USD 7. 95| USD 7. 43| Continental Airlines| USD 8. 25| USD 7. 52| Virgin Blue**| USD 7. 43| USD 7. 52| GOL| USD 7. 99| USD 7. 71| Air New Zealand**| USD 9. 22| USD 7. 71| Delta| USD 8. 65| USD 7. 74| US Airways| USD 8. 93| USD 7. 88| United Airlines| USD 8. 82| USD 8. 08| Air Berlin| USD 7. 76| USD 8. 12| Jet Airways| USD 8. 09| USD 8. 20| American Airlines| USD 8. 51| USD 8. 22| C athay Pacific| USD 9. 55| USD 8. 41| TAM| USD 8. 54| USD 8. 44|China Airlines**| USD 10. 60| USD 8. 49| Air China**| USD 9. 75| USD 8. 60| China Eastern Airlines**| USD 9. 25| USD 8. 63| Malaysia Airlines| USD 7. 90| USD 8. 75| Singapore Airlines| USD 9. 61| USD 8. 92| LAN| USD 10. 31| USD 9. 18| British Airways| USD 8. 88| USD 9. 21| EVA Air**| USD 10. 47| USD 9. 38| Qantas**| USD 9. 84| USD 9. 68| Iberia| USD 9. 78| USD 9. 75| Korean Airlines| USD 12. 65| USD 9. 82| Finnair| USD 10. 20| USD 10. 68| Asiana| USD 12. 48| USD 10. 69| Air France| USD 12. 05| USD 12. 51| SAS| USD 15. 03| USD 14. 18| Lufthansa**| USD 16. 41| USD 16. 49| easyJet| USD 6. 99| n/a| Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation and company reports Appendix 9Asia Pacific domestic LCC penetration by capacity 2011: Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & OAG Facts Appendix 10 Passenger load factor Easyjet, Ryanair vs AirAsia Selected European airlines intra-Europe passenger load factor and passenger load factor gr owth: Mar-2011 AirAsia load factor development: 2Q2008 to 2Q2010 Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation and AirAsia AirAsia cost structure Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & AirAsia Appendix 11 AirAsia A320 and A320neo aircraft delivery schedule: 2011 to 2026 Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation and Ascend AirAsia cost breakdown / ASK: 1Q08 vs 1Q09 Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Airasia