Starbucks Ltd. - 2455 Words

Hasan Mohammad Starbucks Ltd. Principles of Marketing Assignment 1 09 November 2004 I. Company History Three Seattle entrepreneurs started the Starbucks Corporation in 1971the name comes from Herman Melville s Moby Dick. Their prime product was the selling of whole bean coffee in one Seattle store. By 1982, this business had grown tremendously into five stores selling the coffee beans, a roasting facility, and a wholesale business for local restaurants. Howard Schultz, a marketer, was recruited to be the manager of retail and marketing. He brought new ideas to the owners, but was turned down. Schultz in turn opened his own coffee bar in 1986 based on Italian coffee cafes, selling brewed Starbucks coffee. By 1987, Schultz†¦show more content†¦Starbucks has the distinction of being the public s educator on Expresso. They have also recently started to expand to packaged and prepared tea in response to the growing demand for this product. There are no other national coffee bar competitors in the same scale as Starbucks. Starbucks is the only competitor in the coffee bar market th at has a recognized brand image. The difference between Starbucks and other coffeehouses is that they own all their stores and do not franchise. Starbucks stores operate in most metropolitan areas of the United States and also have a direct mail business to serve customers in every state. They have introduced gourmet flavoured decaffeinated coffees as well as specialty flavours and whole bean coffees for the faithful coffee drinkers. They have also added light lunch fare to their menu. Starbucks had recently expanded its emphasis internationally. There are opportunities waiting in possible joint ventures with other corporations to design new product associations with Starbucks coffee. Although Starbucks has enjoyed tremendous success in the past few years, there are a few obstacles looming. Since the popularity of the coffee house idea has grown, some cities wish to issue regulations on the coffeehouses due to complaints of late night patrons becoming uncontrollable. The cost of coffee beans is expected to rise in the future due to lower supply, which may tighten the margins on coffee merchants. The higherShow MoreRelatedSingapore Starbucks Marketing1414 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in Seattle in 1971, Pike Place Market by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, with a vision to educate the consumers about fine coffees. Starbucks began to expand when Howard Schults took it over in 1987. Since then, Starbucks grew from a small, regional business into the undisputed leader in the specialty coffee industry, and privileged to connect with millions of customer every day with 18,000 retail in 60 countries 2. STARBUCKS MACRO ENVIRONMENTALRead MoreStarbucks Coffee s Five Forces Analysis1493 Words   |  6 PagesStarbucks is a worldwide coffee retail chain that spends significant time in coffee and other related refreshments. The organization prepares and sells meals, coffee, tea drinks and an assortment of new sustainable products, through stores. The organization likewise licenses its trademark through different channels, for example, authorized stores, basic need and national foodservice accounts. Second Cup s coffee portfolio contains around 19 kinds of coffee. The Company s bistros offer a varietyRead MoreMarketing Mix Elements1717 Words   |  7 PagesStarbucks Marketing Mix Paper Aiza Ashley Starbucks Marketing Mix Paper A good marketing plan must possess a strong marketing mix strategy. Organization uses marketing mix strategy modeling to estimate causal relationships and measure how marketing activity affects outcomes. The Marketing-mix models analyze data from a variety of sources, such as retailer scanner data, company shipment data, pricing, media, and promotion spending data, to understand more precisely the effects ofRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Starbucks Inc.1679 Words   |  7 Pagesactivities of the world’s biggest and well-recognised retail coffee company, Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks has introduced numerous innovations over its long history. From its signature terms (like barista, venti, chai, Frappuccino ®) (Michelli 2007), the drive-thru cafà © concept, the Starbucks Card, the digital app ‘shake to pay’ to the corporate culture that overall makes the Starbucks Experience are some of the reasons why Starbucks has maintained its dominance in the coffee indu stry. This report willRead MoreStarbucks in Japan1077 Words   |  5 PagesExecutive Summary Thirty years ago, Starbucks was a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market selling premium-roasted coffee. Today it is a global roaster and retailer of coffee with some 17,000 stores, 40% of which are in 50 countries outside the United States. In 1995, with 700 stores across the US, Starbucks began exploring foreign opportunities. The first target market was Japan. The potential for coffee sales in Japan is significant. The Japanese economy is the third to the United StatesRead MoreImplementing Customer Relationship Management as a Core Business Strategy2160 Words   |  9 PagesSTRATEGY Presented to Adrian Lim School of Business Management Nanyang Polytechnic February 13, 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current customer relationship management of Singapore Cafà © Ptd Ltd. The purpose of this report is to enhance the existing customer’s experience at Singapore Cafà © and to increase our presence in the Famp;B Industry. Sources of data collection include search engines and websites of the companies. The report findsRead MoreStarbucks in Japan1105 Words   |  5 Pages 13716002514600Case Study – Starbucks in Japan 00Case Study – Starbucks in Japan 2775585164592000 Executive Summary Thirty years ago, Starbucks was a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market selling premium-roasted coffee. Today it is a global roaster and retailer of coffee with some 17,000 stores, 40% of which are in 50 countries outside the United States. In 1995, with 700 stores across the US, Starbucks began exploring foreign opportunities. The first target market was Japan. The potentialRead MoreCase Study Analysis : Starbucks Turkey1643 Words   |  7 PagesCase Analysis: Starbucks Turkey Patricia Jasso Starbucks Turkey Discussion Questions 1. Has Starbucks has done well in Turkey? What are some of the common growth drivers in terms of consumer characteristics, market characteristics, and entry strategies across USA and Turkey that might account for Starbucks’ success? Starbucks has been very successful in Turkey despite the economic problems the company was experiencing in the U.S. during 2007-2008. The fact that Starbucks’ Turkey C.E.ORead MoreProject on Datbase Marketing4758 Words   |  20 Pagesis in line with Starbucks and it offers a unique coffee experience. Second Cup stores are furnished and are often filled with people studying and meeting for a coffee. Competitively speaking, from a financial standpoint, Second Cup is not performing as well as Starbucks. However, the company is growing and presently has nearly 300 stores in Canada. Metropolises such as Toronto and Montreal have a heavier concentration of Second Cup stores and are often located very close to Starbucks cafes. The coffeeRead MoreStarbucks - Going Global Fast (case study)1418 Words   |  6 Pages Starbucks - Going Global Fast (case study) I. Summary Starbucks is an American worldwide coffee company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded on March130, 1971. Actually, it is considered as the largest coffee shop chain in the world with total stores of 17,651(as of July 1, 2012, official company’s website) locally and internationally. Starbucks stores are serving both hot and cold beverage, snacks, pastries, sandwiches and other non-coffee products. Different mugs in term of shape, size

Napoleon s Accomplishments And Life Story - 1333 Words

For someone so short in stature, Napoleon Bonaparte’s accomplishments and life story are gigantic in comparison. Even though some of Napoleon’s actions were autocratic, his ability to move his country forward was incredible. There are more books written about Napoleon than any other historical figure in the world; more than Julius Caesar, Muhammad, and even Jesus Christ. (Markham) Napoleon came to power at a perfect opportunistic time because France was in need of a new ruler to guide their country after the French Revolution, and Napoleon was believed to be a â€Å"man of the people†. Many ideas and goals from the French Revolution became a part of Napoleon’s reign. Prior to becoming the leader of France, he also served as a fierce and focused†¦show more content†¦The four principles of the Code Napolà ©on consists of are secularization of society, elimination of the feudal order, individual freedom, and marriage and the family (Markham 272-273) . It not only influenced the developing European countries of his time, but as time grew on, his beliefs ultimately spread to the whole world. The French were in much need of new reforms because of what the soldiers saw in the United States. How was France going to help the United States fight in a war for independence and then come home where they are not free? It just was not very logical. When Napoleon made these principles he changed the world forever. Each one of these codes are still followed and respected today. Recent analyzation â€Å"..shows that Napoleonic policy made more headway than it is credited for in these areas, and it may be premature to conclude that Napoleonic education policy was not very bold in its ensemble due to the Emperor’s prejudice against the masses† (Englund 507) People may not have realized at first how much the Code Napolà ©on affected many aspects of society like the school system, and how they are organized today. The way we live today is almost symmetrical to his early beliefs and how he pictured his developing society. Without Napoleon’s school system there would be no way to determine how europeans or even Americans would be educated today. Napoleon made it clear

Gathering Information Infringing Copyright

Question: Discuss about theGathering Informationfor Infringing Copyright. Answer: Infringing Copyright if Copied from the Internet An information sheet is usually meant for a person who has delight in downloading or copying materials from Internet. They also look to swap or in any means want to share files online. Its definite purpose is giving a highlight about the copyright clauses and in case of the implied laws in particular case, need to be consulted from prescribed lawyer (Bean, 2005). In case of Australia Bureau of Statistics, which is a statistical agency under Govt. it renders a free data charge in the website assisting around at discussion and research and decision making framework in the defined boundaries of community and governments. There are times when copyright infringement becomes necessary. Now owner has claims in rights to include its control over material reproduction and material communication for people (like downloading online materials, posting or uploading). The copyright infringe case arises in due time when the copyright materials are used by public that doesnt hold any applicable exception statement, without taking the permission from owner (Clarke, 1889). These exception points are- 1. Taking no permission or implying expression while distributing or printing material copies from the website. 2. While sharing, downloading, streaming or uploading not authorizing software, album or movie copies. 3. While saving material on hands from any website. For the Term of his Natural Life by Marcus Clarke., when was this book first Published? Citing the above publishing book, the renowned Marcus Clarke and his famous written For the Term of His Natural Life was first published in Australian Journal within 1870 and 1872 A.D. the presence of the book as novel was developed in 1874 and was regarded was fame novelisation of life to showcase the Australian history (Coveney, 2008). In this scenario a following delight was seen by Rufus Dawes depicting the transportation of a young man as a murderer which was not been committed. This shows a clear picture for conveying inhumane and harsh treating for convicting transportation in minor crimes. Information about when the National Trust of Australia was formed. The National Trust of Australia is officially regarded as the ACNT opt Australian Council of National Trusts which sees the higher scale over non government and community basis so as to converse and promote the historic and natural heritage to showcase the indigenous facets of Australia. Look at the modelled features of National Trust for places of Historic Interest with the inspiration of local campaign for conserving and preserving traditional building which was the foremost National Trust under Wales at 1945. The forces that drives to establish National Trust was Annie Forsyth Wyatt between 1885- 1961 in Australia. Again in 1975, there was a movement on Observatory Hill at the Fort Street School that further was changed to Petersham for its reunion (Farrelly, 2005). Therefore a co-existence between boys and girls building was formed that led to the create a distinction to rebuild so as to bring forth the appearance back at school time under the approach taken to Sydney Harbour Bri dge. Permits needed to run a Business from your Home. There are many considerations under the two structuring statement under business. The permitting measures are trust where an income and trustee helps in managing the property for benefiting the beneficiaries. Again in case of cooperative the participatory members should be aiming to provide service instead of profit making. Since the home based businesses come up with huge community sector driving out millions of people, therefore home based work could result in offering convenient and flexible solution paving greater opportunity for starting a fresh career. Suppose you have an idea to start a home based business you can do this by maximizing the chances of running a successful risks and measures so as to ensure the required government applications preferable for you (Leigh, 2006). As far as meeting planning permit solution is provided, there are no tactical requirements of such kind and thus it grants as per the varied needs. Therefore, it seeks for chances that are operated under t he commercial areas of suiting business. References Bean, C.S., 2005. Is there a crisis of trust in Australia?Australian social attitudes: The first report, pp.122-140. Clarke, M.A.H., 1889.For the term of his natural life. R. Bentley and son. Coveney, J., 2008. Food and trust in Australia: building a picture.Public health nutrition,11(03), pp.237-245. Farrelly, M., 2005. Regionalisation of environmental management: a case study of the Natural Heritage Trust, South Australia.Geographical Research, 43(4), pp.393-405. Leigh, A., 2006. Trust, inequality and ethnic heterogeneity.Economic Record,82(258), pp.268-280. Kerr, J.S., 1990.The conservation plan: a guide to the preparation of conservation plans for places of European cultural significance. National Trust of Australia. Storey, R., 2004.Walking Melbourne: The National Trust guide to the historic and architectural landmarks of central Melbourne. National Trust of Australia.

Education is not the only key to success free essay sample

Most groups use some form of parliamentary procedure for their meetings. This Factsheet not only briefly explains proper parliamentary procedure for more formal meetings, but also describes acceptable alternatives for decision-making in smaller groups. Rules For Meetings Just as the object of a game gives direction to its players, traditional principles of a democratic meeting guide group members when they gather: 1. Every member has rights equal to every other member. 2. The will of the majority must be carried out. 3. The minority must be heard, and its rights protected. Only one topic will be considered at a time. In order to play a particular game, certain rules for that game must be followed. Parliamentary procedure is a set of rules for meetings which ensures that the traditional principles of equality, harmony and efficiency are kept. Roberts Rules of Order, the best-known description of standard parliamentary procedure, is used by many different organizations as their rule book for conducting effective meetings. The Problem With Rules The saying Rules are meant to be broken implies that no rules are perfect. The parliamentary rules used in government provide guidance for a body of hundreds of people meeting daily for months with a great volume of business to conduct. These same rules are not appropriate for all organizations. How rigid are your meetings? Does too much technical procedure (motions, amendments, seconding, etc. ) get in the way of effective decision-making and total group discussion? Too much formality in a meeting will frustrate and discourage members when the proceedings bog down. Parliamentary rules for meetings are intended to help the group conduct its business (fairly and efficiently), not hinder it! There are many effective ways for a group to conduct its meetings. Technical procedure, however, should be discouraged in the average group meeting. Every organization should examine standard parliamentary rules, then interpret and adapt them to its own use. If group members agree that the rules theyve developed permit a majority to accomplish the organizations ultimate purpose within a reasonable period of time, while allowing the minority a reasonable opportunity to express its views, then those rules are appropriate. Rules For Small Group Meetings? Meeting procedures for committees, executives and most boards can be much different than those for larger gatherings. Certain formalities are unnecessary when the group size is less than about a dozen members. For example: 1. There is no limit to the number of times a member may speak to an issue. 2. It is not necessary to address the chair before speaking. 3. The chair neednt leave that post in order to speak, make motions or vote. (In fact, he or she may well be the most active participant in discussions and work of the committee. ) 4. Motions need not be seconded. 5. Action can be taken, at times, without the introduction of a motion. If, however, a small group using these relaxed rules discovers that any one of the four basic meeting principles is being abused, then more formal procedures may be reintroduced to the meeting. Parliamentary Procedure At A Glance If your group follows parliamentary procedure by the book, the occasional technical question might be asked. 1. What is the proper sequence of steps in having a motion voted on? A motion has nine possible steps: Moved a proposal from the floor. Seconded another member feels the proposal is worth discussing. Stated by the chair or secretary. Wording is recorded properly and everyone understands the intent of the proposal. Discussed every speaker addresses the chair and must speak only to the motion. Usually, each member may speak only once to a motion except the mover who has first and last chance to speak. Amended changing the wording of the motion by: adding or deleting words replacing with different words. each amendment has the same 9 steps as a motion. Called after sufficient discussion, either a motion to end debate or a vote is called at the discretion of the chair. Restated ensures everyone understands what is being voted on. Voted chair calls each option: All in favour? , Opposed? or Abstaining? Declared results of the vote are announced by the chair. 2. Can the intent of the main motion be changed by an amendment? Yes; the main motion may be changed, contrary to the intent of its movers. Only two criteria govern the use of an amendment: An amendment may not convert a motion to its direct negative; and An amendment must be pertinent to the topic in the main motion. E. g. , a motion to purchase a new typewriter for the secretary may not have and to pay the expenses of delegates to the annual meeting added to it. This amendment clearly has no relationship with the secretarys need for new equipment. 3. How many amendments can be made to a motion? There are only two kinds of amendments: those pertaining to the proposed motion called first rank; and those pertaining to a proposed amendment called second rank (amendment to the amendment). Only one amendment of each rank may be on the floor at one time. Any number of amendments may be made to most motions, but no second rank amendments may be amended (i. e. , an amendment to the amendment to the amendment is not allowed! ). 4. How can a meeting start without a quorum? A quorum is the minimum number of eligible voters that must be present at a meeting to conduct business. This number is designated in the by-laws of the organization and for a board is usually half the voting members plus one. If no quorum is present when the advertised hour of the meeting has been reached, then: the presiding officer may dismiss the group (after setting a time for future meeting); or the group may agree to proceed informally with the agenda, awaiting ratification of any decisions at a future meeting; or the group may discuss any items of interest but make no decisions. 5. How can our constitution be amended? A good constitution contains provisions for amendment, so the structure and procedures can continually meet the changing needs and purposes of the group. Usually, a special committee is appointed to review the groups objectives, structure, functions, etc. Copies of its report and recommendations are circulated to all members with the required notice and agenda for the meeting (often the organizations annual meeting). Any amendments proposed during discussion at the meeting require a majority vote for approval, but the motion to amend the constitution needs a two-thirds majority vote for adoption. Who is the presiding officer at meetings? Often the president is designated in the constitution or by-laws to chair the organizations meetings. In many groups, however, the chair is assigned to the past-president, special moderator, or to a different person each time on a rotating basis. This allows the president to take a lead in debates on policy rather than maintain a position of supposed neutrality which is directly contrary to his or her usual role as spokesperson for the group. 7. After considerable debate, we still are not ready to vote on the motion. What can we do? A motion to postpone the matter until the next meeting may be in order, so that more information can be gathered. A motion to postpone temporarily (to table) allows a motion to be set aside until later in the meeting, allowing more urgent business to be dealt with, permitting amendments to be drafted, or allowing time for implications of the motion to be checked. A motion to take from the table brings it back before the meeting. The motion may be withdrawn at the request of its mover, but only if no member present objects. 8. What happens when someone yells Question! From the floor indicates that he or she wants the motion put to a vote. Only if the chair feels that the motion has had reasonable debate and most members are ready to vote, can he or she call the question (i. e. , All those in favour? , etc. ). Another way to close discussion on a motion is for someone to make a motion to call for a vote. This motion must be seconded and requires a two-thirds majority vote in order to proceed with a vote on the motion on the floor. 9. How should a committee report be accepted by an organization? A motion to receive the report means that the organization is not committed to any of the conclusions or recommendations contained in it. (An example of such a report would be the monthly, unaudited treasurers report. ) A motion to adopt the report in whole or in part commits the organization to some or all of the recommendations of the report, and often implies some action to be taken. 10 Sometimes while one motion is being considered, an alternative motion might be the better one. How can it be presented? 1. The movers request permission from the presiding officer to read out the alternative motion. The movers of the original motion are asked if they will withdraw their motion, with the unanimous consent of the meeting. 3. If the original motion is withdrawn, then the alternative motion is moved. 4. If the original motion is not withdrawn, then the movers of the alternative motion inform the meeting that their motion will be moved if the original is defeated. They thus urge the members to vote against the original motion. | Top of Page | Consensus: Another Method Of Decision-Making In Groups How many meetings does your group hold in a year to discuss issues or problems? How much time is spent in each regular meeting making decisions or solving problems? Does the discussion end with a proposal for action? One rule in parliamentary procedure that can hamper a free and easy exchange of ideas is: Discussion can take place only after a motion is proposed. In fact, a motion is a proposed course of action, a solution to a problem, or a decision. By focusing the groups attention on a solution before realizing the scope of the problem, the group may be voting on something that is entirely inappropriate. Is the cart before the horse? A simple method of ensuring an effective group decision is to build a motion through consensus. This method eliminates a complicated amendment procedure after an initial motion has been proposed. It also ensures that a large majority will agree with the motion rather than the mere 51% required by a typical voting procedure. The following process can be used throughout the meeting for every problem the group needs to discuss. Step 1. Describe the issue or problem confronting the group. State the problem clearly and concisely. If it is complex, then write it out. Step 2. Gather all information relevant to the problem. All pertinent facts and ideas about the problem need to be heard in order to make a wise decision. Distinguish between facts and opinions. A decision can often be made right away. However, action may need to be deferred so that additional information can be gathered. Step 3. List all possible solutions or actions. Explore alternatives. Be creative. Use brainstorming techniques to generate new ideas, from every member. Step 4. Choose the best possible solution. Use a process of elimination; refine and combine parts of your list in step 3. Reaching consensus is not always easy. Some individuals become frustrated with the time taken for group decision-making. Also, this method relies on the discretion of the chair who eventually decides when a general agreement or common feeling has been reached. In some situations, if only extremely vocal and confident individuals dare to challenge the majority view, then the minority opinion is in danger of being suppressed. Using consensus, however, can result in higher quality decisions. The complicated rules of parliamentary procedure are reduced while maximum member participation is encouraged. In the end, group decisions lead to group action! Conclusion Whichever method your group chooses to make its decisions or conduct its meetings, the four principles of a democratic meeting must be followed. As more formal procedures are adopted, more complicated rules are followed. There is little reason for any one person to attempt to learn every rule of parliamentary procedure. To know where to find the answers is enough. The following references may help answer any questions not addressed in this Factsheet. References Parliamentary Procedure at a Glance. Jones, O. Garfield.

The Blindness That Can Be Cured Some Cultural Aspects of Managers Responsibilities

Of all the complexities that one can encounter in a company, cultural blindness must be the most unpleasant surprise. A complete opposite to the cultural segregation, it is nonetheless humiliating and upsetting for the employees involved into the conflict caused by cultural blindness.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Blindness That Can Be Cured: Some Cultural Aspects of Manager’s Responsibilities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As for the definition of the notorious phenomenon, Newton Ender (2010) have put it quite right: â€Å"Like color blindness, cultural blindness is difficult to deter because it can disguise itself as helpful behavior. Cultural blindness occurs when you are aware of a cultural issue, but choose to pretend it does not exist or to ignore it† (87).Surprisingly enough, I have had an experience concerning cultural blindness quite recently. In West Delta Corp., the organization where I happened to work for a short period of time, the cultural blindness of the head of the company was obvious. Mr. Patterson could not see the boundaries between the American and the Asian cultures, which his employees belonged to; as a result, the situation in the office left much to be desired. I must mention that there were five key factors which triggered the cultural blindness. The first and the foremost one was the fact that Mr. Patterson belonged to the dominant culture, i.e., the American one. As for the second reason for him to behave in such inappropriate way and treat the ethnical minorities like anyone else in the office was the fact that Mr. Patterson himself had been living in Europe (France) for a considerable amount of time. Having lived in the USA for long enough to assimilate and integrate into the American culture, Mr. Patterson yet knew little to nothing about the ethnicity issues which Asians have in the majority of the American states. The latter, doubtles sly, added to his cultural blindness and made him see no difference between the Asian and the American employees. The third reason for the boss to have no idea of the difference between the two cultures whatsoever was related to the previously mentioned one. Being deeply integrated into the American society, Mr. Patterson had forgotten his roots and has accepted the American culture completely, thus, presupposing that his employees would act in the same way. Mr. Patterson obviously decided that the Asian people working with him must have accepted the American culture in the same way he did. As for the fourth reason for the boss to be so unwilling to accept the employees’ culture and national specifics, one must mention that Mr. Patterson’s key concern is the corporation’s income.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, focusing on whether the company is go ing to benefit from another idea, he forgets about the relationships with the employee and, consequently, does not pay attention to such trifle as the employees’ culture or national specifics. Finally, the last, but not the least reason that causes Mr. Patterson’s cultural blindness is the unwillingness to acknowledge that he is mistaken. During my working experience in the company, I noticed that at certain point, Mr. Patterson was about to admit that his behavior was wrong, yet something would not let him do so. To understand the drastic effects of cultural blindness, one has to consider both the causes and the effects of each of the factors mentioned above. To start with, the reasons for the first two factors are inherent, since the factors are predetermined by the nationality of the head of the company. As for the consequences of these factors, one must admit that they have led to the boss’s cultural blindness for the most part. Since the boss cannot change his nationality, his world picture will stay the same throughout his entire life, which will lead to the misunderstandings during the communication with the people of different ethnicities. Speaking about the third issue, it should be mentioned that the problem of losing the touch with one’s own culture is rather a psychological one; hence, it can be solved once applying a specific strategy. Anyway, the given factor triggers Mr. Patterson’s frustration and unwillingness to come to terms with the representatives of different ethnicities in the workplace. Mr. Patterson’s system orientation leads to the fact that the employees feel they are elements of a company mechanism, which hurts their feelings and lowers their self-esteem. Finally, the director’s unwillingness to acknowledge his mistakes depicts him in unfavorable light to the employees. Thus, an obviously upsetting phenomenon, cultural blindness is yet a part and parcel of everyday reality in West Del ta Corp., which means that the phenomenon must be somehow stopped from taking place.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Blindness That Can Be Cured: Some Cultural Aspects of Manager’s Responsibilities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the fact that at certain points, breaking the boundaries between cultures can be useful, e.g. in developing the relationships with the employees and the managerial, and making these relationships more trustworthy (Hà ¤yrynen, n.d.). However, when it comes to neglecting the cultural norms of a certain nationality, the process must be terminated and the cultural specifics of a certain ethnicity must be appreciated. Reference List Hà ¤yrynen, S. (n.d.) Defining the role of cultural policy in cultural impact assessment. Retrieved from http://neumann.hec.ca/iccpr/PDF_Texts/Hayrynen_Simo.pdf Newton, F. B., Ender, S. C. (2010). Students helping students: a guide for peer   education on college campuses. New York City, NY: John Wiley Sons. This essay on The Blindness That Can Be Cured: Some Cultural Aspects of Manager’s Responsibilities was written and submitted by user Melanie Calderon to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Stress and Anxiety Essay

Stress and Anxiety Essay Stress and Anxiety Essay Final Project I believe that I understand what self-regulation means and how it relates to my life. Self- regulation is the ability to monitor and regulate our own behaviors, cognitions and emotions (Self-Regulation 185). Self-regulation impacts everyone because is the key to becoming a successful student and person. Self-regulation helps in our daily decisions and long-term and short-term goals. Without self-regulation people usually make poor choices when it comes to health, work, school and relationships. During this semester I have be working on my self-regulation. Because this class I did not really think about self-regulation. This I had to really sit and think about what went wrong for me last semester. I think that last semester I was trying to figure out how to juggle living on my own and school. I was so use to my parents doing everything for me that when I got to college it opened my eyes. I had to realize that my parents are not going to be there to help me with my proble ms. I have to have the will and motivation to become the best student and person that I can be. That means that I have to balance between delayed and immediate gratification. I had to set some key routines that will help me balance my life. Key routines are those five or six behaviors that will keep me from chaos and move me toward mastery. I had to make a plan so that I know what I need to each day. Another thing that I have to work on is procrastination because I always wait to the last second to do something. Before I took this course I did not really understand why I and other students procrastinate. But in fact procrastination is a common problem that most students in college encounter during their college years. Most students get caught up in with all the drama that comes with living on campus. Last semester I had a lot of trouble when it came to procrastination but I was not thinking about when my homework was due. All I was thinking about is when the next party was and play ing video games with my friends. Also I was so use to my mom telling me to do my homework. Since my mom wasn’t here to tell me to do it I choose to do something else. Usually I would watch television or be on Facebook and Twitter. This I think that I have gotten a lot better at not waiting to the last second to do my homework. I think that I’m less stressful now then I was last semester. Because now I know what I need to do to get my GPA up. I also think that I did not have the will and motivation last semester to be successful in college. I was just glad to be on my own and not having anyone there to tell me what to do. But now that this semester is almost over I have realized that I have become more active in my studies. I have set rules for me to follow that will keep me on track to becoming a successful person. I also make sure when I’m studying I put everything that I know will distract me out of site. I either go to the library of to the top of Adams tower which is the twelve floor. Where I can get piece quiz and away from all the loud people on my floor. Because with all the loud noise that goes on every day on my floor it makes it kind of hard to study. So I end up getting very stressed out and I start having anxiety attack. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. In other words, anxiety is the emotional response to the pressure of stress (315). Some anxiety keeps us alert and productive, but too much anxiety, especially over an extended period of time, can ruin your physical health, our ability to concentrate and create, and your relationships (315). I would get really stressed out and have really bad anxiety attacks. But now I have learned had to control it. When I feel that I’m about to have anxiety

Differences between Private and Public Schools Essay

Differences between Private and Public Schools - Essay Example One of the main differences between private and public schools in related to curriculum and policy management. Public schools need to follow and adhere to the local and federal educational guidelines (Long Island Schools n.p.). They cannot bring any change to the curriculum unless the government approves it. Every public school located in any part of the state has the same curriculum. On the other hand, private schools can have a slightly different curriculum from that of the public schools. Although private schools also need to adhere to the educational guidelines of the government, they can make slight changes to the guidelines as per the need of the school and students and can design their own curriculum. In public schools, the government does not apply any restriction on the number of admissions. On the other hand, there is usually some limit related to the number of admissions in private schools. If that limit is over, the school reserves the right to reject other admission applications. The restriction of the limit of admissions also helps private schools give more attention to students individually which results in a better learning environment, as well as improves the teacher-student relationship. Moreover, in private schools, admissions are based on merit (Egan n.p.). Public schools cannot apply any limit to admissions because they are funded by the government, which is responsible to provide education to all children (Gilmore n.p.). The cost of education is also significantly higher in private schools as compared to that of the public schools. The reason is that private schools are not funded by the government because of which the management has to arrange salaries for teachers and money for all administrative expenses on their own. They charge high money to the parents of children in return for providing high-quality education.

Marketing Principles Adopted by 1st Division Football Clubs Dissertation

Marketing Principles Adopted by 1st Division Football Clubs - Dissertation Example Over past few years, sports marketing have drawn the interest of a number of researchers. Though this topic has been widely explored in the last three decades, yet the most surprising part remains that sports marketing does not have a clear definition. The term, sports marketing, was coined in Advertising Age of 1979 (Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 11). In the initial times, it had been used to define activities of consumers, industrial products and service marketers who had emphasized on using sports as promotional vehicle. Various researchers and authors have different views regarding the notion of sports marketing. According to the view of Kaser and Oelkers, sports marketing use sports as a vehicle to market products. This implies that popularity of sport is utilized in order to market or promote products (Kaser and Oelkers 12). Then again, according to the views of Shilbury, Quick and Westerbeek, sports marketing are defined as a social and a managerial process that is used by sports m anagers to realize goals of the sports organization. In order to achieve this, they create and exchange products and value with others (Shilbury, Quick and Westerbeek 17). The unique features of sports marketing had been observed by researchers and they had realized that because of these peculiarities, sports marketing deserved additional attention from conventional marketing (Walters and Chadwick 52). The peculiarity of sports marketing lies in unique nature of the sports industry, sports products and consumers.

Ct scan radiation risk and young patients Article

Ct scan radiation risk and young patients - Article Example CT machines have become much faster, and now, it is possible to scan any body part in very less time. The image quality that is on offer is also much better than the older generation of CT machines. At present, the latest multi-slice CT scan machine can accumulate data at around 350 ms. Within less than a second, it is possible for the CT scan machine to use millions of data points and then reconstruct a 512 x 512-matrix image from this. CT scan is among the best and fastest, non-invasive investigative modality for the evaluation of the abdomen, pelvis and chest, and gives a well-defined, cross-sectional view. CT scan is ideal in the diagnosis of cancer of various organs including the liver, pancreas, lung etc, and allows the surgeon to identify a tumor, including its size, location and how much it has spread to adjacent tissue. Among its other uses include the diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases, pulmonary embolism and abdominal aortic aneurysms, skeletal lesions etc. CT is also widely used in children, in the evaluation of various tumors of the body like neuroblastoma, lymphoma etc and in the imaging of the kidneys. However, when compared to conventional radiography, the use of CT involves much higher doses, and there is a risk of radiation. Many studies have been published about this issue, especially the risk in children. Children are more radiosensitive to radiation exposure when compared to adults. It is estimated that children are ten times more sensitive to effect of radiation than middle- aged adults. Children have more time to develop a radiation-induced cancer due to a longer life-expectancy when compared to adults. It has also been shown that there is an increased dose per milliampere-second, and an increased lifetime risk per unit dose. It has been estimated that in a 1-year-old child, the lifetime cancer mortality risks due to CT scan radiation exposure is around 0.07% (for a head scan) and around 0.18% (for an abdominal scan). This amoun t of radiation exposure is much higher than what an adult would be exposed to. Another major concern is the trend to use multiple scans. It is felt that when compared to just one scan, two to three scans could theoretically double or triple the risk of cancer. Sometimes, during a single examination, more than one scan would be done, which increases the radiation dose further. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, a single scan should be enough. Many studies have provided information that there is link between high dose radiation and the development of malignant tumors in children. In February 2001, the American Journal of Roentgenology was among the first journals to publish the risk of radiation in a young patient after a CT scan. It is also quite common nowadays to use CT as a screening technique even for minor complaints like headache, and this has added to the controversy.   One large study has estimated that on an average, a child would be asked to get a CT scan seven times by the age of eighteen. It has been estimated that in the US alone, about 5 million CT scans are being performed in pediatric patients annually. Another concern is the excessive use of CT scans as a screening tool in patients who are asymptomatic. Due to all these concerns, there is a pressing need to avoid excess radiation dose from CT scanning and optimize the CT scan protocols, especially in young patients. The risk to benefit should always be considered and alternatives to CT scan like MRI or ultrasound should be

The Acquisition Strategy Of Bankinter Marketing Essay

The Acquisition Strategy Of Bankinter Marketing Essay Bankinter is a small independent national bank, positioning itself as an innovative, multichannel, low-cost financial services provider. The bank uses various customer acquisition networks and distribution channels (brick-and-mortar branch, virtual banking and agents, telephone, internet). The firm realized that the Internet is a low-cost channel suitable for a smaller bank like itself, and launched its online site, e-bankinter.com in 1997, which ranked as the best online financial site in Spain. The Internet branch of the bank is called Branch 8700. In 2001, the Internet was the main source of entry of new consumers, so it was important part of the customer acquisition strategy of the firm. The Internet acquisition strategy of Bankinter was based on three channels: alliances, e-collaborators and 8700. I prepared a table to describe the advantages and disadvantages of the alliances and e-collaborators acquisition strategies. As from the table can be seen, the e-collaborator strategy was much more efficient in terms of acquiring new customers and it resulted in lower acquisition costs, so Bankinter decided to terminate the alliances with the portals and focused on e-collaborators. Alliances E-collaborators Pros High trafficked portals Co-branding High traffic sites Difficult to copy by competitors (customer-based CRM-system) Lower acquisition costs Higher number of new customers Cons Co-branding (brand was hidden, adaptation) High costs: Replication of systems Creation and maintenance costs Customer acquisition costs (promotion, advertising, fee/each customer acquired) Up-front annual fee Ease to copy by competitors Sites regardless of content No targeting High number of nonformalized customers Number of new customers/year 2000: ~5,000 clients 2001: 2,096 clients 2001: 43,433 clients 1st table: Pros and cons of the different Internet acquisition strategies of Bankinter The following table shows the performance of the three online channels in terms of new customers. The Branch 8700 acquires the most customers, followed by e-collaborators and alliances. The nonformalization rate is the highest in case of e-collaborators (76%, 33,003 clients). The acquisition rate is not only the highest in case of 8700 but this option has the lowest nonformalization rate (47%), as well. 8700 Alliances E-collaborators Total clients 68,175 2,096 43,433 Formalized clients (active) 35,859 1,015 10,430 Nonformalized clients 32,316 1,081 33,003 2nd table: Customer acquisition rate of the different acquisition strategies and channels at Bankinter 2) Which channel (8700, alliances, e-collaborators) performs better for the bank, and why? To analyze the performance of the three online channels, I computed the customer lifetime value for each channel. The excel tables containing the detailed analysis can be found in the Appendix. Due to the lack of information on interest rates, I used a 10 % interest rate in all scenarios to make the calculations transparent and the results easily comparable. I used two decimals at the calculations, except for the retention rates, where I used rounded numbers. When calculating the retention rates I used the first years retention rate as a base to calculate each years retention rate. I assumed a short-term and long-term period to show the results: 5 years and 10 years period also because at some scenarios the expected years in bank exceeds the 5 years period. By adding the first five years discounted values (including year 0 with the acquisition cost), or by adding the first ten years discounted values we arrive at the customer lifetime value. Based on the customer lifetime value, the 8700 is the best performing channel, because in this case the profitable clients have the highest customer lifetime value among the three scenarios. However, the customer lifetime value of the nonprofitable clients is also the highest in case of 8700, which means the highest costs. As there are only slight differences among the customer lifetime values of the nonprofitable clients of the three channels, it is less important. I mentioned in the previous part that the rate of the nonformalized and formalized customers is the best in case of 8700 (47% to 53%). Based on these calculations the 8700 is the best performing channel. E-collaborators is the second best option, as it has the second biggest customer lifetime value in case of profitable clients. 3) What (acquisition) strategy would you recommend to Bankinter? What actions should be taken by Ana Peralta? Bankinter is a multichannel bank known as the leader in online banking in its respective country. As both the traditional brick-and-mortar and online channels are essential for the bank, it should keep both focusing on the Internet branch. The brick-and-mortar channel still plays an important part, because of customer loyalty and cross-selling opportunities, as well as the high number of branch transactions (36% Exhibit 5). However, Bankinter could persuade customers to reduce the branch transactions and use Internet banking instead; it would result in lower transaction costs for the bank. Focusing on the Internet branch is also important because in 2001 it is the main source of entry, which means that it is an acquisition strategy of great relevance. Moreover, the Internet marketing campaign of the bank was successful, as the acquisition costs dropped and the number of new customers increased exponentially. I would suggest continuing the campaign, however changing some elements. Bankinter should focus on 8700 customers as their customer lifetime value is the highest. Among 8700 customers e-brokers and e-mortgage customers are the most valuable; Bankinter could try cross-selling to them. As for the other customers, finding new ways through introducing new services and attractive packages can help them turn into profitable clients. Drop alliances (as Bankinter did), and use e-collaborators instead. The problem with e-collaborators is the high number of nonformalized customers and the fact that the rate of the new customer acquisition strategy was correlated to the amount of incentives offered. By using the CRM system of the bank, it can recognize which marketing segments are the most valuable, and it enables the bank to use targeting. By using targeting in the e-collaborators channel Bankinter can attract more valuable customers. Finding the appropriate target groups also reduces the drawback of incentives. Bankinter should also find out what factors are behind the high number of nonformalization by conducting surveys, analyzing information on the nonformalized customers and the process itself. This way, they can introduce new services or alter their registration process.

Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu :: Japan Japanese Film Cinema Movies

Tokyo Story was directed by Yasujiro Ozu and released in Japan in 1953. It is about an old married couple that travels to Tokyo to visit their children. They are greeted warmly, but are treated as if they are just an annoying sidetrack from the childrens’ busy lives. The mother becomes ill and dies soon after they return home, leaving the family to reflect on her visit. Some striking scenes include the grandmother dreaming of her future during a walk with her grandson, the old couple’s visit to a spa, and three old men discussing the failure of the future generations. The subject matter of the story consists of a social commentary on Japanese middle-class family life and more acutely, an examination of human mortality, alienation, and modernity. The main contention of Ozu’s unique style of directing is the importance of mutually supportive formal and stylistic systems, a contention that is absent from the classical Hollywood films of this period. Whereas in most of the movies of this time the stylistic aspects would be subordinate to the narrative, the systemics of Ozu coexist independently of one another. This inimitable quality of Tokyo Story can be reflected on through the examination of continuity, transition, and the discretion of the non-diegetic filmic properties. The consideration of these elements suggests that a stylistically driven film can succeed regardless of the degree of narrative motivation. The freedom of the stylistic system to not be dependent on the narrative creates the distinctive spatial and temporal aspects of Tokyo Story. The intentional discontinuity of the diegetic world is accomplished mainly by the use of non-traditional editing. Ozu’s disregard of the necessity of respecting the conventions of the graphic match and the 180- degree line contribute to the originality of the film. For example, one of the opening sequences in the movie is a conversation between the married couple that deliberately cuts back and forth over the 180-degree line in each successive shot. The effect of this technique is that each character achieves perpendicularity with the camera, which creates the illusion that the characters are speaking directly to the audience. This contributes to the viewer’s involvement in the world created in front of the camera. Another example is the introductory dialogue between the old couple and their daughter’s family. An entirely different style was employed for this scene in which every character is in the frame at once. Ozu conveys through this scene his ability to layout a complex shot construction and perform scene manipulation. Despite the seeming disregard for the typical continuity, driven by eye-line matches and montage, this film achieves a stylistic originality and independence that complements the narrative rather

Advanced Data Structure Project

CSCI4117 Advanced Data Structure Project Proposal Yejia Tong/B00537881 2012. 11. 5 1. Title of Project Succinct data structure in top-k documents retrieval 2. Objective of Research The main aim of this project is to discover how to efficiently find the k documents where a given pattern occurs most frequently. While the problem has been discussed in many papers and solved in various ways, our research is to look for the novel algorithms and (succinct) data structures among lately related materials and find the one dominating almost all the space/time tradeoff. 3.Background/History of the Study Before we beigin our aim to find a such a succinct data structure, there are a number of fundamental works in our approach. There exist two main among many ideas in classic information retrieval: inverted index and term frequency. (Angelos, Giannis, Epimeneidis, Euripides, & Evangelos, 2005) The inverted index is a also referred to as postings file, which is an index dara structure storing a map ping from content. It is the most utilized data structure in the Information Retrieval domain, used on a large scale for example in search engines.Term frequency is a measure of how often a term is found in a collection of documents. However, there are restricted assumptions for the efficiency of the ideas: the text must be easily tokenized into words, there must not be too many different words, and queries must be whole words or phrases, causing lots of difficulty in the document retrieval via various languages. Moreover, one of the attractive properties of an inverted file is that it is easily compressible while still supporting fast queries. In practice, an inverted file occupies space close to that if a compressed document collection. Niko & Veli, 2007) In further development, people find efficient data structures such as suffix arrays and suffix trees (full-text indexes) providing good space/time efficiency to inverted files. Recently, several compressed full-text indexes have been proposed and show effective in practice as well. A generalized suffix tree is a suffix tree for a set of strings. Given the set of strings D = S(1), S(2), †¦ S(n) of total length n, it is a Patricia tree containing all n suffixes of the strings. It can be built in time and space, and can be used to find all k occurrences of a string P of length m in   time. Bieganski, 1994) Then, we now get close to our original motivation – the Document Retrieval. Matias et al. gave the first efficient solution to the Document Listing problem; with O(n) time preprocessing of a collection D of document s d(1), d(2), †¦ d(k) of total length Sum[d(i)] = n, they could answer the document listing query on a pattern P of length m in time. (Y. , S. , S. , & J. , 1998) The algorithm uses a generalized suffix tree augmented with extra edges making it a directed acyclic graph.However, it requires bits, which is significantly more than the collection size. Later on, Niko V. and Veli M. in their paper present an alternative space-efficient variant of Muthukrishnan’s structure that takes bits, with optimal time. (Niko & Veli, 2007) Based on the background study, we finally move advance to our intensive topic – Succinct data structure in top-k documents retrieval. 4. Research to the Study According to the background study above, the suffix tree is used to minimize the space consumption.In the suffix tree document model, a document is considered as a string consisting of words, not characters. During constructing the suffix tree, each suffix of a document is compared to all suffixes which exist in the tree already to find out a position for inserting it. Hon W. K. , Shah R. and Wu S. B. introduced the first efficient solution for the top-k document retrieval. (Hon, Shah, & Wu, 2009) In order to get rid of too many noisy factors in the large collection, the algorithm adds a minimum term frequency as one of the parameters for highly relevant pattern P. Ho n, Shah, & Wu, 2009) Furthermore, they also developed the f-mine problem for the high relevancy, that only documents which have more than f occurrences of the pattern need to be retrieved. The notion of relevance here is simply the term frequency. In the later study, Hon W. K. , Shah R. and Wu S. B. achieved the study of â€Å"Efficient Index for Retrieving Top-k Most Frequent Documents† by driving the solution derived from related problem by Muthukrishnan (Y. , S. , S. , & J. , 1998), answering queries in time and taking space.The approach is based on a new use of the suffix tree called induced generalized suffix tree (IGST). (Hon, Shah, & Wu, 2009) The practicality of the proposed index is validated by the experimental results. 5. Future Works Since all the fundamental works are settled, our futuer analysis of the â€Å"Succinct data structure in top-k documents retrieval† is mainly based on the most recently accomplishment by Gonzalo N. and Daniel V. (Gonzalo & Dani el, 2012) , a New Top-k Algorithm dominating almost all the space/time tradeoff. . References Bibliography Angelos, H. , Giannis, V. , Epimeneidis, V. , Euripides, P. G. , & Evangelos, M. (2005). Information Retrieval by Semantic Similarity. Dalhousie University, Faculty of Computer Science. Halifax: None. Bieganski, P. (1994). Generalized suffix trees for biological sequence data: applications and implementation. Minnesota University, Dept. of Comput. Sci. Minneapolis: None. Gonzalo, N. , & Daniel, V. (2012). Space-Efficient Top-k Document Retrieval. Univ. of Chile, Dept. f Computer Science. Valdivia: None. Hon, W. K. , Shah, R. , & Wu, S. B. (2009). Efficient INdex for Retrieving Top-k Most Frequenct Documents. None: Springer, Heidelberg. Niko, V. , & Veli, M. (2007). Space-efficient Algorithms for Document Retrieval. University of Helsinki, Department of Computer Science. Finland: None. Y. , M. , S. , M. , S. , C. S. , & J. , Z. (1998). Augmenting suffix trees with applications. 6th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 1998) (pp. 67-78). None: Springer-Verlag.

Free Essays on Definition Paper On The Word “band“

â€Å"A group of musicians organized for playing together.† This is how Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines band, but I have my own description. It’s a group of unique students who are all friends. All of us get along without fighting, and without name calling. There is no dictator in the band; we are all equal to one another. The band directors are like our parents, always looking out for us and making sure we’re taken care of. With our band the word â€Å"musician† should be used loosely. We try our hardest to be musicians but sometimes the social aspect of band gets in the way. None of us really want to the play the pieces; we want to talk about the upcoming weekend Organized, that’s funny. Nothing about our band is organized. We run around during practice and procrastinate about memorizing our music for future games. Somehow we all manage to settle down on out own and try to accomplish one objective our director’s wanted out of many. The Ames High Band doesn’t play, we interpret. We come up with stories about the piece we’re playing and form our music to the story we have created. All of us are very talented in the band. Whether it’s musically or socially. Everything the band does, we do together. There is no individuality in the band. We dress alike; we wear our hair alike, travel together and go to parties together. We love each other in the band, and don’t want to separate from each other. This being my last year in band is like moving out of the family house. I’ve lived with these people so long; it’s going to be hard to move on. I’m just cherishing every moment my family.... Free Essays on Definition Paper On The Word â€Å"bandâ€Å" Free Essays on Definition Paper On The Word â€Å"bandâ€Å" â€Å"A group of musicians organized for playing together.† This is how Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines band, but I have my own description. It’s a group of unique students who are all friends. All of us get along without fighting, and without name calling. There is no dictator in the band; we are all equal to one another. The band directors are like our parents, always looking out for us and making sure we’re taken care of. With our band the word â€Å"musician† should be used loosely. We try our hardest to be musicians but sometimes the social aspect of band gets in the way. None of us really want to the play the pieces; we want to talk about the upcoming weekend Organized, that’s funny. Nothing about our band is organized. We run around during practice and procrastinate about memorizing our music for future games. Somehow we all manage to settle down on out own and try to accomplish one objective our director’s wanted out of many. The Ames High Band doesn’t play, we interpret. We come up with stories about the piece we’re playing and form our music to the story we have created. All of us are very talented in the band. Whether it’s musically or socially. Everything the band does, we do together. There is no individuality in the band. We dress alike; we wear our hair alike, travel together and go to parties together. We love each other in the band, and don’t want to separate from each other. This being my last year in band is like moving out of the family house. I’ve lived with these people so long; it’s going to be hard to move on. I’m just cherishing every moment my family....

Music Essay 2

Music Essay 2 Music Essay 2 Clifford Dean Dr. Jean Johnson MUS 101-06011 March 11, 2015 Franz Joseph Haydn Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Franz Joseph Haydn was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. Haydn’s most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms. When Haydn was eight years old, he was recruited to sing in the choir at St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna. There he learned to play the violin and keyboard. He stayed in the school for nine years. When his voice changed he was expelled. Once he left the choir, he supported himself by teaching and playing the violin while studying counterpoint and harmony. Haydn soon became an assistant to composer Nicola Porpora in exchange for lessons, and in 1761 he was named Kapellmeister, or "court musician." In 1766 Haydn became musical director at the Esterhzy court. He raised the quality and increased the size of the prince’s musical ensembles by appointing many choice instrumentalists and singers. In addition to composing operas for the court, Haydn composed symphonies, string quartets, and other chamber music. During the 1760s Haydn’s fame began to spread throughout Europe. The Austrian and Czech monasteries did much to disseminate his church music as well as his symphonies, divertimenti, sonatas, and concertos. The period from 1768 to about 1774 marks Haydn’s maturity as a composer. The music written then, from the Stabat Mater (1767) to the large-scale Missa Sancti Nicolai (1772), would be sufficient to place him among the chief composers of the era. Among his other important works from this period are the string quartets of Opus 20, the Piano Sonata in C Minor, and the symphonies in minor keys, especially the so-called Trauersymphonie in E Minor, No. 44 â€Å"Mourning Symphony,† so named because its slow movement, which was a particular favorite of the composer. Haydn was an

Literary analysis of Morality and Macbeth Research Paper

Literary analysis of Morality and Macbeth - Research Paper Example at the play`s end, the actions of Macbeth have directly caused the deaths of Banquo, King Duncan, Lady Macduff, her kids and servants, many soldiers, young Siward, and eventually his own death. All these destructions resulted from immoral actions in the name of accomplishing ambition. This play has revealed how destiny and fate (idea of futurism) can have somewhat harmful effects if individuals become over ambitious to the level of being greedy. Key characters in the play acted immorally by lying, killing, betraying their own king and eventually deceiving their entire country. As such, justice was fairly served to them, a lesson learned by the entire audience of Shakespeare. This paper explores, stride by stride, every immoral act in the play and how they were eventually paid by the individuals who committed those immoralities. William Shakespeares Macbeth portrays morality through unwarranted ambitions. Macbeth is  centered on how greed and ambition can override morality and overpower human nature.  The natural desire of all leaders to broaden their political power, like Macbeth, transforms all over the play from desire to ambition,  and to aberration and greed. This unnatural wish for power is the driving force which possesses the key characters regularly and with calamitous consequences. Macbeth is initially portrayed as a leader with moral qualities. The  audience can nearly find itself feeling sorry concerning his erosion towards madness. This reveals that ambition is more powerful, stronger, and more significant than Macbeth himself, therefore ambition in itself  serves to erode morals in the play. As evidenced in Macbeth, many levels of morality may be found in the society. William Shakespeare is well known as a good judge of character, and in his play Macbeth, Shakespeare depicts characte rs to three major types of morality:

What is the importance of custom, prejudice and tradition in Burkes Outline

What is the importance of custom, prejudice and tradition in Burkes philosophy - Outline Example To add on this, they always insisted on the total and rash implementation of those abstract rights. The French revolution was intended at bringing wholesale and instantaneous political and social transformation of the French society based on abstract and rationalist principles. He therefore saw this revolution as a direct threat to the British way of life and constitution. According to Burke, revolution could be progressive and he appraises the creation of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Magna Carta as good examples of progressive revolutions. In the two cases, the ancient constitution had been restored and finally set back on its true and desired path of gradual evolution (Harington 1). Burke therefore called for the enactment of particular concrete rights and liberties as means of achieving protection against possible governmental oppression. Burke’s affinity for already established traditions and customs is also evidenced his 1791 Letter to a Member of the National Assembly. In this letter, Burke claimed that, for a long time, the various parts of the British constitution had gradually and almost insensibly accommodated themselves, their common purpose as well as to their separate purposes (Burke 333). He believed that this process adaptation could not be achieved through the effect of instantaneous regulation in France or elsewhere else. Holding to this view, Burke viewed the French revolution as a phenomenon so unprecedented and dangerous, negating the desired nature of historical progress shown by the evolution of the British constitution. A comparison between the reaction of Burke to the American Revolution and his reaction to the French Revolution reveals the grounds of his opposition to the French revolution and his philosophy on the same. Burke had seen and loved how the Americans resolved their crisis.

Value Alignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Value Alignment - Essay Example 1). As such, organizational values are seen to be all encompassing for various stakeholders. As an individual, traditional values include being accorded with opportunities for personal and professional growth; being treated equally, fairly, and justly – without discrimination or prejudice; being able to balance family life with work; and being able to adhere to ethical, moral and legal standards. The origin of individual values stem from the value system inculcated by one’s parents (family) and that which is traditionally handed and manifested in one’s culture. From the value statements, of the individual and that of the organization, it could be deduced that when these values are congruent; meaning, they are aligned or identical, the relationship between employer and employee is perceived to be harmonious, smooth, and effective. It was emphasized that â€Å"values and ethics are important in the workplace to help keep order, ensuring that a company runs smoothly and remains profitable† (Amico, 2013, p. 1). As such, both the individual and the organization could work hand in hand towards the accomplishment of identified goals: whether it be personal, professional, or organizational

Weaknesses of modern democracy Essay Example for Free

Weaknesses of modern democracy Essay â€Å"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.† These are the words used by Sir Winston Churchill while he was expressing his resolve with democracy. Democracy is the dominant form of government in the world with the exception of a few countries. In Sir Winston’s statement, the phrase, â€Å"except all those others that have been tried from time to time† however, shows that despite being a weak form of government, it’s relatively the best form of governance in history1. Weaknesses of modern democracy span from the fundamental to contemporary ones as this paper illustrates. The biggest problem with modern democratically elected governments is the sluggish manner in which they conduct their business2. This is detrimental to any government’s role in deliberating on key policies. Any policy making exercise by any government should be marked by strong decisiveness. Modern democratic governments have adopted compromise in the place of decisiveness2. In circumstances where long term solutions are needed, short term solutions are made leaving problems unsolved and very sensitive to future discussions. On part of the governed, unfulfilled promises lead to disillusionment eventually resulting to numerous and sporadic government changes thus overhauls and patching of critical government programs and key policies1. A good example of sluggishness in government policing is the destitute nature of the United States economy2. Slowness in dealing with the huge public debt and recession, have drastically reduced the strength of the economy. With the congress locked in ideological partisan politics, important decisions on the economy have been unforthcoming. On the other hand, China (without democracy and very decisive) has a strong economy growing with an above average growth rate2. The original definition of democracy is; a government whereby people determine on the way they are governed mostly through elected representatives1. Democracy is guided by the core principle of majority rule2. However, today the minority as well might have their way provided there is enough money to bribe the electorate. Such governments end up spending extravagantly so as to achieve all campaign promises1. Excessive spending leads to accumulation of huge public debts, as seen in the European Union and in the USA. To settle these debts, governments end up borrowing more money and imposing huge taxes. These end up reducing an economy’s competitiveness and reducing critical investment within a country2. Another weakness in democracy is the accession of incompetent leaders to office. Most citizens in countries with modern democracy belong to a gullible bourgeois class1. An intelligent charismatic leader with self interests can easily deceive such masses to get into office. Once in office such leaders end up forgetting their promises in pursuit of personal gains2. In modern democracy, most voters do not vote due to an obligatory purpose as required in democracy but due to persuasion by candidates1. Due to the equality principle applied in democracy, this phenomenon is dangerous since not all people are intelligent enough to understand all proposed promises by candidates2. Another demerit of modern democracy is the huge cost incurred. A lot of resources and time are used and foregone in electing governments and formulating laws democratically1. Elections waste a lot of money that could instead be used for economic constructive purposes. Elected politicians also waste a lot of public money in seminars and unnecessary retreats2. It is important to note that, despite democracy having a lot of demerits; it has a lot of benefits compared to all other forms of governance ever tried so far. Only in democracy can citizens be assured of essential human rights and freedoms. It is also the only form of government that citizens can determine how and by how much to be ruled. Bibliography 1. Gupta, Tusha. â€Å"What are the advantages and disadvantages of democracy?† Preserve articles, May 16, 2012, http://www.preservearticles.com/2012051632245/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-democracy.html. 2. Hearnes, James. â€Å"The weaknesses of Democracy† WordPress, July 18, 2012, http://jameshearne.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/the-weaknesses-of-democracy/ View as multi-pages

CASE: Paul Cronan and New England Telephone Company (A) Essay -- Legal

CASE: Paul Cronan and New England Telephone Company (A) I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LEGAL CASE ANALYSIS A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Facts Paul Cronan was hired by New England Telephone (NET) in 1973 as a file clerk. In 1983 he was promoted to service technician. He worked in Needham, Massachusetts for 18 months before transferring to South Boston, Massachusetts. In 1985, Cronan suffered from medical symptoms due to AIDS-related complex (ARC), and missed work sporadically for 6 months. In June, 1985 Cronan requested a third leave of absence from work for a doctor’s appointment. Cronan’s supervisor, Charles O’Brian, demanded to know the nature of the illness, and assured him that the information would be kept confidential. Cronan informed O’Brian that the illness was AIDS-related, whereupon he received the work excuse to see his doctor. O’Brien informed his supervisor, Paul Cloran, of Cronan’s AIDS status, who in turn informed his own supervisor. The following day, in accordance with company policy, O’Brien mandated that Cronan see the company physician. After a 10 minute physical examination Cronan was sent home. Two days later, a coworker informed Cronan that news of his AIDS-related illness had spread around his co-workers, and that threats of physical violence were made against Cronan should he return. Fearing for his safety and health, Cronan requested medical leave, which was granted. He began receiving company-paid medical benefits, first departmental sickness benefits, then illness benefits. Illness benefits were extended several times to 12 months total. In August 1985, Cronan wished to return to work. His new supervisor, Richard Griffin, stated that in accordance with company policy a medical certificate from his physician certifying his ability to return to work was required. Cronan obtained the certificate but also requested a transfer to another location. He did not receive a response to his request and did not return to the South Boston facility, fearing that he would be physically harmed. In September 1985, Cronan was hospitalized with AIDS. During this hospitalization he received a letter of condolence from Griffin offering a return to his previous position with no mention of a transfer or new assignment. In December 1985, Cronan filed a lawsuit assisted by the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts for $1.45 million in state court, alleging invasion of privacy and ... ...cable illness that puts the workers at risk or requires medical evaluation. Even if the dissemination of this private information were inadvertent, processes should be in place to prevent such occurrences. The potential for the development of bigotry or a hostile work environment requires an ethical response. The foreknowledge of Cronan’s anticipated return to work at NET in any capacity mandates that he be allowed to work in a harmonious and safe environment. As ignorance was the main impetus for the majority of the behaviors noted by Cronan, education would be the solution. The ethical course of action would be initially providing widespread company dissemination of the policy regarding AIDS in the workplace, followed by intense education of the workers about AIDS. An overall policy of intolerance of any harassment should be published and enforced. Finally, the ethical response to Cronan individually in the situation as listed in the narrative would be to find him a position constrained only by the limits of his medical condition where he would find job satisfaction in a workplace environment free of hostility and sexual harassment, with relocation provided if necessary.

Against Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"At 8:00 p.m. it was nearing the end of John Evans’ last day on death row. He had spent most of the day with his minister and family, praying and talking of what was to come. At 8:20 he was walked from his cell down to the long hall to the execution room and strapped in the electric chair. At 8:30 p.m. the first jolt of 1900 volts passed through Mr. Evans’ body. It lasted 30 seconds. Sparks and flames erupted from the electrode tied to Mr. Evans’ leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the chair and his fist clenched permanently. The electrode then burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of gray smoke and sparks pored out from under the hood that covered his face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors then examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead. The electrode was then refastened and Mr. Evans was given another 30-second jolt. The stench was nauseating. Again the doctors examined him and found his heart still beating. At this time the prison commissioner, who was talking on the line with Governor George Wallace of Alabama, was asked to cancel the execution on the grounds that Mr. Evans was being subject to cruel and unusual punishment. The request was denied. At 8:40 p.m. the third charge of electricity was passed through Mr. Evans body. At 8:44 p.m. he was pronounced dead. The execution took 14 minutes. Afterward officials were embarrassed by what one observer called the â€Å"barbaric ritual.† The electric chair is supposed to be a very humane way of administering death, if there is one† (Zimring, & Hawkins, 1986, p.1). Every Western Industrial nation has stopped executing criminals, except the United States. Most Western nations have executed criminals in this century, and many were executed after World War II. Then executions suddenly decreased (Clay, 1990, p.9). This is partly because the people in many European countries might have been tired of killing from the war. In most cases the countries and states that stopped capital punishment followed with its formal abolition shortly after (Clay, 1990, p.10). One reason that the United States did not end capital punishment at this time is partly due to the fact that the war was never fought on our soil and US citizens had not all lived through the death and destruction of WWII personally. Some think that ... ...yclists from Los Angeles who were innocent. The jury’s verdict in this case was based on alleged eyewitnesses and a perjured testimony. If it hadn’t been for the investigation of newspaper journalists, and the confession of the real killer, they too would have died innocent men (Bedau, 1999, November 10). Though these two stories have reassuring endings, but the chances of good outcomes happening are small. People are too commonly wrongly accused of crimes. There will always be overzealous prosecution, perjured testimony, faulty police work, coerced confessions, the defendant’s previous criminal record, and inept defense councils. People will be wrongly put to death leaving their families behind wondering who was telling the truth. As long as society chooses to ignore its moral values, and as long as it brings down the value of a human life, capital punishment will remain in use. People must do the research and see for themselves the costs to society, both in dollars and in lives, are far too high. People will always make mistakes, and with the death penalty in use innocent people will die. For these reasons the United States should follow the lead and abolish capital punishment.

American Foreign Policy and the War on Terror

In the 21st century, the world is one in chaos- nations go to war for the slimmest of reasons, economies can topple overnight, and the ever-present threat of global terrorism holds the very real potential to kill thousands of innocent people in mere moments. Meanwhile, the United States holds the precarious position of being the largest and best established superpower in the world, generating an equal share of admirers and deadly enemies among the nations of the world.This being understood, the question begs as to what present day American hurdles such as the War on Terror have done to change American foreign policy? This research will attempt to answer this question through a comprehensive comparison of today’s foreign policy to that of the past, to the post and pre-9/11 world, and in conclusion, what all of this means for the future. American Foreign Policy Throughout History An excellent way to see how American Foreign Policy has seemingly evolved is to compare it in the mo dern day to how it functioned in earlier times of modern American history.For example, as the US recovered from the horrors and deprivations of World War II, a very real and stark situation emerged on the foreign policy front. Despite the eradication of Nazism and the defeat of the threat that the Empire of Japan had represented to the US on a global scale, the threat of Communism in the form of the Soviet Union essentially kicked the Cold War into high gear, from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s.With two superpowers- the US and USSR-both possessing the awesome power to literally destroy the planet through the use of nuclear weapons, there was a vested interest in both nations, while maintaining a defensive position against each other, avoiding armed conflict at all costs (Jenkins, 2006). Therefore, decades of stalemates existed until the Communist regime of the USSR collapsed under its own weight and unwieldy power. In contrast, terrorism is more of an invisible enemy, albeit just a s deadly as any opposing nation.Because of the difficulty in identifying exactly who terrorists are, from where they have come, and how they can be guarded against, it seems that the only way for a meaningful American foreign policy on this front to exist would be for the usual avenues of diplomacy, adherence to established rules and convention to be set aside- the governmental equivalent of taking off the gloves (Harding, 2004). Given such a scenario, it is possible to better understand the transformation of American Foreign Policy in a modern era of terror. Post and Pre- 9/11 American Foreign PolicyOn a clear, crisp day in September, 2001, the US was changed forever with the brutal terrorist attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, the nation’s capital. This change not only effected the ways that Americans viewed each other and the safety level in their very own country, but the change also effected the way that the US created and carried out foreign policy. Ea rlier, the point was made that a fight against terrorists is vastly different than the battle against an organized, uniformed enemy and this calls for measures far different than ever carried out before.Perhaps it was easier for foreign policy to take shape in the days when the enemy was clearly identified and the US faced very little challenge to its power, anywhere in the world. However, once enemies began to come out of the shadows, and what were previously small, insignificant nations such as China, North Korea and India rose to levels of military, financial and diplomatic significance, the US was forced to reexamine foreign policy and adjust accordingly (Washington Times, 2007).With so many formidable nations on the international radar screen of sorts, every move that America made had to be studied before played out, much like a chess match, where each move could have a devastating response from an opponent. With such nations rising to prominence, their cultural, racial and rel igious differences also became more pronounced than ever before because in the past, these diverse nations were all somewhat insulated from one another due to the inability to lay claim to any kind of international clout.With the attainment of such clout, however, opposing nations began to clash on fundamental differences, and the US stood in the middle of it. In generations gone by, the US would have been able to merely step in and dictate how the disputes would be resolved, but that was essentially no more, and the US would essentially have to worry about retribution from both organized nations and the terrorists that hid in the shadows, ready to strike (Jenkins, 2006).This new era of American Foreign Policy would likewise bring forth another issue- aside from merely maintaining clout on the world diplomatic stage, how could a nation like the US promote democracy as it had in the past? American Imperialism, Pre and Post-Terror A key to the ongoing power of the American nation thro ughout its history has always been the ability to parlay military power into a means of spreading democracy across the globe, operating under the premise that if an opponent could not be defeated, they could be swayed more to the American way of thinking and thereby draw them closer to the alliance of the United States.After 9/11, however, all of this changed as well, as the US became diverted by the fight to protect its own native soil. Here, a great deal of controversy began to brew, and it continues today. The chaos that terrorism created in the US gave President George W. Bush and his administration the unique ability, under the premise of fighting terrorism and protecting the nation, to craft foreign policy with a dangerously sharp edge on it- policy, which essentially gave Bush permission to destroy any international haystack in search of a few small needles, as the search for terrorists often seems.Also, using the reasoning that the US needed to continue to have a free flow o f oil from the volatile Middle East, policy which put the US on the offensive rather than the defense of the past likewise made it possible for US troops to be deployed to any nation that supposedly harbored terrorists or posed some type of threat to American interests (Fouskas, et al, 2005). This has, in recent years, generated resentment not only from other nations, but from the American people as well, evidenced by President Bush having the lowest public approval numbers of any president in history. ConclusionTo sum up this research, what can be said about American Foreign Policy in relation to the War on Terror? In summary, what can be said is this- policy has seemed to derail as of late, focusing more on the interests of wealthy oil companies than the average American citizen and their need to be protected from terror. Therefore, what needs to be closely watched as the 21st century unfolds for America is that policy comes back to better mirror liberty and justice-for all. Works Cited Foreign Policy Adrift?. (2007, March 19). The Washington Times, p. A16. Fouskas, V. K. , & Gokay, B. (2005).The New American Imperialism: Bush's War on Terror and Blood for Oil. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International. Harding, B. (2004). An Orwellian Moment: The Myth of American Multilateralism Bruce Harding Reflects on the State of US Foreign Policy, in Terms of Its Self-Interest and Imperial Anchoring, as This Relates to the Current Administration's New Security Strategy and the War on Terror. New Zealand International Review, 29(3), 23+. Jenkins, G. (2006, June). From Kennedy's Cold War to the War on Terror: Gareth Jenkins Looks for Continuities in American Foreign Policy from the 1960s to the 2000s. History Today, 56, 39+.

Stroop efect Essay Example

Stroop efect Essay Example Stroop efect Essay Stroop efect Essay Phonemic awareness The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words Alphabetic principle (phonics) The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words Fluency with text The effortless, automatic ability to read words in text Understanding spoken language Vocabulary The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning Comprehension The complex cognitive process involved in the intentional use of text (or spoken language) to convey meaning Lexical/direct word recognition With/without semantics Read familiar words irregular words Phonological/indirect Read regular words nonsense words E. G. Eve, hoppled Models of skilled word recognition: Connectionist models Computational (mathematical) models of word-reading Implemented as computer simulations via neural networks All words are read by a single route that is sensitive to the statistical regularities between orthography (text) phonology (speech) Dual-route explanation of word frequency regularity effects The speed with which words can be named (from fastest to slowest) High frequency rods (like time) Are recognized quickly through the direct route (by sight) Low frequency regular words (like mint) Can be sounded out through the indirect route Low frequency irregular words (like pint) Cant be correctly sounded out using the indirect route Must be identified through the direct route, which is slower for less familiar words Onwards (like pint) Can only be pronounced through the indirect route Named most slowly both direct indirect routes must be explained Phases in learning to read Pre-alphabetic Partial alphabetic Full alphabetic Consolidated alphabetic (orthographic) Not strict stages of reading development Beginning readers may used a variety of strategies depending on the circumstances Can connect visual cues to word meanings Can read environmental print But cant read Coca cola, Stop etc. Would only see words within logos e. G. Partial alphabetic reading Uses cues based on letter-sound relationships Rehire Wile (1985) found: Children at this stage find it easier to learn phonologically plausible words: elephant easier than WAC IRK for giraffe, easier than WEB Full alphabetic reading LET for Readers use spelling-sound knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words b-a-t and d-o-g When readers use letter-sound rules to decode unfamiliar words They develop detailed representations of word sin lexicon Consolidated alphabetic Can use larger letter-sound patterns Chi-est. Vs.. Chi-e-s-t Can recognize morphological (meaning-based) units Help helpful unhelpful; beauty beautiful And common orthographical patterns -sigh, -sigh, -AAU, -ins, -deed, -Zion Shares (1995) Self-Teaching Hypothesis Sounding out words underpins fluent word recognition Provides a self-teaching mechanism for deciphering unfamiliar words Word recognition becomes consolidated after several repetitions (4 14 average; many more for poor reads) Item-based, rather than stage-based development Phonological deficit Double deficit Rapid automated naming (+ Phonological deficit) But letter naming is a useful predictor of early reading success Visual deficits/visual stress Cerebella deficit theory Difficulty in developing automatic Mango-cellular dysfunction Subtle auditory visual deficits Prerequisites of alphabetic literacy The ability to sound out unfamiliar words provides foundation for reading development Poor Onwards reading skills are sin qua non of reading disability In order to use spelling-to-sound information to sound out new words, beginning readers need: Spoken words can be thought of as sequences of sounds The same sounds occur in different words Letter knowledge Individual sounds (phonemes) can be represented by alphabetic letters Pre-requisit e skills Phonological awareness What is it? The ability to recognize manipulate sounds in spoken words The single most rueful advance in the science and pedagogy of reading (last) century How is it measured? Syllable phoneme counting/tapping How many sounds are in there in elephant? Rhyme production Tell me a word that rhymes with drink Phoneme deletion Say bed without the lb/ Which word starts with a different sound? Phonological awareness follows a developmental pattern Syllables pop-TA-to (kindergarten) Sub-syllabic units (pre-readers) Onset (initial consonants) Slip, slop, slap Rime (vowel later consonants) Bat cat Phonemic units (learning to read) Individual phonemes in words b-a-t

Ritual Objects of Ancient Taino

Ritual Objects of Ancient Taino A zemà ­ (also zemi, zeme or cemi) is a collective term in the Caribbean Taà ­no (Arawak) culture for sacred thing, a spirit symbol or personal effigy. The Taà ­no were the people met by Christopher Columbus when he first set foot on the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. To the Taà ­no, zemà ­ was/is an abstract symbol, a concept imbued with the power to alter circumstances and social relations. Zemis are rooted in ancestor worship, and although they are not always physical objects, those that have a concrete existence have a multitude of forms. The simplest and earliest recognized zemis were roughly carved objects in the form of an isosceles triangle (three-pointed zemis); but zemis can also be quite elaborate, highly detailed human or animal effigies embroidered from cotton or carved from sacred wood. Christopher Columbuss Ethnographer Elaborate zemà ­s were incorporated into ceremonial belts and clothing; they often had long names and titles, according to Ramà ³n Panà ©. Panà © was a friar of the Order of Jerome, who was hired by Columbus to live in Hispaniola between 1494 and 1498 and make a study of Taà ­no belief systems. Panà ©s published work is called Relacià ³n acerca de las antigà ¼edades de los indios, and it makes Panà © one of the earliest ethnographers of the new world. As reported by Panà ©, some  zemà ­s included bones or bone fragments of ancestors; some zemà ­s were said to speak to their owners, some made things grow, some made it rain, and some made the winds blow. Some of them were reliquaries, kept in gourds or baskets suspended from the rafters of communal houses. Zemis were guarded, venerated and regularly fed. Arieto ceremonies were held every year during which zemà ­s were draped with cotton clothing and offered baked cassava bread, and zemi origins, histories, and power were recited through songs and music. Three Pointed Zemà ­s Three-pointed zemà ­s, like the one illustrating this article, are commonly found in Taà ­no archaeological sites, as early as the Saladoid period of Caribbean history (500 BC-1 BC). These mimic a mountain silhouette, with the tips decorated with human faces, animals, and other mythical beings. Three-pointed zemà ­s are sometimes randomly dotted with circles or circular depressions. Some scholars suggest that three-pointed zemis imitate the shape of cassava tubers: cassava, also known as manioc, was an essential food staple and also an important symbolic element of Taà ­no life. The three-pointed zemis were sometimes buried in the soil of a garden. They were said, according to Panà ©, to help with the growth of the plants. The circles on the three-pointed zemà ­s may represent tuber eyes, germination points which may or may not develop into suckers or new tubers. Zemi Construction Artifacts representing zemà ­s were made from a wide range of materials: wood, stone, shell, coral, cotton, gold, clay and human bones. Among the most preferred material to make zemà ­s was wood of specific trees such as mahogany (caoba), cedar, blue mahoe, the lignum vitae or guyacan, which is also referred to as holy wood or wood of life. The silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) was also important to Taà ­no culture, and tree trunks themselves were often recognized as zemà ­s. Wooden anthropomorphic zemà ­s have been found all over the Greater Antilles, especially Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. These figures often bear gold or shell inlays within the eye-inlets. Zemà ­ images were also carved on rocks and cave walls, and these images could also transfer supernatural power to landscape elements. Role of Zemis in Taino Society Possession of the elaborated zemà ­s by Taino leaders (caciques) was a sign of his/her privileged relations with the supernatural world, but zemis werent restricted to leaders or shamans. According to Father Panà ©, most of the Taà ­no people living on Hispaniola owned one or more zemà ­s. Zemis represented not the power of the person who owned them, but the allies the person could consult and venerate. In this way, zemis provided contact for every Taino person with the spiritual world. Sources Atkinson L-G. 2006. The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaica Taà ­no, University of the West Indies Press, Jamaica. de Hostos A. 1923. Three-pointed stone zemà ­ or idols from the West Indies: an interpretation. American Anthropologist 25(1):56-71. Hofman CL, and Hoogland MLP. 1999. Expansion of the Taà ­no cacicazgos towards the Lesser Antilles. Journal de la Socià ©tà © des Amà ©ricanistes 85:93-113. doi: 10.3406/jsa.1999.1731 Moorsink J. 2011. Social Continuity in the Caribbean Past: A Mai son-Perspective on Cultural Continuity. Caribbean Connections 1(2):1-12. Ostapkowicz J. 2013. ‘Made †¦ With Admirable Artistry’: The Context, Manufacture, and History of a Taà ­no Belt. The Antiquaries Journal 93:287-317. doi: 10.1017/S0003581513000188 Ostapkowicz J, and Newsom L. 2012. â€Å"Gods †¦ Adorned with the Embroiderers Needle†: The Materials, Making and Meaning of a Taà ­no Cotton Reliquary. Latin American Antiquity 23(3):300-326. doi: 10.7183/1045-6635.23.3.300 Saunders NJ. 2005. The Peoples of the Caribbean. An Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Traditional Culture. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California. Saunders NJ, and Gray D. 1996. Zemà ­s, trees, and symbolic landscapes: three Taà ­no carvings from Jamaica. Antiquity 70(270):801-812. doi: :10.1017/S0003598X00084076