Piagets Theory

Connor Taylor AP Psychology Mr. OG Piagets’s Theory: Cognitive Development Developmental psychology is the study of human growth and development which occurs throughout the entire lifespan. Cognitive development is the beginning to the ability to think and understand. Cognitive development focuses on child’s development of information processing, conceptual resources, perpetual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development. Piaget has four stages to his theory: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Much of the research has gone into understanding how a child imagines the world.In Piaget’s view, early cognitive development includes processes based upon actions and it later changes in mental operations. The first stage of Piaget’s theory lasts from birth until about age two, and it based upon the baby trying to make sense of the world. During the sensorimotor stage the child uses skills and abilities t hey were born with such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening to learn more about the environment. Object permanence is a child’s understanding that objects are still there even though they cannot be seen or heard, and according to Piaget it is one of the most important.By 18 to 24 months children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world, and children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than through just actions. The preoperational stage occurs between about the ages 2 and seven. One of the milestones at this period is language development. Piaget states that at this stage do not yet understand concrete logic and are unable to take the point of view of other people. Piaget’s focus on this stage is what children could not do yet.Children lack the knowledge that things look different to other people and that objects can change in appearance while still maintaining the same properties In the â⠂¬Å"Three Mountain Task† children almost always choose the scene showing their own view of the mountain image. Before the age of 5 Piaget found that not many children showed an understanding of conservation prior to the age of five, many children found that the cup filled higher contained more liquid, though they each had an equal amount. The concrete operational stage starts at about age 7 and continues approximately until age 11.During the concrete operational stage children begin a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin to think logically, but do have difficulty understanding hypothetical concepts. Children have trouble using general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event according to Piaget. Piaget states that one of the most important processes in this stage is reversibility, and being aware that things can be reversed. The last stage is operational stage, the operational stage lasts from about age 12 and lasts into adulthood. During thi s period people learn the ability to think about abstract concepts.Logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning are all developed during the operational stage. Deductive logic is the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome, and Piaget thought that deductive logic was very important during the formal operational stage. You use deductive logic in something such as hypothetical situations, and is also very often required in science and math. Children at the formal operational stage are usually able to plan an organized approach to problem solving and quite quickly, unlike when they were younger and tested things in a trial and error type way.Piaget’s theory of cognitive development provided great detail in how a child’s mind acts throughout life from birth, sensorimotor stage, all the way to adulthood, formal operational stage, and for the most part I agree with him. In the early life of a child they don’t understand anyt hing and have to develop, and to start they must use tools they do know how to do, the ones the obtained since birth and they are essential to the growth of a child.As a child developing they gain knowledge by interacting with the world, and every time they understand something new it completely alters their world, something such as just knowing something is there just because you cant see it alters the whole way a child sees the world and alters their knowledge greatly. I agree with Piaget’s steps in cognitive development throughout childhood, demonstrates how children develop very well and make sense, I agree with Piaget.

Role of Youth in Combat Terrorism

Youth top executive is an infrangible ply for a nation’s asset and its pride. A nation’s off springs fend for its plume up in the work force of mind, thoughts, sensitiveness and vigorous courage, sure ever occurrent ne’er ending and forever. Youth with the exponent of creative thinking explore unconvincing horizons for its nation’s splendor, bearing and prominence, youth with the magnate of mental imagery at random have heartily beauteous feelings for apiece and all one or so them no thing they soul their rush or not. Wise and mortal role of youth ranges sympathy, peace, harmony, symphony, payday loans online and lenience system of rules sort of every graphic symbol of good example to the boundaries having no boundary. Youth are a power of some country and that is the only way for a whatever res publica to struggle the evince of terrorism as only this way it is guaranteed that this infliction is rotted out because political orientation is something that breeds terrorism and to speech act the structure proceeding ie Extremism; it then becomes fate to think on the youth, as according to some researches it has been so further deducted that youth are the ones that are to the highest degree insecure and mostly unexploited by weather who tends to shield terrorism. As this is the epoch assort that is very raptorial but at the unlike time very unconditioned and can well get carried aside in action of their emotions; where as kinsfolk who have perfect in the prowess of harboring human cleverness for much infamous activities they insurance without exam then have to do very unimportant efforts to get them off-track. Therefore it is medical care upon the role of youth to also make themselves remindful of such actors; so that they either in obscurity or with consent turn their work and make certain they also precise and take on so much elements in the social club who sympathies or either supports much weather condition or activities that ends up what in nonmodern piece is called Terrorism.

5)'If anything is central to the creation and maintenance of a Essay

5)'If anything is central to the creation and maintenance of a unified Chinese culture, it is the standardization of ritual.' (Watson) Discuss - Essay Example Further research into how the Chinese have been able to create and maintain a unified culture has provided varying results. According to James Watson and Evelyn Rawski’s book Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China, the creation and maintenance of a unified Chinese culture were enabled by the standardization of rituals. The following study will provide evidence to justify this statement by evaluating several depictions of ancient and modern Chinese culture. Watson and Rawski (1988, p. 4) define [Chinese] cultural unification as the acceptance and adherence to set ritual routines by ordinary citizens. Standardization on its part, was the way in which these cultures were made known, proper and acceptable. They further reveal that standardization, which contributed to cultural unification, was in most cases voluntarily taken up by citizens without the use of force. As such, any Chinese aspects seen in the world today are by-products of the ancient processes of ritual standardization. Ritual in Watson and Rawski’s case is defined an active process of transforming something from one state into another wherein â€Å"something† could refer to things, people, or other beings. Again, rituals have a transformative power (4). Funerals had a uniform structure of rites that were practiced all over China, and particularly during the Late Imperial Era. Although it is not widely practiced in China today, some areas such as Hong Kong and Taiwan still practice them. Watson and Rawski (1988, p.7) state that the rites were standardized and practiced all over China, and they in turn played the role of â€Å"cultural† cement that bound the Chinese community together. In standardizing burial rituals, the Chinese believed that in death, the body and soul should not be allowed to separate before a ritual was done. It was said that if this happened, the community would experience some form of disaster. Again, they standardized the belief that death should not separate couples

Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Performance Enhancing Drugs - Essay Example Performance enhancing drug tests are stricter for male than for female athletes. There is a list of substances banned in males only. Differences between the reporting level for men and women are also acknowledged. The confusion over the nandrolone issue is exacerbated by claims that low concentrations of metabolites conferred no performance -enhancing effect and are due to the contamination of supplements. This conclusion from a single untimed urine sample could not be substantiated; the possibility that the result arose from the long-term use by injection of nandrolone may seem unlikely in the present climate of testing but evidence to the contrary had to be unequivocal (Dean, 2000). The number of positive test results has increased dramatically in recent years, but still, researcher admit that differences in male and female constitution prevent laboratories to identify illicit substances. OTC drugs, such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, are relatively less potent and non-selective than other stimulants, hence their availability without prescription. Following Bowers (1997) this lack of selectivity, with a concomitant likelihood of side-effects, especially if used in supratherapeutic doses, makes them less desirable as potential performance -enhancing drugs, since no improvement in performance has been found in the few research studies on these drugs. Another argument is that women may have illnesses that require them to take particular drugs. It indicates an increasing trend in its use as a performance -enhancing drug, since its pharmacological properties are likely to have adverse, rather than positive, effects on performance in most sports. Statistical results prove that women swimmers perform much better than men because of inadequate drug tests and differences between male and female constitution.

1200 Middle Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

1200 Middle Ages - Essay Example With my caravan of servants I find myself in a city in the Kingdom of Georgia named Apsaros. This city is a port on the Black Sea. I traveled here to trade with another caravan of merchants which I had been told came from Persia. I met them and they took me into their tents. I could not help but notice that their women never spoke and wore garb from head to toe. Our Greek women, though not immodest, are allowed to show their faces. Not these women. Though I had little to trade, I did fortunately have a large amount of gold coins that I had acquired months prior. With these coins I bought from these Persians many silver plates (a famous Persian product) and, as luck had it, several roles of silk. The head merchant of the Persians, a man by the name of Mahbod Arsham, told me the silk came from yet another group of traders who had traveled across the Asian steppe, to the other side of the Pamir Mountains, where they had encountered a band of Mongolian nomads. Having traveled south, we find ourselves in the Ayyubid Caliphate city of Ar Roha. We are not here for trading purposes. Another large caravan of Muslim traders arrived in the city at about the same time we did. Some of these men were not just any Muslims, they were followers of Sufism. One of them named Abdelaziz Ibn Nasab was kind enough to tell me about his group’s beliefs. He said that they follow all the rules of Islam but also seek to control their bodily impulses. This reminded me of the ascetics in my native Byzantium. They rigorously study the Quran and the teachings of Muhammed. Muslims believe in the submission of oneself to Allah, their god. The Quran is very important, central even, to their religion. The Sufists pride themselves not only as Muslims but also as Muslims who have sought to purify themselves before god. For them the seeker of the divine path, the Dervish, must dedicate himself to fulfilling Allah’s word as expressed in the Quran. I now find myself in

The problems caused by the cereal-cyst nematode (CCN) in many wheat Essay

The problems caused by the cereal-cyst nematode (CCN) in many wheat fields and Saudi Arabias huge amount of loss of underground water due to the attempt of becoming a major agriculture producer of wheat - Essay Example The writers determined the genetic basis of meloidoyne incognita –fusarium exosporium lycopersici disease which affected tomatoes as from the inoculations of progeny F2. The paper demonstrated the role of nematode in the disease interactions through resistance breakdown to F Oxysporum lycopersici in the presence of M. It showed that the cysts have a significant effect in the productivity of the important food crops. This paper evaluates the impact of the H.avenae on the spring wheat yields in Northwest Pacific. The condition had been observed on the fields but had not been quantified. It was motivated by the variation in infestation between the fields in dry land and irrigated fields. Heterodera avenae is widely distributed in the western US. These are the regions where wheat is grown in the non-irrigated winter wheat and summer fallows in the regions of low rainfall. The social and economic pressures have motivated growers to pursue a transition into the summer fallow rotation to the no till annual spring cereals. These cereals are also grown in the irrigated fields. Spring wheat was, therefore, planted without aldicarb in determining the relationship between H.avenae and the yields under the irrigated and dry land in moderately infested lands. From the research, the spring wheat productivity was negatively correlated with the initial H.avenae populations. This research paper aims to present valuable information and figures related to agricultural development plans in Saudi Arabia. This is done despite the unsuitable and harsh climate as well as other conditions for normal production in agriculture. This is because of the limited and deteriorating water availability for agricultural productivity. The paper focuses on the condition of Saudi Arabia in improving and increasing the production of agricultural products. The

Automobile industry in Japan (Toyota) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Automobile industry in Japan (Toyota) - Essay Example It has also been noticed in by Global Vice Chair Industry, Ernst and Young, Steve Almassy, "The world has changed in the last year and so have traditional business models. Some have disappeared outright but others will have to adapt to the new rules of the game. Thriving in this challenging business climate requires flexibility, creativity and imagination". The increasingly globalising world has a clear impact on the overall performance of the company. It is also essential to note even as a conclusion, that Toyota has a major competitive advantage over the other companies and this is mainly the JIT Strategy. Just – In – Time (JIT) is a recent strategy of inventory management to reduce the carrying costs and the in progress inventory, and also increase the return on investments. This method has been developed to help companies use its investments carefully and appropriately. This strategy adopted by the company has led the company to be strong and not only face the inten se competition that is presented with the globalisation but also to be able to face any changes that are present in the market including the current recessionary period. Toyota has a high growth possibility and is one of the only companies that will be able to stabilise back to the neutral position or even exceed their previous performance as well, ‘The Toyota Way’ (Liker, 2004). It is safe to say that Toyota has over the years built a company and brand which has not only been successful, but has also been built strong to be able to face all competition globally and also to be able to face any changes in the environment like recession or inflation. The company on its own strategies has in simple ways covered the success for itself for several years to come.

Successful Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Successful Business - Assignment Example Up gradation of systems and software is always an issue and to keep up with the fast pace of the IT industry, upgrading regularly is essential to keep abreast with competition Training Continuous training for the managers is a must to provide motivation, leadership skills and 'on job' skills b) Factors critical for successful business / organizations - These factors can be grouped under five main critical factors Employee management Training of staff regularly so that they may update their skills based on the latest technologies available Hiring the right people for the right job profile. This is essential because at times the qualified people have skills to achieve a job but may not have the right attitude and the mindset. Also transferable skills and number skills are extremely pertinent for managers There needs to be clarity in the chain of command and issues between management and staff need to be sorted out as amicably as possible. Infrastructure and investments Having the latest technology and the systems is extremely critical in the age of today. Efficiency of the workers is dependent upon the efficacy of the tools that they have been provided and better efficacy at work leads to loyal customers and therefore, profits Re investments of profits is required to keep up with the changing times and to be able to react quickly to the market changes and trends. Leadership A visionary leader which has foresight and can aid his managers in forward thinking is a must for a business which has a desire to grow rapidly Regular training for the managers is essential for them to learn and imbibe skills like leadership Marketing of services It is important to market the services to the customer not only through the right medium but also with the right...Their use of '=' for continuation of speech and the timing was mentioned in brackets. The transcription also used all the specific protocols to be followed like ':' for elongated pronunciation of words etc. Hiring the right people for the right job profile. This is essential because at times the qualified people have skills to achieve a job but may not have the right attitude and the mindset. Also transferable skills and number skills are extremely pertinent for managers Having the latest technology and the systems is extremely critical in the age of today. Efficiency of the workers is dependent upon the efficacy of the tools that they have been provided and better efficacy at work leads to loyal customers and therefore, profits Some companies rely on loyalty for customer retention while the new entrants need to build that confidence before they can gain loyal customers. For this one needs to deliver service within budget and time constraints. Lastly, it is essential to understand that it is not enough to provide the best cost to the customer. The need of the hour is to provide the customer with a 'balanced value' - the best service at the best price. d) Certain guidelines to reduce staff turnover - high staff turnover can at times become an issue and may become an obstacle for an organizatio

You ( as a first year student nurse) are responsible for the care of Essay

You ( as a first year student nurse) are responsible for the care of Mr Y, who is 50 years of age. He has come in for an admission. Explore the role of the professional nurse. (Adult Branch) - Essay Example Florence Nightingale founded the modern nursing and established the philosophy of nursing based on health restoration and maintenance. Civil wars in America really boosted the growth of nursing profession while the first and second world wars made nursing profession even more notable. According to Baillie, (2008, 24)), nurse has many roles to play in the hospital because, besides taking care of the patient, he or she has to console the family members and friends. The life of the patient highly depends on the role that the nurse plays, and therefore, a nurse has to observe nursing professional ethics like accountability and full commitment in order to achieve the nursing goals. Mr. Y is an old patient and just as any other patient in an hospital, it is the responsibility of the nurse to take full responsibility of his health. Non the less, while taking care of the patient (just as Mr. Y) it is important for the nurse to observe all ethical and moral values and practices in the nursing profession. Thus, the goal of any nurse is to see that he or she restores and maintain the health of his or her patient under all circumstances. A registered nurse is a nurse who has undergone the nursing program and has graduated from a college, or school of nursing and has successfully passed the exam of national licensing (.American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2006, 43). A registered nurse takes care of patients in hospitals and in other facilities like schools and other groups and families to regain their health and prevent other diseases. The practice scope of a registered nurse is determined and regulated by Nurse Practice Act of each state. The act outlines the legal practices of registered nurses together with the roles they must, or must not perform. It also states the practice scope of nurse practitioners. Nursing practitioners may prescribe any

Ryanair-The Southwest of European Airlines Case Essay Example for Free

Ryanair-The Southwest of European Airlines Case Essay Ryanair was founded in July 1985 by the three brothers, Catlan, Declan, and Shane Ryan, with the financial assistant of their father Tony Ryan. As a beginner commercial carrier, its operations began with 25 staff and a single 15-seat turbo-prop commuter plane between Waterford in the southeast of Ireland and Gatwick Airport, the second busiest airport in London after Heathrow. Later on, regulatory authorities permitted the Ryanair Airlines to have at least four flying flights a day on Dublin-London route, with more seating capacity. Nowadays, Ryanair, with its rapid growth, occupies the most sought position in its own field, being Britains favorite airline and the oldest-low cost air carrier in Europe. The goal of my internal analysis on Ryanair is to focus on resources and capabilities as internal sources of uniqueness that allow firms to beat the competition. This analysis is often called the resource-based view of the firm. By theory, a firm gains an advantage by obtaining valuable and rare resources and developing the capability to utilize these resources to drive customers toward their products and services at the expense of competitors. As a result, firms with superior resources and capabilities enjoy competitive advantage over other firms. Value Chain AnalysisFirms make products or provide services by engaging in many different activities. The basic structure of these activities is embodied in the firms value- chain. Value-chain activities are of two types: primary activities and supportive activities. Primary activities include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and services. Support activities include human resources, accounting and finance operations, technology, and procurement. All the activities -primary and support are potential sources of competitive advantage or disadvantage of any firm. In Ryanair case, parts of the inbound logistics are Ryanairs low-cost deals, negotiated against promise of large and growing volume of business. Also, they include dependency on suppliers to deliver fuel as well as food, drinks and duty-paid products to be sold on-board; they need to be stored, handled and controlled upon delivery. The other important element of the primary  activities includes the operations. Ryanair fast turnarounds of 25 minutes are the companys core competencies. This is the most important cost advantage that enables high aircraft utilization. More frequent departures of two more per day than competitors with few planes, increases Ryanairs revenue. Point-to-point flights mean no interlinking with other carriers. Raynair offers direct non-stop journeys, avoiding the cost of providing through services for connecting passengers and delays caused by late arrival of connecting flights. Ryanair uses the standard model plane- Boeing 737, which means that company, is a ble to obtain spares and maintenance services on favorable terms, to limit the cost of staff training and to offer flexibility in scheduling aircraft and crew assignments. A relatively young fleet reduces maintenance, spare and fuel costs. Also, Ryanair placed resources to strengthen its core business such as satellite television, Internet service and arcade game, so the passengers can enjoy the trip. For outbound logistics, Ryanair uses isolated secondary airports, which often require further transport arrangements for customers. Also, some destinations are so geographically obscure that they cant support regular services to customer, as evident on some Scandinavian routes for example. This limits the level of market share Ryanair can achieve. EasyJet does the opposite and flies to big cities, but then have to pay higher landing charges which are reflected in their higher prices. However, using regional airports saves costs as charges are lower, facilities cheaper and Ryanair can negotiate favorable deals. It also enables fast turnaround times, and more on-time departures as the airports are less congested. 95% of Ryanairs flights are punctual compared to 88% for EasyJet. As I already mentioned, under primary activities are also marketing and sales. Ryanair considers branding virtually irrelevant as it believes that price is most important to customers. This reflects on companys image which isnt always so good in the press. In contrast Southwest Airlines, contribute a large part of their success to theirs well established brand values, and EasyJet has won awards for its brand. Ryanair invested resource to establish website for passengers. It made passengers more convenient. Spending on advertising and promotions to expand its market is reduced as most advertising takes place on the website. There promotion is also used to sell excess capacity, such as two-for-one offers, which creates market awareness. Over 90% of bookings  are made directly, either on the website or through reservations centers. The website saves on staff costs, agents commission, while significantly contributing to growth. Travel agencies are used on a small scale as necessary when opening new routes in unknown markets. Under services, Ryanairs virtually no-frills- lower costs considerably. The company enables fast turnarounds and offers very low ticket prices. But with less flight attendants, usually only two per flight, compared to five for the competitors, the quality of the services drops. The philosophy of Ryanair is that for passengers the price is more important than the quality. The low quality services could damage the brand name and this could lead to business reduction. Under support activities- the procurement, the purchasing power of the company enables negotiation of favorable deals with suppliers. However, these demand large and growing volumes based on passenger numbers. Although growth is slowed down new planes has been ordered aiming to double the fleet by 2009. Ryanair keeps good buyer-supplier relationships which ensure reliability and low-cost procurement of services. Many functions of the company are contracted out. Under human resource management, Ryanair aims to control its personnel cost by continuously improving the productivity. The staff is working under big pressure set by an overhead person and most commonly with feelings of dissatisfaction. The technology development factor of the support activities indicates that Ryanair uses its website (www.ryanair.com) to monitor bookings and to see how full planes are, all minute by minute. Also, the company uses its internet site as the major part of the business, which saved them about $6 million a year on an average. Resource AnalysisResources and capabilities are the fundamental building blocks of a firms strategy. The resource-based view presents a perspective of competition that portrays the value of a resource or capability as derived from the dynamic interplay of market forces. While the market and environment establish external constraints and pressures, a firms response through resource allocation and capability development become a source of competitive advantage. The resource-based perspective views a firm as an organization that has a bundle of protective resources and capabilities.  Resources are tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies. Capabilities are the skills a firm uses to bring its resources to bear. Ryanairs tangible resources include all Boeing 737 airplanes the company uses, as well as the companys headquarter building in Dublin and all other buildings the company uses. Part of the tangible resources also are all of the supplies, food, drinks and duty-paid products company holds in inventory, as well as fuel. Intangible resources contain bigger part of the business. They include all the intellectual capital, like expertise and accumulated knowledge, experience, skills, abilities and talents that every employee in Rayanair possesses. Here I could include also the companys brand recognition, customer loyalty, investors confidence and the good reputation. Charismatic personality of the companys CEO- Michael OLeary is part of the organizational culture under the intangible resources. The capabilities of Rayanair are:-The lowest airfare rates, simple processes (no frills), large brand awareness, clear offer (focuses on particular market segment), the innovative strategies on cost cutting, and quick turnaround time-Learning curve (early entrant), accumulated much knowledge/experience, outstanding marketing and PR skills of the CEO OLeary- The company ability to bargain and get beneficial deals with suppliers; the efficiency and high turn-around rate, fast luggage handling and high punctuality- The ability to think strategically and assertively and to act on it: acquisition of Buzz-The expansion of new hubs and new added routes-The ability to control and cut costs, which are crucial to survive and succeed in the industry!-The ability to build and sustain brand (loyalty). Financial AnalysisRyanairs current financial objectives, strategies, policies and programs are clearly stated in their Annual reports and financial statements for 2008, which I have attached in the separate file. These financial objectives seem to be consistent with Ryanairs mission, objectives, strategies, policies of low fares, as well as with internal and external environments. There was an increase in profit after tax of 33%, which was because of 7% increase in average fairs, so profit margin was 19.66%. There was an increase in fuel costs by 50%, and staff costs rose  32%. The operating margin decreased by 1% (to 21% from 22%), which lead to an increase in operating profit by 28% compared to 2007. Total operating revenues increased by 32%. Maintenance costs increased by 12%, marketing and distribution costs increased by 71%, and aircraft rental costs increased by 23%. (Ryanair Holdings PLC, 2007). From this financial analysis, I could conclude that costs are increasing, but profit is also increasing leading to gains in the company. The statements are calculated in Euros, and there could be some differences based on the floating Euro/US Dollar exchange rates. In addition, this financial analysis supports Ryanairs past and pending strategic decisions, based on being a low fare air carrier. Ryanairs profit margin in 2007 is 19.66%, compared to EasyJet with 8.47% (2007), Air Lingus with 8.19% (2007) and British Airways with 5.48% (2007). If most companies in the same industry report decrease in profits, Ryanairs financial performance indicates that the company is in competitive advantage. (Ryanair Holdings PLC, 2007)Analysis of Strengths and WeaknessesStrengths and weaknesses are the major internal characteristics of firms, derived from the SWOT analysis. Firms within an industry generally have different strengths and weaknesses, and those differences often have a strong bearing o n which firms win competitive interactions. Ryanair strengths are:-Brand name: Ryanair through its 24 years in the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market has developed a very well recognized brand name. -Benefits from low airport charges: These aid the low cost base Ryanair benefits from. -Has first mover advantage on regional airports (e.g. Charleroi): Acts as a barrier to entry-Internet site (94% bookings) www.ryanair.com : Lowers the cost of distribution as over the phone bookings are more costly. Eliminates the need of travel agents. -High seat density. -All Boeing aircraft: A uniform fleet saves on maintenance and training costs. -Fast turn-around. -High Service performance: Punctual, high rate of flight completion, low baggage loss, which give a good image of the companys reliability. -Modernized fleet which leads to less expensive maintenance: Will become more uniform with only one model (Boeing 737-800), also newer planes will require less maintenance. -High aircraft utilization: Ryanair flies its planes for longer thus generating more revenue from its assets. -Fuel and other risks hedging. -Small headquarters-Point to point flights: No hub and spoke, lowers cost as no through services requiredRyanair weaknesses are:-Prone to bad press: Rayanair is perceived as arrogant and the slightest incident with the scandal commercial gets a lot of press coverage. -Niche market: Restricted expansion possibility. -Distance of some regional airports from advertised destination: Over time customers may find this a big inconvenience. -Poor service: Ryanair decreased the number of flight attendants per flight, which decreased the service quality. -Ryanair is extremely sensitive to changes in charges (increase in fair value)In conclusion I would like briefly to summarize the strengths and weaknesses I mentioned above. Ryanair carries out its routine checks and repairs on its aircraft using its own engineers which means that some maintenance costs are included in the staff cost. Also the company has cost advantage, because of its ability to achieve 25 minutes turnarounds and therefore can run two more flights a day in its schedule than rivals such as British Airways. Their use of secondary airports means that they are able to negotiate deals with the airports, in contrast to larger airlines unwilling to split their operations between two or more airports. Ryanair does not pay dividends to its shareholders. All profit is reinvested back into the business, which means a higher profit margin. Ryanair is unable to expand its home market industry, because of airport taxes. Passengers having their own luggage carried at their own risk could mean a loss of reputation if any major scandal is to occur in terms of loss of luggage. Increasing its fleet could mean that it might incur more losses. Reference: Thompson, A.A., Strickland, A.J., Gamble, J.E. (2008), Crafting executing strategy;The quest for competitive advantage. Boston: McGraw- Hill Irwin. Ryanair Holding PLC, (2007). The Worlds Favorite Airline. Retrieved May 20, 2009,from Ryanair Web Site:http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/2007/070920annualreport.pdfRyanair Holding PLC, (2007). Strategy. Retrieved May 20, 2009,from Ryanair Web Site:http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/Strategy.pdfGoogle (2009). Ryanair Holdings plc (Public, ISE: RYA). Retrieved May 20, 2009, from Google Finance Web site: http://www.finance.google.com/finance?q=ISE:RYALavarack, M P. M. Brown. (1992) Benchmarking: Learning from Best Practice. Business Studies, Vol 5, No.2. Thompson, J. L. (1997) Strategic Management. International Thompson Press: London. Carpenter, M.A. and Sanders, W.G. Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective Concepts and Cases, 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009

Managing Cultural Diversity Management Essay

Managing Cultural Diversity Management Essay Davis (2003, p. 45) argues that cultural differences are usually created by race-ethnicity, gender, function, and tenure among the organization factors. Difference in culture may result to the rise of conflicts among team members. This usually results to disrupted communication within the organization and eventually negative outcomes. Therefore, it is the role of every organization and entire management to come up with various ways of managing and reducing negative effects of cultural differences. Management in various organizations should ensure that they are able to detect and avoid such cases from arising. Political backgrounds and experience are other major factors that contribute to cultural differences. Multicultural teams and differences in most occasions generate dilemmas in the organization management. Cultural differences usually create considerable obstacles to efficient teamwork. Recognizing various underlying cultural causes of conflicts is the main challenge in managing multicultural teams by organizations management. It is also a great challenge for management to get teams back into the track as well as empowering members to manage and deal with the challenges of cultural differences in future. Work-group diversity has become one of the most challenging issues that are facing various organizations currently. Various factors like demographic, cultural and legal factors have greatly changed the composition of organizations work forces. Demographic factors include multi-culturalism, equality initiatives, globalization, and declining birth rates. Therefore, this requires managers, employers, and employees to be sensitive to both intra- and intergroup differences. They are also required to adopt practices and policies which are effective in coping with such changes. Managing cultural diversification Ely Thomas, (2001, p. 230) maintains that managers and team members can manage cultural differences. This is only possible if they adopt and chose the right strategies within their organizations. Cultural difference poses various challenges which include hindering success within the organization. They pose as a barrier to effective communication which is a key element in any organization. Cultural difference creates differing attitudes towards authority and hierarchy hence difference in the ways people are treated. It also leads to conflicts especially when making decisions. These challenges are a great hindrance towards success and development of any organization. Therefore, managers need to come up with various strategies and policies in ensuring cultural differences and challenges are eliminated. According to Nankervis, Compton Baird, (2002, p. 120), they are four main strategies of dealing with cultural challenges for managers and various teams in organizations. They include adaption, structural intervention, managerial intervention and exit. Adaption mainly involves acknowledgement of cultural gaps frankly and even working around them. Managerial intervention involves early setting of norms and even bringing in of high-level management. Structural intervention is changing of the teams shape. Exit involves removing a team member in case the options have failed. They are several steps that any organizations management can adopt in dealing and eliminating cultural differences. Identification of the challenge is the key and first step in dealing with multicultural differences. Assessing the circumstances under which the differences are occurring is another crucial step towards dealing with multicultural differences. Adaption is a great strategy that organizations encourage in dealing with cultural diversity. This involves teams finding various ways of working with and around the challenge that they encounter. It also involves adapting practices and attitudes without necessarily making changes to the assignment of the group. Adaption works well when members of the team or organization acknowledge and even name their differences in culture as well as assuming their responsibilities. It also involves figuring on various ways to live with the cultural differences. Adaption has been seen as the best way of dealing with cultural diversity difference as it does not demand a lot of time as compared to other strategies. This is mainly because members of the team take part in problem solving while learning from the process. This kind of mind set plays a great role in ensuring there are creative in protecting their cultural differences within the organization. Organization taking this type of initiative en sures that cultural diversity does not affect its performance and operations among its teams. Various organizations managements have found adaption as an ideal strategy towards solving cultural diversity. This is mainly because it is effective and solves its own problem with little input from management. Team members must be aware of this strategy in order for it to be successful in solving the intended problems or differences. However, negotiating a common understanding may take sometime among the team members. Structural intervention is another way that organizations are utilizing in ensuring they manage the cultural diversity. It is an intentional reorganization or reassignment that is designed to reduce or eliminate source of conflict between people or teams. It is also intended to reduce interpersonal frictions that largely contribute to cultural diversity. The strategy works effectively when obvious subgroups separate the team. This is mainly if team members are clinging to negative stereotypes of one another or feel threatened. Structural intervention also involves creating smaller working groups of diversified cultures. This enables team members to know and even respect every team member. Various organizations utilize or use this strategy as it encourages reduction of cultural diversity within the organization. Structural intervention as a strategy for managing cultural diversity shields people who are not working well in a team. Managerial intervention also plays a vital role in solving organizations cultural diversity effects. Although the failure to involve team in decision making may result to a stalemate, it is important for managers to intervene when cultural diversity blocks the success of decision making. Managerial intervention has been used in many occasions by various organizations to solve sort out its problems effectively. Setting norms early in a team through managerial intervention assists the team towards starting out effectively. Managers encourage team members to encourage each other towards ensuring everybody is appreciated and encouraged to work with each other despite cultural diversity. Managers address the issues like language barrier and ethnic diversity directly. They encourage them on various ways to solve cultural diversity within the team and entire organization. Exit is another strategy that is utilized towards reducing the problems of cultural diversity. This is usually the last and infrequent strategy towards managing cultural differences. It is important for those members who are not happy with their teams to move out of the team to another team. This will ensure there is continued delivery of efficient services. Exit of one or several members is used by organizations as a last resort. One or several members of the team or organization may be kindly requested formally by management to exit. They may also exit voluntarily from the team. According to Bhatia Chaudary (2003, p. 25), managing diverse culture within an organization is not an easy task. Realizing and managing cultural diversity within an organization has been on the increase. This is assisting greatly in facilitating organizational progress and success. On a broad perspective, organizations can manage cultural diversity through communication. This is creating awareness among the employees and various teams on the importance of diverse values of peers. Another way is through cultivating; this is facilitating encouragement, support, and appreciation of any employee achievement by all other colleagues. Diverse culture can also be managed through capitalizing strategies. This involves linking diversity to every process of business and strategy such as employee development, re-engineering, succession planning, performance review and management. Organizations also adopt various innovative ways towards management of cultural diversity. This includes incorporating various people from different cultural backgrounds as well as acknowledging the importance of their cultural. Appreciating people cultural background usually leads to reduced background differences. This ensures there is a common organizational diversity that does not affect the performance of various teams. Organizations have also started empowerment to all members regardless of race or gender. Empowerment is crucial towards making of an effective decision making. Towards reducing culture diversity difference, organizations are encouraging free contribution towards decision making processes. Utilization of empowerment in diverse organizations results to more trust among the team members as well as higher productivity. Empowerment in an organization with diverse culture has been seen to make team members feel their contribution in a manner that is more worthwhile and meaningful. This assists greatly towards improvement of diversity climate hence accomplishment of organization objectives. It is also crucial for various organizations to initiate diversity training programs as illustrated by Perkins, (2006, p. 60). Leaders and managers in organizations should be trained on how to manage and understand culturally diversified employees. Employees as well should be provided with adequate training on the importance of understanding people with different cultures. This will greatly assist in improving the differences that arise when people of different cultures work together. Training is crucial towards the breakdown of stereotypes as well as reducing prejudicial attitudes among the team members. Mentoring and networks are other effective ways towards improvement of the diversity climate. Mentors usually provide recognition, support, and challenge in order to assist in shaping the future for those individuals they are assisting. Mentors are in most occasions beneficial mainly because it assists in keeping minorities on the track. It also assists in keeping them focused withi n any culturally diversified organization. Networking is also another crucial process that assists organizations in managing the cultural diversity within the teams. Networking acts as a source of encouragement and support to various employees with diversified cultural differences. It is also crucial for organizations to strength top-management commitment towards creating a positive diversity climate within the organization. This commitment should be distributed even to the lowest management levels. All managers at every level within an organization should openly and strongly support all policies, strategies, and practices that support the management of culture diversity. This will greatly assist towards reducing culture diversification related challenges within an organization. It will assist in improving and increasing the benefits associated with culture diversity. Conclusion Cultural differences that face multicultural teams may not necessary attribute to diversity challenges. However, these differences underlay the problems that require to be addressed in various teams in organizations. Cultural diversity may not only have negative effects on the working of a team, but they may result to problems in management as well. If any organizations management intervenes early in any cultural challenge within the organization, this may lead to good resolution of the problem. Organizations management should set up norms; structure social interaction as well as engaging all people within the team in solving problems arising due to cultural difference. Managing cultural diversity well has various benefits that are associated with it. Effective management of cultural diversity usually results to organizational benefits or success. Organizations with an effective managed multi-culture have a cost effective competitive edge. It also results to the promotion of minority friendly reputation among prospective employees. Organization with good management of cultural diversity usually results to an increased flexibility and adaptability in case of any environmental changes. Effective management of culture diversity will assist in improving and increasing the benefits associated with culture diversity.

USA Patriot Act Essay -- American Government Rights Freedom Essays

USA Patriot Act The USA Patriot Act, actually named the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism act, was created to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United State and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes. It was passed by President Bush in October of 2001. he USA Patriot Act gave the FBI and other agencies more power to investigate, created a Counterterrorism Fund, and made it illegal to aid and/or harbor terrorists. The Act was a good one to pass, and it has many good ideas and policies, but the Act contains several policies that are unconstitutional due to the rights of the First Amendment. The attacks on September 11th, 2001 were devastating. It was the first time since Pearl Harbor that the United States had been attacked on home soil. The threat to America was great, attorney general John Ashcroft responded by making the USA Patriot Act to help fight against the terrorist threat. In a time when fighting terrorism was the nation’s number one priority, the entire congress agreed on the Act, and passed it without any significant changes. The power given to the FBI and other agencies provided what was needed to capture enough terrorists to get the fight off of American land. The Patriot Act allowed the United States government the power and authority to look for terrorists in ways that was never done before. Evidence could be collected on any suspect and used in court, almost regardless of how it was required. It was almost like saying, â€Å"forget the rules, we need to protect ourselves†. At the time, the USA Patriot Act was a good thing, because the average American didn’t have to wo... ...ed. The notion that the FBI can ‘censor’ books by putting people on a watch list for reading them in a public domain is terrible, especially since the government is against censoring and banning books due to free speech rights. The idea that the government can stop a person’s expression because it ‘aids’ terrorism is also a horrible one. They might as well say that criticizing the government aids terrorism, and therefore should be punishable. The USA Patriot Act was an effective system when it was created. Without it, capturing the remaining terrorists in the United States would have been next to impossible. It was essential to solving that problem. Now that the fight against terrorism is off of American soil, the Act is no longer necessary in the fight. The USA Patriot Act should be repealed and declared unconstitutional. It violates the rights of every American.

Oil: It’s Benefits and Downfalls :: Oil Movie Film Essays

Oil: It’s Benefits and Downfalls Our country utilizes an average of 700 million gallons of oil per day (NOAA, 2002). We are a country heavily dependent on oil. The film, which is about the important resource of oil, begins at Midway Sunset, the largest oil producing field in California. It is also the â€Å"largest oil-producing field in the continental United States.† In November of 1909, Midway Sunset had great success with the â€Å"Midway Gusher.† This gusher poured out 2000 barrels of oil a day, which was an astounding amount in 1909 (San Joaquin Geological Society, 2000). The film begins with Midway Sunset and its use of seismology, the science of earthquakes, and the drilling of oil wells. Also, the film talked about steam injection, a form of secondary recovery for oil. This method is used to pump oil that is difficult to extract. Steam injection works by the injection of steam into a reservoir to decrease oil viscosity, or thickness. This method, working at a high heat, allows the oil to be pumped more easily. The transportation of oil is a tricky process. The oil must be transported without any leakage into the surrounding area. The oil may be transported to global markets (by ship) or local markets, but either way, it is a difficult process. The oil is carried in large cargoes, which is good economically, but not environmentally. Undesirable results such as volatile emissions may leak into the atmosphere, causing pollution. (Lecture 2/22/02) However, one way, that the film stated, to decrease pollution is to convert to natural gases. Other problems with transportation are oil spills. Oil spills occur when â€Å"tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, and storage facilities† leak oil into the environment. Spills can be as large as 11 million gallons, the number spilled in the Exxon-Valdez spill (NOAA, 2002). Oil spills damage the surrounding human, animal, and plant life, which is why it is a pressing problem. Different kinds of tankers can attribute to pollution.

How the Sonnet Form is Associated with Love and Ardent Expression :: Sonnets Love God Essays

How the Sonnet Form is Associated with Love and Ardent Expression God’s Grandeur is a sonnet associated with the environment and obviously, God. It is an Italian petrarchan sonnet, where there is a noticeable split in the poem which makes up the octave and the sestet. The first four lines of the octave, describes a natural world through which God’s presence runs through like an electric current, becoming at times noticeable is flashes. A metaphor is used to emphasise God’s Grandeur as an electric force. Gerard Hopkins suggest that there is some kind of force not to our attention, which builds up a sort of tension which can be both positive or negative. God’s presence could also be described as a rich oil, which when tapped with a enduring pressure, builds up to a greatness. These comments are stated in the poem, ‘It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil’. It is clear to the reader from this point that the love being expressed here is very much towards God, his presence, and the natural world surrounding us. After the poet, Gerard Hopkins, suggests the fact of God’s presence in the world, he then asks the reader to ask themselves why humans fail to take note of God’s powerful authority. The word ‘rod’ in this poem represents God’s grand authority. The image of electricity also subtlety returns in the fourth line, where the ‘rod’ of God's punishments calls to mind the lightning rod in which excess electricity in the atmosphere will sometimes disappear. The stressed syllables in the fourth line also reinforce to the reader the question which is being asked here by Hopkins. For example, words such as ‘Crushed, why, not’ all contribute to the powerful rhythm, which helps put the question across more efficiently. This all contributes in helping the poet convey such a strong ardent expression, which is needed greatly in order for the full effect of the poem to show. In the next line, the strong, falling rhythm of ‘have trod, have trod, have trod,‘ recreates the sound of marching footsteps in emphatic onomatopoeia. The message here is of what man has done to the environment, God’s environment, by using it over the years for various means of transport. The onomatopoeia and alliteration here helps to put the message across because the tension increases by a large amount, resulting in a more exciting and powerful climax. The word ‘and’ is used often and the start of lines to compound something which is trying to be said. It helps put across the message more efficiently because the same word is being continuously ’drummed’ into the reader ’And all is seared†¦And wears man’s smudge’ etc.

English-language films Essay

There is quote by Martin Luther King Jr that says â€Å" Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable, every step toward that goal of justice requires sacrifice,suffering and struggle , the timeless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. So, the path to justice will always be a challenge as it is inevitable, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Along the line of justice , we may face challenges and must learn to face it head on in order to overcome this obstacle. Through the 3 texts studied, it can be concluded that along the line of justice there will always be challenges faced and one may succeed or fail based on their individual will to do so. For instance , Amir the protagonist from the Kite Runner shows this clearly when he faced many challenges that lied in front of him in order to bring justice and redemption for what he had done in the past . Amir had to encounter the problem of going back into Afghanistan, which at that particular period of time was a war-torn country and is potentially life threatening to anyone who can be said to be courageous or mentally deranged to do so. But , after learning from Rahim Khan that Amir and Hassan were actually half brothers ,Amir with devastation from the news pulled through with courage and marched into the country with the sole purpose of saving Sohrab from the evil grasps of Assef, whom at that time was the Taliban leader. Amir confronted Assef and in return Assef challenged him to a duel to the death. Amir had no choice to face his demons of the past by going against him head on in hopes that he can bring redemption and justice to Hassan. Amir was beaten to a pulp by Assef mercilessly and was at the brink of death. With the aid of Sohrab with his slingshot, both of them managed to escape. One challenge after another , Amir had to face the problem at the American Embassy when he could not get Sohrab a visa to bring him into America. When Sohrab heard about the news he could not bare with the news and decided to commit suicide. At all odds , Amir persevered through the hardships and managed to save Sohrab and brought justice for Hassan and Sohrab. Thus , it can be seen that challenges will always be faced as Amir went along the path to justice . Moreover , Molly from the Rabbit Proof Fence also shows that challenges will be faced in order to achieve justice. Molly was a young half caste girl had to face the challenge of escaping the camp that she was forced out , reason being that she wanted to go home back to her family and could not stand the injustice that was occurring there .It was evident that Molly was a strong willed leader who would not take failure as an answer. Molly who courageously escaped from the camp had the challenge of not only avoiding being captured and brought back to the camp where they beat up those who tried to escape but also had the responsibility taking her little siblings under her wing to ensure they were safe.Also, Molly had another challenge when she and her siblings realized they were following the wrong fence. Any normal person would at least show a hint of despair or depression, yet Molly kept a stern face of determination and continued to lead her siblings with a confident personality. On the way home, Molly also faced the problem of starvation where she could have faced the possibilities of death but still made the quick rational decision to move on and persevere. Luckily for her and her young charges , she met a traveler along the journey and was given some food .Hence, it can be seen that in the path to justice many challenges will be faced as Molly had to face challenges in order to obtain her justice which was her freedom . Lastly another good example of the path of justice will have many challenges is shown by the character Momm. Momm who had been pimped for five years and seemed near to cracking from the strain had been given justice by Nick and she was brought back to her hometown all the way across Cambodia. Momm faced the challenge of confronting her family, she feared that aft er not having kept in contact with her family for so many years her family would not accept her and felt that she herself had brought dishonor to her family. But , her family welcomed her home with open arms and was very supportive of her opening a business back in her hometown. This shows that the family is willing and able to support her and empower her.Even so, Momm had another challenge which was being addicted to drugs , specifically methamphetamines. Because of this she had to fight her inner demons back and forth, failing to do so. The addiction overtakes her and she failed to break off from this challenge thus leading her to go back to the very place that was filled with injustice. This showed that all the help resulted in failure and Momm was not able to take the bull by the horn and face the adversaries. In conclusion , it is crystal clear that in the path of justice there will be many challenges , as for Momm she had been given the chance of freedom and justice but addict ion took over her mind and body.

Religion and New Age Movements

Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the view that most people today see spirituality and religious belief as purely private and personal matters. In society today religion can be seen in two different ways, as a private and personal matter or something to share with your community.Some sociologists would argue that religion and spirituality is a private matter because of televangelism, which is where people watch their religions services on television or go on online churches in the comfort and privacy of their own home when we have free time but other sociologists argue that this does not mean that religion and spirituality is a private matter, but that we have to use televangelism due to the fact we live in a postmodern society which means society is constantly changing and causes us to lead hectic lifestyles.This also links in with vicarious religion, which is where a small group of people practice for the wider community. Another reason why sociologists would argue t hat religion and spirituality is a private matter is that there has been a large increase in new age movements, such as; horoscopes, tarot cards and Wicca. Which focus on individualistic beliefs and self-healing, increasing amounts of these springing up indicates that because we live in a postmodern society we are starting to focus on ourselves more meaning that our beliefs are becoming privatised.Other sociologists would argue against this by saying that they are not a true picture of our religious beliefs, and are in fact, just fads, which we can pick and choose whether, we believe in them and don’t necessarily believe in them throughout our whole lives. This is linked to spiritual shopping, which is where we pick and choose which parts of different religions we believe in. Our beliefs are not a set structure and we have personal choice in what we believe. Also, another reason why religion may have become privatised is because of industrialisation, which caused us to no lon ger live in small tightknit communities.Before industrialisation churches and other religious organisations were often the centre of small tightknit communities and also, there was social stigma attached to not going to church before industrialisation. Industrialisation caused people to go from living in extended families to living in small nuclear families so that they could move round and find work where it was available, This lead to more hectic lifestyles and less time for people to go to churches meaning that they had to practise privately.Because of this, industrialisation also therefore decreased the amount of social stigma around not attending church allowing people to choose whether they actually wanted to go or not. You could argue that this means that religion is now more pure because we chose what we believe and don’t just ‘believe’ so that we fit into the rest of society. On the other hand, other sociologists argue that there are still other religiou s people about that still live in tightknit communities such as Muslims.Muslims tend to use their religion as a form of cultural defence to protect their identity from scrutiny from outsiders of their religion. But other sociologists would argue that this is a Eurocentric argument because Muslims do not use their religion as a form of cultural defence outside of Europe, and the reason they do it here is because of how they are represented in the media and because people connect them with fundamentalist attacks that happen causing ‘islamaphobia,’ Which is the irrational fear of Islam.Structural differentiation has meant that religion has become more privitised because we now live in a multi-cultural society we now have more choice in what we believe in allowing us to ‘spiritual shop’ Lyon did a study called ‘Jesus in Disneyland’ believes that we have become religious consumers, meaning that me pick and choose what we believe from all the differe nt religions in the world. This has been made possible because of globalisation creating stronger links between different countries and allowing us to have access to multiple types of religions with all different norms and values.This gives us greater choice between what we believe in and what we don’t. There are many methodological problems with measuring whether religion has become privatized, on of these problems is that ‘ how do you measure how many religious organisations there are? ’ this is a problem because it is near impossible to count every single religious organisation in the world because of the amount of cults and sects that exist that not everybody may now about. Sociologists argue that there has been a decrease on the number of religious organisations, and therefore religious belief is decreasing, but they do not take into account that it may not be religious belief that is declining, but that lack of funding has meant that the religious beliefs c ould not remain forcing people into practise privately, Also, how do you define what a religious organisation is.Another problem with measuring whether religion has become privatised is that you can’t know what people are thinking, just because they don’t visit a religious organisation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are not religious, they may just not have the time to visit the organisation so instead use things like televangelism to practise at home.Also, just because people don’t attend religious organisations often, Stark and Bainbridge believe that the decline in traditional religions has created a demand for newer religions, this includes new age movements that focus on private practice. They believe this is due to people being naturally religious and needing religion as a compensator during times of crisis. They think that people still turn to religion for rites of passage and in times of life crisis, so, when people feel their life is unst able and they need something to make them feel better.

Alice in Wonderland Essay

Alice in Wonderland is a very imaginative book written mainly for children, but adults can also enjoy it. The big theme through the whole book is growth and how people change from being a kid to eventually growing into an adult. The whole mystery of not knowing who you are and being confused about your position in life. The biggest example of growing is when Alice eats the cake and that makes her grow larger, and when she drinks the liquid that makes her shrink. The point when she starts to wonder about her identity is when she starts to think about home and where she really is. Another point is when people ask her who she is and she is not able to explain herself. Growth is definitely one of the biggest themes in Alice in Wonderland. The book tells about how Alice goes through many different experiences with all the different characters. The first sign of growth is when Alice needs to shrink down because she wants to go through the little door into the garden. She realizes that she left the key on the big table so she eats the cake to grow bigger again to get it. She then grows too big which foreshadows that there will be more confusion when it comes to size and how big Alice is supposed to be throughout the story. â€Å"Well, I’ll eat it, and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I’ll get into to the garden† (p. 19). This shows that she’s not very sure about which size she should be while she’s in Wonderland and that she doesn’t understand what is happening around her as she only focuses on getting into the garden that looks beautiful from outside the door. The big moment when Alice understands that she doesn’t know who she is anymore is when she meets the Caterpillar. The Caterpillar asks her who she is and she can’t get herself to explain it. â€Å"I-I hardly know, sir, just at present – at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then† (p. 54). Alice explains how she feels like she has lost her identity and doesn’t know if she is still the same person as when she got up the same morning. She says she can’t remember things she used to know so well For example, the rhyme she knew, â€Å"how doth the little bee†. Alice in Wonderland is a well-written story about a little girl going through an exciting experience where she grows, meets different characteristics then what she is used to and it focuses a lot on identity. Alice experiences growing when she eats the cake and drinks the potion. She doesn’t know how to explain who she is to the characters asking her which makes her very frustrated as she is used to being in control of herself. Alice goes through a big experience and learns a lot and I think she might even have got a better view of who she really is by being in Wonderland.

Books and Ebooks Essay

In time of technical progress e-books are getting more popular day by day, but still most of the people prefer hard copy of books and do not support new fashion wave. Book has always been the best present for any kind of occasion, it is something that does not have an expiration date and it will always be in fashion. However, you cannot give e-book as present, of course you can send my e-mail, but you cannot put your sign and it sort of loosing meaning as a present, because you cannot touch it. On the other hand prices for e-books are lower and you can get a variety of free e-books, so everyone can enjoy literature from all of the world, but you should have special gadget to read e-books, and it is additional expanses for reading. In contrast, printed books are sort of pricy, and you cannot buy as much books as you want, as a result you are not trying to read new authors whose creations had not become bestsellers. Spending money on books is good investing, because you can collect a library and after you can leave it for next generations, as I mentioned before book is the product that does not have an expiration date. Having your library in an electronic devise it is a risky business, by reason on viruses that attacking devises every day and deleting all information from them or you can just loose an e-reader with all your book collection. Also hard copy book does not need to be charged and you can read as much as you want and wherever you want, unlike e-book is charging from electricity.

Media Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Globalisation - Essay Example The usage of facts and figures has been excellent here and the writer has not stepped back in accepting the fact that the Japanese television industry is highly influenced by the American industry. Then the trend of the Japanese television industry has been explained. The trend shifted towards more television shows from movies due to the huge boom in the popularity of television serials (Chun, 2006, p.368). Though American influence was present but since 1980s except some television serials imported from America others haven't fare well in Japan. American movie culture is still quite famous and people enjoy watching movies produced in Hollywood. The fame of television series' led to a decline in the movie audience and this lead to more filmmakers turning towards television industry, which only led to an increase in the popularity of television serials (Blumenthal et al, 2006, p.592). The importance given to a television serial is on the basis of its local touch that is the viewers do n't really care if the serial is a copy from some other television industry what they really care about is the 'Japanese odor' in the serial. The solution to this situation was to import television shows from different industries and run them in Japan adding a local touch, which proved to be quite successful in the end. One of the example of such television show mentioned by the writer here is 'Who wants to be a millionaire'. The success rate of this show in Japan was huge though it was an imported show but the cultural touch relevant to Japan that was given to it proved outstanding. The Japanese version is mostly the same as of the version running in Britain but with some amendments like the appearance of celebrities as challengers. The draw back that this article has here is the mentioning of an international television show being popular when the writer himself mentioned that locally produced television serials are more liked by Japanese people. To level out this effect the write r than discusses a show that was imported from America but failed to make its mark in the Japanese television industry, the name of the program is 'Survivor'. The cultural products that Japan exports are called culturally odorless as they do not depict any cultural theme of the country. It is in this context that the Japanese is called Mukokuseki which means something or someone lacking any nationality. Now the writer directs his attention towards the television serials that are being exported from Japan. The interesting fact here that the writer mentions is the number of programs being exported by Japan is far more than imported. The writer also discusses the point raised by many critics who say that the largest shareholder of Japanese exported programs is animation and cartoons. This point is further supported by the fact that the writer presents, the fact is that animated programs produced in Japanese only consist of 1 percent of the total animated programs being produced by Japan confirming that they are being produced to export. The animation producers do not portray Japanese culture in the cartoons and games because they think that this is better for these programs as they are for export. (Gomery & Hockley, 2006, p.142) By glocalizing, the Japanese are buying highly prominent program formats in the West and then localizing them according to the tastes of the Japanese. The author points that the format business is considered as a highly effective and

A Silurian placoderm with osteichthyan Research Paper

A Silurian placoderm with osteichthyan - Research Paper Example In this regard, the Chondrichthyes are deficient of the huge cutaneous bones that typify the Osteichthyes. The Chondrichthyes are regarded as the cartilaginous fish while the Osteichthyes are regarded as the bony fish. The mutual opposition of these distinctions and the body structure of the last common ancestor of gnathostomes have continued to be a topic of consensus among scientists (Zhu et al, 2013). In this paper, Zhu and colleagues (2013) identify and delineate a three-multidimensional well-maintained placoderm fish from Silurian of China with combined features of a placoderm-like cutaneous skull roof, shoulder girdle and braincase with osteichthyan-like cutaneous bones of the mandibular and hyoid arches, and a palatoquadrate sharing obtained attributes with crown gnathostomes. This is a thing that had not been seen before. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the skull roof is level and sturdily curved horizontally. Most of the braincase of the fish was covered with rounded , central and nape plates, winged by corresponding postorbital, peripheral and frontal and subsequent paranuchal plates along the route of the arterial intraorbital and primary lateral line grooves. Additionally, the petite and thin proboscis constitutes a snout, a premedian and premaxillary those seem to be attached mesially. The Dermal cheek comprised the jugal, maxilla and a quadrajugal with a sensory channel pattern. The trunk armour comprised of attributes similar to those of the early arthrodires such as phlyctaeniid. On the other hand, the analysis revealed that the braincase was wide and flattened, replicating that of the ancient arthrodires (Zhu et al, 2013). This review was executed to identify the phylogenetic position of Entelognathus and the effect of its typescripts on gnathostome organic evolution. The evaluation was carried out using a modified version of the data. Entelognathus was placed with arthrodires, crown gnathostomes and ptyctodonts by the severe accord of 1 17 most frugal trees. The results of the analysis put several acanthodians under the gnathostome and osteichthyan stem clusters. The phonetic resemblances between the chondrichthyans and acanthodians were translated as symplesiomorphies. Zhu et al’s (2003) results portrayed that the resemblances represent synapomorphies of the chondrichthyan entire cluster. The classification of all acanthodians in the chondrichthyan stem cluster indicates that macronery in the preceding mutual ancestor of crown gnathostomes. The results of the analysis also indicated that Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes had macromeric cutaneous bones and offered a new theoretical account for reviewing crown gnathostome variance. Personal Response This paper clearly brings out a comparison of the four groups of the jawed vertebrate. It makes it clear to me, as a reader, by indicating that two of the groups are still in existent while two are extinct. Additionally, from my observation, similarities and differe nces between the groups are well articulated through diagrams through the article. The article explains each of the body structures and skeletons before comparing them. For instance, the article shows that Osteichthyans and Placoderms have macromeric cutaneous skeletons dominated by a huge body plates while Chondrichthyans and Acanthodians have micromeric cutaneous skeletons that primarily consist of scales. The article has brought me at

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

Serpico - Essay Example An understanding of Serpico’s story helps to illuminate the importance of integrity, autonomy and responsibility in every individual involved with criminal justice. The story of Frank Serpico has proved the impetus for a variety of police reforms and attempts at reform as the public found out just how extensive the system of ‘crooked cops’ went following Serpico’s revelations to the New York Times when he found his superiors unresponsive and incapable of dealing with what he encountered. Rather than being a case of a problem that had been so long unknown that it was beyond control, much like a houseful of termites within the framework, what Serpico uncovered in the 1960s and early 1970s was a case of so many individuals embroiled in the action that it was nearly impossible to find superiors capable of following through on investigations without implicating themselves. Reading through the slightly fictionalized biography of Frank Serpico reveals not only the extraordinary conditions in which he finds himself, but the several places in his life in which he was forced to make a difficult ethical decision, often at his own perso nal cost and suggests places in which an equally ethical criminal justice administrator might have been of significant assistance. The story opens up as Serpico is being rushed to the hospital after having been shot in the face in what is still debated as possibly an arranged ‘hit’ between the drug dealers and the police officers with whom he was working. Once it is properly established that this did not prove to be a fatal shot, although it came within fractions of a centimeter of being so, the novel turns to recount the past events of Serpico’s life that had brought him to the hospital that night and why suspicions of conspiracy were circulating. Touching only very briefly upon his childhood

Continue to the previous topic (internet) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Continue to the previous topic (internet) - Essay Example People need information but this particular type of information should be controlled so that it does not negatively impact on the interests of a certain group of people in a given country. The first reason why the internet should be censored is that the responsible authorities know the cultural values and norms they should preserve in their country given that each nation has its own culture which makes it distinct from other cultures. For example, the aspect of homosexuality is a taboo in other countries while it is allowed in other nations (Naik, 2010). In order for the countries that do not recognize homosexuality to protect their norms and values, they should censor the internet and remove this content from different web pages that are likely to be accessed by different people in their respective countries. This will help protect the interests of the citizens. This disrupts the moral fabric of the society and it can also be seen that unity is also created if people have a common u nderstanding towards something. The internet has no boundaries and dominant nations use this medium to impose their cultural values over other weaker nations. Therefore, individual countries should protect their cultures through internet censorship. The second reason why the internet should be censored is that individual countries are in a better position to regulate information so that it does not disrupt peace in that country. There is a tendency by other powerful nations to dominate weak countries through disseminating distorted information that is likely to affect peace in weaker nations. Each country has its own way of governing its people hence the need for these countries to put measures in place that are meant to protect the interests of the whole nation. The information accessed from the internet may suggest that other countries are ruled by bad leaders and this can lead to conflicts hence the reason why nations should regulate the information disseminated through the inter net. Research has shown that other powerful nations want to impose their hegemonic control over other weaker nations through the use of distorted information to such nations (Naik, 2010). The other important reason why censorship of the internet is important is that it helps to curb dissemination of illicit content and material like pornography to the people. This particular type of content corrupts the mind of people and it can impact negatively on their behaviour. The dissemination of illicit material may be against the values of a certain group of people hence the need for them to put measures in place that are meant to protect these important components of their life. Therefore, I think individual countries should have measures that are designed to prevent their interests such as internet censorship given that this medium of communication has no boundary. It is very important to preserve culture in each country so that people can be in a position to maintain their identity. A cr itical analysis of an article entitled â€Å"Internet Censorship Pros and Cons† by Abhijit Naik Published November 25, 2010 shows that to a larger extent, â€Å"such regulations are necessary to keep certain problems, such as sexual exploitation of children and spread of drug cartels at bay.†

The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism Essay

The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism - Essay Example The general use of purification in the pagan manner of worship means cleansing before entering the temple, after engaging in warfare, before handling of idols which they considered sacred, and to put oneself in a spiritual position. Christian baptism basically is for the purpose of cleansing the person so that they may receive the Spirit of God (Thomas, 2008). Washing which was done by immersion in some pagan religions was the first step in the ceremony of initiation and it was concluded with a meal (Edward, 1994). This seems to resemble the cleansing done before the Eucharist or communion service, and even though the two are not presided by an immersion, the purposes of the cleansing seem to resemble each other. There was also a myth surrounding the idea of immersing that the god Thetis immersed people completely to make them invulnerable holding them only at the heel but having all other parts of the body immersed. John13:9 narrates about John asking Jesus not to only wash his feet , but also his whole body. John the Baptist baptized Jesus at Aenon where there was much water which implies that it was an immersion whereby the whole body needed to be covered by the water. In the beginning of all of the four Gospels, the phrase â€Å"baptize with the Spirit† is found eight times and John the Baptist promises that the one coming after him was to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. The symbolic meaning of fire was judgment, since Mathew3:12 and Luke 3:17 narrate, â€Å"His winnowing fork is in His hand, He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into His granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire†. Fire and judgment were associated, for example, by prophets as they preached, as shown in Amos7:4 and Malachi 3:2 (Killian & Montague, 1994). Other prophets, like Jeremiah and Isaiah, also mention fire and judgment in their prophesies, denoting God’s judgment. Commentators then argue that the Holy Spirit mentioned b y John during his ministry of baptizing in the Jordan was the Spirit of repentance and preparation so as to receive the Messiah and escape the fire of God’s judgment, and also to be prepared for ministry, when one underwent the ritual with true repentance. The baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan, the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit, and the confirmation by God that He was God’s beloved son are the same steps today that a Christian follows, being purified or being initiated, being empowered by being filled by the holy Spirit to perform ministry in the Kingdom of God as a son in the Kingdom (Edward, 1994). Jesus also calls His suffering and death on the cross baptism, as found in Mark 10:38 -39. The reason for this use of the term â€Å"baptism† is because the suffering is looked upon as a bath into which Jesus was to be immersed. The view is that the death of Jesus was God’s way of dealing with mankind’s sin; a judgment gives more reason wher e the passion of Christ is referred to as a baptism (Killian & Montague, 1994). This inclusion of this aspect in St Marks Gospel also demonstrates that the Holy Spirit’s baptism of believers is not only for ministry empowerment to heal and cast out demons, but also to enable them to have the Grace to offer their lives as a ransom for many, due to the fact that Jesus is their role model and that he stated they were to drink the same cup He drank. The

Transnational IT Operations Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transnational IT Operations - Coursework Example In addition, with the emergence of information technology particularly the Internet and e-commerce, organizations have also slowly but surely engaged in intercontinental business as these technologies have presented them wonderful tools and opportunities. The reputation of globalization is straightforwardly linked with the reputation of information and communication technology for the reason that it facilitates organizations that at one time were not capable of launching and managing business operations internationally with the prospect of competing globally. It is an admitted fact that the transnational operations can offer the businesses a number of benefits at many different stages, as well as if supervised in the approved manner, the businesses can compensate the potential challenging features that exist in this process, providing these businesses with an optimized arrangement that can change the organization into a winning business working on an international stage. There are many advantages of transnational IT operations; some of the important advantages include access to the worldwide market, elasticity, diversity, and affordable business structures. At the same time as various challenges, for instance, service levels and quality of work have usually overwhelmed worldwide businesses. In this scenario, the development of latest tools and technologies and the knowledge derived from transnational IT operations are as well very much modernizing these aspects and areas and reducing the harmful impact usually held. In this scenario, variety in the human resources also allows the businesses to gain experience and search for latest tools required to launch their products and services internationally (Marulanda, 2010; Kniaziewicz, 2008). Additionally, this diversity does not simply present an opportunity to expand customer contact by

Strategic Planning Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Strategic Planning - Dissertation Example Introduction Strategic planning within organizations is one of the most essential aspects of both sustainability and growth. Without the ability to meet the needs of strategic planning, there is the inability to move forward with specific needs and to reach the full potential of the organization. While strategic planning is required for the development of a company, the implementation and the end goals are often not met. The problems which arise are based on the various aspects of the organization and how it associates with the needs of each of the goals. Leadership capacities, communication tools, participation and the ability to reach smaller and larger goals through various initiatives are some of the several areas in which strategic planning is not implemented in the correct manner. This is followed with complexities which arise from the organizational culture and the expectations which are associated with meeting change or resistance to the workforce that is a part of the organi zation (Rothwell, 2010). ... The research will also examine specific areas in which strategic planning can alter, specifically with associations such as getting more employees available for participation, building milestones and metrics to incorporate the strategic plans with and altering the approaches toward the vision so it becomes tangible within the company. By investigating how these can be used, there is the ability to create and develop more alternatives with the required strategic plans and how these can alter into a form of action. Problem Statement While strategic plans are developed within corporations, they are often not implemented and end goals are not met. Literature Review (ADD 10 PAGES TO THIS LIT REVIEW SECTIONOFTHE PAPER) The approach which is taken toward strategic planning and implementation is one which is based on the understanding of taking action within a corporation. Without the correct strategies, there is the inability to provide higher amounts of sustainability and growth within a c ompany. However, there are often problems and difficulties with creating the required changes. This literature review will examine the various aspects of strategic planning and implementation as well as how it alters according to the difficulties which are in the organizational culture. The review will examine the various dimensions that are associated with strategic planning. It will further define the obstacles that do not allow the plans to be implemented at various levels within an organization. There will also be reference to theories which are created to alter the strategic planning so it becomes one that is associated with constructive

Stepmothers Sin Essay Example for Free

Stepmothers Sin Essay Professional experience Business manager (NOV 2009 JUL 2010) Unimark remedies ltd, Hyderabad, India * Promotion, marketing and sales of oncology drugs * Taking appointments from oncologists and visiting them in order to promote new products if any, discussions in order to increase the prescriptions for the company`s products * Visiting pharmacy retail and whole sale institutions in order to increase the availability of range of products. Visiting patient wards in various government medical institutions conducting surveys to help the company in public relation programmes * Studying the data describing new products to develop sales approach. * Compiled data on equipment and supplies preferred by customers. * Online report to the head office about the job done and about the competitor activities in the region. Medical representative (MAR 2009 – NOV 2009) Zen life sciences (oncology), Hyderabad, India. * Promotion, marketing and sales of oncology drugs Taking appointments from oncologists and visiting them in order to promote new products if any, discussions in order to increase the prescriptions for the company`s products * Visiting pharmacy retail and whole sale institutions in order to increase the availability of range of products. * Attending class room training and aptitude tests in order learn about new products to develop sales approach. * Giving samples to the customer. * Reporting to the manager about the job done. Medical representative (MAR 2008 – NOV 2008) Lupin pharmaceuticals. Bangalore, India. Promotion, marketing and sales of lupin femina drugs. * Taking appointments from gynaecologists, general physicians and visiting them in order to promote gynaecology drugs and over the counter drugs ( vitamin, calcium and other supplements ) * Visiting pharmacy retail and wholesale institutions in order to increase the ava ilability of range of products, taking orders, checking the storage conditions of the products in their premises. * Attending class room training and aptitude tests in order learn about new products to develop sales approach. Reporting to the manager about the job done. Honours * Registered pharmacist in Andhra Pradesh pharmacy council holding registration number: 060622/A1 * Awarded best trainee in 2009 by Zen life sciences (oncology) * Awarded best seminar and poster presentation on pharmaceutical marketing and administration in 2007. References * Miss Rubina khan , product manager Email: rubina. [emailprotected] com * Mr Rahul rao boinapally, regional manager, lupin pharmaceuticals. Email: [emailprotected] com * Mr Sasankha canuparthy Email :

Diversity in the World Essay Example for Free

Diversity in the World Essay One of the most profound factors in the universe is diversity. However the most evident diversity which affects peoples’ lives is racial and ethnic diversity. Although theories of origin of universe show a common source of all human races in the world, environmental factors in the area certain people live in can be held accountable for the diversity that is observed in human race. Undoubtedly, racial diversity is important in the world as it creates variety and taste in life; on the other hand, it is evident that diversity has also been a source of conflicts in the world. A world of diversity Personal experience with diverse cultures is very important in understanding the diversity in the world. An example could be the visit to the Eunoto ceremony from the Maasai community, which is one of the foreign traditional ceremonies in Kenya. Usually, tourist are informed about it during their stay in East Africa. The Maasai community which lives in the East African region is one of the conservative traditional communities which have refused to let go their practices. The Eunoto ceremony is used to mark the end of one age set’s period in service of worrier hood for the community and their consequent promotion to the junior elders. This marks their initiation to adult life where they can be allowed to marry and have children. Eunoto is a four day ceremony which takes place in an enclosed hut which is specified for that ceremony. Every warrior has his head shaved by his mother sitting on the same cowhide where he was circumcised. The head is then decorated and the shaving of the head means that they have lost the most valuable stage of their life which is full of freedom. After the ceremony, the now crowned junior elder may select a girl of his choice for a wife. At the same time some restriction like drinking milk and eating meat which are restricted in their warrior years are also lifted. (Finke, 2003) How can the one describe his/her racial and ethnic diversity? It is difficult to define the word race owing to the varied application of the word in different circumstance. The word race defines a particular group of people who can be identified through a common factor. This means that it is a group of people that share common characteristics (Kim, 2001). These characteristics can vary from factors like religious, skin color, and others. However, in everyday usage, the word race has been used predominantly based on the color of the skin thereby giving the black race and the light skinned race. This is just a construction of the society and the meaning many not be referring to provable differences. In defining ones personal racial and ethnic identity, it is natural to use of all these characteristics that have been used to differentiate one race from the other. In that case, based on the skin color, the person could say that he/she, for instance, is black American since his/her great grand parents were presumably, slaves who had been shipped from West African to work in Caribbean plantations. This kind of characteristic can be evidenced in ones physical character; even if the one doesn’t have a black complexion, he/she may have a chocolate complexion which may lead to the African origin. The heritage and cultural practices that have been inherited from grand parents may be passed down the line of generation and may be evident today. A race can also be defined in terms of other characteristics like language and religion. In terms of language, it may be hard to exactly foot ones ancestry since nowdays Americans usually know only American English language. At the same time, the ancestral language may not even be reflected in ones names. The name of a person can tell the origin of a person even without assessing other characteristic. For example the name Patel will assure that there is a high probability that the person is an Indian. Most people surrounding us every day have both names in English which can explain the level of assimilation of the African slaves in the American society. In terms of religion, a large percent of Americans families are Catholic. Catholic was a predominant religion in the tradition American plantations. However, sometimes, a little enquiry from ancestors how a certain family ended up being Catholics shows that many slaves and in deed Americans were converted to catholic during the independence era as they opposed the Anglican religion perpetuated by the British. Family customs are important practices that have been passed on from one generation to the other. In some families, there are practices which father insists on like the position of the first born in the family. The first born is supposed to provide example to the rest of the siblings. In an era where family divorces are on the rise, some fathers insist that once their children are married they would like to see them have a happy marriage like they have had. These are some of the customs among other that some parents have tried to pass on to their children in certain cultures. There are practice like dressing, music, and other practices that are preserved in our family. In term of dressing, some believe in dressing like a gentle lady or gentleman. This means dressing smart. In some families, every time the one enters in the house there will be a rock music playing as the onweners like no other. Taking children to see â€Å"the land of origin† is also very popular. How can the American culture be described? Evidently, American culture is the most diverse in the world, being a multilayered culture with huge cocktail of cultures blending together to produced the Americana culture. American culture is also the most influential in the world and different aspects like clothing (notably hip star), music (pop music), business, and others have defined the standard world culture. There are different evident factors that set the American culture from the rest. The Hollywood culture that defines entertainment is the most evident. Other clear aspects of American culture is the culture of consumption, racism based on three dominant groups including African American, white American and Hispanic, and fundamental religious culture of Christians, Jews, Islam, and Atheists. American culture is very rich in diversity. (Levenstein, 2003) What would happen if a resident of the United States of America changes sex? If the one wakes up next day and finds that he/she had changed sex, life would not change much in the modern American society. American society has moved toward gender homogeneity and anyone can perform any duty. There are no cultural restriction and those existing in different races have been overtaken the constitutional legislations. Ones life would, therefore, differ in terms of the biological gender roles and in no other aspect. Also, it can be said that throughout time some aspects like dressing and the general social life has been greatly changed by the wave of globalization but this is common to all the middle class. Conclusion Diversity in the world may be the source of variety and taste of life. There are diverse races of in the world with each defined by a set of culture practices. The one could consider being an African American but his/her racial and ethnic identity may be polarized by the mix up of cultures in the diverse American culture. Today, it might prove very difficult to point out culture practices that may identify individual racial background except for the color of their skin. Reference: Finke, J. (2003): Maasai – The Eunoto Ceremony. Retrieved on 22nd November 2008 http://www. bluegecko. org/kenya/tribes/maasai/eunoto. htmfrom Kim, U. (2001): Culture, science and indigenous psychologies: An integrated analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press Levenstein, H. (2003): Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American culture, Berkeley: University of California Press,