Intercultural Communications: Japan Essay

Cultural diversity is what people seek to embrace in an effort to get on well with people of different backgrounds. Tolerance is expected while in foreign countries though at times culture shocks are inevitable. Japan is a rich country in terms of culture and technology and it is important to fully comprehend their way of life to be able to mingle with them. What is acceptable in one country maybe considered disrespectful in others and it is therefore important to learn about the customs, practices and the general lifestyle of the Japanese people. This case study seeks to highlight the lifestyle of the Japanese people in terms of social interactions, etiquette, and style of doing business, customer preferences as well as sensitive matters that must be approached with caution. Japanese etiquette According to Mishima (2010), the Japanese are very respectful people and one custom they observe is bowing their heads down. This bowing culture is known as Ojigi and it applies as a form of greeting and also as a sign of respect. It has taken root in Japanese greetings, something which almost replaces the handshake. Foreigners are however pardoned for this and they will receive a rather weak handshake as Japanese stay away from close body contact. While in Japan, it will be considered impolite if people do not return the bow and it is therefore epitome to learn how to do so as it may cost business. Another important fact to note about the Japanese people is that they do not like physical contact with others since it seems to make them uncomfortable. With changing times however and them playing host to many visitors, the Japanese people may shake hands with foreigners. Bowing is taken seriously in Japan and the Japanese people view it as respectful, as a way of showing gratitude as well as a way to apologise. When dealing with older people, the bow is normally deeper and longer and this shows total respect. Casual greetings take a shorter bow while a business bow is done at an angle of 30 degrees. To show gratitude or give a formal apology, the bow angle changes to 45 degrees and this may also be used to express respect to senior people. When executing the bow, men must have their hands on their sides while women are supposed to place their hands on their thighs. What to avoid while in Japan  According to Williams (2010), the Japanese people are very direct when it comes to foreigners and people must pardon them if they ask personal questions such as how much money they make or how big their houses are. The Japanese people expect loyalty in business relationships and failure to this may mean no business at all. They love people who are good dressers and so if people are to make a point over that business meeting they must dress to impress. The Japanese business scene requires businessmen to dress up in conservative suits in a dark shade. Dressing casually to a business meeting is not welcome and this may cost people a contract. Removing shoes is second nature in many Japanese settings and it is therefore advisable to wear those that are easy to remove. Businesswomen must wear minimal accessories and dress conservatively. Women must never wear trousers to a business meeting as the Japanese men will take offence. The Japanese people also believe that women must wear low shoes as they do not like the idea of being towered over. When it comes to wearing the kimono, the left must always be over the right since wearing it otherwise signifies death and it is forms a basis of being misunderstood. The Japanese are conservative and the use of large gestures by the hands considered. People must steer clear from funny facial expressions or any move that attracts unnecessary attention (Williams, 2010). During a business meeting, it is important to stay away from the â€Å"ok† sign since the Japanese always translate it to mean money, according to Williams (2010). Pointing at people as well as blowing the nose publicly is not acceptable in a Japanese territory. Business cards are very important to the Japanese in business and they are given and received with both hands. It is important to print it in Japanese on one side and in your home language on the other. When presenting it, the part printed in Japanese must always face up. After receiving this card, people must not write on it or slip it into their wallets. The Japanese consider all these actions disrespectful and they would be pleased if the person took time to read the card and examine it carefully. This phase is so important that no business transactions will take place until business cards have been exchanged. The Japanese refrain from using the word ‘no’ and in many circumstances may give a â€Å"yes† answer to mean â€Å"no†. It is therefore of essence to understand this since failure to do so may lead to several disagreements during business negotiations (Williams, 2010). Social interactions According to the U. S. Library Congress (2010), the Japanese are harmonious people who have great value for self development and order. Among the values they hold close to their hearts is living peacefully with others be they spiritual or human beings. They believe strongly in everyone fulfilling the social obligations set for them by the society. The Japanese believe in gods and they extend the belief to what befalls people. The gods are believed to have a huge influence in the Japanese lives and they are believed to have the power to control human emotions. The Japanese believe that they are rewarded by the gods if they do good things to others and that is why they highly condemn antisocial behaviour. The Japanese are highly social animals and this culture is developed from an early age. Interdependence is the core of the Japanese people survival and it is encouraged right from the home to the community. The Japanese disregard open competition and in the same breath do not work well with competition. They practice high self-control but at the same time work hard in cooperation with others in an effort to meet their personal obligations. Decision-making is not a one person thing and this brings them together to chart the way forward and they value group work and association with others. They value strong business relationships and work hard to maintain them though hierarchy occurs naturally. In business meetings, the Japanese are keen to exchange business cards as they value it as a tool for interaction. The Japanese style of doing business According to Lafayette (2003), the Japanese often view other people as dishonest especially those from the western countries. The major reason behind this assumption is a disparity in the understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Their perceptions are varied and this makes other people look bad before them. As evidenced by Lafayette, the Japanese are very wary of their business interactions with other people and in their speeches always urge them to be sincere in the transactions. By emphasizing on sincerity, the Japanese have harmony in mind which will include each person contributing fully to meet his or her obligations to make the dealing successful. They also emphasize on the correct choice of words to avoid confrontations and unwanted excitement which may lead to loss of business. It is typical of the Japanese people to be more concerned with the manner and form in which the business is being transacted. On the other hand, westerners are more result-oriented and this could cause friction between both parties. Japanese people in business tend to care more about personal relationships and these calls for a deeper understanding which prompts deep discussions of every minute detail (Lafayette, 2003). Root binding must be done in an effort to nurture the business ties formed since over the years, distance may grow between the two parties as each side tends to interpret the agreement differently. According to Lafayette (2003), this is caused by differences in perception rather than deviousness. The Japanese business people also belief that naturally the business ties will change just as circumstances change over a period of time. The trick here is therefore being flexible enough to adjust as the business relationship may prompt if business ties with any Japanese are to be maintained. Japanese customer preferences According to Cordell (2010), foreign products are subject to intense customer evaluations and they better be good. Other than the resources used in production of the commodity as well as the cost benefits, a foreign product must gain an edge in the market if it is to compete with other local products. The common notion is that products from industrialised nations of the world are valued higher than those from developing countries. The product will therefore be perceived either positively or negatively depending on the country of origin. A brand name is what sells and in most cases, Japanese consumers will go for a product that comes from a reputable company. Marketing of a new product in a foreign land therefore needs be strategic if it is to sell and the company has to aim at maximising its profits. This therefore calls for intensive knowledge of the product as well as assuring the consumers of high quality judging from the fact that Japan is very advanced in industrial and technological matters. Conclusion Japan ranks second in the world’s superpowers’ list and being able to penetrate her territories for a business venture is the best that could happen to any business. It is therefore important to understand their cultural value as it is a step towards understanding how business flows on the other end. Being a foreigner in Japan can be a great experience while at other times it can be stressful. This will happen if people do not take time to study the lifestyle of the Japanese and this may lead to collisions with them. When it comes to the product, it must be well researched and well packaged if it is to survive the stiff competition that Japan offers. It must have an edge on the products already in the market and the marketing-process must also be well researched to address the market needs. The product must be well presented by its marketers in an attractive and practical package and it must have the potential of competing fully with its predecessors in the market. However, a blissful business relationship is bound to develop if people respect their lifestyle and make adjustments to suit in their midst.

”Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and ”Brick Lane” by Monica Ali Essay

Having read both Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and Brick Lane by Monica Ali, I am going to concentrate the city question on Brick Lane. Brick Lane tells the story of Nazneen, an eighteen year old moved to London from her rural upbringing in Bangladesh to Tower Hamlets, a close tight community of Bengali families living in blocks of flats struggling to make their way up in the city to earn sufficient money and a civilised upbringing for their children, yet still yearning to go back to their home land. Nazneen is married to Chanu, twenty years older than her, he is educated yet earns his money working as a taxi driver. This novel has clear descriptions of city life, the diversity of the people within and how Nazneen interprets the city from her point of view. There are many ways in which the material conditions of the city are described in this novel, the different areas of the city of London are described from the block of flats where Nazneen lives to the big office blocks in the city centre. City life in this novel begins with Nazneen describing the ‘Tattoo lady’ who lives in the block of flats opposite her, from here we become familiar with the lack of space and understand the very little room they have in the urban areas of London â€Å"Most of the flats that closed three sides of a square had net curtains and the life behind them was all shapes and shadows. But the tattoo lady had no curtains at all. Morning and afternoon she sat with her thighs spilling over the sides of her chair†¦.† By reading this, it is already forming an idea of the main settings of the novel which are the block of flats, very cramped and close, very little sense of privacy. We also get an idea of the type of people living around the area as well, the tattoo lady is frequently mentioned in the novel, informing us that â€Å"at least two thirds of the flesh on show was covered in ink.† Another material condition of the city we come across in this novel is when Nazneen actually considers visiting the tattoo lady at the flat opposite hers, however such is city life that Nazneen reconsiders this â€Å"The tattoo lady might be angry at an unwanted interruption.† Although this is not an actual object described in the city, from Nazneen’s thought we get an idea of the type of people she would come across whilst living in the city, it forms the surroundings of the narrative by mentioning Nazneen’s neighbours. Monica Ali also describes the smell of the surroundings where Nazneen lives â€Å"The breeze on Nazneen’s face was thick with the smell from the overflowing communal bins.† This material condition most definitely helps to form the surroundings of the novel shaping the condition of the area where Nazneen lives. Although Monica Ali has focused on forming the surroundings of the city where Nazneen lives with the smell and the neighbours, she has also formed the novel with the material conditions of inside the flat where Nazneen lives, in the novel Nazneen spends most of her time inside the flat â€Å"to sit day after day inside this large box with the furniture to dust, and the muffled sound of private lives sealed away above, below and around her.† By giving brief descriptions like this it shapes the scene of the narrative from the beginning of the novel, we are informed of the furniture inside the flat, Nazneen mentions that she has never seen more furniture inside one room, with all this, we are already shaping the narrative with the material conditions inside of Nazneen’s flat. Whilst living in the city, Nazneen mentions outdoor surroundings quite often, although she spends most of her time inside her flat or at Razia’s, whenever Nazneen has gone outside the boundaries of her area, we as the are given more description of the actual city conditions â€Å"There were more cars than people out here; a roaring metal army tearing up the town.† By describing the cars as an army tearing up the town, we can immediately shape the city life of the narrative with the pollution and the noise of the cars. We can imagine the dirt and the hustle of the city. â€Å"The people who passed walked, looked ahead at nothing or looked down at the pavement to negotiate puddles, litter and excrement.† This was the material conditions of the city life which helped form the narrative, which helped give the reader an idea of the city life and scenes to which we can imagine Nazneen and her husband walking across. The social life in this novel also helps to form the material conditions of city life and the novel, Nazneen’s social life throughout the novel consisted of Mrs Islam and Razia gossiping about fellow women, she would often visit Razia at her flat, whilst going to Razia’s flat we are given descriptions of the surroundings within Nazneen’s boundary of her estate, we are informed of the â€Å"group of young Bengali men who stood in the bottom of the stairwell, combing their hair and smoking or making loud, sudden hoots†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this was the social life the young men had in the city, they would hang around in gangs not achieving much, Nazneen stayed within her boundaries as well, so it gives the reader an impression that social life within a city should be kept in the boundaries that you live in, like a safety barrier. We are also informed of the material conditions of the corridors and stairwells where Nazneen lives, the front doors are mentioned to be the sam e across the corridors â€Å"peeling red paint showing splinters of pale wood, a rectangular panel of glass with wire meshing suspended inside, gold rimmed keyholes and stern black knockers.† On the wall â€Å"someone had drawn a pair of buttocks in thick black pen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this helps the reader to form a picture in their minds of the state of city life where Nazneen lives, â€Å"The stairs gave off a tang of urine† Although Nazneen is told to stay within the boundaries of the estate because if she went out people would talk and gossip about her, Nazneen did go out. This was when she got lost, and we as the readers gained more knowledge of the material conditions of city life which formed the narrative, we are told that â€Å"to get to the other side of the street without being hit by a car was like walking out in the monsoon and hoping to dodge the raindrops.† Immediately we can imagine the fast movement of the city, cars going past like buzzing bees, to cross the road, Nazneen â€Å"waited next to a woman and stepped out with her, like a calf with its mother† short descriptions like this form the material conditions of the city life in this novel so skilfully. Throughout the novel, we are not only informed of the material conditions of the city where Nazneen lives or around the area of Bethnal Green, we are also informed of the streets buildings past Brick Lane. â€Å"She looked up at a building as she passed. It was constructed almost entirely of glass, with a few thin rivets of steel holding it together.† â€Å"The building was without end, above somewhere it crushed the clouds.† The material conditions mentioned here are most entirely opposite to the towers described of Tower Hamlets. Although both scenes have very large buildings, the towers in the city centre are described as â€Å"palaces†, with â€Å"entrances and colonnades across the front† this was the diversity of the material conditions of city life which helped form the narrative, because the reader is informed that the city is not the same throughout, every area has its own distinctive features, some parts of the city are very well looked after whe reas others such as where Nazneen lives are forgotten about. The material conditions of city life in the novel are mentioned to the reader in many ways, we are told of the people that Nazneen walks past when she goes to the city centre â€Å"every back she saw, was on a private, urgent mission to execute a precise and demanding plan†¦.† â€Å"They could not see her anymore than she could see God† from this, we acknowledge the independency of the people in the city. Soon Nazneen realises that she does not fit in with these working people, they are dressed smart, they have coats and handbags whereas Nazneen has a cardigan and a sari, although Nazneen was dressed differently, only one woman noticed she was there and smiled at her. By giving details such as this, Monica Ali has formed and shaped the narrative according to city life, every person with its own mission. So far, throughout the novel, only roads and streets, people and buildings have been mentioned. However when Nazneen does come across some greenery, she says â€Å"in this city, a bit of grass was something to be guarded, fenced about, as if there were a sprinkling of emeralds sown in among the blades.† This, yet again is another material condition of city life, although it is not unpleasant like the conditions in Nazneen’s area, green grass has not yet been mentioned up until now, and when it has the grass is guarded with fence, so from this, we can imagine the very few places in the city to relax and enjoy the scenery. We also get the indication that in this novel, for Nazneen there is no place for her to get away from everything, the city â€Å"would not pause even to shrug.† Throughout the novel, the descriptions of the city and the buildings given to us by Nazneen have been described just as Nazneen saw them, however, later on in the novel, when Nazneen’s son becomes ill, whilst in the ambulance van, and with her fear for her son, she mentions â€Å"The city shattered. Everything was in pieces. She knew it straight away, glimpsed it from the painful white insides of the ambulance.† Just as Nazneen’s heart shattered in pieces, the city did too with her, so she is relating the material conditions of the city with her emotions and giving the reader an image of doom and gloom within the city. Although the material conditions described to us previously in the novel have been mostly doom and gloom anyway, Nazneen has only just implied the greyness and dullness of it along with her emotions. â€Å"Frantic neon signs. Headlights chasing the dark. An office block, cracked with light. These shards of the broken city.† Up until now the city was not mentioned as broken, it was just described as how Nazneen saw it, but now, we get the real image of the city, the material conditions which helped form the narrative † The crystal towers and red bricked tombs. The bare-legged girls shivering at the bus stop.† Up until now, Nazneen had simply described the different dress code of non Asian females, now that she saw they were at the bus stop bare legged in the early hours of the morning, Nazneen is ridiculed by them, she talks about them along with the broken city. She is giving the reader material conditions of the city which make it so grim. â€Å"The well fed dogs and bloated pigeons.† This is something Nazneen would never see in her homeland Bangladesh, dogs are of no importance and pigeons always a pest. So now, we get to witness Nazneen’s interpretations of the material conditions of the city life, how she feels it is all wrong compared to her land. â€Å"The cars that had screamed alongside the ambulance, urging it on, parting in waves.† The cars that had previously been described as an army now screaming, this clearly shows the rage within Nazneen and the material city conditions which she so hates. Throughout the novel, London is not the only city mentioned, with Nazneen’s sister living in the city in Bangladesh, Dhaka, she often receives letters from Hasina talking about her home, and the surroundings â€Å"Street is wide and nice. But plastic bag blowing everywhere. Walk in street for five ten minute and by finish you cover in bag on legs and arm and stomach.† From this we realise, that city conditions throughout the world are the same. The little things which give the city its status, the material conditions such as bags on the floor is what makes living in a city so different to other places. â€Å"A wind blew in over the courtyard and fetched up a crisp packet at her feet.† Nazneen although she was in a different country to her sister, they were both in the same situation, both living in a city with material conditions such as rubbish on the pavements and non stopping people. To conclude, the material conditions of city life in Brick Lane are mentioned with such metaphors and descriptions which inform the narrative of the surroundings, the people, the scenery and the atmosphere within. The buildings described in so many ways, the smallest details found on the floors to the stairwells of the block of flats.

African American Immigration Essay

Among many of the ethnic groups that experienced a combination of segregation, racism, and prejudice; African Americans is one of the few that is still faced with one or more forms of discrimination today. The majority of African Americans came to the United States from Africa to be slaves, while others are citizens or residents of the United States from partial ancestry a form of the native population. In 1619, the first recorded Africans were recorded in British North America in Jamestown, Virginia, and the numbers began to increase as more English settlers died from harsh conditions and the Africans were brought to work as laborers. In the late 1700s the American Revolution occurred, which landed approximately 3 million Africans in slavery in the United States by the mid-1800s, (Centerwall, Brandon, 1984). In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves in the United States from a Union were free. Meanwhile the declaration of Africans being free from slavery was joyful event, it was also the beginning of a growing battle that lead to a different approach of discrimination including; segregation, prejudice, and racism. By the 1900s, the African American population increased, which majority of the population lived in the Southern states of the United States. The Southern states enforced the Jim Crow laws, which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities giving white Americans advantages over black Americans in public schools, public transportation, restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains. In order to eliminate the control that white Americans had over African Americans, African Americans began to build their own schools, churches, and communities. Although, African Americans building their own communities was the intention of avoiding the humiliation of the Jim Crow laws, it still didn’t prevent the African Americans from becoming victims of racially motivated violence. African Americans experienced countless acts of violence incidents that lead blacks battered, beaten and even dead in some cases. White Americans begin to form organizations that promoted white power, leading the organizations to practice out violence and destroy African Americans property. A popular white power organization called themselves the Ku Klux Klan and performed acts against blacks that included; lynching cross burnings, physical violence, and house burnings towards African Americans. Although, the Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1867, it has been rumors that there are people that are still secretly members today. African Americans experienced a wider range of discrimination, segregation, and racism more so in the later days but still arise in society today. In a perfect world, no one would be judged by the color of their skin and society would focus on a person’s individual true character. Often times African Americans miss out on opportunities because they are being judged by the color of their skin, rather than their abilities. The United States has tried to provide Americans the rights to equal opportunity, by creating the Affirmative action. The affirmative action eliminates people being granted opportunities based on their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin and ensures that minority groups within a society receive equal opportunities. Although, the affirmative action was intended to diminish situations which cause people to participate in different forms of discrimination, but unless it could be fully proven that African Americans were being passed up for jobs, education, income and other forms of advancements there will never be a way to fully prohibit this form of discrimination. Today, there is still unequal opportunities and discriminatory treatment that occurs in the United States especially with African Americans. African Americans were affected by many forms of discrimination that decreased advancement to equal other races in society. They were faced with dual labor market, forcing blacks to work in lower labor market areas. Redlining was enforced by keeping businesses from helping African Americans simply because of the area they lived in. Many African Americans wanted to better themselves by furthering their education, but suffered from institutional discrimination and given less information and aid for education. Knowing the history of the African American struggles on; prejudice, discrimination, and segregation allows me to understand my roots and accomplishments of my ethnic group. Personally the history of African Americans affects me greatly, because it is the combination of struggles that has played a huge role to my advancements and opportunities performed daily. The African American ancestors fought daily through all counts of discrimination helps that allows all groups of different minority groups the same equal rights for advancement opportunities. Although, the majority of the world views of African Americans has changed there are still people that choose to discriminate against African Americans by choosing not to change with the ways of the world and maintain prejudice. Acts of discrimination is performed but not as greatly as many years ago. African American culture has had a rough past journey, but in the long run the majority of the United States has made it possible for all African Americans equal rights and opportunities in life.

Compare two Member States participation and representation in the Research Paper

Compare two Member States participation and representation in the European Parliament. Questions to answer are on Details section - Research Paper Example My countries of choice are Czech Republic and Belgium. The choice for comparison of the two European member states is because of their variance in entry period. Belgium is one of the founding nations having been present during the formation in 1952, while Czech came much later in 2004. Czech Republic is a young nation formed in 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia. Belgium became independent in 1830. The time of independence is quite different for the two nations and could have also influenced the social-political and economical development for each nation. The political structure for the two nations also varies. Belgium is a federal state and its political system is based on parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy as the head of state. The government is further divided into the regional government and community government. The kings hold the executive powers, while the prime minister is the head of government and cabinet. The prime minister is appointed by the monarch. The federal parliament has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the senate (The Belgian House of Representatives and Senate, 2004). Czech Republic on the other hand is a parliamentary democracy with separate legislative, executive and judicial powers. The parliament consists of the chamber of deputies and the senate. Unlike Belgium, the government is a presidential system whereby the president is elected on a five year term. It also has a prime minister appointed by the president (Prokop, 2010). The European parliament comprises of 24 representatives who are elected from Belgium. Proportional representation is applied in the electoral system. In this election (European parliament), Belgium comprises of three electoral districts. The system used is referred to as d’Hondt formula and there is no limitation for the representation. After the election, people are still given the chance to overrule the party ruling candidates (European Election Database, n.d.).

Wuthering Heights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wuthering Heights - Essay Example However, before embarking upon the middle chapters, it would be advisable to throw light on the circumstances leading towards the middle part of the work. The story of the novel under examination revolves round the Earnshaw and Linton families on the one hand, and the cruel and wild villain-protagonist Heathcliff on the other. Brought and sheltered by Mr. Earnshaw, the wild boy Heathcliff was abhorred by his son Hindley Earnshaw, though was recognized by her daughter Catherine Earnshaw as her playmate. Hindley had inflicted punishments and pains on Heathcliff after the demise of Mr. Earnshaw, which turned this wild boy vindictive and revengeful for the future years to come. The Earnshaw family was the owner of the Wuthering Heights; consequently, Catherine got married to Edgar Linton, the estate owner of Thruchcross Grange. Since Heathcliff was also in love with Catherine, he could not endure unpleasant words about him from the mouth of Catherine in the presence of her attendant Nell y. As a result, he ran away from the Heights to return as a rich man after few years. Chapter 15 opens with the Heathcliff’s visit to Catherine (now Mrs. Edgar Linton) in Thrushcross Grange, where he finds her combating with serious illness. Nelly is attending her at there, while Edgar is out of the house. Since Edgar does not have any good opinion of the wild man, he would not tolerate Heathcliff’s presence in his house and bedroom. Consequently, Nelly requests him to leave the place without delay. Somehow, he turns a deaf ear, and has shower of kisses on Cathy’s face. In return, she blames him and Edgar as the main reason behind her fall health. In the meanwhile, Edgar enters and rebukes Heathcliff, leading the way towards scuffle between the two. It turns Cathy pale and fainted, and she turns unconscious. The next day, Cathy dies after giving birth to her daughter Catherine Linton. On the one side, Edgar appears to be mourning the death of his wife and by kee ping him recluse for many days, and on the other side, Heathcliff expresses his extreme grief for the loss of his childhood friend and beloved playmate. The next month Isabella Linton calls at Nelly at Thrushcross Grange and narrated the pathetic circumstances she has been undergoing at the hands of Heathcliff. Since, she seeks fears her life at the hands of his beast-like husband, so she leaves the Grange for good. The next chapters elucidate Catherine’s life as a young girl and the birth of Isabella’s son Linton. Catherine pays an accidental visit of Wuthering Heights where she has an encounter with her cousin Hareton Earnshaw, the son of Hindley. However both of them are unable to recognize each other as cousins. Hareton treats Catherine in a respectable manner. Since Isabella has also passed away when Linton is only few years old and the child comes under the supervision of his uncle Edgar. Although Catherine feels happy and delighted to find a play in the person o f his cousin, yet the boy is taken by his father Heathcliff. Chapter 17 also discusses the conflict between Hindley and Heathcliff, where the latter turned out to be triumphant in the scuffle and inflicted the former with serious injury in the wrist. Being a regular heavy drinker, Hindley’s health started falling very fast; as a result, he also died the same year six months after the death of her sister Catherine Earnshaw. Consequently, Heathcliff became the owner of the entire Wuthering Heights estate. Heathcliff’s ill intentions have not found satiety as yet; on the contrary, he reveals his plan before Nelly that he would take away the Thrushcross Grange from the Linton family through his son Linton; and he applied the

Hindu Tradition + Christian Thought + Greek Philosophy Research Paper

Hindu Tradition + Christian Thought + Greek Philosophy - Research Paper Example Under Saivism, Shiva is considered to be the supreme God, with his two forms being the lingam and the human form. Among the variants of the Human form, the most important is the dancing posture called Nataraja and also Dakshinamoorthy, the instructor of four sages. Vaishnavism on the other hand has its roots in Northeren India where the Aryans were mostly concentrated. It became renown in the 3rd century AD. Vaishnavites believe that Vishnu is the supreme power, and that god is personal and the ultimate goal of life is to be the servant of god, through faith or Bhakti. Modern Vaishnavites also believe that Vishnu takes many incarnations every eon ( Bhandarkar, 48,62, 160,165) Temples Along with the differences in sects and cultures between north and south India, considerable difference in the style of architecture has also been noticed. The most prominent parts by which they can be differentiated are their superstructures, and also the plan, vertical structure, statues and motifs. Th e major part of northern India, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the Bengal region has temples in the northern style; whereas the southern style was concentrated to the more southerly interiors had a consistent style. Mixture of the two occurs towards the central parts of India (Temple Styles, 86). The temples of India were classified as according to their typological features and were divided into Nagara, Dravida and Vesara styles, mainly signifying square, octagonal or apsidal ended shapes and these dictate the other structural parts of the temple. The Nagara style was common in Northern India, whereas the Dravida style was famous in southern India. Building of a temple in India in those times were mainly the religious beliefs of the kings who ascended the throne. So most of the temples were known according to the king under whom they were built. Various styles have been exported to places all over the world, including Texas (Temple Styles, 88). Around thirty four Hindu temp les exist in Texas, with about fifteen in Houston and Dallas. Various types of temples have emerged in the United States, such as the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Houston, which is an example of a temple dedicated to one particular deity, Goddess Meenakshi, but in keeping with the tradition of unity in diversity, with so many sects in the Hindu culture, the worship of Shiva is also done here, in the form of Lord Shri Sundareswara. Vaishnava traditions are also celebrated as the temple is also dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, another form of Vishnu. Thus this temple does not concentrate on any one sect but provides a multiple option of pursuing ones faith (Brady, 87; Laderman and Leon, 102). Majority of these temples were built according to the Vastu Shastra of the Vedic period, with modern adaptations. These new temples have spacious halls, and used for weddings and other cultural occasions. In most temples there is one main deity, but the deities of the other sects and customs are also recognized. This is because of lack of space in foreign land, but it also helps to foster good relations between the various sects present there (Badlani, 329-330). For a decision, as to which deity to be made the main one in a temple, becomes a much debated topic. Various devotees lobby for the different sects, and sometimes a temple that is supposed to bring in peace and harmony becomes a cause of division. Reaching a consensus is very difficult due to large number

Business simulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business simulation - Essay Example As such, it is important to involve them in fun activities and make them introduce themselves to one another so that they can break the ice (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). Secondly, I would ensure that each team member develops a common understanding of the various job roles within the new team (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012). Each team member should be aware of what another member of the team is responsible for (Franz, 2012). Therefore, as everyone thrives to work to their highest standard possible, they should also help their team mates in the same, strengthening the ream spirit of working together (Kayes, 2004). A final strategy of improving the efficiency of the newly formed team would be to set the team goals and create a plan of how to achieve them. I would also conduct regular progress reviews to identify the achieved goals and clarify the responsibilities of each team member towards achieving the set goals (Ditullio, 2010). Having carried out the business simulation, I have gained a lot of experience in the business fields of marketing, strategy, team effectiveness and finance. As such, I believe I can highly contribute to a business team and work effectively towards achieving the set goals and objectives (Lussier & Achuna, 2010). The understanding of the factors that make a business successful makes me a potential team player in your business, and I can add value to it (Cox, 1997). Through the tough work and harsh conditions involved in the business simulation, it is evident that being decisive is a key element towards the success of business (Tracy, 2002). There are times when one is faced with situations in which they have to make prompt decisions that affect the business. These decisions can lead to either success or failure, but they have to be made. It is better to have a wrong decision than a delayed one (Skrabec & Benedict, 2003). The decisiveness of an individual in a business, especially in the

Professional Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Liability - Essay Example In case the patient or his relatives, friends suffer a loss due to the negligent deed of the professional they can seek a civil claim to compensate for the loss. This is called professional liability. The online Medical dictionary offers the following definition of professional liability: this is the legal obligation of health care practitioner to recompense patients for causing damage or suffering by actions of omission. Professional liability is characterized by the responsibility of the healthcare professional to the patients for malpractice. It has become common in the medical profession to have insurance for negligence. I believe it should be obligatory for every nurse to protect her career by purchasing an insurance coverage. In this way she will be protected from the cost of legal and board of nursing actions. No nurse starts her education having in mind the malpractice lawsuits. Even when she begins practising this is not something she would like to think about. All nurses go into the professional with a profound dedication and commitment and with the genuine desire to help and serve people. However, as much as I don’t want to admit it, there is a certain risk involved in healthcare occupations, which stems mainly from the fact that the nurse is a licensed healthcare specialist. What should not be underestimated is that any nursing professional can be held liable and sued for negligence, regardless of how competent they are. Below are few examples under what circumstances a nurse can be sued: If a nurse makes a mistake while monitoring a patient, (or even if someone else accuses you of this); Someone admits a nurse has made an error in recording or reporting patient’s healthcare details and history; A doctor asserts that a nurse misinterpreted the directions he gave; A patient or his family/relatives admits the nurse did not delivered adequate care to the patient; If a nurse is off duty and she assists someone with an injury or any other h ealth problem and they make a claim for negligence; A nurse can also be prosecuted if someone under her superintendence makes a mistake. In addition, if the hospital or the doctor is sued instead of the nurse, both of them can amend and sue the nurse in return. It is not an easy situation and once the nurse has been prosecuted she might be required to go to court. From there, if the jury decides that the nurse did not indeed implement the â€Å"established nursing procedures† she can be held liable for thousands. This can happen even if the jury has no clue about nursing and the nurse will be criminally responsible for her deeds. I think nurses should be advised at universities about the risks of their profession and this should not be done to scare them, but to inform them and create self-consciousness. New nurses have to enter the profession with their eyes open and be aware that the more they know about the â€Å"small pitfalls† of their field the more capable they will be to act and react within the law and protect themselves against potential prosecution. Most hospitals provide individual or collective professional liability insurance coverage if the nurse is licensed healthcare representative. Some nurses prefer to buy supplement to the employer’s insurance coverage for their own personal reassurance and protection. One of the ways to proactively avoid or prevent negligence is to discipline nurses. Iyer (2001) says that the board of nursing may reprimand, give

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

English - Essay Example In each form of writing, though, Baldwin manages to retain his own voice, imbuing his writing with music and imagery that makes it possible for the reader to fully appreciate the situation he is attempting to describe. This can be determined by comparing one of his short stories, such as the very popular â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† with one of his essays, such as â€Å"The Harlem Ghetto.† The short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is not told in chronological order but is instead revealed in bits and pieces as the narrator interacts with those around him. When one reads through the entire story, the conditions of life in the ghetto are more fully understood. It is discovered that the narrator and his younger brother had lived together with their mother their entire lives. While the older brother was able to graduate from high school and join the Army as a means of supporting himself, the hardships of life finally took their toll on the boys’ mother and she died while the younger brother, Sonny, was still in school. Not able to take care of his brother himself and with no other family to turn to, the narrator made arrangements for Sonny to stay with the family of the narrator’s fiancà ©, who introduced Sonny to music and the piano. At the time, Sonny begged his brother to help him (Sonny) join the Navy in order to avoid some kind of trouble only Sonny seems aware of. Too involved in his own problems to listen to Sonny, the narrator leaves to complete his tour of duty while his brother begins skipping school and getting involved in drugs. By the time the narrator has returned home, his brother has gone to jail for dealing in drugs and the story begins as the narrator attempts to bring Sonny back into his life upon Sonny’s release. The entire story, then, follows the narrator’s attempts to finally ‘hear’ his brother enough to develop an effective and supportive relationship that will allow both

Entrepreneurial Strategy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Entrepreneurial Strategy - Term Paper Example According to Amit, Brigham and Markman â€Å"entrepreneurial strategies let people to be innovative, creative and responsible for decisions they make† (Meyer & Heppard, 2000).As a result of pursuing entrepreneurial strategies, companies put themselves in a situation to frequently and systematically recognize and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities.Enterpreneurial strategy involves a persistent, managerially sanctioned pattern of innovation related activities and resource allocations that compose a component of the company’s inclusive corporate strategy (Russell, page 640). This thesis will dwell majorly on entrepreneurial strategy concerning its importance/significance, opportunity recognition; .Current theories on economic literature explain strategy adoption according to forces of the competitive environment. Importance of Entrepreneurial Strategies Designing of business plan An entrepreneurial company develops innovations slowly.Explotation tends to force out explo ration and the company hits a performance crisis. Small companies have to balance exploration and exploitation. At some point in small companies at the start of the lifecycle design and innovation capability gets relegated in order to bring in the profits from the idea on which the firm was founded. Successfully spotting change factors, assessing their significance, reacting and adapting creates long term values. This can only be achieved by having a entrepreneurial strategy. Innovation The global environment moves faster all the time, innovation and its partner change are requirements for survival and success. Innovation often the foundation of creations is vital for any company to compete effectively in the twenty first century. Building on the importance of entrepreneurial action, Smith and DiGregorio explain that the fundamental nature of entrepreneurialship is newness, new resources, new clients, new markets, new combination of existing resources and clients. They put forward t hat equilibrating actions are based on both existing and related resources that modify existing knowledge about markets. In dissimilarity disequilibrating consequences are based on both existing but unrelated resources that are incompatible with existing mental methods. Execution of corporate entrepreneurship strategies is important and can play a major role in the success of efforts to produce innovation in companies. The development of a new proposal requires the recombination of existing knowledge and its extensions (Bettis & Hitt, 1995). Creating new businesses requires new knowledge which is necessary because new businesses are based on technologies that differ from currently employed companies. These new businesses function in new markets, making it a necessity for the company to develop knowledge of how to use new technology and compete effectively in the new market. Their work explains the inertia that sometimes occurs with larger successful companies. Many companies are usi ng alliances and networks to acquire knowledge that is critical for innovation and implementation. Entrepreneurial Resources Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies identify and exploit opportunities that competitors have not discovered or underexploited. An appropriate location of resources is needed to identify entrepreneurial opportunities with the utmost potential returns and to be used as a disciplined approach to exploit them (McGrath & MacMillan, 2000).The entrepreneurial s

International Business - the Porters diamond Assignment

International Business - the Porters diamond - Assignment Example The strategic conditions, demand conditions, strategic structure and competition, supporting industries of both countries needed to be weighed to enter into a new market. Some propositions in Diamond are double edged. For instance when competition is taken into consideration, the firm thrives and will be competent when it wins over the competitors in the rivalry. But the looser is also was in the same environment and the rivalry did not help the company as it does to the winning company. This tells us that the utilisation and reinforcing of the forces and circumstances mentioned in the diamond is the crux of the situation concerned. So the firm has to decide what type of rivalry it can face and win over it. When coming to supporting industries, the presence of them really make company competitive and reduction of expenditure on transportation can be made possible. But this is the common advantage for all identical industries in that area or zone. Another point of concern is that Port er's views are for developed economies and firms only. (Because he did not mention about the areas having no sophisticated customers and about MNC s dealing with different atmospheres or environments of Industry.) When the firm is facing a different type of market (also containing sophisticated customers) it should have a strategy to cope up with the different type of marketing environment. Strengths and Weaknesses of Porter's Diamond The Porter's Diamond consists of conditions which demand competence, conditions which drive the management to move forward, supporting and related industries and structure, planning and competition. In case of factor conditions consists of labour, land, natural resources, capital and infrastructure. Here the argument of Porter is that the conditions must be created according to the need of the company. The labour must be transformed into skilled labour. The capital must be substantial and in the case of natural resources the firm must have access to the fore most quality resources. If the firm is not successful reforming labour into skilled one, did not utilise the capital properly or did not garner it from the public in a time bound manner, then the strength of the factor conditions turns into weakness. The company's strength lies in making the general factors specialised. This involves investing more money and managing it well. So here the strength of the factor conditions lies in managing capital, labour and natural resources in a productive way. When there is any labour shortage, the company should manage to work with less labour and more technology. Here technological advancement which needs more capital comes to the fore. The managing of technology needs some good technicians and managers, though less in number to make it strength. If not it turns to be a weakness. When considering about lack of land and resources, the industry of Japan is making utmost use of technology to overcome the crisis of lack of natural resources. Here the weakness is transformed into strength. On the other hand in the present the US based firm has existence in the area of having more resources and is moving to the area of substantial resources. So it should have a strategy to make use of them to enhance productivity. When it decides not to move out of US it can think of exporting its goods to that country. But

The Prevalence of Co-Occurring Disorders Essay Example for Free

The Prevalence of Co-Occurring Disorders Essay When a counselor has a new client they are working with, the client has to be assessed. When being assessed the counselor has to determine what issues the client may have. Through being assessed, the counselor may come to realize the client has more than one issue which is called co-occurring disorders. At this point the client will have to be treated for more than one disorder to effectively overcome the problems they are facing. Within this paper one will locate the prevalence of co-occurring disorders, mental health and substance abuse or dependency. Services, U. D. (2005) states that substance abuse and mental disorders became associated in the late 70’s. Both substance abuse and mental disorder communities realized that the two were associated with not just depression but substance abuse as well. At that time, 50 to 75 percent of clients were reported to have co-occurring mental disorders and co-occurring substance abuse users were between 20 to 50 percent. Researchers have demonstrated that clients with co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness disorders can be beneficial with treatment. Even if the clients have serious mental disorders (Services, U. D. , 2005). With the prevalence of co-occurring disorders, Services, U. D. (2005) states that effective treatment and services is needed to be readily available for those who are in need of help. Many treatment facilities are not ready to treat those who have more than one disorder which means that one disorder is treated, while another is left untreated. After which, the client can continue to have relapses with abuse because the other disorders were not treated. What was considered to not be surprising personally is that fifty-three percent of those with COD whose addictive behaviors with alcohol abuse or dependency also had mental disorders sometime during their life (Services, U. D. , 2005). Also 59 percent of the respondents who had lifetime mental disorders were illicit drug abusers, while 71 percent of those who used illicit drugs over their lifetime had alcohol abuse or dependence as well (Services, U. D. , 2005). This is found not to be surprising because so many people abuse drugs over a lifetime that once they have reached their personal level of high, they tend to switch out to another drug which they believe will fulfill the gap in the word â€Å"high† they are looking for. A statistical piece of information that was interesting is that how the number of mental disorders increases as the number of substance abuse disorders increases as well. Services, U. D. (2005) states the likelihood of mental disorders rises alongside with substance abuse dependencies. With the rise of both abuses at the same time, it complicates treatment for the mental disorder patients that have drug use however, multiple drugs is normal for those who are substance abusers (Services, U. D. , 2005). The reason this information is found to be interesting is because with the two disorders rising at the same level, it appears that the challenges will be harder and more co-occurring disorder patients are going to need help with their issues. As a counselor, one must be dually competent to treat these clients or have staff available to treat the clients who have co-occurring disorders to ensure an effective outcome. Differences and Similarities in the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Systems One similarity of the two systems is that they both are defined by a combination of administrative leadership, regulatory oversight, and the funding. Another similarity is both systems have services that are organized into programs that treat individuals for the illness they are suffering from so the client can learn to have stability in their life. Ongoing treatment and rehabilitation is another service that both systems have available for the clients (Services, U. D. , 2005). One difference between the two systems is that the substance abuse treatment system treats substance use disorders. The services for the substance abuse treatment system are geared towards acute stabilization, active treatment, and engagement. The mental health service system treats individuals for mental health disorders. The services for the mental health service system are geared towards acute crisis intervention that is available for individuals who has been diagnosed with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI). Another difference is the substance abuse treatment system is focused towards treating the client to become abstinence from illicit drug and or alcohol use. The mental health service system has case management, psychiatric rehabilitation services, and if needed services that will house the patient if they have been classified with having SPMI (Services, U.  D. , 2005). With all said co-occurring disorders can be located in just about any population. If one is dependent on a drug and or alcohol and has mental issues as well, both substance abuse and mental health disorders need to be treated. One issue cannot be treated and the other left untreated. Ongoing treatment programs and rehabilitation services is available to clients so each individual can live a healthy stabilized life.

Big Skinny Online Marketing Development

Big Skinny Online Marketing Development Big Skinny Case Analysis Executive Summary In 2010, Big Skinny CEO Kiril Alexandrov was looking to transcend from retail distribution and print advertising to the world of online marketing to achieve maximum growth. The retail sales pitch was an easy one, as Alexandrov focused on the value of the wallet and the impulsiveness of consumers (Benjamin Kominers, 2012). Unfortunately, translating this type of sales pitch was much harder to do in the world of cyberspace. Big Skinny centered their online marketing efforts around display Ads, keyword searches, social media and relationships with online distributors and deep DISCOUNTED sites such as Amazon and Groupon respectively. The expansion caused much hardship, as Big Skinny received negative feedback on the review website Yelp that stemmed from their Groupon experiment. They also faced a glitch in their online promotion that allowed 4,000 people to order free wallets from their online store. Big Skinny needs to refocus their online marketing strategy by getting rid of display Ads, refining keyword searches and severing ties with deep DISCOUNTED sites. Big Skinny can create value for their product and manage their orders better by being more selective with who distributes their product and by keeping the price steady. A more seasonal approach surrounding keyword searches can create new revenue from those who are looking to make quick and impulsive purchases. Lastly, by being responsible for who distributes their products, Big Skinny can deliver their product in prompt and timely manner, which will resolve the majority of customer complaints against Big Skinny. Problem Statement Despite successful in-person sales campaigns, Big Skinny struggled to find an effective online marketing platform that would grow and connect them to their consumer base. Big Skinny also ran into glitches with their current online marketing campaigns that brought unwanted negative attention and resentment towards the company. Data Analysis When Big Skinny transcended into the world of online marketing, it had to develop a way to attract visitors to the website while attempting to convince these visitors to buy wallets. Since most of their wallets were being sold at trade shows or retail stores that centered on a straight-forward approach regarding impulse and value, the translation of this strategy to the internet proved to be a tall task. Big Skinny looked at various means of advertising such as display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, A/B Testing and social media. Display ads offered a two-frame animation; however, the click-through rate of general display ads in 2009 was only .1% (Bejamin Kominers, 2012). Algorithmic searches use algorithms that the search engine deems most relevant to the user’s query. The websites that most resemble the query appear the highest on the search engine’s list. Sponsored searches use keywords that the advertisers specify that they want to target. These are mostly sold on a â€Å"per-click† basis; however the company loses money if the clicks aren’t converted into sales. A/B testing is a marketing technique that shows different advertisements to different users to compare the response rates between the two. Lastly, social media utilizes websites such as Facebook and Twitter to try and create an interactive relationship with consumers. Alternatives Big Skinny could eliminate their means of online distribution and PAID ONLINEmarketing, only utilizing social media and their website to conduct advertising and business transactions. Big Skinny could be more selective in their selection of online distribution, while tailoring their paid sponsored searches to generate interest and sales. Big Skinny could scrap their online marketing plans, with the exception of social media, and reallot their advertising money strictly on deep DISCOUNTED sites like Groupon and Living Social. Big Skinny could focus their efforts on expanding in more brick and mortar retail stores by target marketing towards different demographics. They could use traditional media such as TV and radio to drive these efforts. Key Decision Criteria Increase customer satisfaction and corporate image Increase sales and market share Improve (or at least maintain) profitability Ease or speed of implantation Be consistent with corporate mission or strategy Within our present resources or capabilities Within acceptable risk parameters Minimize environmental impact Maintain and build employee morale and pride Alternatives Analysis 1. By limiting their online marketing to free social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, Big Skinny can greatly reduce their marketing costs. With display advertisements only getting clicked through .1% of the time the money is essentially thrown away. Investing in A/B testing requires the hiring of a permanent person and huge overhead. Getting rid of online distributors allows Big Skinny to eliminate the 7-15% commission they pay to Amazon and eBay while being able to manage their order load. Social Media is more than enough because 71% of social media participants say they are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow online. 91% of local searchers say they use Facebook to find local businesses online (Bennett, 2013). The cons of this are that they are missing out on a lot of potential customers by eliminating Amazon and eBay. While ONLINE PAID marketing can be expensive, there is still benefit to sponsored searches. Some of the cost per conversions are profitable and b y completely eliminating these searches would be throwing away potential opportunities. 2. The pros of Big Skinny being more selective with their online distributors allows for a happy customer base. There have been several negative reviews on the Yelp site regarding slow delivery and non-existent customer service. By eliminating deep discounting sites such as Groupon, Big Skinny can manage their order load and keep customers happy. Big Skinny would also keep the revenue from the top paid sponsored searches rather than eliminating them all together. The negatives of this are that Big Skinny could miss out on a lot of revenue by not using Groupon or Living Social. They could also miss out on the repeat customers that are generated by these sites as well as missing out on the people who want to try their product without having to pay full price. 3. Instead of eliminating sites like Groupon and Living Social, Big Skinny could embrace the huge influx of customers that it brings. According to the customer satisfaction and analytics company ForeSee, 91% of customers have already or plan to conduct business with the merchant since buying the deal (Bedigian, 2013). This strategy generates a large influx of customers in a short time while attempting to generate residual income by repeat customers. The cons of this are that company’s often lose money during the initial Groupon. The product is discounted by 50% or more and then Groupon takes a 50% commission on the sale price, which leaves the seller receiving only 25% of the original selling price of the item (which in some cases is less than the cost of the item). Forbes has found that 1/3rd of businesses have lost money on a Groupon deal and there is no guarantee that the customers ever return to pay full price from the merchant again (Gleeson, 2012). 4. The pros of using a more traditional advertising medium such as TV or radio would bring brand recognition for Big Skinny. Big Skinny has always had success selling in retail stores because they market their products based on value and impulse. By putting the product in more retail stores, there is a greater chance people will put it in their hands and buy on impulse. Instead of targeting just one big audience, Big Skinny should advertise by target market such as Big Skinny Sport or Big Skinny Women. By doing this they could partner with big retail chains to get into more stores and generate more revenue the old fashioned way. The average time an American spends watching TV is 5 hours compared to just 1 hour browsing the internet, which leads for greater exposure. The cons of doing this are that TV advertising is much more expensive than online marketing (Nielsen, 1997). Another con is Tivo allows people to record their favorite shows and then fast-forward past the commercials. The last con is that TV advertising seems to be a thing of the past, as the amount spent on TV advertising was only up 4.5% in 2011 as compared to 21.7% via online marketing (Gleeson, 2012). Recommendations Based on the data, it is best for Big Skinny to be more selective of their online distribution, while tailoring their paid sponsored searches to generate interest and sales. In regards to online distribution, Big Skinny should keep eBay and Amazon, however, should drop deep-discount sites such as Groupon or Living Social. To offer a Groupon deal, Big Skinny is guaranteed to be taking a loss. To be eligible to offer a Groupon, Big Skinny must discount the price of their wallet by at least 50%. This turns a $20 wallet into a $10 wallet. Groupon takes a commission of 50% on the sale price, which leaves Big Skinny walking away with only $5 for every wallet sold (Bice, 2012). Essentially, they are taking a loss with every wallet they sell on Groupon. The goal of a Groupon is to try and get repeat customers; however, the people that use Groupon are bargain-hunters. They won’t return to Big Skinny, but rather, they will return to Groupon again looking for another bargain deal. By usi ng Groupon, Big Skinny also decreases the value of their brand (Gibbard, 2011). Why would a customer pay full price for a $40 wallet when they just bought it on Groupon for $15 or $20 just a short time ago? In addition to dropping Groupon, Big Skinny needs to manage their online distribution better because of customer satisfaction issues. On the review site Yelp, Big Skinny’s wallets are only receiving a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars. A lot of the reviews include gripes about not receiving their order for 3-4 weeks or non-existent customer service (most of the negative reviews are from users who bought a Big Skinny wallet on Groupon). If the online distributor doesn’t ship your product in a timely manner, your company risks a tarnished reputation. Whether Big Skinny didn’t have enough stock to fulfill orders or whether Groupon didn’t ship the products in a timely manner, Big Skinny is taking the fall and abuse from customers. When people do research for a product they are going to see Big Skinny’s products with poor ratings. These poor ratings can scare potential customers away. Big Skinny should only use Amazon, eBay and their website to sell their wallets. This allows them to manage their inventory, not get behind on orders and make sure their product gets shipped in a timely manner . Big Skinny has excellent Amazon ratings and should continue to grow their product through the sterling reputation of Amazon. They should sell the product for a higher price on their website so that people are encouraged to buy through Amazon. This is a win-win for Big Skinny because if people buy through Amazon then Big Skinny doesn’t have to waste time and effort fulfilling and shipping orders. If they choose to buy direct than Big Skinny receives a larger profit on their wallets. Lastly, Big Skinny needs to tailor their sponsored keyword searches. They need to eliminate the term â€Å"leather wallet.† They don’t manufacture a true leather wallet and the cost per conversion for this keyword is a sky-high $20.26. Big Skinny should also bid less for the term â€Å"thinnest wallet.† The cost per conversion for â€Å"thinnest wallet† also has a high cost, which is $10.53. After replacing leather wallet and lowering the bid for thinnest wallet, Big Skinny should add keywords centered on holidays. Wallets are popular gifts on occasions such as Father’s Day and Christmas. Big Skinny should add season keywords such as â€Å"Father’s Day Wallet,† â€Å"Wallet for Dad,† â€Å"Best Wallet for Gift† and â€Å"Wallet for Christmas.† This will bring seasonal shoppers into the mix who are looking to spend quickly and impulsively. Action and Implementation Plan CEO Kiril Alexandrov will be responsible for delegating the following tasks. The Director of Marketing will pull any promotions or future plans with deep discounted sites such as Groupon or Living Social. The Director of Marketing in combination with the Director of Product Management will reach out to all of those who left negative reviews on Yelp to satisfy the customer complaints and retract the negative ratings. The Director of Sales will carefully select the online distribution channels which Big Skinny will sell through. Big Skinny will only sell through Amazon, eBay and any online outlets of the retail stores that they are currently featured in. The Director of Sales will also raise the prices of wallets on the Big Skinny Website by 10-15% to create value for the product and promote customers to purchase through the select online distribution. Doing this saves Big Skinny the time it would take to fulfill and pack orders, however, if a customer decides to purchase direct, then Big Skinny recoups the 10-15% it would pay Amazon or eBay to sell and fulfill the order. This new price point will be conveyed in a message from the Director of Sales to Big Skinny’s distribution channel. References Bedigian, L. (2013). Does Groupon Help Businesses Thrive or Bury Them Alive?. In NASDAQ. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.nasdaq.com/article/does-groupon-help-businesses-thrive-or-bury-them-alive-cm243672 Bennett, S. (2013). 6 Amazing Social Media Statistics For Brands and Businesses. In Media Bistro. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social- media-facts_b40978 Bice, B. (2012). Groupon Isn’t a Good Deal for Businesses. In CNBC. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.cnbc.com/id/49092709 Donnelly, T. (2011). How Groupon Can Boost Your Companys Exposure. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://www.inc.com/guides/201101/how-groupon- works-for-small-businesses.html Edelman, Benjamin, and Scott Duke Kominers. Online Marketing at Big Skinny. Harvard Business School Case 911-033, February 2012. (Revised from original February 2011 version) Gibbard, J. (2011). Considering Offering a Groupon? Read This First. In Social Media Today. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://socialmediatoday.com/jgibbard/337550/considering-offering-groupon-read-first Gleeson, B. (2012). TV Advertising VS Digital Marketing. Forbes. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2012/11/20/tv-advertising-vs-digital- marketing Nielsen, J. (1997). Why Advertising Doesnt Work on the Web. In Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved June 13, 2013, from http://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-advertising- doesnt-work-on-the-web

nominated sub-contractor

nominated sub-contractor 1.0 Introduction Until the mid 1970s, there were only two categories of sub-contract, which are nominated and domestic. A nominated sub-contract is where a sub-contractor is selected and appointed/ nominated by the client. The client instructs the main contractor, through the architect, to use the nominated sub-contractor for an element of work, usually an engineering package such as piling, ME services or structural frame; the main contractor must use the quotation obtained by the client as the sub-contract sum. A nominated sub-contractor is often appointed after the main contractor has started work, so one of the client benefits is that specialist design can continue after work has commenced on site.A prime cost sum is included within the main contractors tender document (a bill of quantities or specification of work). On top of this the main contractor is required to price overheads, profit and any items of attendance it has to provide, such as the use of site facilities, provision of a secure storage area etc. The value of the prime cost sum is omitted from the Bill of Quantities and replaced by the nominated subcontractors accepted quotation and the main contractors on costs are adjusted as appropriate. On the other hand, a domestic sub-contractor is selected and appointed by the contractor using the specification issued by the clients consultants. The client has no input into the selection of that sub-contractor and often will not even know its identity. The rationale being that the client employs the main contractor to take responsibility for executing the work using whatever method he chooses, either by using its own operatives or by employing a sub-contractor. (CCL Department, 2005) Contractually named sub-contract is the same as a domestic sub-contract except the client states which contractors are acceptable without taking responsibility for their final selection and appointment. Brain E. Rawling Associates (2003) stated, it was due to such risks that in the late 1980s, Swire Properties Limited introduced into its contracts the concept of named subcontracting, to replace traditional nominated subcontracting with its potential risks to an employer. It was first formalised by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Intermediate Form of Contract in 1984. The named subcontracting concept requires names of would-be subcontractors to be furnished at the main contract tender stage by the consultants, for the main contractor to issue tender enquiries and for him to select the proposed named subcontractor. Further, after the award of the subcontract, the named subcontractor is treated like any other domestic subcontractor and the employer/architect have no obligation to re-nominate. 2.0 Review the Method of Appointing Specialist Contractor JCT SBC 98 2.1 Procedure for appointing Specialist Contractor for JCT SBC 98 Under JCT 98, Clause 35.6.1, The Architect/ Contract Administrator completes invitation to tender to Sub-Contractor in NSC/T Part 1; Under JCT 98, Clause 35.6.2, The Architect/ Contract Administrator completes the relevant section of Agreement NSC/W. The Architect/ Contract Administrator sends NSC/T Part 1 and Agreement NSC/W with drawings, specification, or bill of quantities, which describe of work, to those companies that the employer wishes to invite to tender. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.6.1, The tenderers complete the NSC/T Part 2 and relevant section of warranty in Agreement NSC/W and return both NSC/T Part 2 and NSC/W to the Architect/ Contract Administrator. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.6.3, The Architect/ Contract Administrator selects the Sub-Contractor, and arranges for the Employer to sign the selected Sub-Contractors tender to confirm his approval of it, and to execute the warranty in Agreement NSC/W. The Architect/ Contract Administrator using Nomination NSC/N to nominate the selected Sub-Contractor to Contractor. The Architect/ Contract Administrator sends a copy of the NSC/T Part 1 and NSC/T Part 2 to Contractor with the drawings, specification, or bill of quantities on which the tender was based and the executed warranty. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.5.1, once the Contractor receives of those documents, Contractor has the right to reject the selected Sub-Contractor in seven working days from the date of receipt of those documents, with a reasonable proposal rejection, to the Architect/ Contract Administrator. If Contractor does not exercise his right, he must reach agreement with the selected tenderer on the particular conditions in NSC/T Part 3. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.1.2, The Architect/ Contract Administrator either remove the objection of Contractor and Contractor shall comply with the Architect/ Contract Administrators instruction; or cancel the nomination of such Sub-Contractor, omitting the work by such Sub-Contractor and nominate another Sub-Contractor. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.7.1, when the particular conditions have been reaching, the Contractor and selected Sub-Contractor shall sign the NSC/T Part 3. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.7.2, Contractor shall execute the Agreement NSC/A, which incorporated by reference into Conditions NSC/C. Under JCT 98, Clause 35.7, The Contractor sends a copy of the signed NSC/T Part 3 and execute the Agreement NSC/A to the Architect/ Contract Administrator for his record. Chapter 3: Review the Method of Appointing Specialist Contractor JCT SBC 05 3.1 Procedure for appointing Specialist Contractor for JCT SBC 05 In JCT SBC 05, Nominated Sub Contract for JCT SBC 98 had been discontinued. Nominated Sub-Contract had been replaced by Domestic Sub-Contract and Named-Sub-Contract. In JCT SBC 05, the Private and Local Authority seditions have been combined. In JCT SBC 05, delay caused by Nominated Sub-Contractor or Nominated Supplier is not entitled to adjustment of completion date and loss and/or expenses. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.7.1, If the Contractor intention to sub-contract the whole or part of the Works, he shall inform the Architect/ Contract Administrator. The Contractor shall remain his responsibility although such Work had been subcontracted to Sub-Contractor. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.7.2, Contractor cannot sub-contract the Contractors Design Portion to Sub-Contractor without Employers consent. The Contractor shall remain his responsibility although such design had been subcontracted to Sub-Contractor. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.8.1, the Contractor shall name at least three persons in a list to the Contract Bills. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.8.2, the Employer behalf of the Architect/ Contract Administrator and the Contractor are able to add additional persons to the list before the sub-contract bound by writing. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.8.3.1, if the list is less than three persons, Employer behalf of the Architect/ Contract Administrator and the Contractor shall add the names of the other persons so that the list not less than three persons. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.8.3.2, if the list is less than three persons, the Work shall carried out by the Contractor, and may sub-contract the whole of part of the Work to any Sub-Contractor by consent of the Architect/ Contract Administrator. Contractor shall remain the responsibility of the Work as well. Such Sub-Contractor as known as Domestic Sub-Contractor. Under JCT 05, Clause 3.8.3.2, the succeed Sub-Contractor selected by Contractor, as known as Domestic Sub-Contractor. 4.0 Procedure for appointing Specialist Contractor for NEC3 ECC 05 Under NEC 3, clause 26.1, If the subcontractor nominated by Contractor, the Contractor is responsible for Providing the Work no matter the Contractor intention to subcontract work or not. Fee on Contractors own work using the direct fee percentage and a separate Fee on work done by a Subcontractor using the subcontracted fee percentage; For subcontracted work when assessing compensation events, may use a rate or lump sum by agreement in certain circumstances. Under NEC3 option B 05, Clause 26.2, the Contractor submits the name of each proposed Sub-Contractor to the Project Manager for acceptance. The Contractor cannot appoint a proposed Sub-Contractor until the Project Manager has accepted him. Project Manager may not accept the Sub-Contractor because of his appointment will not allow the Contractor to Provide the Works. Under NEC3 option B 05, Clause 26.3, the Contractor shall submit the proposed conditions of contract for each subcontract to the Project Manager for acceptance. Project Manager may not accept when the NEC Engineering and Construction Sub-Contract or the NEC Professional Services Contract is stated. Or the Project Manager has agreed that no submission is required. Under NEC3 option B 05, Clause 26.3, Project Manager shall accept the proposed conditions of contract before the contractor can appoint a Sub-Contractor. Project Manager may reject the appointment of the Sub-Contractor if the proposed conditions of contract not allow the Contractor Provide the Works. Or the proposed conditions of contract do not include a statement that parties to Sub-Contractor shall act in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation. A person selected from the list by Project Manager shall be a Sub-Contractor, as known as Named Sub-Contractor. The Named Sub-Contractor is, for all intents and purposes, a Domestic Sub-Contractor. If Project Manager rejected the Sub-Contractor in the list based on NEC3 option B 05, Clause 26.3, Contractor has to amend the conditions of sub-contracting until the Project Manager had accepted it. Such delay, Contractor has to pay the loss and/or expenses occur during the delay. If Project Manager rejected the Sub-Contractor in the list not based on NEC3 option B 05, Clause 26.3, Contractor has to choose other Sub-contractors and named in the list. If Project Manager cannot give a reasonable reason of reject, such loss and/or expenses occur during delay shall Project Manager to bear. 5.0 Review the Nominated Sub-Contractor in UK 5.1 Review of Nominate Sub-Contractor used in previous contract form According to Electrical Mechanical Contractor Magazine (2005), the reasons for nomination are: The Client/ Employer can select the Specialist Contractor it wants, The Client/ Employer can obtain design and value engineering input and have direct access during the progress of works, delay can be prevented on the project as well. The Nominated Sub-Contractor benefits by having much greater certainty of payment. Atkinson, D. (1999), stated the reasons for nomination are: The Employer is able to choose which company he wishes to use and that decision does not have to be based on price. The Nominated Sub-Contractor can be involved early and so his design expertise and his knowledge of the contract and co-ordination of services can be utilised. The Nominated Sub-Contractor is made part of the contracting team being fully involved, if required. Clear contractual liability is established providing a clear line of responsibility to the employer. 5.2 Review of Nominated Sub-Contractor had been discontinued According to Electrical Mechanical Contractor Magazine, 2005. Most forms of contract allow the Contractor to claim an adjustment of completion date for delay caused by a Nominated Sub-Contractor, which the Contractor has taken all reasonable measures to prevent. In this situation, Contractor is easy to make a claim and very difficult to refute. Clients now prefer to pass on the risk of appointing Sub-Contractors to the Contractor. The naming procedure allows clients to keep some control on Sub-Contractor selection without having to take responsibility for performance. Karnick, M. (2009) stated that old nomination system may cause delay and Contractor entitled to adjustment of completion date and loss and/or expenses. To Employer/ Client Employer no needs to bear the cost of determination of the Domestic Sub-Contractor, but Named Sub-Contractor. More manageable of the progress of the sub-contract work, Contractor is not responsible for the delay of Nominated Sub-Contractor; but he is responsible for Domestic Sub-Contractor and Named Sub-Contractor. More manageable of the progress of the sub-contract work, Contractor is not responsible for defective design by Nominated Sub-Contractor; but he is responsible for Domestic Sub-Contractor. Employer/ Client can appoint Named Sub-Contractor at design stage before appoint the Contractor. Employer/ Client has a direct link with Sub-Contractor in respect of design. Employer/ Client has no responsibility for the performance of Named Sub-Contractor. But Contractor has no responsibility for the design work carried out by Named Sub-Contractor. The Client/ Employer or his Quantity Surveyor values the sub-contractors work. This valuation is shown as a separate amount on the Interim Certificate and is notified to the sub-contractor. In the event that the main contractor does not pay the stated amount by the due date, the Sub-Contractor can then ask for payment direct from the Client/ Employer. To Architect/ Contract Administrator/ Project Manager Architect/ Contract Administration/ Project Manager need to be consent if Contractor intended to nominate a Sub-Contractor. To Quantity Surveying The Client/ Employer or his Quantity Surveyor values the sub-contractors work. This valuation is shown as a separate amount on the Interim Certificate and is notified to the sub-contractor. In the event that the main contractor does not pay the stated amount by the due date, the Sub-Contractor can then ask for payment direct from the Client/ Employer. 6.0 Conclusion Contract forms need to be updated, amended, merged and retired to reduce the conflict of the contract. In JCT SBC 05, Nominated Sub-Contractor had been discontinued because of many conflicts happened in past few years from 2005. Nominated Sub-Contractor had been discounted to improve the management of the progress of the sub-contract work. Previously, Contractor will not responsible for the Nominated Sub-Contractors delay, and Contractor entitled to Adjustment of Completion Date and loss and/or expenses. Nowadays, Contractor is more responsible for sub-contract work. In my opinion, I think that the new Specialist Sub-Contractor appointment procedures had makes it simpler. Due to many conflict happened between Nominated Sub-Contractor and Contractor, this is one of the solution to lower the conflict. Sub-Contractor and Contract shall have mutual trust and co-operation to each other. Besides, I think the new Specialist Sub-Contractor appointment procedures will really helps in the management of the progress of the sub-contract works. Contractor will more care about the sub-contract works, and ensure the sub-contract works always in schedule and maintain with good quality. There is no best way to reduce the construction conflict to zero, but to prevent the conflict happened. I think this Specialist Sub-Contractor appointment system may help in reduce conflict in construction industry. 7.0 Reference Alberta Labour Relations Board, (2002). True Employer and Subcontractor [pdf] 1 June. http://www.alrb.gov.ab.ca/procedure/24(f)(ii).pdf [Last Accessed 25 July 2009] Atkinso.D, (1999). Subcontracting [online] 1 June. http://www.atkinson-law.com/cases/CasesArticles/Articles/SubContracting.htm [Last Accessed 25 July 2009] Barnes, P., 2008. JCT 05 06 Contracts. [pdf] 25 January. Available at: http://www.arbitrate.org.uk/speakers_papers/Peter%20Barnes%20JCT%202005%20%20CIArb%2023-01-08.pdf [Last accessed on 26 July 2009] Brand, D., 2009. Contract nominations. [Online] 5 January. Available at: http://cmguide.org/archives/315 [Last accessed on 23 July 2009] Brian, E. Rawling Associates, 2003. Nominated or Names? [pdf] 27 September. Available at: http://www.brianerawling.com/PDF/Jun%2001%20~%20Nominated%20or%20Named.pdf [Last accessed on 26 July 2009] CCL Department, 2005. What Sort of Subbie Are You? [pdf] March. Available at: http://www.eca.co.uk/IndustryGuidance/CCandL/Download/WhatSortOfSubbieRU.pdf [Last accessed on 23 July 2009] Chappell, D. (2007). Understanding JCT Standard Building Contracts. 8th Edi. Taylor Francis. London New York. Karnick, M., 2009. Nominating the best project subcontractors. [Online] 12 July. Available at: http://cmguide.org/archives/1357 [Last accessed on 23 July 2009] Murdoch, J. Hughes, W. (2009). Construction Contracts: Law and Management. Taylor Francis. London New York. Office Of Government Commerce (2005). NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract: Option B: Priced Contract with Bill of Quantities. 3rd ed., Great Britain, Bell Bain Limited. Price, J. (1994). Sub-Contracting under the JCT Standard Form of Building Contract. Macmillan. Ryland, J., 2004. Nominated Sub-contractors- Whats in name? [pdf] 2 January. Available at: http://pprn.crippslaw.com/index2.php?option=com_contentdo_pdf=1id=63 [Last accessed on 23 July 2009] RICS, 2005. A comprehensive guide to help you move from JCT 98 to JCT 05. [pdf] 3 May. Available at: http://www.ricsbooks.com/downloads/CONTRACT%20FINDER.pdf [Last accessed on 26 July 2009] Standard Form of Building Contract (1998). Local Authorities with Quantities. Great Britain, The Joint Tribunal Limited

Concepts of Communication in Parent Child Relationships Essay -- Commu

â€Å"Communication is the key† is a quote that is often repeated. In every single relationship communication is essential. Especially among parents and children. Communication between parent and child has always been important. Today, however, there is an even greater focus, especially in light of all the things children face at school and in everyday life. Without a parent knowing what is going on in the life and mind of their child, it is hard to really understand what they are going through. Communication is the starting point of understanding. Children learn communication from their parents. Communication is not something that can be studied; it is something that people have to learn by doing. As a parent, good communication needs to be emphasized as they are talking and listening to the child. A child can tell when a parent is not really listening to them, and this can create a big problem in the relationship. Children who feel misunderstood or feel like they aren’t being listened to will start to hold their feelings inside. This is the exact opposite of what good communication should be. Good communication is not merely talking; it is being with someone and relating that nothing else is more important at that time. So many times parents are doing three or four tasks while their child is trying to communicate something to them. They may not even look up from the recipe or newspaper they are trying to read, as the child is desperately trying to get their attention. This displays a lack of interest in the child or what they are trying to convey to the parent. Lack of interest is one thing that will keep families from communicating. When someone doesn’t feel worthy enough of attention, they will stop sharing all together. When children stop sharing with their parents, they go to places and people that will show them attention. This can lead to trouble. The child may look for other avenues of acceptance, which could be negative influences. This could easily be avoided if only the parent had shown an interest in the child’s life. Part of effective commun ication with your children is being aware of their whereabouts. A child who is unsupervised or who has a parent that doesn’t show an interest in her activities, is likely to shut down and internalize her feelings (Beers, 1987). Parents also need to be aware of what is going on in a child’s life. Th... ...hout their lives. in order to have a society of good communicators, it needs to start in the home. Parents need to start communicating with their children and need to show them how to communicate with others. This is a skill that will be valued all throughout life and is something that shouldn’t be ignored. The skill of communication will be valued in every relationship throughout life. It is a necessity. References Beers, V.G. (1987). Parents and Children: Increasing Family Communication. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Cushman, D.P. & Cahn, D.D. (1985). Communication in Interpersonal Relationships. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Foxhall, K. (2000). Parent and Child Communication. Monitor on Psychology. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on February 18, 2005: http://www.apa.org/monitor/may00/communication.html Gurman, A. & Kniskern, D. (1991). Handbook of Family Therapy Vol. II. Bristol PA: Brunner/Mazel. Author's name omitted by request. (2001). Parent child communication: how to communicate effectively. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on February 19, 2005: http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Teenagers/parentchildco_stj_gn.htm

Essay example --

The Red Farm Power is a great tool, but like the hammer it can build and destroy civilizations. This is the theme and lesson that I learned from George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm. It is believed, and can be notably seen in the past, that many great people, like Julius Cesar and Napoleon, become dangerous and corrupt under vast amounts of power. Both wanted to own the world and extend the wealth of their country but ended up evil in the eyes of many. In history there seems to be a pattern of people at the top, the kings and rulers, falling to their deaths. These type of situations usually happen because the "lower classes" becomes irrelevant and has nothing in their lives. They see the king with all this power and realize that power can bring them happiness as well. Yet Having so much power is not always a good thing. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, a scary depiction of life in what we can assume to be a corruption of Socialist Ideals, in other words the "Soviet Union", is played out. In the novel personification is used on farm animals. The animals can talk and communicate, think, and even have feeling towards each other as if they were human. In the novel, George Orwell created a character named Napoleon. He is a pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the rebellion, and in many ways he is has the characteristics of the Soviet Leader, Joseph Stalin. In the begging he seems to be a good leader; unfortunately like history as proven before, he is eventually overcome in greed and a desire for power. In real life this is how Joseph Stalin became, after suspecting many people in his empire to be followers of Trotsky he became a very evil man. In real life Lion Trotsky and Joseph Stalin where political ... ...apoleons farm with fake bank notes, this sparks a war and blood is shed all over. Many animals die but despite the loss, Napoleons farm wins. The war is once again blamed on Snowball. The last significant event that leads to Napoleon's complete communist control is the killing of Boxer. With Boxer out of the picture, Napoleon ruled the farm with his dogs by his side, and the farm was back to how it began, except instead of humans controlling, the pigs and dogs did. Power is a great tool, but like the hammer it can build and destroy civilizations. To me nothing summarizes this novel better. The novel has enlightened me on the history of Soviet Union and how it was created and ran as a country. Till I read this book i had never heard of Lion Trotsky. Over all George Orwell's classic novel, Animal Farm was a great book and I loved readying it.

A Case Study of the English Language Center :: Research Papers

A Case Study of the English Language Center Three blocks away from the hustle of Market Street, the main thoroughfare of Drexel University's campus, an unassuming building nestles in a quiet neighborhood. The street, lined with narrow sidewalks and trees, gives one a feeling of coziness and safety. Other than the faint sounds of city traffic, tranquility presides over this neighborhood scene. At 229 North 33rd Street stands a long, rectangular, light-colored brick building two stories high. The low green shrubs at the edge of the building and the grassy areas spotted with trees to either side of the entrance give one the sense that this building belongs to the "neighborhood." Looking up at its facade, one would not think that inside this modest structure lies a microscopic view of the world as it could be in the next millennium-a world where countries from all corners of the globe come together in harmony, a non-politicized world where borders, political divisions separating ethnic groups, dissolve and give rise toboundar ies, permeable areas that encourage the acknowledgement of and mutual respect for linguistic and cultural diversity. What is this place? Who are the inhabitants? Walking up the entranceway steps lined with black iron railings, one immediately encounters an outer glass door inscribed with the outline of an umbrella-shaped image encasing the letters AAIEP. Above the umbrella stand the words "American Association for International English Programs (AAIEP)" and underneath, "English Language Center, Foreign Language Center, and ESL Writing Center." These words only begin to frame what goes on inside this building. On the other side of the entranceway lies a safe haven--a place where people from around the globe to come together to learn English, a place where words are transformed into language. But more goes on at 229 North 33rd Street than just the learning of English in the traditional sense of learning a language or the teaching of specific skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. At Drexel's English Language Center (ELC), students learn about American culture as well. While knowledge of vocabulary, syntax, and grammar serve to enhance one's linguistic ability, they do not necessarily promote communicative competence or the appropriate use of language in situations of everyday life. Because the rules and norms of language cannot be separated from culture, developing communicative competence "enables a student to use a language for a wide range of social and expressive purposes" (Schiffrin 323).

Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans on French Revolution

Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans on French Revolution The Federalists wanted to remain neutral regarding the issue of French Revolution in order to avoid to a trade conflict with Britain. However, the Jeffersonian Republicans wanted to help France achieve independence from a cruel monarchy and help the Frenchmen support the idea of freedom just like the United States. The Federalist Party was led by Alexander Hamilton.Federalists favored a strong federal government, believed that the government should be ruled by educated, wealthy men, wanted to pay off national debt, establishing a national credit, promoted entrepreneurship & manufacturing, and interpreted the United States Constitution with an open mind. These views supported the Federalists’ view on the French Revolution and so did Jefferson’s party. Thomas Jefferson led his party known as the Jeffersonian Republicans.The Jeffersonian Republicans supported the idea of government ruled by informed men, bel ieved in a strong state government, wanted to cultivate an economy by cultivating crops, and followed the U. S. Constitution verbatim. Jefferson’s party too had an opinion on the French Revolution. Hamilton and Jefferson supported their party’s views. The Federalists wanted to remain neutral to avoid a sanction from Britain on American goods because they were highly concerned about paying off the national debt and ensure a strong economy by exporting manufactured goods.Conversely, Jeffersonian Republicans and his leader, an author of the Declaration of Independence, supported the motif of the French Revolution and believed that the Americans should support one similar to theirs. In conclusion, the Federalist Party wanted to remain neutral regarding the issue of French Revolution to avoid a sanction from Britain. Though, the Jeffersonian Republicans supported the French citizens to remove a feudal system, revolt against a tyranny and achieve independence similar to Amer ica.