People v. Sisuphan Essay

Appellant Lou Surivan Sisuphan took $22,600 in cash and $7,275.51 from (Toyota Marin [the dealership] defendant) his employer’s safe on July 3, 2007. He did this in hopes that a coworker would be held responsible for the disappearance of the money and would be terminated. Sisuphan was convicted of embezzlement on April 15, 2008. In June 2008 he appeals from the judgment of conviction, contending that the trial court made a mistake when it failed to instruct the jury that at the time he took the money, he intended to return it before criminal charges were filed. He also states that the trial court excluded evidence on that he restored the money to the company, claiming this evidence proved he never intended to keep it and therefore lacked the requisite intent for the crime. Issue â€Å"The question, before us, therefore, is whether evidence that Sisuphan returned the money reasonably tends to prove he lacked the requisite intent at the time of the taking.† Was his the Fifth Amendment right to present defense and â€Å"all pertinent evidence of significance value to that defense† violated? Rule of Law The Fifth Amendment right to present defense and â€Å"all pertinent evidence of significant value to that defense† was not violated because the â€Å"return of the property is not a defense to embezzlement. Fraudulent intent is an essential element of embezzlement. Although restoration of the property is not a defense, evidence of repayment may be relevant to the extent it shows that a defendant’s intent at the time of the taking was not fraudulent.† Analysis Since Martin Sisuphan was authorized to manage the financing contracts and obtain payments from lenders on behalf of the defendant the lawsuit was effective. It does not matter that there was no intent of stealing the money because Section 508 (of the California Penal Code) states: â€Å"Every clerk, agent, or servant of any person who fraudulently appropriates to his own  use, or secretes with a fraudulent intent to appropriate to his own use, any property of another which has come into his control or care by virtue of his employment is guilty of embezzlement.† Holding The issue is that Susuiphan intended to use the money for a purpose other than to which the dealership entrusted it to him, therefore the evidence that he returned the money before criminal charges were filed is irrelevant. The judgment is affirmed. Plaintiff was sentenced to 120 days in custody and 3 years of probation.

Airbus Consortium

Turbulence wrecks Airbus Consortium Airbus Industry is a consortium of European aircraft-manufacturing companies formed in 1970 to meet the demand for short- to medium-range, high-capacity jetliners. Members include the German, French and Spanish-owned European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company EADS (80% stake) and the British owned BAE Systems (20%). Since its inception, Airbus has become a case study for how a multi-lateral consortium can be a disaster in a market-sensitive industry like Aviation.Technical and cultural issues †¢Socio-cultural differences: It is well known throughout Europe that Germans prefer consensus and involving others in decision making, while the French like to have a centralized committee making all major decisions. The Spanish are known to be flexible but not very communicative. All these differences have hugely impacted productivity and working efficiency within Airbus. †¢Governmental interference: It’s hard to enforce economic efficien cy where subsidies are involved.Every time there was a crisis in investment or Opex, the governments of the countries involved jumped in to help out their respective players in the consortium. This led to huge overheads and repeated delays. †¢Technical oversight: Incompatibility in the versions of CATIA software used by plants in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany resulted in 530 kms of cable wiring throughout the aircraft having to be completely redesigned. This delayed the launch of Airbus A380 for two years, and as much as $6. 1 billion in losses and penalties for late-delivery. A fractured assembly line: Owing to political compulsions, different parts of the aircraft were built at different locations: nose sections in France, fuselages in Germany, wings in UK, tails in Spain, etc, while the final assembly was done in Toulouse (France). All this led to overheads in logistics, not to mention communication gaps, and unforeseen delays. †¢HR issues: Positions and placeme nts in top management is always a prickly issue, even in well-managed corporate companies owned by a single entity.The same can become hundred-fold in a joint-venture of this magnitude. To make matters worse, Governments of the countries involved tried to lobby for top positions to their representatives, along with manufacturing contracts to their native countries. A direct consequence of all this was that the launch of Airbus A380 had to be pushed from 2006 to 2008. With several airlines canceling their orders, this resulted in a loss of over 2 billion Euros, a drastic cut in the size of the workforce, closure of a few plants, and a highly damaged brand image.Lessons Learned †¢While workplace diversity is desirable in general, adequate research must be done on both its short-term and long-term impact. †¢While technical glitches can be easily overcome, cultural differences should be highlighted and pro-active measures undertaken towards cultural integration. †¢Ability or Proficiency cannot be taken for granted, and Training of employees must be an integral part of any joint venture. †¢Deadlines must be realistic and all issues known or unknown must be factored, as all of them have an impact on the final delivery.

Mission Statements

Strategic Management in a Global Context (SOP09101) MODULE LEADER Miss Grace Sharkey ASSESSMENT A Mission statements may play an important role in the strategic management process but the creation of a ‘sense of mission’ is even more beneficial to organisations Submitted by Lukas Radzevicius 20th October 2010 2201words This essay is to debate the question whether the role of a mission statement is as important and beneficial as sense of mission and if they can work as two separate functions in the strategic management process for organisations.Clear definition of mission statement and sense of mission must be understood to begin the research. Afterwards to analyse benefits and problems associated with mission statement is essential to implement this understanding into the strategic management model. So that we could finish with conclusion which will estimate importance of mission statement in organisation and its necessary connection with all levels of the company called â€Å"sense of mission†. Mission statement in some companies has a huge influence in all management levels of the firm, but in others it is still just addition on the wall and usually what’s forgotten.However the aim of this paper is to find out if sense of mission is more beneficial for organisations than mission statement, not to give a vivid view of all possible ways of mission statement realization. So when managers are asked what is the influence of mission statement in their company, can’t answer this simple question, what’s really clear, those mission statements are still relatively neglected and don’t find their way to every company’s management. Here the main problem emerges: is the mission statement needed at all, if the company can survive without it?Before answering this it is essential to clearly understand, what is meant by the mission statement. First of all it is worth saying that there are different schools of thought, one is described in term of business strategy and the other as philosophy and ethics, A. Campbell (1992). If you look closer they are deeply connected. The school of strategy presents mission as a strategic tool in its initial process of the strategy creation, it states what is the business they are in, and where is it going to be? For example well known company Google Inc. nswers this question: â€Å"to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†. It is visible that their mission statement is their purpose connected with strategic objectives and well implemented as it is number one search tool in World Wide Web. Another school of thought which glues the company and creates a common â€Å"language† for a sense of collective unity is called philosophical school of thought. Shared values and standards of behavior are concerned to generate co-operation among employees (A.Campbell 1991). A good example for this is IBM as the foundatio n of its corporate philosophy is based on: quest for superiority in all things, dedication to service and respect for the individual. These three concepts are deeply transcendent in every employee in IBM which is global company and has different people connected for one common mission: â€Å"At IBM, we strive to lead in the invention, development and manufacture of the industry's most advanced information technologies. † Is it possible to connect these schools?Definitely yes, as the organization is a living and dynamic organism so every part of it is. The school of strategy is its head and leads toward the goals, the school of philosophy is its heart which connects all the body throughout bloodstream and actually makes it happen. To connect two schools of thought, analysis of four cores of mission statement is significantly important to see how this organism actually works. As A. Campbell and S. Yeung stated that a powerful mission statement exists only when four lements work in harmony reinforcing and supplementing each other. Purpose, Values, Strategy and Behavior Standards are those essential parts. To state a good mission statement it is a must to create a good purpose which aims at a higher ideal, Starbuck’s environmental mission statement determines their internal obligations, and their influence on the supply chain is so significant that it places emphasis on their role in influencing their partners. Purpose is the answer to the question, why this company exists?It is noticeable that in this example the purpose which doesn’t aim to stakeholder’s selfish interests tends to bind organization together and leads it to its higher aimed goal. To lead a good purpose it is necessary to provide commercial logic which will cover the competitive position and distinctive competences of the firm, A. Campbell (1992) such as Ryanair which does not announce their mission statement, but as Jack Welch's once said, â€Å"Strategy, then, is sim ply finding the big aha and setting a broad direction† for Ryanair, is simply to continue being the largest Cheap Flights leader in European market.Exercising this leadership is a sum of great individual tactics, including attitude to low cost priority in every part of process, standardization of services and products, including other tactics which creates Ryanair a high competitive rival. This strategy defines the segment of the sector in which company exists and states the way it is going to be superior. Both purpose and strategy are only thoughts and logical conclusions of some abstract idea of the company, to bind them together behavior standards which convert that thought into action and lets the employees to feel what they should do in day to day basis.As Hilton Hotels group states: â€Å"We will be the preeminent global hospitality company – the first choice of guests, team members and owners alike† it is clearly visible as it is world’s leading lux urious hotels taking in account quality, scope of services, care of their employees and worldwide spread. In book â€Å"Emotional Intelligence† By Daniel Goleman, it is clearly stated that humans are mostly driven by their emotional – right brain logic, than rational-left brain logic.This is important to understand as we all are living beings and to find the satisfaction in job we are doing we must feel it with our â€Å"emotional side of the brain† and connect it with rationality to find an ultimate goal we are looking for – same values of ours, synchronized with company’s. As A. Campbell (1991) once said that company’s culture is the moral principles and faith in values. Values are sense for behavior standards and norms for the firm, they connect company as â€Å"right brain† they create connection between purpose, strategy and behavior standards.A good mission statement will always have those connections strongly linked together. A s Virgin Atlantic mission statement: † To grow a profitable airline†¦ Where people love to fly†¦ And where people love to work. † Every part of four elements is clearly visible. Strategy- profitable airline, behaviour standards- people love to work and purpose- people love to fly. To sum up and state that a powerful mission applies only when four elements are linked together, how the body can’t survive without a heart or brains, so the mission must have a strong logical background and deep connection within its emotional base.Easiest way to see it is to look at the links of value system and strategy and if that link can be acted through behavior standards to aim the purpose, the strong mission statement is created and efficiently implemented. However mission can be discussed without emotions and that’s what is usually done when the creation of mission is held in top levels of company which are usually aimed to profit, expansion, coverage or other â€Å"selfish† aims.Strategy is the guideline for this commercial behavior, however strategy is narrower concept than mission which has values and purpose aimed towards good purpose. Strong mission statement is than its emotional base is supported with rationality, and then there are gaps, mission statement is inefficient. Now than we understand what is a mission statement and what are the core elements, it is worth considering what is a relation between practice and theory, strategy and philosophy, tool and a manager.Mission statement is still something to discover and to understand, but if you speak about â€Å"sense of mission† it’s something that everybody feels, but can hardly describe it in words. Campbell and Yeung (1991) discovered that people’s emotional devotion to their firm was strongest when employee’s values and the company’s values are moving the same way. To describe this in intellectual way is very difficult because sense of mission is not a technology or an asset it is just an idea, deep and emotional individual feeling.Person with a sense of a mission has commitment and emotional attachment, which we found makes a greater influence then rationality to the company’s performance if it stands for the same values and tries to do its best reaching the purpose. It is worth considering the role of sense of mission which can be described throughout benefits of mission statements. To reach organizational success mission statement connected with employees via sense of mission benefits the company in many ways.First of all, as a rational tool, starting point for many organizational strategies, mission statements were used for many companies. Bart (2001), Campbell (1997) had an idea that to bring a common view and discuss differences between senior managers’ mission statements were used as medium. As well as emotional connector, German and Cooper (1990) shared view and explained that it can synchro nize all management levels including employees, Klemm (1991) perceived mission as communication tool for a company, covering internal and external fields (employees and investors etc. . Bartkus (2000) came up with the finding that the mission statement which is worth consideration as a good one will definitely describe what is the business of the company and will show the direction of where it is heading. If we perceive mission statement as a tool it is always a chance that it can be used incorrectly or even foolish. But then the right people use the right tools to reach their objectives the tool benefits in its best form.It is worth considering if the tool is the really one that we need, if we need it all, Tahir Sufi and Howard Lyons questions this in their article â€Å"Mission Statements Exposed†. The main objective was to find if the mission statement has a connection with a firms financial performance and after researching 200 biggest brands in hospitality sector the res ults showed that: â€Å"significant correlation between the mission statements and the annual turnover, there was no significant correlation with the net profit margin or the return on equity† (T.Sufi and H. Lyons, 2003). Now it is clear that mission statement benefits organization in leading it towards main goals, but we can insight and some problems in this, there are no tangible ways to describe the effects of mission statement and mission statements can be used in many different ways so it doesn’t have the â€Å"right† way of doing it correctly, as the organisation is a dynamic so mission statement must adopt to every changing situation.To foresight how it works in a company it is best to look through strategic management model. In strategic management model mission statement is the tool which helps to create a concept of the company as a pen and a drawing paper for an architect. It influences all management levels, beginning with employees whereas positivel y affected employee behaviour influenced by commitment and established internal policies has an impact on financial account, Bart et al. (2001).And other functional areas which lead organization towards competitive success thought commitment. It is clear that mission statement which has a clear purpose and direction will positively influence firm performance. Rigby (1994) reported that in US, mission statements is considered as the tool used the most out of 25 available options, this research was done in 500 companies. So as mentioned before if this tool is used by someone who is a professional can make a significant impact for the performance of the company.To conclude and to answer the question whether the role of a mission statement is as important and beneficial as sense of mission and if they can work as two separate functions in the strategic management process for organisations it is worth saying that after research what is clearly visible that sense of mission can’t s urvive without strong mission statement and they can’t work towards organizational success as two separate functions. Basically, mission statement is created to capture and convey the main purpose of the firm to answer the question, why this organisation exists?In strategic management model it is pivotal point for a start and afterwards to effect connection of every management level and to influence commitment towards the main goal. This connection can be called â€Å"sense of mission† the level of commitment towards the main goal. Research shows that the main objective shouldn’t be selfish and created for the top level of the company as it is implemented through all stages of the firm. It is ironic than corporation focuses on its shareholders, it is those same stockholders who really lose in the end.

Endangered languages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Endangered languages - Essay Example There are numerous factors that researchers believe to playing a leading role towards the extinction of some languages. One of such factors is the aspect of parents pushing their children to learn languages that they believe are prestigious and â€Å"superior† to others, thus completely ignoring their local languages. It is a common trend especially in the developing countries whereby many people consider their local languages as inferior, thus get assimilated by hegemonies languages such as English. A significant number of people in the third world countries like Africa, particularly Kenya and Nigeria are straying away from their original traditions and native languages. In such countries, a large number of the young generation has shifted to different languages especially English. Some parents have decided not to teach their mother-tongue languages and instead teach them a second language because of many reasons related to social class and economic factors. The most unfortunate thing is that majority of them think that children can only learn to speak one language well, hence decide to dump their native languages (Dugan 10). They also go ahead and take their children to international schools that use the most dominant foreign languages. Natural and man-made disasters are also key factors that are leading to the extinction of some languages. Such disasters include war, famine, diseases, earthquakes, acts of genocide, and tsunami just to mention a few. For instance, the Rwandan Genocide almost wiped out the Tutsi community while Adolf Hitler’s regime almost eradicated the Jewish community. During the genocide, more than 6 million Jews were killed, which is a very big percentage considering the fact that this is not a large community. Migration outside the original territory is also a major attribute of extinction of languages. Sociolinguists argue that some languages

Psychological science reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychological science reaction paper - Essay Example This paper will focus upon empirical findings that support the forgetting aspects of the cognitive process namely whether forgetting occurs as an implicit automatic process of cognition or does it occur as a direct reaction of an explicit traumatic event. The existence of an implicit repression process to prevent awareness of unwanted data is supported by Freud’s neurological model of voluntary repression (Anderson, Ochsner, Kuhl, Cooper, Robertson, Gabrieli, Glover, & Gabrieli, 2004). Freud explains that memory excludes unwanted data from awareness using an automated implicit process termed repression which may be affected by emotional related explicit factors (Anderson et. al.). Repression is a neural process observed empirically using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Anderson et. al. discuss that empirical findings using fMRI observations of participants during both uninhibited and inhibited forgetting episodes illustrate that neuro-chemical processes occur during the repression process. The two brain sections involved in the repression are the hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex. An observed increase of dorsolateral prefrontal activation reduces hippocampal activation which in turn impairs retention of m emory. Both regions are also essential to successful memory formation process and retention process of which repression occurs when retrieval to those two processes is inhibited. The experiment suggests further that the two brain sections have an implicit forgetting process that functions automatically and may be affected by chemicals that occur during emotional episodes. During the experiment when forgetting was reinforced by an introduction of an explicit emotional factor to induce forgetting the participants used their mental memories coupled with an emotion response in the repression process. The intensity of the emotion correlated to the mind’s perception of trauma. The results conclude that the brain recognizes

The value of marketing research to organizations Essay

The value of marketing research to organizations - Essay Example Marketing research is key to implementing the marketing concept of an organisation as it reflects the genuine market orientation of an organisation through extensive and regular studies of customer, competitors and environmental trends. Market research helps firms become more market oriented, as such, the firm is able to implement its market concept and shape its cultural orientation in a way that focuses its efforts to the needs of the market (Xu, 2005 P.234).   Market research informs the organisation on the current consumer needs enabling it to develop future products that will tap latent needs thus strengthening the organizations position over time. Using market research data, the organisation is able to execute value-based differentiation strategies that drive product development processes, communication programs and delivery processes. For example, McQuarrie asserts that when AT&T entered the credit card business in 1990, its most important competitive advantage was an in-dep th knowledge of its prospective customers. This enabled it to launch the highly successful Universal card ( McQuarrie, 2006, P.167).   Research has indicated that the most important factors in developing new product is understanding user preferences and incorporating them into the design of the new product. McQuarrie in his research on new products asserts that users are an alternative source of new ideas ( McQuarrie, 2006, P.167).   Pride and   Ferrell argue that market research provides organizations with an opportunity.

Cultural Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cultural Analysis - Essay Example since the horrific images of September 11, 2001, one of the greatest obstacles proponents of a global community overcome is the image of the Muslim people as blood-thirsty, murdering terrorists. There are in fact millions of Muslims around the globe, in virtually every country of the world, who are in fact not terrorists and have little desire to do more than – like most people – provide for their families and live out their lives in a peace. In Arabic, the word â€Å"Muslim† means one who surrenders, and for Muslims the surrender to God, or Allah (Merriam Webster on-line dictionary). Mary Pat Fisher (1999) describes how the Arab people received the Word of God through the Prophet Muhammad (p. 346). Just as those whose faith rests in Judaism and Christianity, Islam can also be traced to the patriarch Abraham (p. 344). Also, just as the expression of Judaism is held within the Old Testament of the Bible, as is the expression of Christianity held in the New Testament of the Bible, the expression of Islam rests within the Qura’an (p. 344). The revelations of the Qur’an unto the Prophet Muhmmad by an â€Å"angel in human-like form, Gabriel†¦,† began about 600 C.E., which began with the words â€Å"Proclaim! (or Recite!) In the name of they lord and Cherisher, who created – created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And they Lord is Most Bountiful – He who t aught (The use of) of the pen, - Taught man that which he knew not (p. 347).† The revelations made unto Muhmmad by the angel Gabriel continued â€Å"intermittently,† says Mary Pat Fisher (p. 347). The central theme of the revelations was that there was but one God, and that one God was calling the people of Islam unto Him (p. 347). The word â€Å"Islam† means â€Å"complete trusting surrender to God (p. 347).† At first Muhammad shared his revelations only with those people he believed he could trust; his wife, Khadijah; his cousin Ali; a friend named Abu Bakr; and a freed slave

Discuss Tennessees labor laws and how these laws impact employers and Research Paper

Discuss Tennessees labor laws and how these laws impact employers and employees - Research Paper Example Since then no major changes took place in the current labor laws (Gould 47). The labor laws of the United States of America are mixture of federal and state laws. The labor laws of the US extend limited rights to the employees of federal government. The laws in vogue safeguard the interest of employees irrespective of federal or state laws and regulations. It provides protection to the employees of federal and state against any discrimination based on race, gender, cast, creed and age (Gould 62). The Lawful Employment Act came into being on 1st Jan, 2012 ensuring that all employers hired employees in Tennessee through rigorous selection process and strictly in accordance with the legal parameters (Tennessee: Wage and Hour Laws). Under the mentioned act, employees may take up the matter with the concerned authority for removing the work place employment discrimination and receiving unemployment compensation since it falls under the employment law. Further, employers are responsible to maintain safety and security standards work premises, ensuring fair wages, pre retirement and post retirement benefits etc., being part of legally provided rights (Tennessee: Wage and Hour Laws). Cited laws deal with the employer, employee’s action, legally entrusted rights and responsibilities. The laws in question could be a useful instrumental in maintaining cordial relationship between the employee and the employer (Tennessee: Wage and Hour Laws). Employers Tennessee laws are not bound to provide vacation benefits to the employees. However, if it is a part of approved policy of the employer or part of employment contract, it shall be honored. In approved policy of an employer permits accrued vacation pay to its employees, the company has to fulfill its commitment. An employer may offer its employees utilization of accumulated leave within the

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in Research Paper

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in U.S - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that as opposed to traditional education where teachers select the learning pace on behaviour of the children, the Montessori education gives children an opportunity to identify their own learning pace. The selection of individual learning pace plays a vital role in improving the level of education in the United States learning institutions. Involving children in making decisions on matters such as their learning pace therefore ensure that children are responsible for their action in future. In addition, children are trained on the most effective means of making informative decisions that have a considerable level of impact on their future activities and development. This paper makes a conclusion that unlike traditional education where teachers enforce lesson plans on students, Montessori education allows children to be free in discovering and exploring their own lessons. An opportunity to select topics that meet their interest helps in improving children performance and in enhancing the selection of individual career choices. Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers.... Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers (Martin, 2012). Cons of Montessori education in U.S As opposed to traditional education where disorderly conducts are regarded as children faults, Montessori education holds the perception that misconduct in class is the fault of teachers. Under this system, teachers are expected to adjust their approaches to address children misconducts in class and in school environment. Although in this system teacher are denied an opportunity of making decision on behalf of their children, they are forced to take responsibility of the students’ unacceptable behaviours. The act of compelling te achers to take responsibility of children unacceptable behaviours therefore kills the morale of teachers in undertaking their core obligation. In addition, the system denies children an opportunity of taking the responsibility of the actions thus increasing the level of impunity among students. Contrary to traditional education, Montessori education is characterised by endless disturbance and conflicts between teachers and children. Through this method, there is no distinctive separation between the role and powers of the teachers and the responsibility of students, creating conflicts of interests in classroom settings. Due to their excessive control, children undermine the contribution and powers of teachers thus posing a serious in the managing

DANCE ANALYSIS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DANCE ANALYSIS - Assignment Example The current paper will compare ballet and hip hop and will discuss how such combination can create totally new dancing techniques and popular youth culture. Comparison between Ballet and Hip Hop Contemporary ballet is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance, which takes its technique and body control using abdominal strength from classical ballet, although it permits a greater range of movement that may not adhere to the strict body lines or turnout set forth by schools of ballet technique. Many of its concepts come from the ideas and innovations of the twentieth century modern dance, including floor work and turn-in of the legs. The video â€Å"Complexions Contemporary Ballet† on YouTube.com shows various dancing elements of contemporary ballet. The movements are more emotional and spontaneous than in the classic ballet with more emphasis on the expression of performer’s feelings and internal emotions rather than on the dance technique perf ection.

Amercian History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Amercian History - Essay Example And, of course, as there are with any widespread political movement, there were economic reasons why the Revolutionary vanguard declared independence. Legislation passed by the British Empire made it increasingly difficult to operate apart from the state itself. Taken together, all of these factors comprised what Americans now characterized as â€Å"tyranny†, as it is phrased in the Declaration of Independence, put to the pen of Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Any account of the American Revolution will inevitably say there was no one true cause, or reason, for the Declaration; instead, a broad array of social, economic, ideological, and philosophical reasons can be described as contributing factors to what led to the creation of the United States. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, sentiments against Great Britain seemed to center on ideological and philosophical shifts away from desires to remain attached with the mother state. But in the decades before the Declaration, shifts seemed to occur on the political and even economic level. The Seven Years War drained the financial reserves of the British Empire, and the Navigation Acts, designed to alleviate this pressure, caused resentment among the American Colonies. Additional political and economic burdens on the colonies by the financially downtrodden Empire, such as the Sugar Act, Currency Act, Stamp Act, and Revenue Act between the years 1764 and 1766, led to a rift in political interests. Stories like that of Ebenezer Macintosh, and his protests against the British Parliament’s passage of the Stamp Act, illustrates for historians and students of history alike what direction American feelings for British were going in, even a decade before the Americ an Revolution officially began. Today, American historians look back as far as 1763 to see the earliest examples of strong Parliamentary interference in the

Herodotus Thucydides Essay Example for Free

Herodotus Thucydides Essay The accounts of what happened in the past are known as history. People who recorded history in any way are called historian. As early as 5th millennium B. C, ancient Sumerians already recorded their history, making them the earliest historians. Many great historians were produced as history was being made. But simply writing history will not produce good historians. Good historians are not only producing written accounts of what they believed happened just for the sake of recording something, but can also provide genuine material or testimonial evidences of what they claimed happened which can be inspected, tested, reviewed, or retraced by others , can accurately record the facts without incorporating their own ideas or beliefs, can effectively transmit their recorded works through succeeding generations, and can bring their reader back to the past when the event actually happened (Simkin 1). The two most common ancient historians whom works are always being compared are Herodotus of Halicarnassus and Thucydides of Athens. Herodotus of Halicarnassus was known from his work entitled â€Å"The Histories† which was divided into nine volumes and was given the name of a muse- Greek mythology Goddess- for each. In his books, Herodotus recorded mainly the events happened during the Persian and Greek wars and the accounts of his journey throughout the Mediterranean and Black sea including the place he reached, describing the geography, faunas, and floras, and the people he met, taking into accounts of the stories, claims, ideas and beliefs of each individual (Zarit 1). With his early written descriptions of history, Herodotus has been known as the â€Å"Father of History† (â€Å"Herodotus Compared with Thucydides† 1). On the other hand, Thucydides of Athens was an Athenian military general known from his work entitled â€Å"History of the Peloponnesian War† which describes the battle between the Peloponnesian Alliance- led by the Spartans- and Delian Alliance- led by the Athenians (Maxwell 1). Thucydides escaped death caused by the plague that spread in Athens. This plague killed many famous philosophers and scholars, including the elite and common Athenians. Thucydides obtained fame and respect from his fellow Athenians with less effort since he came from an aristocrat Athenian family. He served in the military and later became a general which gave him easy access to account accurate information (Zarit 3). Thucydides has been known as the â€Å"Father of Scientific History† due to the historical accounting method he used, and has been called the â€Å"Father of the School of Political Realism† due to his unbiased account of different political views in his book (Maxwell 1). Herodotus and Thucydides were both Greek historians but both wrote history on different historical perspective, analysis, and purpose as seen in the contents of their works. Herodotus wrote his book mainly for his fellow Greeks. He intended not only to inform but also to entertain them by infusing his literary writing capabilities. If some information he gathered was not too appealing and would cause disinterest to his audience, Herodotus would sometimes exaggerate or use some â€Å"artistic† words to his work to attract the attention of the audience (â€Å"Herodotus Compared with Thucydides† 1). Since Greeks considered their selves direct descendant of Gods and Goddesses, they accepted Greek God mythology as fact, believing the will of their Gods and Goddesses as valid and true. Furthermore, the Greek oracles was considered the link between them and their immortal Gods, therefore anything that the oracle said was also considered an absolute truth (Maxwell 1).. Herodotus included the prophecies and advises made by the Greek oracles in his work. He explained things or events, relying to Greek God mythology as his reasons. He usually used the prophecies and advises of the oracle to predict the outcome and to explain the consequence of a historical event. The influence of his religion and his artistry to his works could be seen when he named his book after the nine Greek God deities (Zarit 2). Herodotus took into account all information, data, and facts available to him whether these said information, data, and facts was directly connected to his subject being discussed in his book or unnecessary information. He recorded detailed account on his subject matter, sometimes too detailed descriptions that create several degrees of sub-subjects which may lead to confusion or comprehension difficulties for some readers. Furthermore, if the first hand information is not available for his access, Herodotus used second hand information. Even if the source of the second hand information was not certain with the details, Herodotus was obliging the source to pick the closest information he could remember. In some instances, Herodotus let his reader choose the most likely conclusion of an event if unexpected outcome or opposing result can occur (â€Å"Herodotus Compared with Thucydides† 1). The focus of Herodotus in writing his work was to find the cause that led to the Greek-Persian war. He tried to include all possible reasons including but not limited to religions, topography, culture, animals and beliefs of different places involved (Zarit 2). Herodotus’ â€Å"The Histories† can be summarize as a history book written in a literary way. Despite of biased and inaccurate accounts, readers still prefer to read Herodotus’ work than Thucydides’ because it was presented in an amusing way. Thucydides wrote his book mainly for the purpose of educating future generations. Unlike Herodotus, Thucydides accounted history using inductive approach. He deduced the outcome of a phenomenon based on what the accessible evidences were dictating. He was unbiased when recording information, keeping out his personal ideas and beliefs to influence his work. Despite of being a military general of Athens, he still presented his works fairly, without being impartial to Athenians or Spartans point of view (â€Å"Herodotus Compared with Thucydides† 1). Although Thucydides was raised as Greek, nurturing strong Greek ideas, beliefs, and norms, he did not let this influence him. He tried to explain phenomenon and conclude the outcome of events using logic as reason not divine intervention which was contradictory on what Herodotus did. Thucydides’ written accounts were concise and direct. His descriptions on his subject were detailed and straightforward which were usually supported by several evidences he gathered including his own observations. He did not include information or description without supporting evidences to back them up. He made sure that the proof he used can be tested, viewed or examined again by others (Maxwell 1). If proofs were not available, he preferred not to record the event. This approach of Thucydides’ explanation was similar to the method used now in scientific inquiries and investigations- the scientific method-, hence giving Thucydides the title â€Å"Father of Scientific History†. Thucydides’ perspective to history is mainly about politics as seen in his work the â€Å"History of the Peloponnesian War†. In his work, Thucydides clearly and accurately recorded facts. Thucydides described the sites where the war had taken place. He introduced the people involved in the war, their roles and goals. He accounted the outcome of several military campaigns. But most importantly, he discussed the political aspects, morals, and decisions behind each event and their corresponding consequences that led to the outcome (Zarit 3). He used these facts to synthesize theories why men go to war. He tried to explain the cause of war in the context of human reasons. Furthermore, he concluded that if man would prefer reasons to settle conflicts, war could be prevented. Thucydides’ conclusions, political perspective and analysis to history are still widely used today (Maxwell 1). Today, the validity of his ideas is still applicable and is still being taught. With this perspective and analysis to history, Thucydides was named â€Å"Father of the School of Political Realism† (Zarit 3). Herodotus’ and Thucydides’ approach in writing history were very different. Regardless of whom the audience is and what the purpose is in writing history, the historical contents should be valid, accurate, precise and true. This could be supported by evidences such as written documents, geographical validity or verbal accounts. Furthermore, the continuing relay and availability of historical facts through succeeding generations is equally important as its truthfulness, since history is written to be read by others. Since both works of Herodotus and Thucydides satisfied the successful transmission through generations, only its truthfulness could be questioned. Many evidences proved the validity of Thucydides claims. On the other hand, some claims of Herodotus were also proven valid. But in this race of who is better historian between the two, Thucydides of Athens gave more valid and accurate claims in his account, therefore making him the better historian. References: â€Å"Herodotus Compared with Thucydides. † Free Essays. 21 November 2001. 23 August 2008 http://essays.org. uk/classical-studies/herodotus-thucydides/2paper/. Maxwell, Michael. â€Å"Herodotus Thucydides. † StudentsFriends. 2001. 23 August 2008 http://www. studentsfriend. com/historians. html. Simkin, John. â€Å"What makes a good historian? † The Education Forum. 1 January 2005. 23 August 2008 http://educationforum. ipbhost. com/index. php? showtopic=2777. Zarit, Ben. â€Å"Herodotus and Thucydides Through the Lens of Aristotle. † The Perseus Project. 9 May 1995. 23 August 2008 http://www. perseus. tufts. edu/GreekScience/Students/Ben/aristotle. html.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Studying In University English Language Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Studying In University English Language Essay Students choosing studying master degree in a University have a number of advantages, at same time they will meet some problems. This essay will around four questions and talk about my study life in Bangor University, through these four questions it will analysis the characteristic of my motivation, learning approaches. To find out what kind of problems will I meet in the group works and what should be avoid meeting these problems, and how to deal with them. First, this essay will analysis the motivations of choosing the master degree in Bangor University and it will combine the point of views of motivations to study from other researchers. Second, it will discuss the learning approach which I used to study. Third, this essay will summarize some problems or issues which we will meet in our group work. Finally, I will find out the effective method to deal with these problems and discuss how to avoid or decrease them as much as possible. Motivated to study in Bangor University In our normal life, study is not only for find a good job, but also have a numbers of reasons, that is study motivation. Generally, motivation can drive students get more power to do the action in order to close their goals, therefore, motivation as a peoples behavior existed in our life. I choose study Master Degree in Bangor University that because I feel Bangor University will bring me the information which I need and want to know, for example, the motivation to study in Bangor University can promote me to continue my academic learning everyday and it can make me to prepare my exam regularly in order to pass my examination successful, that bring me nearer to my final target. Figure 1 Through this figure (1), it is shows three steps for Maslows hierarchy pyramid according to these steps I will analysis form the basic needs to self-fulfillment needs. First step is basic need, it is include safety needs ¼Ã‹â€ security, safety ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °and physiological needs(food, water, warmth, rest) these two sections all contained people lowest level of demand, that mean the first thing people need in their life it is only the material demand. Second step is psychological needs. this part is more high-ranking than basic need. That includes esteem needs (prestige and feeling of accomplishment) that contains some mental and immaterial demand from external power. Third step is self-fulfillment (achieving ones full potential including creative activities) and esteem needs (prestige and feeling of accomplishment) that is the highest level, it all about the self-enhancement. As far as I am concerned, for the first step, I realized the environment of Bangor University satisfied my anticipation; here is suit for students to study. It is satisfied my material demand and Bangor is the most safety city in UK. For the second step, knowing new friends and having group work with other countries student satisfied my belongingness and love needs, during studying time, my classmate may friendly and respect you, it can lead you have a sense of self-worth. The last step was based on the front two steps in order to create personal study motivation. That can make you have more power to study in Bangor University. As Sergi(2004) supported that people choose a particular action and continued with it at last, they will try their best to do it ,that is motivation behavior. Bangor University possesses a long history and it was a part of second biggest federal University of Wales. Now, Bangor University has 10000 students and 2000 staffs. It has the top teaching quality and learning environment. Therefore, study master degree in Bangor University satisfied all conditions of my ideal studying places. Faye (2008) claimed that through the three basic psychological required (particular goals, values, and behaviors), study environment issues could influences the integration and organization of students. Martin (2008) also pointed out ambient environment effects may affect students academic achievement, a numbers of factors impacted their motivation to study, that include nature of University education background, he also claimed that the culture and structure also can influences students motivation. That means University life is a platform for student stepping into society, students need to make a decision in their different life contributions. For instances, in my experiences, I was study in Glasgow which is a florescent and fashion metropolis, there are filled with several intense emotions and temptations, plenty of students towards thus enticement, they are hardly to control themselves to doing well in University. Therefore, I choose continue my master degree in Bangor University, the reason is the learning environment is suit for study and this city do not have such complicated society background. It is benefit to have academic research. Owing to English is not my native language; therefore, foreign language learning is the second biggest motivation for me to study in Bangor University. This University has a number of foreigner students, everybody using English as first language here, improve my English skills will achieve my personal target therefore, it can improve my self-actualization. Therefore, study motivation is a step from basic motivation to top motivation. That depend on the choices from students, different people have different motivation to study. However, in a world, all motivations are connected students personality and expectation. Learning approaches Approaches to learning are separated into three different parts; they are deep, surface, and strategic learning approach. The characteristic of deep approach learning is focus on the material that will cost long time to take a broad view and relate ideas; they always relate new ideas to previous knowledge and tend to read, always study beyond the course requirements. The characteristic of surface approach learning is try to learn in order to repeat they have learned, make use of rote learning, focus on the few view and collect the main points, tend to stick closely to the course requirements. The characteristic of strategic approach to learning is intended to obtain high grades, always use previous exam paper to predict questions. Marton(1997) demonstrated normally students have two definitely different approaches to learning, they are surface and deep approach.

Thailand Tourism Industry PESTLE Analysis

Thailand Tourism Industry PESTLE Analysis Recently globalisation has been influencing on the business all over the world and many countries have invested and been invested. However, there are many factors that effect on the international business. On this assignment, it will illustrate some external factors by using PEST analysis and some examples that are related to the tourism industries especially Thailand tourism industry due to giving the clear pictures. Firstly, political factors are crucial factors towards the stability of industries or organisations such as terrorism, demonstrations, corruption, etc. (Czinkota et al, 2009). Every country has their own law enforcement in particular parts such as corruption, working system, terrorism, immigration, etc. (Brooks et al, 2010b). There are many examples such as the illegal immigration, working overtime without paying money, hazardous waste by factories. Not only does it impact the image of tourism, but it also destroys the beautiful sceneries and environment. For example, the tourism industry in Thailand has been a detrimental effect by domestic political tension that is the big two groups called yellow-shirt and red -shirt. The main problem is originated from the different believes in politics of Thai people. According to Thaiwebsite (2010), in November 2008 yellow-shirt demonstrated and closed the Suvarnabhumi Airport which was the main international airport in Thailand. On the other hand, the red-shirt protested at the East Asia Summit that was held in Pattaya. Another unpleasant situation happened in March of this year when the red-shirt closed the main intersection at the centre of Bangkok. Three big department stores and small shops around that area had to close their businesses because of the jeopardy. Moreover, the red-shirt fought with Thai army, bombed and fired the department stores. From these situations, European and Asian Countries warned their own citizens not to come to Thailand because of uncertain situations (CNNGo, 2010). Therefore, the number of tourists was a dramatic declined from last year and it affected Thai economic especially the international investment. The tourism industry ceased growing in a short period of time and then it has steadily recovered. Secondly, economic factors are the key factor of all businesses. After World War I happened, it affected the economic around the world and it leads to an economic crisis. As a result, all countries were in big troubles such as the loss of consumer confidence, bankrupt, unemployment and the high risk in investments. Moreover, it has been the dreadfully economic cycle. For instance, the bubble economy was one of the most serious economic crises in Thailand in July, 1997. That caused the Baht currency exchange rate to be floated (Petprasert, 2000). Even though Thai Government at that time solved this problem by borrowing money from International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Chalamwong, 1998), many domestic companies went bankrupt and international companies stopped conducting businesses in Thailand due to unstable currency. Additionally, the export businesses and the tourism industry had been the most terrible effects because there were a massive number of unemployed people. Nevertheless, Thai economy has been recovered gradually since 1997 owing to the government policy. Because of it, the domestic economic was activated in order to compensate the international incomes. Thirdly, social factors which relate to three aspects including the changing of family relationships, the changing lifestyles and health (Brooks et al, 2010a). To illustrate the point, nowadays the healthier lifestyles are becoming popular. In consequence of the trend change, tourism industry should have up-to-date information to enhance the business such as organic food, sport activities and health spa. In addition, it is true that people who live different countries have different lifestyles. Businesses will be highly successful, they should be harmonised with the lifestyle of local people such as cultures, customs, traditions, believes, religions, the ways of lives, environment, etc. Besides, it is becoming more intended in today s world so as to show the social responsibilities which are more concerned by tourists. Climate change is the main problem that the majority of Thai people has worried about. The latest example of the impact of environmental change is Global warming which is a significant global problem. Nalinee Tongtaem, who works for Biological Centre academic, claimed that the coral reefs were dead twice or third as many as before due to the temperature change in the sea (MCOT online news, 2010). As a result, the number of tourists might be declined and this problem will not only affect the economic, but impact on our lifestyles. Another example is the tsunami in 2004 which was the worst phenomena that has been happened to Thailand because a large numbers of tourists and citizens were died. Besides, the surroundings as well as the properties such as houses, hotels and shops were destroyed by the tsunami (United Nations Thailand, 2008). Although Thai government took responsibility for assisting people in their living and their properties, several tourists still concern about the same situation that might occur again. Additionally, the target group of Tourism in all parts of Thailand can be divided into 3 groups that consist of European, Asian and America market. It is considered that the number of international tourists has a tendency to decrease which affacts the national income of Thailand. Because of the fact that European countries are facing the economic crisis, European people are liable to economize by travelling in Europe countries rather than other countries. Furthermore, the Asian market which is the most sensitive tourist group is tending not to come to Thailand owing to the uncertain politic situation in Bangkok. However, the unemployed rate in America Market is still high. As a result, the number of tourists will become fluctuated. Finally, technological factors have an effect on the improvement. If the government chooses the perfect techniques, tourism industry will be successful. In the twentieth century, many countries including Thailand pay attention to information technology in order to enhance and improve their countries. To give some examples, these are online booking, online shopping, online banking, the development of aeroplanes, etc. Recently, the number of tourists that uses online booking has been increased significantly. Thus, some travel agents might be overthrown because of few customers. In addition, there are many airlines that provide their services in the intensively competitive market especially low-cost airlines. This is an advantage for the tourists and it will be a good impact on the tourism industry. However, tourism industry in Thailand has not been well developed because of poor government support. Comparing with European countries, tourism industry in Thailand is underdevelopment. Con sequently, it should be improved significantly. Conclusion In the next 5 to 10 years, it seems to be seen that tourism industry in Thailand might be a gradual increase. Because these factors as mentioned above will not be able to resolve easily in the short term, they are unpredictable factors such as political and environmental problems that all governments sometimes cannot control. From my prospective, a political factor is the most important factor because it influences on the other factors. For instance, if the government is incapable of controlling the political situations, it will have an adverse impact on the economic causing the domestic and international businesses suffer at the setback. Furthermore, it will lead to social problems which are unemployment, the financial problems, committing a crime respectively. Moreover, in case of the inappropriate policy, technologies might not be developed due to lacking of capital. Although, many people have concerned about environmental troubles, these cannot be solved if the law enforcement is not able to use appropriate owing to interfering in politics. For example, the influential person in politics uses the power arbitrarily to build the hotel near the sea without disposing of waste. The problem is the dangerous household waste from the hotels will destroy the local ecology and have impact on the natural environment. Thus, all these difficulties as mentioned above affact the investment in the Tourism Industries.

Music and Murder :: essays research papers

Documentaries serve to draw a response through the use of literary techniques in order to present a particular point of view. Michael Cordell’s Music and Murder subscribes to this principle, the documentary focuses on three men serving prison sentences for taking a life and how music has changed and shaped their outlook on their own lives. Music, structure, verbal language and selection of detail all work on the viewers emotions which serve to draw a positive response towards rehabilitation in prisons. Music and Murder follows Vernon Kronk who killed an infant because it wet the bed, Geoffrey Websdale who shot dead two people and injured one and Daniel Miles who stabbed his girlfriend. All three prisoners are serving sentences in prison for their crimes and all three with the help of the prison teachers have found an interest in music. Music and Murder as a title for this documentary is very peculiar in that it hints that the two themes go together, many would see such a title as a paradox and that if rehabilitation was the only issue Music after Murder would be a more suitable title, however the emotional maturing through music is important in the documentary. Music recorded by the prisoners is played throughout the documentary, this attempts to give the viewer insight into the emotions felt by the musicians. The music is described by one of the prisons music teachers as â€Å"coming from the heart†, because we have not discovered the crimes that the prisoners have committed the music attempts to draw on feelings of sympathy from the viewer for the men. Much of the documentary is left to periods of the men’s music; these periods are an expression of emotion by which the notion of humanity and a second chance is put forward. The structure, the order parts of the documentary are presented determine how prisoners are constructed by the viewer. In Music and Murder Vernon, Geoffrey and Daniel are all constructed in the same way and overall the documentary works to construct the prisoners as people deserving of the viewers trust. In the beginning of the documentary the prison is described and shown as concrete and metal and there are close-ups of the metal bars, locks and razor-wire. This use of montage re-establishes the viewers previous idea of prison as punishment. After this the music is introduced by the respected teachers as not leisure but a constructive way to use their time in prison, having the punishment aspect of prison introduced before the music gives the viewer a positive on the idea as music as rehabilitation and not just as leisure.

Folly of Science Exposed in Shelley’s Frankenstein and E.T.A. Hoffman’s

Folly of Science Exposed in Shelley’s Frankenstein and E.T.A. Hoffman’s Sandman In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and E.T.A. Hoffman’s Sandman, elements of science are portrayed in a negative light, warning the reader of the dangers of the unknown. Many aspects of science and technology are portrayed from alchemy and robotics in the Sandman to biology and chemistry in Frankenstein. The stories feature similar main characters that break the boundaries of conventional society in order to investigate their desires. Each story features a "living doll", or a creation of man that, while first made for good, results in evil. When we read The Sandman, we are left in doubt as to whether what is happening to Nathaniel is real or merely in his mind. For instance, when Hoffmann introduces Olympia, he does not mention whether she is a human being or a doll; and he does so in such a way the reader may not immediately realize this. We take for granted that Olympia is a real person, because we expect Nathaniel to know the difference. During the course of the story, the Sandman as Copp...

Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) Getting by in America

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America In the thought provoking novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich explores the life of low-wage workers in America’s society. While speaking with an editor one day, the question of poverty and how American’s survive off six and seven dollars an hour played in Ms. Ehrenreich’s mind. So as a journalist, Ehrenreich goes undercover working several minimum wage jobs and tries to survive off the earnings. Seeing and living the lives of these poverty-stricken workers, Ehrenreich learns that hard work doesn't always lead to success and advancement in today's society. This novel takes you on a journey, revealing the insights of how people strive to survive in America’s society working minimum wage jobs that do not suffice adequate funds to cover their needs and expenses. Ehrenreich begins her research in Key West, Florida. Her first task was to find a place to live. She opts out of her decision to leave in a convenient and affordable apartment for a five hundred dollar a month efficiency that is about forty-five minutes away from the employment opportunities Key West has to offer. Her next task was job searching. Ehrenreich applied for numerous jobs, and learns about the low-wage job application process. These job applications usually just involved several multiple-choice questions and a urine test. After not hear back from any of the jobs, Ehrenreich applies for a waitressing position at the diner â€Å"Hearthside,† (which is not the actual name as well as the names of associates she comes in contact with). Ehrenreich is offered the position of a waitress and is hired at Hearthside and works the night shift working from 2:00 in the evening until 10:00 at night for $2. 43 an hour, plus tips. If a person strives to make means off six and seven dollars an hour, surely $2. 43 is not sufficed, especially when customers do not like tip the waitress. During her time at Hearthside, Ehrenreich comes to despise management. She finds that while she must constantly find busy work to do, anything at all but being still, while her superiors are able to sit for hours. Management lacks the compassion for their employees and for their customers. They have only one concern in mind and that is make sure the restaurant makes money. I’ve personally experienced this on my job. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing else to do at work. Why? There is one simple answer; everything has already taken care of and much more. But, management will hassle you to keep busy even when there is nothing else to do. Once Ehrenreich gets a feel for the job, she begins interacting with her co-workers and learns of their poverty lifestyle. Her observation also revealed that most of the workers were minorities. Ehrenreich then begins to compiles a survey on the workers living arrangements: Gail, whom she becomes close to, shares a room with a roommate for $250 a week. Ehrenreich p. 24) Now if you access the situation and do a few calculations you can realize that Gail is strictly living paycheck to paycheck. Claude, a cook, lives in a two room apartment with his girlfriend and two other people. Others are paying to stay in hotels each night, some pay $170 dollars a week for a one person trailer, and others are living out their cars. Ehrenreich soon realizes that unless she wan ts to live out of her car she needs to find another job. She picks up a second waitressing job at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich comes to find out that Jerry’s is a ruin. The kitchens are a mess, the bathrooms are never adequately equipped, and there is no break room because breaks are hardly allowed. Ehrenreich is unable to juggle working at both the Hearthside and Jerry’s, so she leaves Hearthside so she can earn more money at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich is able to find a small trailer in a trailer park and moves closer to Key West. After a month of waitressing, Ehrenreich gets a housekeeping position in a hotel which pays $6. 10 an hour. Unfortunately Ehrenreich only lasts on the job for one day. After having a miserable days work at Jerry’s, Ehrenreich quits the job by simply walking out. Ehrenreich turns her trailer over to Gail and says goodbye to Key West. After departing Key West, Ehrenreich travels to two other states, Maine and Minnesota, in hope of finding better jobs as well as better pay. In the final chapter, Ehrenreich evaluates her observations and provides an overall study of her project and draws together her conclusions. She believes she has done a good job living under these certain circumstance. These observations open ones eye to how many people in the United States, not just the World, who are leaving in such poor conditions. An abundance of individuals do not realize the poverty that’s occurring at home (U. S. ). We usually think of third world countries (i. e. Africa). Volunteering my time at the community market has helped me realize how many people need assistance and who are leaving in conditions that are considered to most people as degrading. I know how hard it is to live of the earnings I make. My earnings approximate around nine dollars an hour and even with these ages it is hard to survive. You have startup costs, deposits, power bills, water bills, food, telephone bills, car notes, etc†¦ the list goes on and on. It is difficult to even live off of halfway decent wages yet alone minimum wages of six dollars an hour. Gas prices nowadays, are about two-thirds of the wage amount. I feel honored and privileged to be able to volunteer my time to such activ ities and organizations as the community market and the community garden. It gives me assurance that I can help make a difference in my community and society. I hope that more people would become aware of these activities and help contribute their time to help cease starvation and poverty in the world. Ehrenreich does an excellent job of revealing the inadequate wage conditions of society. Her plan was to reveal and understand the everyday life of low-income people, how they survive on a daily basis and find out what wage workers really go through. Most people don’t know what is next for them or what the next day has in store for them. But the final conclusion is that low-wage lifestyle is unfair and impractical. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Imagination and research are the two important tools for a successful writing assignment. Research can be academic as well as practical. If the author/authoress is willing to live through the life of the subject matter of the book, and possesses the writing skill, chances are that it becomes a great book. The ‘suffering’ of women in any segment of the society is always something special—discrimination on the basis of gender (sex) as they call it! The modern materialistic civilization, the industrial and internet revolutions have thrown up innovative subjects for a writer. Some comforts and luxuries apart, the total effect of this civilization on the inner world of an individual is devastating. The standard of living has improved at the cost of standard of life. In the present book, Barbara lives through several self-created miserable and tricky situations, just to know what does it to mean to live under such trials and tribulations! It was not necessary for her to put her personal comforts at stake. She is highly qualified and the adage, ‘curry for the night is worry for the morning, and tomorrow’s bread is not assured from today’s labor,’ is not applicable to her. Like a true seeker, she decided to get at the truth of the issue, by experiencing it. So, this is the book written by an ex-waitress in Florida, cleaning woman and a nursing home assistant in Maine, the one possessing the   Wal-Mart experience, the humiliation of the urine test and what not! Barbara’s jobs hunt†¦.Getting Ready: So, her experiments with the truth of job-hunting and eventually getting it begin. What happened after a series of rejections, which had nothing to do with her merit for the post applied for as such is a revelation! She writes, â€Å"My next stop is Winn-Dixie, the supermarket, which turns out to have a particularly onerous application process, featuring a twenty minute â€Å"interview† by computer since, apparently, no human on the premises is deemed capable of representing the corporate point     of view. †¦.the interview is multiple choices. Do I have anything, such as child care problems, that might make it hard for me to get to work on time? Do I think safety on the job is the responsibility of management? Then popping up cunningly out of the blue: How many dollars’ worth of stolen goods have I purchased in the last year? Would I turn in a fellow employee if I caught him stealing? Finally, â€Å"Are you an honest person?†(p.13, 14) Ehrenreich has absolute command over the scenes and situations she creates for her and her writing style takes you to the spot of confrontation. The description is so realistic.   You feel, as if you are part of the drama. The story is interesting from the beginning to the end, without intermission. One feels sorry about the working conditions and the environment, and the humiliation that one suffers at the foul-mouthed, arrogant bosses. When one thinks that a worker has to spend his entire service life in such uncertain, difficult conditions—it is mind-boggling! And the fact remains that millions are undergoing such onerous ordeal. Suffering has become the badge affixed on them! The book contains 6 crisp chapters, Introduction: Getting Ready, Serving in Florida, Scrubbing in Maine, Selling in Minnesota, Evaluation and A Reader’s Guide: In the final evaluation, she experiences the academician in her come to give opinion and judgment. She brings the issues like class conflict and power dynamics. She has come out with some startling revelations. According to her no job is truly â€Å"unskilled† Some of the jobs she did had tremendous physical demands, and could damage to health if performed continuously. Her heroic performances had no corresponding rewards, which mean exploitation of labor is the common practice. She writes, â€Å" then trick lies in figuring out how to budget your energy so there’ll be some left over for the next day†(p. 195).She also comes to the conclusion that multiple jobs is the actual necessity as one can no survive   with the returns of one job. She has no hesitation in saying that the labor class of the lower rungs, whether men or women, are constantly suspected for one reason or the other. The employment tests and questionnaires contained strange enquiries. Her behavior was monitored in Wal-Mart under repressive surveillance by the designated staff both men and women and they were looking for theft, drug abuse, sloth and the like in her. She describes the different hurdles she had to cross to make both the ends meet, and issues related to luxury were out of question. She found out by experience how, necessity is the mother of invention. There are two options to meet the situation. Either cut down your expenditure, or spend more and also increase your income. When increment was not possible due to so many constraints, some came out with innovative ideas. She saw some co-workers sleeping in cars, to avoid huge rents, and some report for duty, ignoring their suffering due to back pain, arthritis, etc. She studies both the stands: The labor force which believes that the Management is the permanent enemy and the Unions should be at permanent war with it! And the Management that thinks innovatively to subvert the well-meaning labor laws passed for the welfare of the workers. She cites an example, when minimum wages were increased, management increased her workload, though it cut her working hours—the net result was that her paycheck showed the same figure. She made sincere efforts to live on the wages she got—without using her skills as PhD, lecturer or as an author. She makes the observation of an economist and socialist when she says, â€Å"Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow. You don't need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high.† (p. 199). She marvels at the strange working of American democracy. She clearly sees the dictatorship in the workplaces as for workers. Working poor have no other alternative but to submit to the systematic disempowerment on one pretext or other by the Management. â€Å"Someday †¦ they are bound to tire of getting so little in return and to demand to be paid what they're worth. There'll be a lot of anger when that day comes, and strikes and disruption† (p. 221). Conclusion: As for the evaluation part of her book, her observations demand attention. As earlier said, what she has written is the experienced research. Her findings are lessons for the economist, the sociologist, the politician, the management and for the union leaders. Solutions to various problems can be worked out. What is required is an attitude of sacrifice and compassion for the sake of the welfare of the needy. That is achievable by the genuine change in the thought process of concerned individuals. When the thought process changes, the action process will also change, hopefully for the better! .             Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) Getting by in America Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America In the thought provoking novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich explores the life of low-wage workers in America’s society. While speaking with an editor one day, the question of poverty and how American’s survive off six and seven dollars an hour played in Ms. Ehrenreich’s mind. So as a journalist, Ehrenreich goes undercover working several minimum wage jobs and tries to survive off the earnings. Seeing and living the lives of these poverty-stricken workers, Ehrenreich learns that hard work doesn't always lead to success and advancement in today's society. This novel takes you on a journey, revealing the insights of how people strive to survive in America’s society working minimum wage jobs that do not suffice adequate funds to cover their needs and expenses. Ehrenreich begins her research in Key West, Florida. Her first task was to find a place to live. She opts out of her decision to leave in a convenient and affordable apartment for a five hundred dollar a month efficiency that is about forty-five minutes away from the employment opportunities Key West has to offer. Her next task was job searching. Ehrenreich applied for numerous jobs, and learns about the low-wage job application process. These job applications usually just involved several multiple-choice questions and a urine test. After not hear back from any of the jobs, Ehrenreich applies for a waitressing position at the diner â€Å"Hearthside,† (which is not the actual name as well as the names of associates she comes in contact with). Ehrenreich is offered the position of a waitress and is hired at Hearthside and works the night shift working from 2:00 in the evening until 10:00 at night for $2. 43 an hour, plus tips. If a person strives to make means off six and seven dollars an hour, surely $2. 43 is not sufficed, especially when customers do not like tip the waitress. During her time at Hearthside, Ehrenreich comes to despise management. She finds that while she must constantly find busy work to do, anything at all but being still, while her superiors are able to sit for hours. Management lacks the compassion for their employees and for their customers. They have only one concern in mind and that is make sure the restaurant makes money. I’ve personally experienced this on my job. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing else to do at work. Why? There is one simple answer; everything has already taken care of and much more. But, management will hassle you to keep busy even when there is nothing else to do. Once Ehrenreich gets a feel for the job, she begins interacting with her co-workers and learns of their poverty lifestyle. Her observation also revealed that most of the workers were minorities. Ehrenreich then begins to compiles a survey on the workers living arrangements: Gail, whom she becomes close to, shares a room with a roommate for $250 a week. Ehrenreich p. 24) Now if you access the situation and do a few calculations you can realize that Gail is strictly living paycheck to paycheck. Claude, a cook, lives in a two room apartment with his girlfriend and two other people. Others are paying to stay in hotels each night, some pay $170 dollars a week for a one person trailer, and others are living out their cars. Ehrenreich soon realizes that unless she wan ts to live out of her car she needs to find another job. She picks up a second waitressing job at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich comes to find out that Jerry’s is a ruin. The kitchens are a mess, the bathrooms are never adequately equipped, and there is no break room because breaks are hardly allowed. Ehrenreich is unable to juggle working at both the Hearthside and Jerry’s, so she leaves Hearthside so she can earn more money at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich is able to find a small trailer in a trailer park and moves closer to Key West. After a month of waitressing, Ehrenreich gets a housekeeping position in a hotel which pays $6. 10 an hour. Unfortunately Ehrenreich only lasts on the job for one day. After having a miserable days work at Jerry’s, Ehrenreich quits the job by simply walking out. Ehrenreich turns her trailer over to Gail and says goodbye to Key West. After departing Key West, Ehrenreich travels to two other states, Maine and Minnesota, in hope of finding better jobs as well as better pay. In the final chapter, Ehrenreich evaluates her observations and provides an overall study of her project and draws together her conclusions. She believes she has done a good job living under these certain circumstance. These observations open ones eye to how many people in the United States, not just the World, who are leaving in such poor conditions. An abundance of individuals do not realize the poverty that’s occurring at home (U. S. ). We usually think of third world countries (i. e. Africa). Volunteering my time at the community market has helped me realize how many people need assistance and who are leaving in conditions that are considered to most people as degrading. I know how hard it is to live of the earnings I make. My earnings approximate around nine dollars an hour and even with these ages it is hard to survive. You have startup costs, deposits, power bills, water bills, food, telephone bills, car notes, etc†¦ the list goes on and on. It is difficult to even live off of halfway decent wages yet alone minimum wages of six dollars an hour. Gas prices nowadays, are about two-thirds of the wage amount. I feel honored and privileged to be able to volunteer my time to such activ ities and organizations as the community market and the community garden. It gives me assurance that I can help make a difference in my community and society. I hope that more people would become aware of these activities and help contribute their time to help cease starvation and poverty in the world. Ehrenreich does an excellent job of revealing the inadequate wage conditions of society. Her plan was to reveal and understand the everyday life of low-income people, how they survive on a daily basis and find out what wage workers really go through. Most people don’t know what is next for them or what the next day has in store for them. But the final conclusion is that low-wage lifestyle is unfair and impractical. Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) Getting by in America Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America In the thought provoking novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich explores the life of low-wage workers in America’s society. While speaking with an editor one day, the question of poverty and how American’s survive off six and seven dollars an hour played in Ms. Ehrenreich’s mind. So as a journalist, Ehrenreich goes undercover working several minimum wage jobs and tries to survive off the earnings. Seeing and living the lives of these poverty-stricken workers, Ehrenreich learns that hard work doesn't always lead to success and advancement in today's society. This novel takes you on a journey, revealing the insights of how people strive to survive in America’s society working minimum wage jobs that do not suffice adequate funds to cover their needs and expenses. Ehrenreich begins her research in Key West, Florida. Her first task was to find a place to live. She opts out of her decision to leave in a convenient and affordable apartment for a five hundred dollar a month efficiency that is about forty-five minutes away from the employment opportunities Key West has to offer. Her next task was job searching. Ehrenreich applied for numerous jobs, and learns about the low-wage job application process. These job applications usually just involved several multiple-choice questions and a urine test. After not hear back from any of the jobs, Ehrenreich applies for a waitressing position at the diner â€Å"Hearthside,† (which is not the actual name as well as the names of associates she comes in contact with). Ehrenreich is offered the position of a waitress and is hired at Hearthside and works the night shift working from 2:00 in the evening until 10:00 at night for $2. 43 an hour, plus tips. If a person strives to make means off six and seven dollars an hour, surely $2. 43 is not sufficed, especially when customers do not like tip the waitress. During her time at Hearthside, Ehrenreich comes to despise management. She finds that while she must constantly find busy work to do, anything at all but being still, while her superiors are able to sit for hours. Management lacks the compassion for their employees and for their customers. They have only one concern in mind and that is make sure the restaurant makes money. I’ve personally experienced this on my job. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing else to do at work. Why? There is one simple answer; everything has already taken care of and much more. But, management will hassle you to keep busy even when there is nothing else to do. Once Ehrenreich gets a feel for the job, she begins interacting with her co-workers and learns of their poverty lifestyle. Her observation also revealed that most of the workers were minorities. Ehrenreich then begins to compiles a survey on the workers living arrangements: Gail, whom she becomes close to, shares a room with a roommate for $250 a week. Ehrenreich p. 24) Now if you access the situation and do a few calculations you can realize that Gail is strictly living paycheck to paycheck. Claude, a cook, lives in a two room apartment with his girlfriend and two other people. Others are paying to stay in hotels each night, some pay $170 dollars a week for a one person trailer, and others are living out their cars. Ehrenreich soon realizes that unless she wan ts to live out of her car she needs to find another job. She picks up a second waitressing job at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich comes to find out that Jerry’s is a ruin. The kitchens are a mess, the bathrooms are never adequately equipped, and there is no break room because breaks are hardly allowed. Ehrenreich is unable to juggle working at both the Hearthside and Jerry’s, so she leaves Hearthside so she can earn more money at Jerry’s. Ehrenreich is able to find a small trailer in a trailer park and moves closer to Key West. After a month of waitressing, Ehrenreich gets a housekeeping position in a hotel which pays $6. 10 an hour. Unfortunately Ehrenreich only lasts on the job for one day. After having a miserable days work at Jerry’s, Ehrenreich quits the job by simply walking out. Ehrenreich turns her trailer over to Gail and says goodbye to Key West. After departing Key West, Ehrenreich travels to two other states, Maine and Minnesota, in hope of finding better jobs as well as better pay. In the final chapter, Ehrenreich evaluates her observations and provides an overall study of her project and draws together her conclusions. She believes she has done a good job living under these certain circumstance. These observations open ones eye to how many people in the United States, not just the World, who are leaving in such poor conditions. An abundance of individuals do not realize the poverty that’s occurring at home (U. S. ). We usually think of third world countries (i. e. Africa). Volunteering my time at the community market has helped me realize how many people need assistance and who are leaving in conditions that are considered to most people as degrading. I know how hard it is to live of the earnings I make. My earnings approximate around nine dollars an hour and even with these ages it is hard to survive. You have startup costs, deposits, power bills, water bills, food, telephone bills, car notes, etc†¦ the list goes on and on. It is difficult to even live off of halfway decent wages yet alone minimum wages of six dollars an hour. Gas prices nowadays, are about two-thirds of the wage amount. I feel honored and privileged to be able to volunteer my time to such activ ities and organizations as the community market and the community garden. It gives me assurance that I can help make a difference in my community and society. I hope that more people would become aware of these activities and help contribute their time to help cease starvation and poverty in the world. Ehrenreich does an excellent job of revealing the inadequate wage conditions of society. Her plan was to reveal and understand the everyday life of low-income people, how they survive on a daily basis and find out what wage workers really go through. Most people don’t know what is next for them or what the next day has in store for them. But the final conclusion is that low-wage lifestyle is unfair and impractical.

Financial crises Essay

It is difficult to deny the fact at times of financial crises more and more people have no other choice but to become entrepreneurs (Spors & Flanderz, 2009). Due to the growing unemployment, more and more people simply cannot but use entrepreneurship as the source of wellbeing. The success of such business initiatives depends on how well new entrepreneurs are able to evaluate their operational risks. Moreover, given that operational risks are being formed at all levels of organizational performance, entrepreneurs should be extremely cautious and attentive toward such risks, and develop effective monitoring systems that would work to identify operational risks as soon as they are created. It should be noted, that for a business to be successful it is not enough to understand operational risks; entrepreneurs should remember that the latter do not account for strategic and reputational issues that are equally important in business. I believe that entrepreneurs should choose holistic approaches to business – the approaches that cover a broad range of risks and help timely identify and address them. Comparative Advantage It is obvious that comparative advantage is one of the few concepts that drive economic development and provide countries with additional production stimuli. The case of Turkey (Afsin,Yilmaz & Fahrettin, 2007) suggests that the more country invests in manufacturing the most successful and cost-efficient products, the more likely it is to gain comparative advantage over other countries and to use this comparative advantage as the source of significant profits. What seems to be true, though, is that the concept of comparative advantage does not cover all benefits the country may use when investing into the most competitive products. Comparative advantage provides countries with an opportunity to use additional profits for the development and improvement of other products. These investment opportunities create a kind of comparative advantage cycle, which national manufacturers can continuously use to increase GDP, expand research and development opportunities, and to conquer the growing share of markets.

Spirituality through community

In â€Å"Cathedral,† Raymond Carver wrote the story of an unnamed male narrator who describes a visit from Robert, a blind male friend of his wife. Roberts’ arrival and stay in the narrator’s home causes the narrator to abandon his stereotypes about blind people and to understand himself better. Carver, through his story, claims that in order to be free we must detach ourselves from stereotypes and focus on self understanding. Carver uses â€Å"Cathedral† as the title for his story in order to emphasize that the process of completing a cathedral is more important than the end result, which could take approximately one hundred years. In the process of drawing a cathedral with the blind man, the narrator, putting himself in Robert’s shoes, is enlightened while a meaningful relationship develops between the two men. The narrator goes through a process of transformation. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is very much against Robert’s visit. Jealousy and hatred seem to overcome him. His wife’s fondness for Robert and their close friendship that has spanned thousand of miles and ten years bothers him. Furthermore, the stereotypical image that he has built in his mind about blind men hinders him from welcoming Robert into his home and into his life. However, things change as the narrator and Robert begin on a quest to draw a cathedral. The end result is not the cathedral drawn but the feeling that overcomes the narrator after having embarked on the process. The narrator’s new found consciousness would not have come about if not for the process. By drawing, the narrator is able to experience different feelings that have been alien to him before. Even with eyes closed, the narrator still succeeds in producing the cathedral. This demonstrates that the value is not in the final product but in the journey that one undergoes to reach it. It is not the end product that heightens spirituality in an individual; it is the journey that allows a person to reach further. It is not the end product but the journey that allows the person to experience. Without the process, there will be no experience. Looking at someone else’s work is far different from producing the work. One appreciates the end product more if he realizes the work that goes into producing it. The story of â€Å"Cathedral† clearly demonstrates such. The narrator had difficulty describing the cathedrals that were shown on television. This was because he had little understanding and experience in cathedrals. As the narrator said, â€Å"I can’t tell you what a cathedral looks like. It just isn’t in me to do it. I can’t do any more than I’ve done.† His difficulty stems not from his inability to see the cathedral; it comes from his lack of experience and understanding of what a cathedral is and what it stands for. The narrator sees no value in cathedrals. He said, â€Å"The truth is, cathedrals don’t mean anything special to me. Nothing. Cathedrals. They’re something to look at on late-night TV. That’s all they are.† However, having embarked on the process of drawing a cathedral, the narrator is able to experience. He is able to build a new perspective on things. This goes to show that it is not the end result but the journey to it that really matters.

Existing Direct Tax System and Proposed Direct Tax Code in India Essay

Tax is defined as a compulsory payment made to the government by the individuals firms and companies without any expectation of a direct return. In general there are two types of tax system prevailing in our country. One is direct tax and other is indirect tax. Here we will restrict our discussion to direct tax only. Direct taxes are those the burden of which cannot be shifted, that is incidence and impact is on the same person. In India the tax law is governed by the finance act. The amendments are brought through budget every year which is issued on the last date of February. There have been various arguments in regard to the complexity of the tax laws. The new tax system which is proposed basically focuses on the principle of equality and simplicity. Instead of having different explanations of tax laws under different umbrellas all the laws will be brought under one head. The new tax system will be highly focused on the matter that the richer should pay heavier tax and vice-versa. For this regard the exemption limit and tax slabs will be expanded higher. Moreover under new taxation laws various taxes like securities transaction tax will also be abolished thus making the code an efficient one. With the new tax code being implemented in India one can expect to have free trade across the length and breadth of the country and peace in the bags of investors. Thus, the new tax system is an attempt to create a system with minimum loopholes of the existing system, thus contributing to the national benefit.

The Settings of Dracula

With castles, hidden streets, waterways, recurring rainy weather, interesting European architecture, and mystique, London is the perfect location for Bram Stoker's Dracula. London: The capital of Great Britain, and the center of attention in the nineteenth century, due to the many incidents that were going on at the time. The novel includes many daunting scenes, such as when Dracula heaves a sack withholding a deceased child before three female vampires. It is no surprise why he choose London to be the setting of his novel. London is â€Å"exotic† and unknown. Stoker is obviously inspired by London's castles, hidden streets, and church yards. Because of all of these points, London is the perfect gothic setting for Stoker's â€Å"Dracula. † London is recognized for its grand castles. Stoker may have been motivated to use these in his novel describing Dracula's estate in London, â€Å"Carfax† and also his castle in Transylvania. This is illustrated when Mr. Harker arrives at Dracula's home â€Å"up a great winding stair, and along another great passage great passage, on whose stone floor our steps rang heavily. At the end of this he threw open a heavy door, and I rejoiced to see within a well-lit room in which a table was spread for supper and whose mighty hearth a great fire of logs, freshly replenished, flamed and flared. † (Stoker,13). High small windows, arched ceilings, and solid stone walls are also typical for the gothic architecture. These characteristics make the building cold, dark, and forbidding. For example, the text says about the castle in Transylvania that â€Å"The Count halted, putting down my bags, closed the door, and crossing the room, opened another door, which led into a small octagonal room lit by a single lamp, and seemingly without a window of any sort† (13) and . â€Å".. a vast ruined castle, from those tall black windows came no ray of light and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlight sky† (11). Everything is difficult to see. For example, dimming lights and dark thick walls are characteristics of this type of architecture. Overall the count's castle looks like the cathedrals in the thirteenth century. It is a copy of a medieval building. London is also a perfect location for this novel not only because of its buildings, but also because of its weather and its scenery. London (or Great Britain in general) is an island, therefore, it is surrounded by water. This makes it â€Å"isolated† from the main land. It makes it problematic to reach. This is why Dracula has to go by ship when he leaves Transylvania to go to London. People often connect harbors with something frightening and you can see harbors in many horror movies. Because of the surrounding water and the rough European climate, there is a lot fog and rain. These are the ideal conditions for Dracula to follow through with his killings. He can â€Å"call† for the fog and the rain. In the nineteenth century, London streets were very small and hidden with little lighting. This helps to create the fearsome setting for the novel. Smoke is created by enormous factories making a creepy backdrop for the terrible things to come. Numerous churches and cathedrals also create a fear-provoking â€Å"flair. These churches are built in gothic â€Å"dark† style. For example, the â€Å"Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows†, is built in this medieval manner. London also includes a considerable amount of beautiful, but creepy, churchyards. Ffor example, in the part when Lucy is constantly sleepwalking and Mina finds her in the churchyard talking about â€Å"his red eyes†, . â€Å".. from where I was I ran on to the entrance of the ch urchyard†¦ † (79). Of course these churchyards are used as a scary setting, like in many horror books or movies. The House of Commons was non-democratically elected. The Bill, caused by the temperance movement, didn't create a democracy in England, but it did enfranchise the British’s middle class. The Temperance movement was typical for the Victorian era. It surround the idea that the middle-class should have self-control and self-denial. These values were shaped both by Evangelicalism and by Utilitarianism. There were also contemporary views on the Reform Act in 1832. So the Reform Bill and the issues on the Reform Act got everybody's attention, what makes London even more interesting. In 1854 there were also several law for women passed. This could be the reason for Mina Harker and her friend, Lucy, to play such an important role in Stoker's book. In this time era, women believed that they should always be protected by the strong men. Because of this, Bram Stoker maybe wanted to draw the attention on the women. The marriage of Mina Harker and Jonathan Harker could may have been a result of the Chancellor Cranworth's Marriage and Divorce Bill passed in 1955. Another point of attention was also the Peterloo Massacre in 1899. A public meeting took place at Westminster on March 28th and in June. Another important piece of information is that London became a massive place with book-keepers, authors, and clerks. This is why many newspaper presses came to London. Stoker could have been stimulated by this and wrote the part, where Mina did research about this article, where the mysterious ship came into the harbor (how already mentioned above). Or it could have been the growth of shipping, caused by the famous clippers, which made it possible to import tea from China to the Thames. The whole story of Dracula could have been also been caused by the widespread poverty and crime in this time. Because of all these facts about London, the castles, the hidden streets, the waterways, the recurring raining weather, the interesting European architecture, and the mystique surrounding this city, Bram Stoker chose this special and fascinating city as the setting for his novel. London is just like made for settings in scary novels or even movies. Especially in the nineteenth century, with all the gothic buildings and all its frightening churchyards. Of course, everybody in this time knew London for this. London was not only well known because of these aspects, but also because London was the capital of its whole empire. So Bram Stoker could not have selected a better gothic setting for his disturbing novel â€Å"Dracula. † Works cited: -Wolffg. , John. â€Å"Gothic† 2002. Online. 5-20-03 www. clc. edu/~wolffg/gateway/gothic. html -Roumpou, Eleni. Is Dracula a gothic novel? † 9-19-00. Online. 5-20-02. www. hausarbeiten. de/faecher/hausarbeit/anl/1106. html -Jackson, Lee. â€Å"Victorian London-Architecture-Victorian Architecture† 2000. Online. 5-20-03 www. victorianlondon. org -Halsall, Paul. â€Å"19th Century Britain† 1-30-99. Online. 5-21-03. www. fordham. edu/halsaall/mod/modsbook20. html -Johnson, Jane. â€Å"19th Cent ury London† 2001. Online. 5-21-03. www. Britannia. com -Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"The Temperance Movement and class struggle in Victorian England† 1993. Online. 5-21-03. www. loyno. edu/~history/journal/1992-3/smith. html