Thursday, October 31, 2019

HP Case Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HP Case Paper - Essay Example HP also laid emphasis on differentiation, constant change, and creating a brand family, as well as offering additional services and accessories. For price, HP has introduced a wide range of competitive pricing based on the differentiation of products. This has seen an increased margin for retailers and wholesalers through the bundling of accessories and services (Kotler 394). For the promotion element of the marketing mix, HP, over the years, has focused more on the creation of a brand identity on the company and products. Thus, they changed their strategy to pull based from push based, with greater spending implemented on sales promotion and advertising (Kotler 391). Finally, for the place element, HP has begun to offer better terms of payment, as well as bigger quantity on discounts for the dealers. Because of the improved relationship with the dealers, HP has increased its number of full time retailers to 750 from 350, as well as stocking additional 1050 dealers for a portion of t heir line. Discuss two concepts covered in the chapter that best relate to this case and how? Social marketing is the adoption and adaptation of processes, institutions and commercial marketing activities as a way to induce behavioral change among the target market on a permanent or temporary basis in order to achieve its social goal (Kotler 395). It involves the induction of an approach of leadership, which involves deliberate use of persuasion and influence to move the target market to a course of action that is more specific. For the social marketing concept, the company should consider the long-term interests of the society and consider the needs and wants of the customers. HP has given its commitment aimed at drastically cutting down their impact on the environment. HP has managed the impact of its energy needs via the calculation of GHG emissions, which their daily operations produce through their use of electricity and by their daily operations. The selling concept is the not ion that the customer will not buy something automatically but, rather, it needs to be sold to them (Kotler 396). This means that a persuasive sales assistant or advert that tells the customer of the ways the product will alter their lives, which could make them buy a product that they do not desire. The consumer will not purchase enough products from the organization until they undertake promotional selling. Consumers are inert and require goading to buy through conversion of their inert need to a purchasing motive via selling and persuasive action. Hp understands the wants and needs of the customer and, therefore, customers will not purchase their products unless they are promoted and sold. Hence, HP has placed increased focus on the creation of sales transactions by conducting regular promotions, which are aimed at attracting customers, as well as increasing the truncation of sales. Which of the sales force structures described in the text best describes HP’s structure? HP utilizes a separated consumer sales force as its sales force structure. In decentralized organizations, field sales managers carry out the everyday operations of the organization, as well as shouldering responsibility for their sales staff performance (Kotler 392). The sales force also consists of a mixture of specialist generalist salespersons. However, the employees do not make all of the company’s sales; the company’s sales force structure utilizes home-based telemarketers. They also have independent sales agents on contract who conduct their sales in particular geographic areas. What are the positive and negative aspects of HP’s new sales force struc

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Speculating about causes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Speculating about causes - Essay Example Employees may get retrenched for example when a firm no longer needs the services of the employees or if the company itself shuts down its operations. It is usually not easy to find to find an appropriate job immediately after being laid off. A company would not desire to appoint somebody recently laid off for bad reasons such as failure to do a good job, absence from work, theft or drunkenness in work. It makes someone sacked to find alternative employment immediately. In some cases, the economy of a country might be undergoing turmoil making job hunting difficult. Other individuals are unable to get employed because they lack the required level of qualification and experience for a particular job. Some organizations will not hire someone without getting a good reference and remark concerning the prospective employee. Employers all the time appoint the best-qualified individuals for its vacant positions available. Many individuals are in no position to come across jobs because they are disabled or have health issues. For example, if one gets injured in an accident or gets ill for a prolonged time the person may be unable to do work hence remain jobless (Greenhalgh 103) . Each act comes with an outcome. However, the effects and causes and of joblessness are very powerful the life of the affected individuals. For instance, an employee lacking the suitable and appropriate skills required for a task will get retrenched or fired from a company. An individual may be jobless or get sacked from their job when a company wishes to cut on its budget. Similarly, in a case where there are plenty of workforces but not enough work to match them, their number will be reduced to ensure the company does not waste resources. On the other hand, if there is an abundance of jobs, but the employees lack the correct experience or skills to work then the their replaced will occur. Job losses are beginning to rise steadily, and

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Marketing Strategies And The Positioning Of Hotels Tourism Essay

Marketing Strategies And The Positioning Of Hotels Tourism Essay A hotels positioning is a crucial determinant in developing its subsequent marketing strategies. Incorrect hotel positioning will lead to an unclear vision of the hotels development and eventually affect the profitability of the hotel (Ransley Ingram 2004, p.37). Our hotel has been positioned as a 3.5 start hotel that sits in the middle of the competition. This is a very strategic approach for our hotel to proceed with as it allows us to target upper-end of the market since our hotel has the resource and capability to do so and simultaneously attract other markets segments such as leisure and family holiday makers since our price and products are very competitive compared to other hotels in the same category. Hotels targeted market segments: Corporate Our hotel will continue to set company executives and business travellers as our priority of focus, since this market segment has always been a major proportion of the hotels business in terms of the number of rooms sold and incomes from the room sales. This market segment would also bring additional revenue to the hotel such as onsite dinning and purchase of other facilities. Therefore, meeting, business and conference related facilities needs to be developed to meet these customers needs. Leisure The city which our hotel is suited in is a destination of family and leisure vacations and our hotels location itself imposes a unique marketing advantage as it is located on the seafront and close to the main shopping centres. Therefore, with the competitive marketing advantage, if we could offer a mix of quality products and services, in fact, all of our hotels guests rooms are able to accommodate families and other services such as Pub and full service restaurant are integrated to deliver a desired level of convenience. Scale of economy is another critical element that attracts leisure and family holiday makers, however, simply reduce our room rate is not a strategic action to take. Therefore, special discount can be allowed for weekdays bookings in order to maintain the level of room occupancy rates and design various packages for the weekend in order to improve the sales of FB facilities. Tour Tourism has boomed in this region, there are various venues take place in the city throughout the year. This induces a great opportunity to improve our room occupancy rate and ultimately to increase our overall profitability. As tourists have similar features with leisure and family holiday makers in terms of scale of economy and convenience of hotels location. Our hotel should come up with different and differentiate packages to suit various venues so that our customers can receive and perceive added values from our hotel. For example, we can assist our customers in booking the tickets for some of venues such as the International Music Festival and International Dance Festival. Internally, we can offer special check-in and check-out channels for group tourists in order to diminish the hassles for them. Additionally, it is essential to have multi-lingual staff at the front desk as we expect group tourists from overseas. Weddings Frankly, we cannot host ant weddings prior to our conference facilities in place. Therefore, at this stage, with the available resources and capacities in terms of our rooms and restaurant, we can arrange Honeymoon specials for the new married couples. Once we obtain any honeymoon bookings, we can pre-decorate the rooms with romantic features and ambiences to provide a physical environment which allow those couples to have intimate times together. Additionally, we can also offer discount for new married couples to have dinner in our restaurant with the menu especially designed for the venue. FB Services It would pose a great impact on the operation of our FB department since the potential resignation of our Head Chef. However, we can take this opportunity to be innovative in terms of turning our restaurant into a completely different concept of dining. Nowadays, FB services are usually seen as an adhering service to the accommodation. However, the potential ability of FB services of generating revenue is significant. Therefore, providing we have sufficient financial founds, we can hire another Head Chef who is innovative in culinary arts and develop our restaurant as a dining destination of the region, it is implementable as the local population of over one million in the city ensures the demands of such service if we operate it successfully. Promotion: Promotion is a very vital element in the marketing mix (4Ps), as in it builds the hotels image and increases the hotels public awareness and helps the hotel to reach more markets (Kotler, Bowen Makens 2006, p.539). Our promotion mix will include a number of media such advertising, hotels website and join in marketing consortiums. Advertising: Our hotel will still adopt some of the traditional media such as newspaper, travelling magazines and advertising campaign on radio. These media can effectively reach a large group of audience even though involves costs and cannot receive instant response on the effectiveness until the guests actually come to our hotel. For that reason alone, our hotel should use on-line social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. These social networks has increasingly become the primary information sources for people especially for Gen Ys whose purchasing power has increased dramatically. The social networks allow us nearly zero-cost and can reach to more potential customers. Hotels website: Hotels website is the first impression we give to our potential guests when they intend to choose us as their hospitality provider. Therefore, a well-established, designed and managed website will effectively promote our hotel to those who are very likely to become our customers. Marketing consortium: Since we are an independent hotel and especially with limited budget, we are in a weak position in competing with those international chains in terms of spending money on marketing and promoting themselves. Therefore, join a marketing consortia is a strategic approach at this stage for our hotel. For example, The Leading Hotels of the world, will give us access to its worldwide reservation centre and they have more than 20 offices in the most important cities and this organization also participate in some of the most popular travel exhibitions and trades shows in the pursuit of promoting its members. However, it charges annual membership fees and additional shares for each room they have generated (The Leading Hotels of the World, 2010). Other marketing related strategies: Converting guests rooms into Conference facilities: Currently our hotel does not gain any business from this market segment due to the lack of conference facilities. Functions and banquets are very profitable to conduct as it requires intensive FB services which can generate significant profits and also impose the potential of room sales and long-term business relationships with the clients. Therefore, the next strategic projection for our hotel is to turn some of rooms into conference facilities (our average room occupancy rate was 20% which means 80% of the room inventory have not been generating profits, and hotel rooms are perishable products). This strategy will require additional financial founds to support, there will be risk involved, but it will be profitable in the long-haul. Merge to gain additional founds: Our hotel can merge with another non-hospitality establishment in order to get additional financial support as we are suffering for lack of funds. Although merge is not as fierce as acquisitions, it still poses a certain degree of risks to the management of the hotel in terms of the absolute authority and power over making business decisions (Beamish 2008, p.288). Budgeting for marketing department: There are two major areas that require enormous funds to complete. Projected Budget for Regency Hotel-Marketing Department Converting rooms into conferences facilities $1.5 million Advertising $2,000 per month Join marketing Consortia $200,000 per year Maintaining Website $1000 per year Labour costs $80,000 per year

Friday, October 25, 2019

Comparing Mitch Alboms Tuesdays with Morrie and Leo Tolstoys The Deat

Love and Death in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych One story is distinctively American in its optimism and characteristic of the 1990's in its tone; the other shows the unmistakable disposition of nineteenth century Russia. The more recent book follows the actual life of a sociology professor at Brandeis University while the other explores a product of Leo Tolstoy's imagination. Tuesdays with Morrie and "The Death of Ivan Ilych" portray two characters who sit on opposite ends of the literary spectrum but who share the dark bond of terminal illness and advance knowledge of their deaths. One views the knowledge as a blessing and as an opportunity to make his final good-byes, the other writhes in pain and begs for an end to his vicious sentence of suffering. In the face of identical fates these two men show stark contrasts, all for the simple reason that only one of them found a way to love.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Though illness stripped both Morrie Schwartz and Ivan Ilych of their hope for survival, their dissimilar lifestyles led each to a much different end. Morrie found himself in an overflow of compassion while surrounded by family, friends and colleagues. Ivan, on the other hand, found only the obligatory company of his wife and the painful awareness that no one really cared. Both characters ended their lives the way they lived them, as Ivan acknowledges: "In them he saw himself" (Ivn, 149). While Morrie poured himself into every moment of life and every relationship he pursued, Ivan skirted the dangers of emotion to live "easily, pleasantly, and decorously" (Ivn, 115). In the spirit of such an opposition, the two stories become somewhat like responses to each other. Morrie Schwatrz, proclaimed... ... such books?   Ã‚  Ã‚   All things considered, the answer is a confident "Yes." No law of literary comparison mandates that the works in question hold the same level of scholarly repute. These two stories focus on death, the great equalizer, one of the most terrifying facts of human existence and one that we will all someday face. Though the paths vary, both characters meet the same epiphany in the end. Morrie savors most of his life with an understanding of "the secret" while Ivan receives it only hours before dying. What really matters, however, is that they both find it. Works Cited Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Tolstoy, Leo. "The Death of Ivan Ilych" and Other Stories. Afterword by David Magarshack. Trans. J. D. Duff and Aylmer Maude. New York: NAL/Signet Classic, 1990.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Payments Method

Fee-for-service is when a patient pays a fee for the services provided by a healthcare provider. According to Valerius et al. (2012), the more patients a physician sees in the fee-for-service, the more charges the health plan repays (section 1. 4, p. 11). On the other hand, capitation payment cycles involve the first party, which is the patient, policyholder or employer (Valerius et al, 2012). Also the capitation payment cycle includes the second party, which is the provider and insurance specialist, as well as the third party, which is the health plan (Valerius et al, 2012). Capitation is a fixed payment method, which a certain amount of money is reimbursed to the provider for patients enrolled for a specific time frame regardless of the services delivered or how many office visits(Valerius et al, 2012). In this situation of capitation, the money is received before the patient even visits the office, and if the patient does not receive medical services for that specific time (Valerius et al, 2012). Furthermore, the physician agrees to take on the risk that an insured individual will utilize more services than the fee covers, and use less services (Valerius et al, 2012). Nevertheless, the physician still only collects the contracted rate, even if their expenses are higher than the rate for the time frame, and the physician risks getting less per office visit revenue.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ecological Systems Theory

From the time a person first enters this world until they taketheir final breath, they go through many changes that will shape their character and determine how they handle situations in their life. Many different psychologists have studied human behavior and why it is that we react a certain way in different circumstances, and ultimately why we behave in the way that we do. Urie Bronfenbrenner developed a model called the â€Å"Ecological Systems Theory† that attempts to explain what factors influence a person’s behavior and which ones have the most impact. The model is broken down into five systems: the â€Å"Microsystem†, â€Å"Mesosystem†, â€Å"Exosystem†, â€Å"Macrosystem†, and â€Å"Chronosystem†. The â€Å"Microsystem† is considered the most intimate or most influential level and it consists of the interactions between the person and their family or their close friends. These influences are bidirectional, meaning that both sides are influenced equally. For example, a child who is very calm and obedient will most likely cause the parent to be calm and trusting of the child. On the other hand, if the parent is very strict and harsh towards the child, the child may feel the urge to rebel against the parent. The â€Å"Mesosystem† essentially represents the connections between the â€Å"Microsystems†. This means that there is more than one factor that influences a situation in one’s life. For example, if a young student is doing poorly in school, it can be due to lack of parent involvement in their academics, or if the parents show interest in the child’s school life at all. Another example of this would be if an employee was not doing well in the workplace, it could be linked back to a fight at home or the lack of communication with a spouse. The next level in the theory is the â€Å"Exosystem†. This system is made up of experiences or factors that do not necessarily contain the developing person but nevertheless have an impact in their life. These factors or experiences can be formal or informal organizations. Formal organizations consist of flexible work schedules or paid maternity or paternity leaves and these circumstances can positively influence the parent-child relationship. Informal organizations can consist of the parent’s social networks, such as close friends or relatives that can offer advice or friendship in the child’s life. These relationships can provide a sense of trust and source of love in the life of the child. This system can also be observed in a way that will affect the child’s life negatively. For example, if the parents do not have close friends or a feeling of acceptance in the community, there has been shown to be an increased risk of child abuse and conflict within the family. The â€Å"Macrosystem† is a much broader system that consists of the cultural values, morals, customs, and resources in the community. An example of this would be if a child attends a private school that closely monitors the behavior of the children and tries to instill moral values, the child might experience a more enjoyable time during their school years. Bronfenbrenner defined the ever-changing nature of a person’s environment to be the â€Å"Chronosystem†. He noted that there were many factors that can influence or change the circumstances of one’s life, which he called â€Å"Ecological Transitions†. â€Å"Ecological Transitions† could be any event such as starting college, getting married, getting divorced, graduating high school or college, becoming a parent, or retiring. All of these instances could be considered â€Å"milestones† in someone ‘s life that can have a major impact in the routine or schedule one is familiar to. For the project, I chose to conduct an interview with my aunt, who is now forty-eight years old. In the interview, I asked her questions that would reveal what or who were the influences in her life and what were the major special events that occurred. I repeated the interview with her twice; the first to ask her about her life at the age of twenty-one and then again at the age of thirty-six. I found that it was very interesting to interview my aunt about her experience at the age of twenty-one, only two years older than I am now. I tried to compare her influences, concerns, and experiences with mine and found that we are similar in many ways I was not aware of, but also very different in others. There were many factors in my aunt’s life that influenced where she is today in her life. When she was twenty-one, in the â€Å"Microsystem† level, three people that truly influenced her life at the time were my grandparents, Mimi and Papa, and my great grandmother, Mamette. My aunt was extremely close to Mamette, and confided in her in many ways. Since all three were members of her close family, they would be considered part of this system and very crucial to her development at the time. My aunt told me after she graduated from college all she wanted to do was party and not find a job, and I found that these factors and this mindset were part of the â€Å"Mesosystem†. The fact that she was partying all the time, or her social life, was hindering her from finding a job and moving on from her college days. Since the â€Å"Mesosystem† is essentially factors that influence other factors or circumstances, the fact that she had recently graduated from college made her feel like she had the right to party and not find a job. Another factor in her lack of diligence toward finding a job was that her parents did not put a lot of pressure on her to do so. Along with factors in the â€Å"Microsystem† and â€Å"Mesosystem†, the â€Å"Exosystem† in her life consisted of many influences that played a role in the crisis of no motivation and partying all the time. One factor in this system was that many of her friends were getting jobs after they graduated college, and she knew that she should be searching for one, but the motivation was not there. Another factor was that she may have felt that she deserved to â€Å"have some time off† after working so hard in college. These examples are forms of informal organizations in the â€Å"Exosystem†. An example of a formal organization was that she applied for a job with the IRS and she was waiting for them to call her about her application. She jokes during her interview that she would still be in that stage if she didn’t look for another job until the IRS called her back because its been twenty-seven years and they still haven’t called! The â€Å"Macrosystem† played a role in her development at that time also. She mentioned how life just seemed more â€Å"laid back† and â€Å"carefree†; times were easier and there was no terrorism (that she knew of). The culture was also more wholesome than it is now and the moral values of the country were at higher standards. One strain of the country and the economy was the oil crisis that erupted during the 80’s. She remembers expensive gas and oil, and that the economy was not very strong during that time. As she reflected on this time of her life, she says that there were experiences during that time of her life that have an impact on her life now. Sometimes she wishes she could go back to that time of fun and â€Å"no worries†, but what was most important about that time of her life was the friendships she made. She’s learned life is not about a job, money, or objects, but about the relationships one makes along the way. She has recently gone through a divorce, and she says that she could have never made it through that hard time without the friends she made in high school, college, her sorority, or even in the past couple years. The â€Å"Chronosystem† encompasses changes over time and how one develops over a lifetime. Her reflection and the amount she has grown as a person in the last couple decades is an example of the way a human can change and mature in this particular system. Next, I interviewed my aunt about her life when she was thirty-six years old and lived in Houston, TX. She described this time as some of the best years of her life. Her son, Mike, was six years old and her daughter, Stacey, was only three. She reminisced about the neighborhood bar-b-ques, pig roasts, her amazing church, the kid’s summer camp, and great friends. During the interview I could tell that she truly longed to go back to this time. Her â€Å"Microsystem† level consisted of her best friends, Dana and Diane, and her Bible Study Fellowship leader, Gloria Day. These people truly shaped her life at the time and she was explaining how they still have an impact on her now. Just the other day she talked to her friend, Dana, about her divorce, and she can see just how important these influences are in her life. The â€Å"Mesosystem† at this time consisted of the influence of the guidance she acquired in Bible Study Fellowship that helped her to be a better mother and spouse. Also, her church served as an outlet for her to find good friends that would hold her accountable and provide advice and companionship when she needed it most. In the â€Å"Exosystem† there were many areas in her life that socially provided experiences and interactions that would influence her at the time. The formal organization of this level was the fact that she was a stay-at-home mom, giving her more time with her children and the ability to focus on being the best mother she could be. Another example of an informal organization would be her Bible Study Fellowship. Here she could make friends with the same beliefs and morals, and really gain a group that would provide great stability and accountability. The â€Å"Macrosystem† during this time consisted of a stimulated economy, the price of gas was cheap, and, again, there was no fear or worry of terrorism. She noted how practically everyone in her neighborhood was an engineer. The stress that we now experience today of terrorist attacks and a failing economy was not present. I once again asked to reflect on her life at that time, and see how her experiences then have influenced her life now. This answer came to her much easier than when I asked her about the influence of her experiences when she was twenty-one. Her involvement in Bible Study Fellowship showed her how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and how to apply her study of the Bible to real life. Her leader, Gloria Day, truly inspired her to grow in her walk with God and rely on Him for everything. She revealed in the interview how she had been going through some very tough times, and if she did not have the information she learned through Bible Study Fellowship, she would not have had the same optimistic and hopeful view of her struggles now. Over time, her walk with the Lord has gone through times when she was very close with Him, and times when she was not. In the â€Å"Chronosystem†, her relationship with God and her spiritual beliefs have been the defining factor of her inner strength as a person. Along with her relationship with God, many major events, or â€Å"ecological transitions†, occurred from the time that she was twenty-one and thirty-six. For example, she found a job, got married, became a parent, and moved. All of these events can have an influence on one’s character and well-being. They can have a â€Å"rippling effect† in someone’s life, influencing many parts during one time. My aunt recalled that she absolutely hated moving, and they would stay in the same place for about three years. She said the first year was always the hardest, the second year was better, and the third was when they were finally settled but then my uncle would have to move again for his job. The moving process always took a toll on her family and kids, never truly establishing a place for them to call â€Å"home†. Another â€Å"ecological transition† for her during this time was getting married. Marriage is definitely an adjustment and her decision in the man she chose to marry may not have necessarily been the right one. Nevertheless, changes that one experiences in their life require adjustment, or an â€Å"ecological transition†. The â€Å"Microsystem†, â€Å"Mesosystem†, â€Å"Exosystem†, â€Å"Macrosystem†, and â€Å"Chronosystem† are the ecological systems in our lives that influence our character, morals, and decisions. From the time my aunt was twenty-one to thirty-six, the influences in her life changed drastically. Instead of being influenced by her parents and grandmother like when she was younger, she was more independent from her family and her close friends and studying God’s word had the most impact on her. Right after she graduated from college, she was not focused on â€Å"growing up† or finding a job, but mostly on partying and having a good time. She matured greatly when she started a family, as she became more focused on others rather than herself. Virtually everything in her life changed when she had children, from her schedule to her priorities. As the influences and events in my aunt’s life changed over the years, so will mine when I am older. My ecological systems will always be transforming as I graduate college, get married, and eventually have children. Right now my life is focused around what is best for me; my education, social life, and health. I am still dependent on my parents for guidance and support, but I am beginning to lean more on God’s will for my life and trusting in Him rather than advice from other people. After I graduate my â€Å"Mesosystem† will change, along with my â€Å"Exosystem†, â€Å"Macrosystem†, and â€Å"Chronosystem†. By acquiring the knowledge of how factors influence an individual, I will be able to truly examine what those factors are in my life and decide which are in my best interest. In conclusion, Studying Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory was very interesting and I feel it will be very helpful to know in my future teaching career. When a child is misbehaving and is not performing to their best ability in school, I can look into their home life and see if there are any distractions or added stresses that could be hindering their academic performance. Also, I hope to provide a source of guidance and comfort for my students that extend past the realm of academics, but can better them as a person in the long run. Urie Bronfenbrenner was a brilliant man whose research and theories can help people have a better understanding about the influences in their lives and how to use them to their full advantage. Ecological Systems Theory Despite previous theories, Erie Brotherliness's ecological systems theory continues o be one of the most comprehensive theories used to better understand human needs. That Is why it has become Increasingly Important to be able to recognize the key concepts of the ecological systems theory and to be able to Identify what characteristics set this theory apart from other theories. Once this level of competence is achieve, workers should be able to identify what kind of problems and/or clients this theory would be helpful with.This skill can only be mastered by understanding every detail of the ecological systems theory. Discussion According to Whooper, Rooney, Dewberry Rooney, Storm-Gottfried, and Larsen (2010), the ecological systems theory suggests that Individual engagement with other human beings (niche) and systems within the environment (habitat) are two of the most influential factors that determine human needs. This is because both factors reciprocally influence each other (2010 ).For instance, a change in a person's environment typically changes the kind of people that person interacts with and the type of resources that person has access to. If I decided to move from the projects to he suburbs, I would be exposed to a new community. My new community will allow me to network with people who I might not have had the opportunity to network with when I lived In the projects. My move from the projects to the suburbs could also provide me with access to more resources such as libraries and jobs.A change in a person's niche or habitat can be positive or negative. The ecological systems theory makes it clear that it is desirable to have a positive and well-balanced niche and habitat. This Is because â€Å"the satisfaction of human needs and mastery of placement task require adequate resources In the environment and positive transactions between people and their environment† (Whooper, Rooney, Dewberry Rooney, Storm;Gottfried, and Larsen, 2010, 16).For examp le, a person who aspires to be a phenomenal business leader would be better prepared to take on that role if he or she had access to superior educational institutions and positive interaction with individuals who are already in this type of position. This is because the educational facilities can provide valuable knowledge to that Individual and the exposure to other traders can open up hands-on learning opportunities. Now Image If there were gaps In any AT ten above resources or negative Interactions Ana now tense gap could hinder that individual's needs and development.This notion that a person's life circumstances are based on individual interactions and different layers of his or her environment is what set the ecological systems theory apart from other theories. This is because, historically, theorists have only used one of the two variables to understand different aspects of human life. The ecological systems theory is helpful on both the micro and macro level of social work. For a clinical social worker, the ecological systems theory is the most helpful in phase one of the helping process.During this phase the worker explores client needs, assesses contributing factors, and devises a plan of action to help meet client needs. Taking an ecological system's approach to this phase will allow the worker to create a more accurate profile of client needs, help to determine what environmental absentees may be causing certain needs, determine individuals who may be costively or negatively contributing to client needs, and to determine what actions need to take place to help bridge the gap between client's habitat and niche.Personally, the ecological systems theory appears to be an ingenious approach to the field of social work. It is very advantageous because it forces the worker and the client to create an all-inclusive picture of the client's reasons for needing a social worker. As human being we have a tendency to identify a single factor as the cause of all of our problems. The ecological system perspective is helpful in extending our coal point.Applying this theory would be the most beneficial to me when I am working with clients who are having difficulties meeting certain needs because of a lack of resources or with clients who have a drug abuse problem. I identify drug abuse clients because these types of clients typically use drugs as a coping mechanism to deal with some of their relationships or current living situations. Conclusion In closing, the ecological systems theory is one of the best theories to apply when attempting to assess human needs.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on The Characteristics Of An Ideal Student At ITT

An Ideal student is a student that shows up to class on time and does what is expected of him or her to do during that day. This student will also turn in all homework in on time and not a minute late and he or she will not let most things get in the way of study time (most of the time). An ideal student also gets along with his or her other Peers and tries to help them when needed or asked. An ideal student will even go out of his or her way to help fellow students with homework and studding for tests and finals. Her or she is a straight A student and thrives for nothing less always wanting to better themselves. Now the dress of an ideal student is in a proper manner, things like slacks or jeans with a nice dress or pullover style shirt for the men and for the women it can be the same attire. You might even say that the ideal student is the one that everyone wants to be like and works hard to maintain that image. Also he or she wouldn’t have any problems taking their hat off in the class or building when asked to take them off. The ideal student will always be polite and show kindness to all teachers and other students no mater what they are studying. This student also has the up most respect for all factuality. This is my definition of a ideal student. This is what I am going to start thriving for in the quarters to come.... Free Essays on The Characteristics Of An Ideal Student At ITT Free Essays on The Characteristics Of An Ideal Student At ITT An Ideal student is a student that shows up to class on time and does what is expected of him or her to do during that day. This student will also turn in all homework in on time and not a minute late and he or she will not let most things get in the way of study time (most of the time). An ideal student also gets along with his or her other Peers and tries to help them when needed or asked. An ideal student will even go out of his or her way to help fellow students with homework and studding for tests and finals. Her or she is a straight A student and thrives for nothing less always wanting to better themselves. Now the dress of an ideal student is in a proper manner, things like slacks or jeans with a nice dress or pullover style shirt for the men and for the women it can be the same attire. You might even say that the ideal student is the one that everyone wants to be like and works hard to maintain that image. Also he or she wouldn’t have any problems taking their hat off in the class or building when asked to take them off. The ideal student will always be polite and show kindness to all teachers and other students no mater what they are studying. This student also has the up most respect for all factuality. This is my definition of a ideal student. This is what I am going to start thriving for in the quarters to come....

Monday, October 21, 2019

What Is a Perfect Square

What Is a Perfect Square SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What is a perfect square? How do you know if a number is a perfect square? In this article, we’ll define perfect squares, provide a list of the first 25 perfect squares (and the integers that make them up), and teach you how to tell if a number is a perfect square. What Is a Perfect Square? A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers. What does that mean? Basically, a perfect square is what you get when you multiply two equal integers by each other. For instance: $$5 * 5 = 25$$ 25 is a perfect square because you’re multiplying two equal integers (5 and 5) by each other. You can also express $5 * 5$ as $5^2$. That’s where you get the term â€Å"perfect square† List of Perfect Squares Here’s a list of the first 25 perfect squares. A hint: if you want to create a perfect square, simply square an integer! Square Integers 1 $1 * 1$ 4 $2 * 2$ 9 $3 * 3$ 16 $4 * 4$ 25 $5 * 5$ 36 $6 * 6$ 49 $7 * 7$ 64 $8 * 8$ 81 $9 * 9$ 100 $10 * 10$ 121 $11 * 11$ 144 $12 * 12$ 169 $13 * 13$ 196 $14 * 14$ 225 $15 * 15$ 256 $16 * 16$ 289 $17 * 17$ 324 $18 * 18$ 361 $19 * 19$ 400 $20 * 20$ 441 $21 * 21$ 484 $22 * 22$ 529 $23 * 23$ 576 $24 * 24$ 625 $25 * 25$ How to Tell If a Number Is a Perfect Square You can tell if a number is a perfect square in a couple of different ways. First of all, if you create a square by multiplying two equal integers by each other, then the product is a perfect square. So, $1 * 1$ is a perfect square. So is $10 * 10$ and $1,000 * 1,000$. You can also tell if a number is a perfect square by finding its square roots. Finding the square root is the inverse (opposite) of squaring a number. If you find the square root of a number and it’s a whole integer, that tells you that the number is a perfect square. For instance, the square root of 25 is 5. The square root of 26 is not a whole integer. So, 26 is not a perfect square. Key Takeaways: Understanding Perfect Squares A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers. You can tell if a number by finding its square root and seeing if that square root is a whole integer. What's Next? Getting ready to take the ACT? We have a list of31 formulas you must know to conquer the ACT. Taking the SAT instead?Here’s a list of our favorite SAT Math prep books that will help set you on the path to success. Looking to brush up on your fundamental algebra skills?A good place to start is mastering systems of equations.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The 9 Things Recruiters Want to See in Your Resume

The 9 Things Recruiters Want to See in Your Resume Think of recruiters as your professional matchmakers:The Edge Company (global corporation specializing in widget production, development, and sales),  2014 – 20177. Talk about your colleagues.This is your resume, so you don’t need to go into specifics about your buddy Jill in Accounting. But recruiters are tasked with finding a new team member for a company, and they need to know that they’re not going to send the company someone who may be a whiz with data, but can’t work with (or get along with others). Make sure your resume includes notes like, liaised with the marketing manager to develop annual marketing plans and budgets, or collaborated with the Sales Operations team to present annual strategy, goals, and progress. Show that you play well with others, without letting it dominate your resume.8. Brag about yourself.Definitely play up your achievements. If you’ve received honors or recognition at work, make sure your resume includes a section for those. A resume that is basically, â€Å"I’m the best, deal with it† on line after line will make a recruiter’s eyes glaze over, but you want to make sure you’re getting credit for the awesome things you’ve done- and for which you’ve gotten recognition.9. Explain gaps.Recruiters know what it looks like when you’re hiding information. If you do have gaps, try to give context in the cover letter. I was out of the workforce for a temporary personal matter, but am excited about bringing my expertise to this new role. Be honest- the recruiter can help you smooth gaps, but he or she can’t do anything if you offer no context.Recruiter Pet PeevesAnd now that you know what recruiters want to see, don’t forget to make sure you’re avoiding the things that could get you an eyeroll/automatic pass from the next recruiter who reads your stuff.Not Including Contact InformationThis seems like a no-brainer, but just make sure y ou’re proofreading to ensure that you’re including at least a phone number or an email (with a professional-sounding handle, please!) on the resume and cover letter you’ve worked so hard to produce.Going Overboard on BuzzwordsRecruiters know all the usual suspects- remember, they’re reading hundreds of resumes and cover letters. Avoid jargon in your resume, and opt instead for strong action words that show your strengths and achievements.Lousy FormattingMake sure your formatting is consistent throughout your resume, and that the document looks like a sleek, finished product. If it looks like several different docs copied and pasted into one, you might not get the attention you want.Resumes that Don’t Include ExperienceYour skills are a major, major part of your applicant package, and it’s great that you want to emphasize them. But don’t do that at the expense of your experience, even if you don’t have much of that yet. The recr uiter needs to have a full picture of you as an employee, and skills without job history won’t do that.Unprofessional Email Addresses (See #1)If GoGoGirl88 has been your go-to email address since you got one, it’s time to upgrade to Name@emaildomain.com. The recruiter is looking for someone who can bring maturity and intelligence to the role they’re trying to fill, and if they can’t even get past your ridiculous email handle, it’s not likely they’ll see you as the seasoned candidate you want to be.Remember, the recruiter is one of your best allies in your job hunt. If you put the time and effort into your resume and cover letter to get them on your side, you’ve already helped get your foot in that door. Good luck, and don’t forget to hug your local recruiter! (But only in the most respectful, professional of ways.)

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Trade and multinational enterprises Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trade and multinational enterprises - Coursework Example As at 2003, China had the third largest growth in the in FDI. There are clear indications that foreign direct investments are increasing steadily. This aspect is not surprising, as it is well known that the market size and opportunities that are available in China are favoring this growth. Again, the aspect of the open market policies that are followed by China in the course of the last two decades and the unending efforts (Adams, 2011). The efforts have lured more FDI has led to the increase in the FDI growth especially the Germany-based companies that accounts for the largest percentage of the foreign companies (Huang and Tang, 2011). This idea has resulted in an increase in the interest of many manufacturing companies to invest in China. Much of the China’s economic development depends on the policy making and extensive continuous FDI that facilitates and inward investment. Moreover, foreign development and investment of the manufacturing sector is critical in establishing the superstructure and infrastructure in the modern market policy. China has been the most attractive destinations for investment for many global players today. The reason behind for this trend is that the manufacturing industry in China forms one of the crucial investment avenues in the China’s economy and has a significant contribution to the total employment and the GDP (Adams, 2011). The other less important fact is that the country has relatively saturated markets in United States, Europe, and Japan who push for the big manufacturing other manufacturers to elsewhere and the China becomes an option as a prime destination for emerging industrialization. In 2009, China was the largest manufacturing country across the globe. The growth potential in the manufacturing industry in China in yet to be further developed more in many years to come. The likely trend is that the global manufacturers are going to shift their focus to the China markets

Friday, October 18, 2019

Discuss Prousts theory of memory and time using specific examples of Essay

Discuss Prousts theory of memory and time using specific examples of Time regained - Essay Example The precise aspect can be seen immediately in the lead-in of "Time regained": "I spent the whole day in my room, the windows of which opened upon the beautiful verdure of the park, upon the lilacs of the entrance, upon the green leaves of the great trees beside the water and in the forest of Msglise. It was a pleasure to contemplate all this, I was saying to myself: "How charming to have all this greenery in my window" until suddenly in the midst of the great green picture I recognised the clock tower of the Church of Combray toned in contrast to a sombre blue as though it were far distant, not a reproduction of the clock tower but its very self which, defying time and space, thrust itself into the midst of the luminous greenery as if it were engraved upon my window-pane."1. Marcel Proust ends his search of Lost Time with a seventh volume: "Time regained". This last volume shall be seen, not as a conclusion of the entire work but, as the reason the author decides to start to write. We have to consider "Time regained" as an introduction to Proust's previous volumes of "in search of Lost Time" because he finally links art - in his case literature - to memory and time. Art should be the way to represent and ultimately to regain the time which was lost. " This labour of the artist to discover a means of

Is painting relevant in the contemporary art world Essay

Is painting relevant in the contemporary art world - Essay Example The essay "Is painting relevant in the contemporary art world" discusses the relevance of the painting to the contemporary art world. This medium is painting. Although painting has continually reinvented itself throughout modern history (from the Renaissance to Modernism), it has slowly fallen out of the spotlight in major art competitions as technique has regressed behind the initial idea and aesthetic quality of a particular piece. Despite this, art in general has the innate ability to transform itself continuously and fluidly throughout the course of history in the western world. â€Å"We can see the destruction and de-construction of painting throughout the progression of movements that we have endured over the past 80 years† (Pearce). But is painting dead in today’s art world? Painting is constrained by numerous limitations which the artist is confined to work within. A painting lacks motion, is bounded by only two-dimensions and is confined by space, size and mobi lity, as the work is restricted by the choice of canvas. Because or despite these limitations, contemporary artists have taken a drastically different approach to painting. â€Å"Fast-forward to today’s modern art scene, where young British artist Damien Hirst can knock out ‘spin paintings’ – haphazard blurs of color scattered from a stepladder – in a matter of hours, and then sell them for $18,000. While he at least put paint on canvas, Hirst’s most famous pieces are light years away from the brush work of the old masters†.

Oedipus and his destiny Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oedipus and his destiny - Essay Example Throughout the conclusion section of the tragedy, it is clear that if not cautious, perceptions on fate can determine what actions we partake into to direct us to our destiny. Oedipus seems to have lost his track of events that brought him happiness and laments that his inability to discern where good things are makes him miserable. Belief in fate as foretold by a prophet that he’d kill his father and commit incest with his mother appear to be grave concerns on his fate-dependent destiny. In several instances, Oedipus recedes into self blame where he almost rushes to label himself worthless following all the predicaments that he has faced â€Å"†¦now Ive exposed my guilt, horrendous guilt†¦, â€Å"(Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Line 1517). It becomes difficult for him to once again understand why all the anguish and agony have to fall on his path of existence. Despite the fact that has been through many difficult moments, Oedipus is particularly having trouble to come to terms with the death of his wife (who also happens to be his mother). From the beginning of the excerpt, it appears that something else was troubling the restless man wh en he enters into the scene. Apparently, his wife was also having some seriously tormenting moments of her life before she opts for the noose as a way to find relieve from her adversaries. The emphasis of her bitter gesticulations near her matrimonial bed must have a direct connection with the actions of Oedipus, who is also disturbed. It gets clearer that Oedipus must have contributed to the trouble of the dead woman when he admits that that it won’t happen again that she could continue facing the hard life that he subjected her to. In Sophocles, Oedipus the King (Line1406), Oedipus laments and discloses his part in the tragic death of his wife by saying â€Å"youll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused!† His destiny in the unfamiliar path of

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Woodrow Wilson and World War 1 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Woodrow Wilson and World War 1 - Research Paper Example 2 He had no belief in the Presidential form of government in the earlier years of his political career. He considered that the checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution did not provide for accountability on any arm of the federal structure. He rather advocated Parliamentary form of government. However in the later years he gained confidence in the Presidential system and got elected twice as the President.3 World War 1 World War 1 started in the year 1914 among the European countries due to the deep rooted naval rivalry between the great powers especially Great Britain and Germany who had amicably settled their differences only temporarily. France had misgivings about its lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and the resultant enmity had been brewing between them. Austria-Hungary and Russia had been resisting war with the Balkan countries in the years 1912 and 1913. In fact Europe had been witnessing a series of crises since 1900 that had brought great powers almost clo se to war. By 1914, the differences among these countries became insoluble and they started engaging in war against one another. 4 The United States remained neutral for some years before it was forced into war due to Germany’s aggressive postures. Woodrow Wilson did not believe in wars and advised the citizens of America not to take sides in the war that was in progress in Europe among Germany and Great Britain and others. Wilson lost his wife in 1915 and he later married Edith Boling Galt as his second wife in the same year. In the same year, Germany’s sinking of ships of Britain gave an opportunity for Wilson to mediate between the warring countries of Europe. His visit to Europe for convening a peace conference was reciprocated by European powers. Although the United States was growing in power, it was finding it difficult to protect her trading rights in the midst wars that were fought for victory and survival.5 Declaration of Neutrality Woodrow Wilson, in his mes sage to Congress urged his countrymen to remain neutral. Since people of the United States had their origins of many nations at war in Europe, it was quite natural for them to take conflicting stands. But as the citizens of the United States they should be bound together without exciting passions. If the people are divided, then it would not be possible to maintain peace and mediate as an impartial country. 6 First Warning to Germany Since Germany had been indulging in destroying merchant vessels of the United Sates and killing its people , Wilson issued his first warning to Germany on 10 February 1915 to the then Imperial German Government against attacking merchant vessels on the high seas without entering and searching for any contraband. He informed the German Government that it would be held to a strict accountability in case of attack on the merchant vessels of the U.S. resulting in loss of lives and property.7 War message to congress In view of the continued belligerence of G ermany against the United States, Wilson announced severance of diplomatic relations with Germany from 3 February 1917. In his war message to the congress on 2 April 1917, Wilson informed that Germany was indiscriminately sinking ships of neutral and friendly nations which was a challenge to all mankind. When all the affected nations were to decide how to meet the situations, the United Sates would not take action in a spirit of revenge or assertion of the country’s physical might but as the vindication of human right which the nation championed. On 26th February it was informed to the Congress that the country would assert its neutral rights with arms, right to use the sea in retaliation of unlawful interference, right to safeguard its people against unlawful violence. But as things stood in April, it

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Business Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Writing - Assignment Example While preparing the draft, Kathy should take into consideration the detailed information available on the subject which includes various opinion and suggestion of the persons on the matter, her own opinion and perspectives, etc. Based on these inputs, Kathy would need to decide on the parts of her writing which needs to be edited, added or replaced. After preparing the draft, Kathy should read the piece to herself in order to be sure that her writing is properly structured and follow a logical flow with meaningful interpretations. In the draft written by Kathy, she should also look to remove redundant words which do not add sense to the piece of writing. The draft that is prepared by Kathy would need to be revised in order to make sure that the sentences written by her are structured, logical and meaningful. Kathy should look to present her writing in a better manner and use separate paragraphs where necessary. Kathy could also look to take suggestions and feedbacks from her peers in order to improve her writing skills relevant to the piece. After performing these steps, Kathy should make sure that she proofreads the piece written by her. This step is important for Kathy to produce a piece of writing to the target readers which do not contain any grammatical errors, errors in punctuation, spelling errors, etc. In this activity of proofreading, Kathy would need to make sure that all sentences in the writing piece are complete, simple and meaningful. Kathy would be able to remove her confusion in process of writing by performing these steps and would be able to produce a completely structured and perfect form of writing. Comparison of oral v/s written medium of communication: Advantages and disadvantages, examples In order to remove the confusion of Kathy in understanding the differences and applications of oral medium and written medium of communication, the advantages and disadvantages of both the form of communication should be explained. This would help Kathy to undertake the appropriate medium of communication in order to apply the same according to the need of the situation. The advantages of the oral medium of communication would help Kathy to resolve the issues faced the customers on an immediate basis. A good power of communication would help in resolving the customer complaints immediately (Kaul 15). The grievances could be settled in the front desk on an instant basis to the satisfaction of the customers in the hotel of Las Vegas. Thus effective oral communication would help in consolidating the customer relation for the Las Vegas hotel. The disadvantages of oral communication are that the facial expressions and emotions expressed during the communication process could not be concealed. This could lead to flaring of tempers. Once an oral communication is mishandled, it is very difficult to repair the relationship between the communicators. Thus Kathy should be careful of these disadvantages of oral medium of communication. In cas es where oral medium of communication is not effective, where maintenance of official records are necessary to validate the earlier communication held, the written form of communication would be advantageous and Kathy would need to adopt this form of communication. Moreover, written medium of communication is beneficial when the sender and the receiver of message are not within reachable distance.

Woodrow Wilson and World War 1 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Woodrow Wilson and World War 1 - Research Paper Example 2 He had no belief in the Presidential form of government in the earlier years of his political career. He considered that the checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution did not provide for accountability on any arm of the federal structure. He rather advocated Parliamentary form of government. However in the later years he gained confidence in the Presidential system and got elected twice as the President.3 World War 1 World War 1 started in the year 1914 among the European countries due to the deep rooted naval rivalry between the great powers especially Great Britain and Germany who had amicably settled their differences only temporarily. France had misgivings about its lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and the resultant enmity had been brewing between them. Austria-Hungary and Russia had been resisting war with the Balkan countries in the years 1912 and 1913. In fact Europe had been witnessing a series of crises since 1900 that had brought great powers almost clo se to war. By 1914, the differences among these countries became insoluble and they started engaging in war against one another. 4 The United States remained neutral for some years before it was forced into war due to Germany’s aggressive postures. Woodrow Wilson did not believe in wars and advised the citizens of America not to take sides in the war that was in progress in Europe among Germany and Great Britain and others. Wilson lost his wife in 1915 and he later married Edith Boling Galt as his second wife in the same year. In the same year, Germany’s sinking of ships of Britain gave an opportunity for Wilson to mediate between the warring countries of Europe. His visit to Europe for convening a peace conference was reciprocated by European powers. Although the United States was growing in power, it was finding it difficult to protect her trading rights in the midst wars that were fought for victory and survival.5 Declaration of Neutrality Woodrow Wilson, in his mes sage to Congress urged his countrymen to remain neutral. Since people of the United States had their origins of many nations at war in Europe, it was quite natural for them to take conflicting stands. But as the citizens of the United States they should be bound together without exciting passions. If the people are divided, then it would not be possible to maintain peace and mediate as an impartial country. 6 First Warning to Germany Since Germany had been indulging in destroying merchant vessels of the United Sates and killing its people , Wilson issued his first warning to Germany on 10 February 1915 to the then Imperial German Government against attacking merchant vessels on the high seas without entering and searching for any contraband. He informed the German Government that it would be held to a strict accountability in case of attack on the merchant vessels of the U.S. resulting in loss of lives and property.7 War message to congress In view of the continued belligerence of G ermany against the United States, Wilson announced severance of diplomatic relations with Germany from 3 February 1917. In his war message to the congress on 2 April 1917, Wilson informed that Germany was indiscriminately sinking ships of neutral and friendly nations which was a challenge to all mankind. When all the affected nations were to decide how to meet the situations, the United Sates would not take action in a spirit of revenge or assertion of the country’s physical might but as the vindication of human right which the nation championed. On 26th February it was informed to the Congress that the country would assert its neutral rights with arms, right to use the sea in retaliation of unlawful interference, right to safeguard its people against unlawful violence. But as things stood in April, it

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Mbuti Culture Essay Example for Free

The Mbuti Culture Essay The Mbuti Culture The way a culture makes their living impacts many aspects of cultural behaviors and has been a very effective way to organize thoughts and studies about different cultures. For most of human history people have lived a foraging or in other terms, hunting and gathering type of lifestyle. It has been said that foraging is the oldest form of human society and it was dated all the way back to the Paleolithic period, which was at least a million years ago (Nowak Laird, 2010). The Mbuti are Bantu speaking foragers, who live in small, independent communities within the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There actual location is found in the southern part of the Ituri Forest (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). Mbuti people have a nomadic lifestyle within a certain territory and live in a subsistence economy, meaning they only produce what they need to survive (Nowak Laird, 2010). They make their living by hunting and gathering, and this has had a big impact on their kinship, political organization, and their beliefs and values. The Mbuti culture has also had to overcome many changes throughout the past seventy years. Among foragers such as the Mbuti, there’s an endless movement of goods through kinship ties and residential closeness that have a positive impact on people’s obligations to one another. The responsibility to share and the traveling lifestyle prevent the buildup of individual wealth. No one person owns or has control over the resources and there are no differences in wealth among individuals (Nowak Laird, 2010). However, individuals do have rights over the natural beehives or termite mounds which they have located and marked (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). The Mbuti culture has certain beliefs and customs regarding marriage. When people from the Mbuti culture marry, it involves the payment of bridewealth or either the exchange of sisters or other close female relatives. The bridewealth was usually paid with iron implements or bark clothing, but today it’s paid in cash. Nowadays, exchanged marriages are the most common in bridewealth and they account for nearly half of the marriages in some bands. A rightfully married couple most of the time lives  virilocally, which leads to the band structure of partilineally related men and their wives and children. Families are involved in clans with each specific clan having certain names and totemic animals that are avoided by members (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). â€Å"Actual band composition is, however, more composite, with uxorilocal residence, and band fission and fusion† (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006, p.3). Aside from kinship, the political organization is another feature that is greatly impacted by the primary mode of subsistence. It has been said that, the main difference between our society and the Mbuti’s society is that, ours is based on discrete or â€Å"separated individuals†, while theirs is a single corporate group (Ground, 1983). Within each band, there is a spokesperson called the kapita. Until recently, the kapita’s role was limited to liaison work with horticultural villagers and regional administrators. The kapita handled things such as tax collections, census taking, and administrative demands. If those demands were not in-fact handled, the kapita was called into the local administrative office. Oddly enough, the kapita authority was recognized by other band members, through recognition of his sufferings on behalf of the community. Conflicts within the band were handled usually by face-to-face interactions, especially when it had to deal with labor, food, material culture, and bridewealth (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). Decisions that needed to be made concerning the entire band such as camp movement or certain hunting grounds are made in the course of men’s gatherings in what they call the tele. The opinions that came from the elderly and more experienced individuals were respected th e most. Sometimes the aged women were allowed to join in on the discussions, but the younger women had to listen quietly from their families homes. Usually when conflicts arose, one of the disputants moved to another camp to calm down. If the conflicts resulted in injury, the matter was submitted to the local village’s court (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). Another aspect of the Mbuti culture, that the primary mode of subsistence impacts is their religious beliefs and values. For the Mbuti people, their physical environment is clearly all accommodating, their food is fresh in hand every day, and they don’t have marked seasons so in return, they live day to day rather than thinking about the past and future. Their attention is on the present moment as well as the present space. They do not worry about what  isn’t here and now and that goes the same for time and space as well. Like for instance, if the hunting and gathering isn’t good near the camp, they would just simply move the camp. This method helped to restore the habitual â€Å"goodness† for the â€Å"here† and the â€Å"nowà ¢â‚¬  (Turnbull, 1985). â€Å"Even the visual aspect of the Mbuti world has a profound effect on their thinking† (Turnbull, 1985, p.9). They see the forest clearings to be cavernous, their houses are sphere shaped, and their concept of space is also spherical. They believe that each hunting camp and house is its own sphere surrounding the greatest sphere of all, the forest. All in all, every Mbuti is in the center of his own sphere that moves with him through time and space; he is always equally adapted to everything that is around, at any given moment (Turnbull, 1985). The Mbuti people believe that forest animals are an important source of food; however, some of them could cause awful diseases and other hardship if they were eaten imprecisely. For example, they felt that pregnant women and babies were vulnerable to certain animals and these animals were called kuweri. It was stated, that about eighty percent of the sixty mammals were avoided for that particular reason for at least a part of the life -cycle (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). Mbuti were famous for their dancing and singing; this was performed for amusement as well as the essential part of the rites of passage. Some examples were circumcision, girls’ puberty, marriages, and funerals. There were also known for communicating with the dead ancestors, who supposedly caused the living to sing and dance. The different kinds of songs were associated with different types of activities such as net fishing, elephant hunting, and honey collecting (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). One ritual that the Mbuti often practiced was the Ritual Performance of the Molimo Made’ and Molimo Mangbo. This particular ritual involved the use of a trumpet that was made out of wood and was secretly hidden in a tree, deep into the forest. â€Å"The ritual itself involves both dance and song for the trumpet (referred to as â€Å"the animal of the of the forest†) as well as for all other participants† (Turnbull, 1985, p.12). Singing and dancing takes place every night that the ritual lasts and the appearance of the trumpet is unpredictable. The Molimo Made’ might only last one night, but it seldom ever went past three or four nights and the trumpet would usually make at least one appearance per night (Turnbull, 1985). â€Å"This ritual is intended  to â€Å"cure† noise-or akami- and the trumpet appears in the form of the elephant in direct response to such akami† (Turnbull, 1985, p.12). On the other hand, the Molimo Mangbo continues for about a month or so, and the trumpet only appears when there’s ekimi (Turnbull, 1985). â€Å"This is the molimo that cures death itself, by â€Å"making it good†, a process that demands the total ekimi it brings, with the trumpet appearing as the leopard† (Turnbull, 1985, p.12). In both cases, a young Mbuti member goes off into the woods to find the trumpets hiding spot after dark. There isn’t anything special about how t hey go retrieve it, but the youth are all boys and are close to the marrying age. When the boys do in-fact find the trumpet, there is a certain ceremony that one boy must perform because the trumpet isn’t sacred all by itself (Turnbull, 1985). â€Å"Like any Mbuti ritual paraphernalia, it is not sacred merely for what it achieves† (Turnbull, 1985, p.12). If the trumpet just so happens to be rotten or is becoming too short, it is left there to rot without ceremony. Each time that the trumpet is taken down from a tree, the young boys inspect it and test the sound (Turnbull, 1985). When the trumpet arrives at the camp, the ritual will differ according to whether or not it is of greater or lesser molimo. If it’s lesser, the trumpet will circle the camp numerous times sounding shrilly just as if a herd of elephants were surrounding the camp. Then the young boys will all put one hand on the trumpet and run head first into the camp. They go right through the central place and attack the house that’s on the opposite side. Sometimes they might would run directly into it and beat on it with their fists or tear off some of the leaves, or they might even uproot the sticks that were used to make the foundation. After that, they run back through the central place and attack the house that was closest to where they came out of the forest. This is repeated and every time they make sure to cross the central place and if anything should be in the way, it was destroyed (Turnbull, 1985). The Mbuti people, who were in the houses that were being attacked, tried to plead with the young boys to go away, but neither the people who were barricaded in their homes nor the young boys would make direct references as to why the akami had brought out the molimo made’. The Mbuti people knew everything was over when they heard the boys singing as they took the trumpet away after its final attack. The song that the boys sang was a rather aggressive, defiant and  potentially destructive sound, like the elephants would make. When the boys got back to the hidden place to put the trumpet back into the tree, they would make a shrill trumpeting sound into the instrument. If it was a molimo mangbo, the trumpet would again circle the camp, kind of like before, but growling and coughing sounds would be made, like a leopard (Turnbull, 1985). â€Å"It occasionally breaks into song as the singer echoes the sound of all those gathered around the central fire, the kumamolimo. Sometimes this is all the youths will do, refusing to enter the camp at all† (Turnbull, 1985, p.14). If this was to happen, then the kumamolimo knew that it was in-fact their fault, because they didn’t sing and dance well enough. This would be repeated every night until the singing and dancing around the central place was sufficient enough to entice the greatest dancer and singer of all (Turnbull, 1985). When the trumpet did decide to enter the camp, it was welcomed because it brought ekimi rather than akami. The trumpet may stay all night or it may only decide to stay for a few minutes, but that depends on how well everyone sings and dances. â€Å"There is always a sense of sadness when the trumpet finally leaves as suddenly as it came, for it brings to the camp a degree and quality of ekimi that, the Mbuti say, mere humans can never achieve by themselves† (Turnbull, 1985, p.15). At the end of the festival, when the curing is complete, the dancing becomes more intensive and makes it more communal rather than individual, with very specific uniqueness to the occasion. Within the final week of the festival, an old woman joins the group of men and she also brings a number of nubile girls. The girls take over the men’s position of singing and dancing until the tribute is paid. Then one night the woman will dance around slowly through the fire, scattering the burning logs to every side. â€Å"After that, the men jump to their feet and kick the logs back into the center, dancing around as if in a communal act of regeneration, clearly imitating the act of copulation as the fire springs back to life† (Turnbul l, 1985, p.15). It has been stated that this would happen several times and then the old woman triumphs. An old man would slowly stamp through the ember, putting out every last one until the fire that fed the molimo was indeed gone. The trumpet sounds for the last time and this time, it leads the singing. This camp remains very special until the camp decides to move. It’s special because it has been transformed by the molimo mangbo (Turnbull,  1985). Needless to say, the Mbuti Molimo Ritual is a major ritual in Mbuti life. The molimo is associated with the death after a successful kill has been made and could also take place at the time of a crisis such as a poor hunting season. Mbuti’s current situation is very different now then back in the day. The profitable meat trade began in the nineteen-fifties and intensified in the nineteen-seventies and has inspired market-oriented hunting for the Mbuti. The Mbuti had links to the outside economy only indirectly with their villager patrons before the development of the meat trade. The meat trade aloud traders from outside of the forest to visit Mbuti camps and do face-to-face transactions with the hunters and this avoided the traditional kpara relationship. â€Å"The kpara relationship has declined as it’s economic basis of meat and labor has lost its former importance† (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006, p.4). In the nineteen-eighties, the gold dust mines opened and this caused the immigration to progress. The Mbuti population has increased by as much as forty percent during this same time period. Deforestation and degradation of resources was caused by the sudden increase in population (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). The Mbuti have become more involved in the market economy and they have had to start paying government taxes. â€Å"Most Mbuti men in the Teturi area now pay half the tax paid by villagers, and hold their own national identity cards. In addition to tax collectors, there are soldiers and civil servants demanding meat and labor from Mbutis† (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006, p.5). The main reason that the sedentarization plan failed is because of the flight of Mbutis from officials and government agents back in the nineteen-seventies. To say the least, the Mbuti are gradually becoming incorporated with the Zaire/Congo state through the ways of taxation, elections, national identity cards, and participation in other national events (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). In conclusion, the Mbuti are Bantu speaking foragers, who live in small, independent communities within the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There actual location is found in the southern part of the Ituri Forest (The Mbuti of northern congo, 2006). Mbuti people have a nomadic lifestyle within a certain territory and live in a subsistence economy, meaning they only produce what they need to survive (Nowak Laird, 2010). They make their living by hunting and gathering,  and this has had a big impact on their kinship, political organization, and their beliefs and values. The Mbuti culture has also had to overcome throughout the past seventy years as well. References Ground, P.L.B., Berger, P.L. (1983, April 10). Western complaints. New York Times, pp. A. 13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/424621445?accountid=32521 Nowak, B.S., Laird, P.F. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved from http://content.ashford.edu/AUANT101.10.2 The Mbuti of northern Congo. (2006). In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers. Retrieved from http://credoreference.com/entry/cuphg/i_iv_7_the_mbuti_of_northern_congo Turnbull, C.M. (1985, Autumn). Processional Ritual among the Mbuti Pygmies. The Drama Review: TDR, 17(3), 6-17. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1145649

Monday, October 14, 2019

Our Definition And Personality Theology Religion Essay

Our Definition And Personality Theology Religion Essay Earth is a mere planet in our thought to be an ever expanding universe. Many scientists have been able to identify some of the codes that build our universe and give it an identity based on laws of physics, chemistry and biology. Moreover, we humans are part of that space and time, and each one of us can resemble his own universe and act according to his own laws. Nevertheless, what factors govern the way we act or who we are? In addition to that, what are the factors that we build our character and personality on? A persons personality can be defined as his/her identity that is comprehended by the way we act, speak, think and believe. Ones identity is a result of numerous factors that can be categorized under sexual decisions, personal experiences, impact of travelling, participation in society and religion, and connection to origins. The factors of identity are many, but sexual beliefs have almost the most powerful effect on a persons identity. As we saw in The Diaries of Adam and Eve, ones gender reflects much on the character and personality of oneself (Twain 363-78). Since the beginning of the human race, the first aspect that determined each persons identity was his/her sex. Sex is a broad topic and has maintained much attention since Eve came into Adams world. The way we perceive life truly depends on our gender. Girls tend to view life in a loving and soft manner in contrast to males that believe in being tough and masculine. Our gender plays an important role also because of the way society looks at each gender. A female is required to act in certain ways as Mai Ghoussoub describes in her text Missed Opportunities: Me and My Gender: you play with boys, you enter their classrooms, obtain better grades than many of them and then you are asked to obey them or accept the inequality that places them above you ( 396-401). Moreover, today possibly the most talked about subject in the Arab world is sex before and after marriage. Starting with males, sex before marriage is encouraged and counts as a plus on a mans CV for marriage. Since it is impossible to know if a man has had sex before marriage, he has been granted that privilege and is free to do what he wants. However, a woman having sex becomes marked. Before marriage, she becomes a social outcast and viewed as a shame to society, but after marriage she is honored to be giving her husband that special gift called virginity. These gender discriminations most definitely affect ones identity since we are all free to do what we feel is right. Ones decision about choosing to confer to the inequality of genders or rebel against it or having sex before or after marriage is highly anticipated in the society we live in, and as soon as we decide what to do, we would add one more building block to our character or more importantly to our identity. We grow up in different environments and are introduced to different things at different times and conditions. Our story is similar to that of Eves as described in The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (363-78). We are all born in to this world clear of thoughts and ambitions, but as we grow up we get acquainted with our surroundings and discover the world around us. Being newly introduced to this world, we tend to question everything and formulate our own understanding of the nature we are brought into. According to the empiricism theory, our entire knowledge depends on the experiences we undergo, but there is a question on the table today; do our genes determine our personality and identity? Berkeley, a British empiricist, believes that The mind operates upon the ideas given to it, comparing or contrasting them; it does not merely record what is there (Hamlyn). Hence, we can observe that ones identity is strongly related to the experiences he/she witnesses in life. In addition to that, a person is influenced by other people as well. Furthermore, ones actions are in a relation to the surrounding environment and depend on the conditions found in it (Hamlyn). The people we encounter in life influence our thoughts and the experiments that we base our hypothesis on. As we saw before, personal experiences have a major effect on a persons identity and travelling is one of the most impacting experiences one can witness. Travelling around the world introduces the individual to all the different cultures and traditions that define others identities. This creates a wider range of knowledge on which we construct part of our identity. People who travel often try to go back to their origins in a later time in their life; the farther they are from their homeland the more they feel the need to connect to it. In House of Stone, Introduction: Bayt we witness how the author developed a deep connection with his grandfathers old house although he has travelled far away. He still appreciates the presence of the house and shows passion and regret to how he left his town and his roots. To him, the house is his identity, and had he not travelled, he would not have realized its great importance (Shadid 95-99). In Shadids text we see how travelling can make one reali ze his own identity, but there is a downside to everything. In Downtown Beirut- A City of Ghosts? the Lebanese people are invaded by new ideas and cultures to the extent that their land has lost its identity. Beirut became a place for everyone except the Lebanese people (Mohsen 117-22). From what the article states, identity is related to the land where a being expresses his self in, by creating memories in it and a place to call home. Religion can be counted as the highest rank in personal experiences and due its major impact it can be considered a category of its own in defining identity. The true meaning of identity is rendered useless in a vacuum world. The answer to Fearons question what is your identity? may vary according to the situation and the surrounding factors. An example of multiple identities is the duality of light characteristics which is considered wave or a particle depending on its current situation in nature. Therefore identity is the definition of the characteristics of an object associated with its surrounding (Fearon). By comparing light to humans we can clearly see that each persons identity is defined by his relation to other people. What we do in society is the true meaning of our identity. Society has many situations that affect us, and religion has been around for more than a century. It is a path that everyone has to take at some point in his life and it imposes its own identity on the person by managing to take control of his decisions and actions. Since we already saw how personal experiences and our decisions affect our identity, it is obvious that religion is a major factor that plays a role in each part of the identity equation. Ones participation in society is the key to developing his identity relative to it and to the world; however, religion imposes restrictions that guides the person to a certain position in society and gives him a predefined identity. Our identity is not only related to the present time we live in, but also to the past that lead to our being. What our elders left for us or what is called our heritage is yet another factor of identity because it marks the objects that we begin to build our thoughts on and narrows down the possible paths we take in life. An example of heritage identity is observed in Anthony Shadids text House of Stone: Bayt where the house of Isber samara becomes the symbol of Shadids original identity and his homeland (95-99). Traditions also count as a subset of ones origins where they interfere with an individuals experiences and thoughts by guiding them along the track of their elders identities. Identity is a word used to describe an object whether it was a living human being or bloodless hard rock. It is a very general word with a very specific meaning and effect on the universe. Nothing is created to just fill space in this galaxy, and everything has a certain job it has promised to fulfill. We have categorized some factors of identity to be able to understand the concept more clearly, but after this analysis we can conclude that our identity is what we want it to be. In the end, identity is basically who we are and its factors build up in a chain reaction that we can control most of the times. We can choose to have sex, to travel, to experience what we want, to follow religious paths or not and whether or not to maintain a connection with our familys and societys past.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Free Essays on Frankenstein: The Creature as a Foil to Frankenstein :: free essay writer

The Creature as a Foil to  Frankenstein   Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow â€Å"the aerial creations of the poets†. Instead he pursues knowledge of the â€Å"world† though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word â€Å"world† is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regar ded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frankenstein speaks fondly of his youth because his parents were â€Å"indulgent† and his companions were â€Å"amiable† (21). His parents’ policy in the education of their children is that there should neither be punishment nor â€Å"the voice of command† (26). Instead, they encourage their children to pursue their studies with vigor by â€Å"having the end placed in view†(21) and by having them discover the process by which to reach the end and not by making them learn tedious lessons. Frankenstein’s testimony to this is that he learnt better and retained his knowledge well. The approach to Frankenstein’s education in the home is strongly influenced by Rousseau, one of the most eloquent writers of the Age of Enlightenment. In his influential novel Emile, Rousseau expounded a new theory of education that emphasises the importance of expression rather than repression to produce a well-balanced and free-thinking child.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Miguel De Cervantes :: essays research papers

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, born September 29, 1547, was a Spanish novelist, dramatist, and poet. Cervantes was the author of the novel Don Quixote, a masterpiece of world literature that was a great influence to other renaissance writers. Cervantes was born to a poor family in a town called Alcala de Henares. His father was a surgeon who made little money to support the family . Without the means for much formal education, Cervantes became a soldier. On his return to Spain he worked at a series of government jobs that involved extensive travel in Andalucia. (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia) . His career as a public servant was marked by as much misfortune as was his military career. Not till his later years did Cervantes find a patron. It was then that he had the time to devote to his writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cervantes was a literary experimenter. In 1568, when Cervantes was a student, a number of his poems appeared in a volume published in Madrid to commemorate the death of the Spanish queen Elizabeth of Valois. In 1569 he went to Rome, where in the following year he entered the service of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva. Soon afterward Cervantes joined a Spanish regiment in Naples. He fought in 1571 against the Turks in the naval battle in Lepanto, in which he lost the use of his left hand. While returning to Spain in 1575, Cervantes was captured by Barbary pirates. He was taken to Algeria as a slave and held there for ransom. (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia). He did however make several unsuccessful escape attempts, but he was finally ransomed in 1580 by his family and friends. Returning to Spain at the age of 33, Cervantes, despite his wartime service and Algerian adventure, was unable to obtain employment with a noble family. This was usually the gift presented to military veterans for their distinguished courage. Deciding to become a writer, he turned out poems and plays at a prodigious rate between 1582 and 1585 (Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia). Few of these are still existent. His pastoral novel La Galatea (1585) gained him a reputation, but the proceeds from its sale were insufficient to support him. Cervantes then took government jobs, first furnishing goods to the fleet of the Armada and later collecting taxes. The government imprisoned him several times because he failed to give a satisfactory explanation of his tax-collecting activities. While in prison Cervantes conceived the idea for a story about a madman who imagines himself a knight-errant performing the splendid feats described in medieval tales of chivalry.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Linclon Reaction Paper Essay

On Monday November 26th I watched the recently released film Lincoln, at United Artists Cinema in Long Beach. Lincoln was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in cinemas around the United States on November 16th, 2012. The film had a well-known cast with Lincoln’s character was played by Daniel Day-Lewis, Mary Todd Lincoln by Sally Field, William Seward by David Strathaim and Thaddeus Stevens by Tommy Lee Jones. The film was based on Doris Kearns Goodwin biography titled ‘Team of Rival: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’. After the release of the book Spielberg became fascinated with Lincoln’s character and gained the film rights to the book. Shortly after pre-production for the film began back in 1999. The story line is based around the last four months of President Abraham Lincoln’s life during his second term of his presidency. The Civil War is believed to be coming to an end and the northern states of the union continue to fight the southern confederate states in an effort to abolish slavery. The film heavily focuses on the month of January in 1865 where Lincoln directed his efforts on passing the thirteenth amendment to the United States Constitution through the House of Representatives. Previous to the amendment in 1963, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which proclaimed all slaves in the United States to be ‘forever free,’ including those men from the confederate states that were in rebellion during the war. Most people thought that the war was coming to an end within the coming months and Lincoln believed the Emancipation Proclamation would be disregarded once the war ended and peace was established. Passing the thirteenth amendment was preciou s to President Lincoln as it formally and legally outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude of all peoples of the United States. Lincoln so far has been very well received and there are many elements that make the film both notable and exemplary. Many critics are already prophesizing Daniel Day-Lewis to be a top contender for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the film to be voted Best Picture of the year. Daniel Day-Lewis does a fantastic job at bringing Lincoln’s character to life and gives him a very likeable demur for the audience. His ability to become the character, captures the great man that President Lincoln was. Due to the narrow focus of the story line the audience is able to grasp Lincoln in a way that is unprecedented by other story tellers. Sally Field is also very convincing in her role as Mary Todd Lincoln with an emotional nature as she mourns the loss of her young son Willie. The film is very consistent with the events of the time and paints an accurate and believable picture for the audience of life during the civil war for both soldiers and diplomats. They highlight how President Lincoln was a wind of change during the difficult and turbulent time during the Civil War. The film explains the importance and actual proceedings that were involved with passing of the thirteenth amendment to all viewers in a way that is enjoyable to both history buffs and younger audience members with a less detailed knowledge of the time. Although the film has been well received flaws can be observed by viewers. The story line only covers a very short space of time of the last four months of Lincoln’s life. It would have been interesting for the audience to have learnt more about Lincoln’s two terms as president. The films focuses exclusively on the passing of the thirteenth amendment and leaves out other significant achievements of Lincoln and important on goings during that period. This narrow subject area focus made the film quite slow for the audience. Sections of the film seemed to drag on and may have been cut out to include a larger time scale of events. The film highlighted what a great leader Lincoln was. It showed how he was strong in times of adversity and continued to flight for the rights of all America men. He held his moral ground on the issue of slavery and ensured that he achieved equality for African Americans. Lincoln role was important as he established America as the land of freedom for all. At the end of the film Lincoln is assassinated. It is a sad moment in the film yet highlights the notoriety that comes with holding such a prominent position of office and that sensitive political topics sometimes cause irrational behavior among citizens. In the wake of the recent presidential election the lessons of Lincoln seem particularly relevant. The election of President Barak Obama as the first African American president was a landmark in American politics and society. It was also a victory for the legacy of President Lincoln who emancipated colored slaves and set them free on American soil. Obamas election as president highlights the good work that Lincoln fought for and achieved with his Emancipation Proclamation and the passing of the thirteenth amendment. Lincoln the film is an outstanding example of how democracy can be used to achieve great things. The film highlighted that the political process can be very difficult especially when trying gain approval from both political parties on sensitive issues. The scene that follows the morning of the vote on the thirteenth amendment is very emotional as the senators each take time to cast their individual vote. This highlights the importance of the individual in maintaining a democracy that is fair and representative of the people’s voices. The strong spirit and moral code that Lincoln bought to his role as president are characteristics that should be emulated by current and future presidents and members of congress in the United States. Lincoln stood behind his demand for peace with the southern states. US political leaders should strive to achieve peace with nations yet ensure that human rights abuses are not being violated by the enemy. The US should stand on the moral high ground to protect the freedoms of the citizens in their jurisdiction. Lincoln believed that the abolishment of slavery needed to be rooted in the law and stood behind this decision to ensure that he achieved the right outcome for the American people. US politicians must ensure that they make choices which benefit all US citizens and are of a high ethical standard. The legalization of gay marriage may be the modern equivalent to the outlaw of slavery though the thirteenth amendment in 1865. Earlier this year President Obama officially stated that he endorsed the legalization on gay marriage and that he believes homosexual couples should be able to marry in the United States. This is similar to Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which gave indication that Lincoln personally felt slavery was cruel and inhumane. Lincoln’s courageous efforts for liberty are still being replicated within the political system. During the recent election Maryland and Maine both passed laws to legalize gay marriage and create equality. The passing of these state laws highlights a step by President Obama, US Senators and the American people to continue Lincoln’s legacy of creating freedom of choice for all in the United States.