Monday, December 30, 2019

America s The American Dream - 1537 Words

America the beautiful. From one shining sea to another lies this relatively adolescent country. A country that is filled with a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. It is the belief that, no matter how poor you begin life, you can achieve upward social mobility for your family and children. Many people believe that rising social mobility and success is possible in America for everyone due to American social, economic, and political system. Throughout history, the American Dream has evolved into many different beliefs. People believe that there is one American Dream when this is not the case. The American Dream is different amongst the individual. One cannot speak for someone beliefs and opinions, which is why the American Dream isn’t one set notion. But does the American Dream have influences? Do people or idea’s influence the American Dream? The answer is yes. Media. As history progressed, technology and media revolutioniz ed the world. The media has transformed the way people view society-everything we want, need, and see is persuaded through media. Which is why media influences the representation of the American Dream. THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO ADD MY THESIS. Now, what’s my â€Å"American Dream†? Well, I am afraid I m going to have to save that for later. High school. The time where you branch out of your social norm and get to experience being a â€Å"teenager†. The time where you are surrounded by kids who only care about getting anShow MoreRelatedAmerica s The American Dream1277 Words   |  6 Pagesinterpretations of what the American dream is, but we all can agree that it is a concept that provides us with the hope for a better life. It is a dream of experiencing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To some people, the American dream is about being wealthy, practicing liberty, to believe in any religion, and to have better opportunities in life. Throughout history, many immigrants have migrated to America because they want to begin a new life and achieve the American Dream. Many can debateRead MoreAmerica s The American Dream1974 Words   |  8 Pagescountries come to America hoping to achieve the â€Å"American dream.† They see flashy cars, big houses, and expensive iPhones and equate that to fulfilling the faà §ade of the â€Å"American Dream†. What foreigners don’t know is that to fulfill the American Dream simply means to have the opportunity to achieve. America is a country founded on freedom and opportunity, the belief that anything is attainable. American media will show expensive cars and luxury homes but fail to publicize the homeless Americans sitting outsideRead MoreThe American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerlad832 Words   |  4 Pagesin America has their own American Dream. These dreams may vary from having a family or becoming a rich business person. The American dream was strongest in our country during the start of the 1920s. America was just beginning to triumph over poverty. People were becoming m ore successful as a country. Carrie Latet once said, May I never wake up from the American dream. Along with Carrie, this was the wish of the vast majority of America. In 1929, the Great Depression hit and many Americans didRead MoreThe American Dream By Thomas Wolfe1750 Words   |  7 Pagesmove to the United States of America looking for the American Dream; flexibility, uniformity, and the chance to accomplish their own objectives in life that they couldn t generally accomplish in their country. The American Dream is the quest for flourishing furthermore, opportunity that drives individuals to push their own particular points of confinement and continue on so as to lead fruitful lives and accomplish whatever objectives they set. The American Dream is a reality; each residentRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1130 Words   |  5 Pagesof the American Dream. The American Dream has changed dramatically over the few centuries. During the Founding Fathers’ time, many believed the American Dream meant freedom, equality, and mutual respect. Time has changed this ideology of the American Dream, which is now seen as owning a million dollar mansion with multiple luxury cars. This isn’t the case for many immigrants who come to the Americas to have a better life for themselves and their family. To many of them, the American Dream is as simpleRead MoreThe American Dream in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay1098 Words   |  5 Pages Of Mice And Men explores the ways in which both immigrants and Americans tried to conquer and obtain their goal in life, which in this case was to try and attain their own the American Dream. I will also explores ways in how the American Dream is central to the novel and how Steinbeck reflects the society at the time. In the early 1900s the object that determined the wealth of a family, the object that was mentioned in every conversation all over the world andRead MoreWho Stole The American Dream?1108 Words   |  5 PagesAre we chasing after a dream that no longer exist? While reading Who Stole the American Dream? by Hedrick Smith and The Next America by Paul Taylor, I started to ponder this concept of the American Dream. The American Dream has been central to America s identity for centuries now, it is a concept in which people have the freedom of opportunity for prosperity and success, and through hard work the ability to move up in social class. In Smith s book he argues that due to the consolidation of wealthRead MoreThe American Dream1293 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream The meaning of the American Dream has changed over the course of history, and includes both personal components (such as home ownership and upward mobility) and a global vision. Historically the Dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal Governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled. He added that, if they attained Paradise, they would moveRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1599 Words   |  7 Pagesaround his time of life. Fitzgerald lived during the Roaring 20’s and recorded many important events and themes that occurred around him. One of Fitzgerald’s most popular novels is named The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is written to reproduce the environment that Fitzgerald was living in. This semiautobiographical work uses fictitious characters to portray how people around Fitzgerald acted and what the overall theme of America was at this point in time. The years that ensued World War I wereRead MorePoverty And The American Dream919 Words   |  4 Pagespoverty rate among children was 16.2% (Reef 253)! Poverty is a relevant issue that isn t going away. It s ruining minds and lives at the same time. Poverty changes how people view the American Dream, achieve the American Dream, and even affect how people s brains work and develop. With all of the media s hatred of poor people, it must affect their self-confidence and how they view the American Dream. Through her experience, Jennifer Mayer has noticed that very problem. While working in the soup kitchen

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Essay about LOI 10-4 - 665 Words

Case 10-4 Lack of Information As indicated in the following memo, Lack of Information (LOI) has identified obligations to handle and dispose of asbestos upon retirement of several of its warehouses. Also as reflected in the memo, LOI has decided that it is not required to recognize any liabilities related to these obligations because it has asserted that the obligations are not probable or that it does not have sufficient information available. Required: †¢ For each identified obligation, determine whether you agree with LOI’s conclusion and discuss the basis for your determination. Copyright 2007 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 10-4: Lack of Information MEMO To: From: Subject: Date: Page 2†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 2 of the 25 warehouses containing the asbestos reside in states that do not have laws in place requiring the special handling and disposal of the asbestos when the building is demolished or otherwise significantly renovated. However, LOI does have a legally binding contract to sell the warehouses in six months to a third party. The purchase/sales contract contains a standard provision allowing the buyer to require LOI to remove the asbestos prior to the date of the sale. LOI has previously sold warehouses to this same third party based on purchase/sales contracts containing similar provisions related to the removal of asbestos. In each of those transactions, the third party has never enforced the provision requiring LOI to remove the asbestos from the warehouses. Based on this prior experience with the third party, LOI believes that there is a 90% probability that the third party will not enforce the provision in the current purchase/sales contract requiring LOI to remove the asbestos. Because it is not probable that LOI will be required to remove the asbestos, no asset retirement obligation needs to be recognized. At worst, there is not sufficient information (based on ASC 410-2025-10) to determine the fair value of the asset retirement obligation as it is currently uncertain as to whether LOI will be required to removeShow MoreRelatedLack of Information698 Words   |  3 PagesCase 10-4 Lack of Information As indicated in the following memo, Lack of Information (LOI) has identified obligations to handle and dispose of asbestos upon retirement of several of its warehouses. Also as reflected in the memo, LOI has decided that it is not required to recognize any liabilities related to these oblig ations because it has asserted that the obligations are not probable or that it does not have sufficient information available. Required: †¢ For each identified obligation, determineRead MoreSAMPLE MEMO FORMAT 2013 10 1596 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ISSUE: Should LOI recognize an asset retirement obligation for each of the categories of warehouses with asbestos? BRIEF BACKGROUND OF COMPANY Lack of Information (LOI) owns and operates 50 warehouses throughout the country. As part of LOI’s efforts to identify potential asset retirement obligations, LOI’s internal audit group held interviews with all 50 of the warehouse managers and also performed site visits at each of the 50 locations. KEY CONSIDERATIONS INVOLVED IN THE ACCOUNTING QUESTIONSRead MoreBankruptcy1213 Words   |  5 Pageswhat can Harv and Lois protect as the creditors begin to move in? What if they filed a Chapter 7? What could they protect if they lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming? When considering bankruptcy, pre-bankruptcy planning is one of the most important steps for Harv and Lois. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the TIB will take all non-exempt valuable property that he can sell to distribute the money to the creditors. The main idea behind the Chapter 7 bankruptcy is ‘liquidation’. However, Harv and Lois can arrange theirRead MoreAuditing Essay1212 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿To: Controller of LOI, Files From: Accounting Class Re: Recognition of Asset Retirement Obligations for Lack of Information Date: June 2, 2014 Background Lack of Information (LOI) owns and operates 50 warehouses throughout the country. As part of LOI’s efforts to identify potential asset retirement obligations, LOI’s internal audit group held interviews with all 50 of the warehouse managers and also performed site visits at each of the 50 locations. The related findings of the interviewsRead MoreSlavery : A Tragic Time1663 Words   |  7 PagesAlaina Wood Mrs. Ayersman English 101 4 November 2014 Slavery: A Tragic Time In History The start of slavery was in the year 1619 when twenty African Americans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, and purchased as if they were items (James and Lois Horton, 243). These slaves were sold to British colonists and were the first of these slaves sold specifically in British North America (James and Lois Horton, 243). Virginia Hamilton says, â€Å"The twenty were Africans stolen from their homes by slave tradersRead MoreThe Social Nurse Leader Paper1175 Words   |  5 Pagesup to a multitude of different opportunities. One career opportunity for nurses looking to change policies and truly ensure that nurses are heard in Congress is to become a political nurse leader. One great political nurse leader is Congresswomen Lois Capps. Capps can be seen as a transformation leader and a nurse who has truly stuck to her nursing roots and advocates on behalf of all healthcare workers. Transformational or Transactional Behaviors The term transformation was thought to first beRead MoreTop 10 Ways Of Increase Sales Using Linked884 Words   |  4 PagesTop 10 Ways to Increase Sales Using Linked In and Twitter By Lois Raats | Submitted On February 01, 2012 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook 1 Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Lois Raats Social media is a red hot topic theseRead MoreTexas 85th Legislative Session1630 Words   |  7 PagesTexas’ 85th Legislative Session Texas has a legislative session every two years. Currently the legislature is in session from January 10, 2017 to May 29 2017, a total of 140 days. During these 140 days the legislators have to work fast to try to get through all the bills. A bill is written and proposed by a Representative from the House of Representatives or from a Senator from the Senate. Once it is filed the bill goes to the Senate or House Committee, if it was filed in the senate than it wouldRead MoreArt Classes Are More Important Than We Think. Sindie Hedge.1502 Words   |  7 Pages Art Classes Are More Important Than We Think Sindie Hedge Liberty University Abstract This paper is a critique of â€Å"Art for our Sake: School Arts Classes Matter More than Ever- But Not for the Reasons You Think,† by Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland. The main purpose of this paper is to inform people about the importance of art classes and how they can positively impact a young student’s life, it also examines why art classes are beneficial to the educational system. To have a better understandingRead MoreEssay On Licensing Program Plan1720 Words   |  7 Pagesbe submitted on November 26,2017 for professor Lois Wachtel class EEC 3007 Early childhood Organizational Management Course. Ages: AGES OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF STAFF 6 weeks to 18 months (infants) 1 staff member to 4 infants 12 months to 36 months 1 staff member to 6 toddlers 24 months to 36 months 1 staff member to 8 toddlers 2 1/2 years to 3 years 1 staff member to 9 children 3 years to 4 years 1 staff member to 12 children 4 years to 5 years 1 staff member to 15children

Friday, December 13, 2019

Fall of Berlin Wall Free Essays

Ashley McCutcheon 2nd 10-27-12 The fall of the berlin wall as a turning point in history 1. â€Å"The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall (Part 2). † About. We will write a custom essay sample on Fall of Berlin Wall or any similar topic only for you Order Now com 20th Century History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. http://history1900s. about. com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall_2. htm. This article describes that the berlin wall was put up to divide between the west and east, which were democracy vs. communism at that point. Then later on the communist wanted a subtle change where as the german citizens did not agree, they wanted all of it ended. During 1988 and 1989 communism still weakened in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, then on the 9th of November in 1989, east german officials made a call to open the gates ultimately giving a sort of freedom to the people. 2. â€Å"Fall of Communism. † Fall of Communism. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. http://future. state. gov/when/timeline/1969_detente/fall_of_communism. html. This article is helpful, because it explains an outcome of the berlin wall falling which was that communism also fell as resultant. Citizens gained power leading to reforms in the east and thus the government decided to try different ways of ruling the people in order to make an attempt at saving communism. Eventually communism officially fell in 1991 when Gorbachev was forced to give power to Boris Yeltsin who diminished communism. 3. Goldenberg, Phyllis. â€Å"The Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Personal Account. † The Fall of the Berlin Wall. N. p. , 1994. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. http://www. ndreas. com/berlin. html. In this article, a personal account of how the event affected the people of berlin is presented. Phyllis Golden burg, a middle aged man living in Denmark, describes how him, among his friends and many others traveled from their homes to go see the Berlin wall after hearing of its supposed removal. The wall was being torn down by everyone and people were pouring through to the other side, a sort of revolution like no other could be. How to cite Fall of Berlin Wall, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Consumer Attitudes of Towards Online Shopping and factors †Free Sampl

Question: Discuss about the Consumer Attitudes Towards Online Shopping. Answer: Introduction Online shopping is a current phenomenon regarding electronic business and hence results to the growing future for shopping. At present, many companies are operating online portals which are used to sell their products and services ( Mohamed, et al.,2014). Online shopping is one area that depicts the growth of technology. The establishment of a retail store on the internet allows more shoppers to get access to their wants. Consequently, those who are not able to reach the physical shops can conduct their purchases. The greatest attraction of many shoppers is the convenience that characterizes online shopping. Customers, through online shopping, can view the products they desire, make payments and the get the goods delivered to them while at their comfort of their houses. Online shopping has experienced an immense growth and more than ever, customers can make round the clock purchases (Akroush, and Al-Debei, 2015). This ensures that customers decrease overhead costs such as travel expe nses and also the cost of time. Online shopping has attracted a phenomenon where customers have platforms which they can give their experiences on their shopping adventures. This process of relaying shopping experiences is termed as customer reviews. A customer can give a good review or a bad review regarding a product or a company thus shaping the purchasing behavior of potential customers. Online shopping comes with a lot of benefits such as convenience, some drawbacks in online shopping are also inevitable. For instance, customers need to cater for shipping rates, especially those who come from far. This paper focuses on the issue of online shopping, specifically tackles the question whether online shopping is a worthwhile endeavor. Discussion A company that wishes to engage in online shopping can establish an online store by creating a website and publish their products. The online stores usually consist with an organized website divided into various departments according to the type of product, the payment process and also the customer care departments. A consumer can view the product in pictures where one can view details of the products including the size, price, and also description of how a product works. When a consumer makes a choice of a product, a consumer is the mandated to make payments and state their residence so that their purchased products can be delivered. Most of the online shopping sites have a segment where a customer can rate a product and write an own review about a products experience. Customer review is currently the common feature that assists many customers to make their purchasing decisions (Lin, and Lekhawipat, 2014. A customer review is a remark which may be accompanied by statements and also a video where a customer gave an opinion about a product or compared it with other products to help other customers make an informed decision. The rating review have categories where a customer can rate a satisfaction level. Church, and Iyer, (2017), suggests that while giving a product review, a customer can make a judgment regarding the customer service experience, product quality, durability, and cost. Product requires as an immense effect on the performance of a company where good reviews encourage more customers to make purchases from a company. On the other hand, bad reviews discourage customers from making purchases from a company. Due to his reason, companies are starting to be managing their customer review by presenting only positive remarks about their products. More than ever before more people are using the internet to shop for a variety of items. This is because of the wide range of advantages that come as result of online shopping such as convenience (Kumar, 2013). In comparison with traditional forms of shopping which have fixed hour of openings, online shopping provides a shopping experience which is round the clock. According to Bourlakis, Papagiannidis, and Fox (2008) Shoppers have the opportunity to choose their time and place to make online purchases. This is essential to people who have busy schedules or babies at home and cannot have the time to arrange for travels for shopping. Online shopping has provided a consumer with the opportunity to make price comparisons. Shoppers can visit different shopping sites and check the prices and select which price can suit one best. For traditional shopping, consumers should stick to prices provided for products of a store. Moreover, may online stores offer extremely large discounts so as to maintain customers (Ruswanti, 2016). Online shopping provides a consumer with the infinite shopping experience. This is because online shopping offers a variety of products where if one product fails to exist in one shopping site, a consumer can move to other shopping sites to check whether the desired products exists. But for shelf space block and mortar stores, once a product is not available, a consumer has no choice but to purchase a substitute. There are no pressure sales in online shopping, a traditional form of shopping is characterized by sales people who coerce consumers to buy products which one does not desire. Online shopping ensures that consumers purchase what suits them without any disturbance. Just as there are advantages in online shopping, there are some disadvantages as well. Case in point, one cannot try merchandise on. When one buys a clothing item, one will need to try it on and see whether it is worth to be purchased and also whether it fits (Al-Debei, Akroush, and Ashouri, 2015). Unless one knows ones measurement, one cannot be able to purchase online merchandise successfully. Most online stores offer the grace period to return products which are not up to the standards of a consumer thus resulting in wasting of time and resources while travelling to the store. Also, most consumers have reiterated that returning merchandise is not easy. As per Ling Jiang, Yang, and Jun, (2013), one cannot talk to someone immediately in online shopping as one has to wait for around twenty-four hours for a customer care to respond. According to Vojvodic, and Matic, (2014) Privacy and security have proven to be a concern in online shopping where there is fear of hacking in the payment system of customers. Position taken With this current era of technology, online shopping is inevitable, because people are encouraged to perform shopping at their convenience (Lee, H.J. 2016). To shop online, one must be conversant with the use of digital technologies such as the internet and also computers. As much as the internet stores target a certain age group who are commonly known as the net generation, it is also a shopping experience allowed for all. The net generation is the type of individuals who were born and bread surrounded by digital technology. Most of the generation which was not born during the era of technology, have learned their use and can be able to do their shopping online as well. Because of this ability for people to know how to use digital devices together with the internet, online shopping has a great future ahead. Also, the rise of online payment systems such as PayPal, Skrill, and many others, enable consumers to sell and make payments to each other thus streamlining online shopping exper ience. According to Bign-Alcaiz, et al., (2008), the current generation of consumers are calling most of their services providers and the manufacturers to make their experience as easy as possible. Most consumers believe that when shopping experience is integrated with their daily digital technologies such cell phone and computers, they will shop more. With this realization companies now believe that by having both physical and online stores, they can appeal to all type of their customers. Also, online marketers believe that online stores should depict ease of use, usefulness and also enjoyment so as to become successful. Companies use the technology acceptance model which uses a myriad of variables to understand the effects of online shopping. As pointed out by Cheema et al., (2017), the variables presented by technological acceptance include perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Perceived usefulness as one of the variables, focuses on the belief that the products presented in the online shopping sites will have the ability to cater for the intended wants of the customers. Perceived usefulness is the considered as the utilitarian factor as far as online shopping is concerned. Utilitarian in the sense that the product can be useful to realize customers needs. Online shopping usually takes place on companies website. When companies present their websites as useful, is the same way the customers will see their products useful. It is an open secret that customers prefer to acquire products whose possession will prove to be useful. For this reason, products which are present ed in most shopping sites depict a characteristic of how important it would be to a customer. The second variable used in online shopping by online marketers is the perceived ease of use. The first way of promoting this type of variable is making a customer see how easy it is to maneuver an online shopping website. Online shopping sites that are easy to use affect the perception of a consumer on how their products are also easy to use. Consequently, a complicated website which proves to be difficult to peruse through the pages and the complexity of their payment system, is likely to scare away most of the potential customers. It has been established that perceived ease of use influences the intention of customers in purchasing a product. However, as the technology advances, the website technologies also advances making websites to be more complex. Therefore, most companies ensure that they make their websites to be convenient and easy to use of as to increase their customers' base. Perceived enjoyment is the last variable used by marketers regarding online shopping. Marketers perceive that the fact that there is existence if online shopping, a customer will have the element of fun as one conducts ones shopping. Enjoyment is a fundamental reaction that affects a customer intention to make purchases on a certain site. For this reason, online shopping procreators have the assignment to ensure that they do not develop a website that is not only easy to use but also one which is aesthetically pleasing (Rose, Clark, Samouel, and Hair, 2012). As compared with traditional shopping, online shopping has a look and feel which is enjoyable. Online shopping sites have extremely pleasing pictures of the products which are being sold. Conclusion In conclusion, there is nothing quite convenient as ordering and making payment online and waiting for a product to be delivered such as in online shopping. It is clear that there are many advantages which outweigh the disadvantages of online shopping. In this regard, online shopping has a great future where more companies are shifting their form of sales to be online. Customer reviews are one important element to any customer as there is no better way of knowing more about a product than from a fellow consumer. Good review of a product from consumers encourage potential consumers to make the same choice of products. Consequently, marketers use a variables such as ease of use, enjoyment and also usefulness to ensure that the sites where the products are being present on, is in tandem with the expectation of consumers thus encourage them to make more purchases. As technology advances, new technology is set to transform the online shopping experience. References Akroush, M.N. Al-Debei, M. 2015, "An integrated model of factors affecting consumer attitudes towards online shopping",Business Process Management Journal,vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1353-1376. Al-Debei, M., Akroush, M.N. Ashouri, M.I. 2015, "Consumer attitudes towards online shopping",Internet Research,vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 707-733. Bign-Alcaiz, E., Ruiz-Maf, C., Alds-Manzano, J. Sanz-Blas, S. 2008, "Influence of online shopping information dependency and innovativeness on internet shopping adoption",Online Information Review,vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 648-667. Cheema, U., Rizwan, M., Jalal, R., Durrani, F. and Sohail, N. (2017). The Trend Of Online Shopping In 21st Century: Impact Of Enjoyment In Tam Model.Asian Journal of Empirical Research, 32, pp.131-141. Church, E.M. Iyer, L. 2017, ""When Is Short, Sweet?" Selection Uncertainty and Online Review Presentations",The Journal of Computer Information Systems,vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 179-189. Kumar, S.R. 2013, "Online Shopping Behaviour In Visakhapatnam City",Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies,vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 110-115. Kumar, S.R. 2013, "Online Shopping Behaviour In Visakhapatnam City",Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies,vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 110-115. Lee, H.J. 2016, "The Role Of Regulatory Focus In Online Mobile Shopping: Focused On Shopping Motivation And Information Quality",Academy of Marketing Studies Journal,vol. 20, pp. 138-148. Lin, C. Lekhawipat, W. 2014, "Factors affecting online repurchase intention",Industrial Management Data Systems,vol. 114, no. 4, pp. 597-611 Ling (Alice) Jiang, Yang, Z. Jun, M. 2013, "Measuring consumer perceptions of online shopping convenience",Journal of Service Management,vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 191-214. Mohamed, N., Hussein, R., Hidayah, A.Z. Haghshenas, H. 2014, "Insights into individual's online shopping continuance intention",Industrial Management Data Systems,vol. 114, no. 9, pp. 1453-1476. Rose, S., Clark, M., Samouel, P. Hair, N. 2012, "Online Customer Experience in e-Retailing: An empirical model of Antecedents and Outcomes",Journal of Retailing,vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 308-322. Ruswanti, E. 2016, "The Impact Of The Impulse Buying Dimension And Cherry Picking: An Empirical Study",Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business : JIEB.,vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 83-101. Vojvodic, K. Matic, M. 2014, "University Students' Attitudes Towards Disadvantages Of Online Shopping", University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, pp. 795.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Cathedral Essays - Cathedral, Visual Impairment, Blindness

Cathedral And Girls At War In the short stories "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver and "Girls at War" by Chinua Achebe, the theme of blindness is prevalent. In "The Cathedral" Robert, the man who comes to visit, is physically blind, but in his mind, he sees things more clearly than most others do. His "mental-vision" is seen when he travels to his ex-employee's house to visit for a couple days. Robert knows the implications of the situation he is putting himself in. The husband, who is the narrator, could be jealous and this whole trip could turn out adversely for the blind man. The husband could be nonchalant about Robert's knowledge of his wife and making the trip all the worth while. Robert is not the only one in the story to have vision. When the husband offers Robert some marijuana, he is taking a risk. He thinks the blind man will be ok with the idea of it but he does not know for sure. He could end up turning Robert off and that would be then end of their relationship and any hope of ever having one. Robert turns out to be open to new experiences, although he has never tried it; he gives it a try. Both of these people have a vision that is lacking by the wife. The narrator's vision is not clouded by the things he sees. Robert relies totally on his inner vision to guide him because he is blind. Because both of these people have a vision that is not possessed by Robert's wife, they get along very well and hit it off from the start. The wife's lack of vision is seen when she first introduces Robert to her husband. Her husband asks Robert what side of the train he sat on. After making this remark his wife tells him off for asking a question that would not make any sense to ask a blind man, since his view of the scenery is the same no matter which side he sits on. His wife does not realize that her husband is trying to start a conversation. Since he has probably never talked to a blind man, he does not know what to say. Her vision clouds her inner vision's ability to realize that he is trying to be being polite. Her lack of vision is seen again when she comes downstairs and realizes that Robert and her husband are smoking a joint. She is completely confused about Robert smoking marijuana. "My wife came back downstairs wearing her pink robe and her pink slippers. 'What do I smell?' she said. 'We thought we'd have us some cannabis,' I said. My wife gave me a savage look. Then she looked at the blind man and said, 'Robert, I didn't know you smoked.' He said, ' I do now my dear. There's a first time for everything. But I don't feel anything yet." Here you can see the narrator's wife numb to the idea of smoking marijuana with her guest. In her blindness, she does realize that other people might smoke marijuana. That is why she gave her husband "a savage look." She did not realize that anyone else she knew smoked marijuana. In Chinua Achebe's short story, "Girls at War" there is a blindness in the character of Reginald Nwankwo. He was blind to see his future right in front of his face even when she stopped him and searched his car. "All right sir, close it." Then she opened the rear door and bent down to inspect under the seats. It was then he took the first real look at her, khaki jeans and canvas shoes with the new-style hair-plait which gave a girl a defiant look and which they called - for reasons of their own - "air force base"; and she looked vaguely familiar. The narrator later continues to tell about how they had met each other before. Here Reginald does not realize what he is seeing. He is looking at a girl and can realize that she is pretty. However his vision stops at the surface and he does not realize that she is trying to get to know him. Later in the story, Reginald meets her again. This time he sees her when he goes to get supplies for himself and his family. When he meets her, she is walking home and he picks her up in his car like a hitch-hiker. "'No, no, no' said Nwankwo firmly. 'It's the young woman I stopped

Monday, November 25, 2019

Essay on Art

Essay on Art There are many kinds of essays on art such as art history essay, Greek art essay, liberal arts essay, modern art essay, contemporary art essay, art analysis essay, language arts essay, art museum essay, renaissance art essay, pop art essay, art comparison essay, essay on the true art of playing keyboard instruments, artwork essay and essays on the blurring of art and life. What is art essay? Art essay is an essay that describe about any field related to the subject of arts, the field can be about society as well as about aesthetics, the field can be about politics as well as relationships, the field can be about literature as well as writing, the field can be about communication as well as about human beings. The subject of arts is everywhere. For writing on all kinds of art essay topics, the writer has to follow some steps that will help him/her in writing a good essay on art. 1. Introduce the topic of the art essay on which you are writing an essay on art. The introduction should not be too long and should not be too short. It should be brief and should contain all the required information that is relevant to the topic of essay on art. The introduction should highlight your main argument that you are going to discuss in your discussion part of the essay on art. The introductory paragraph should have a thesis statement that should be one sentence summary or the main argument of your essay on art. The thesis stamen is usually a one-sentence answer to the question raised in your essay on art. 2. After introducing the topic of essay about art, move towards the discussion or body part of the essay on arts. The body paragraphs or discussion region of the essays on art should be divided in form of paragraphs so that one paragraph talks about only one idea associated to the essay on arts. In case of one idea in one paragraph, the readers will have no problem in getting an understanding to your written ideas and if the case is otherwise, that is, if one paragraph contains more than one ideas in it, the comprehensiveness of the paragraph will be shaken and the reader will have difficulty in getting the appropriate meaning which the writer wants to deliver. 3. After the discussion part, comes the conclusion part. Never try to write an essay on art, which is without any conclusion because a conclusion is one, which summarizes your whole essay on art in a concise form. Conclusion should not be long, it should indicate to the answer that you have found out after the discussion of the body paragraphs. Your conclusion should also answer the question raised in your essay on art. 4. For your essays on art, never forget to make a draft. A draft is very necessary to write persuasive art essays or art papers. What is a draft? A draft is a rough form of your essays about art that will contain your all ideas which you have sorted out for your essays on art. While writing a draft, you adopt the style of free writing in which you write down all the ideas that come to your mind and the final form of your essays on art will be a filtered version of your drafting exercise in which you will filter all those ideas that must be included in your essays on art. 5. You can also get plagiarism free essays on art from custom writing sites that are for the assistance of art essays’ writers. Â  

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Knowledge, Truth, Belief Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Knowledge, Truth, Belief - Assignment Example A properly basic belief should be justifiable. For example, I believe man cannot live without eating food. It is justifiable that man has always had desire for food and without food will get malnourished and eventually dies. Empirical knowledge recognises establishment of facts rather than speculations and goes beyond belief. On the contrary, Sellers assertion is not right since the myth of the given is more idealistic than mechanistic. 4. a) If your answer is yes, then exactly how do we explain the â€Å"mystery" of human perception? How do human infants, for example, manage to make the transition from experiencing the world as "a pure stream of consciousness" to being discriminating perceivers of the world around them? b) If your answer is no, then describe, in your own words, where you think Sellers approach takes a wrong turn when it comes to describing what we can, or (more accurately) cannot be said to know, on the basis of sense perception? No. Sellers approach does not meet empherical thresh hold. Perception may not be accurate sometimes and may lead to misjudgement. Perception too can be biased depending on ones interest, health and age. For example knowledge of time may be of no value to an infant which is the reverse of mid adulthood. Seller’s statement does not consider special cases, for example the mongolism that do not transition in their

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Organizing and Elections in Unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizing and Elections in Unions - Essay Example This study mainly intends to reveal two real life occurrences in which two firms provided real time hurdles to the employees related to their joining unions; however, despite of ULP’s protest against the firms, it proved to be of no use. SOME OF THE INSTANCES WHERE ULP’S CHARGES WERE OF LITTLE OR NO USE The top retail chain in the world i.e. Wal-Mart suffered negativity as the regional National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) directors issued as sum total of thirty-nine complaints against the company during the periods of January 2000 to July 2005. The most disturbing fact was observed to be that out of the thirty nine complaints, thirteen complaints were totally resolved by way of various settlements outside the Court of Justice, two cases are still pending for settlement and four of them were withdrawn. The remaining twenty cases were heard by the US Labour Law. However, while settling thirteen of the complaints, the company complied with all the necessary changes that needed to take place for restraining itself from practicing Unfair Labor Practices but did not hold itself in guilt for restricting its employees from participating in trade unions. In all the cases, the company seemed to hold itself for violating the broad rules and regulations of NLRB. A majority of the cases that were filed against Wal-Mart constituted complaints from its employees. The company was continuously engaged in the violation of labour laws during the period of January 2000 to July 2005. It was also observed that the company had exercised upon many unfair law practices in the organization, violating legal obligations concerning complete rights to its employees such as right to freedom of association which is internationally considered to be allowed to workers1. The reports published in this context further revealed that since the year 2000, the company has been practicing discrimination against unions along with the sympathizers of the unions within its workforce on dif ferent occasions. The company officials were not only charged with the allegation of harassing junior employees on the grounds of race, ethnicity and gender. The company also took many extreme steps where it hired and fired employees in small frequencies without any firm cause which can be justified under the provisions of relevant Court of Law. The top most reason for firing of employees was further observed to be the willingness and efforts made by the employees to join associations or created unions. For instance, it was noted that in April 2000, in one of the stores of the company, which is located in Florida, Wal-Mart unlawfully fired a union supporter named Edward Eagen. The reason for firing him was only because of the fact that he signed a ‘union card’ for supporting unionism within the organization. It has also been noted that the company was engaged in keeping a close look at the employees with the help of surveillance cameras which hindered employee confident iality within the workplace. With reference to these facts, it can be stated that the rights of the employees were exploited at almost all levels by the company. Such interventions practiced by the company as against the rights and interests of employees also affected the company’

Monday, November 18, 2019

Entry into Foreign Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Entry into Foreign Market - Essay Example This desire for expansion outside initial business setups seeks to enhance production and supply of goods to more potential consumers. Increase in consumer population translates into a corresponding increase in revenue generation. This means that international corporations wanted to increase their customer base; hence established business facilities within international markets. Tielmann (2010) says that despite the fact that most business environments are present within a free market settings, other factors still play a significant role in starting and developing production and sales activities within such settings. Therefore, business organizations wishing to expand into new markets should adopt appropriate strategies in order to achieve marketing success. From a practical perspective, entry into a new market needs systematic approaches depending on the internal and external factors surrounding the company. Typical internal factors include a company’s efficiency in managemen t, availability of resources for expansion and the culture of its business operations. On the other hand, external factors include those elements lying outside the control of company’s management. According to Erkan (2011), these include social, political and economic factors prevailing within the new market. The nature of internal and external factors acknowledged above could either smoothen or toughen a company’s entry into a new market. In the context of marketing terminologies, effects on the environment could narrow down to aspects of risk, cost and magnitude of control that an organization experiences upon entering a market segment. In the process of determining as to whether entry into a new market will be successful, company managers select appropriate strategies that will produce the best desired outcomes. Upon thorough analysis, some organizations may decide to use indirect market entry, which involves export of manufactured products into the new markets usin g existing supply channels. On the other hand, a product manufacture may use direct entry method by a partnership with agents already present within a new market environment. In this regard, the operational thesis statement postulates that Myanmar oil industry is a potential market for Cameron’s production equipment. Institutional Strengths and Risks Having appreciated the theoretical framework of new market entry, we will conduct a real life analysis on Cameron International Corporation. This organization has successfully entered other new market in the past. Erkan (2011) says that currently, Cameron International Corporation is undertaking its business operations in approximately 100 countries around the globe. Its expansion strategies have yielded fruits; hence there is a growing desire to venture into other virgin territories. This time, Cameron International Corporation has identified Myanmar, a reforming South Asian nation formerly known as Burma, as its target market. In the year 2010, the company posted a profit of approximately $ 500 million. This profit resulted mainly from its operation within the US market. Cameron Corporation deals with production and supply of equipment used in oil and gas productions around the globe. In this case, the organization decided to venture into the South Asian nation in subject since Myanmar has prospectus profile in terms of oil and gas resources. In the past, the nation had a dented history of human

Friday, November 15, 2019

Hybridity Concepts In Postcolonial Studies

Hybridity Concepts In Postcolonial Studies The flow of information and the movement of people in this ever evolving, interconnected and interactive world have been a profound reason in the creation of new cultures in the form of mixing of local and foreign ideas and values. This kind of mixing is a tiny part of the loose and slippery meaning of hybridity. The term hybridity is used in many areas such as hybrid economy (the mixture of private enterprises and government active participation in global economy) (Koizumi,2010); hybrid cars, hybrid language (creole and patois), and most importantly in relation to this study is in the arena of hybrid cultures (Tomlinson,1999; Coombs Brah,2000). Easthope (1998) contends that hybridity can have three meanings; in terms of biology, ethnicity and culture. In biological science, hybrid could mean the composition of genetic component in human being, animals or plants. In the second and third definitions, hybridity can be understood to mean an individual who possesses two or more ethnic and cultural identities. However de Toro emphasises that the meaning of hybridity in modern cultural theory has nothing to do with the biological and zoological origin of the term (de Toro, 2004). Hutnyk (2005) on the other hand reveals that the term hybridity and syncretism seem to serve the inner cultural aspects of colonialism and the global market. Several key thinkers in the realm of hybridity includes among others Homi Bhabha, Robert Young, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Stuart Hall and Paul Gilroy, who draw upon related concepts from Deleuze, Derrida, Marx, Fanon and Bakhtin to name a few.(Ref) In particular, Bhabha has developed his concept of hybridity from literary and cultural theory to describe the construction of culture and identity within conditions of colonial antagonism and equity (Meredith, 1998; Bhabha, 1994; Bhabha, 1996). In socio-cultural milieu, hybridity is used as an explicative term and hybridity became a useful tool in forming a discourse of racial mixing which was seen as an aberration in the end of 18th century. The kind of hybrid during this era was largely referring to inter marriage of black and white and the offspring were identified as the hybrid product. It has also been referred to as an abuse term in colonial discourse for those who are products of miscegenation or mixed-breeds. Papastergiadis in Werbner Modood (2000) on the other hand asserts that the positive feature of hybridity is that it invariably acknowledges that identity is constructed through a negotiation of difference and that the presence of fissures, gaps and contradictions is not necessarily a sign of failure. (ibid:258). Therefore hybridity can be seen in both negative and positive forms. Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin (2006) assert that hybridity occurs in post-colonial societies as a result of economic and political expansion and control and when the coloniser diluted indigenous peoples (the colonised) social practices and assimilate them to a new social mold. They also further explain that hybridity extends until after the period of imperialism when patterns of immigrations from rural to urban region and from other imperial areas of influence; such as Chinese and Indian labourers coming in into the Malay Peninsula during the labour intensive period. However, with the end imperialism, with the rising of immigration and economic liberalisation, the term hybridity has profoundly been used in many different dimensions and is one of the most disputed terms in postcolonial studies. It can take many forms including cultural, political and linguistics. It is important to note that hybridity can be interpreted in many different accounts from a slight hybrid to the extreme of culture clash. In the postcolonial studies the term hybrid commonly refers to the creation of new trans-cultural forms within the contact zone produced by colonisation (Ashcroft et al.,2003). One other dimension of this term is the hybrid talk which is associated with the emergence of postcolonial discourse and its critique of cultural imperialism.(elaborate) Easthope (1998) on the other hand asserts that in his discussions of hybridity, it has no fix definition except in relation to non-hybridity: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that the opposition between difference and absolute presence needs to be relativised by introducing more than one concept of identity, that a coherent, speaking subject cannot live in the gaps between identities. (p.347). Pieterse (2001:221) maintains that New hybrid forms are significant indicators of profound changes that are taking place as a consequence of mobility, migration and multiculturalism. In addition, cultural diasporization (Hall, 1990) signifies a new form of identity as a result of interculturality and diasporic relations (Anthias,2010). However, Anthias (ibid:620) postulates that: If hybrid social identities are now the characteristic identities of the modern world, then struggles over cultural hegemony and the underlying mechanisms that support it, become increasingly empty signifiers; merely to occupy the space of the hybrid constitutes an emancipator human condition. In addition, de Toro (1991,1996a) contends that hybridity is always inherent to culture, identity and nations but it is the object of reflections and definitions of different settings and also applied in very different fields. Correspondingly, de Toro suggests that one has to understand the notion of hybridity in a broader metacontext and has to see hybridity as mixing systems at the base of the combination of different models and processes. The discussion of hybridity in this study focuses on the contemporary debate about culture, ethnicity and identity which underpins de Toros model of hybridity as a cultural category. The main argument of this study is the problematic nature of managing the differences of cultural, ethnical and religious groups in Malaysias plural society in the quest for the construction of shared Malaysian identity. The discussion of hybridity in the Malaysian context in this study therefore is not about finding a midway to the solution of differences in cultures and identity but to identify a space where cultural, religious and ethnic difference can be celebrated. In as much the arguments in the succeeding sections deal with ethnicity, culture and religion, this study does not attempt to explicate an in depth discussion of the cultural theory concept. However, cultural theory will be reviewed at a surface level. In the linguistics setting, Bakhtin (1981) puts forward the notion of linguistic hybridity. He, according to Young (1995) delineates the way in which language, even within a single sentence, can be doubled-voiced. Bakhtin affirms that linguistic hybridity mixes two social languages within the limits of a single utterance but differentiated by other factors of those social utterances. Simplistically, it describes the ability to be simultaneously the same but different (ibid:20). Young further postulates that for Bakhtin, hybridity describes the process of the authorial unmasking of anothers speech, through a language that is double-accented and double-styled. Bakhtin (1981) divides his linguistic hybridity into two; intentional hybridity and unconscious or organic hybridity. The former occurs when a voice has the ability to ironise and unmask the other within the same utterance. The organic hybridity , on the other hand occurs when two languages fused together: . the languages change historically primarily by hybridization, by means of a mixing of various languages co-existing within the boundaries of a single dialect, a single national language, a single branch, a single group of different branches, in the historical as well as paleontological past of languages. (Ibid:358). The language hybridity phenomenon is one of main discussions in this current study as the multicultural society evolves in Malaya then Malaysia respectively, languages evolve in tandem. The discussion involves the emergence of Malaysian English or Manglish in social interactions of the populace within ones own ethnic community or with the other communities at large. This is argued in the discussions and findings chapter of this current study. The section that follows discusses in greater detail of hybridity in the light of Bhabhas (1998) work on cultural diversity and cultural difference. Understanding Bhabhas concept of hybridity in relation to cultural diversity Bhabhas conception of hybridity is developed from literary and cultural theory by which he identifies that the governing bodies (coloniser) translate the identity of the colonised (the other) in tandem with the essentialist beliefs. This action of translation however does not produce something that is known to the coloniser or the colonised but essentially new (Papastergiadis, 1997). Bhabha believes that it is this new blurred boundaries or spaces in-between subject-position that are identified as the locality of the disruption and displacement of predominant influence of colonial narratives and cultural structures and practice. Bhabha (1994) claims that the difference in cultural practices within different groups, however rational a person is, is actually very difficult and even impossible and counterproductive, to try and fit together different forms of culture and to pretend that they can easily coexist. As he affirms: The assumption that at some level all forms of cultural diversity may be understood on the basis of a particular universal concept, whether it be human being, class, or race, can be both very dangerous and very limiting in trying to understand the ways in which cultural practices construct their own systems of meaning and social organisation (ibid:209) There is truth to a certain degree to the statement above in terms of the universality of cultural diversity applied in many pluralistic countries including Malaysia. However, to a larger extent, this present study, at a later stage would render the limitations of that statement amidst difficulties and multitudes of problems in inter-ethnic relationship; Malaysian society has proven its ability to be one of the select few which are able to prove that the differences in cultural practices could be the catalyst not hindrance or counterproductive amongst different groups to coexist. This concept of the third space is central and useful in analysing this current study in terms of its interstitial positioning between cultural and ethnic identity with that of a negotiated identity (shared identity) in the Malaysian context. Bhabha believes that the process of cultural hybridity gives rise to new and unidentifiable, a new era of negotiation of meaning and representation. For him controversies are inevitable and unavoidable in a multicultural society as negotiations happen almost in all circumstances including socio-politics and economy down to minute affairs such as in classrooms context. The implication of western colonial legacy which had changed cultural ideology of a former colonised nation is central to the modern discourse of negotiation and instead of questioning the legality of certain cultural status assigned to immigrant cultures, it is inevitable but to accept, admire and celebrate diversity in ways which are appropriately befitting the society as a whole. The significance of the hybridity concept Post-colonial cultural politics assertions: integration and assimilation to unification As a result of hybridisation, dominant culture becomes diluted and more dispersed; less integrated and can then be negotiated. The process of cultural hybridisation allows greater opportunity for local culture to be emphasised thus presents a greater likelihood for more people to feel the sense of belonging. (Canclini,1995;Pieterse,2004). Hybridity needs to be considered as a continuous transaction of renewals and compromise of the practices of identity A more analytical perspective that reviews the assumption about culture and identity from us-them dualism to a collective sense of both. Therefore acceptance and conciliation of both difference and similarity. 5.0. The Third Space Appropriation of The Third Space to the study Otherness Stereotyping in Post Colonial Studies 9.0 Applying hybridity, otherness and stereotyping to the construction of shared identity Identity in Plural Society Propagating and espousing a new conception of shared identity New opportunities, new challenges to develop a collective sense of identity Identity is multiple, overlapping and context-sensitive (Kwame Appiah in Koizumi) New conception of self hybrid self rejects singular identity and adopt a fluid context-dependent identity Classification of identity formation: inherited and acquired (social and psychological) The Construction Malaysian Identity Summary

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Sending Technology Back in Time :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Sending Technology Back in Time The hot sun was shining high in the sky, as wind picked up dirt and threw it through the air. A tall, dark haired man stepped carefully behind a wooden plow. The animal that pulled the wooden, manmade creation was a shaggy, dark-gray donkey. The field is approximately two acres, and will probably take from sunrise to sunset to plow. In the distance, a brown horse and buggy slowly move along a flat dirt road. The long and tedious trip to the nearest town will take all day. John, the man guiding the plow, will have to take the same journey in a few days. For the most part, John is able to stay on the farm and perform daily tasks. The farm is self-sufficient. The lives of John and his family are devoted to taking care of the farm; without it, they would have nothing. Days are long on the farm and the five children that are old enough work a full day. The oldest children help in the fields with the plowing or planting. The younger children help with the simpler tasks and the two youngest run and play. The work is laborious and time consuming, and John's body aches after each day of work. The setting sun in the west tells John that it will soon be time to stop. When the only light that revealed any of the outside world was from the small glow of a gas lantern, John finally called it quits. Glad that the day was over, he headed back in the house. Dinner was already on the table, and all the kids were seated around it, hands and faces washed. John's wife, Anne, spent nearly the whole day preparing the meal of foods that were all acquired from their farm. When all the food was cleared from the plates, John headed to bed. He dreamed of little, knowing that all he had to wake up to the next morning was more work. As the sun began to creep through the blinds of the windows, a loud, obnoxious beep rang through his room. John woke with a jump to find that the noise was coming from a small box with a clock face on the front. The beeping continued until, John was finally able to find the off switch. The sound was still ringing in his ears, as he took a glance around his room.

Monday, November 11, 2019

A Rose for Emily Essay 2

According to the narrator, the town of Jefferson views Miss Emily as dear, inescapable, impervious and tranquil. A common definition for â€Å"dear† is loved or beloved. I am not very convinced that this is the meaning that Faulkner had in mind when describing Miss Emily. However she was an icon of the town, and well known. Due to Miss Emily’s history with the town the town people do a have a found respect for her. Dear can also mean important which would fit because she and her past have always been an important part of the town’s history. Another definition of dear is appealing or pretty. This is ironic because as Miss Emily ages she becomes the opposite. She is described as looking â€Å"bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water†; making it quite clear she is far from appealing. Another word the narrator uses to describe Miss Emily is â€Å"inescapable†. This word means just what it sounds like. Literally, Miss Emily doesn’t even ever leave, or â€Å"escape†, her house and is rarely seen out in public. This goes along with her being described as a recluse. The Board of Aldermen sees her as an inescapable problem because she refuses to pay the taxes. The town feels as if they are inescapable from her because she unconsciously does things that draw attention to her. She refuses to pay her taxes; she leaves dead bodies in the house, which makes a putrid smell emerge, and creates a distress among the town people. The town people in turn, must find ways to cover up the smell and sneakily go and cover it up in the late hours of the night. â€Å"Impervious†, is another word used to explain Miss Emily’s behavior. The definition â€Å"incapable of being influenced, persuaded or affected†, applies specifically to this story. Miss Emily is extremely stubborn. She refuses to pay her taxes even after the Board of Aldermen’s best efforts to persuade her to pay them. They send notices, hand written letters and even a deputation to her house. She simply refuses. She is unaffected by the people of the town and lives individually for the majority of her life. Another definition is â€Å"not permitting penetration or passage†. This applies specifically to her house. Her house offers no visitors for years upon years. No one is seen entering or exiting the house besides Emily occasionally and Negro male servant. Miss Emily is also described as being â€Å"tranquil†, meaning calm; free from commotion or tumult. To the people on the outside Miss Emily is seen as tranquil because nothing exciting ever appears to be going on in her household, people never come and go and she seems to be somewhat content with her life. She doesn’t ever seem to create a seen or commotion aside from her refusal to pay the taxes. Another definition is: â€Å"free from or unaffected by disturbing emotions†. Miss Emily doesn’t seem to be affected by the emotions of love, which leads many people to pity her. She does seem to love a man name Homer when he comes along, but this does cause Miss Emily to be affected by emotions, little do the town people know. The last word used to describe Miss Emily would be perverse. The most fitting definition I found for perverse that pertains to Miss Emily would be â€Å"wicked, or corrupt†. Miss Emily is definitely wicked and corrupt. She would also be categorized as grotesque. Many things Miss Emily do supports this theory. Miss Emily seemed to have found love in Homer Barron but because he would not marry her she went to the extreme and murdered him. She bought arsenic and poisoned him one day. As if murdering him wasn’t enough, she left his body in her bed, surrounded in a bridal decorated room. To add to her perverseness, when people finally entered the house on the day of her funeral, they noticed that on the pillow next to his dead body in the bed, there was an â€Å"indentation of a head†, and they saw â€Å"a long strand of iron-gray hair. † Miss Emily’s hair was iron gray. This makes clear that Miss Emily continued to sleep with the dead body of Homer Barron. Needless to say, Miss Emily was an extremely perverse human being.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Willpower is the Greatest Power Essay Example

Willpower is the Greatest Power Essay Example Willpower is the Greatest Power Essay Willpower is the Greatest Power Essay A man a very strong and intelligent man reached a point of needing to reveal the history of his life. The extent of atrocious experiences throughout his life do not need to be suffered by anyone. At the age of seven, he began to work. He played the drums continuously for hours at the center of a massive plaza. With a lot of effort, he collected about fifty pesos a day from strangers that walked by. The extreme risk of being aggrieved was something that he did not consider. His family’s needs were more essential to him than anything else in the world. At the age of sixteen, he came to the United States seeking a better future. For two incredibly lengthy months he had nowhere to go. The ambition inside him helped to get himself a roof over his head; a small room with an old bed and a rusty kitchen. He began to work and attend school. After graduating from high school, he was approved to enroll at UCLA. With the support of his first boss and his own efforts, he was able to grad uate. This enormous stride made his lifelong goal clearly visible. The willpower he carried brought him great success. This strong and intelligent man, my father, now attained what he once dreamed of. I believed that life did not require any effort. I believed this because I was a naive child, like any other, who only thought of playing. My father explained his story to me all the time. I was not exactly sure of what he meant with his story. He repeated it to me many times. As I grew older, smarter, and wiser I began to interpret the hidden message in his story. It taught me to never give up on anything and to always work on making my dreams a reality. That is the greatest lecture I have ever been taught. Willpower is the key to success. I fear that the world will one day forget this; losing this will be dangerous for everyone, everyone. Disregarding this key to success may cause the human race to seek a solution desperately, regardless of the consequences.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Home Video Rental Industry

Home Video Rental Industry Home video rental industry is a technology intensive industry. Technology provides several growth opportunities and challenges. It provides an opportunity for companies in the industry to stream movies to their customers. However, it also increases competition from other sources of movies. This necessitates companies in the industry to develop efficient development strategies to cater for the current and future needs of the customers.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Home Video Rental Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, efficient strategies would help in strategic positioning of the company to enable it to cope with the changes in the market. Failure to develop efficient strategies would lead to the ultimate collapse of a company. Netflix and Blockbuster are some of the major players in the home video rental industry. Both Netflix and Blockbuster rely heavily on online streaming of movies on de mand for a sizeable percentage of their revenues. Amazon and iTunes, other major players in the industry, also enable customers to download movies online for a certain fee. Downloading movies online is the trend that is likely to continue in the future. This necessitates companies to look for efficient platforms to distribute their movies. Gone are the days when companies relied heavily on physical distribution of their movies via mail or certain drop-off points. Companies desire to be market leaders in the industry should strive to make watching movies at home faster and easier (Greenwald para 3). Grown in online consumption of products necessitates companies in the industry to shift their focus to online sales. Analysts predict that online sales of movies will surpass sales of DVDs in the near future (Frankel para 3). This would greatly benefit companies that are market leaders in online sales of movies. These include Amazon and iTunes. The major benefit of online sales is the low cost of management. This is because companies do not need a physical presence to operate in the areas. Customers only need an internet connection to access the movies regardless of their geographic location. For companies in the home video rental industry to acquire a competitive edge, they should have a wide collection of movies. Having a wider collection of movies would enable companies to compete effectively with other sources of movies, which include cable TV. Having a wider collection of movies would also increase customer loyalty to a company as they are guaranteed of getting the movies they desire. In addition, diversification of services would enable companies in the industry remain profitable. One of the major areas of diversification for companies in the industry is provision of games.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Netflix is one of the companies that has the best chance of survival in the industry, which is changing rapidly. In 2011, Netflix created Qwikster in an attempt to split its subscription model. The Qwikster brand would deal will solely online subscription of movies while the Netflix brand would continue offering DVD services. The company opted to implement this strategy as it realized the importance of online sales of movies for its future growth. Netflix introduced the Quikster brand in an attempt to phase out its DVD sales business. However, this strategy failed. Netflix continues to offer both DVD services and online subscriptions of movies. Online subscriptions now account for a sizeable percentage of the company’s revenues (Stelter para 5). The failure of Quikster led to a significant fall in Netflix’s share value and profitability. However, the company is slowly repairing its reputation. Frankel, Daniel. â€Å"Forecast: Online demand for movies, TV shows will top DVD sales this year.† P aidContent. 2012. Web. Greenwald, Will. â€Å"Change or die: Netflix and the future of home video.† PCMag. Web. Stelter, Brian. â€Å"Netflix, in reversal, will keep its services together.† The New York Times. 2011. Web.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Authenticity & Socio-econmic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Authenticity & Socio-econmic - Essay Example Though it did not really mention the specific enhancements done on their new model, it did not exaggerate or claimed anything beyond what the product really is. This second print ad is to advertise a new line of fragrance from Gucci. It has been known to be a prestigious brand not only because of its high end quality of perfumes but at the same time the exclusivity of the brand as it only targets a certain market who can afford these kinds of perfume they make. However, in this ad, it strongly implies or sells love and lust which is very misleading to the audience. Although the male model seems to be drawn closer to the woman model as he seemingly love how she smells, the manner in which it was portrayed, employing nudity or sex is a form of environmental degradation or commoditizing human beings. The use of this line of perfume should not be associated with getting one physical satisfaction or

Friday, November 1, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 69

Assignment Example Fed can purchase government either securities or lowers current reserve rations. In doing so, interest rates will fall and hence bringing the economy back to full employment. Suppose on observing that there is excess money supply in the economy, Fed will use open market operations to try to reduce the excess supply. Sales of government securities contract the assets accessible to lend and tend to increase the federal funds rate. Policymakers call this contractionary monetary policy or tightening. The Fed is targeting an interest rate level that would enable it achieves and controls its goal for employment. Economic growth, interest rate stability, and inflation can hit this rate target by choosing an appropriate value of money supply that will equate to money for equilibrium conditions in the capital market. The sale of government securities leads to a decrease in money supply from MS1 to MS2 in the economy. As a result, the current reserve ratio increase and hence putting an upward pressure on the Fed interest rate (Setterfield 105-116). Therefore, contracting policy results in the increase in interest rates from R1 to R2 and hence the cost of borrowing from commercial banks increases discouraging borrowing. When Fed sells government securities, it reduces money supply in the economy. The fall in money supply results in an increase in interest rates to R2. The increase in the interest rates reduces the level of aggregate demand and investment to I2 and hence a reduction in real GDP. As soon as the economy is in the recessionary gap, the Fed will implement an expansionary monetary policy to upsurge money supply in the market through three monetary policy instruments. By buying government securities and bonds, the Fed target will be to reduce the interest rate level. Moreover, it can lower the reserve rate or lessen the discount rate. The move will lead to a reduction in lending rates; hence, commercial banks will be encouraged borrowing

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Business Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Finance - Assignment Example The HSBC Bank is earnest in the provision of finance to individuals, small, medium sized and large companies to facilitate both formation and growth. The bank is the intent on guiding institutions on ways of improving themselves so that they are more likely to acquire finance whenever necessary; HSBC finances business endeavors aimed at enhancing the business’ ambitions both in the country and overseas. Moreover, the bank believes in cooperation between itself and the client by providing guidance on ways of presenting strong applications for finance in order to improve the clients’ business. The bank has a number of finance products, which target various entities; the small business loan, for instance, is ideal for funding long term business projects and programs. This business loan encompasses loans ranging from 1,000 – 25,000 pounds; thus, it is well within our reach and is repayable in between one year to ten years. HSBC charges a fixed rate of interest for th e duration of the loan, therefore, no terms on reducing balance are offered under this loan type. We have an option to pay or defer the first monthly repayment for up to three months once the loan has been disbursed. Such deferral is non the less considered as part of the loan repayment duration, and interest is charged for every deferred month. In order for clients to track repayments and account for the outstanding balance, the bank has incorporated the Business Internet Banking portal on its website where all interested clients receive a unique user name and password to enable them access their accounts portfolios. We note that HSBC’s charges and rates provide additional avenues for spending money. For instance, all loan applications are subjected to a 100 pound arrangement fee. This covers processing fees and all paperwork. Once disbursal is done, and payment is in default, the bank charges an additional fee for the default. However, the bank allows for overdrafts on loan s, essentially, this is additional funding on an already existing loan. In order to process such an overdraft, the bank charges an additional fee, and the interest is compounded for both the loan and the overdraft; these fees and charges are deducted from the client’s current account which is a mandatory requirement for all loan applicants. The bank rewards early loan settlement by awarding rebates according to the Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004 (HSBC. 2011, p.14-17). The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), on the other hand, offers different loan packages based on the amount borrowable and the total repayment period. For instance, the bank offers both business and corporate banking modules; under corporate banking, businesses can only borrow from 26,000 pounds. The business banking module is thus better suited to our requirements as it offers facilities to individuals and small companies. Under business banking, RBS offers small business loans and fixed rate b usiness loans. These loans entail borrowing of up to 25,000 pounds and limits of 25,001-250,000 respectively. The small business loan is hence our best option in RBS. Under this type of finance, the bank may require security in the form of either a vehicle or other assets if it feels your repayment potential is questionable. The bank is quite a versatile option as it does not require payment of any arrangement or security fees. However, much like HSBC, RBS’

Monday, October 28, 2019

Learning Skills Improvement Service Essay Example for Free

Learning Skills Improvement Service Essay In my position as a workshop trainer at Deerbolt young offenders’ institute, the education I deliver for The Manchester College as part of their Offender Learning is supported, monitored and shaped by various professional bodies. The purpose of these bodies or sector skills councils vary however they all have a common goal in ensuring and enriching the quality of education being delivered. LSIS or the learning and skills improvement service are such a body who umbrella over every organisation that delivers qualifications throughout the country, and they do exactly what they say on the tin. LSIS improve quality, participation and increase standards in education and training. A lot of their work involves developing resources, implementing schemes, sharing delivery aids that improve quality and achievement and tailoring support to learners needs. â€Å"Colleges and providers helped by LSIS improved by one inspection grade at their next inspection.† (LSIS [ND] [online]) LSIS don’t just support the educational improvements though; in 2010 they recognised The Manchester College as a Healthy FE college, healthy initiatives offered throughout the college like loyalty cards, gym memberships and better eating schemes aimed to improve the health of students and staff. Another group that oversee our work as teachers is the professional body the IFL or the Institute for Learning. Their role is to register everyone practicing as a teacher or trainer in FE on to their database. They promote themselves as supporting professional excellence; they aim to increase the status of teachers as professionals, requiring a membership fee and proof of qualifications which is supported by the employer. They also champion the importance of CPD and require members to provide evidence of this and their teaching hours each year. This is seen to keep standards of teaching high, and promote quality and teaching as a profession. Until very recently this is how the IFL worked but due to the loss in government funding and teachers reluctantly to pay their own subscription the number of people renewing their subscription to the IFL fell by over half to just 85,000 signalling a loss of confidence in the body and an end to its presences. For many teachers and trainers in FE it was seen as a welcomed downfall as many believed the IFL did nothing for them, however now this professional body has collapsed there is no one regulating the qualifications or standard required to teach in FE which may lead to competiveness for jobs and or poor standards of teaching and training. These developments seemingly leave only Ofsted in place to assess the quality and standards of colleges and the individual teachers. â€Å"Ofsted would be made responsible for ensuring that FE teachers were appropriately qualified through inspections† (TES [30/03/2012] [Online]) However I see a huge flaw in this method of assessing quality and knowledge, not every Ofsted inspector can have the depth in knowledge of every subject of every teacher he or she is going to observe. For example if I am teaching bricklaying and I’m teaching unacceptable practices how is that inspector meant to know I am teaching the wrong methods? Surely the only way to overcome this problem is to have employed properly qualified teachers and trainers and not just people with some subject knowledge. Now that the IFL is a voluntary body the employers themselves have discretion over this matter. Construction Skills is another organisation that oversee and support the vocational training we deliver in offender learning. They are a massive organisation and have a lot of different strands from providing qualifications, courses and assessment and training support through CSkills as an awarding organisation. They also developing courses and provide support and training to local businesses through being an industry training board. In 2003 Construction Skills were awarded Sector Skills Council status, this allowed them to deliver valued support across the industry. Their main aims are to help reduce a shortage in specialise skills and help to bring a diverse workforce into the industry. They are also involved in improving business performance and developing professional standards for construction occupations both trade and professional. The other area that they cover is probably most relevant to my work as a vocational trainer; they have a large input on the improvement of education for apprenticeships and higher and further education. They achieve this by awarding grants for training, providing businesses with advice on getting the best from their work force offering card schemes, recognised qualifications and helping to link college learning with on the job experience. Professionalism As teachers, trainers, tutors or whatever you what to call us in FE we all have more than one hat we wear that makes us a professional. The IFL although seemingly no more used to keep everybody who worked as a ‘teacher’ under the status of a professional. They did this by having in place the requirement to achieve QTLS or ATLS within five years of working within the education sector. QTLS stand for qualified teacher learning and skills and ATLS associate teacher learning and skills. Everybody working as a teacher was required to register as one or the other of these statuses depending on your level of teaching qualification, the full Cert Ed being a level 5, I myself would have had to apply for QTLS status. However the following quote suggests that very little teachers working in the sector today have taken out the required status of QTLS/ATLS. â€Å"Only a small number of lecturers have become ‘fully qualified’ under the current arrangements: between 2,900 (GHK, August 2011) and some 6,000 (IfL submission, 2012). Whilst this number may rise as the five-year watershed approaches, some 85 per cent of FE lecturers have not embarked on the final supervised practice phase, following the diploma. We do not believe that so slight a result after such a long delay makes this qualification credible as a licence to practise which, properly speaking, should be earned before starting work, as it would be in other professions.† (Bis [03/2012] [Online]) By making this a requirement the IFL aimed at ensuring each individual teacher had the ability to work at the standards expected of a licenced practitioner. To meet this requirement you were expected to submit evidence of your teaching practice, subject and background knowledge, your continued professional development and your own reflective practice. I feel this was affair approach to the matter They may say the â€Å"licence to practice should be earned before starting work† but the profession of teaching is like no other. Its not really something you can learn out of a book you have to get out there and do it then reflect on it, prepare and do it again. My personal two hats consist of my subject specialism, Carpentry and Joinery level 3 qualification, and hopefully in a couple of months my Cert Ed teaching qualification. Other training and development also comes into it, like holding a CSCS card, which is the Construction Skills Certificate Scheme. Another initiative that Construction Skills mentioned earlier are responsible for putting in place. It means you must hold a valid card to work on any building site in the country. To get a card you must pass a construction health and safety test, the cards also state on the back your profession and level of qualification. This is another method of keeping this industry safe, to required standards and professional. â€Å"Professional formation allows teachers to describe how these standards are evidenced in their teaching practice, along with aspects of subject currency, teaching and learning, reflective practice and planning for continuing professional development.† (IFL [11/2008] [Online]) Professional formation isn’t just about your status or qualifications though. It’s a lot about your actions too. As professionals we are expected to present, conduct and discipline ourselves in a particular manor. However with this status we also have the benefits of being rewarded recognition for our work, enhancing collaborations, sharing good practices and having support and respect from our colleagues, colleges and partnering bodies. The importance of engaging in CPPD CPPD or Continuing Personal and Professional Development is something as professionals we should all be doing on a regular basis. It was a requirement of the IFL to record our CPPD hours each year and although a lot of teachers possibly never took this serious it is a good method of keeping in touch with current affairs and adapting to changing trends. The key thing to remember is that this is not just about completing a list of activities undertaken during the year that add up to 6 or 12 or 30 hours. The time spent can be meaningless unless it makes a difference. (IFL [08/2009] [online]) Education is one such sector that never stands still, the requirement to change and reform is evident and we do this to keep things interesting, relevant and to continually push up standards. From a personal point of view, if I’m teaching my subject specialism I want to be a fountain of knowledge in it, I think it’s important to have good subject knowledge and as I have been out of the trade a couple of years now this is something I aim the address on completion of the Cert Ed. I will look at gaining further qualifications in my subject, or maybe completing an assessor’s award. I have even considered going back to construction site work to gain further experience and update my knowledge. Ideally being out in the field working on actual jobs with students would be the perfect scenario for continually developing myself and I feel this would also benefit the learners immensely. As for CPPD in my teaching, I aim to complete all training events offered, for example we had smart board training at work the other day. I also aim to relish being thrown in at the deep end which regularly happens as a cover tutor. I’m lucky in the way my support role at the prison lets me observe a lot of different teachers each week and taking on their good practices and addressing learners needs is excellent CPPD for me. The importance of reflective practice Reflecting on our work as teachers is the best way to develop, its important to have regular teaching practice. We learn valuable things when were in lessons, under pressure and on the spot, however the real learning comes afterwards when we reflect and analyse the session. This is our time to put things right in our heads and prepare ourselves for the same scenarios the next time. It would be extremely difficult to pre-empt every situation that could occur and almost impossible to prepare for each. â€Å"teachers who explore their own teaching through critical reflection develop changes in attitudes and awareness which they believe can benefit their professional growth as teachers, as well as improve the kind of support they provide their students.† (tttjournal [ND] [Online]) Not only should we be reflecting from our own experiences but it’s also extremely valuable to reflect on observations, hearing opinions from another person’s point of view can really pin point things that may have been frustrating us for weeks. Critical reflective practice is more complex than just reflecting. It’s about planning how you will evaluate a lesson or even a CPPD event; it is good practice to critically review these situations through different people’s points of view. Your colleagues, students, boss, or even a person in the field actually doing what you’re teaching or being taught. With this in mind reflection is one of our most important tools. Bibliography Bis [03/2012] Professionalism in further education [Online] http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/p/12-670-professionalism-in-further-education-interim [Accessed 27/05/2012] IFL [08/2009] Guidelines for your continuing professional development (CPD) [online] http://www.ifl.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/5501/J11734-IfL-CPD-Guidelines-08.09-web-v3.pdf [Accessed 12/06/2012] IFL [11/2008] Professional Formation [Online] http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/IfL-professional-formation-overview.pdf [Accessed 12/06/2012] LSIS [ND] Our Impact in the Sector [Online] http://www.lsis.org.uk/AboutLSIS/LSIS-impact/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 20/06/12] TES [30/03/2012] FE professionalism gets radical shake-up [Online] http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6202944 [Accessed 15/04/2012] Tttjournal [ND] Towards Reflective Teaching [Online] http://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/file/back_articles/towards_reflective_teaching.pdf [Accessed 03/06/12]

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Thomas Hobbes Laws of Nature Essay -- Thomas Hobbes Philosophy

Thomas Hobbes: What Is The Difference Between Obligations In foro interno and In foro externo, and When Do We Have Such Obligations? According to Thomas Hobbes, there are certain laws of nature which exist in the absence of an organized government. These laws are extremely cut throat, and place people in extremely dangerous situations where their lives are in danger. Government is the answer to this dangerous situation, but it is here that the question of obligation comes into question. Does one have an obligation to take a chance and follow the laws set forth for them, or should they only think of themselves, and follow the laws of nature? This is a vital question which I will explore. According to Hobbes, the overriding law of nature is kill or be killed. Hobbes believed that, "every man has a right to everything, even to another man's body. And therefore, as long as this natural right of every man to everything endureth, there can be no security to any man(how strong or wise soever he be) of living out the time which nature ordinarily allowith men to live." However he also believed, "that a man be willing, when others are so too as far-forth as for peace and defense of himself that he shall think it necessary to lay down this right to all things, and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself." The question now is, when do we have an obligation to strive towards peace when it means giving up our n...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Film Review of The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Film Review of The Crucible The Crucible: A Film Review Who'd have thought that simple dancing could cause so much chaos in a small town. This is precisely what happens in the film The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), which was originally written as a play by Arthur Miller. This story is based on actual events, which helps in showing the accuracy of the events. The story takes place in Salem in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The story starts when a group of young girls, particularly one named Abigail, are caught dancing around a fire in the woods by the town preacher, Samuel Parris. In an effort to avoid getting in trouble, the girls begin to make accusations against the townspeople, saying that these people are witches who forced them to dance. As the hysteria grows in Salem, people begin to question their own neighbors, simply out of spite and vengeance, among other things. The Crucible is certainly historically accurate in it's portrayal of the townspeople's beliefs and attitudes. It is a film that should be seen to view the way people were in the seventeenth century. Fear was probably the biggest reason for all of the happenings. Fear is what got the girls started on their accusations, as they were afraid to get in trouble. They knew that if they were thought to be conjuring spirits, they would be hung. The townspeople were also afraid, especially of those who were different. They felt that they must be rid of anyone who disagreed with their beliefs. Just look at how the Puritans treated the Indians. They feared the Native Americans because their beliefs were different than their own. Also, the main reason that people were accused in the first place, is because when Tituba was being questioned, they were asking if she saw Sara Good and Sara Osborne with the Devil. Of course she said yes, they were threatening to kill her. Another example of fear in the village, is the fear of accepting your own actions and taking responsibility. The Puritans believed in predestination, and if the girls were dancing just to dance, and not because the Devil took them from their path to God, the townspeople would then have to take the responsibility for that, as it would be thier fault for letting these girls go astray. They were also afraid of change. Change in their beliefs would shut down the entire town, because it was built mainly on their ideology.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Michael Caine Essay

The Oscar winning British actor Michael Caine was born in 1933 at Bermondsey in London. He did not come from a theatrical family. His father was a porter at the Billingsgate fish market. His mother was a charlady (cleaning lady). His real name was Maurice Joseph Micklewhite. Young Maurice was evacuated from his home during the German World war II Blitz. He was placed in a home for 6 weeks where he was badly mistreated. He was beaten and poorly fed. At times he was locked in a cupboard. Finally his mother rescued him and throttled the lady who had mistreated him. The family expected Maurice to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he had other plans. He had early, if non-professional experiences with acting. At the age of 3 years on a regular basis he would have to convince the rent collector that â€Å"Mummy’s out†, while she hid behind the front door coaxing him. Family Michael did not come from a theatrical family. His father was a porter at the Billingsgate fish market. His mother was a charlady (cleaning lady). Michael’s father liked to gamble. His mother worked as a cleaning lady to give her sons a better life. Brothers Maurice grew up with his brother Stanley. The boys had an older brother, David, who was born with epilepsy. He was institutionalized as a baby. It was widely assumed in the 1920s that epilepsy was a form of mental illness which was untreatable. Their mother kept David’s existence a secret until her dying days. Childhood The Oscar winning British actor Michael Caine was born in 1933 at Bermondsey in London. His real name was Maurice Joseph Micklewhite. The family expected Maurice to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he had other plans. He had early, if non-professional experiences with acting. At the age of 3 years on a regular basis he would have to convince the rent collector that â€Å"Mummy’s out†, while she hid behind the front door coaxing him. World War II Evacuation Young Maurice was 6 years old when war was declared with Germany. He and brother Stanley were evacuated from his home during the German World war II Blitz. He was placed in a home for 6 weeks where he was badly mistreated. He was beaten and poorly fed. At times he was locked in a cupboard. Finally his mother rescued him and throttled the lady who had mistreated him. His mother was later evacuated as well. Education After the Blitz, Michael attended Wilson’s Grammar School, an academically selective secondary school. It was located in Peckham, close to where Last Orders was filmed. He did not like school and left at age 16. A Methodist minister introduced him to amateur theatricals which he did enjoy at school. Military Service He entered the army as a private after a few years of low-paying jobs. He was stationed in Korea and did not like the army either. Family Caine married one of his rep co-stars, Patricia Haines. The two had a daughter, Nikki, before divorcing. Caine later married Shakira Caine (nee Baksh) in 1973, Thy have two children: Dominique and Natasha. Career Caine has become a major film star, appealing to both men and women in his wide range of films. He is a versatile and very hard-working actor. His film career was launched by playing gritty working-class roles. The first was Alfie (1966) in which he played a womanizing Cockney in swinging London. Then came a trilogy of spy movies which were big successes. He played Len Deighton’s bespectacled agent, Harry Palmer, in Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, and The Billion Dollar Brain. He received Oscar nominations as Best Actor for Alfie, Sleuth and Educating Rita, he has won two Best Supporting Actor awards: for Hannah and her Sisters and The Cider House Rules. One film critic claims that Caine’s poor background caused him to take on a variety of roles in poor movies just to keep on working. Films Caine’s best remembered films are probably: Ipcress File, Zulu, Mr. Destiny, A Bridge Too Far, Miss Congeniality, Last Orders, The Man Who Would Be King, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Sleuth, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Hannah and Her Sisters. Interestingly in Zulu he plays a dilated aristocratic British officer, quite a stretch from his background. The portrayal was right on, at least with American audiences. I’m less sure about British audiences. Sources Caine, Michael. What’s It All About (1992)