Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buddhism - Research Paper Example Buddhism is among the few leading religions. This religion started about 2, 600 years ago in India. Sakya is believed to have started it is a prince of the tribe called Siddhartha Gautama (Kozak, 2011). The basic teachings of Buddha came from the time he became enlightened after a certain farmer had beaten his ox in a grazing field. Buddha wondered why the farmer had beaten up his ox and why a living thing like an animal ought to feed on another creature in order to survive (Kozak, 2011). He was able to discover three prominent marks of reality. Everything that exists is due to conversion from one form to another. Nothing new has been formed, or nothing destroyed completely but simply changed (Kozak, 2011). If man destroys something around the environment, he is destroying himself. Buddha was aware of this truth. For this reason, Buddhists did not kill animals (Kozak, 2011). This is a universal truth that he strongly believed. Everything is constantly changing, and this is the reason why there is a different history from the life that is lived now. People and other living things die out and are being replaced by others. The environment also changes from one state to another (Kozak, 2011). He also believes in constant transformation, and the universe, which is stated as karma. Nothing ever takes place in our lives unless we ought to have it. The measure of what we receive either good or bad is exactly what we earn. This is a lesson that teaches individuals to create a bright future (Kozak, 2011). He believes that suffering is common to all. Everyone gets to suffer from life situations that make us unhappy. The reasons for these sufferings are due to people’s ignorance and greed. Every person should enjoy life without being greedy. In order to do this, all the greediness and ignorance should be cut off entirely (Kozak,

Crime and Punishment in Ancient Greece Essay Example for Free

Crime and Punishment in Ancient Greece Essay Today, criminals are punished for their crimes by going to jail or prison or being on probation. But what was it like in Ancient Greece? After the Dark Ages, about 1200-900 BC, the Ancient Greeks had no official laws or punishments. Murders were settled by the victims family killing the murderer, but this was difficult if they were elderly or female. This often began endless blood feuds. It was not until the seventh century BC that the Greeks began to establish laws. Around 620 BC, Draco wrote the first law for Greece. This law said that exile was the penalty for murder and was the only one of Dracos laws that Solon kept when he became law giver in 594 BC. Foreign slaves were often employed as police men and women in Ancient Greece. After somebody reported a crime, if somebody was arrested, an informant would receive half of fine charged to the criminal. In Athens, criminals were tried before a jury of 200 or more citizens picked at random. Going to prison was not an usual punishment for the people of Greece. In cases involving rape, theft, adultery, and murder, the accused got a written summons that told them when they had to appear before the magistrate. Athenian law was divided into two things, public and private action. Public actions included the entire community. Private actions included an individual. In cases of murder, the victims family was required to prosecute the killer. Even though magistrates were at the trial, they werent judges. They neither gave advice nor did they convict the felon. They just supervised the hearing. The jury in a trial was made up of 200-600 members over the age of thirty to make sure there was no risk or bribery. After the speeches had been delivered by the prosecution and the defense, the jurors voted without deliberation. In the 5th century BC, jurors cast their vote in secret. Each juror was provided with two tokens, one for conviction and the other for acquittal. The juror put one of these in a wooden urn whose tokens were disregarded, and the other in a bronze urn whose votes were counted. Judgement was passed on a majority verdict. In the 5th century B. C. , a tie meant an acquittal. In the following century, old-numbered juries were the norm and that is the custom today. In Ancient Rome the slaves had no rights at all. They were thought of and treated like merchandise. However, slaves did cost money to buy so many of the punishments did not inflict lasting damage. The lash was the most common punishment. When slaves were beaten, they were suspended with a weight tied to their feet, so they wouldnt be able to move them. Another punishment was to be branded in the forehead. An alternative punishment included the slave being forced to carry a piece of wood around their necks wherever they went. This was called furca; and whichever slave had had been punish with this was called furcifer all the time after that. Slaves were also, by way of punishment, often kept in a work-house, or house of correction, where they had to turn a mill for grinding corn. When punished for any capital offense, they were commonly crucified; but this was eventually prohibited under the rule of the Emperor Constantine. In Rome, the punishments for death are beheading, strangling in prison, throwing a criminal from the Tarpeian rock, crucifixion, burying a person alive, or throwing a criminal in the river (patricide). Throwing a criminal in the river was inflicted for killing your father. The criminal was immediately blindfolded as unworthy of the light, and in the next place the person were taken to the field of Mars outside Rome, stripped of everything then whipped with rods. He was then sewed up in a sack, and thrown into the sea. Later in time, to add to the punishment for patricide, a serpent was put in the sack; and still later, an ape, a dog and a cock. The sack which held the criminal was called Culeus, on which account the punishment itself is often signified by the same name. There are eight kinds of punishments, fine, fetters, flogging, retaliation of kind, civil disgrace, banishment, slavery, and death. Punishments in Ancient Rome were very harsh and violent and they are unlike the laws today.

Second Language Learning And Age Related Factors English Language Essay

Second Language Learning And Age Related Factors English Language Essay Age is one of the most important affective factors in Second Language Acquisition(SLA). There is some consensus among SLA researchers that age as an affective factor that brings about different performance stages in second language learning. Most experts also agree that individual learners learn differently depending on many variables like learning opportunities, the motivation to learn, individual differences and learning styles in second language acquisition. However, there is little consensus as to how far individuals of the same age group of learners follow a similar and/or linear pattern of language acquisition. The question of how developmental stages interact with individual learning differences is still a question of great debate. It is generally believed that younger learners have certain advantages over older learners in language learning. The common notion is that younger children learn L2 easily and quickly in comparison to older children (Ellis, 2008; Larsen-Freeman, 200 8; Mayberry Lock, 2003). The relationship between age and success in SLA, though complex in nature, is linked to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH). CPH, also known as the sensitive period, is defined as the period during which a child can acquire language easily, rapidly, perfectly, and without instruction(Richards Schmidt, 2002, p.145). The CPH suggests that a period of time, between birth and somewhere around the age when a child enters puberty, exists in which the learning a second language can be accomplished more rapidly and easily than times falling outside of this period i.e. post puberty (Larsen-Freeman Long, 2008).SLA theories and research have explained the impact of age in second language acquisition. As reported by Light bown and Spada (2008), learning depends on learners characteristics and the environment. Their findings suggested that older learners have a higher level of problem solving and metalinguistics abilities than younger learners. Researchers discoveries Researchers have focused on learners pronunciation, syntax and grammatical morphemes. Mark Patkowski (1982) examined the level of spoken English of sixty-seven immigrants to the U.S. His finding was that pre-puberty learners acquire second language better than post-puberty learners. He also pointed out that two other factors-length of residence and amount of instruction-are inseparable from the age factor. Johnson and Newport (quoted in Light bown Spada, 2008) found native-like language abilities and the performance levels lower in older children than younger in a study of forty-six Chinese and Koreans speakers. On the other hand, Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (1982), from their research carried in Holland, concluded that adults learned faster than children and the rate of second language learning was higher. David Singleton(2003) also declared that the tendency for younger learners to do better in the long run in the matter of second language lexical acquisition is no more than a tendenc y (p. 22). In this paper, an attempt is made to study and analyze the age related research on the basis of critical period hypothesis and other relevant variables. The key question in this paper is how age affects second language acquisition. Do people of the same age group possess the same learning characteristics and learn in the same ratio in SLA? Are there any certain features that the researchers have agreed upon regarding the age factor in SLA and CPH? Critical period The notion of critical period for a second language acquisition has been associated with several hypotheses. Some researchers have focused on the view that the younger learners as the better learners whereas others opine the older learners as the better learners. However, there are different perspectives on how the children and adults learn a foreign or second language. Adults naturally find themselves in such situations that demand more complex language and expression of more complicated ideas whereas children lack pressure and maturity in second language learning. The Experiments David Singleton (1989) offered a number of proposals related to age and second language acquisition. The most popular notions are the younger =the better and the older =the better (Singleton, p. 31). He, on the basis of previous studies and research on age factor, focused on learners pronunciation skill and other linguistics features. There are a number of research to support the younger the better hypothesis. Yamanda et al. (qtd. in Singleton, 1989) studied 30Japanese elementary school pupils of seven to ten ages old. These students did not have any previous experience of English. The researchers used a list of 40 English words and recorded the rate of success of the students. Their finding was that more than average older learners decreased with age i.e. the older the age the lower the score. Furthermore, Mark S. Patkowski (1982) carried out a research on 67 highly educated immigrants to the United States from various backgrounds. In his control subjects, 33 subjects were those who had come to the United States before the age of 15 (pre-puberty group) and 34 subjects who were post-puberty group with similar backgrounds. He examined the spoken English of the subjects, and analyzed a difference between learners who began to learn English before puberty and those who began learning English later after puberty (Patkowski, 1982, p.58). His results showed a strong negative relationship between age of arrival and syntactic rating. He concluded that the pre-puberty group was better in language learning than the post-puberty group. He further addressed: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the only factor which was highly associated with the level of syntactic proficiency attained by learners was the age at which acquisition of English began. Practice and instructional variables showed little or no association with the dependent variables. The result, then, appeared to strongly support the hypothesis of an age-related limitation on the ability to acquire full command of a second language. (Patkowski, 1982, p. 59) He also concluded that the age factor is highly related to other several factors like the numbers of years spent in the United States, amount of information exposure to English and amount of formal instruction in English. One of the supporting evidences in the field of second language acquisition comes from the experience of immigrants. A group of researchers have shown a relationship between age of entry, length of residence and level of language acquisition (Singleton 1989; Ekstrand 1982; Asher Gracia 1989; Lightbown Spada 2008). Asher and Gracia examined acquisition of pronunciation of 71 Cuban immigrants to California. The subjects were of aged groups from seven to 19 years. The majority of them had been in the United States for about five years. They concluded that not one of the 71 Cuban subjects was judged to have American native pronunciation (qtd. in Singleton, 1989, p. 83). They also figured out a fact that the younger a child had been when entering the United States, the higher the probability of a native like accent. The Lenneburgian notion of CPH that puberty as a milestone for SLA has been reversed by the other researchers. Carroll (1963) suggested that the ability to acquire a native like accent declines toward puberty. Ekstrand (1982) carried out a research on age and length of residence of 2400 Swedish pupils. The test consisted of six areas including pronunciation, diction, listening, reading, oral and written production. Ekstrand grouped the total population into 26 categories according to third month of year of birth and observed effects of age and effects of length of residence in the process of second language. He found that language learning ability goes almost linearly with age. He also noticed that social and emotional adjustment did not seem to be related to age. He deduced that age was strongly correlated with grade levels because quality and quantity of instruction was an important factor in second language learning. For Ekstrand, the more developed the brain was, the better it was suited for second language learning. Susan Oyama (1976) studied 60 male Italian immigrants who entered to the United States at ages ranging from six to 20. She examined the degree of American accent and proficiency in English listening. She concluded that age is as an important factor to achieve native like accent. The youngest arrivals performed a better accent. She has shown the relation of age and listening comprehension as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦those subjects who began learning English before age 11 showed comprehension score similar to those of native speakers, whereas later arrivals did less well; those who arrived after the age of 16 showed markedly lower comprehension scores than the native. (Oyama, 1982, p. 23) A further immigrant study appeared in support of the younger the better hypothesis. Johnson and Newport (qtd. in Lightbown Spada, 2008) selected 46 Chinese and Korean experimental subjects in their research. They tested some rules of English morphology and syntax among the participants of aged groups from three to 15 and with those aged groups from 17 to39. The result was that those who began learning later did not have native like language abilities and their performance on the test varied more widely. Robert Dekeyser (2000) conducted a replication of the Johnson and Newport with a group of Hungarian immigrants to the United States. On the contrary, he concluded that adult learners were better than the younger ones. The second strong hypothesis is that older learners are more successful that than younger language learners in SLA. This notion was highly supported by a number of short term experimental researchers. These studies and research were based on teaching projects and second language immersion programs. Some of these studies have highlighted adolescents and adults of different ages where results have indicated that the older learners are far better than the younger ones. In 1967 Ashor and Price (as cited in Singleton, 1989) have carried out an experiment with96 students from the second, fourth and eighth grades of a school and 37 undergraduate students from a college. The subjects did not have any previous knowledge of Russian, the targeted language. After three short trainings conducted in Russian language, the results showed that the eight graders performed significantly better than the second graders and the fourth graders. They also noticed a consistently positive relationship with advancing age because of above average mental ability of the adults. Politzer and Weiss (as quoted in Singleton, 1989) have conducted another study in which they found that an advantage of SLA for older learners than younger ones. Their subjects were second, fifth, seventh and ninth graders. The experimental procedures were consisted of an auditory discrimination test, a pronunciation test and a reading test among 257 pupils. They recorded a gradual improvement of scores with an increase age in all three tests. Similarly, Olson and Samuel in the 1970s (qtd. in Singleton, 1989) have investigated the relative capacity of native English speakers in three different age groups on 20 elementary pupils, 20 junior high school pupils and 20 college students. On the test of pronunciation, it was found that two older groups performed significantly better than the elementary age group. In other studies on age and SLA, many researchers have mentioned a similar finding that adult subjects performed better than the children (Bland Keislar, 1966; Smith Braine, 1973; Burstall her colleagues, 1974; Singleton, 1989). Bland and Keislar took six fifth graders and four kindergartners in their study. They conducted an individualized program of oral French. They mentioned that amongst the fifth graders this time ranged from 4.5 to 11 hours, the mean being 6.9 hours, whereas amongst the kindergarteners the ranges from 12.5 to 17.5 hours and the mean was 15.1 hours (Qtd. in Singleton 1989, p. 98). In other words, the younger learners took more than twice as long as the older learners. A large scale experiment was conducted by Burstall and her colleagues (Qtd. in Singleton 1989) in the 1970s. The study included three age groups of pupils from selected primary schools in England and Wales. Among the 11 year old, 13 year old and 16 year old students, the results indicated that older students dramatically achieved higher score in listening and speaking tests than the younger ones. Other researchers of SLA interested in assessing phonological skills of learners suggest a common belief that younger learners acquire a native like accent in the target language. Dunkel and Pillet (reported in Singleton, 1989) compared the proficiency in French between elementary school pupils and beginning students of French from the university. They found that the younger learners pronunciation was better than that of the older ones. However, in both written and aural tests, the university students had better performance than the younger ones. In another study, Fathman and Precup (reported in Singleton, 1989) tested oral proficiency in English on 20 children and 20 adults in a formal setting in Mexico. Their finding also brought a similar conclusion that the children scored better in English pronunciation than the adults but the adults scored better then the children in syntax. Some studies, on the other hand, have focused on the issues of culture and variations of accent among the speakers of the same language. Lobov (1920) has claimed that people rarely acquire the accent of a particular region if they move into that region after puberty (qtd. in Singleton, 1989, p. 111). While considering younger learners in long run, Stephen Krashen (1979) has forwarded three proposals in the domain of morph syntax. Krashens positions in SLA are as following: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Adults proceed through early stages of syntactic and morphological development faster than children (where time and exposure are held constant). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Older children acquire faster than younger children (again time and exposure are held constant). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Acquirers who begin natural exposure to second languages during childhood generally achieve higher second language proficiency than those beginning as adults. (qtd. In Singleton, 1989, p. 117) Krashen et al. studied syntax and morphology of children in formal and informal learning contexts. They claimed that older learners proceed through the early stages of second language grammatical development more quickly than younger learners. Anan Fathman (1982) observed a difference in the rate of learning English phonology, morphology and syntax based on the differences in age. She focused on the children aged 11 to 15 years who received significantly higher scores in learning the morphology and syntax of a second language than those children of aged six to ten years. One of the most significant studies related to age and SLA comes from the research of Catherine E. Snow and Marian Hoefnagel-Hohle (1982). They investigated 51 English subjects in five age groups whose target language was Dutch. The subjects accomplishments at three points in the Netherlands were compared with the accomplishments of two advanced speakers of Dutch and native speakers. The beginners were tested three times at 4 to 5 month intervals, but the advanced learners were tested only once. The subjects were tested individually at school or at home in various categories-pronunciation, auditory discrimination, morphology, sentence repetition, sentence translation, sentence judgment, Peabody picture vocabulary test, story comprehension and storytelling. The results of their study gave strong evidence against the critical period hypothesis. All the tests showed a rapid learning by the 12 to 15 years old and adults during the first few months of acquisition. T hey mentioned: The adultsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fell increasingly behind because their subsequent improvement was very slow. The teenagers had achieved almost native performance extremely quickly, within a few months of starting to speak Dutchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.The crucial findings of relevance for evaluating the CPH were that the 3 to 5 years old scored consistently worse than the older groups on all the test and that the 12 to 15 years old showed the most rapid acquisition of all the skills tested. (Snow Hoefnagel-Hohle, 1982, p. 103) The Results Their finding rejected the notion of younger learners as better learners in L2 acquisition. In the second study, Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle took 81 subjects. Of them, 51 were beginners and31were advanced learners. In the result, it was found that in all cases the adolescent and adult subjects outperformed the younger subjects. The research has shown non-liner relationship between age and second language acquisition. Whether the long term or short term studies are conducted on syntax and morphology or pronunciation of a second language, there are as many conflicting views as the researchers. To address this situation, it is opted to quote Singleton (1989) that beyond the strict terms of Krashen et. al.s hypothesis the evidence concerning short term versus long term language attainment is more confused (p.119) and there is no common argument agreed by all the research. David Birdsong (2006) has studied theoretical issues and empirical findings of age related research of second language acquisition. He had found that brain memory, learning conditions and second language processing speed are connected with age factor. He has pointed out that morphological changes and cognitive process are different in young and adult learners. The next component besides Critical Period Hypothesis of second language acquisition is the variables related to the age factor. These variables can be motivation, anxiety, self confidence, attitude, learning styles and so on. They are responsible in language acquisition in both children and adults. Their direct relationship to age as an indicator of language learning has been studied by various researchers. John Archibald (2005) has said that it is hard to say whether critical period exists or not. He argued that it is much more difficult to predict knowledge or ability in any of the other areas of communicative competence (syntax, cohesion, sociolinguistics, etc.) based on age of acquisition (Archibald, 2005, p. 420). Rather he valued individual differences, the L2 classroom, modified input, modified interaction, and learning environment in second language learning context. Mary Schleppegrell (2008) has focused on health, classroom practices and learning styles as age related factors in second language learning. She says that older adults learn a foreign language for a specific purpose to be more effective professionally, to be able to service in an anticipated foreign situation or for other instrumental reasons (Schleppegrell, 2008, p. 3). On the other hand, younger learners may not have extrinsic motivation or may not see a specific goal in learning another language. It is also noticed that children and adults do not always get the same quality and quantity of language input in both formal and informal learning settings (Lightbown Spada, 2008). It is also hard to say how these variables work as a filter or barrier in learning process of young and adults. As in Colliers study (1987) (qtd. in Singleton, 1989), the barrier of anxiety sometimes makes the adults less successful in second language. Language input is another factor linked to age. Stephen Krashen believes that the learner improves when he or she receives second language input at a level of comprehensible input (i+1). For Krashen the natural comprehension input has become the fundamental principle in SLA. This comprehensible input may change with age where older learners get an advantage over younger ones (Lightbown Spada, 2008). Conclusion Summing up, age is one of the characteristics that determine the way in which an individual learns second language. Age is highly associated with critical period in many research studies. There are a number of controversial issues related to second language acquisition and critical period hypothesis. As Singleton (2005) has predicted, a multiplicity of CPs, like mythical hydra, whose multiplicity of heads and capacity to produce new heads rendered it impossible to deal with (p. 288). He declares the end of critical period. Some researchers limited the CP between per inatality and puberty, while the others extended it after the puberty. In the realm of pedagogy, the researchers have advocated CPH into two main categories-the younger the better and the older the better. A group of researchers including Singleton, Yamanda et al., Carroll and et al, and Patkowski believed that the young learners have higher learning potentiality than the adults whereas Johnson and Newport, Dekeyser, Asher and Price, Politzer and Weiss, Olson and Samuel opined the opposite. The young learners are considered fluent in communication of the second language and achieve native like accent. Learners after the age of puberty do not acquire native like accent of a second language but have complex learning pattern. Research suggests that children and adults L2 learners pass through different developmental states in second language learning. Learning depends on the cognitive maturity and neurological factors. Julia Van Sickle and Sarah Ferris (as quoted in Singleton, 2005) have shown the relation between age and second language acquisition as, One of the dangers of the emphasis on critical periods is that it prompts us to pay too much attention to when learning occurs and too little attention to how learning might best occur (p. 105). Age is not everything in second language learning. However, factors related to the age, for example the learning opportunities, the motivation to learn, individual differences, and learning styles, are also important determining variables that affect the rate of second language learning in various developmental stages of the learners.

Free Essays - All Quiet on the Western Front :: All Quiet on the Western Front Essays

Essay: All Quiet on the Western Front An anti-war novel often portrays many of the bad aspects and consequences of war.   Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel set in the First World War that is against war.   Remarque describes the terrible reality of the war, focusing on the horrors and involved.   The novel portrays an anti-war perspective as it brings up issues about the brutality of war, the narrator’s change of attitude towards war, the futility of war and the deaths of the narrator’s friends. In the novel, Remarque presents the brutality of war.   Early on in the novel, he describes the sound of the wounded horses and how brutal the war atmosphere is.   â€Å"There is a whole world of pain in that sound, creation itself under torture, a wild and horrifying agony† (p44).   The brutality of war in the novel, however, is mainly shown through human suffering.   Baumer talks about brutal things that soldiers are just expected to do.   He says, â€Å"When you put a bayonet in, it can stick, and you have to give the other man a hefty kick to get it out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p74).   The German soldiers attack the enemy with extreme instinctive brutality.   â€Å"With the butt of his rifle, Kat smashes to pulp one of the machine-gunners†¦We bayonet the others before they can get their grenades out† (p84).   The use of poison gas is also a very brutal practice throughout the novel.   Baumer describes this while he is in a gassed area, hoping that his gas mask is working properly.   He says, â€Å"I know the terrible sights from the field hospital, soldiers who have been gassed, choking for days on end as they spew up their burned-out lungs, bit by bit† (p48).    The narrator changes his attitude towards war as he becomes more aware of its undesirable effects.   Even in the beginning, Baumer realises its terrible reality and the change it has made to his life.   He says, â€Å"We have lost all our ability to see things in other ways, because they are artificial.   For us, it is only the facts that count (p15).   The physical change of the narrator and his fellow soldiers also indicate that he has gone through an attitude change towards war.   â€Å"We [Paul Baumer and his fellow soldiers] became tough, suspicious, hard-hearted, vengeful and rough†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p19).   When the narrator talks about the difference between his life before the war and his life at the present time, it becomes clear that he has changed a great deal.

Promotional Communication analysis :: essays research papers

Promotional Strategy Promotional Communication Analysis Company name: Windsor Smith Contents Page Introduction ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K. Page 3 Marketing Strategy ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K.Page 4 The Target Market & Consumer Behaviour ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K.Page 5 The Communication Process ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K.Page 6 Evaluating Windsor Smith ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K..Page 12 Conclusion ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K.. ¡K.. ¡KPage 15 References ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K ¡K.. ¡K ¡K.Page 16 Introduction________________________________________________ The magazine advertisement chosen for this assignment was selected from FHM June 2004 edition. FHM is predominately a male magazine being the biggest selling men ¡Ã‚ ¦s magazine in Australia and New Zealand. The chosen advertisement is a Windsor Smith advert on page 73 of FHM, a little bit less then halve way through the magazine and positioned between some of the hottest articles in the magazine. Analysis of this advertisement suggests the Windsor Smith advertisement is positioned at male metro sexual readers, wanting to purchase exceptionally fashionable shoes for themselves. Marketing Strategy__________________________________________ Opportunity Analysis  ¡Ã‚ ¥Marketing opportunities are areas where there are favorable demand trends, where the company believes customer needs and opportunities are not being satisfied, and where it can complete effectively. ¡Ã‚ ¦ (Belch & Belch 2001, p.40) Windsor Smith has effectively seen the opportunity of marketing to the new breed of Aussie males, the  ¡Ã‚ ¥metro-sexual-man ¡Ã‚ ¦ 60 minute reporter Charles Wooley, describes this new male breed as  ¡Ã‚ ¥Like Sex and the City, only for blokes, they are into makeovers, make-up and moisturisers. They know everything there is to know about shirts and shoes  ¡X and they ¡Ã‚ ¦re straight. ¡Ã‚ ¦ FHM describes the  ¡Ã‚ ¥metro-sexual-man ¡Ã‚ ¦ in his mid-to late twenties, intelligent and in a professional position, he knows all the latest brands and trends, he can chose a shiraz with his risotto and tie a perfect Windsor. Competitive Analysis  ¡Ã‚ §Competitive Analysis is something special a firm does or has that gives it an edge over competitors ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Belch & Belch, p.41) Other advertisement in the same edition of FHM includes a Julius Marlow, advertising stylish male shoes. It is not known if the marketers of Windsor Smith were aware that the Julius Marlow advertisement was to be placed in the same issue. The Julius Marlow advertisement is on a double page spread on the nineteenth page of FHM. It is informing the reader that Julius Marlow shoes, not only make the pricey male dress shoes that they are well known for. But also now make fashionable shoes similar to the shoes advertised in the Windsor Smith advertisement, similar in style and price. The Target Market and Consumer Behaviour____________________  ¡Ã‚ ¥Target marketing is the process of identifying the specific needs of segments, selecting one or more of these segments as a target and developing marketing programs directed to each. ¡Ã‚ ¦ (Belch & Belch 2001)

Jefferson’s Declaration Of Independence And Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address Essay

Two of the most prestigious and respected leaders of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, are notable for their great speeches and written works because they not only instilled patriotism in the American audiences, but unity, hope, and history as well. Examples of these skills are clearly found in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMzY1KJVeo], for each of these documents is a solid, memorable piece in style and historical support. Both pieces begin with many similar key factors, establishing affinity between the speaker and his audience on the concrete basis of a common background. Jefferson does not say â€Å"I hold these truths†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"the government† or even â€Å"you, the public† when beginning his famous declaration. The first word of The Declaration of Independence is â€Å"We†. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident†¦Ã¢â‚¬  creates a bond between Jefferson and the reader. He acknowledges them as an equal before even finishing his sentence. This will not only serve as an illustration for equality between the American public and himself, but with the entire governing system. In breaking away from Mother Europe, the United States sought to build a country where no one person was placed above the common man and therefore had a lesser chance of eventual corruption. Jefferson’s inclusion of the reader, the common man, symbolizes this unanimous desire. Abraham Lincoln too, unifies his audience with his eloquent streams of words in the Gettysburg Address. He explains to the reader that â€Å"our fathers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  were the ones to create a new, liberated nation, and for this reason we are to this day equal in all of our prospective endeavors. Obviously, if he states that we all came from the same historical â€Å"fathers†, then we are in that respect not only equal, but bound to each other through a certain kinship. Lincoln furthers this inference when he sets up a personal, communal past including the time, participants, and their accomplishments. By recapitulating the goals, history, and accomplishments of our fathers, Lincoln hands the past on to his audience to create a new, proud future for their nation. A shared history is yet another point which helps the reader relate to others, and by passing on a legacy, they are forced to work  together in accepting and meeting its challenge. The phenomenon of liberty and truth under a new and hopeful nation is blatantly obvious, â€Å"self-evident† in fact, with no further necessary explanation, according to Jefferson and Lincoln. They wanted to install optimism and strengthen the bond between each and every American so that while creating their own history, they would remain united under one fundamental fact; that they were all Americans. For Jefferson and Lincoln, the creation of our country was the creation of an interwoven community, one which would rise above all others because they were not just neighbors, they were survivors, compatriots, and most of all, kinsmen.

A Strategic Report on Emirates Airlines Essay

It is important to study of any business, particularly in a global environment of rapidly changing contexts. In this regard, there are several core strategies that management need to consider and monitor in reviewing the ongoing performance of their business. In order to respond to change effectively, management must regularly assess its efficiency in several different areas of the performance of within company life. Management strategists need to identify their competitive advantages, properly position themselves and clearly identify their competitiveness in the marketplace. Therefore, management must constantly analyse and respecify their business objectives as well as setting new strategic goals to keep up their operations in a dynamic environment. Airlines Industry We live in a global world that is more interconnected than at any time in history. In combination with enormous changes to the communications industry and the rapid spread of information via the Internet, the world constantly experiences 24 hour a day movement of data, goods, services, and people traveling every corner of the world in less than one day. As quoted by Oxford Economics, â€Å"every day in the skies above us; our globalized world has long been woven together by a web of flights, creating ever-expanding social and economic networks across the planet†. (Aviation: The Real World Wide Web 2008, p. 7). In 2011, for example, airlines transported 2. 8 billion passengers and 47. 6 million metric tons of air cargo and actively connected the world’s cities with 36,000 routes. (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, p. 7). In addition to the transport of goods, business travel has also grown as companies become increasingly internationally focused. As a result, airline industry is a strategic sector having a crucial role in other industries globalization. According to The airline industry, the outlook for the air travel industry is one of strong growth, but it will not be without challenge. Those airlines that would be able to deal with their cost and enhance their product would be successful. An example of the market threats for airlines was seen in 2009, when airline businesses faced global economic downfall and overall industry-wide losses of $9. 4 billion caused by high oil prices, long global recessions, falling demands, fierce price-cutting, collapsing yields revenue per mile and low consumer confidence. A result, the demand for air travel decreased, and the market contracted resulting in global bankruptcies and necessary shrinkage in networks and service levels. Although Emirate Airlines faced the same challenges as other airlines, it performed remarkably well against prevailing industry norms despite the worldwide increasing contraction (Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p471). This case study will further explore the strategies competitive advantages used by Emirates management team to perform in such a competitive market. Emirates Airlines Samthomasuae ‘s weblog post (2011) covers that Emirates Airlines, known as Emirates, is part of the Emirates Group which has become a reputation for aviation, travel and tourism. The group is owned by the Dubai Government. Emirates is connected to all continents in the world with one hundred and twenty destinations over six continents. Therefore, with more than 50 business units and associated firms, Emirates is one of the largest employers in the Middle East. Emirates is the seventh largest in the world based on the number of carried international passengers, and fourth largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger kilometre flown. Within the first 11 years of operation, it has doubled its size every 3. years (Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p485). History Emirates started its business in 1985 with two aircrafts, a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 300 B4, with start-up capital of $10 million. Emirates made history by generating of profit within nine months of operations, and It went on the further develop its international routes by adding new destinations such as Bombay, Colombo, Dhaka and Cairo. The result of this bold expansion strategy was that within two years, Emirates had added European destinations including the key city of London, as well as several other new key European destinations. The success of the global strategy of Emirates is not due to the fact that the airline is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai, or because they have received inadvertent government protection but is clearly a case study in the implementation of a successful global competition strategy, in particular taking advantage of Dubai’s open-skies policy which enables Emirates to benefit from the liberalization of international aviation rules and regulations. Emirates, therefore, received initial start-up investment from the Government of Dubai, but it now successfully operates as a wholly independent business entity. Emirates successfully carried 35 million passengers by 2012, representing 50% of total airport capacity (emirates. n. d. ). Emirates market share among regional competitors According to Articlebase weblog post (2010) Emirates Airlines has developed to become highly reputable in the Asian Pacific Continent. The company has pulled itself up very well in the region and as seen from the figure 1, it is the most successful company in the region. Figure 1-Emirate region market share Emirates financial highlights According to Emirates annual report (2013), Emirates revenue (including operating costs) in 2012-13, reached US$19. billion, representing a 17. 4% increase over the financial year of 2011-12. Net profit was US$622 million, reflecting the enormous impact that fuel prices continue to exert on the airline industry. Emirate airlines reported that their profit margin was 3. 1% and the companies’ cash in hand at the end of financial year 2012-13 was US$6. 7 Billion. The company also reports that more people continue to choose Emirates with the number of passengers flown in 2012-13 totalling 39 million, a 16% increase over the previous financial year. Figure 2, Emirate financial highlight/Source: Emirates Annual report 2013 Key Success Factors in the airline industry In order to be successful in the airline industry, various factors such as differentiation, alliances, strong brand name and relation with suppliers are needed to be considered. Differentiation Airlines tend to be differentiated by offering advanced services. For instance, latest technology, e-ticketing and wide seats which may distinguish the company among other competitors. Strong brand name Airlines build a strong brand name by means of different techniques like ffering prizes, frequent flyer programs. Alliances The airlines tends to establish alliances which enable them to share their resources through linking their network. it also helps them to share experiences which result in lower operating cost. â€Å"The Emirates has never joined to any cargo or passenger alliances as they see some anti-competitive elements in them and would be a brake on Emirates business plan. † (The public affair journal of emirates, 2009). the only recent partner of emirate is Quantas from Australia. Relations with supplier Airlines need to have long term contract with the suppliers to keep them safe in case of increasing prices. Environmental analysis of Emirates Macro Environmental Analysis PESTEL analysis of Emirates PESTLE analyse focuses on external factors and gives a strategic overview of the various macro-environmental factors that the company needs to take into account, the PESTEL analyse has been conducted on Emirates. The PESLE analyse is also a useful strategic tool to interpret market growth or decline, business position, potential, and direction for future operations. Political  Emirates and most of the countries in the Asian continent have signed inclusive business agreements as well as with several countries in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the USA. Such relationships facilitate better political cooperation and trade opportunities between countries, including the growth of the aviation sector. These agreements have opened up several world markets and provided opportunities for Emirates to grow its network. Emirates is strengthened by the support of the Government of Dubai by providing infrastructure developments to boost the growth of Dubai and Emirates. Low fees and charges at Dubai Airport; same opportunities for all the air carriers provided by the open skies policy; the low taxation policy encouraging the companies and businesses which boost the economy in Dubai; and the easy immigration legislation of Dubai Government enabling companies to secure entry visas and work permits for foreign workers to fulfil their labour requirements are other beneficial policy for Emirates. In contrast, a potential problem for Emirates is the ongoing political instability in the  Middle East region which has the potential to hinder for the further growth of Emirates. (Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p482). Economic The sustainable rate of a growing economy in the region, in particular the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has increased the overall level of household income and affordability of people to use air transportation. About 3. 5 billion people are living within the radius of eight hour flight from Dubai and , therefore, such a huge financially stable population generates an ever- increasing demand for air travel in the region. There is an exceptional shift in the aviation market demand, customer choices, and travel behaviour that is changing rapidly which has been evidenced by Nataraja et al (2011, p483). The reason Emirates has experienced phenomenal rise over the past few years is that the regional governments are streamlining their economic policies to suit the growth of the airline industry. This has reflected in growth rates, overall income and potential investments in Dubai among other companies in the tourism industry and the world business.   social  Nataraja et al (2011, p483) state that well-designed strategic management system is sound in the Emirates Company, but this could be compromised if attention is not given to personnel development in the organization. Personnel issues are adversely affecting airline businesses globally and employees are becoming increasingly aware of their high market value and potential. An abundance of multicultural workforce having lower expectation in the region in which Emirates operates is a social advantage in comparison to the expectations of employees from countries namely the USA and UK, Emirates experiences a significant difference in labour costs. Most of the organizations in the UAE are using only 10 precent of their operating expenses to pay their employees and this trend includes Emirates, in comparison to more Westernized businesses which use up to 40 precent of their operating expenses for the same purpose. Consequently, the Airline has benefited extensively and made good profits on these grounds. Technology In response to the advances in technology over the past two decades, Emirates has been able to take the advantage of technology in its operation. Since Emirates has spread its wing globally to serve diverse customers who require global technology, it has invested more resources to place each individual market. Emirates is benefiting from a single global system that is distributed in 14 languages which supports payments in 42 currencies. (Nataraja et al,2011, p483). As it is demonstrated in figure 1, Emirates is interestingly positioned as the youngest and most modern fleets in worldwide commercial aviation industry. The company aims to be a pioneer in technological advances such as in-flight mobile phone coverage to develop and expand the use of mobile phones on-board. Figure 3 , comparison of Airlines’ average fleet age Emirates airlines has also invested in a trip planning system which allows the planning of trips that aim to achieve of time savings and fuel led which lead to obvious costs savings but also reduced emissions. Implementation of this new technology, called Flextracks, saves approximately 10 million liters of fuel as well as 772 hours in travel time in five years of operation. atwonline, 2011) Emirates airline has also recently used the latest airbus 380 aircraft which is known to be environmentally friendly because it consumes less fuel. Technology utilized by provides many time consuming benefits such as the development of online ticket purchase which increases customer convenience and satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat business. Environment Organizations have various obligations to formulate and implement strategies from an environmental perspective. Increasing numbers of firms are implementing tougher environmental regulations as they make economic sense because of conservation of natural resources and air pollution control in the region. They preserve and conserve natural resources and control pollution in the region making good sense from a cost saving perspective as well as a public relations perspectives(Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p484). Emirates reports a vision to make their company an environmental leader in the aviation and travel industries with a goals to make sustainable and eco-efficient operation in the air and on the ground. Interestingly, as part of a global trend towards environmental consciousness, Emirates considers their customers, staff and regulators to be increasingly aware of the environment and emission of greenhouse gases and the company has , therefore, committed to environmentally-responsible operations through the Group’s Environmental Policy. This policy is implemented through the ‘Environment’ programme (Emirates environment policy,2013) , which is communicated to customers, staff and stakeholders. The company also reports different environmental considerations to be advantageous from a business perspective because becoming an ecologically-efficient organisation enables them to become economically sustainable, when it comes to consumption of fewer resources and whilst using fewer resources and causing less pollution. These strategies in turn, reduce labour and overall company expenses. Legal In the past, most governments within the Asian continent and in the Asia-Pacific region operated under a paternal government policy and felt that they had to protect airlines against external factors. The recent changes in the economic policies of these governments have allowed airlines to compete more openly having their own economic model without worrying about government hindrances in order to preserve their competitive advantage. In addition, less government control allows the company to operate more freely in the region with less legal impediments in the region resulting in a positive growth and an exceptional performance (Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p484). Emirates-porter’s five forces Porter’s 5 forces model is used by businesses to evaluate the environment that a company is competing in. Strategies implemented by Emirates also are a function of environment in which it operates. (Elnamaki, MSS 2007). By using Five Forces Analysis we are able to identify who are the Emirates competitors and where are potential threats; which aspect in Emirates should be improved and focused on; and to analyse whether Emirates and its industry is attractive or destructive. Threat of new entrant There are many barriers that dissuade new entrants in the airline industry. Enter to the market depends on how many barriers exist. Airlines high capital cost positively affect Emirates Airline. Strong brand value is critical to compete. Emirates is a high brand value that cannot be copied because it is a long time it has been operating, and markets heavily depend on its services. Advanced technologies are kind of barrier for a new entrant as they need to develop and implement them before effectively competing Based on Emirates loyalty programs, customers are loyal to Emirates. Building a value brand needs money and time and it uses resources which not to be allocated to compete in the marketplace. Based on the above factors the threat of new entrant is weak. The bargaining power of customers Due to buyer price sensitivity, it is difficult to compete with competitive prices of budget carriers but Emirates compensates by offering world class food, services, comfort and in-flight entertainment, world class service, A380 aircrafts, choices of menu for the elite class, its own private terminal, and non-stop direct flights to various routes including some of the world’s longest non-stop direct flights. I suggest that this power is moderate.