Midnight in Paris Analysis Essay

In the movie â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, there are a lot of interesting sights in the most beautiful city in the world. During the film, Woody Allen showed us how Paris is beautiful in the morning, charming in the afternoon, and enchanting in the evening, but it is magic and has a lot of surprising things after midnight. Starting with the Eiffel Tower, there were a lot of iconic shots of Paris at its most touristic points like its beautiful streets under the rain, the famous river in the city ‘La seine ‘, and the broad gardens that makes this city the most beautiful destination for the famous artists who were looking for a quiet place to develop their talent as writers. The movie is a nice combination of Paris in 2010 and Paris in the past, when the famous artists and writers were there like Ernest Hamingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Picasso, Gertrud Stein, and Salvador Dali. Throughout the movie the director didn’t just show us Paris and its tourist locations, but also took us to destinations out of the city such as Versailles and Monet’s gardens in Giverny. Then, there were all the warmly lit shots of the cafes, restaurants, and the famous shops such as Coco Channel and Dior. In addition, the beauty of the sights and the photos grabbed the viewer’s attention to want to watch this movie and to discover a lot of more information about some of the most famous artists in the early 19th century. The movie â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, had succeed with participation of group of people who were capable and successful in their job as artists. The writer and director was Woody Allen, and the lead actors were: Owen Wilson, Rachel Mc Adams, and Kathy Bates. The cast was by Marian Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, and Alison Pill. The studio was Gravier Production, Mediapro, Televisio de catalunya TV3, and it was made in May 20, 2011 by Sony Pictures Classics. The romantic comedy fantasy film had many unbelievable moments starting by discovering the city in the moment to traveling back in time each night after midnight. On one hand, the movie had a lot of interesting moments between the past and the present. The story was about an American family who went to France for a business trip, and the two young people Gil and his fiancee were engaged to be married even though their mentality and their thinking were different. She used to argue with him all the time and she didn’t like him to be a writer as much as to work in Hollywood. Gil was the kind of person who likes to write and to be a successful writer, and by the time he was in Paris, he believed that this ity is the only place he will find himself in. Suddenly, and while he was walking around the Parisian streets, he found himself coming back in time to the 19th Century when all the famous writers and painters were there. Thus, this moment Gil had a big change in his life. Starting by breaking up with his fiancee and falling in love with a French woman. He found himself with the stars of art in Paris in its golden time, and he didn’t believe that he had a lot of conversations with the best writer ever, Ernest Hamingway. On the other hand, Paris in its golden time was the best destination for a lot of artists around the world. Ernest Hamingway was an American author and journalist who chose to live in the city of art, Paris in the golden age. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of these are considered classics of American literature. Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel, A Farewell to Arms. In 1922, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent, and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s â€Å"Lost Generation† expatriate community. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway’s first novel, was published in 1926. In my opinion as a viewer, Hemingway was one of the most interesting personalities in the movie because he had made a change on lot of artists after him and he was a good example for those want to be successful in their life as a Gil, and the most interesting part in the movie was the conversation that was in the old Peugeot car when they were talking about men and their fear of death. Lastly, â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, had package of information everyone should know. Thus, I recommend watching this movie, because it wasn’t just a story like what we usually see in other films, but had much information about some famous artists in the 19th century. Also, we went back with the movie to see how those people used to live in nice and quiet world especially in the art city. Personally, I liked the movie from the beginning to the end, because and while I was watching it, I enjoyed its quiet music they used to listen to. The music and the rain in the Parisian streets had made a beautiful picture about this city and also I enjoyed seeing some touristical places I had visited while I was in vacation there. In addition, I liked the story about Gil and how he was encouraging himself to get on the right way in the art, by having a good self-esteem, even though he had a lot of obstacles with his fiancee and her parents.

Should Rich Countries Help the Poor Countries

Should  Ã‚  rich countries help the poor countries? There is so much debate surrounding the issue of rich countries should help the poor countries. Proponents think that rich countries should help the poor countries because loaning money to developing countries aids can helping them improvement the situation from poverty and disease. Opponents,  think that  the money doesn't go for  the place  where  they needs and the debt is  a lot of pressure for the poor countries. In my opinion, that rich countries should help the poor countries.The responsibility of richer countries  help the poor countries  should more than they did it before, it can be throught in health, education,economy and policy. One of the strongest reason for people who against the rich countries should help the poor countries is the aid doesn't work. Foreign aid   usually considered too much for poor countries, or useless on inability governments. Africa has received over US$1 trillion in internati onal aid over the past 50 years, intended for health care, education, infrastructure and agriculture, among other things. Between 1970 and 1995 aid to Africa increased rapidly and aid dependency (measured as the aid-to-GDP ratio) stood at nearly 20% in the early 1990s. Measured differently, the mean value of aid as a share of government expenditures in African countries was well above 50% between 1975 and 1995†³ (Why Aid Doesn't Work). â€Å"The total amount of international development aid is now more than $100 billion a year to Africa. In 2008, rich countries gave $119. billion in foreign aid. This is over 10% more than in 2007 and is the highest amount ever given† (Statistics on International Development Aid). In the same period, the per capita GDP growth in Africa to reduce, for many years has been negative. Unfortunately, although good intentions from donor countries, the aid work has been useless in against poverty and promote the economic continued growth. The fac t is that most African countries are poorer today.This is because the most foreign aid provided in ineffective way and usually wasted, but also it can be influenced the negative way to the enconomic. The reason of the people who oppose rich countries should help the poor countries are one side. There are not perfect things in the world. Every human being is given same right to live and equal. The people live in poor countries usually suffering from extremely difficult conditions, such as disease,  turbulence, poverty, unemployment, lack of food and education, inefficiency and corrupt government.The devastating consequences of the epidemic, upheaval, poverty, and the lack of education and food, lead to the highest mortality rate, inefficiency work, illiteracy, but  this can be improvement through foreign aid, the money from rich countries can bring enough food and medicine. Also,  the rich countries' aid can developing   infrastructure and basic education to those poor countr ies, such as roads and pipelines efficiently, high school and university. â€Å"The public health successes can be seen on many fronts. Around 12 million children under five years old died in 1990.By 2010, this number had declined to around 7. 6 million – still far too high, but definitely an historic improvement. Malaria deaths in children in Africa were cut from a peak of around 1 million in 2004 to around 700,000 by 2010, and, worldwide, deaths of pregnant women declined by almost half between 1990 and 2010, from an estimated 543,000 to 287,000†³ (Foreign aid works – it saves lives). â€Å"In Liberia, nine years after the fact, the population of just four million people still bears the scars of a country where a vicious war has raged.Here, UNICEF funds a remarkable cash transfer scheme for households headed by children which has so far helped 2,000 youngsters. The fund gives out $60,000 a month in total, which equates to $25 a month for the most vulnerable ch ildren. Ninety-seven per cent of the families benefiting from the scheme take their child to a health center when they are ill and 90 per cent have increased food security† (Does aid work? ). All those number shows the foreign aid helps to save lives in needy countries. This is very important for those people who are suffering from starvation, poverty or contagious diseases in poor countries.We can't because of a little bit negative impact of economic, then deny the huge influence that foreign aid works in poor countries to help, and survival people's life. Furthermore, in the background  of economic globalization, the world is getting more and more close contact. The   people from different countries have  a great personnel flow frequency and the world trade is becoming greater more than before. However, there still have a   lot of people live in poverty in many places, the gap between rich countries and poor countries are expanding.The rich countries have huge income and outcome by world trade and high productivity. But, if the rich countries want to get benefit of economy in the future, they need to take care of people who will be enormous consumers in the future. Unless rich countries help the poor countries, economy of world will face unhealthy situation. In this case, rich countries should help the poor countries. Final, the most of poor countries governments are inexperience and inefficiency when they make a decision or face enmorgency. For this reason, the governments of poor countries need rich countries' help.Through rich countries help, poor countires can get solution of the problem they are facing. This can make the government of poor countries complete their policy, and gain their experience for emergency ability. The most problems which poor countries right now have, are similaring that rich countries already had and solved it before, and they have enough experiences to teach and help them to figure out the problems. In conclusion, the rich countries should to help poor countries in many ways including education, medical, health, economy and policy, because with great power comes great responsibility.Work cited: Ashdown, Paddy, Does aid work, New Statesman, 2012, 27-28. Accessed 8/25/2012. Fredrik Erixon, Why Aid Doesn't Work, 2005, 48. Accessed 8/25/2012. Foreign aid works – it saves lives, Accessed 8/25/2012 http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/economics-blog/2012/may/30/foreign-aid-works-saves-lives Statistics on International Development Aid. Accessed 8/25/2012. http://filipspagnoli. wordpress. com/stats-on-human-rights/statistics-on-poverty/statistics-on-international-development-aid/

Electronic Commerce Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Electronic Commerce Response - Essay Example "President Bush has made the security of every American one of his highest priorities and this certainly includes cyber security" (Israel, 2002). The US legal system adopts regulations for e-trade agreements and e-signs. For instance, a decade ago, it has been impossible to file a suit without hard copies of the documents and supportive evidence, but today e-documents and agreements become more common in courts than hard copies. "The US government promotes policies to ensure that businesses and consumers can enter into legal agreements online that will be recognized by the courts if something goes wrong" (Israel, 2002). New forms of taxation and physical characteristics of products have been adopted to protect traditional and e-commerce. E-commerce makes it possible to take global legal regulations to another level providing international law based on protection and fair business relations. The main areas which have been developed include: authenticity, protecting the privacy of consumers, security of e-commerce participants, and universal access.

Project Team Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Team Performance - Essay Example Furthermore, organizing the project team is one of the most important elements of project management. This engages not merely administering internal employees however as well managing some customer personnel and subcontractors allocated to the project team (Jong & Hartog, 2007). Crawford & Price (2000) state that flourishing business is based on the rapidly responding as well as adapting transformations in their business situation. In addition, the organizations are forced by the market to manage through projects. At the similar time, there is growing stress upon quality (Crawford & Price, 1996). In the continuously changing and transforming business setting, an organization should be able to get best performance from the project teams. The main reason to stress this area is the importance of the project teams in all areas of the business and corporate structures. Thorough the continuous project team enhancement corporations could be able to make the overall project and business succ essful. This paper presents the literature review of project team performance. This paper will explore different researches about the team performance. Kim & Burton (2001) outlined that an organization is viewed as a an information processing system that is developed and structured to attain a definite set of business jobs as well as encompassing information processors like that sub-teams and individuals. However, the contingency theory states that the most excellent means to systematize a business or organization is dependent upon the diversity and uncertainty of the fundamental task being carried out through the organizational unit. Implementing the contingency theory to a corporate project team, one would suppose that, by means of low level of job uncertainty. A centralized project team would execute better for the reason that it is able to formulate

A critical theoretical and visual analysis of my experience of work Essay

A critical theoretical and visual analysis of my experience of work - Essay Example During my work experience I had faced situations where my favorite project was cancelled though I worked very hard on it, also there were times where the customers treated me badly though it was totally unfair, my best friend at work was terminated, my colleagues were being unfair towards me and also my boss use to shout at me although I was really working hard. All these things pile up and you feel like shouting at the top of your voice or probably run away from your work. At work showing your emotions especially negative emotions can seriously harm your professional reputation along with the productivity. Stressful situations are very common at workplace where we have to deal with budget cuts along with department changes. It becomes very hard to deal with your own emotions in such circumstances. There is a lot of work load along with a constant push of getting promoted and becoming more efficient. It was very important to know how to handle your emotions in such circumstances. It is important to know how to react in bad situations. It is important to always share positive emotions, both ways constructively and also professionally. It is very important to have that in a workplace.... It is important at work to avoid anxiety and worry. I made a worry log where I would write down all the worries which churn my head and then tried finding solutions to the problems. Physical relaxation plays an important role here with proper risk analysis. Anger is another important factor which is very obvious in the picture, anger management is very crucial at work in order to achieve success, we need to properly deal with unfair criticism. It is very important to be respectful towards others and also to be assertive if the other person is rude and unprofessional. Disappointment can be dealt positively by keeping a proper check at one’s mindset and to adjust the goals properly. My work experience taught me that smile is a very important and also a very crucial factor which helps in solving many problems. We all have to deal with negative emotions and we have to learn how to cope up with them as it is very important. It is crucial to know what type of feelings cause such emo tions and also how you can deal with them before they become very prominent. The other picture I have selected is depicting the importance of team work in an organization and how a good team can make work experience a very memorable one and amazing, and a bad team can sabotage the experience and also affect your performance negatively. Now there are few things which are important to analyze before going for team work that includes why the team is developed, what can make teamwork successful, group dynamics overview along with encouraging positive and productive groups. The picture is showing why the team is made and how various individuals with similar

Rockwell Hardness Testing Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rockwell Hardness Testing - Lab Report Example Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a metal to permanent (plastic) deformation. The hardness of the metal is measured by forcing an indenter into its surface. The indenter material which is usually a ball, pyramid, or cone, is made of a material much harder than the material being tested. For example, hardened steel, tungsten carbide, or diamond are commonly used materials for indenters. For most standard hardness tests a known load is applied slowly by pressing the indenter at 90 degrees into the metal surface being tested. After the indentation has been made, the indenter is withdrawn from the surface as shown in the figure. An empirical hardness number is then calculated or read off a dial (or digital display), which is based on the cross-sectional area of depth of the impression. The hardness of a metal depends on the ease with which it plastically deforms. Thus a relationship between hardness and strength for a particular metal can be determined empirically. The hardness test is much simpler than the tensile test and can be nondestructive (i.e., the small indentation of the indenter may not be detrimental to the use of an object). For these reasons, the hardness test is used extensively in industry for quality control. The Rockwell Hardness test consists of many different scales for a range of different hardnesses. The B and C scale are the types used in this experiment. The B scale uses the spherical steel penetrator and the C scale uses the diamond cone shaped penetrator. Procedure for Experiment 1. Make certain the crank .It is kept in forward position, nearest to you. 2. Place the sample on the anvil, in position for test. 3. Select 100 and 150 kg combination of weights (being at the rear of the machine) . 4. Slowly turn the wheel spokes clockwise. This raises the anvil and sample toward the penetrator tip. After contact is gently made, continue raising sample until small pointer is about in line with the small black dot and the large pointer is within the colored sector. The minor load has now been applied to the sample. 5. After step 4, the large pointer on the dial is nearly vertical. Now, turn the knurled collar until the SET line on the dial scale is in line with and under the large pointer . 6. Depress the trip lever. This triggers the mechanism that applies the major load. The crank will automatically move away from you. 7. After the crank has come to rest, gently pull the crank back toward you as far as it will go. If this is done abruptly, a false reading

Employee relations and engagement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee relations and engagement - Assignment Example stly, the LOU/IS (Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services) demanded several policies and strategies for the welfare of the employees involved in the amusement industry. Then we inquired the organisational management in order to gain the insight on existing situation and effects of the collective change (Bates and Weighart, 2014). We took a 5 minute break before the Cowells management responded in the negotiation process. Cowells management provided with their own set of proposals that will aid them in increasing their employee engagement and negotiation strategies. Then Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services enquired their queries to the organisational members. The negotiation process included a break of 5 minutes. Finally, the collective bargaining process among the two parties Cowells and Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services will be continued until suspension. Moreover, total three recesses were offered to the parties during the negotiation meeting. I observed that the group working continued till any sort of further collective bargaining or negotiation process (Crump, 2011). On the contrary, I observed that no such bargaining or consultation communications are observed among the two sides. I have observed that second week meeting reached to the agreement. Mainly, our negotiation process will be aimed to increase the efficiency of employee engagement and employee relation policies in the Cowells amusement firm. Cowells provides amusement service in the Northern segment with the help of the M25. Natural attractions of the surroundings are increasing competition for the Cowells (Berens, 2013). We conducted the negotiation or collective bargaining process in order to maintain smooth transition. Our negotiation process included certain consideration for the virtual authenticity and knowledge and skill development in maintaining talent base of the firm. In addition, I observed that the Cowells have higher capital liability

Human factors for engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human factors for engineering - Essay Example The aid of multimedia approaches in controlling and eliminating the unethical cultures in societies makes this project relevant hence the focus of my research. Methodology involving the use of a remote controller to control the multimedia gadgets likes TV, gaming in the home entertainment system. First, break the variety of the tasks in the various multimedia devices into subtasks and then assign each of the subtasks to a controller. When operations run, the checks INS are easily and quickly semi-automatically linked with the subtask buttons. The operation speed then estimated and used to calculate the efficiency of the system. The touch sensitive input interface on the mobile computing device recognizes gestures and movements that touch it. Synchronization index then performs time coding. It looks up and in response selects a word or range of words; thereby, associating a particular time within the media to the choose words (Talukder, Asoke, Roopa, and Hasan Ahmed 34). The method helps in assessing the current state of home entertainment system through close remote monitoring by employing the use of the sensors. Stenograph machines and computer software programs incorporating AutoCAD are usable in the subsequent methodology. The software program translates the phonetic characters while the stenograph machine types in preparation for a graphical and designed output. The output stream is a network of automated translations of ASCII characters stored in a data card attached directly to the stenograph machine by a serial communications link. A thorough analysis and examination of the readings contribute the final engineering design of a unified multimedia entertainment system and a universal control unit. Miller, Michael. Creating a Digital Home Entertainment System with Windows Media Center: [determine Which Media Center Pc to Buy, Connect and

Effect of Ph on Food Preservatives Essay Example for Free

Effect of Ph on Food Preservatives Essay Sodium Benzoate is a common food preservative used in food products such as jams and jellies, soft drinks, pickles, condiments etc and in tinned products in the market. This experiment aimed to determine whether benzoic acid is formed from it’s superior soluble form sodium benzoate in stomach acid, which is simulated by HCl (pH=2). It has been seen that at a low optimum pH, i.e. in the presence of sufficient hydrochloric acid, sufficient benzoic acid is yielded. The percentage yield is determined from the calculations of the theoretical (stoichiometric) calculations and the actual yield from the reaction. Also throughout the experiment, some basic laboratory operations such as measuring mass and volume, separating solids from liquids by vacuum filtration and drying solids are familiarized with. Introduction The reaction of sodium benzoate and hydrochloric acid is a typical phenomenon of hydrolysis reaction which conforms to the principles of acid-base chemistry and stoichiometry. In a typical hydrolysis reaction, when a salt dissolves in water, the salt dissociates to its constituent anions and cations (benzoate and sodium ions respectively). Also, when strong acids like hydrochloric acid dissolves in water, chloride ions and hydronium ions are formed. Hence in the reaction involving sodium benzoate and hydrochloric acid solution, in the presence of high concentration of hydronium ions, protons will be transferred from the strong acid H3O+ to the basic benzoate ion. This will yield benzoic acid, C6H5COOH which precipitates from the solution as it has a really poor solubility (0.34g/100ml). The fundamental reaction is sketched out below: As can be seen from the difference in the pKa values, H3O+ is a much stronger acid than benzoic acid. So, the equilibrium of the reaction strongly favours its completion and hence hydrochloric acid which ideally simulates the acidic conditions of the stomach, does convert benzoate to benzoic acid. Safety: Throughout the lab safety goggles, protective gloves and aprons were worn while carrying out the experiments. While transferring the HCl to the reaction vial in the student hood, the head must never be inside the glass hood as vapour inhalation can cause choking hazard and irritations. Also the hosepipes were carefully plugged in and out of the filter flask to avoid breakage or tipping of the Hirsh funnel. Experimental For this experiment and basic operations, calibrated Pasteur pipettes, a 5ml conical reaction vial, watch glass, stirring rod, electronic balance, small test tube, Hirsh funnel, filter flask and filter paper are used. The procedure for this experiment appears on page 7 of the lab manual, Multiscale Organic Chemistry (4th custom UB edition)3. As the primary objective of this experiment was to find out whether sodium benzoate reacts with simulated stomach acid to form benzoic acid, the results clearly indicate that a successful reaction close to completion, if not fully complete, has taken place. The percentage yield calculation reveals that approximately 90% of benzoic acid as white precipitate were recovered from the reaction. There were a number of factors which might have contributed to the 10% deficiency in the final yield. It needs to be mentioned though that a percentage yield of less than 100% is achieved because the drying of the solid mass after vacuum filtration was sufficient to give a practical number. During measurements of mass of benzoate and benzoic acid when it’s formed, there were obvious human errors involved. Some benzoates were lost while transferring to the conical reaction vial from the watch glasses, and further loss of the product benzoic acid might have taken place when the solution mixture was tipped on the Hirsh funnel. We couldn’t determine if the reaction was complete or not, so we might not have had all the salt converted 4. The solution might not have sufficiently and gradually cooled though every effort was made for that, hence there could be lack of benzoic acid crystals forming. The litmus test might have contributed to a significant loss of the precipitate, but only one instead of multiple tests were performed to see if the reaction mixture was acidic enough. Given the carefully controlled experiments and the 90% yield, it can be deemed that the methods used to perform the experiments are full proof and performed as immaculately as possible. Conclusion The fact that a new substance is formed indeed when sodium benzoate is placed into a simulated stomach acid has been demonstrated successfully with the aid of the experiments and aforementioned results. A 90% yield suggests that all the basic operations were carried out as neatly and carefully as possible and measures taken to minimize obvious errors which could take place while performing the experiments. All in all, the experiment provided a practical evidence of the theory behind the hydrolysis of sodium benzoate and percentage yield of it’s product.

The 2008 Presidency Essay Example for Free

The 2008 Presidency Essay The race to the White House has long been underway. Both Republican and Democrat parties are in the process of selecting their respective nominees for the presidency. Currently, John McCain is recognized as the Republican nominee while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the primary contenders for the Democrat nomination. A review of their stand on pertinent issues, as well as their personal and political background is as follows: John McCain John McCain is presently senator of the state of Arizona. Before he entered politics, he was an officer in the U. S. Navy for 22 years (America. gov). He served in Vietnam and was the recipient of not a few honors for his exemplary performance of duty. McCain ran for Republican nomination in the last elections but lost the battle to George Bush. The emphasis of McCain is in homeland security and the threats of terrorism. His view is that strengthening the military and continuing the role of the U. S. troops in Iraq will guarantee a safer America (Washingtonpost. com). Incidentally, his son is also in active duty in that country. Once elected, he will call for modernization in the military and the use of national missile defense systems. High technology weaponry will enable the U. S. to prevent and counteract the anticipated attacks from non-democratic states. He also sees the need for the adequately training the Iraqi military forces to raise their capacity to perform their responsibilities without the assistance of U. S. troops. If America would withdraw its troops this early, this would result in widespread civil unrest. Further, the U. S. should also force Iraq’s neighbors, Syria and Iran, to halt their support to al-Qaida in order to isolate Iraq and effectively contain terrorism in that country (Washingtonpost. om). McCain will support efforts towards establishing democratic states not only in the Middle East but also in Sub-Saharan Africa. Regarding immigrants, McCain is pushing for stricter immigration laws. He views illegal immigrants as a threat to national security. The U. S. should secure the U. S. -Mexico border which is perceived as the major route of illegal immigrants. He initiated legislation efforts in setting up an immigrant status verification system and for employers to hire persons who are legal immigrants (America. ov). McCain also sees it the responsibility of immigrants to master U. S. English, acquire knowledge on U. S. history, constitution and government in order to effectively integrate themselves in society. McCain is also supportive of reducing the taxes of the working class by as much as $2,700. 00 annually and to also offer tax credits to families who could not afford health insurance as well as allow individuals to keep their insurance regardless if they move to another state or seek another job (America. gov). Taxes should also be maximized by evaluating all government programs and removing those that are not effective. With regards to education, he thinks that through encouraging competition, public schools will be motivated to provide their students top-performing teachers whose abilities would translate in higher performance of their students (America. gov). For this to work, teachers should be given proper incentives based on the output of their students. Finally, John McCain is an advocate of free trade and supports the continuing role of the U.  S. in the North American Free Trade Association and other trade relations that are already in place and in expanding these relations to include other developing countries (Washingtonpost. com). In responding to the unemployment brought about by the relocation of the operations of U. S. companies to the third world, providing further education and training would give the laid-off workers the opportunity to hold jobs related to trade (America. gov). Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton is the current senator from New York. She served as first lady to her husband Bill Clinton, who was a former governor of Arkansas and a two-term president beginning in 1993 (America. gov). She is also an attorney, an alumna of Yale Law School and a writer of many books. She is an advocate of many issues such as tax-cuts for the middle class, a universal health insurance program, reform of immigration laws and the safeguarding of our foodstuffs from the threats of bioterrorism (America. gov). When elected, Clinton would call for the withdrawal of U. S. roops in Iraq believing that a globally coordinated effort towards diplomacy, as opposed to force, will work best in establishing democracy in that country (Washingtonpost. com). This is underscored when she stated that she favors creating alliances to counteract threats than moving alone and using military might. She proposes limiting the access of nuclear facilities to uranium to eliminate the possibility of their use for terrorist activities. In the same manner, global alliances are the best way to deal with issues related to the environment, poverty and disease and the U.  S. should work to provide the necessary leadership (Washingtonpost. com). With regards to trade, Clinton calls for an evaluation of the effects that major trade agreements such as the NAFTA have caused to the workers in America. She does not propose revocation of these agreements but rather to reform them so that the rights and welfare of American workers are taken into consideration (America. gov). She will move to further enhance the capacity of the Trade Adjustment Assistance in helping the workers who lost their jobs because of the relocation of their companies (America. ov). She also recognized the lack of competent teachers in public schools, high drop out rates of high school ethnic minorities and that many Americans can not afford university education. As such, she would institute tax credits for those enrolled in university and to generate scholarship programs. To help reduce the current health problem, she will focus on promoting health information and in directing the health services sector to further develop preventive measures against diseases (America. gov). Barack Obama Barack Obama entered politics in 2004 as Illinois senator after working in the state senate for eight years (America. gov). He has traveled a lot and held a career as an organizer and civil rights lawyer in Chicago, having graduated from Harvard Law School. He is also active in the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, partly responsible for the welfare of American soldiers from overseas. Obama has long criticized the occupation of U. S. troops in Iraq and like Clinton, would see that the Defense Department will begin the withdrawal of American troops in the Middle-Eastern country (Washingtonpost. om). He attributes the incapacity of the Iraqi government to dependence on U. S. initiatives so that withdrawal of troops would compel them to fulfill their leadership responsibilities. U. S. support should be in the form of humanitarian assistance and in involving Iraq’s neighbors in the over-all effort to promote peace and stability in that country (America. gov). He is in favor of expanding the current number of the army and marines towards better protecting the U. S. rom nuclear attacks which is the most serious threat to national security at the moment (America. gov). Therefore, he will initiate a world-wide endeavor to regulate the use of nuclear resources and weaponry and ensure that these are not availed of by terrorist organizations and rouge states. Obama has so far taken the most liberal position in terms of international relations as he stated that the U. S. should be open to establish communication with as many countries as possible regardless of their style of government (America. ov). He emphasized the responsibility of the U. S. in alleviating poverty world-wide through the efforts of well-trained civilian aid groups and the military (American. gov). He will also focus on developing relations with Asian states, especially China, to challenge them to adhere to international policies. In the field of education, he will also work towards employing more teachers and for education system to increase knowledge levels in the areas of mathematics and science (America. gov). He proposes tax credits to university students, additional funding for education programs including skills training for employment and giving scholarships to students committed to building careers in teaching (Washingtonpost. com). Further, Obama would also like to see tax cuts for the working class and in removing the income taxes of those with the lowest income (American. gov). He would also institute a health insurance for children, for employers to shoulder a portion of their workers’ expenses for health insurance and for health care providers to be transparent regarding their expenditures. Finally, Obama is also interested in and has taken steps towards the enactment of a law permitting the American public to access information regarding how revenue is allocated. He would also institute a system of validating immigrant status prior to employment and that illegal immigrants with no criminal records in the U. S. should be fined if they wish to stay in the country (America. gov). He is against the involvement of the U. S. in trade organizations because of human rights, environment and worker related issues. The Republican and Democrat Position The main differences between Republican and Democrat candidates are in their political and economic paradigms – free trade as against a little government regulation of the economy, diplomacy and global coalitions versus military aggression, funding high tech military and defense system or funding healthcare and education. The Republican John McCain’s stand on issues is largely derived from his background in the military and with continuing the policies of the current administration of a fellow Republican. A major theme in his platform is with regards to national security, threats from rogue states and the prominent role of the military. He is also an advocate of Bush’s foreign policy of free trade. Democrats Clinton and Obama are in favor of diplomacy and the formation of global coalitions instead of primarily using military force in addressing national security and other global issues. They believe in global nuclear weapons regulation but not in enhancing U. S. weapons and military capacity. They call for the evaluation of U. S. involvement in free trade organizations and they also propose a review of U. S. foreign trade policies in order to pursue the protection of workers’ jobs in the U. S. They also seek to provide more funding for health care and education.

Analysis of Indias Young Population

Analysis of Indias Young Population Abstract- India has the largest youth population in the world. Any policies or decisions taken for the population at large and youth in particular, cannot ignore to understand various attributes related to youth. The current research paper is an attempt to know and understand the preferences of youth with regards to various attributes related to their day-to-day habits, beliefs, ethos, preferences and career aspirations. Various observations suggested that young people generally knew how to access internet; spend most of their time on mobiles; could read, write and understand English but could not speak it confidently; were dependent upon parents for financial resources; wanted to pursue a career with reputation; and felt that the time-management was the biggest challenge. They also gave their opinions regarding their beliefs about themselves and the societal norms. Analysis like these can help the marketers and policy makers in designing and implementing policies and strategies targ eted at youth segment. Key words Youth, preferences, beliefs, attributes, ethos, India The demography of India in the contemporary times is historically placed in a way that could lead India towards becoming a superpower. India is the second most populated country in the world after China. According to a UN report cited in The Hindu (2014) India had the largest youth population in the world with 28% of the population belonging to the age group of 10-24 years’ old. About 356 million people belonged to this age-group in India. If this segment of the population developed into a productive human resource then there would be a surge in the economic growth. They would earn and spend more and thereby participate in the economic growth through contributions in production and consumption. This would further lead to an increased GDP for a long period of time till this segment of the population retired from the workforce. For a country that can enjoy such a demographic dividend for about four decades, it surely holds promises for future economic growth and development. It is thus very important to understand the preferences of youth so that the efforts by policy makers, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, and businessmen amongst others were put in the correct direction. Their participation in production and consumption would be greatly influenced by their preferences and beliefs. Hence the objective of this paper was to understand the habits, preferences, beliefs, ethos, etc. of the youth and thereby gain a fair idea regarding selected attributes. METHODOLOGY A primary data collection was done for this exploratory research. Sample size was 100 youth. But 96 responses were analyzed since four were incomplete for certain responses. All the respondents belonged to the age group of 18-24 years and included 54 females and 42 males. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire based on informal discussions and a testing of a draft questionnaire through a preliminary survey. The questionnaire was further revised to incorporate the changes based on the observations and suggestions from the preliminary survey. Respondents were given the liberty to choose more than one options in certain questions. Frequencies have been cited for various attributes. The research area was Adipur city of Kachchh district, which is also called an education center due to the presence of about 15 institutions of higher learning in the vicinity. Attributes included were related to habits, preferences, beliefs, ethos, opinions about self and the societal norms, etc. Limitations of the research include those related to the sample size and number of attributes that could be incorporated. It was restricted to one geographical area only. Further research can be conducted to include more attitudes and people from larger geographical area. The attributes to be analyzed can also be increased. Certainly such researches are specific to a particular targeted segment and cannot be generalized for larger or different areas. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS The respondents were asked how they spent most of their leisure time. About 89 preferred enjoying with their handsets through various activities like chats, playing games, browsing internet and listening to music. About 44 preferred freaking out with friends, 38 preferred watching television, 26 performed household chores, 18 preferred spending time in their own offices or shops, 12 preferred self-grooming related activities and about 19 were involved in various forms of exercises. About 76 respondents accessed internet almost on a daily basis through phones, laptops or personal computers whereas 12 respondents accessed internet with a frequency of about once a week and about 8 accessed with a frequency of about once a month or not at all. 70 respondents used at least one social networking site, whereas 26 did not. The purpose of accessing internet was bifurcated as: for social purposes 52, 69 for academic purposes and 78 for entertainment. 74 students knew and used handset texting languages and about 13 students rarely used the texting language and a 9 were unaware. 68 respondents said that they read a newspaper regularly out of which 44 read English newspapers and 24 read vernacular language newspaper i.e. Gujarati dailies. 37 respondents suggested that they routinely accessed knowledge resources either in the form of books, magazines, or browsing through various knowledge associated websites. 84 students said that they understood English language, but 48 wer e confident that they can read and write correct English and 27 were confident of speaking correct English. About 34 said that they feared to communicate with anyone in English and included 11 respondents who suggested that they were able to speak correct English. About 7 respondents received a fixed pocket money from their parents, to sponsor their leisure costs whereas about 68 suggested that they got the financial support from their parents as and when required. 25 were employed and so were self-dependent for most of their own financial needs except education. About 5 boys and 3 girls even supported family financially. The self-dependents largely earned either from their own shops after academic hours, doing jobs and others provided coaching to younger students. Financial resources were used in the costs associated with handset and other electronic gadgets, self-grooming inclusive of purchases of garments and cosmetics, freaking out with friends for movies or restaurants, costs related to education like fees, books, coaching classes’ charges, stationery, etc. Educational expenses were incurred by parents in case of 84 respondents. Respondents’ discussion amongst themselves largely focused on handset features, social discussions related to family and friends, fashion and appearance, movies and soap-operas, amongst others. 48 respondents were hopeful about the bright future of the country while 34 felt that the challenges were difficult to overcome and the rest were not sure. With regards to their career options 38 respondents wanted to pursue a career that had reputation as the prime-most attribute, 12 wanted a career with an easy life, 32 wanted a career that was financially lucrative, and 18 respondents wanted to pursue a career that could make them powerful / influential. When inquired for the challenges that they faced in pursuing their ambitions / aspirations, time-management was a common challenge for 68 respondents, lack of focus for 48, lack of self-commitment for 39, financial constraints for 27 and geographical immobility for 42. To understand what the youth felt about themselves and certain societal norms they were asked to give their opinions with regards to certain sentences with responses like disagree, neutral or agree. All the responses have not been quoted. Only those responses that had strong opinions were cited. 48 students agreed that they believed in hard work. 83 agreed that they obeyed the suggestions made by the parents. 75 agreed that they wanted to learn from their own mistakes. 74 agreed that youth had the power to change the society. 20 agreed that they believed in achieving results no matter how, 29 were neutral and 47 disagreed. 42 agreed that they knew their strengths and weaknesses while 17 were neutral and 37 disagreed. 50 respondents agreed that they believed in living ethically, honestly and truthfully while 14 were neutral. Some of the respondents who were neutral also suggested that ethics were subjective and differed from person to person, place to place and situation to situation. 70 agreed that they accomplished everything for their family. 41 students agreed that for them their friend’s opinions were the most influential but 29 were neutral and 26 disagreed. 77 agreed that working in a team produced best results. 43 agreed that they did not care what society thou ght / believed but 24 respondents were neutral and 29 disagreed and suggested that they were concerned about what society thought. 74 agreed that they took decisions only after a careful thinking while 16 were neutral. 49 agreed that they were cool, 26 were neutral and 21 did not agree that they were cool. The students who disagreed felt that it was neither important to look cool since they did not care or they felt that there were far more important things to do than putting efforts in looking cool. 53 liked bright and vibrant colors, 23 were neutral and 20 disliked. 69 respondents agreed that they liked adventurous activities, while 18 were neutral. 55 agreed that they liked to earn more and spend more, while 19 were neutral 22 felt that it was equally important to save what was earned. 68 agreed that they respected traditions but that it was not a burden for them while 12 were neutral while 20 felt the burden of maintaining traditions. 37 agreed that they liked to show off their talent, 16 were neutral and 43 disagreed and suggested that they did not like to show off their talent.

Physics of the Human Body in Earths Gravitational Field :: physics human gravity

No Conclusion The force of gravity affects all "bodies" in the universe. How well each human falls into the imaginary line of gravity determines the energy they must have to expel to live within this force. The ideal axis for obtaining the greatest balance is one that is a strait line through the center mass of the body. This line should be identical to the one between the gravitational force between the body and the earth. The human body has adapted over many generations and there are markers that will show where a strait line should form to be properly aligned. This imaginary line connects points at the top of the head, middle of the ear, middle of the shoulder, midpoint of the hip joint, center of the knee joint, and center of the ankle joint. Finding the angles that this line forms from unevenness will explain some things about the amount of energy and mobility this person spends to stay upright. If a person is not consciously holding their muscles to stay up, they must have chronic tension in their muscles to even themselves out. Over time this tension has been programmed into their brain and the connective tissue has been bundled up to help hold the tension. This tension has most definitely limited mobility of the antagonist muscles because they must now use extra force to move. These tensions are most likely formed from the overall function of the individual. For example, if a person is a shot-putter they will build up connective tissue to reinforce themselves from the large amount of torque placed on their bodies outside of their Center of Mass. Over time, their body will adapt to resist the forces its put on it but outside of shot-put, those tensions will remain as part of the person. Eventually, the chronic torque t hat the tensions of the muscles put on the body will deform the lines of symmetry and be detrimental to the person. When people lift weights, it is almost impossible to isolate the lifting to a specific muscle due to the body's make up and connections in the brain. Phisiologicly, there are limitations to each muscle. When an isolated lift is attempted and one muscle can't do the job and more are called in that might not act directly on the lift but help in some way, it is called recruitment. Recruitment generally involves using more superficcial muscles than inferior ones and will result in a greater torque beacuse of this.

American high schools not up to par :: essays research papers

American High Schools Not Up To Par There are many factors that would lead someone to believe that high school is a waste of time. High school has too many distractions for kids to try to concentrate on learning. Since the Columbine tragedy police officers have moved into most high schools and created a distraction for most students. During the day students have study halls that are a huge waste of time, while this time could be utilized to have more instruction or tutoring for kids. Every student is different and has a different learning style. Yet schools don’t separate kids by their learning style to help maximize their curriculum intake. Students are also forced to take classes that they have no interest in and will not be used in their future. All these reasons show how school has too much wasted time and is not doing what it school is intended to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the school day students are faced with many distractions that may keep them from doing their best. Since all of the school shootings in recent years schools have beefed up security across the country. Students are faced with metal detectors as they walk in the school doors. Dogs are used in the schools to conduct random searches and some students find this very controversial. Students are violent and are bringing weapons to school and making bomb threats. These can cause lockdowns that can take hours to search the whole school. This is all valuable time taken from the school day. Police officers are also a new presence in the school system that intimidates students. School is supposed to be a place of learning but now students have to worry if they are safe when they go to school. All these distractions have some students scared to go to school. Every one of these distractions creates an environment that is not conducive to learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Almost every student has had a study hall. Study halls are a huge waste of time because students end up just sitting around getting themselves into trouble. How is one to study when these are quiet study halls? Studying is much easier with a partner where each can quiz each other aloud. With block scheduling students can waste eighty minutes a day if they have a study hall. That’s an hour and twenty minutes where a class of importance could be put in.

Unbranding Starbucks

The coffee industry has been booming since the 1950’s mostly because of the explosion of the cafe style coffee houses in the 1990’s that have followed industry forerunners such as Starbucks (Sangeetha, 2010). Coffee is the second leading commodity worldwide, with a market share worth over $100 billion and over 500 billion cups consumed annually (Goldshein, 2011). Coffee is produced in over 50 countries worldwide providing a livelihood for over 25 million people, but 67% of the world’s coffee growth is conducted in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In the 1990’s, with the coffee craze, came locally owned cafes and specialty stores that by 2005 made up 30% of the coffee retail market. These niche coffee shops have shown a 7% annual growth rate annually (Goldshein, 2011). For supermarkets and traditional (larger) retail outlets, who in 2005 held 60% of the market share, remained the primary channel to acquire both specialty and traditional coffee beverages (Sangeetha, 2010). For Starbucks, this market share helped to make them the third largest restaurant chain in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In 2008, the economic downturn began and the corporate coffee chains were forced with closing stores due to overwhelming overhead with the increase to coffee prices as external factors (Sangeetha, 2010). This forced coffee companies to reinvent their promotional strategies for their specialty coffees in 2009 to send the message that these coffees would allow for â€Å"thrifty luxury† and comfort during stress (Sangeetha, 2010). This reinvention also sparked a socially responsible note with consumers that were demanding these responsibilities be adopted by the companies they purchase from. By expanding product lines and market offerings, many corporate coffee companies scrambled to find a solution to the changing market demands of consumers. As the market continues to shift, growth of coffee will focus on differentiating the brand and returning to the quality assurance that consumers have grown to expect (Colbert, 2013). By creating new products and innovations, companies will likely increase their market shares and profits (Colbert, 2013). Much of the growth of future demands for coffee will come from price sensitive developing markets due to the volatility that persists in the current market supply of coffee (Colbert, 2013). Though global brands have a large following, local brand will continue to flourish in coming years due to their ability to tailor their product offerings to consumers while corporate companies will continue to see these local coffee houses intrude on their consumer base (Colbert, 2013). In recent years, the coffee market has made a shift to more convenient ways for consumers to procure coffee. Starbucks made the move to more convenience for consumers by teaming up with Pepsi-Cola to offer bottled Frappuccino at supermarkets and convenience stores (Sangeetha, 2010). Starbucks also teamed up with Kraft Foods Inc. to supply stores with bagged whole bean and ground coffee for consumers to enjoy in the comfort of their own home (Sangeetha, 2010). With the trend of instant coffee, Starbucks responded to that as well and created a line of instant coffees to be sold in their Starbucks locations as well as supermarkets (Sangeetha, 2010). Other companies such as Nescafe and Folgers are also offering an instant coffee on the shelves of supermarkets and have been for decades now (BIC, 2013). Along with the instant coffee craze, single-serve systems have been a hot commodity to help coffee retailers maintain a market share. Green Mountain Coffee (GMC) began as a small coffee shop in Vermont and has grown to producing and selling 26. 8 million pounds of Arabica coffee annually (GMCR, 2013). Because GMC prides themselves on sustainable and responsible business practices, in 1998 they developed the Keurig single-serve system to cut on waste and produce better tasting, freshly brewed coffee in a minutes time (GMCR, 2013). At first, Keurig was only offering GMC and a few select brands, but as the single-serve trend picked up, companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks jumped on the band wagon (Staff, 2011; Chen, 2013). In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts joined the Keurig family but were only offering their products at Dunkin’ Donut locations and not in supermarkets (Staff, 2011). Though offering the single-serve packs for your system at home was a good thought, Dunkin’ Donuts hurt themselves when it came to convenience because patrons still had to visit a store to purchase the single-serve packs for their home system (Staff, 2011). Earlier this year, Starbucks also signed on with GMC and Keurig to produce Starbucks and Tazo branded single-serve packs (Chen, 2013). This agreement is a five year contract and will triple the amount of Starbucks products on the Keurig machine by taking on additions such as Seattle’s Best and Teavana Teas to name a few (Chen, 2013). This strategy will increase the marketing position for Starbucks as well as GMC and Keurig because Starbucks has a loyal following that may see the single-serve system as an opportunity to save money and added convenience. In 1971, Starbucks opened as a small coffee shop in historic Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, Washington (Starbucks, 2012). By 1982, Starbucks was ready to grow as they hired on Howard Schultz as the director of retail operations and marketing (Starbucks, 2012). He realized that espresso was a trending beverage in Italy and saw a potential for a coffee bar culture that we now know as Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks, 2012). This was the first growth strategy that Schultz envisioned; creating an atmosphere for young and trendy coffee drinkers to sit and enjoy their cup of coffee. Schultz next strategy was to expand Starbucks beyond Seattle and Washington. With the help of local investors, Starbucks opened across the country and in just two years had 17 locations including Chicago and Canada (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks was making a name for it and by 1988 had 33 locations and began providing health insurance for employees (Starbucks, 2012). Though Starbucks remained a privately owned company, in 1991 they offered a stock option programs for all employees unlike any other American company had before (Starbucks, 2012). This was a growth strategy for Starbucks because it showed a true interest in the well being and future of employees. Not only did the employees benefit from such incentives, but Starbucks received a brand name boost through media and word of mouth for their generosities (Starbucks, 2012). That same year, they opened their first airport coffee shop and maintained 116 stores in North America (Starbucks, 2012). By 1993, Starbucks has grown to such proportions that to keep up with production they opened their own coffee bean roasting plant in Washington State and more than doubled their store locations to 272 (Starbucks, 2012). 994 brought on a huge change for Starbucks with the drive thru window that now assimilated them to restaurant chains like McDonalds and began to weaken Starbucks profit margin (Starbucks, 2012). With this assimilation came even more expansion for Starbucks with a second roasting facility located in Pennsylvania, 677 locations nationwide, and introduction of new p roducts like the Frappuchino and premium ice cream in supermarkets (Starbucks, 2012). These growth strategies helped create a lifestyle and image association with the Starbucks logo as well as broadened their product variety which is a perceived value for consumers. In 1996, Starbucks opened their first location outside of American in Japan and later in Singapore (Starbucks, 2012). With the globalization that the company began to experience, this meant that their brand name and consumer loyalty was quickly catching on and not just in America. By 1997, Starbucks had 1,412 locations and also began the Starbucks Foundation to help strengthen communities in which they operate (Starbucks, 2012). This foundation is still active today and is used to fund literacy programs, develop young leaders, and participate in community service opportunities to give back with hands on approach (Starbucks, 2012). This is a perfect example of the social responsibility craze that began in 1999 and Starbucks teamed up with Conservation International to encourage and promote sustainable coffee practices and in 2000 became Fair trade certified with TransFair USA (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks has continued to grow by establishing their own trading company, acquiring Seattle Coffee Company in 2003, and keeping up with the economical and sustainable practices of consumers offered the first paper cup made of recycled material in 2006 (Starbucks, 2012). This again reinforced Starbucks strategies to become industry leaders because in 2006, consumers were increasingly concerned about sustainability and it was forecasted that consumers will be willing to pay more for economically responsible products and services (Fletcher, 2006). From 2007 to current day, Starbucks has been rebranding and reworking their business practices trying to get back to their original design and a way to save money in the long run (Sangeetha, 2010; Starbucks, 2012). With a variety of new coffees on the menu and more food offerings, Starbucks has created a food giant that is now competing with McDonalds and other â€Å"quick service restaurants† and 17,651 stores globally as of July, 2012 (Starbucks, 2012). Unbranding for Starbucks is a major risk because it is competing with itself as well as the same competitor that the company is trying to outdo. With uick service restaurants serving specialty coffee on a bargain budget, Starbucks is risking losing a larger piece of the market pie with the unbranded store concept. Starbucks is known mostly for their name and logo in the global market. This is an attribute not a scar and as so Starbucks should be proud of their history and even more proud of the power house of coffee they have become. It was noted that the unbranded stores were expanding their horizons by offering beer, live music, and pottery classes as to attract a younger and more trendy consumer like that of competitors (Mitchell, 2009). These provide a clear message on what the average coffee consumer wants in today’s market; cheap, fast, and trendy. The age of the corporate coffee house is beginning to die off because consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about economic issues and boycotting corporate America (Prakash, 2013). This is mostly due to the interconnectivity that young America and youth of the world are experiencing with the internet, Facebook, and cell phones and create a learning curve for older generations (Prakash, 2013). Bottom line is that consumers enjoy the coffee that Starbucks sells, but subconsciously they are ultimately buying for the brand recognition, consistency, and pride they feel when drinking from a Starbucks logo cup that has their name written on the side of it. If McDonalds offered the exact same coffee as Starbucks but at their ridiculously cheap prices, there is no guarantee that consumers would completely jump ship from Starbucks simply because of the brand recognition and expectations that follow it. I believe that continuing to unbrand Starbucks is taking a step away from the heart of what Starbucks is known to be. The business model that Starbucks had in place before the unbranding begun was not broken completely, but simply had broken or misguided components. Face it, Starbucks grew too big, too fast and opened stores faster than they could keep track of. That is an aspect that corporate fails to realize; local coffee shops have one, maybe two locations to maintain and thus keeps the over head low. With the low overhead of locally owned shop, they are able to offer wider variety of products and services. They also often have backing from other local businesses through the chamber of commerce and because the owner is a member of the community has ties that help grow business through patronage. The unbranded store may work in Seattle, but only for a short time before consumers realize they are being taken for a fool by the big bad corporation. Starbucks needs to do what they do well, serve a hot cup of coffee with friendly banter in exchange and customer service that beats any other cafe and rid them of serving breakfast items. They are a coffee shop not a McDonalds. Starbucks is a strong brand name that is recognizable globally and the leading coffee conglomerate in the United States. I propose that Starbucks live up to the superior standards that they set forth in the beginning and continue to offer premium quality coffee under their branded logo. With the unbranding it has been made apparent that Starbucks employees staged sit-ins at local coffee shops in Seattle to â€Å"spy† on the competition (Mitchell, 2009). These sit-ins resulted in one of the unbranded stores looking identical to a bar next door in terms of color scheme and aesthetic design (Mitchell, 2009). Starbucks needs to stop trying to be the competition and regain their momentum as the pack leader by running with the global recognition that they hold benefit over local cafes. By co-branding more products and taking on sponsorship opportunities that feed positivity into the Starbuck brand and reinforce company values, consumers will pay tribute and return with loyalty. We have seen it done with McDonalds and Ronald McDonald House Charities. In 1974, the first Ronald McDonald House opened with the help of Shamrock Shake donations made by a Philadelphia store owner (McDonalds, 2012). If Starbucks would take their Starbucks Foundation and team up with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America to promote youth leadership and strengthening the community (Starbucks, 2012). The success that McDonalds experienced after helping to open the Ronald McDonald House, is the same experience that Starbucks could potentially take advantage of to improve the company image and consumer base. With the increasing interest in social responsibility and the extraordinary amount of devastating events and natural disasters happening, this is an issue that is in Starbucks’ backyard. The urban youth that need guidance and nurturing; their future consumer demographic all wrapped in a nice tiny package waiting to be tapped into.Work CitedBest Instant Coffee (BIC), 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.instantcoffeebrands.net/ Chen, K. Starbucks to Triple Products for GMCR’s Keurig. The Motley Fool, May 9, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/05/09/starbucks-to-triple-products-for-gmcrs-keurig.aspx Colbert, R. Coffee 2013: Ready for Take Off. Robobank, International Coffee Organization, March 5, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.ico.org/event_pdfs/seminar-consumption/rabobank-e.pdf Fletcher, A. Sustainable development a business reality, says report. Food Navigator, April 25, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Sustainable-development-a-business-reality-says-report Goldshein, E. 11 Incredible Facts About The Global Coffee Industry. Business Insider, November 14, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-the-coffee-industry-2011-11?op=1 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), 2013. Keurig Brand Partners. Retrieved from: http://www.keurig.com/in-the-news/2010/~/media/files/news%20and%20media%20pdfs/roaster_profiles.ashx McDonalds Corporation, 2012. Ronald McDonald House Charities. Retrieved from: http://www.rmhc.com Mitchell, S. Starbucks Goes Stealth with Unbranded, â€Å"Local† Cafes. Institute for Local Self Reliance, July 22, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.ilsr.org/starbucks-goes-stealth-unbranded-local-cafes/ Prakash, P. State of the Urban Youth, India 2012. IRIS Knowledge Foundation,2013. Retrieved from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=professor_vibhutipatel&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fas_ylo%3D2013%26q%3Dyouth%2Band%2Bpolitics%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C44%26as_vis%3D1#search=%22youth%20politics%22 Sangeetha, K. Starbucks Unbranded Stores: A Move to Regain Former Glory. Amity Research Centers HQ, 2010. Staff Writer. Green Mountain, Dunkin’ team up on single-serve joe. Boston.com, February 22, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/02/green_mountain_21.html Starbucks Company, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/

Development Stages: Adolescence

Development refers to growth, adaptation and change that occur over the course of a lifetime (Papalia, et. al, 2007). The human being is never static, from conception to death, physical and psychological change is constantly taking place in all of us. The process of development has been thought of in terms of stages that each of us must go through. These stages are characterized by certain behavioral or developmental characteristics that each of us goes through at different rates and even at different ages.Among the stages of development, no other aspect of the life cycle has commanded as much attention as adolescence. Adolescence can easily be described as the best of times and the worst of times. This stage is affected by the structure of the society in which the individual is raised. Hence, different cultures may have different conceptions of adolescence. Many cultures have rites of passage when the child enters adolescence or adulthood.While in Western cultures, it is a gradual t ransition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is marked by changes in the physical, emotional, social and cognitive aspects of the individual. The rapid physical changes occur at the onset of puberty; during adolescence the bodily changes often occur at a slower rate. In this stage, due to increased activity of the gonads at puberty, sex glands develop rapidly and become functional, the sex organs mature and the major secondary sex characteristics are more defined.The skeleton stops growing, hence the adolescent reaches his/her mature height in this stage and the various parts of the body gradually come into proportion (Steinberg, 2002). The physical changes that adolescents experience causes their preoccupation with their physical appearance and of what may be considered as â€Å"normal† Developmental Stages Page #2 development. Few adolescents are content with their bodies, and this discontent can lead to lowered self-esteems and insecurity. Moreover, adolescence disco vers their sexuality in this stage and tends to act on it.Adolescents also experience heightened emotional tensions, which may result from the hormonal and physical changes they are going through, it can also be brought about by the social pressures they must face and of which they have not been prepared. Adolescents experience emotional instability from time to time, which results from their adjustments to changes in their lives. Like when they are angered by the thought that they are being treated like a child or treated unfairly. However, they express their anger by sulking, refusing to speak our loudly criticizing those who angered them.While adolescent emotions are often intense, uncontrolled and seemingly irrational, it improves with age (Geselle, et. al, 1956). Adolescent’s emotions also impact the way they relate with other people and how they view their social sphere. Adolescent’s thought patterns are generally egocentric. Elkind (1967) proposed that adolescen ts assume that everyone else in the world views the world as they do. Adolescent egocentrism has two facets, the personal fable and the imaginary audience. The personal fable is a romanticized self-generated story of one’s personal destiny.Like when the adolescent believes that shoplifting is bad and there is a possibility of being caught by the police, but feels that it will not happen to him/her. The imaginary audience refers to the adolescent’s belief that other people are scrutinizing him/her because he/she is the most important concern of other people. The concept of the imaginary audience may help explain why students are not comfortable in giving reports or presentations in class, as they believe that they are under scrutiny when they do so.This feeling is very real for the adolescent and may impair his/her Developmental Stages Page #3 learning in the classroom. Teachers can help by being sensitive to this issue and thus provide encouragement and positive feedba ck on improvements made by students, or to assign presentations in groups of two, where the team presents it to the class to diffuse the feeling of being scrutinized. According to Piaget (1972) by the time a person reaches adolescence, he/she begins the final phase of intellectual development, which is called formal operation.This stage is characterized by the ability to solve abstract problems. The formal operational thinker is not bound by content and available experience, rather he/she can hypothesize and deal with the â€Å"what ifs†. The adolescent therefore is able to think of concepts and ideas well beyond his/her knowledge and experience, to look for answers in a systematic way and to use logical reasoning. Considering the cognitive stage of adolescents, teachers can challenge students to think beyond the common and simple responses to questions put to them.The teacher can also encourage students to make use of their cognitive skills by analyzing, predicting, justifyi ng, and defending their ideas in class. The teacher however, has to recognize that student’s conception of their ideas and abstract thoughts are products of their social and cultural backgrounds, thus students may give different explanations to a particular question or hypothesis. Like when students are asked to analyze the reasons why societies celebrate events, the teacher must allow for other cultural celebrations and not limit it to American celebrations. References Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism and Adolescence Child Development, 38, 1025-1034 Gesell, A., Ilg, F., & Ames, L. (1956). Youth: The years from ten to sixteen. New York Harper  and Row Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2007). Human Development, 10th ed.   McGraw Hill Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development 15:  1-12. Steinberg, L. (2002). Adolescence 6th ed. McGraw Hill

Market Revolution

The worldwide presence of the United States of America in terms of a gigantic political and economic power, as we see it today, is a result of the creative and relentless efforts of many political geniuses. After the War of Independence, the country was thrown in a state of depression and the late 17th century era marked a period of instability. The country had war debt of millions of dollars, negative speculation for foreign investment was inevitable, the army was negligible, the navy fleet was almost non-existent, relationship with England had severed and the Congress was unable to impose taxes until a proper law and order system was in place. Heavy adjustments to the political and economic regulations were required to drive the country out of the financial crisis. It were only through the relentless vision and efforts of Alexander Hamilton, the First Secretary of Treasury and Thomas Jefferson, the First Secretary of State, that a new political and economic ideal for the country was created and later, a stage was set for   full scale development of the American society and economic growth to all parts of the world. Similar article: Rise of Political Parties in the 1790s In a revolutionary era marked by political battles and public discord, these symbolic figures provided different, yet talismanic views of the power of government and enterprise in shaping the political and economic orders of the country that has enabled the rulers of the future to legitimatize their decisions for sustainable development. 2. THE FEDERALIST APPROACH: ALEXANDER HAMILTON Hamilton believed that the revival of the economy and subsequent growth depended on the creation of a strong central government that was increasingly proactive in the affairs of the country. He believed that a central, energetic government will not only be able to supersede the powers of the individual states in order to provide national stability but also provide a common framework for effective development and unionization of the big country. He denied the notion of self-interest, which he believed was prevalent in the political structure and destructive for the nation. His philosophy of centralizing the national economy was a product of his political stance. Hamilton believed that a structure of public credit facilities, immediate repayment of foreign debts and responsibility of states war debts, establishment of a new bank and protection of young industries were essential to promote business and develop competitive industries. Public credit facilities were to be financed through issuing government securities like bonds which can be used to settle the domestic debt and extended towards the industrial and manufacturing sector. The government should take over the responsibility of the debt incurred by the individual states during the war since the war was fought for the independence of the entire nation and â€Å"A national debt attaches many citizens to the government who, by their numbers, wealth, and influence, contribute more perhaps to its preservation than a body of soldiers† (Finseth). A banking structure with diversified branches will help the national government to carry out its basic functions like collecting taxes, financing debt and issue payments, issuing currency and generating income through interest on loans. A structure of no-tax for interstate commerce and protective tariff on imports will protect and promote national competition and young firms. Through his notion of a strong economic plan for a mechanized society, Thomas Hamilton gained support of a number of Congressmen and formed a Federalist Party in 1792. 3. THE REPUBLICAN APPROACH: THOMAS JEFFERSON In contrast to Hamilton’s view of an orderly mercantile economy, Thomas Jefferson advocated an agrarian economy, based on individual rights and a limited, decentralized government. He feared that the system proposed by his counterpart threatened the majority of the population who were agrarian laborers and resembled the British economic system. This would result in an emergence of tyranny against such a centralized rule. Jefferson compounded on a weak government structure because he believed that a proper government will not only restrict the liberty of individuals but also limit itself from creating individualism. He emphasized this concept in one of his political writings: â€Å"rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’, because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual† (Appleby). Thomas Jefferson reject Hamilton’s proposal of setting up a national bank, fearing that such a bank would serve the rich at the expense of the poor people and emphasize federal powers over state powers. In response to the Federalist movement, Jefferson formed the Republican Party in 1792 along with James Madison to oppose the policies of the Federalists. 4.THE MARKET AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The influences set forth by the two politicians shaped the constitution of the country and paved way for a rapid development of the economy from 1815 to 1860. In 1792, the king of France was overthrown and a republic was established. France attempted to extend its powers throughout Europe and Britain was trying to curtail it. This resulted in Napoleonic Wars, of which the United States was a major victim in terms of foreign relations. The victory of the Republican Party in 1800 resulted in the nomination of Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States. This event marked the first significant change in American politics. After the War of 1812, Jefferson realized that his vision of an agricultural market economy was incompetent with the competition in global markets. This led to the adoption of a policy of expansion and competition for power in the global economy. The Industrial revolution had begun in the 1700s in Europe and was marked by new inventions and efficient methods of production. This revolution spread to the United States and local inventors came up with unique ideas to mechanize the agriculture sector and spur new industries. Cotton gin was a notable invention which revolutionized the cotton industry by creating new industries, promoting inter-commerce relations between the West and the East and exports. Manufacturing of shoes, woolen clothing and machinery were also expanding. By 1860, almost a third of the country’s income came from the manufacturing sector. The concept of agrarian labor was transformed to that of a wage worker who was paid to run the automated machines in the factories. Most of the urbanized industries were located in the South, whereas the agricultural sector was primarily located in the South. Government provided social capital in the form of national roads, waterways and railroads. These initiatives enabled the nation to establish a firm base for rapid industrialization that followed. Financial industry diffused with new scheme through which some investors made wealth and others lost their savings. Protective tariffs were imposed to sustain the growing industries and bank branches were set up in every city. Rapid development also attracted a great deal of domestic and foreign investment. 5. CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSFORMATION The market and Industrial revolution had several consequences, including religion and reform, for the American Society in the eighteenth century. In the north, Evangelicalism or individual holiness, emerged in the new republic and was the â€Å"grand absorbing theme of American religious life† (Religion and the American Republic 7). Progressive and conservative religious forces often differed in terms of religious opinions with the former advocating a mass dedication to the materialism of the market society. Reformism, as a result was an opposing view to that of the individual revivals. Nevertheless, the underlying belief was that â€Å"religion was a necessary spring† for the government to operate efficiently and people believed in â€Å"a close association between Religion and Patriotism† (Religion and the American Republic 7). Societies and communities sprang up with a clear objective of devotion towards the removal of social evil and re-enlightenment of the individual soul as a result of the energy created from the evangelical movement. The six largest societies created during 1826-1827 were the American Education Society, the American Board of Foreign Missions, the American Bible Society, the American Sunday-School Union, the American Tract Society, and the American Home Missionary Society (Religion and the American Republic 7). WORKS CITED: 1.   United States History, The Formation of a National Government, Retrieved on Mar 10, 2006 from: http://countrystudies.us/united-states/ 2. Finseth, Ian. The Rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton, Retrieved on Mar 10, 2006 from: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/ham/hamilton.html 3. Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, Retrieved on Mar 10, 2006 from: Market Revolution The Market Revolution AP U. S. History The impact of the Market Revolution was the dawn of new markets in land, labor and produce. It ultimately changed American society and reflected a turn away from agrarian ideals through various changes in business, transportation, and society. Overall, the Market Revolution impacted the nation through different regions; the northeast became industrial, while the south relied on farming. The Northeast was booming in industrial growth from the Market Revolution.With the new textile mills, there were many jobs and the economy was on the rise. However, two of the biggest ways the Northeast was able to improve was with its improvements on transportation and various innovations. For example, in 1825 the Eerie Canal was created by Dewitt Clinton and set the stage for faster and easier transportation for goods and people. Also, with New York growing into one of the nation’s largest cities, there were various railroad networks that linked major ci ties. Lastly, the Northeast region was also improving with the creation of companies.For example, in 1813 Francis Cabot Lowell created the Boston Manufacturing company created the first large scale manufacturing cities in the United States of America (Lowell, Massachusetts). With this company, Lowell was also able to create 6,000 jobs by 1836. Because of these important improvements, the Market Revolution industrialized the Northeast and definitely set it apart in comparison to the Southwest region. While the Northeast was improving vastly on industrialization, the South was concentrated on their growth of farming.Even though, the South lagged in the growth of industrialization and urbanization, they had just as fast growth in their economy. It was Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin that made slaves last longer and the production of cotton much faster. For example, cotton growth went from around 75,000 bales in 1800 to over 2 million bales in 1850 with the improvements on producing cotton. Because of the faster production of cotton, the South was able to export to Europe and the Northeast for an advantageous profit. Even though the South obviously had most of their growth due to cotton, they were still able to improve technologically wise.They did have factories and large ports and harbors. For example, the Mississippi transportation helped businesses export across the country with the advances of the steamboat. Thus, having a similar growth in transportation in comparison to the north. From 1815-1860, the Market Revolution was able to have growth in both the Northeast and the South regions and even though they had many differences, the regions were brought together with their booming economies. The large improvements in farming and industrialization were able to shape America into a powerful and wealthy country.

Comparing Films of Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth,’ was first performed before King James I at Hampton Court in 1606. Since then, Macbeth has gone on to be an ever-popular play, endlessly produced by a sea of directors. Having recently watched two of these productions, the first by the Polish director Roman Polanski and the other British director Gregory Doran’s production for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is apparent that there are great differences in how the two directors chose to portray the characters in the play. One of the interperative differences is in the character of Lady Macbeth. In the Royal Shakespeare Company’s version we first meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. She has black long hair, very pale skin, a slim figure and is dressed in black. Many critics have commented that her appearance is rather witch like and this is exactly what most people expect her to be. We witness her reading a letter when she suddenly looks up. This is of course the letter sent by her husband telling her of the witches’ prophecy of Kingship. She looks directly into the camera and although she maintains a blank expression we can sense from her piercing eyes that her mind is already over flown with ambition. As she folds the letter and looks up, evil intentions are in her eyes. The next shot we see is of her in the bath and although she does not show a lot of emotion her eyes reveal that she is still thinking deeply about the letter. She then begins to beg evil spirits to â€Å"Unsex me here† before ducking her head into the water. This is done through a narrative voice. We don’t actually see her lips move. In the Polanski version we meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. The similarities end here. In Polanski’s version we see Lady Macbeth with long golden hair. This is often associated with innocence and femininity. But in Doran’s version she has black hair. This is generally associated with evil. It is also important to note that she is dressed in white. This is again associated with innocence and purity, which we know Lady Macbeth is not. Lady Macbeth is very calm and gentle in the way she talks. Once again this contrasts with Polanski’s version in which she speaks quite cunningly. In Polanski’s version you could almost say she looks lifeless in this scene. We see her stand upon the battlements without any compassion for what she is thinking. This is strikingly different from the way she is depicted in the RSC version. Lady Macbeth’s final scene is Act5 Scene1. This is of course inversion as the first scene we met her in was Act1 Scene5. Doran uses further inversion in this scene as the last time we met Lady Macbeth she was wearing black. She is now wearing white. Doran, deliberately wanted us to notice this as he uses a black background to emphasise what she was wearing. In this scene we see her as a completely different person. When we first met her she looked very powerful and in control of herself but here we see her as totally out of control and insane. We also see that she depends a lot on the candle she is holding. This is ironic as in the ‘Unsexing Scene’ she called on darkness to fall on her. We also see her rub her hands hysterically to get rid of the blood. This is also ironic as she earlier said, â€Å"A little water will clear us of this deed.† At the end of the scene she finally stops crying, looks up, and with a sense of realisation in her face, says her last words. â€Å"What is done, cannot be undone.† In Polanski’s Act5 Scene1 we see Lady Macbeth as she awakens. Looking down she screams as she sees blood on her hands. Terrified, she cries, â€Å"Gracious Duncan is dead.† We then witness her walk about her chamber naked. (Hugh Hefner’s promise of nudity has been realised.) We see her open a box and pull out a now well-worn letter and read it aloud. This provides a full-circle sense to the tragedy. It takes the viewer back to the beginning of the story and reiterates how the horrible chain of events was started. This was very clever of Polanski; through Lady Macbeth’s sobbing she reads it, in the raggedness of the letter implies many repeated readings, Polanski shows her as, not so much mad but consumed by remorse for what they have done. I believe the two versions are very different, mainly because of the media they have been designed for. When Hugh Hefner promised at the launch of the film, a movie full of sex and violence I don’t think it would have particularly appealed to Shakespeare lovers. Conversely the RSC production is unlikely to appeal to the stereotypical playboy reader. This is reflected in both films and as a result they were very different. The Polanski version, is very good in its own right but my personal favourite is Gregory Doran’s simply because it has a more typical approach and is a lot truer to the text.

Aztec Tradition

The driving creation beliefs of the Aztec religion begin with the dual god, Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl. * This god created itself and it was both male and female, bad and good and, chaos and order. * The Aztecs believed that the contrasting aspects in the world would create balance and unite the origins of the world. * The god had four children and each of them represented the four directions of the world north, south, east and west. The Aztecs believed that their empire was at the centre of the universe and therefore the directions mentioned in the creation story link to this. * The four gods created the water and then other gods who then created Cipactli a creature who was part crocodile and part fish. * This creature begun to eat all the creations made by the gods and were eaten. * The four direction gods attacked the Cipactli and stretched him into the four corners and the world was created when it was defeated. * It is believed that the head contained the 13 heavens, the body contained the world and tail held the 9 underworlds Principal beliefs of the Aztecs: * The Aztecs beliefs were based upon the theme of nature * Aztecs believed that the gods needed to be nourished by humans and therefore sacrifice is an integral aspect of Aztec tradition * They believed that the world was divided into five eras, or suns. Each previous era had been governed by one deity and it had ended with the destruction of the elements or phenomena after which it had been named. They believed they were living in the fifth and last era. They believed this era was the era of movement as they believed an earthquake would end the world and time would come to an end. The Aztecs believed in an underworld and a paradise where in which there were 13 heavens and 9 hells in which one could go after death * The sun fought against the darkness every night and rose to save mankind * The Aztecs saw the Earth as a giant flat circular disk (sometimes imagined to be an enormous alligator, whose scales were mountains), surrounded by water as far as the distant horizon, where it joined the sky Identify and describe the role of the supernatural powers and deities in the religion: * The Aztec tradition is a polytheistic religion and is credited over 100 gods and creatures that possess supernatural powers. They worshipped many gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activities or aspects of nature. * Many of the gods were agricultural based as the Aztec period was heavily based on farming * Some of the deities were benevolent while others had terrifying characteristics and feared the people * The deities needed to be fed fresh blood in order for the chaos in the world to be avoided. If this was not done the Aztecs believed they would wither and die. They believed that the processes that make life possible like the rain or solar energy and that the destiny of people depended on the will of these gods * Many of the Aztec deities belonged to a number of tribes, cultures and regions Discuss the relationship between sacred spaces and the beliefs of the religion * Aztecs called their temples Teocalli and they were used to worship, pray and make offerings to the Gods. * Some spaces were built purely for specific celebrations of the Aztecs * Many of their sacred spaces were used to carry out the blood offering to the Gods. The temples were a dwelling place on earth for a particular deity and hence why the sacrifices were chosen to be done within this space * The Aztecs believed that once an area is used as a sacred space it is incredibly important and essential that it remains this way * The size of the space which was used for worship was not relevant as long as it was sacred and remained separate and was distinct to the other areas of the house * It is a common belief amongst the Aztecs that this sacred space needs to be present even if it is simple and basic. It must be respected regardless of the size. Identify the principal rituals and examine their significance for the individual and community * The loyalty, respect and even fear which was felt towards the Gods lead to the establishment of various rituals * The main rituals of the Aztec traditions are: Sacrificial Blood letting Deity impersonation Reenactment of myth * The Aztecs had 18 months in one cycle, and for each of the 18 months there was ritual sacrifice. The victim would be painted as a part of the ritual, they would be placed on a slab where their heart would be removed and held up to the sun. The body would be thrown down the stairs of the temple/pyramid. The body would be disposed in several ways including being fed to animals and it is even believed cannibalism took place amongst the Aztecs * Blood letting was a ritual amongst the Aztecs where people would cut themselves to offer their blood to the gods. Such blood-letting was tied to rank: the higher one was in social or priestly rank, the more blood one had to sacrifice * It was the role of priests or another elected individual would dress up and achieve the likeness of a specific deity. This individual would be the physical manifestation of the god until the inevitable end when the gods likeness had to be killed as the ultimate sacrifice under great circumstance and festivities * Similar to the impersonation of gods, the purpose of the reenactment of myth was to remind the Aztec community of the past mythical events but was also to perpetuate the word by spreading the important events of creation Explain the relationship between the religion and its society * The Aztec society was heavily related to the culture which was established. In many ways the Aztec culture was expressed in through their beliefs * The Aztec culture was incredibly creative and filled with rich and beautiful forms of art (music, tattoos, poetry). This art which they created linked to their beliefs and furthermore their unique tradition * The Aztec warfare is portrayed through their art and examples of this can be found in the form of paintings and pottery found in temples * Religion evidently played a large role in the Aztec culture. Many of their actions were linked to the deities. They were expected to work hard in order to please the gods and therefore keep the balance of the universe * The remains of temples are examples of how their lives were based around showing their dedication and lives towards their deities. The culture and way of life was based around keeping the gods content in order for their lives to be good Explain how the religion provides a distinct response to the search for meaning * As identified in the previous sections, the Aztecs have proven a culture which is unique through the way in which they conduct their rituals and way of life. The deep respect and honor the Aztecs have for their gods is an incredibly unique way of communicating their reason for being and search for meaning * In everything that they do they convey their love and dedication to pleasing the deities. It is evident through their religion and their culture it is very evident that their reason for existence is to please the gods * Many other traditions include similar bel iefs however for the Aztecs it provides their reason for being and the basis of their lives Identify the principal rituals and examine their significance for the individual and community: The Aztecs practice many rituals which are significant to their religious identity, and on a wider scale their culture. These forms of rituals explore and make the tradition unique and support and tie into the beliefs which are followed by the Aztecs. All the rituals are designed and performed in order to celebrate and honor the gods, and the world they have given to us. It is the central belief of the tradition that they exist to serve and show gratitude to the gods that placed them on this earth. The rituals which are common within the Aztec religion include blood –letting, human sacrifice, impersonation of deities and reenactment of myths. Even from the names of these rituals it is evident that the focus around the gods play a significant role. Blood-letting was the process by which elite individuals including community leaders and religious figures would cut themselves in front of a congregation. They would intentionally cut parts of their body usually their tongues and then collect the blood on paper and then burnt as an offering to the gods through the form of smoke. This was significant for the Aztecs as it demonstrated the strong connection the person performing the ritual had with the supernatural and gods. It was a way of showing respect to the higher beings. It was a way in which all individuals could be involved through joining as a community and observing a sacrificial practice. It was also integral because it provided as a form of maintaining political power and legitimizing the prominent social position of the chosen blood-letting figure. Human sacrifice was a ritual which the Aztecs are still known for today. This ritual required 5 priests to take the victim to the top of a temple where they would then tear the beating heart out of the body. This was because the gods required living human hearts for nourishment. The heart would be burnt and the corpse would be pushed down the stairs of the temple. Many people in the community would choose to impersonate deities and then died as a sacrifice to that particular god. Approximately 20,000 Aztecs were sacrificed each year and in comparison to other traditions at the same time this was incredibly high. This ritual was particularly significant to the Aztec religion because it was the most extreme form of sacrifice. Individuals in the Aztec community were chosen at random to be the sacrificial person and therefore each person needs to be prepared to do so. The beliefs of the tradition link to this ritual in the way that all people should be fully dedicated and show gratitude to the deities. As a community they were expected to respect this ritual and support the reasoning behind it. The reenactment of myths was a ritual where in which people in the community would gather together and reenact mythical stories of the deities. These reenactments were a special part within the community because they provided as reminder of the Aztecs of their creation story and their myths. The recreation of these myths ensured that the important events behind the religion were passed down through the generations. This is another way in which the community gathers in order to show their respect to their beliefs and furthermore show pride in their culture. It is clear to see that the Aztecs were a group of people who had a strong connection with their gods. They performed rituals that expressed the gratitude, which they had towards the gods. These rituals were a way in which individuals could convey their dedication to the higher beings.