The Kite Runner Film - 826 Words

Jack and Alex walked out of the theater, pondering their thoughts on the film they’d just seen. The Kite Runner, a film about a boy not standing up for his best friend, trying to forget his guilt and eventually embarking on a dangerous journey to try to redeem himself. â€Å"Wow, that movie was such an eye opener! I had no idea what Afghan culture was about, let alone the hardships and struggles people faced,† said Alex, â€Å"But it was really about guilt and atonement I guess. What did you like the best Jack?,† â€Å"The relationship between Amir and Hassan. It’s so different from any relationship I’ve experienced. Amir and Hassan are as closeas a servant and master can be, yet Amir acts like Hassan, a Hazara, is beneath him. Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. I think these factors play into his childhood cowardice of sacrificing Hassan. Hassan however remains loyal, forgiving, and good natured,† replied Jack. â€Å"So what do you think of their friendship?† â€Å"Well I think Hassan and Amir were brothers from the start, before their relationship decayed after Hassan was raped. Foster uses the pomegranate tree symbolizes the friendship. Amir even carves on the tree â€Å"Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul† which formalizes their friendship and shows they are as close as brothers. Then After Hassan’s rape, Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan hoping that Hassan will hit him back and free him from his guilt. Hassan then crushes a pomegranateShow MoreRelatedTurning Point In The Kite Runner1568 Words   |  7 PagesMarc Forster’s The Kite Runner is a 2007 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Khalid Hosseini. Marc Forster is Film Director, screenwriter and producer. Of the several films directed by Forster, his breakthrough film; Monsters Ball (2001), received several oscar nominations including Best Picture. The Kite Runner beautifully depicts the friendship between Amir and Hassan, and portrays the raw turning point in their friendship which will forever change the both of them. TheRead MoreThe Power of the Written Word in The Kite Runner by Hosseini Essay1212 Words   |  5 Pages The Kite Runner is a powerful story of love and trust blended with elements of deception and human wickedness at its worst. The full beauty of the story lies in the sundry emotions and subtle nuances provided by the author in the book, and many of the deeper feelings and emotions therein are missed entirely, or touched on much too briefly when viewing the film. Within the very first chapter of the book, Hassan is referred to as Hassan the harelipped kite runner (HosseiniRead MoreRedemption is a capacity that both Amir from the remarkable novel Kite Runner, written by Khaled900 Words   |  4 PagesRedemption is a capacity that both Amir from the remarkable novel Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseni along with Walt Kalwoski the main character of the unforgettable movie Gran Tornio, directed by Clint Eastwood, withhold. Both Walt and Amir were collided with life changing events that later shaped the individuals they are today. Nevertheless, throughout both stories, the protagonists are faced with opportunities to redeem themselves, often at the risk of hurting their loved ones more than theyRead MoreKhaled Hosseini s The Kite Runner1679 Words   |  7 Pages Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 4th 1965. Hosseini s homeland was the inspiration for his novel, The Kite Runner, which gave his readers a taste of what Afghanistan was before the brutal invasions of the Taliban. He spent his early childhood living in Tehran, Iran, where he befriended his family s cook. The unexpected friendship between a young Afghan and a member of the Hazara ethnic group exposed Hosseini to the acts of injustice against minority groups in AfghanistanRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini.published Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesThe Kite Runner is the kind of novel portraying the common issues of the lives of parents and children. The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini.Published by Riverhead Books, it recounts the narratives of Amir, a young boy from the WazirAkbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest companion is Hassan, son of his father s servant Hazara. The story is situated against a backdrop of turbulent and volatile events, from the fall of Afghanistan s monarchy through theRead MoreMasculinity : Masculinity And Conformity1616 Words   |  7 Pagesof the se texts have main characters who struggle with the demands of masculinity and the pressures to conform to society’s view of masculinity. The texts that I am using are Foreskins Lament by Greg McGee, The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, Kite Runner by and The Tomcat by James K Baxter. This interests me because I am a young man beginning my adult life and I feel a lot of pressure to conform to what society thinks is a good man. How is Masculinity displayed in FSL? In Greg McGee’s ForeskinRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 1196 Words   |  5 PagesNick St. Sauveur World Literature II 20 November 2015 Mrs. Hogan Kite Runner Essay Amir: Lost In Fear Over the duration of history, it has been shown that guilt not brought to light can do little in the name of personal redemption. Moreover, this is clearly connected with and related to Khaled Hosseini s fantastic novel The Kite Runner, one of which describes as well as shows the thoughts and actions of teens through the story s main character, Amir, and his many adventures as anRead MoreJsdgflka3918 Words   |  16 PagesComparative Literature 153: â€Å"International Cultures: Film and Literature† Dr. Thomas Jay Lynn * Penn State Berks * Fall 2015 * MWF 12:00-12:50 Franco 101 * Office Meeting Period MWF 1:15-2:15 (For an office meeting during this or a different time, please e-mail, phone, or speak to me in advance, if possible.) Office: 117 Franco * Office Phone: (610) 396-6298 * E-mail: TJL7@PSU.EDU Please note: This syllabus and various other course documents (including essay guidelines) will be posted onlineRead MoreShort Story : The Kite Runner 1246 Words   |  5 Pages 20 November 2015 Mrs. Hogan Kite Runner Essay Amir: Lost In Fear Over the duration of history, it has been shown that guilt not brought to light can do little in the name of personal redemption. Moreover, this is clearly connected with and related to Khaled Hosseini s fantastic novel The Kite Runner, one of which describes as well as shows the thoughts and actions of teens through the story s main characterRead MoreThe Kite Runner Directed by Marc Forster819 Words   |  4 Pages1. â€Å"The Kite Runner†, directed by Marc Forster, is a film that contains many elements; power, childhood, loyalty and bravery. These elements are highlighted in many ways through the use of camera angles, emotional audio, and both verbal and non-verbal communication. 2. Here, Hassan and Amir are discussing kite running, a sport which is very popular among the children in Kabul. It involves two people, one holding the kite spool, and the other controlling the movement of the kite. The idea of the

Evidence Based Individualized Strategies May Improve...

The following strategies are evidence-based individualized strategies believed to improve educational outcomes for Kyle: Math: Instruction: Peer-Guided Pause, Reading Fluency: Assisted Cloze, Choice: Allowing Students Control Over Learning, Active Supervision: Roaming the Classroom, Establishing Classroom Routines: Increasing Predictably, and Preferential Seating: Increasing Attention and Removing Distractions. The first academic intervention strategy suggested is known as the Peer-Guided Pause. For this strategy, it is suggested that during a whole-group lecture, a teacher should incorporate several Peer Guided Pauses during the lecture. Through this Pause, students know to work in pairs to review concepts previously discussed. Students monitor their understanding, review model problems, and work cooperatively. For Kyle, this strategy would improve his educational outcomes by redirecting Kyle’s attention at several intervals during the lesson to ensure he is staying focused, taking notes, and understating the material. This will also aid in Kyle’s communication skill building. The second academic intervention strategy suggested is known as Reading Fluency: Assisted Cloze. During this strategy, the teacher reads a passage aloud while the student followshel along silently and keeping pace with the test with a finger. Occasionally, the teacher will pause and the student is requi red to read aloud the next word in the passage. The process is repeated until the entire passageShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesmechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations

Four Contextual Factors Free Essays

1. Four Contextual Fators Apple have shown an ample example that they have implemented the four contextual factors in the organization which then lead to their organization successfulness. i. We will write a custom essay sample on Four Contextual Factors or any similar topic only for you Order Now Culture – Steve Jobs, the founder of the organization have a clear vision and yet simple that he wants the whole organization to know. â€Å"Bringing the best personal computing, mobile communication, and portable digital music and video experience to consumers, students, educators, businesses, and government agencies through its innovative hardware, software, peripherals, services, and Internet offerings. Steve Jobs. ii. Strategy – Apple Inc. also spends a fair time of training and or re-training its employees on a global scale and comes up with many new devices to not only keep the shareholders happy, but also by braining storming and coming up with new technology so in which Apple Inc. can hire new employees; thus helping the global economy. Apple Inc. understands, as new venture grows, there can be a need for more and more administration. (Hisrich, Peters, 2010, p. p. 127) iii. Culture – Team building and team sustaining with repositioning is and can be a gruesome task, however ‘Time heals all wounds unless you pick at them. ’ (Shawn Alexander www. bellaonl ine. com/articles/art11602. asp) Managers worldwide can look at Apple Inc and learn that with any type of conflict; where it is by internal or external nature; can be maintained and or healed if the organization has a team willing to work and learn together if the team is willing to collaborate systematically. v. Enviroment – People believe that the leaders in the organization, especially Steve Jobs are one of the reasons for the organizational success; Human resources are a very important. Apple has been known to be a good employer. Its employees are appreciated and valued. They are provided with a healthy work culture that comes from learning organization, some of them feel that Apple has a wrong human resource strategy as they maintain secrecy. How to cite Four Contextual Factors, Essay examples

Hotel and Restaurant Management Research free essay sample

An executive sum m ary for m anagers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article Customer satisfaction measurement in a business-to-business context: a conceptual framework Jeanne Rossomme Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Miami, Florida, USA Keywords Customer satisfaction, Business-to-business marketing, Industrial marketing, Relationship marketing, Organizational behaviour, Market research Abstract In practice, firms measure customer satisfaction using models and theory developed for evaluating the perceptions of individual consumers rather than entire organizations. This paper develops an integrated model of customer satisfaction measurement specific to a business-to-business context and addresses the unique challenges inherent in this context by incorporating learnings from the fields of customer satisfaction, organizational buying behavior and relationship marketing. After presenting the model and its rationale, the paper illustrates practical uses of the model as a managerial tool for framing a system of customer satisfaction measurement. Introduction Customer satisfaction measurement (CSM) is the principal tool by which marketers assess the health of their relationships with their customers. We will write a custom essay sample on Hotel and Restaurant Management Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Extensive research has been dedicated to this topic in leading marketing journals over the past decade. Relatively few of these articles, however, have addressed customer satisfaction in a business-to-business context. Academic researchers have noted a predominant focus on consumer measurements with near complete disregard for customer satisfaction research between businesses (Morris and Davis, 1992; Moore and Schlegelmilch, 1994; Swan and Trawick, 1993; Swan et al. 1995; Patterson et al. , 1997; Homburg and Rudolph, 2001). In addition to the psychographic complexities of measuring the satisfaction of individuals, industrial companies also need to wrestle with the added complexities of multiple respondents, complex product/service attributes and a diverse customer base. The challenges facing marketers in this area, therefore, need to be more fully understood and efficiently addressed. Knowledge base Fortunately, the context of business-to-business relationships also has a rich knowl edge base. Beginning in the 1950s many researchers and practitioners saw the need to create and confirm models of organizational buying behavior as distinct from consumer purchasing behavior. This research created an overall framework to explain how organizational buying occurs, who is involved in the buying process, and what environmental, organizational, The author would like to express her gratitude to Jim Gouveia, Betsy Balderston, Dr Julie Lee, Dr Arun Sharma, the editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. The author also extends special thanks to Dr A. Measures for satisfaction elements Each customer role may incorporate different variables in framing their overall satisfaction judgements. The final step is to develop measures for the satisfaction elements that can be combined in a survey instrument appropriate to each identified key client. Supplier management can look at quantitatively aggregate results for user and buyer groups to gain insights into key strengths and weaknesses within their post-sales service and support and customer service and supply chain.

To Build A Fire Essays (683 words) - To Build A Fire, He-Man

To Build A Fire Affects of a naturalistic world ?To Build a Fire? Everyone at some point in time, tries to accomplish feats that are almost near impossible. Warnings from others, more experienced with some of life's pitfalls, go unheeded to those subject to grandiosity. London's ?To Build a Fire? illustrates that man is insignificant in the face of nature, and that if man sets himself up against nature he will ultimately be defeated. London's ?To Build a Fire? is a story of a man whose life comes to an end when he ventures into the Yukon trail with only a dog for his companion. Ignoring the warnings of the day along with the warnings of the old timer, the man proceeds on the journey of making camp by six o'clock. It is the setting of the story that reveals how week man is against nature. The man's pride as well as his attitude toward nature will be affected and influenced eventually by forces of nature. As the reader is first introduced to the man, he has the attitude that he knows everything he needs to know about nature and how to survive the weather. ?The tremendous cold and the absence of the sun had no effect on the man?(910). ?He was alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not the significance?(910). These two quotes suggest that the man was aware of the day but due to his ignorance he did not realize the mistake of making that journey. The man's ego makes him take the journey alone without notice of external things of nature that would influence him later. The affects of naturalism are exhibited when he stops for lunch and forgets to start a fire as soon as he sits down. This is the first sign that the cold is beginning to affect him. Instead of being cautious or frightened, the narrator explains that, ?He chuckled at his foolishness?(913). At this point he still does not realize the significance of being properly prepared both physically and mentally. However the surrounding setting is starting to influence his reaction to how cold it really is. He starts realizing that his hands were going numb, and that he felt a stinging sensation when his feet made contact with the ground. This influence is not strong enough to make the man change his attitude that he is stronger than nature. The man's ignorance leads to his fall in the next part of the story when he lights the fire and becomes overconfident in himself. This becomes obvious to the reader when the man thought to himself, ?here he was; he had a accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself?(915). This new found confidence is soon extinguished when the fire goes out. ?It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake?(916). At this point it is very clear that nature is getting the best of him. The reader is told that, ?The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death?(916). ?If he only had a trail mate he would have been in no danger now?(916). After realizing the danger of his surroundings his thought process changed drastically, and no he was not influencing nature but was influenced by nature itself. From the evidence of what the man sees as a mild day, he jumps to the conclusion that the day won't bring any harm to him. He believes that he is significant in this huge world, but in reality he finds out that he was like a grain of sand along the beaches of the West Coast. No matter how hard he tried, nature always had the upper hand. The story shows that is one thing to know about the power of natural world, but another to understand the significance of its power. It exemplifies that no one man can overcome the overwhelming power of nature and shows that their will always be conflicts of man vs. nature and ignorance vs. intelligence. . English Essays

Free Essays on Poem By Witman

1. â€Å"Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary†¦ (Whitman 38) .† This line expresses Walt Whitman’s philosophy on life and is an almost perfect description of the poet. He was a man, who in his poetry, expressed independence, interdependence with other living things, and the struggles that are dealt with by him and others in order to gain that independence. He felt and wrote that it is important to stand up for the things in which one believes in. Walt Whitman gives much insight into himself and others in his poetry, and gives his readers a great deal to think about. In general, it could be said that Whitman very much believed in the individual and felt that one’s strengths, whatever they may be, could be utilized and manipulated into something meritorious. Walter Whitman was born and raised in New York City, and spent most of his adult life in that area. At the age of twelve, Whitman b egan his journalism career as a printer’s apprentice and very quickly worked himself up to the top. In 1846, at the age of 23, was hired as the editor of the Brooklyn Daily newspaper; however, two years later he was fired because he was an adamant supporter of the Free Soil faction of the Democratic party. He moved to New Orleans to work for the Crescent, a local paper, only to move back to New York three months later. Whitman dabbled around in free soil journalism for awhile, but that didn’t work out and this brought him to the close of his career as journalist (â€Å"Whitman, Walt† 639) . At this point his life took a very significant turn and he began developing into the poet he would soon become. For five years Walt Whitman followed in his father’s footsteps, and began building houses and investing in real estate. Whitman became a 2. very promising businessman and began to have more time on his hands. He attended the opera and theater, and began to re ad and write tremend... Free Essays on Poem By Witman Free Essays on Poem By Witman 1. â€Å"Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary†¦ (Whitman 38) .† This line expresses Walt Whitman’s philosophy on life and is an almost perfect description of the poet. He was a man, who in his poetry, expressed independence, interdependence with other living things, and the struggles that are dealt with by him and others in order to gain that independence. He felt and wrote that it is important to stand up for the things in which one believes in. Walt Whitman gives much insight into himself and others in his poetry, and gives his readers a great deal to think about. In general, it could be said that Whitman very much believed in the individual and felt that one’s strengths, whatever they may be, could be utilized and manipulated into something meritorious. Walter Whitman was born and raised in New York City, and spent most of his adult life in that area. At the age of twelve, Whitman b egan his journalism career as a printer’s apprentice and very quickly worked himself up to the top. In 1846, at the age of 23, was hired as the editor of the Brooklyn Daily newspaper; however, two years later he was fired because he was an adamant supporter of the Free Soil faction of the Democratic party. He moved to New Orleans to work for the Crescent, a local paper, only to move back to New York three months later. Whitman dabbled around in free soil journalism for awhile, but that didn’t work out and this brought him to the close of his career as journalist (â€Å"Whitman, Walt† 639) . At this point his life took a very significant turn and he began developing into the poet he would soon become. For five years Walt Whitman followed in his father’s footsteps, and began building houses and investing in real estate. Whitman became a 2. very promising businessman and began to have more time on his hands. He attended the opera and theater, and began to re ad and write tremend...

Multinational Acquisition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Multinational Acquisition - Research Paper Example In 2010, the world witnessed the acquisition of a famous multinational company Cadbury by Kraft Food Products. Kraft Foods, an American multinational, which deals in food products acquired Cadbury, a British multinational dealing in confectionary products, as a way to diversify its holdings. As such, in January 2010, Kraft Foods acquired Cadbury for ?11.9 billion ($19.6 billion) (Merced & Nicholson, 2010). This made Kraft Foods the biggest confectioner in the world. It has been recorded as the biggest food and beverage deal in European history according Reuters. The initial offer of Kraft Foods was 745p, per share which was increase by 14 percent to 850p per share. Initially the acquisition was opposed by the trade unions because they had the prescient concern that such an acquisition would necessarily lead to job cuts. However, Kraft Foods confirmed that the combined company would be able to create more jobs in UK, apart from the existing employees that Cadbury currently employed (J ones, & Dorfman, 2010). Research Objectives The objective of this research is to focus on the issues that arise after a multinational acquisition acquires a different organizational culture, framework, process and system in comparison to the company which has acquired it. The motive would be to analyze the accounting requirements after acquisition, difficulties that arise with reference to preparation of combined financial statements, as well as to separately assess the goodwill of the business combination and other key issues. The objective would also be to study the IFRS and GAAP guidelines which are applicable in cases such as the one that will be studied. Outline of the Study The research study includes a detailed study of the multinational acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods. General analysis of the scenario before acquisition is done; furthermore, the study will discuss the after effects of acquisition within the new business combination. As such, the study will begin with a brief overview of the acquisition that took place in January 2010. The research objective is stated to describe the motive behind conducting the research. Furthermore, a literature review will include analysis of the accounting requirements and the challenges faced by the company in preparing the combined financial statements. Apart from this discussion on the process of evaluating the intangible assets of the company and key changes that are made in the acquired company would be revealed, the study will attempt to give a complete view of the successful objectives required by such an approach. LITERATURE REVIEW Accounting Requirements and Challenges in preparing Financial Statement In the case of the acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods, the holding company is Kraft Foods and Cadbury is the subsidiary. Therefore, the companies in this business combination need to apply for acquisition accounting to the newly united business. Similarly, the holding company is the one which holds ma jority of the shares of the subsidiary company. The holding company must also become responsible for the balance sheet and profit and loss statements of the subsidiar

Gender Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gender Analysis - Research Paper Example Dee has a strained relationship with her mother as well which is the opposite of how Maggie is with her mother. Family differences cause strained relationships as well as increase the differences among the family members. In almost every family, there are those family members who are much more intelligent than the others. They therefore outshine them when it comes to education as well as among other different fields that demand intelligence. These differences in the intellectual ability of the family members leads them hiding their needs and wants in order to avoid being outsmarted by the bright one of being considered stupid in as far as innovation is concerned (Strain 186). In this family, Dee is the bright one intellectually in the family. She is brighter than her sister Maggie whose brain seems to function slightly slower than normal making her slow. He mother cannot be said to also be the brightest pea in the pod making Dee feel quite exceptional in the family. This may also be the reason for her to leave home and be as far away from them as possible. She vowed never to bring her friends in their home as it was not according to the standards of her company. Dee’s talk was also that of an intelligent person the only problem was that she used it to force decisions to her mother and sister leading her to be considered much more elegant and sophisticated. Physical differences are also a reason for families to have strained relationships with each other. The most beautiful of them all shows off her beauty in different ways. One of the ways is through the kind of clothes she wears. This makes the rest of the family members feel inferior while the culprit does not notice it and walks around all superior. At times, they are aware of their superiority in looks and make a point of making everyone else do as they wish simply because they are more beautiful and have great

World Trade Organizations Dispute Settlement Mechanism Thesis

World Trade Organizations Dispute Settlement Mechanism - Thesis Example The author of the paper states that the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism should secure the ‘rule of law’ within international trade and provide all members with opportunities to exercise their rights equally under multilateral trade agreements. But, even after ten years, there still are many countries which haven't have the option to initiate a dispute. The system has been critically analyzed and the solutions have been proposed that DSM should break the monarchy and fear of developed countries and secure the developing.  An international organization, theWorld Trade Organization(WTO) was designed to supervise and liberalize international was came into being on 1 January 1995. It is the descendant of GATT theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which was formed in 1947, and continued to operate for almost five decades as a de facto international organization.  Most of the academic literature, even in its more critical versions, tend to share this basic assumption with the designers of the DSM. The DSM is conceptualized as a legal system where the same rules apply to countries on an equal basis, and where cases are judged according to their merits. This principle is incarnated in the AB, which has developed a case law with this emphasis.  A final set of observations from this literature focuses on biases and inequalities within and between institutions managing trade, including the WTO in general and the DSM in particular (Busch and Reinhardt, 2003; Shaffer, 2003). Here, the main problem identified is that the DSM (and the WTO) has become too technically complex and demanding for most developing countries to use effectively in the absence of adequate assistance. Originally, this is the observation that there are too much law and too little politics in the system.   The implicit biases of systems of trade rules, including the DSM, in favor of powerful countries - reinforced through the dominance of judicial forms of rule-making - have been noted by some contributors to the literature (for example, Busch and Reinhardt, 2001).  Initial studies of developing country participation in WTO dispute settlement found that they were unable to use the system effectively to settle cases, although they had expected levels of success when cases went before panels and the Appellate Body.161 This suggested that there was a need for more training and assistance to developing countries to enable them to handle the initial stages of dispute settlement more effectively. More recent experience suggests that at least the major developing countries - and quite a few Latin American countries in general - have become more effective in using dispute settlement overall, including in using it to obtain early settlements. The establishment of the Advisory Centre on WTO L aw and the dispute settlement training activities of the WTO Secretariat and others should help ensure that developing countries continue to made progress on this front (Busch and Reinhardt, 2001).

History of Googles Development

History of Googles Development 1.1.0 HISTORY OF GOOGLE Google began in January 1996, as a research project by Larry Page, who was soon joined by Sergey Brin, when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in California. They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page. Their search engine was originally nicknamed BackRub because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site. A small search engine called Rankdex was already exploring a similar strategy. Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine. Originally, the search engine used the Stanford University website with the domain google.stanford.edu. The domain google.com was registered on 15 September 1997, and the company was incorporated as Google Inc. on 4 September 1998 at a friends garage in Menlo Park, California. The total initial investment raised for the new company amounted to almost $1.1 million, including a $100,000 check by Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems. Both Brin and Page had been against using advertising pop-ups in a search engine, or an advertising funded search engines model, and they wrote a research paper in 1998 on the topic while still students. However, they soon changed their minds and early on allowed simple text ads. In March 1999, the company moved into offices in Palo Alto, home to several other noted Silicon Valley technology startups. After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in Mountain View, California at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from Silicon Graphics (SGI) in 2003. The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since come to be known as the googolplex (a play on the word googolplex). In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million. 1.1.1 Name of Google The name Google originated from a misspelling of the word googol, which refers to 10100, the number represented by a 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb google was added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006, meaning to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet. 1.1.2 Growth of Google While the primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as radio and print publications. On 17 January 2006, Google announced the purchase of a radio advertising company dMarc, which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio. This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media-the Internet and radio-with Googles ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers. Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times. They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements. 1.2.0 GOOGLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Google product development philosophy involves rapid and continuous innovation, with frequent releases of early-stage products that they then iterate and improve. Google often make products available early in their development stages by posting them on Google Labs, at test locations online or directly on Google.com. If their users find a product useful, they promote it to beta status for additional testing. Once they are satisfied that a product is of high quality and utility, they remove the beta label and make it a core Google product. Their main products and services are described below. 1.2.1 Google.com Search and Personalization They are focused on building products and services on the Google web sites that benefit their users and let them find relevant information quickly and easily. These products and services include: Google Web Search, In addition to providing easy access to billions of Web pages, they have integrated special features into Google Web Search to help people find exactly what they are looking for on the web. Google Image Search, Google Image Search is a searchable index of images found across the web. To extend the usefulness of Google Image Search, Google offers advanced features, such as searching by image size, format and coloration and restricting searches to specific web sites or domains. Google Video, Google Video lets users upload, find, view and share video content worldwide. iGoogle and Personalized Search, iGoogle connects users to the information that is most useful and important to them in an easy-to-use and customizable format. Users add gadgets and themes created by Google and developers to create a powerful and personalized homepage and arrange the content the way they want. 1.2.2 Application Information created by a single user becomes much more valuable when shared and combined with information from other people or places. Therefore their strategy for products Google develop in this space is simple: develop tools for their users to create, share and communicate any information generated by the user, thus making the information more useful and manageable. Examples of products Google have developed with this strategy in mind include: Google Docs, Google Docs allows their users to create, view and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations from anywhere using a browser. These documents are useful to their users as they are accessible anywhere internet access is available, manageable as they are stored within their servers and automatically backed up, and shareable in that they allow real time editing with co-workers and friends over the internet. Gmail, Gmail is Googles free webmail service that comes with built-in Google search technology to allow searching of emails and over seven gigabytes of storage, allowing users to keep their important messages, files and pictures. Google serve small text ads that are relevant to the messages in Gmail. Orkut, Orkut enables users to search and connect to other users through networks of trusted friends. Users can create a profile, personal mailboxes, post photos and join or manage online communities. Google Sites, Google Sites allows users to easily create, update and publish content online without technical expertise, with control over who can see and update the site. Google Sites supports a variety of information such as videos, calendars, presentations, spreadsheets, discussions and texts. YouTube, YouTube is an online community that lets users worldwide uploads, share, watch, rate, and comment on videos, from user generated, niche professional, to premium videos. YouTube is also a video platform providing general purpose video resources to the web community. YouTube videos are embedded in blogs, social networks and web applications, and YouTube programming interfaces are utilized by many registered developers to create third-party products and services. In addition, YouTube offers a range of video and interactive formats for advertisers to reach their intended audience. 1.2.3 Client Google Toolbar, Google Toolbar is a free application that adds a Google search box to web browsers (Internet Explorer and Firefox) and improves user web experience through features such as a pop-up blocker that blocks pop-up advertising, an autofill feature that completes web forms with information saved on a users computer, and customizable buttons that let users search their favorite web sites and stay updated on their favorite feeds. Google Chrome, Google Chrome is an open-source browser that combines a minimal design with technologies to make the web faster, safer, and easier to navigate. Google Desktop, Google Desktop lets people perform a full-text search on the contents of their own computer, including email, files, instant messenger chats and web browser history. Users can view web pages they have visited even when they are not online. Google Desktop also includes a customizable Sidebar that includes modules for weather, stock tickers and news. 1.2.4 Google GEO-Maps, Earth and Local Google Earth, Google Earth lets users see and explore the world and beyond from their desktop. Users can fly virtually to a specific location and learn about that area through detailed satellite and aerial images, 3D topography, street maps and millions of data points describing the location of businesses, schools, parks and other points of interest around the globe. Google Earth includes Sky, an astronomical imagery library with images of over 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies, and Ocean, with a detailed bathymetric map of the earths ocean floors. Google Maps, Google Maps helps people navigate map information. Users can look up addresses, search for businesses, and get point-to-point driving directions-all plotted on an interactive street map or on satellite imagery. Google Maps includes Street View, 360-degree street-level imagery available in several regions around the world, and Google Transit, which provides up-to-date information on local transit options in many cities. 1.3.0 GOOGLE FINANCIAL STATUS TO DATE The first funding for Google as a company was secured in August 1998 in the form of a $100,000 USD contribution from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given to a corporation which did not yet exist. On June 7, 1999, a round of equity funding totaling $25 million was announced; the major investors being rival venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Sequoia Capital. In October 2003, while discussing a possible initial public offering of shares (IPO), Microsoft approached the company about a possible partnership or merger. However, no such deal ever materialized. In January 2004, Google announced the hiring of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group to arrange an IPO. The IPO was projected to raise as much as $4 billion. On April 29, 2004, Google made an S-1 form SEC filing for an IPO to raise as much as $2,718,281,828. In May 2004, Google officially cut Goldman Sachs from the IPO, leaving Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston as the joint underwriters. They chose the unconventional way of allocating the initial offering through an auction (specifically, a Dutch auction), so that anyone would be able to participate in the offering. The smallest required account balances at most authorized online brokers that are allowed to participate in an IPO, however, are around $100,000. In the run-up to the IPO the company was forced to slash the price and size of the offering, but the process did not run into any technical difficulties or result in any significant legal challenges. The initial offering of shares was sold for $85 per share. The public valued it at $100.34 at the close of the first day of trading, which saw 22,351,900 shares change hands. Googles initial public offering took place on August 19, 2004. A total of 19,605,052 shares were offered at a price of $85 per share. The sale raised US$1.67 billion, and gave Google a market capitalization of more than $23 billion. The vast majority of Googles 271 million shares remained under Googles control. Many of Googles employees became instant paper millionaires. Yahoo!, a competitor of Google, also benefited from the IPO because it owns 2.7 million shares of Google. Googles revenue growth rate has been slowing, but for the first time since it went public, the companys quarter-to-quarter revenue declined. The company, as is customary, reported results that most business only dreams of, recession or not. Its net income grew 8 percent to $1.42 billion and its revenue, excluding commissions paid to advertising partners, grew 10 percent to $4.07 billion. It generated free cash flow of $2 billion for the quarter, the vast majority of it derived from money advertisers pay Google when people click on ads next to search results. But everything is most definitely not coming up roses. Googles revenue, after ascending steadily quarter after quarter, peaked in the fourth quarter and declined 3 percent in the first quarter. Googles business is still relatively strong, and its been hit by the recession less than many in the tech world, but its been hit nonetheless. 1.4.0 CULTURE AND EMPLOYEES Google take great pride in their company culture and embrace it as one of their fundamental strengths. Their culture encourages the iteration of ideas to address complex technical challenges. In addition, Google embrace individual thinking and creativity. As an example, Google encourage their engineers to devote as much as 20% of their time to work on independent projects. Many of their significant new products have come from these independent projects, including Google News, AdSense for content and Orkut. Google began as a technology company and have evolved into a software, technology, internet, advertising and media company all rolled into one. Google take technology innovation very seriously. Google compete aggressively for talent, and its people drive their innovation, technology development and operations. Google strive to hire the best computer scientists and engineers to help us solve very significant challenges across systems design, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, networking, software engineering, testing, distributed systems, cluster design and other areas. Google work hard to provide an environment where these talented people can have fulfilling jobs and produce technological innovations that have a positive effect on the world through daily use by millions of people. Google have assembled what Google believe is a highly talented group of employees. Despite their rapid growth, Google constantly seek to maintain a small-company feel that promotes interaction and the exchange of ideas among employees. Google try to minimize corporate hierarchy to facilitate meaningful communication among employees at all levels and across departments. Google believe that considering multiple viewpoints is critical to developing effective solutions, and Google attempt to build consensus in making decisions. While teamwork is one of their core values, Google also significantly reward individual accomplishments that contribute to their overall success. As Google grow, Google expect to continue to provide compensation structures that are more similar to those offered by start-ups than established companies. Google focus on very significant rewards for individuals and teams that build amazing things that provide significant value to us, their advertisers and their users. At December 31, 2008, Google had 20,222 employees, consisting of 7,254 in research and development, 8,002 in sales and marketing, 3,109 in general and administrative and 1,857 in operations. All of Googles employees are also equity holders, with significant collective employee ownership. As a result, many employees are highly motivated to make the company more successful. 1.5.0 GOOGLE BUSINESS MODEL As with its technology, Google has chosen to ignore conventional wisdom in designing its business. The company started with seed money from angel investors and brought together two competing venture capital firms to fund its first equity round. While the dotcom boom exploded around it and competitors spent millions on marketing campaigns to build brand, Google focused instead on quietly building a better search engine. The word quickly spread from one satisfied user to another. With superior search technology and a high volume of traffic at its Google.com site, Googles managers identified two initial opportunities for generating revenue: Advertising Search services 1.5.1 Google grows and business blooms Over time, these two business lines evolved into complementary networks. Google AdWords advertisers create ads to drive qualified traffic to their sites and generate leads. Google publishing partners deliver those ads targeted to relevant search results powered by Google AdSense. With AdSense, the publisher shares in the revenue generated when readers click on the ads. For sites wishing to have more control over their intranet or site searches, Google developed the Google Search Appliance, a scalable and secure appliance that delivers accurate search results across any number of documents. Google continues to think about ways in which technology can improve upon existing ways of doing business. New areas are explored, ideas prototyped and budding services nurtured to make them more useful to advertisers and publishers. However, no matter how distant Googles business model grows from its origins, the root remains providing useful and relevant information to those who are the most important part of the ecosystem the millions of individuals around the world who rely on Google search to provide the answers they are seeking. 1.5.2 Google AdWords for Advertisers Google designed AdWords for advertisers who want to reach a qualified audience as efficiently as possible. Advertisers select their own target keywords and only pay when customers click on their ads. Its easy to create ad text and manage online advertising accounts with no large upfront payment required. All thats needed is five minutes and a credit card. The ads appear across Googles growing roster of partners, including thousands of sites from America Online to the Washington Post, and are targeted to relevant search and content pages. Googles experienced sales and service team optimize campaigns for our larger advertisers. Our staff of AdWords experts work with advertisers to select the appropriate keywords and generate the matching creative, then carefully monitor the campaign to improve its performance over time by winnowing keywords and rewriting copy based on what is most effective. Theres no limit to the number of keywords that an advertiser can select and each keyword can be matched with a different creative execution. Recent advertisers include Amazon, Cisco Systems and Staples. Google provides all of its advertisers with a full complement of reporting services to enable fine tuning of campaigns and real-time intelligence about which components are performing best. Advertisers can further increase efficiencies by targeting their campaigns to specific geographies or languages. 1.5.3 Google AdSense and advertisers Google believes relevant advertising can be as useful as search results or other forms of content. And that advertising can enhance the experience for visitors to a publishers website, while helping publishers recover some of their investment in creating content of value. Google AdSenseâ„ ¢ combines Google Search technology with our base of keyword advertisers to deliver ads that precisely target search results or the content on a sites pages, no matter how specialized the subject matter. Advertisers, publishers, and information seekers all profit as a result. Signing up for AdSense is easy it only takes a few minutes to apply. And our sales team helps customize the program for sites receiving more than 20 million page views a month. AdSense serves relevant ads on content pages search result and content pages as well as dormant domain pages. Google Search Services enable publishers to provide Google web search on their own pages results that can be used to generate revenue with the AdSense for Search program The Google Search Appliance, a scalable and secure device that provides Google quality search across an individual website or intranet. Google Wireless Services deliver Google search results via PDAs, wireless phones and other mobile devices powered by many of the worlds leading wireless service providers. .1.0 GOOGLE GLOBAL MARKET SHARE Not only does Google continue to dominate the global search market, its also growing faster than any of its competitors, according to data from comScore. The audience measurement firm estimates that Google sites notched up a total of 76.7 billion searches during the month of July 2009, an increase of 58 percent over July 2008. Googles search product therefore continues to govern the global search landscape, accounting for over 67 percent of all queries worldwide, comScore suggests. In comparison, Yahoo and Microsoft which agreed to a ten-year search partnership in July attracted a joint total of 12.2 billion queries through their search services, which represents just 10.7 percent of queries globally. Microsofts product did, however, experience substantial year-on-year growth of 41 percent. 2.2.0 GOOGLE KEY TECHNOLOGIES Google web search technology uses a combination of techniques to determine the importance of a web page independent of a particular search query and to determine the relevance of that page to a particular search query. 2.2.1 PageRank Technology PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results. PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a pages importance. 2.2.2 Hypertext-Matching Analysis Our search engine also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), our technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word. We also analyze the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a users query. Our innovations dont stop at the desktop. To give people access to the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it, we continue to develop new mobile applications and services that are more accessible and customizable. And were partnering with industry-leading carriers and device manufacturers to deliver these innovative services globally. Were working with many of these industry leaders through the Open Handset Alliance to develop Android, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform, which will offer people a less expensive and better mobile experience. 2.2.3 Life of a Google Query The life span of a Google query normally lasts less than half a second, yet involves a number of different steps that must be completed before results can be delivered to a person seeking information. 2.2.4 Infrastructure Google provides their products and services using their homegrown software and hardware infrastructure, which provides substantial computing resources at low cost. Google currently use a combination of off-the-shelf and custom software running on clusters of commodity computers. Their considerable investment in developing this infrastructure has produced several benefits. This infrastructure simplifies the storage and processing of large amounts of data, eases the deployment and operation of large-scale global products and services, and automates much of the administration of large-scale clusters of computers. Although most of this infrastructure is not directly visible to their users, Google believe it is important for providing a high-quality user experience. It enables significant improvements in the relevance of their search and advertising results by allowing us to apply superior search and retrieval algorithms that are computationally intensive. Google believe the infrastructur e also shortens their product development cycle and lets us pursue innovation more cost effectively. 2.3.0 QUALITY OF PERSONNEL Google is among the most successful Internet-based businesses and companies since the booming dotcoms years in late 1990s and remains to be a leader to date. The success of the Google is rooted on its outstanding organisational practices and core competencies. Googles formula of success is not only its competent technology but also its aggressive ability to come-up with both innovative and profit-oriented projects. Innovation is very critical among the members of its workforce since it operates in global environment.Managing global environment requires managers the ability to manage change through innovation and creativity. The innovative capability of Google combined with integrated process and a supportive culture creates sustainable competitive advantage. Among the considered high-leverage innovators, Google excels in ideation with overall adeptness and competence across all four stages of the innovation value chain. For example, (2007) describes Google as search engine leader tha t creates new-fangled ideas with intense speed or what they call the 70-20-10 Rule where the staff particularly engineers are encouraged to use 70 percent of their working time on central business functions, 20 percent on related business functions, and 10 percent on areas entirely of their own choice. Larger organisations like Google, in contrast to small ones are faster in adoption of innovations because of greater access to resources and need for strategic planning. Due to the stiff competition among Internet companies, the encouragement of innovation and creativity is inherent to Google. Innovation as a ground for doing business in the 21st century will be the consistent tugging force that the organisation must either strive to adopt or suffer the consequences of being left behind by competitors. The Googlers (employees) are motivated to contribute their suggestions, ideas, or anything that pertains to potential profit-gaining activities through various means like meetings, intr anet, and other forms of communication. In product development, they emphasise on the feasibility and user-friendliness of relevant ideas. The feasibility is supported by Googles aim of coming-up with something original and financially viable whereas the idea of user-friendliness works toward potential users. Through innovations, Google has expanded its services and features. Google today is no longer a search engine company but a web computing applications company. The upscale ability of Google is among its critical success factors that make it a sustainable competitive company in its specified industry. On the aspect of HRM, Google has a distinct recruitment procedure that is bounded on the increased importance on valued intelligence and brainpower more than experience. (2003) identified recruiting as part of the overall management function of staffing. Conversely, (2004) emphasised that staffing requires both the process of attracting and selecting potential personnel with exceptional capabilities and competencies to fill-in the company position available at hand. Recruiting potential Googlers are based on academic proficiency and human intelligence. The diversity of skills and qualities of applicants is recognised because Google management believes that it can contribute on its progression. There are also unique advertising techniques in job postings, effective referral system, and campus recruitment. Generally, Google upholds the key HRM functions namely; attracting a quality workforce, developing a quality workforce, and maintaining a quality workforce. 2.4.0 GOOGLE CAPITAL BASE REVENUE STREAM Googles stock fell decidedly below the psychologically significant mark of $300 per share at one point. The stock has fallen 60% overall from its high near $720 and sits near its 2004-2005 prices. Despite this, Google remains a global leader in search, internet advertising, and has its finger on the pulse of innovative web services. Googles earnings powerand Googles search share remain intact in the long. Does that mean the shares necessarily imply a great risk-reward tradeoff now? For perspective, lets take a look at Googles performance and its stock performance over a similar period. Overall, Googles stock grew at a 93% CAGR from its IPO in 2004 until 2007. Even including the precipitous drop in 2008, the stock has grown at a 30% CAGR. Since 2003, Google has grown its revenue at a 72.6% CAGR and its net income at a 109.1% CAGR. Roughly normalizing to the 2004-2008 time period, Googles revenue and net income have grown at 62% and 80% CAGR, respectively. Its clear that Googles stock grew relatively in line with its net income, in fact, even at its peak Googles stock growth never outpaced its net income growth rate thus implying that wild multiple expansion was not responsible for investor returns over the last five years. Unfortunately, with the changing economic outlook, the market seems to be pre-emptively punishing Google for slowing growth. If the current share price holds, the implication is that the Company will not grow net income from 2008 levels for another three years assuming that a stocks return (30% CAGR) trends towards the long term growth rate of a company. This return scenario seems compelling for a long term investor, but given that we remain dependent on growth for our returns as opposed to any fundamental valuation. Its hard to ascertain whether or not the stock current price represents a reasonable entry point. Now, let us try to look at the overall strengths and weaknesses of Googles market, technology, personnel and capital base and revenue stream. 2.5.0 Googles Strengths Google Already number one search engine has established a brand name, in which its users trust. Its dependable, reliable and fast. Google needs very little end user marketing as the name itself is getting word by mouth publicity. Google has a simple interface and it gives comprehensive results without confusing its users. Google has low operation cost as it uses low cost UNIX web servers for indexing millions of web pages across internet. Google has hired PhDs who are continuously working hard in order to enhance search algorithms and make searching faster, efficient and relevant. Google provides an interface to 177 languages to make it comfortable to search for its users in different countries. Google uses state of the art search technology to index pages regularly in order to give most updated results to its users. Google also weights the votes and ranks web pages with its PageRank technology to give its user access to most important pages first. Google is not biased towards advertisers. It clearly separates relevant advertisements and actual results by giving Sponsored Links tag to sponsored results when user searches to get information with some keyword. Moreover, it also ranks sponsored links to keep most relevant sponsored links on the top. Google offers localized search called search by location where users can get results showing vendors, products and services nearby their areas. Google also has a range of innovative additional services like Images, Groups, Directory, and News

My Favourite Vacation Spot is St. Martin Essay -- Personal Narrative,

I got dazzled once again by the beauty of St. Martin. St. Martin is undoubted a special place for vacation and one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Among all the places I have visited, it is the most unique. If anybody asks me about a vacation spot, the first thing that comes up in my mind is St. Martin. This is not for it is in my country but for its explicit natural beauty, social environment and the facilities available there. Natural has its own world in St. Martin. The island is about two kilometres long and the deep blue water all around it is outstanding to watch. Rocks of different sizes and types are all around the beach, some of which are with razor sharp spikes that can cut your foot into pieces if you step on them. Moreover, different coloured sea weeds and live corals can be seen on the rocks which are submerged in the water. St. Martin is the only Island in the world with live corals. There are more than thousands of different types of coral in this island. Scientists say that this island actually grew from this coral by the metamorphosis of different c...

Compare and Contrast Health and Wellness

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Food and Culture Essay Example

Food and Culture Essay Example Food and Culture Essay Food and Culture Essay Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: : Food and Culture Question 1 There are several carnivalesque activities this semester such as subverting the common beliefs on food. Question 2 Drinks happen to fall under the category of foodways just as other foods. Foodways means everything we eat or consume why we eat it, and its meaning. Therefore, drinks being part of what we consume fall under the category of foodways. Question 3 The center of the difference between esoteric and exoteric is on the state of consciousness. Esoteric means the inner sense of consciousness that is contemplative, meditative and mystical while exoteric means the outer consciousness that is governed by sensory organs or can be perceived physically. Question 4 An example of a food that was considered inedible and turned to edibleness is the kiwi fruit that was a rarity but now included in school lunch programs. Pizza is another example that started as an ethnic food but now popular in many parts of the world. Question 5 When we say that we consider our bodies inviolable, it means they cannot be violated. Question 6 When we say making tomatoes it means preparing them for making meals such as cutting them or peeling off their skin. Question 7 Nationalism is a form of patriotism with which individuals are associated with a nation. It is the same way that food can be associated to some people within a nation. Question 8 Packaging is just meant to be a form of storing the food in good order while manufacturing at most time is meant to preserve the food for a long time. This does not change or transform the food into another food. Thus, it can be considered traditional. Question 9 The rite of passage takes a basic three-part structure of separation, liminal period, and reassimilation. This means that a person is first separated from past, then enters a transformation period, and then accepted in the next status. Question 10 The difference between unpalatable and inedible is that unpalatable may be eaten but it is not delicious or tasty to the person eating it. On the other hand, inedible means it cannot be eaten at all. Question 11 Why should we study food and culture? What does the folklorist bring to its study? Many people or almost all recognize the fact that we are what we eat. As human beings, we are animals with bodies that require nourishing. Therefore, having knowledge of what one eats is very important since not all food is good for us. Additionally, people will have different preferences where what might be good for one may be bad for another. The study of food offer people a good understanding of what they eat. Additionally, different foods will provide different nutrients while different people will require different nutrition. Therefore, with knowledge of food, one will be in a position to know what food best serves their bodies. Folklore is the study of traditional culture and meaning of all its forms including food. Folklore plays a good role in the study of food since it considers the history and culture of each food. It considers where certain foods originated from, their meaning, and how they were prepared. Folklore further provides the evolution of food, how it has come to evolve. It studies the role of food in cultural background, providing a good understanding of food that we eat.

Parables about the Kingdom of God Essay Example

Parables about the Kingdom of God Essay Example Parables about the Kingdom of God Essay Parables about the Kingdom of God Essay Essay Topic: Parable Of the Sower The God Of Small Things The Kingdom of God is like a light bulb in the room. The light is in the darkness. Even though you dont see it when it is switched off doesnt mean it is not there. It only takes one man to switch it on, but it brings light to the whole room and those in it.The Kingdom of God is like when you are taking a bus to Brighton. It doesnt matter from when or where you take it, or which seat you sit on. What matters is that it arrives at the right destination. It is the destination that counts.If Jesus were alive today he would tell a story like the ones above because a parable is a simple story about everyday life with a religious meaning.But why did Jesus use parables?Jesus was living 2000 years ago in Palestine. Jerusalem itself was only a small town. At that time the people were mostly farmers and fishermen. Simple people relied on these two professions to support their families; this for them was everyday life so they knew everything about fishing and farming. Jesus taught parables about everyday life so people to understand them. Jesus parables were simple stories easy to remember. Most people could not remember long stories in the bible or the Ten Commandments. Being about everyday life it was easy for people to relate to them. Jesus parables had a religious meaning about God and Gods Kingdom. Jesus never really told people the exact things that would happen with the coming of Gods Kingdom but used parables to teach and communicate to them. In Marks Gospel it is said that Jesus had an extraordinary personality and used miracles to grab peoples attention. Then he would tell them parables that would seem very simple and meaningless stories but in fact they had a hidden religious meaning about the Kingdom of God.Jesus used parables to get the message across to people and his disciples. Referring to Marks Gospel Jesus did not tell his disciples he was the Messiah. Neither did he tell them what the exact things about the Kingdom of God. For this he gave them clues and used parables. Sometimes the disciples would not understand the parables and Jesus would only explain it to them when they were alone. Jesus acknowledged he was the Messiah only after Peters Declaration. It was important that Jesus taught the 12 disciples who he was before word got out. He needed to keep the Messianic Secret from Jews, their leaders and the Romans.If he taught too publicly, he would have been arrested and killed. Jesus was arrested only four days after the Messianic Secret got out. It was important that Jesus taught the 12 disciples who he was before word got out. He needed to keep the Messianic Secret from Jews, their leaders and the Romans/Gentiles.If Jesus taught too publicly he would have been arrested and killed. The first time Jesus publicly accepted being the Messiah was the Entry in Jerusalem. Jesus was arrested just four days after the Entry in Jerusalem (the Messianic Secret was out). If he had said that he was the Messiah when he was baptised, the Jews w ould have arrested Jesus for Blasphemy; the Romans would have been displeased about it because they thought he was trying to form a Jewish Kingdom and drive them out. By teaching in parables Jesus was able to keep the Messianic Secret. He did three years of secret teaching before his death.The parables message was also simple and short. For example the Kingdom of God is open to children is the message of the parable Jesus blesses the children.What could it feel like to belong to the Kingdom of God?To belong to the Kingdom of God means being part of something holy and important. It is like living in one country but being from another. In this case its living in Earth but feeling that your heart and soul belong in Gods Kingdom. To belong to the Kingdom of God is being part of something special and being proud of it. It means to have a relationship with God, accepting God and obeying his rules.Marks Gospel is persuasive writing aimed to convince people that Jesus is Son of God. There a re 7 parables in Marks Gospel. In each one of them there is a message about the Kingdom of God.One parable is the parable of the Mustard Seed. In this parable the Mustard Seed represents the Kingdom of God. The Mustard seed grows into the biggest plant while the Kingdom of God into the biggest Kingdom of all. In this parable Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God will start small and its hard to see at present but it will come and surely grow. Jesus also tells us that the coming of the Kingdom of God happens gradually, not overnight.Jesus also says that birds come and make their nests in the trees shade. This means that Gentiles will be included in the Kingdom of God. Another reference to this argument is given when Jesus goes to the temple, drives out all those who are buying and selling, and says: God said his temple will be the house of prayer for people of all nations. He includes people of all nations, not only Jews.Another parable is the parable of A Lamp under a Bowl. Here Je sus teaches that whatever is hidden will be brought out in the open. He says that you should not be ashamed of being in the Kingdom of God or to do what God wants you to.In Jesus blesses the children, we are informed that the Kingdom of God is open to children. Children are innocent, sincere and honest. They dont lie; solely express what they feel. That is why Jesus says that unless you receive the Kingdom of God like a child you will not enter it. You have to love God with truthfulness just like a child loves his parents. You should want the Kingdom of God sincerely, with all your heart and soul to enter it. Thats why Jesus explains this parable.No-one pours new wine into used wineskins, because the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.- says Jesus in the parable of the Wineskins.The wineskins represent the laws of Judaism. The fact that Jesus said new wine must be put into fresh wineskins me ans that the Kingdom of God cannot be contained within the old laws of the Judaism. New laws must be made and a better religion formed. This is Christianity.In the parable of the Growing Seed just like its up to the farmer to scatter the seeds it is up to God to bring about the Kingdom of God. God allows the world to run on then brings about his Kingdom. Like the plant that starts life as a seed the Kingdom of God will start small but will surely grow. Like the growing of the seed the coming of the Kingdom of God happens gradually, and when the time comes we will all be judged by God.Another parable is the parable of the Sower. Like in other parables Jesus speaks here in metaphors. The sower sows Gods message. The sprouting of seeds represents the spreading of Gods Message. The seed are sprouted and sown everywhere so the Good News about the Kingdom of m God should be spread everywhere. Some will not listen, some will listen and forget it while some will give it up, but others will listen to the message and follow God. Despite seeds falling on paths and being eaten by birds, falling on rocky grounds and drying out, falling among thorn bushes and not producing any fruit there will be seeds that fall on good soil and produce fruit. Despite people giving up there will be those who will believe and the Kingdom of God will grow.MetaphorRepresentsCorn that fell on the path and is eaten by birds.People ruled by Satan that takes Gods Message away from them.Corn that fell on rocky grounds and dried out.People that give up Gods Message as soon as persecution and difficulties appear because of it.Corn that falls among bushes that was choked by thorn bushes and didnt produce fruit.People who hear Gods Message but worry, love and desires for this life makes them forget it.Corn that fell on good soil and produced fruit.People who hear the message, accept it and follow God.There were two roads to the fishing lake. One looked muddy and dangerous while the other looked in very good condition. Many passers took the first one while a few took the bad one. What the travellers did not know was that the good road took you got worse as you go and took you somewhere where there werent any fish. The good one got better and took you somewhere where there were plenty of fish to catch.The parable of the Tenants in the vineyard like the one above is allegory. An allegory is a special kind of parable. An allegory is like a code. To understand the allegory one must decipher the code. In this parable an owner lets out his vineyard to tenants. He sends slaves to collect his share when the time comes but the tenants beat some and kill others. At the end he sends his own son but the tenants kill him too. Then the owner returned, killed those tenants and let the vineyard to others.ComponentMeaningOwnerGodVineyardKingdom of GodFence/TowerStrict boundariesHarvestObedience to GodTenantsJews, especially Jew leadersSlavesProphetsSon of OwnerJesus Christ-MessiahDeath of SonCruci fixion of JesusOwner returns and ejects tenants.Jews expelled from the Kingdom of God.Owner gets new tenants.Kingdom of God handed over to Gentiles.God built the Kingdom of God for Jews. But to be included for in his Kingdom, Jews had to obey God. They didnt. God sent many prophets to get Jews to obey him but they wouldnt listen to them. Jews and their leaders showed disrespect, beat prophets, treated them shamefully and killed some of them. But even so, God didnt give up on Jews, and even when there was nobody else to send, God sent his own dear son Jesus, thinking and hoping that they would listen to him. Instead Jews crucified Jesus for telling the truth and spreading Gods message. Because of this God expelled Jews from his Kingdom and handed it over to Gentiles.The stone the builders rejected as worthless, turned out to be the most important one of all. Noone expected that a son born to a simple couple from Nazareth who later grew up to become a carpenter was the Son of God, the Messiah. The Jews were expecting the wrong kind of Messiah (a big powerful leader who would kick the Romans out and create a Jewish Kingdom). They were so blinded by this vision that they didnt recognise the real Messi8ah when he finally came, and crucified him.The new tenants represent the Gentile so when the vineyard is handed over to Gentiles means that the Kingdom of God is open to non-Jews.In this parable Jesus did two things:1) Informed us that the Kingdom of God is open to non-Jews.2) Predicted that the Messiah would be crucified.This Earth will never be Gods Kingdom.Yes, I agree with the statement that this Eart6h will never be Gods Kingdom. If Gods Kingdom is a place where people of all nations would live together in happiness then it will not be realised in Earth. There is far too much suffering in Earth to become a happy place.Everyday more teenagers turn to drugs and crime. Their family lives are broken. Many of them die, their parents feel they failed in educating and raising them, and have to bear the suffering of burying them.We have seen many deaths of innocent children in the last few years. The killers are getting younger. One example is the murder of Damilola Taylor. All who knew him say he was a gentle, friendly and loving boy. Yet muggers who had tried to take his money of him killed him on the way home. It is worse the fact that the muggers are all under 16. Police charged four boys under 16 with murder.People have been beaten by muggers trying to steal things as worthless as a mobile phone and have been killed by car thieves. A father of two was killed while trying to stop thieves stealing a relatives car, and a girl was shot by someone trying to mug her mobile phone. If she hadnt ducked she also would have been killed. Brixtons residents are afraid to go out at night. They fear of being attacked by drug users in the area. It is not safe for women to go out at night, as there is a possibility of them getting raped. There have been rape cases in England and throughout the world in which women have been left traumatised.The world is unbalanced. There are billionaires and people that live in simple shelters or in the streets who dont always get to eat. Hundreds of people die everyday in the streets of Britain and all other countries around the world. In third world countries men work for a small amount of money, just enough to supply their families basic needs. Countries fight each other when they know theres nothing to gain from it but suffering and death. Nuclear tensions have been rising. Recently there were the attacks to the World Trade Centre in New York by Muslim fundamentalists where around 3000 people lost their lives.If Earth is to become Gods Kingdom then why is it such a ruthless, unequal and dangerous place?Jesus teaches his disciples and us in Marks Gospel that if one of you wants to be great he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first he must be the slave of all. This tells us to love and respect each other. If people followed Jesus teaching to love, help and respect each individual there would not be killings, thefts, poverty or rapes. We would all live in happiness as humans.The Kingdom of God is proleptic. Proleptic means leap forward. The Kingdom of God has begun and it isnt yet fully realised. We are now living in the overlap period. We are living in this world but truly our hearts belong in another. This world was not designed perfectly. It is like a test to prepare us for the next one.Other people would disagree with me. They would point at all the good things happening in this world. They would indicate at the life cycle and how beautiful it is. They would denote at how flowers bloom in the Spring, how fruits are made in Autumn. The hot Summer that makes us head to the beaches, and the cold of Winter that keeps us in our homes. Theyd tell that nature and how life is adapted to the environment is beautiful. Theyd say that each season has its own beauty.But Nature itself can be cruel. We have seen cases of flooding where people have lost their houses, and sadly some even their lives.Some people would point at how people have helped others. Theyd point at those who have devoted their lives to the charities and how theses charities are supported by ordinary people. They point out at how people help each other in need and the money donations to help people in poor countries. Theyd say the Sun, the wind, the rain and the sea are all beautiful things but have become so ordinary that we dont notice them any more.These people would say that miracles happen. Theyd indicate at how cures have been found for deadly diseases. For example much smaller percentage of women die of breast cancer. They indicate how babies born prematurely have survived. Some months ago we had the case of the two girl twins that we joined together and were sharing the same organs. Doctors separated them, one died but the other survived. By pointing to the goo d things they would say that the earth could besome Gods Kingdom.I agree with them. The world is beautiful and it is wonderful to live in. But I feel that there is just too much suffering in this world. From my point of wiew God would make a fresh start with the human race, in a world where there would only be goodness and joy, not suffering or tears. Therefore my conclusion is that I must agree that this Earth will never be Gods Kingdom.

Project Specification Summary Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Specification Summary - Statistics Project Example gh the formation of groups in Facebook and twitter aimed at knowing exactly how many coffee lovers, there are, as well as knowing the extent of the dependence of coffee among consumers (Food Manufacturing, 2013). The survey was conducted among 221 respondents using random sampling techniques. The information presented consists of a combination of secondary data from online sources as well as data collected from the survey. The data were compiled over a span of one month (Food Manufacturing, 2013). Over 60% of people invited to the Facebook group accepted the request, so overall; the response rate was 60%. The respondents were asked a series of questions that helped in the formulation of an accurate conclusion. The questions included: The first question sought to establish the number of the respondents who were coffee consumers. Also, the respondents were required to indicate their age and gender. The respondents were to either respond by saying they liked coffee or did not like coffee. Below is a summary table of the results (Food Manufacturing, 2013). The graph below displays the differences in preference between the ages, with the age ranges being generalised to specific ages to represent the three age ranges. The vertical axis represents the number of respondents. The table clearly shows that 165 of the respondents are consumers of coffee, which constitutes about 74.93% of all the respondents. 66% were young people between the age of 18 and 22 years, 20% were between the age of 22 and 39 years and only 14% were above the age of 40 years. The results go in line with the statistics from the National Coffee Association 2013 survey that reveals over 83% of adults drink coffee in the USA (Food Manufacturing, 2013). The second question sought to investigate the preferences of the different ages ranging from youths to adults. The majority of the younger respondents preferred espresso-based beverages whereas the older respondents preferred the tradition gourmet

Being an Effective Instructional Designer Essay - 4

Being an Effective Instructional Designer - Essay Example Competency in the field of instructional design depends on the ability to provide effective implementation of instructional products and programs. It is considered as an important competency. According to Richey Fields, Instructional designer need to use evaluation data as a guide for revision of products and programs. It is important for them to ensure that their products are programs are updated as and when needed. They also should ensure that the instructional products and programs are revised and changed according to changing policies and the need of the time. (10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer) There are various things that an effective instructional designer needs to consider. According to Covey, an instructional designer needs to be pro-active. Pro-activity is considered as the ability to adapt to changing situations through one’s own choices. It’s about solving solutions instead of waiting for others to solve the problems. Instructional designers should be proactive especially when in the business field. They need to be pro-active and observe business trends and build health relations. They need to be proactive and make sure that instead of waiting for clients to come down with requests, they should keep up with their business well enough to anticipate their needs. The next most important part of an instructional designer’s job is emphasis on performance analysis. It is considered as the single most important competency for success in this field. Thus conducting first-rate performance analysis is a very important aspect of this field. In a lot of cases, managers will be pressurized to take a shortcut to direct action. However this strategy should be discouraged and an action should follow an analysis. Thus the lesson here is to ensure that the customers are given what they need instead of what the instructional designer perceives that they need. Instructional designers need to ensure that they have the end mapped in t heir mind before they begin. Thus it is important for instructional designers to pursue clear-cut rules and understand the business goals that need to be accomplished. They should know what exactly do the clients expect in the end? Where does the organization stand today and how far have they reached? The objectives and development work should follow the mission set before them. As mentioned in the aforementioned paragraphs, it is important to do performance analysis by instructional designers. It is even more important to do this performance analysis creatively for them. It is often observed that the model for performance analysis used by writers tends to be very simple and does not highlight the complexity associated with human performance problems. The point of emphasis here is that one should think out of outbox. One should think in terms of the the competencies that the client needs to possess for the instructional design to be used successfully? Should the routine performance appraisals and job descriptions be followed or should other means of feedback be pursued? One should be willing to pursue why? (William J. Rothwell, 2008) The next point of emphasis for instructional design field is the need to educate managers about performance analysis.  

Rader, Cossman & Porter (2012) Fear of crime and vulnerability Essay

Rader, Cossman & Porter (2012) Fear of crime and vulnerability - Essay Example Such physical vulnerabilities include gender, health, and age, while social vulnerabilities are the social economic status of such people and their race. The research held that both the physical and social vulnerabilities characteristics are interdependent causes of fear among people. The direct effects of such social vulnerabilities are tied to physical indicators of vulnerability, though occurrence of indirect effects of physical vulnerabilities are tied to fear of victimization through some indicators of social vulnerabilities. Nahavanna (2006) explains ethical considerations as an important aspect in any quantitative research design, which includes respecting the rights of the participants, and the individual consent by the respondents. The benefits of participation as addressed by the authors would be to learn how people from different races, gender, and age distribution would react to fear of crime, leading to an informed basis on which nursing psychology has to be applied whil e dealing with such vulnerable groups. Since the authors used data sets prepared from a previous research, risk benefits, and informed consent were not of much significance in this research. The board approval was obtained. In this case, the Panel Study on American Religion and Ethnicity (PS-ARE), who carried out the primary survey, authorized the use of the survey results to analyze data collected on statistics that would best describe the trend of both physical and social vulnerabilities in fear of crimes. Therefore, the researchers did not require any consent from the respondents, but required authority of the primary body that handled the research. Since the primary survey was carried out by a religious body alongside additional data from US Census Bureau, it would be expected that respondents participated in the research willingly. In this research, the dependent variable was well identified as the proxy for fear of crime, which is reflective of the level of safety the individu als felt in their respective neighborhoods. On the other hand, the independent variables were indicated as the social and physical vulnerabilities of such groups in their neighborhood. Data collection in this research was from analysis of the survey indicated above. The responses were classified into five distinct categories, depending on answers from respondents to the question whether they felt unsafe in their neighborhoods. â€Å"Never† was associated with 1, while â€Å"at least once a day† was rated 5. On the other hand, in physical vulnerabilities, gender (female = 1), while fair or poor health was designated by 1. Other classifying categories included level of education, and income, which were recorded in 19 categories ranging from $200,000, and marital status as married or cohabiting indicated by 1, else =0. The rationale behind this classification was to define the respondents into refined groups as precisely as possible. Therefore, the respondents’ cha racteristics were the social and physical vulnerability. The time taken for the actual survey was not recorded, nor was the time taken to analyze the survey and classify the data in this research. From the primary survey, data collection involved classifying areas into a three digit zip code, and then for each three digit area, another set of two five digit zip codes were randomly formed, leading to about 90 addresses, which were selected randomly and households screened for eligibility. Therefore, in this research, the data collected from the above defined primary research was analyzed for the physical and social vulnerability factors, and the data analyzed quantitatively. Data management

Information Gathering Obu Essay Example for Free

Information Gathering Obu Essay Every Research Report requires information as the basis for analysis. Information sources can be categorised as either primary or secondary data. There is no requirement for you to collect primary data within your Research Report; it is wholly acceptable to undertake your Research Report using only secondary data. The difference between primary and secondary data is identified below. Primary data is original data that has been collected by a researcher by whatever means appropriate in the answer of a specific research question. . e. it has been collected specifically for the Research Report. Examples of primary data include questionnaires, interviews, e-mail contacts and surveys. If you decide to collect primary data as part of your research work, then you should state and justify the following: ? The data collection techniques you intend to use e. g. questionnaires, interviews. ? Your sample size and an outline of your sampling strategy. ? The method you will use to select your sample and the likely response rate. If you intend to collect primary data from staff within your chosen organisation you must obtain permission to do this from a senior member of staff within the organisation. You should do this as early as possible during your Research Report, since if you are denied access to your desired information sources you may have to reconsider how to meet your project objectives and research questions. Secondary data is data that has been collected by others for their own purposes, but which may be used by a researcher for his or her different purposes. Examples of secondary data include reference material, books, CD ROMs and financial statements. You should always evaluate the appropriateness and relevance of secondary data sources. Information included in internet sources may not be reliable from an academic perspective and may not be appropriate for use in your Research Report. If you decide to use secondary data as part of your research work, you should state and justify your choice to do so. Where you use published secondary data you must provide precise references using the Harvard Referencing System. This is discussed in more detail in the following section. You must retain all of the information that you collected during your project work until you have received official notification of your RAP grade from Oxford Brookes University. This includes any questionnaire responses, copies of financial statements, extracts from journals, reports, magazines etc. Oxford Brookes University may wish to ask you to provide additional evidence of your information gathering following the marking of your Research and Analysis project.