Teach Skills for Content Reading With Developmental Reading

Developmental reading is a branch of reading instruction that is designed to support literacy in a variety of contexts to improve comprehension and decoding skills. This instructional approach helps bridge gaps in reading skills so that students are better equipped to engage with more advanced content. Whether a student needs to increase their comprehension, speed, accuracy, or something else, developmental reading will help them reach their goals. Developmental reading is designed to supplement existing literacy skills and does not address basic skills such as phonemic awareness,  decoding, and vocabulary.  These are usually taught upon first learning to read. What Developmental Reading Teaches Developmental reading teaches strategies that can be used in any subject area, especially language arts courses and interdisciplinary classes such as social studies, science, and higher-level math courses. These tend to require students to read and understand large amounts of complex text and can be daunting if a student doesnt feel like they have strong reading strategies at their disposal. By teaching readers that a text is the sum of its parts and showing them how to use these parts to their advantage, they will feel ready to tackle any type of reading that they may encounter. Many community colleges and even some high schools offer developmental reading courses to help students prepare for rigorous college-level courses and technical textbooks. Goals of Developmental Reading It is not the case that all readers experience reading in the same ways. There are some who take to reading quickly, some who never do, and some who are in between, but it is important that all students are given equal opportunities. The goal of developmental reading is to lift up the students who need more support and level the playing field so that reading feels possible to everyone. Strong Readers Some students master reading quickly. These students may be so fluent in their use of text features that they can locate information in a text without doing much reading at all.  These readers are equipped with skills and strategies that make it possible for them to take shortcuts without sacrificing the quality of their reading, accuracy, or comprehension. Highly-literate students often possess a confidence that enables them to take on difficult texts without panicking and they are more likely to enjoy reading because of this. The same cannot be said for those that struggle to read. Struggling Readers There are many types of students who might feel overwhelmed by the content they are expected to read, whether because of the length of the text, complexity, or both. Students who have never felt excited about reading or have never had reading role models in their life are unlikely to want to improve their abilities. Those with disabilities or disorders such as dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are at an unfair disadvantage in many of their classes. Struggling readers may shut down when presented with a text without searching for information that will make the reading easier. Low confidence makes these readers feel hopeless. Teaching students how to use text features will give them a sense of control over reading. With practice, a student can eventually feel comfortable reading and feel much more positively toward it. Whether a student is reading to prepare for a test, studying, completing an assignment, or just for fun, students who know how to use text features to navigate a text are much better off than those that dont. Strong readers experience school and life very differently, and developmental reading is designed to turn all readers into strong readers. Teaching Text Features Helping students recognize and learn to use text features is the primary goal of developmental reading.  Through these classes, students learn to scan a text for features that will give them clues about its meaning and purpose. Students who understand a text are much more likely to learn from it and retain that knowledge. The following list gives the most common text features: Illustrations or photographs:  The illustrations or photographs are the pictures, either drawn or photographed, that relate to the text and add to its meaning.Titles:  A title is designed to summarize the meaning of a text. This is what the author intends for you to learn from the book or article.Subtitles:  Subtitles organize the information in a text to make it easier to follow. They are the authors way of keeping you tuned in to the meaning.Index:  An index is located in the back of a book. It is a list of terms that are used in the text, organized alphabetically, and shows where you can find them again.Glossary:  A glossary is like an index but provides definitions instead of locations. The terms defined are important to the meaning of the text, so glossaries help a lot with understanding what you are reading.Captions:  Captions are found mostly beneath illustrations or photographs and maps. They label what is shown and offer important supplemental information and cla rification.Maps:  Maps are most often found in social studies texts and they provide visuals for geographical descriptions. Using these text features properly not only increases comprehension and accuracy but also improves ones ability to make predictions and inferences. Predictions and Inferences Successful reading must begin with preparation and students can prepare by making predictions about what they are about to read. Just as good teachers should consider what their students already know before teaching, good readers should consider what they already know before reading. Before diving in, a student should ask themselves: What do I already know? What do I want to know? What do I think Ill learn? As they read, they can check their predictions against the information presented and decide whether they were correct. After making predictions and reading, students should make inferences about meaning and purpose. This is the part where readers get to check their own understanding and use evidence to make conclusions about the information. This step is crucial for the continued development of reading skills and keeps reading purposeful.

Effectiveness of Prisons and Jails to Rehabilitate

On January 18, 1989, the abandonment of rehabilitation in corrections was confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Mistretta v. United States, the Court upheld federal sentencing guidelines which remove rehabilitation from serious consideration when sentencing offenders. Defendants will henceforth be sentenced strictly for the crime, with no recognition given to such factors as amenability to treatment, personal and family history, previous efforts to rehabilitate oneself, or possible alternatives to prison. The Court outlined the history of the debate: Rehabilitation as a sound enological theory came to be questioned and, in any event, was regarded by some as an unattainable goal for most cases. The Court cited a Senate Report which†¦show more content†¦The second article written by Tamar Lewin, of The New York Times highlights some information and several studies that shows that education programs in prisons and jails help reduce the rate of recidivism. according to a study for the Department of Education Inmates who receive schooling- through vocational training or classes at the high school or college level are far less likely to return within three years of their release, (The New York Times). The article also points out those schooling aids in public safety by getting more parolees to be active and healthy members of society. A source for The New York Times, Stephen J. Steurer, says and I quote We found that for every dollar you spend on education, you save a dollar by avoiding the cost of re- incarceration (The New York Times). Nonetheless, the article is so eagerly notes that even though it has been proven cheaper to educate and rehabilitate than to consistently re- incarcerate former prison and jail inmates â€Å"it very difficult to get public financing for such classes (The New York Times). Lastly, the article touches on the state of affairs of the educational opportunities given. It describes the situation as Varying widely by state, with half or fewer prisoners getting some form of education in most states, and,Show MoreRelatedPrison is no Changing Prisoners1187 Words   |  5 Pagespeople claim that prison does not change people. Research indicates that after indulging in criminal activities, approximately 70% of the released prisoners return to jail within a few years. Most of them fall in three broad areas: †¢ Violent offending †¢ Sex offending †¢ Addictions (Prisoner Rehabilitation) This shows that there are many different types of criminals some more violent than others. On the other hand, some people believe that criminals can rehabilitate after prison. Evidence showsRead MoreMale And Female Sentencing : A Look Into Alternative Sentencing1274 Words   |  6 Pagesrates rising and jail and prison populations at an all-time high, alternative sentencing is being used more often with non-violent offenders. This paper looks at male and female incarceration rates, the use of alternative programs for sentencing between the two and the effectiveness of such programs. During the paper we will analyze sentencing differences between male and female offenders. We will also analyze the use of alternative programs for sentencing and their effectiveness. Female V MaleRead MoreEssay on The Mission of the Correctional System 1218 Words   |  5 PagesThe correctional system has three main goals: punish, protect the community and rehabilitate the offender. However, it is unclear how well the modern U.S correctional system achieves these goals and whether the money invested in the correctional system might be better spent. These are some of the points I will cover regarding what I think about the correctional system. Department of Corrections is an agency of the state that is responsible for the supervision and management of convicted felonsRead MoreEffectiveness And Effectiveness Of Incarceration980 Words   |  4 PagesBritian is now known to have record numbers in jails, which is also accurate for many other countries, such as USA, which has over two million people in prison, one and a half million serve in China and nearly one million in the Russian Federation (Newburn 2013: 706). Despite the fact that jails and conviction work differently when it comes to other countries, we can all agree on the fact that they exist namely in order to prevent crime and set justice for those who have been a victim of one as wellRead MoreThe Controversy Over the Death Penalty Essay907 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowing problem of overcrowded prisons, or is justice really being served? Why do some view the taking of a life morally correct? These questions are discussed and debated upon in every state and national legislature throughout the country. Advantages and disadvantages for the death penalty exist, and many members of the United States, and individual State governments, have differing opinions. Yet it seems that the stronger arguments, and evidence such as cost effectiveness, should lead the commonRead MoreThe Justification Of Punishment Today s Society999 Words   |  4 Pagesjustice system as a whole is correct in theory, however, as stated by Bartollas and Siegel, â€Å"†¦only 20 percent of all recorded criminal acts result in arrest, and only about 20 percent of arrests wind up in prison, so the ability of punishment to deter crime is undermined by lack of system effectiveness and efficiency† (2013). With individuals who willfully commit crimes and are skillful and knowledgeable enough to manipulate the justice system to either evade arrest or avoid conviction, one could argueRead MoreThe United States Juvenile Justice Court Was Based On The1325 Words   |  6 P agesThe United States juvenile justice court was based on the English parens patriae adopted in the United States as part of the legal tradition of England. But the efforts of the state to rehabilitate juvenile offenders with institutional treatment with the houses of refuge and reformatories failed. Today, the United States has 51 different juvenile court systems; the laws and statutes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Thus, each state’s approach to handle the youth offenders is responsible forRead MoreJustifications for Punishment in Modern Society1630 Words   |  7 Pagesdirectly aimed towards a particular individual who has already committed the crime through actually experiencing the punishment first hand. An example of this may be, being convicted of a crime and as a result being sentenced to so many years in jail or prison. However, in order for it to be successful, the â€Å"previously punished person must make a conscious connection between an intended crimi nal act and the punishment suffered as a result of similar acts committed in the past† (Stohr, Walsh, HemmensRead MoreEssay on Alternatives to Prison1677 Words   |  7 PagesAlternatives to Prison Prisons, facilities maintained for confining people convicted of committing crimes, were used to rehabilitate offenders while keeping them isolated from the community. The Quakers built the first prison in 1790 in order to seclude criminal offenders from society to think about their wrongdoing and to seek forgiveness in a kind, and spiritual environment. (Inciardi 497) Currently, there are three types of prisons within the Federal, State, and County governments. TheseRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The United States Essay1264 Words   |  6 Pagesstrikes law, truth-in sentencing laws, mandatory sentencing, and determinate sentencing, our prisons and jails have become overcrowded. The three strikes law increases the prison sentence of an offender convicted of three felonies or serious crime. Usually the punishment ranges from a minimum of 25 years to life in prison. The truth-in sentencing laws require the offender to serve a substantial amount of their prison sentence (usually around 85 percent) before they are eligible for release on parole. The

Blood brother unit 2 in drama Essay Example For Students

Blood brother unit 2 in drama Essay Because we thought it introduced Linda and how Mickey and Lindas relationship was evolving. We decided that the main theme in this scene was social class; how the more common travel and treat each other compared to what it would be like if you first class. I think we staged this piece well because not at any time did we have every one sat down like you would expect. I played Linda, Laurence was Mickey, Josh was Sammy and Dan was the conductor. Mickey, Linda and Sammy were sat down on chairs, as if it was a bus. Sammy had his back to Linda to empathise the fact they do not get along. Linda had her arm around Mickey, This was very obvious body language, e.g. her arm around him saying, hes mine and Im not letting go. Mickey held onto her hand, not as strong body language as Linda but still says I like her, but Im more relaxed about it. We had the conductor standing up walking around us asking for tickets. Him standing up over us gave him priority, but as soon as Sammy says What!? and stands up the authority automatically goes equally as the conductor has the threat of driving to the cop shop and Sammy is aggressive gaining more priority as people are scared of him. Sammy soon gains all priority when he produces a knife and threatens the conductor because all of the power is in his hands. However this status doesnt remain high that long because there is a sense of desperation when Sammy calls out to Mickey to help him, but Linda does not let Sammy get Mickey involved so all priority goes to her because she puts a stop to all of this. I think we developed the role of Linda well in this scene because of all the havoc rising she manages to put a stop to it. We could of improved the scene by having Mickey doing more in this scenes because there were times when he sat there when in a realistic situation he would have been standing trying to get Sammy to stop this. We would have worked on that if we had more time.  We got into small groups and were given the task to explore the media perspective if the blood brothers story had actually happened. We decided to do a show called Whats that Buzz which was a gossip show. Kate and I were the presenters, Michael and Ash were Mickey and Eddie and Jade played Mrs. Johnstone. We had an idea of recording our show on camera, and instead of having Mrs. Johnstone come into the studio but ring up. We pre recorded what me and Kate said and jade stepped out on stage with a phone talking to us, and I think we got the timing just right, I was really pleased with it. Mrs. Johnstone came across as an emotional wreck when we brought up her sons, we thought it would be funny if Mrs. Johnstone blamed the media for the death of her sons rather than pointing to the obvious, Linda. Mrs. Johnstone said the Media pushed Mickey over the edge by writing stories of sexual relationships between friends when the womans husband was in prison. We also explored what the publics views on the blood brothers story was, such as was it just a money scam of Mrs. Johnstones so she would get money from all this up roar, etc.  We performed these by Kate and I walking out from the curtains behind the television where our footage was being shown, and on the T.V me and Kate walk off camera so it almost looked as if we had walked out of the T.V. then on stage we showed short plays of what we said had happened. Another possibility was that Lindas baby was actually Eddies so we showed what that would have been like we had Eddie and Mickey on stage and Linda, then she tells Mickey, then he punches Eddie. .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .postImageUrl , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:hover , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:visited , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:active { border:0!important; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:active , .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9 .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u16acd245069a64c4e3c0c3c9cc6828c9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: In Cold Blood: Death Penalty EssayI really liked the idea of using the T.V so it was an actual television show. I think we could have improved it by not rushing it so much because of our time limit on this piece but also the place we filmed it because we were very limited for choice in our school. However I think we got the right idea about the whole media perspective.  I liked Dan and Joshs Idea of having a talk show and having Josh being Mickey sat in the audience whilst Eddie was on stage with Linda. Then Mickey stands up with a gun taking the whole audience hostage, I liked how they involved every one and gave it that feel of realism. I think they could have improved it by having Rory, the host standing up because through-out most of it, all of the people on stage were sat down so it didnt look as interesting as it could have.

John Wesley Essays - Anglican Saints, Methodism, Apocalypticists

John Wesley ?Making the Gospel Live? The ideas of Christianity before the time of John Wesley were definitely present, but not very defined or acknowledged. The Christian faith was very unstable and many common people were not sure of what to believe when it came to religion and faith. John Wesley was minister of the Church of England. Christian Faith was a great power that entered the hearts of men and women, which transformed their lives, when people were willing to accept the transformation to Christianity. John Wesley felt the power of the Christian Faith when he listened to a preacher in London on May 1738 when he was a young man. Wesley was then currently 35 years old, and was unsure of the work that should be done in the church. He was not sure what the standards were and whether he should preach in parish. He made up his mind that he would preach his congregations to anyone who was willing to listen and anywhere. He would travel anywhere for his beliefs to enter the hearts of people. For the next fifty years Wesley traveled all around England and Britain, especially in the Isles. Wesley would preach wherever he could find an audience, if there were no churches he would preach in graveyards, workshops, village greens, shops, water fronts, busy markets and stables and in some cases on a chair in the street. There were records that suggest he once preached on top of a pigsty in a stable, just outside of Winchester. It was estimated that through Wesley's travels, he had covered 250 000 miles, and preached around 40 thousand times or more. John Wesley preached his last sermon when he was 87 years old, in Sussex. It was an open air sermon and many believed his preaching had changed their lives. Many people admired Wesley's faith and were truly inspired by his words. Wesley never intended to form a new Christian church; although this occurred after his death. When Wesley and his younger brother had been at Oxford University, they gathered together and formed a small group of students who gathered together and shared their ideas about religion and faith. Fellow schoolmates for this; often teased them. Their nickname was the ?Holy Club.' The ?Holy Club' was very serious and insisted on keeping to a serious routine of prayer and bible studies. Although the ?Holy Club' was a harmless nickname, it led on to be the title for the new Christian Church. John Wesley also had very strong views on the public and the standards of living that had been occurring in Englandfro almost one hundred years. Wesley persisted in voicing his feelings of equal rights for all human beings. Wesley had helped Lord Shaftsbury, (other wise known as Anthony Ashley Cooper) in helping to raise the living standards of England. One important factor he changed were the cotton mills; also known as the ?dark satanic mills of England.' Children as young as six were used for slave labor and were treated very poorly. The children were crowed into workhouses, which were over come with diseases and crime. They were beaten if orders were not obeyed, and the food supplies were often very short, causing malnourishment. Anthony Ashley Cooper was a strong Christian believer. Lord Shaftsbury visited the decaying mills and was an appalled by the state of them. John Wesley was a true Christian believer who helped to lift the living standards of England along with Anthony Ashley Cooper. John Wesley's preaching all over Britain and England, gave faith to many people during his sermons, and his ideas of Christianity were greatly accepted by many in the English society. His wise words during his sermons gave a lot of faith. Wesley and his move to branch from the Christian church contributed to the stability of Christianity in England. Although Wesley was oblivious to the changes that he had made to the English Church when he was alive; after his death the many things that he had accomplished shone through and he was known as a great contributor to the new English Church. Bibliography 1. Religion Discovered, AL Milner, Man and Macmillan, 1998 Religion

Exclusion of Chinese Americans in History essays

Exclusion of Chinese Americans in History essays The years between 1850 and 1880 marked a huge difference in the way Chinese immigrants were treated in California. Numerous economic transformations occurred during these years, changing the way white Californians, specifically Nativists, felt towards the Chinese. This was the beginning of what became a history of exclusion of Chinese immigrants in California that had many long-term consequences for the Chinese. Starting in the 1850s Chinese immigrants came to California in large numbers. They were not so much accepted as tolerated, treated as mysterious foreigners, an Oriental, rather than a threat. But by the 1870s, with the depression of 1873 and the rise of mechanization, Nativists and other working-class whites began to view the Chinese as a serious threat to their economic stability. By the 1870s, capitalists were attempting to rationalize and reduce the cost of production (Lee 54). These same capitalists began to view immigrants as a good, relatively free source of labor. With mechanization came the ability to train almost anyone, immigrants, women and children, on the use of these machines. This took power away from the white man. These white men became increasingly threatened by immigrant labor, specifically the Chinese. While it is true that he Irish were also used as unskilled laborers, by their very whiteness, they were not viewed as the same threat as the brown-skinned Chinese. The use of the Irish and Italian, as well as the Chinese immigrants as strikebreakers became commonplace in the 1870s (Lee 55). Even though the Irish and Italians were used, once again the Chinese became the focus of the anti-immigrant sentiment. Many of these white laborers, having already left the Eastern United States due to the advent of mechanization, turned to the id ea of Nativism as a result of the threat of the Chinese immigrants. In 1870, Senator Cowan warned...

Mutual Funds essays

Mutual Funds essays Introduction and Background of Mutual Fund Industry Over the past 75 years, there has been no better way to experience financial growth than to have been a long-term investor in the U.S. stock market. Even though they have experienced some dramatic downturns, stocks, which are ownership shares in public corporations, have outperformed all other types of investments including bonds, CDs and U.S. Government securities and they have stayed ahead of inflation. Like the stock market, successful investing is never a sure thing, since you can't predict what the value of your investment or your rate of return will be at any point in time. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the stock market remains among the best choices for long-term investing. Stocks or equity securities represent ownership shares in a company and the right to share in both its profits (stock dividends) and its growth (rising share price). For both of these reasons, stocks have become an "investment of choice," particularly for millions of investors looking for capital appreciation. While the stock market is known for its ups and downs, and individual stocks can rise or plummet overnight, as a whole, stocks have delivered a larger return on investment over the long run than any other instrument. Let's suppose you're just getting started as an investor and have $5,000 to invest and you have three important goals you want to achieve. First, you don't want to lose your money in a risky venture so you want security. But you also want to make the most money you can, so you want the prospect for growth potential, too. Finally, since you don't have the time or knowledge to actively manage your money, you want professional money management occasionally diversifying your investments into promising new opportunities. That sounds like a very good plan, but where can you invest your money and have a chance to meet all three criteria? Individual stocks may carry greater potential ...

How does proverty affect the amercian dream in the play death of a Research Paper

How does proverty affect the amercian dream in the play death of a saleman and in the world today - Research Paper Example This reality exposes us to realize the great falsehood about poor people and makes us sit back and re -look at the mammoth economic and social problem existing in our midst. View of general public reflects a negative and racial concept about poverty. There is a general assumption that African Americans are poor and lazy and even though they are part of working class, they purposely remain without jobs. False promises and inconsistent government policies to eradicate poverty are some of the reasons for this sorry state of affairs. The financial insecurity has played havoc with the lives of people, especially low – wage workers in the United States. This has brought about a financial insecurity in their lives as they are faced with the fear of job losses and rising cost of living. There is a new interest by the policy makers of America for regeneration of national focus on the worrisome social and economic problem. The founding fathers of the constitution of America felt that ha rd working people would be able to realize their dream. The story of Death of a Salesman â€Å"proves that people still dare to dream and make it big like their other fellow beings.

The ways that AbeBooks can use the three components of creativity Case Study

The ways that AbeBooks can use the three components of creativity - Case Study Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is AbeBooks that has consistently been listed among the top 100 employers by Macleans Magazine starting from 2003 to 2008. Despite this impressive rating, AbeBooks has is experiencing a high turnover on its employees of late. The manager of Email and Online Marketing, Antonio Frias explains that this two heads from this department have left within a period of one month. Moreover, another exit of Christine; Affiliates Manager in the Online Marketing team is eminent. If Christine resigns, all the three positions in this department would have been turned over within a month. This demonstrates that there is something that is not working well in the management of the company. Furthermore, high rates of employee are linked to lower performance evidenced by decreased profitability and customer service. It is therefore critical to identify the causes of high employee turnover and propose strategies that can to reverse this trend. AbeBooks was emerged fr om Timeless Books founded by Cathy. Timeless Books generally stocked second-hand books but Cathy realized that people were coming to into the store and requested from books that were not in the store. Consequently she put up an advert in a business magazine where she listed about hundred books that she intended to purchase from other book sellers. Following her advert, she received many replies on the selection of the books available. (Kelleher, 2009, p. 2). However, she was faced by a problem of sorting out these replies and after sharing her concerns with husband, he proposed developing an online database to which listed booksellers and their books in well defined format. In 1995, AbeBooks was company started and enjoyed massive growth through the years. After seeing the company during its initial years, Cathy and Rick exited in 2001 and a new CEO was hired. In 2003, the last of the founders, Keith and Vivian left (Kelleher, 2009, p. 3). By 2009, AbeBooks had 135 employees and off ices in Germany and Canada. The growth of the company has been fuelled by the increasing online inventory and increased numbers of customers and booksellers. In addition, AbeBooks has made acquisition of other companies which has enhanced its growth. Bent was replaced by Hannes in 2003 who formerly worked with the senior management at Dusseldorf in Germany (Kelleher, 2009, p. 4). Kelleher explains that ‘‘AbeBooks business model can be described as both business to business and business to customer’’. AbeBooks makes profits by marketing services to booksellers and offering a secure platform for ecommerce (Kelleher, 2009, p. 4). At AbeBooks, the marketing department primary goal is to attract as many buyers to the website and manage the customer’s experience when making purchases. The duty of Online Marketing team is to increase traffic to the site and the Interactive marketing team is charged with the responsibility of managing the buyers’ expe rience. Before Antonio took over the leadership of Online Marketing employees, the department was headed by Sebastian Eberley who is a strategist who always adopted a practical approach and was up-to-date with development of effective ecommerce (Kelleher, 2009, p. 5). On the other hand Antonio has a friendly, straight and adopts a

Explain What Christians Believe About the Sanctity of Life and Especially Their Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Explain What Christians Believe About the Sanctity of Life and Especially Their Responsibility Essay All Christian beliefs, believe in the sanctity of life. This means that life is sacred as God has given us life. But many of the different Christian religions have different views on the way both Abortions and Euthanasia should be handled. Catholics believe that life begins at the moment of conception. But from a quote from Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you’. This shows that God has already given the child there special personalities and talents even before they are born. This quote forms the base of the Vatican’s Stance on contraception. They completely disagree with condoms, ‘The Pill’ and any other forms of contraception. They are also totally against the idea of Abortion. This is shown in the Humane Vitae. Mother Teresa is totally against Abortion as from this quote we can tell that she thinks that it is a sin. ‘Any country that accepts Abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants’. This shows that she backs up the views of the Roman Catholic that Abortion is a tragic sin. But the Church of England and many other religions such as Quakers and Lutheran believe that Abortion is acceptable to have an Abortion in certain circumstances, such as rape or when mental or physical damage cause be inflicted on the mother or/and child. They disagree with the beliefs of the Roman Catholic as we all have free will and having Abortion is in the rights of free will. Also there is no quote the bible that clearly states that Abortion is wrong. At the other end of the life scale Euthanasia is also another controversial issue. All Christians believe that we as human are all created by God. This is shown in Psalm 139:16 ‘You saw my unborn body’. This shows that when David sung the psalm he was telling the people that God knew you before you were born, showing that as our bodies an minds are unique we all must treat our minds with respect as otherwise we shall be committing a sin against God. Due to the fact that Jesus was human and he was the person who saved us from original sin then Euthanasia is a sin against God. Under no personal or social circumstances could ever, can now, or will ever, should Euthanasia ever render such an act lawful in itself. Pope John Paul II clearly states in this quote made in 1989 that he is totally against the idea of contraception. In the bible it states that God is the only person who can take a life. This shows that the Roman Catholics are all against the idea of Euthanasia, making it a mortal sin. Where as the Church of England and the Society of Friends would argue that if the person is likely to die very soon then using free will they should be allowed to use euthanasia as they no that they are going to die any way. Also they believe that someone should not be put to sleep immediately, but they can stop taking the medication that is keeping them alive to speed up the death. But this can cause the law trouble as they cannot tell completely what has happened. In the law it is illegal to have euthanasia performed on you. If you were found guilty you would have to face charges of man slaughter. In the it says that death is not the end of the road only the end of the first part.

princess margret :: essays research papers

British princess. Born August 21, 1930, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, as the second daughter of King George VI of the United Kingdom (who ruled from 1937 to his death in 1952) and sister of Queen Elizabeth II (1952--). In the early 1950s, the romance between Margaret—then third in line to the throne after her sister’s two children, Charles and Anne—and Group Captain Peter Townsend, a highly decorated World War II fighter pilot and recent divorcà ©, caused quite a scandal both within and outside of the British royal family. As the Church of England does not remarry divorcà ©s—a fact made all too memorable to the Windsor family by the abdication of Margaret’s uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936—Margaret was told she could marry Townsend only if she gave up her claim to the throne and her royal income and if she would live abroad for five years. In a speech broadcast to the nation in October 1955, Margaret publicly renounced her relationship with Townsend, who later married Marie-Luce Jamagne, whom he met while serving as Air Attachà © to Brussels. Townsend saw the princess only twice more, once in 1958 and again in 1993, when he was invited to the Royal Palace. He died in 1995. Seen as the â€Å"black sheep† of the royal family, Margaret subsequently entered into a tumultuous 18-year marriage to another commoner, the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones (who became Earl of Snowdon). The two married in 1960 and had two children, David (Viscount Linley) and Sarah. Though both Margaret and her husband were unfaithful during their marriage, the royal family resisted the idea of a separation as far too scandalous. Finally, after tabloid photographs surfaced showing Margaret with her latest flame, Roddy Llewellyn, Snowdon’s request for a divorce was granted; he remarried five months later. Margaret continued her relationship with Llewellyn—a gardener and aspiring pop singer 17 years her junior—for seven years, frequently defending his often reckless behavior. As the turmoil surrounding her private life subsided, Margaret continued to make public appearances for the Girl Guides Association—she now serves as president and chairman of the organization—and numerous other charities. princess margret :: essays research papers British princess. Born August 21, 1930, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, as the second daughter of King George VI of the United Kingdom (who ruled from 1937 to his death in 1952) and sister of Queen Elizabeth II (1952--). In the early 1950s, the romance between Margaret—then third in line to the throne after her sister’s two children, Charles and Anne—and Group Captain Peter Townsend, a highly decorated World War II fighter pilot and recent divorcà ©, caused quite a scandal both within and outside of the British royal family. As the Church of England does not remarry divorcà ©s—a fact made all too memorable to the Windsor family by the abdication of Margaret’s uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936—Margaret was told she could marry Townsend only if she gave up her claim to the throne and her royal income and if she would live abroad for five years. In a speech broadcast to the nation in October 1955, Margaret publicly renounced her relationship with Townsend, who later married Marie-Luce Jamagne, whom he met while serving as Air Attachà © to Brussels. Townsend saw the princess only twice more, once in 1958 and again in 1993, when he was invited to the Royal Palace. He died in 1995. Seen as the â€Å"black sheep† of the royal family, Margaret subsequently entered into a tumultuous 18-year marriage to another commoner, the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones (who became Earl of Snowdon). The two married in 1960 and had two children, David (Viscount Linley) and Sarah. Though both Margaret and her husband were unfaithful during their marriage, the royal family resisted the idea of a separation as far too scandalous. Finally, after tabloid photographs surfaced showing Margaret with her latest flame, Roddy Llewellyn, Snowdon’s request for a divorce was granted; he remarried five months later. Margaret continued her relationship with Llewellyn—a gardener and aspiring pop singer 17 years her junior—for seven years, frequently defending his often reckless behavior. As the turmoil surrounding her private life subsided, Margaret continued to make public appearances for the Girl Guides Association—she now serves as president and chairman of the organization—and numerous other charities.

Nike’s CSR Challenge Case Study

In 2005 after reporting on its widespread abusive treatment in factory plans Nike’s came back to report on its social and environmental practices. Some of the Challenges that Nike and other apparel industries face in its supply chains around the World are many. Companies like Nike needs to consider people, planet and profit from now on. Nike understood as well as other competitors that seeking good societal relations should be seen as both good to society and good for profitability. The company understands now that the strategic shift for Nike’s Management can not only been seen as a close system. Its future depends on the reshaping the signals that are being sent to customers, suppliers, investors, so that the company can also operate in a sustainable way, which is also financially viable. Just changing rules and regulation at the factory’s plants is not enough, companies also have to engage in Leadership and by this I don’t mean the traditional Leadership which involved leading people towards goal of the employer. Employees should engage in transcending leadership and get in a dialogue, action to address systemic problems and resolved them, or engage people on collective goals. The only sad thing is that without changes to the financial markets, Nike may find its efforts in vain. The Statement by a Nike representative that â€Å"consumers are not rewarding us for investments in improved social performance in supply chain†. It meant that although Nike improved conditions and outcomes for its employees and sub contractor and that they slightly better working conditions to their third world employees and banned the hiring of children, they thought people in general would buy more stuff from them, just because Nike decided to be a bit nicer to employees and cost them money. Apparently Nike is saying it wasn’t worth investing money into being more humane because at the end it did not resulted in more shoe sales. A stakeholder must be distinguished from a stockholder. They own a share of the corporation. A stakeholder is any group or individual that has a vital interest in the doings of the corporation. There are several other stakeholders of the corporation. These may include employees, customers, suppliers, local community to name a few. Managers need to understand the open systems approach in order to construct support Systems. Examples of changes in practices of abroad factory plants like in this case Nike made some changes and are examples of the adaptation that organizations have to exercise to respond to the demands of the open system. This means that firms need to watch their customer needs, their employee’s needs, and the needs of the community. In international ventures, understanding the local culture and relying on the network of relationships created in that subsystem will be keys to increase their success. What they mean by â€Å"Leaders beyond borders†. All it is is people who can see across borders created by others, take action and address systemic problems within an organization in this case. The social and environmental challenges are known and numerous. But by rethinking they also represent some of the best opportunities for business. I don’t think there is a perfect science to achieve a compatibility of profits with people and planet, but I think it is the responsibility of all, as a business, as a consumer to try to meet a middle ground in which all three people, profit and planet gain a decent benefit from one another.

Explain Externalities and Public Gods

With the aid of examples explain the terms: i) Externality ii) Public Good Externality Externalities, or transaction  spillovers, arise when a third party who is not involved in the consumption of a product incur certain costs and benefits that are not compensated for by the generators of those externalities. They exist due to the price system’s (The Invisible Hand) inability to deal with products that have no market or price, such as clean air, peace, quiet, pollution and more. In a broader sense, externalities involve interdependence of utility due to the fact that one person’s action will affect the welfare of another.Externalities can be classified into two types: positive externalities and negative externalities. Positive externalities exist when an externality-generating activity raises the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities. These economic activities provide incidental benefits to others for whom they aren’t specifical ly intended. Negative externalities exist when an externality-generating activity decreases the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities.These economic activities impose a cost onto others for whom they aren’t specifically intended. The undesirable effects on the allocation of resources by an externality can be explained by using the concept of Marginal Social Cost (MSC). In Economics, the MSC is defined as the sum of Marginal Private Cost (MPC), the marginal cost caused by an activity that is compensated for by the generators, and Marginal External Cost, which is the share of external effects borne by the rest. When a firm’s activities generate negative externalities, its MSC is greater than its MPC.In equilibrium, the Marginal Private Benefit (MPB) will be equal to the firm’s MPC, and hence the MPB < MSC. Hence, the final output for the consumer yields less to the society than what it costs to society. Thus, it can be deduced that production is inefficient and that these externalities can be reduced if the production of that particular product is reduced. For example, the construction of roads to facilitate the transport of goods for a factory that produces staplers will benefit residents in that area because they now have greater road accessibility.This is said to be the positive externality arising from this economic activity. On the flip side, this same factory that instigated the construction of roads may discharge a toxic amount of by-products such as soot and toxins into the air and rivers, hence greatly reducing the quality of air and water in that area. This is because factory owners wish to maximize profits and hence will only take into account their MPC and ignore the wider social costs of their activities – MSC will be greater than MPC.In conclusion, it can be said that when positive externalities exist, the MSB > MPB, and when negative externalities exist, the MSC > MPC. Public Good In eco nomic theory, a good is a tangible or intangible item that gives utility to people when consumed. Goods can be classified into free and economic goods. The former entails no opportunity cost to the consumer, meaning that no one is made worse off by the consumption of a free good. Examples are desert sand, air and seawater. An economic good, on the other hand, entails an opportunity cost.This is because some other good has to be forgone in order to produce an economic good. The root of this opportunity cost is scarcity – a situation in which unlimited human wants exceed the lack of resources that we have in order to meet that demand. Economic goods can then be further subdivided into two: public and private goods. Public goods are collectively consumed and the market may simply not supply them. Examples of public goods are such as defense of the country (a police force and army), a fire brigade, street lighting, or lighthouses. The market system does not work well in this area .One of the jobs of government, both central and local, is to supply public goods or services that are needed but otherwise would not be made available by the market. Some goods are â€Å"semi-public goods†, â€Å"quasi public goods† or â€Å"collective consumption goods†, for instance roads. These are often supplied by the state, but in principle they can be privately supplied, and sometimes are. Examples include the British Toll Roads in the Nineteenth Century or the peage motorways in France today; when you use them, you pay. In some countries, such as Thailand, the fire brigade falls in this area.People insure with a private fire brigade and call them when the house is burning. If you are not insured and you still call them, the market swings into action and they negotiate a rate on the spot for putting out the fire – given the urgency of the event, the demand by the burning house owner is highly inelastic and the price can be very high. There are two key characteristics of a public good. Firstly, public goods are non-excludable, meaning that the producer is unable to separate the non-paying consumers from the paying consumers that are benefitting from the good.As a result, the payer will eventually refuse to pay for the good too. Consequently, markets will refuse to produce public goods and this will result in a market failure. For example, if an entrepreneur stages a fireworks show, people can watch the show from their windows or backyards. Because the entrepreneur cannot charge a fee for consumption, the fireworks show may go unproduced, even if demand for the show is strong. To illustrate the public good’s inability to exclude, here’s an example: In the provision of national defense, if one citizen of defended, so are the rest of the citizens. Secondly, public goods are non-exhaustible.This means that the use of the good by one person does not reduce the amount available to others. Hence, rivalry does not exist in the consumption of this product and another consumer will incur no opportunity cost. For example, the exchange of  MP3  music files on the Internet. The use of these files by any one person does not restrict the use by anyone else and there is little effective control over the exchange of these music files and photo files. In a nutshell, public goods are economic goods that are non-excludable and non-exhaustible, and can be subdivided into public goods and â€Å"semi† public goods. Explain Externalities and Public Gods With the aid of examples explain the terms: i) Externality ii) Public Good Externality Externalities, or transaction  spillovers, arise when a third party who is not involved in the consumption of a product incur certain costs and benefits that are not compensated for by the generators of those externalities. They exist due to the price system’s (The Invisible Hand) inability to deal with products that have no market or price, such as clean air, peace, quiet, pollution and more. In a broader sense, externalities involve interdependence of utility due to the fact that one person’s action will affect the welfare of another.Externalities can be classified into two types: positive externalities and negative externalities. Positive externalities exist when an externality-generating activity raises the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities. These economic activities provide incidental benefits to others for whom they aren’t specifical ly intended. Negative externalities exist when an externality-generating activity decreases the production or utility of the third party receiving these externalities.These economic activities impose a cost onto others for whom they aren’t specifically intended. The undesirable effects on the allocation of resources by an externality can be explained by using the concept of Marginal Social Cost (MSC). In Economics, the MSC is defined as the sum of Marginal Private Cost (MPC), the marginal cost caused by an activity that is compensated for by the generators, and Marginal External Cost, which is the share of external effects borne by the rest. When a firm’s activities generate negative externalities, its MSC is greater than its MPC.In equilibrium, the Marginal Private Benefit (MPB) will be equal to the firm’s MPC, and hence the MPB < MSC. Hence, the final output for the consumer yields less to the society than what it costs to society. Thus, it can be deduced that production is inefficient and that these externalities can be reduced if the production of that particular product is reduced. For example, the construction of roads to facilitate the transport of goods for a factory that produces staplers will benefit residents in that area because they now have greater road accessibility.This is said to be the positive externality arising from this economic activity. On the flip side, this same factory that instigated the construction of roads may discharge a toxic amount of by-products such as soot and toxins into the air and rivers, hence greatly reducing the quality of air and water in that area. This is because factory owners wish to maximize profits and hence will only take into account their MPC and ignore the wider social costs of their activities – MSC will be greater than MPC.In conclusion, it can be said that when positive externalities exist, the MSB > MPB, and when negative externalities exist, the MSC > MPC. Public Good In eco nomic theory, a good is a tangible or intangible item that gives utility to people when consumed. Goods can be classified into free and economic goods. The former entails no opportunity cost to the consumer, meaning that no one is made worse off by the consumption of a free good. Examples are desert sand, air and seawater. An economic good, on the other hand, entails an opportunity cost.This is because some other good has to be forgone in order to produce an economic good. The root of this opportunity cost is scarcity – a situation in which unlimited human wants exceed the lack of resources that we have in order to meet that demand. Economic goods can then be further subdivided into two: public and private goods. Public goods are collectively consumed and the market may simply not supply them. Examples of public goods are such as defense of the country (a police force and army), a fire brigade, street lighting, or lighthouses. The market system does not work well in this area .One of the jobs of government, both central and local, is to supply public goods or services that are needed but otherwise would not be made available by the market. Some goods are â€Å"semi-public goods†, â€Å"quasi public goods† or â€Å"collective consumption goods†, for instance roads. These are often supplied by the state, but in principle they can be privately supplied, and sometimes are. Examples include the British Toll Roads in the Nineteenth Century or the peage motorways in France today; when you use them, you pay. In some countries, such as Thailand, the fire brigade falls in this area.People insure with a private fire brigade and call them when the house is burning. If you are not insured and you still call them, the market swings into action and they negotiate a rate on the spot for putting out the fire – given the urgency of the event, the demand by the burning house owner is highly inelastic and the price can be very high. There are two key characteristics of a public good. Firstly, public goods are non-excludable, meaning that the producer is unable to separate the non-paying consumers from the paying consumers that are benefitting from the good.As a result, the payer will eventually refuse to pay for the good too. Consequently, markets will refuse to produce public goods and this will result in a market failure. For example, if an entrepreneur stages a fireworks show, people can watch the show from their windows or backyards. Because the entrepreneur cannot charge a fee for consumption, the fireworks show may go unproduced, even if demand for the show is strong. To illustrate the public good’s inability to exclude, here’s an example: In the provision of national defense, if one citizen of defended, so are the rest of the citizens. Secondly, public goods are non-exhaustible.This means that the use of the good by one person does not reduce the amount available to others. Hence, rivalry does not exist in the consumption of this product and another consumer will incur no opportunity cost. For example, the exchange of  MP3  music files on the Internet. The use of these files by any one person does not restrict the use by anyone else and there is little effective control over the exchange of these music files and photo files. In a nutshell, public goods are economic goods that are non-excludable and non-exhaustible, and can be subdivided into public goods and â€Å"semi† public goods.

Family Life is Good for You.

Family Life is Good for You. Marriage and the family continue to weaken in a number of countries. In Canada, close to 1.2 million couples were living in a common-law relationship in 2001, up 20% from 1995, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported July 11, 2002. By contrast, the number of married couples increased just 3%, to 6.4 million from 6.2 million, over the same period.The figures come from Statistics: Canada's General Social Survey, which collected information on relationship ties, marital splits and new unions.In 2001, almost 90% of Canadian men and women aged 50 to 69 had started their conjugal life through marriage. But among men and women aged 30 to 39, the study found that fully 40% were expected to choose a common-law relationship as their first union. For women aged 20 to 29, the percentage is estimated to reach 53%.The appeal of marriage has dropped most significantly in traditionally Catholic Quebec.Times dispenserThere, only 26% of women aged 30 to 39 are expected to choose marriage to start their conjugal lives. One-third of women in Quebec had married their common-law partner at the time of the survey, compared with 59% of women in the other provinces.The Canadian situation mirrors England's situation. On Nov. 26, 2001, the Telegraph revealed that government statistics show that the number of cohabiting couples in England and Wales has reached more than 1.5 million, with four in 10 children now born outside marriage, compared with one in 10 in the 1970s. The number of couples living together is expected to double over the next 20 years.Ireland too has seen big changes in family structures, the Irish Independent observed May 20, 2002. In 1994, one in every four children was born outside marriage. Now, more than one in every three children is born to single mothers...

Using a Black Light to Collect Insects at Night

Using a Black Light to Collect Insects at Night Entomologists use black lights, or ultraviolet lights, to sample and study nocturnal insects in an area. The black light attracts night-flying insects, including many moths, beetles, and others. Many insects can see ultraviolet light, which has shorter wavelengths than light visible to the human eye. For this reason, a black light will attract different insects than a regular incandescent light. If youve ever seen a bug zapper, one of those lights people hang in their backyards to keep mosquitoes at bay, youve observed how UV light attracts a lot of insects. Unfortunately, black lights do not work well to attract biting insects, and bug zappers harm more beneficial insects than pests. Blacklight sampling can be done one of two ways. The black light can be suspended in front of a white sheet, giving flying insects a surface on which to land. You can then observe the insects on the sheet, and collect any interesting specimens by hand. A black light trap is constructed by suspending a black light over a bucket or other container, usually with a funnel inside. Insects fly to the light, fall down through the funnel into the bucket, and are then trapped inside the container. Blacklight traps sometimes contain a killing agent, but can also be used without one to collect live specimens. When using a black light to collect insects, you should set up your light and sheet or trap just before dusk. Make sure the light faces the area from which you want to attract insects. In other words, if you want to draw insects from a wooded area, position your light between the trees and the sheet. Youll get the greatest diversity of insects if you set up a black light at the intersection of two habitats, such as at the edge of a meadow adjacent to a forest. Use forceps or an insect aspirator (sometimes called a pooter) to collect insects from the sheet or trap.

Lessons learned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lessons learned - Essay Example a colonel of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as well as a deputy lieutenant of Argyllshire county and colonel of militia in the same area in his retirement. As a nurse trained to Florence Nightingale’s ideals that require commitment and service oriented attitudes in nurses, she did not like the idea of young women joining nursing without the much required dedication to it as their predecessors. According to her, a nurse only has one main function, to serve others. This attitude therefore came to be fully incorporated into the nursing profession (Andrist, Nicholas, & Wolf, 2005). However, her greatest achievement came in when she brought up the idea of having nurses registered for them to carryout their practice properly. Her main aim in this was to enhance protection of the public as well as the profession from unqualified people that may carryout their mal-practice on innocent people. Later on in 1901, she helped Dr, McGregor in grafting the Nurse’s Registration Act that was finally passed in parliament and it was first one of its kind. In this bill, nurses were expected to have three years training program, a state or national examination, and a state or national register (The Porirua Hospital Museum, n.d). After this establishment, it was felt that something should also be done for the case of midwives. There was also supposed to be some form of training for the midwives in New Zealand. It occurred that there were no schools to train them, she had to push for another bill to go through parliament for the establishment of such a school. This was a more challenging bill as it was put to her to come up with a curriculum for the midwifery training as well as establish state maternity hospitals that were to be used for the training. In this, she only had the goal of ensuring that there were hospitals for women, doctored by women, and managed by women. Later on in 1904, Richard Seddon introduced the Midwives Registration Act in parliament which was

Modern Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Democracy - Essay Example The term "democracy" has been claimed by both the capitalist world and the socialist world. To take for example the former East Germany that called itself German Democratic Republic and Viet Nam likewise. The first Russian marxist party that was set up by Lenin in exile, in preparation for the revolution against the czarist regime, had the name of Russian Social Democratic Workers Party. Later it changed its name to Russian Communist Party, and after the split of 1903 with Plekhanov, to Bolshevik Party. Lenin insisted on that real democracy would come only through the great revolution, which leads to the State socialism of the "dictatorship of the proletariat, and finally to the classless communist society. He blamed "bourgeois democracies" of being false democracies, in which parliament seats were systematically bought by the richest bidder, thus perpetuating the status qua of the propertied class-a statement which, incidentally, is an unwarranted generalization. So we can see that even the communists have employed the terms "democracy" and "republic" with an obviously different meaning as compared to their Western usage. In order to clear up the meaning of the concepts, it is necessary to have a look at their historical development ever since the origin of the terms in ancient Greece and Rome. (De Torre, 1997). The word "democracy" is of Greek origin, "republic" is Latin word which means "the public thing": res publi. The concept, however is taken from the Greek polis, which means group of men living and working together, and politeia, which means that this group gathered into "public thing" or commonwealth or commonweal by means of laws guiding towards the common good. Thus, through the work of logos (reason) on physis (nature), society came out from jungle to civilization, from herds to communities, from chaos or disorder to cosmos or order, as man stopped to behave like an animal, guided only by his sensitive feelings and emotions, and learns to guide himself instead by his reason and free will (De Torre, 1997). Modern scientists such as Robert Dahl, Anthony Arblaster, Benjamin Barber, Andrew Heywood and many others have their own, new view on democracy today. There are several models of modern democracy described in works of these authors. According to Professor Robert Dahl, one of the most prominent democratic theorists of nowadays, modern democracy has four historical sources: the direct democracy in ancient Greece, the republicanism of Roman and Italian city-states in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the theory and practice of representative government, and the idea of political equality. The democratic transformation occurred in Greece in the 5th century BC.So as Greece was not a single country, but consisted of a number independent cities-polices Athens was described as having the most innovative and sophisticated democracy (Dahl, 1989). Political ideals and aims of the classical Athenian democracy were expressed by the outstanding Greek philosopher Aristotle in The Politics dated between 335 and 323 BC. Aristotle identifies liberty as one of the founding principles of the classical democratic constitution. The philosopher argues that liberty has two major aspects, namely: 1) ruling and being ruled in

Racial Assimilation of Black Community in the Mainstream American Essay

Racial Assimilation of Black Community in the Mainstream American Society - Essay Example This paper highlights that the blacks needed to overcome the racial divide maintained by the whites, within the society and their aggressive attitude and flagrant disregard for the niceties brought them into the forefront of socio-political field.  Mere recruitment of the black students in the white dominated colleges was not sufficient for their effective assimilation within the white population. While their campus life may have reduced racial divide, outside the campus, the color of the skin played a major role in their social status. The violence within the campus and the defiant stance of the BSU did pave way to the fulfillment of their demands to ‘established a black studies program, and recruited black faculty and staff in 1969†¦ between 1968 to 1972, more than five hundred black students programs, department, curricula and libraries were established across the nation’.

The Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner Essay When one makes the transition from child to adult, they must make the decision to either adopt the traits they have developed, or to see fault and change the problems before the time to do so has past. It takes strength to use the positive traits one possesses, and it takes even more strength to assess the negative traits and emancipate the positive ones. Alan Alda (American actor) once said that â€Å"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What youll discover will be wonderful. What youll discover is yourself. † Before death, a person needs to break their boundaries, and find the security of knowing their identity, otherwise one could go through an entire life, learning all they could about life; but forgetting all about their self. Another key factor influencing our personality is our environment. A society constantly changing for the worse is no place for a person to grow or reside. In Khaled Hosseini’s â€Å"the Kite Runner†, Afghanistan is a place of ethnic differentiation, civil war and darkness. Amir, Baba, and Hassan’s identities, are all examples of different ways a person’s personality and conscience could develop in this oppressive time in Afghanistan’s history. Amir finds peace in who he is through great mental anguish and dangerous decisions, Baba’s weak traits are discovered, and Hassan manages to preserve his Good Samaritan lifestyle whilst fighting off the turmoil’s of being a Hazara boy. The Kite Runner focuses mainly on the themes of identity and self-actualization. Amir from the beginning of the novel was never perfect in the eyes of his father, Baba. During Rahim Khans visit early in the story, Amir overhears Baba speaking about how Amir is weak and disappointing, that â€Å"a boy who cannot stand up for himself becomes a man who cannot stand up for anything. †(24) This is an important quote, because it first introduces Amir’s most dominant trait through his childhood, his cowardice. Baba’s reluctance to praise Amir stems from Baba’s disbelief in his courage. Amir quite often was defended by Hassan in times of trouble, whether the cause was Assef or not. Then when it was Hassan who was in need, Amir was over shrouded by his fear. Amir had felt guilt until his arrival in Pakistan. â€Å"â€Å"That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years. † (1) Amir made the decision to save Sohrab from the Taliban (Assef) was the moment in his life, where he finally felt at peace. Saving Sohrab was his way of gaining up the courage to save Hassan. After the rescue of Sohrab, Amir’s conscience had cleared and he could finally live his life. Amir’s passion for literature was another example of his self-actualization. He would always read to Hassan, due to Hassan’s illiteracy. Amir wished in the future to pursue a degree in English, but this idea was hastily dismissed by Baba and Amir began growing to a man with even less confidence. Amir pondered the thoughts of his father resenting him, which at a young age is a terrible burden for him to hold. The evidence of this hate was displayed in Amir’s face, and as a young child, he is not intelligent enough to realize his father’s love, and it bothered him greatly. Rahim Khan seemed to be the only adult in Amir’s life who supported the idea of his future in literature. He would read, and show great interest in Amir’s story’s; as well as instill hope in Amir with positive feedback. Rahim Khan was the spark that ignited the ever burning flame of Amir’s literary passion. To the reader early on, Baba is the epitome of a man. He is introduced as a man that will stand up for his loved ones, whether it’s a life or death situation. He speaks of Amir like he has no courage whatsoever, which gives the reader some idea of how much Baba values doing the right thing. When Baba and Amir flee Kabul, Baba risks his life to prevent the rape of a woman he doesn’t even know. This drastic act of courage and compassion for his fellow man is inspiring and sets the moral bar for Baba very high. When Amir arrives in Pakistan, he is distraught at the news he hears from Rahim Khan regarding Hassan being his half-brother and Baba’s son. Amir now knows, that the pain he felt from Baba’s resentment was purely a byproduct of the pain Baba feels about Hassan. Baba’s character takes a moral blow in the view of the reader, and to many it never recovers. After hearing of the news, Amir’s betrayal of Hassan is now very reminiscent of his father’s; showing more similarity between them than known before. Amir now knows, Baba’s resentment, was him showing he is too weak to be known as the man who slept with a Hazara. Baba tells Amir in chapter 3 that â€Å"there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. †(19) it’s ironic that Baba says this because he stole Ali’s honor, Amir’s right to a brother, and Hassan’s identity. While all the drastic self-realization of the characters was taking place, Hassan, managed to keep his same and ideal identity. Hassan was righteous and strong, the ideal symbol of the Muslim Religion and every other; to be pure and good. Amir’s resentment towards Hassan after his rape by Assef did not faze Hassan a bit. Hassan was almost too pure to feel any remorse towards Amir, they grew up together, and Amir was his best friend. Even after Amir had lied to Baba to expel Ali and Hassan from their home, Hassan felt no different towards them. He cared for their home while they resided in America; he even stayed in his and Ali’s same hut rather than the house to show respect. His loyalties to Amir and Baba stayed faithful until his death in the very home that he was practically raised in. He said he was caring for it for a friend, and the Taliban called him a liar like all Hazara’s, and killed him in the streets, as well as his wife. Amir might have made different choices in his life had he not plotted to make Hassan and Ali leave, but amidst the cowardice shown by both Amir and Baba, appeared a boy with the morals of an angel. No one can live life without realizing their true identity, and as the story ends; the characters take with them new traits, good or bad. Amir realizes his purpose in life, and he saved a life in the process of discovery of his own identity. Baba is reviled to be similar to a great dam with a crack, viewed as great and powerful, but in turn; the final view of him is weaker than the original opinion of the reader. Hassan through turmoil, conflict, and resentment, stayed true to himself and stayed loyal till his death. One could learn all there is to know, but without knowing their true identity, it is a life not lived.

Hello, I Must Be Going: Why Improve Communication Technology? :: essays research papers

The interesting thing about the Internet is how it allows us to communicate. The problem with the Internet is how it allows us to communicate. Bear with me. The telephone. Look at a phone, there’ll be a phone quite close to you right now, so just sit and look at it. Admire its simplicity of design, and with that think what you can do with it. By just pressing the correct combination of numbers on this device you can talk to anybody, anywhere. Hell, forget correct, just bash them and see who you get. Isn’t it incredible? When you appreciate it without all you take for granted, for how people might complain and bitch about how they don’t get enough MTV channels that show the same videos, if you can just consider the phone for what it really is†¦ how monumental its ability, how pivotal it is to the world today – the blood veins of the changing earth. Its pretty god damn impressive. And as for mobile phones†¦well. Getting back to the Internet, I’m talking about communicating via computers. Now the Internet is a fine example of how mans efficiency improves a previous invention, like the new Gameboys requiring only two AAA batteries to run, while the first ones needed four AA’s. It’s a geeky analogy, but it decorates the point: using the same technologies as phones, we can now do a hell of a lot more with them. Now we’re well above surpassing the Shannon limit (maximum Kbps through a standard phone line) and new digital technologies allow us to send more, faster. Soon we’ll have optical connections, and then some. E-mail, now I like that. Instant letters, appearing in inboxes faster than it took you to write them. Again, bettering old technology, to use the hideous yet accurate term snail-mail. Royal Mail have just been running ads in Britain – ‘nothing gets through like a letter’. Now there’s a certain truth about that, as the advert states: â€Å"After all, you can’t re-read a phone call.† While that is true, you can re-read an e-mail. You can also print it. However I believe that, although the advert didn’t mention it – there’s something much more personal about a letter, it requires a little more effort to write and send. However I also believe that more people are finding it much harder to summon that effort, considering how much easier it is to e-mail.

Bill of Rights Assignment

I started my assignment by really reading over the Bill of Rights and thinking really hard. It occurred to me that this was going to be a very tough assignment. Though I don’t think that a lot of the Amendments are upheld much anymore, such as freedom of speech, I could not think of any that needed to be removed or changed. So I started thinking about things that I thought should be added. It came to my attention that I shouldn’t try of think of things that should be added because of personal reasoning, but instead, things that seem to be aggravating a lot of people nowadays. I came up with three. The first thing I thought really needed to be added to the Bill of Rights was the right to marry any person of your choosing. Now I know that gay marriage is a really touchy subject for a lot of people but I feel like if you love someone it shouldn’t matter what gender they are. It seems to me that the only problem that there is with gay marriage being passed everywhere is that the churches do not allow it. Thomas Jefferson once sent a letter to the Danbury Baptist in 1802 stating â€Å"†¦ I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State†. I do not believe that the states should not grant people the right to marry whom they please simply because it is considered an abomination in the church. This is the 21st century and there are so many religions, people following so many different ones and then there are also people, like myself, that do not believe in a â€Å"God† or â€Å"Creator† or whatever you want to call it. Gay marriage is a choice just as big as a man and woman marrying and if two people make that decision they should be allowed to make it official. The second thing I came up with for the Bill of Rights is the right to not have to pay for illegal immigrant’s welfare or jailing via state or federal taxes. Are country is in a $14,136,022,715,367 deficit, approximately as of 2/2/11. It does not seem far that some of our money is going into paying for illegal aliens to be jumping the border and living off welfare or being imprisoned and we end up having to pay for them to stay in our prisons and keeping them alive and such. I feel that if a person does not have a green card or was not born into this country by someone who is a legal citizen, they should not be here, making money off us when our country is having a bad enough problem dealing with our own money issues. I’m no expert on finances or on morality but it just seems like it should be every person’s right to not have to pay for people who are in our country illegally. There is an astonishing amount of aliens in our country that live here and manage to con our government out of thousands if not millions of our hard earned money. And lastly, the third thing I could think of that should be in the Bill of Rights is our right to medical care. There are so many people in our country dying every day because they could not receive medical care because of lack of funds. I was recently almost added to the number of people without medical care. I have two kids, live in Connecticut, and my kids are currently temporarily living with their grandparents. Was forced into homelessness due to the economy’s lack of job availability in my area and had to make the decision to either bring myself and my children to a homeless shelter or let them go live with family while I went to a homeless shelter or a friend’s. When staying at a friend’s house didn’t work, I moved back in with my father and the state of Connecticut threatened to shut off my welfare. They shut off my food stamps because I’m living with my father and are under 22 and almost shut off my health insurance due to the same reasoning. Now, unlike a lot of people out there, I’m lucky in the fact that I don’t have a life threatening disease. But I still require doctor attention unless I want to end up either in a wheelchair, which without money; I wouldn’t be able to afford one and would have to second hand which is never a guaranteed thing. But the fact that our country can afford to be helping people in Africa, Haiti, everywhere around the world with disease but cannot afford to make it a constitutional right for its own citizens to receive medical care is just unacceptable. It seems to me that our country is more worried about everyone else’s health but its own. I think it’s time that they look at ours and make it a constitutional right. In conclusion, I have personal found that there is three things that our country absolutely needs in its Bill of Rights. As I’ve said, I’m no expert in any way possible, but I feel that if these three things were added, we could be even just a little more well off: The right to medical care; the right to not have to pay money via taxes for aliens; and the right to marry whom we please, regardless of gender. I know that there are many people out there that would not agree with me on these, but as the assignment was to write what I thought should be added, edited, or removed, these are my ideas. Hope you enjoyed reading.Reference http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html

Is Life worth living? Essay

A question that raises so much controversy that we have to venture deep into the depths of our own hearts to salvage the opinion of oneself. Despite every one of us knows that someday we will receive our final ultimatum, man as a race has always been in search of a resolution; a meaning to life. Because, when we look back, it disturbs one to think that in the end, nothing will matter. That all achievements, given time, will be forgotten, and buildings, given time, will be forgotten, and buildings, given time, will crumble to nothing but piles of dust and rubble. And even that eventually, your very own descendants, your family, will for get the forebearer of their name. After considering this, it once again brings back to my opening question; is life worth living? What is the significance of life, it’s purpose? Because after all, if all of us are to have no effect on the life of our descendants, to be forgotten, why should man even live? To the majority though, such a question has never really occurred to them, and if it has, the chances are that they forgot it through fear, disbelief, or just plain forgetfulness. However, to a small minority, the question demanded an answer. These people searched for the answer and were not confronted with fear like so many before them, but sorrow and sadness. This was due to the fact that had had a realisation. Man had become the head of the food chain and the talons of birds, using his great intelligence and strength. After having won all battles, he claimed the earth as his own and from here on in, was to determine what had been, and what was to become. Then, the realisation struck him: that he would die one day just like his father, and his father before him. He knew that the day would come when, his arms would become weak, his eyes dim and before long, sleep and never wake up.

Childhood Obesity Essay Example

Childhood Obesity Essay Example Childhood Obesity Essay Childhood Obesity Essay This research study is an excellent example of collaborative scholarly investigations which bring out amazing facts and reveal the significant reason, effects and probable solutions for a problem. After realising the magnitude of the prevalence of the childhood obesity, experts from across the nations decided to hold a meet in order to arrive at consensus towards the prevalence of the childhood obesity and chalk out future course of actions. This meet was held in the year 2004 in Israel where a group of 65 physicians and other health professionals representing nine countries from four continents convened to discuss and to discover the exactitude of the pervasive health crisis in childhood obesity. It is a well-known fact that the necessity of addressing this problem demands urgency and efficacy like never before. The prevalence of childhood obesity has reached alarming levels and if drastic measure are not taken, then there would be no wonder if obesity threatens the mankind like pandemics would threaten. Consider the following stats: Even though the definition of obesity varies, it is based on body mass index (BMI) cut-offs described hereafter. As many as 250 million people, or about 7% of the 2004 world population, were obese. Two to three times more people were overweight. In one of the most extreme examples, the prevalence of overweight doubled among children 6 –11 yr of age and tripled among those 12–17 yr of age in the United States between the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1976 and 1980, and the most recent such survey, conducted in 1999 and 2000. Approximately 14–15% of all 15 yr olds in the United States can be classified as obese (Phyllis W Speiser, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism 90(3): P1871). 4. 6. 1: Causes The convention listed a number of reasons or causes for the childhood obesity. These causes include genetic reasons as well. The convention identified the genes which are important determinants of obesity. Here Monogenic Obesity is considered to due to the Leptin gene. This was the first specific gene recognized as important in human body weight control. This adipocyte hormone is involved in a complex circuit of hormones and neurotransmitters to control appetite. To date, several monogenic obesity syndromes have been identified, and most involve the leptin-melanocortin regulation pathway (Farooqi IS, Matarese G et al; 2002: J Clin Invest 110:1093–1103, Krude H et al, Acad Sci 994:233–239). Apart from these other causes as identified by the convention are: environmental reasons, endocrinological reasons and socio-psychological reasons. 4. 6. 2: Solutions Prevention: The scholars in the convention suggested preventive strategies in infancy and even prenatally. Since certain genes also influence the obesity in kids, the experts found it important to apply preventive strategies in the prenatal stage. Also, low birth weight (due to maternal under nutrition), smoking of parents, or placental insufficiency, or alternatively large size at birth attributable most often to GDM, may both be associated with obesity. (Bhargava SK et al; N Engl J Med 350:865–875; Hediger ML et al; Pediatrics 104:e33). The study also suggested already established general preventive measures such as keeping the children active, reducing the time spent in front of the television and avoiding the intake of junk food. This convention suggested encouragement for such conferences to chalk out long term goals to prevent childhood obesity.

The House of the Spirits Essay Example

The House of the Spirits Essay Example The House of the Spirits Essay The House of the Spirits Essay Illegitimacy has always been stigmatized in society, particularly throughout the nineteenth century. This is reflected in literature by characters who are portrayed using stereotypical features of illegitimacy like avidity, intensity or vehemence. The prejudice was that children who are conceived in lust and irresponsibility will result in more sensual and fiery personalities. I will base my study of illegitimate children in literature on the characters of Therese Raquin in Therese Raquin and Esteban Garcia in The House of the Spirits.To study the way in which the two authors portray illegitimacy, Esteban Garcia who is Esteban Truebas illegitimate grandson and Therese Raquin, who is also an illegitimate child, will be compared. Even though it can be argued that these two characters lived in completely different times and have personalities that differ greatly, their illegitimacy and the prejudice that surrounds it brings them together. Because of the stereotype that comes with children who are born outside of marriage, authors sometimes write characters who are particularly passionate, unstable emotionally or impulsive as illegitimate.Both Esteban and Therese have very intense personalities and they are particularly impulsive. In Estebans case, this is shown through violence and physical as well as psychological torture. For Therese, her true nature is shown through her strong sexual desires and extremely passionate lovemaking. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia is shown to have a sickening morbidity to him from a very early age. He leads Esteban Trueba to Pedro Tercero and after his grandfather has injured Pedros hand, Esteban Garcia: had picked up the sliced-off fingers and was holding them like a bouquet of bloody asparagusI vomited all over my boots while the boy smiled impassively.(p.240)The novelist shows us here how perverted the child is as a scene which makes the stoic Esteban Trueba sick, only gets a smile out of Esteban Garcia. In Therese Raquin however, even though Therese had always been an inflamed child and adolescent, she hid it from the people around her and acted as a rather apathetic person. It is once she meets Laurent and they become lovers that her true personality that had been dormant inside her is revealed: It was as though her face had been lit up from within and fire leaped from her flesh. Her boiling blood and taut nerves radiated warmth, something keen and penetrating. (p.63)This shows that even though Therese attempts to conceal her true self, it still comes out eventually. This is an example of determinism, no matter how much effort she puts into hiding her lustful personality, it will still be revealed as it is a part of her. Following the prejudice, children born outside of marriage werent considered to have full membership of society, also their social status cannot have been as important as legitimate children.As it was considered that illegitimate children were closer to animals than proper human beings, they were expected to be more prone to mental ilnesses or being emotionally unstable. Perhaps this was because being seen as an outsider brought on frustration and resent towards society. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia clearly demonstrates resent as he speaks of Alba as She embodied everything he would never have(p.328) :He, barefoot in the mud, swore that one day he would make her pay for her arrogance and avenge himself for his cursed bastard fate. (p.469) Esteban Garcia kept to his promise and later on tortured and sexually abused Alba for weeks. In Therese Raquin, this kind of lower status is also seen. The novelist sometimes describes Therese as he would a domestic animal. She sounds like a type of apathetic pet who lacks a soul and personality: She had always shown such passive obedience that her aunt and husband no longer bothered to ask her opinion. She went where they went, did what they did, without a word of complaint or reproach, without even appearing to notice that she was moving at all. (p.43)It is as though the Raquin family had adopted a wild beast and tamed it into a pet. Zola does however, reveal Thereses true impulsive nature by sudden outbursts. He emphasises these using a lot of animal imagery. This is again an example of determinism. At unexpected times, Therese uncontrollably lets her instinctual side show: One day he (Camille) gave her a push and knocked her over : she leaped to her feet like a wild beast and with face aflame and bloodshot eyes flew at him with both arms raised. (p.41)Events like these reinforce the portrayal of Therese as a wild spirit trapped inside a passive womans body. Comparably, in The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia is sometimes described using animal imagery and seen by other characters to have beast like features. Particularly Alba, who was inflicted by most of his violence and torture. After Esteban forcefully kissed her on her fourteenth birthday Alba is traumatized and even has nightmares: She told no one of that repulsive kiss or of the dreams that she had afterward, in which Garcia appeared as a green beast that tried to strangle her with his paws and asphyxiate her by shoving a slimy tentacle down her throat. (p.374)The way Alba sees Esteban Garcia only emphasises Allendes character as being particularly violent, repulsive and brutal. Therese and Estebans sexual attitude also reveals their instinctive, almost subhuman selves. They both have an enormous apetite for sex and prove to be near savage in practice. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban comes across as sadistic when he fantasises about Alba as she is sitting on his lap:

Geography and History of the Great Wall of China

Geography and History of the Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is not a continuous wall but is a collection of short walls that often follow the crest of hills on the southern edge of the Mongolian plain. The Great Wall of China, known as long Wall of 10,000 Li in China, extends about 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles). Building the Great Wall of China A first set of walls, designed to keep Mongol nomads out of China, were built of earth and stones in wood frames during the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BCE). Some additions and modifications were made to these simple walls over the next millennium but the major construction of the modern walls began in the Ming Dynasty (1388 to 1644 CE). The Ming fortifications were established in new areas from the Qin walls. They were up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) high, 15 to 30 feet (4.6 to 9.1 meters) wide at the base, and from 9 to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 meters) wide at the top (wide enough for marching troops or wagons). At regular intervals, guard stations and watch towers were established. Since the Great Wall was discontinuous, Mongol invaders had no trouble breaching the wall by going around it, so the wall proved unsuccessful and was eventually abandoned. Additionally, a policy of mollification during the subsequent Ching Dynasty that sought to pacify the Mongol leaders through religious conversion also helped to limit the need for the Great Wall. Through Western contact with China from the 17th through 20th centuries, the legend of the Great Wall of China grew along with tourism to the wall. Restoration and rebuilding took place in the 20th century and in 1987 the Great Wall of China was made a World Heritage Site. Today, a portion of the Great Wall of China, about 50 miles (80 km) from Beijing, receives thousands of tourists each day. Can You See It From Outer Space or the Moon? For some reason, some urban legends tend to get started and never disappear. Many are familiar with the claim that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space or from the moon with the naked eye. This is simply not true. The myth of being able to see the Great Wall from space originated in Richard Halliburtons 1938 (long before humans saw the Earth from space) book Second Book of Marvels said that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon. From a low orbit of the Earth, many artificial objects are visible, such as highways, ships in the sea, railroads, cities, fields of crops, and even some individual buildings. While at a low orbit, the Great Wall of China can certainly be seen from space, it is not unique in that regard. However, when leaving the Earths orbit and acquiring an altitude of more than a few thousand miles, no man-made objects are visible at all. NASA says, The Great Wall can barely be seen from the Shuttle, so it would not be possible to see it from the Moon with the naked eye. Thus, it would be tough to spot the Great Wall of China or any other object from the moon. Furthermore, from the moon, even the continents are barely visible. Regarding the origination of the story, Straight Dopes pundit Cecil Adams says, Nobody knows exactly where the story got started, although some think it was speculation by some bigshot during an after-dinner speech in the early days of the space program. NASA astronaut Alan Bean is quoted in Tom Burnams book More Misinformation... The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible on this scale. In fact, when first leaving earths orbit and only a few thousand miles away, no man-made object is visible at that point either.

Marketing Product Assessment--Maybelline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Product Assessment--Maybelline - Essay Example Soon the mascara was named Maybelline after the name â€Å"Maybel† given by her daughter to the lash mascara (L'Oreal). Two years later, the company produced the first of its kind mascara for everyday use which became an instant hit with the mass market. In 1996, the company’s headquarters moved to New York when it was acquired by L’Oreal (L'Oreal). Over the passage of time, the company hired celebrities as brand ambassadors, which again was an instant hit. In 1991, the company adopted the popular slogan â€Å"Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline† which continues to be its slogan to date (L'Oreal). Maybelline enjoys a strong presence in over 129 countries today and covers four broad location segments: North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania (L'Oreal). Maybelline stands at no.1 in the makeup brands category in its home country, the US. In the UK, it has acquired the second position, along with strong growth in Russia (L'Oreal). The company is expanding fast in all BRIC economies, and has managed to bag the top position in make-up brands in China in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company is struggling to penetrate through the Japanese market which has intense competition as far as the make-up category is concerned. Overall, the company registered a 13.3% growth in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company offers a variety of product lines related to cosmetics including face, eyes, lips, nails, brushes and accessories (Maybelline LLC.). Under the â€Å"face† product line, the company offers concealer, foundation, powder, blush and bronzer (Maybelline LLC.). Under the â€Å"eyes† category, it offers eye shadow, eye liner, brow liner and mascara (Maybelline LLC.). Under â€Å"lips† category, Maybelline offers lip color, lip gloss and lip liner (Maybelline LLC.). Under â€Å"nails† it offers nail color, whereas, under â€Å"brushes and accessories† it offers brushes, tweezers, curlers, combs, removers and false lashes (Maybelline LLC.). The product brand that is part of this paper is the Maybelline â€Å"Dream Matte Mousse Foundation† that falls under the â€Å"face† product line. The highest sales of Maybelline are generated by its â€Å"face† product line, followed by lips and then eye (L'Oreal). The Dream Matte Mousse Foundation fits well into the company’s product range since it offers customers the advantage of matte effect for perfect blending of foundation into their skin. It offers full coverage and it offers the added advantage of shine control. This product is the only one that offers two of the three finishes: matte and natural (Maybelline LLC.). Furthermore, this product provides a powder effect and combines the benefits of liquid and cake foundations. Other foundations by Maybelline offer a combination of matte, natural, luminous and shimmer finishes (Maybelline LLC.). Maybelline sells to the mass market and has major competitors such as Revl on, Covergirl and Avon pitted against it in this segment. As far as Avon is concerned, it has global representation in approximately more than 100 countries and is also headquartered in New York (Avon Products Inc.). Avon’s internal strengths are that it has a strong business model that allows it to differentiate itself against competitors. It also had been doing fairly well and has had a steady increase in revenue throughout history. However, the primary weakness is that the company has been facing declining operations in the North American region, primarily as it has not been able to pace up with fast changing customer trends in this region.