The Role of Social Media Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2542 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Tags: Social Media Essay Did you like this example? Introduction This research investigates the role of social media in marketing in order to determine whether companies should focus all their marketing efforts on social media platforms. The term social media is used to refer to a group of internet based web 2.0 applications that enable users to interact, communicate and share content including video, text and graphics. Popular social media applications include social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, photo sharing sites like Instagram and Flickr, social tagging sites such as Digg and video creating and sharing sites such as YouTube. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Role of Social Media Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order Social media marketing leverages the potential of social media applications to promote a company and its products or services. Social media marketing is a trend that is growing rapidly as companies begin to realise the strategic importance of social media as a tool to engage consumers, create relationships and develop brand loyalty in a cost effective and efficient manner. Given the advantages of social media marketing, there is growing pressure on companies to adopt social media marketing. In order to determine if companies should focus all their marketing efforts on social media, this research will discuss the advantages of using social media as well as challenges of using it. Advantages of social media marketing The use of social media in marketing presents compelling arguments that companies cannot afford to ignore. These include social media marketing as a cost effective way to reach a wider audience, the shift from transactional to relational marketing and the exponential growth of social media. Social media marketing is cost effective Social media marketing is a cost effective way to reach a wider target. KirtiÃ…Å ¸ and Karahan (2011) have argued that in the post-recession era, companies are focused on cutting costs, particularly advertising costs. Social media allows companies to reach a wider target in a timely, more efficient and cost effective manner than would be achieved through traditional communication tools, such as T.V. In the US, a thirty second advert during the Super Bowl costs $4.5 million dollars and has the potential to only reach a certain percentage of the American market while the same amount of money could buy four days of Facebook Reach Blocks with a potential audience of 100 million (Johnson, 2015). Kaplan and Haenlein (2011) argue that social media has enabled viral marketing which allows companies to promote their products and services with a very low budget and still achieve levels of awareness similar to those that can only be achieved by expensive TV advertising. These researche rs present the case of Proctor and Gamble, which in 2010 uploaded a 30-second video via YouTube to promote its Old Spice brand. The video was viewed 23 million times in 36 hours. For companies like Proctor and Gamble which operate in competitive global markets, it would be extremely expensive to achieve this kind of awareness through traditional media like TV because they would have to advertise in each individual country. Social media transcends national boundaries and presents a single interface to reach every corner of the globe. No social media application illustrates this point more powerfully than Facebook. According to a report by Stenovec (2015), more than 1.39 billion people in the world log onto Facebook each month, therefore, if Facebook was a country, it would be the most populous country in the world as shown in. figure 1 below. Figure 1: How Big is Facebook (Stenovec, 2015) The exponential growth of social media Researchers argue that consumers are turning away from traditional sources of advertising like radio, TV and newspapers and the internet is now the number one source of media for consumers (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Social media dominates the internet and leading social platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have become main stream. As shown in figure 2 below, Facebook has grown from 1 million users in 2004 to more than a billion in 2014. Twitter has also seen growth from 6 million registered users in 2008 to over 500 million in 2014, while Google+, Pinterest and Instagram have also increased their user bases. Morrison (2014) also reports that 93% of marketers use social media for business with Facebook, Twitter and Google+ being the top 3 media sites used by marketers. Figure 2: Social Media Growth (Morrison, 2014) The exponential growth of social media use has been referred to as a revolution (Benioff, 2012) and companies are expected to take part or risk being l eft behind. As stated by Neti (2011: 1) one cannot afford to have no presence on the social channels if the competitor is making waves with its products and services. Similarly, Liu and Smit (2011) state that it is important for a company to have presence and share of voice in social media and companies cannot afford not to engage in the race against competitors. Social media marketing is therefore seen as a way to gain competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive business environment. An example is the case of Coca Cola and Pepsi presented by Liu and Smit (2011). These two companies are traditional rivals for the global soft drink market and they have extended their battle to social media where they are actively pursuing promotional activities on various social networking sites (Telegraph.co.uk, 2010). With 93% of marketers being on social media (Morrison, 2014), this means that no company can afford to ignore social media marketing. Also, social media marketing represents huge potential for sales growth particularly in developing countries which have very high rates of mobile phone penetration, for instance, Liu and Smit (2011) state that the social media opportunity in China is massive with more than 40% of the 1.4 billion population using the internet regularly. Shift to relational marketing With the rise in social media, power has shifted from marketing managers to individuals and communities (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Researchers have argued that while traditional media is about reaching the market, in the current marketing environment consumers expect to be active participants in the media process (Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden, 2011). Researchers also report that there has been a shift in marketing theory and practice with an emphasis on relational (two-way) marketing rather than transactional marketing (CsordÃÆ' ¡s et al, 2014). Relationship marketing is focused on identifying and retaining long term customers which is a more profitable proposition than constantly renewing a strong customer base. Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden (2011: 267) refer to the empowerment of consumers as bottom-up marketing which results from the development of connections among billions of people on social media every day. These connections build relationships that result in the creation of vast social networks which marketers can only access through conversations and engagement. One way social media enables relational marketing is through the creation of brand communities. de Vries et al (2012) state that companies can create brand fan pages on social networking sites where customers can interact with a company through comments or likes. This engagement helps to develop loyalty, commitment and emotional attachment to the brand, which in turn enhances the potential for electronic word of mouth (eWoM) marketing (Laroche et al, 2013). According to Fanpagelist.com (2015), a website that tracks the top users on Facebook and Twitter, the most famous brands in the world including Disney, McDonalds and Nike are all top corporate brands on Facebook and Twitter with millions of fans talking about them and following them as shown in figure 3 below. Figure 3: Top Brands on Facebook and Twitter (Fanpagelist.com, 2015) Challenges of social media marketing Despite the obvious advantages of social media marketing with regards to cost effectiveness, engaging and building relationships with customers and maximum exposure, some researchers have argued that social media is a tool for social interaction and is therefore not an effective tool for marketing (Martin, 2009; Drury, 2008). Companies also face challenges in implementing successful social media marketing strategies and achieving return on investment (ROI) from their initiatives. Companies like Coca Cola and Unilever have admitted that they have not achieved any impact on sales from their social media initiatives (Ritson, 2013). The challenge for marketers is how to measure ROI given that traditional (quantitative) methods of measurement are not applicable (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). The challenge of measuring ROI has prompted a debate on whether companies should continue to invest in social media marketing given that the goal of marketing is to achieve quantifiable results in the f orm of increased sales and revenues (Fisher, 2009; Liu and Smit, 2011). Social media also faces competition from traditional marketing channels particularly TV which is still considered an important marketing tool despite the growth of social media. A recent study conducted by market analytics company MarketShare in partnership with Turner Broadcasting and Horizon Media (CTV Media, 2015) lists some significant findings which reveal that TV is still the most effective advertising medium. Firstly, when comparing advertising performance at similar spending levels, TV averaged four times the sales lifts of digital; Secondly, TV is the only medium that has maintained effectiveness at driving advertiser key performance indicators (KPIs) over the last five years and thirdly, TV enables marketers to optimise their spend by leveraging data sources such as website visits and inbound calls to improve TV advertising performance. Media as an integrated system Stephen and Galak (2009) have argued that all media types have an influence on each other and media operates as an integrated system. According to these researchers, an integrated media approach is consistent with the literature on integrated marketing communication where a companys advertising and promotions are coordinated across channels in order to achieve organisational goals. This view proposes that advertising in one channel can increase the effectiveness of promotions in other channels, for instance, social media fans can generate a buzz over an unknown product/service thus creating awareness that in turn generates traditional media activity. The value of integrating media is being recognised by companies. Hine (2013) reports that Dunkin Donuts has launched TV spots called #MyDunkin which is are made entirely from a single Vine (Twitters popular six-second social video format). Hine (2013) also states that other brands including virgin mobile are also combining twitter a nd TV by incorporating hashtags at the end of ads during major sports events. These hashtags allow consumers to converse with the companies in real time as well as creating brand recognition. Certain types of TV such as reality shows (such as @BBCTheVoiceUK) and live events (such as #BritAwards) lead to greater engagement because they ignite conversation on Twitter. Companies are also adding social media icons on their print media in order to drive consumers to the companys social media profile. Even on radio ads, companies are incorporating social media at the end of the advertisement by encouraging listeners to follow them on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Conclusion Given the exponential growth of social media and the fact that the internet is the preferred media of communication among customers, companies have no choice but to continue investing in social media marketing because this is where customers are. Social media also has cost advantages and provides a way for companies to engage with consumers, build relationships and develop brand loyalty. Companies cannot afford not to participate in social media marketing because competitors are already participating. However, this research finds that companies should not focus exclusively on social media marketing because traditional marketing, particularly, through the TV is still an effective way to reach consumers. This research also finds that companies are opting for an integrated approach, combining social media such as Twitter with traditional media such as TV in order to reach and engage more customers. In order to succeed in integrating social and traditional media, companies should deter mine their business and communication goals and identify their target markets. Companies should also determine where their target markets are and identify the most effective ways to connect and interact with them. Once a strong relationship has been established, consumers will be ready to trust and will begin to share positive information about the company and the brand with other people online, making the marketing strategy successful. References Benioff, M. (2012). Welcome to the social media revolution BBC News. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18013662 CsordÃÆ' ¡s, T., Markos-Kujbus, E. and GÃÆ' ¡ti,, M. (2014). CsordÃÆ' ¡s, T., Markos-Kujbus, ÃÆ'†°., GÃÆ' ¡ti, M. (2014). The Attributes of Social Media as a Strategic Marketing Communication Tool. Journalism and Mass Communication, 4(1), pp.48-71. CTV Media, (2015). Why TV Is Still the Most Effective Advertising Medium Key findings from MarketShare study CTV Media. [online] Available at: https://www.ctvmedia.com/blog/index.php/2015/06/10/why-tv-is-still-the-most-effective-advertising-medium-key-findings-from-marketshare-study/ de Vries, L., Gensler, S. and Leeflang, P. (2012). Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2), pp.83-91. Drury, G. (2008). Opinion piece: Social media: Should marketers engage and ho w can it be done effectively?. J Direct Data Digit Mark Pract, 9(3), pp.274-277. Fan Page List, (2015). Top Brands on Facebook.. [online] Available at: https://fanpagelist.com/category/brands/ Fisher, T. (2009). ROI in social media: A look at the arguments. Journal of Database Marketing Customer Strategy Management, 16(3), 189-195. Hanna, R., Rohm, A. and Crittenden, V. (2011). Were all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons, 54(3), pp.265-273. Hine, C. (2013). Dunkin Donuts Is Launching the First TV Ad Made Entirely From Vine. [online] AdWeek. Available at: https://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/dunkin-donuts-launching-first-tv-ad-made-entirely-vine-152267 Hoffman, D. L., Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), pp. 41-49. Johnson, L. (2015). What $4.5 Million Could Buy If Spent on Social Ads Instead of Super Bowl Spots. [online] AdWeek. Available at: ht tps://www.adweek.com/news/technology/what-45-million-could-buy-if-spent-social-ads-instead-super-bowl-spots-162485 Kaplan, A. and Haenlein, M. (2011). Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance. Business Horizons, 54(3), pp.253-263. KirtiÃ…Å ¸, A. and Karahan, F. (2011). To Be or Not to Be in Social Media Arena as the Most Cost-Efficient Marketing Strategy after the Global Recession. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, pp.260-268. Laroche, M., Habibi, M. and Richard, M. (2013). To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media?. International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), pp.76-82. Liu, F. and Smit, W. (2011). SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA | IMD. [online] Imd.org. Available at: https://www.imd.org/research/challenges/marketing-social-media-campaign-coca-cola-pepsi-fang-liu-willem-smit.cfm Mangold, W. and Faulds, D. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion m ix. Business Horizons, 52(4), pp.357-365. Martin, D. M. (2009). The entrepreneurial marketing mix. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 12(4), 391-403. Morrisson, K. (2014). The Growth of Social Media: From Passing Trend to International Obsession [Infographic]. [online] Adweek.com. Available at: https://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/the-growth-of-social-media-from-trend-to-obsession-infographic/142323 Neti, S. (2011). Social media and its role in marketing. International Journal of Enterprise Computing and Business Systems, 1(2), 1-15., 1(2), pp.1-15. Ritson, M. (2013). Social media ROI: Hype falls flat because buzz doesnt equal sales. [online] BRW. Available at: https://www.brw.com.au/p/marketing/social_media_sales_hype_falls_flat_QoOdTYgHJN0jBbjtzwPKfM Stephen, A. and Galak, J. (2010). The complementary roles of traditional and social media publicity in driving marketing performance.. 1st ed. [ebook] Fontainebleau, France: INSEAD working paper collec tion., pp.1-40. Available at: https://faculty-course.insead.edu/marketing_seminars/Seminars%202010-11/Andrew%20Stephen/Stephen_Galak_media_092910.pdf Stenovec, T. (2015). Facebook Is Now Bigger Than The Largest Country On Earth. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/28/facebook-biggest-country_n_6565428.html Telegraph.co.uk, (2010). Pepsi vs Coke: advertising battle turns to social media. [online] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/7126053/Pepsi-vs-Coke-advertising-battle-turns-to-social-media.html

Euthanasi A Deliberate Act That Causes Death - 1462 Words

Euthanasia is a deliberate act that causes death undertaken by one person with the primary intention of ending the life of another person, in order to relieve that persons suffering. Assisted Suicide is serious issue in today’s society. It continues to impact the lives of the terminally ill adults and their families, as well as believers the right to die rights. The history of euthanasia and assisted suicide starts from Ancient Greek, physicians used to perform frequent abortions, voluntary and involuntary mercy killings. People supported voluntary death and physicians often gave their patients the poisons on their request. The ancients supported the voluntary killing, if it was done for the right reasons. For centuries physician-assisted suicide had been understood to mean the process where the relief of pain for the dying was the best way to ensure an â€Å"easy death†. By the nineteenth century euthanasia was then described as actual mercy killing. It is a controversy today whether or not euthanasia is inhumane or not. Many groups have come together against euthanasia stating no one should â€Å"play God†. Even today these groups and protest. Other groups who are pro euthanasia also come together and try to get euthanasia legalized in all states. Euthanasia is legalized in Washington, Oregon, Vermont, and Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Many have questioned this practice. It is a battle of ethics versus personal choice. Assisted Suicide is serious issue in today’s society. It

Energy Modelling Production of Economy

Question: Discuss about the Essay for Energy Modelling and Production of Economy. Answer: a) The central issue analysed in this paper is the elasticity of substitution between energy and other inputs in contribution to the countrys GNP. This paper examines the cost or benefit of the energy policy in terms of consumption or GNP in the input output framework. b) The perspective of the authors are that decrease in physical availability of the energy increase the energy cost, which further causes a proportionate loss in GDP. According to authors view, if energy-GNP ratio is assumed constant, i.e.; zero input substitutability, the increase in both energy and non-energy inputs are required for the increase in GDP. On the other hand, elasticity of substitutions is infinitely elastic if the input is perfectly substitutable. c) Substitutability among inputs is necessary otherwise; decrease in energy inputs would reduce the total production of the economy. Hence, the energy policy makers have to choose the right combination of energy and non-energy inputs, which maximises output with minimum cost (Pahlavan, Omid and Akram 2012). As suggested by the paper of Hogan and Manne (1979), reduction in energy supply may have only 1% loss in the economy, however, this loss is large for the economy in monetary terms. 2. Initial price of energy = $1 per unit Price of capital = $3 per unit and price of labour = $3 per unit. Quantity of energy (E) = 100 units, capital (K) = 150 units, labour (L) = 200 units New price of energy = $2, new energy quantity = 70 units, capital = 170 units and labour = 200 units Elasticity of substitution indicates that the degree of substitution between the two inputs (Zhelobodko et al. 2012). Elasticity of substitution between the two inputs is given by = In equilibrium, marginal rate of technical substitution (MRTS) between energy and labour is = price of energy / wage (Raurich, Sala and Sorolla 2012). = $1/ $3 = 0.33 New MRTS = $2 / $3 = 0.67 Change in MRTS = 0.67- 0.33 = 0.34 Initial E/L = 100/200 = 0.5 and after policy change = 70/200 = 0.35 Therefore, change in E/L = 0.35 - 0.5 = - 0.15, however modulus value is taken. Hence, = (0.15 / 0.5) / (0.34 / 0.33) = 0.3 / 1.03 = 0.29 b) Elasticity of substitution between capital and labour is = Initial K/L = 150 / 200 = 0.75, new K/L = 170 / 200 = 0.85 Change in K/L = (0.85 - 0.75) = 0.10 Initial MRTS = 2/3 = 0.67. As the price of the other inputs except energy remains same, the MRTS will be the same. Hence, = (0.10 / 0.75) / (0.67/ 0.67) = 0.13/ 1 = 0.13 c) The first reason for the difference in the elasticity is that substitutability between the labour and energy is greater compared to labour and capital. The figure indicates that is higher for E/L ratio compared to K/L ratio, as it may be that increase in energy induces producers to substitute energy with labour (Chen 2012). The second possible reason is that labour and capital are more complementary in nature compared to energy. Marginal productivity of input reflects the price of the inputs and the higher rate of substitution reflects greater substitutability among factors across different sectors of the economy (Klump, McAdam and Willman 2012). Case 1 Use of energy = 100 units and use of capital = 150 units, total production = 1000 units. a) New energy inputs = 120 units, new output level = 1200 units Production elasticity of electricity indicates the response in output level, when there is a change in the level of electricity used in production (Raurich, Sala and Sorolla 2012). Production elasticity of electricity = (proportional changes in output)*100 / (proportional changes in energy *100) = {(1200 - 1000) / 1000} / {(120 100) / 100} = 0.2 / 0.2 = 1 b) Production elasticity of capital implies changes of output in response to the changes in unit of capital used in production (Klump, McAdam and Willman 2012). Use of capital input remains unchanged to 150 units Therefore, elasticity = {(1200- 1000) / 1000} / {(150 150) / 150} = 0.2 / 0 = Case 2 Employment of capital has increased to 160 units with unchanged energy inputs. The production elasticity of electricity is = {(1200 - 1000) / 1000} / {(100 100) / 100} = 0.2 / 0 = Production elasticity of capital = {(1200- 1000) / 1000} / {(160 150) / 150} = 0.2 / 0.067 = 2.985 4. Introduction This study analyses the assumptions of neo classical production function critically. Neo-classical production function is the function of two inputs such as labour and capital. A Neo classical production function has several assumptions to simply the analysis. Cobb-Douglas production function is mostly used neo classical production function in economic analysis. Several authors have criticized some of the assumptions. Assumptions of neo classical production function The assumptions of neo classical production function are as follows: i) The production function is differentiable with positive marginal productivity of the factors o production. ii) The factors exhibit the law of diminishing returns. iii) The factors of production are substitutable among themselves in a perfectly competitive market. Factors are perfectly mobile. iv) Absence of externality in production Philosophical critics According to the claim of the heterodox economics, the nature of neo classical production function, the substitution effect has not much effect in real economy (Fuss and McFadden 2014). However, in the view of Chen (2012), Cobb-Douglas production function has many real life applications. Moreover, the production only considers the effect of change in capital and labour. It cannot explain the residual element of the production function such as technology in Solow growth model. Schefold (2014) stated that neo classical production function estimates elasticity of output with respect to labour and capital according to the. However, this method of measuring output elasticity is not the correct one. Practically this estimation shows the share of profit in production and share of wage in income. Another assumption of the neo-classical theorists is that both the product and factor market are perfectly competitive, which is unrealistic. There exist other types of market structure such as monopolistic competition, monopoly and oligopoly. Therefore, production function varies across different sectors of the economy (Davis 2013). The neo classical production function assumes perfect mobility among the factors, which is not always possible in reality. Some of the industries are capital intensive, whereas some of are labour intensive. Hence, the mobility of factors is constrained by their productivity and requirement in the industry (Felipe and McCombie 2014). As depicted by Dosi et al. (2014), mathematical model of Cobb-Douglas model has similarity with the equation of national accounting identity derivative. However, Schefold (2014) mentioned that Cobb-Douglas production function correctly establish relationship with the national accounts, if the wage share is constant and technological progress is considered in production function. Fuss and McFadden (2014) cited that technological progress in the neo classical production function has been assumed linear. Dosi et al. (2014) contradicted this view to state that technological progress fluctuates overtime. Every production process has some externalities irrespective of primary, secondary or tertiary sectors of the economy. The externality may be positive or negative. Therefore, the assumption of no externality is unrealistic. Conclusion The analysis of production function is an important concept in mainstream Neo classical economics. Main inputs in this production function are labour and capital. Technology is used in this model as a residual factor in the production. This factor facilitates the production process. Despite having numerous uses, many economists have criticised this production function due to some of its unrealistic assumptions. The report has critically analysed the limitations of these assumptions. References Chen, B.Y., 2012. Classification of $ h $-homogeneous production functions with constant elasticity of substitution.Tamkang Journal of Mathematics,43(2), pp.321-328. Davis, J.B., 2013.The theory of the individual in economics: Identity and value. Routledge. Dosi, G., Grazzi, M., Marengo, L. and Settepanella, S., 2014. Production theory: accounting for firm heterogeneity and technical change. Felipe, J. and McCombie, J.S.L., 2014. The aggregate production function:Not even wrong.Review of Political Economy,26(1), pp.60-84. Fuss, M. and McFadden, D. eds., 2014.Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications: Applications of the Theory of Production(Vol. 2). Elsevier. Klump, R., McAdam, P. and Willman, A., 2012. The normalized CES production function: theory and empirics.Journal of Economic Surveys,26(5), pp.769-799. Pahlavan, R., Omid, M. and Akram, A., 2012. Energy inputoutput analysis and application of artificial neural networks for predicting greenhouse basil production.Energy,37(1), pp.171-176. Raurich, X., Sala, H. and Sorolla, V., 2012. Factor shares, the price markup, and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor.Journal of Macroeconomics,34(1), pp.181-198. Schefold, B., 2014. Marx, the Production Function and the Old Neoclassical Equilibrium: Workable under the Same Assumptions?. InContribution to the Conference What have we learnt on Classical Economy since Sraffa(pp. 16-17). Zhelobodko, E., Kokovin, S., Parenti, M. and Thisse, J.F., 2012. Monopolistic competition: Beyond the constant elasticity of substitution.Econometrica,80(6), pp.2765-2784.

The Modern Way of Recognizing the Power of Witchcraft Essay Example

The Modern Way of Recognizing the Power of Witchcraft Essay Witchcraft has been noted for many years as a major pagan practice that has primarily originated in Europe. To others, witchcraft is no laughing matter. Some investigators say that more than half the world’s population believes that witches are real and can influence the lives of others. Millions believe that witchcraft is evil, dangerous, and to be greatly feared. For example, a book about African religion states: â€Å"Belief in the function and dangers of bad magic, sorcery and witchcraft is deeply rooted in African life .  .  . Witches and sorcerers are the most hated people in their community. Even to this day there are places and occasions when they are beaten to death by the rest of the people.†(Cunningham, 1993, 16)In Western lands, however, witchcraft has donned a new mask of respectability. Books, television, and movies have done much to reduce the fear of witchcraft. Observes entertainment analyst David Davis: â€Å"Suddenly, witches are younger and cute r, definitely cuter. Hollywood is good at picking up on trends. .  .  . By making the witches cuter and more huggable, they can appeal to a larger audience, including women and younger kids.† (Sabin, 2006, 41) Hollywood knows how to turn any trend into a paying proposition.Some say that witchcraft has become one of the fastest growing spiritual movements in the United States. Throughout the developed world, an increasing number of people, inspired by feminist movements and disenchanted with mainstream religions, seek spiritual fulfillment in various forms of witchcraft. In fact, so numerous are the forms of witchcraft that people disagree even on the meaning of the word â€Å"witch.† However, professed witches often identify with Wicca—defined in one dictionary as â€Å"a pagan nature religion having its roots in pre-Christian Western Europe and undergoing a 20th-century revival.† (Sabin, 2006, 15) Consequently, many also refer to themselves as pagans or neo-pagans.Throughout history, witches have been hated, persecuted, tortured, even slain. Little wonder that modern practitioners of witchcraft are eager to improve their image. In one survey, dozens of witches were asked what message they most wanted to express to the public. Their answer, summarized by researcher Margot Adler, was: â€Å"We are not evil. We do not worship the Devil. We don’t harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. We are not weird. .  .  . You don’t have to be afraid of us. .  .  . We are much more similar to you than you think.† (Dunwich, 2000, 31)Witchcraft is prevalent in different parts of Africa. In South Africa, for example, witch doctors exert great power, and people take them very seriously. Recent cases reported in the press were of mobs burning alive people who were accused of causing lightning to strike fellow villagers!(Ai dan, 1991, 81) The local witch doctors accused innocent victims of these â€Å"unnatural† acts and then tied them to a tree to be burned. Such belief in sorcery or magic is likewise a worship of demons.However, witchcraft is not confined to Africa. In 1985, Herbert D.  Dettmer, serving a prison sentence at a correctional center in Virginia, U.S.A., was granted the right by the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to have access to clothing and articles so that he could practice his religion in prison. And what was his religion? According to the court record, he was a member of â€Å"the Church of Wicca (more commonly known as witchcraft).† (Sabin, 2006, 19)Consequently, Dettmer had the legal right to use in his worship sulfur, sea salt, or uniodized salt; candles; incense; a clock with an alarm; and a white robe.(Sabin, 2006, 88)   Yes, according to the indications, witchcraft is widespread in the West. The British newspaper Manchester Guardian Weekl y reported: â€Å"Five years ago, there were thought to be some 60,000 witches in Britain: today [1985] the number is estimated by some witches to have grown to 80,000. Prediction, the monthly magazine for astrology and the occult, has a circulation of 32,000.† (Aidan, 1991, 77)Proposal of Research DiscussionWith much history behind it witchcraft or Wicca, as noted to be its collective term, has so much to do with the culture of the people who originally developed the said pagan belief. Human interest on the said matter though never ceased to improve through the years. Today, the said pagan belief is even already considered as religion that is practiced by a certain group of people who are considered by many as a group of extraordinary individuals who could actually us magical powers.Mistakenly, media has presented the culture of Wiccan rituals to be fascinating and exceptionally accepted within the human society. Sad to say though, not all those media presentations depict th e real sense of Wiccan practices.This is the reason why the researcher of this paper aims to propose the study that would deal with the different issues regarding Wicca, its rituals, its practices, its beliefs and the culture behind it so as to be able to give a clearer view about the matter thus giving a much better understanding of the different arguments presented by many researchers regarding its validity as a religion and its authority as a major practice of human culture within the societies that it has already affected.Contrary to that stereotype, many modern self-proclaimed witches seem like ordinary people. Some are respected professionals, such as lawyers, teachers, writers, and nurses. There has been a worldwide resurgence of religious movements that seem to border on the occult, such as nature religions and neo-paganism. â€Å"You can go anywhere in Russia these days and witchcraft is a daily part of life,† said a police officer in that country. (Aidan, 1991, 54) The United States is home to an estimated 50,000 to 300,000 witches, or â€Å"Wiccans,† as some call themselves.Today the word â€Å"witch† is often used loosely and can mean different things to different people. The modern growth of witchcraft seems to be primarily related to a strain of goddess-worshiping, nature-based religion with a strong belief in psychic powers. Some witches are solitary—they practice their rituals alone, observing the change of seasons, phases of the moon, and other natural phenomena. Others worship and cast their spells in a coven, a group usually of 13 witches.It is true that in the West, public perception of witchcraft today is radically different from the attitudes that fostered the witch-burning of the Middle Ages. Sporadically, however, there are still outbursts of wanton violence against witches. For example, in early October 1998 in Indonesia, machete-wielding gangs lynched more than 150 people suspected of being witches. In Sout h Africa more than 2,000 cases of violence against witches, including 577 killings, were reported between 1990 and 1998. (Alupoaicei,2008, 21) In the face of such extremes—ranging from interest in witchcraft to hatred of witches- the present generation of humans remain fascinated about the mystery behind the said idea of religious affiliation that many are already a part of.Why the continuous growth of interest among the human population? What impels people to practice modern witchcraft? They claim that one factor is a reverence for nature and life. Some, in fact, are eager to explain that their worship does not include the sacrificing of animals in their rituals. Others say that they dabble in witchcraft as part of a search for people with whom they can share openness, trust, and common spiritual interests. â€Å"Everyone I know in the pagan movement is so friendly and open .  .  . They’re wonderful people,† says a modern witch (Alupoaicei, 2008, 91). And m any deny any involvement with Satan, asserting that there is  no all-evil deity in their religious structure.For many of them, the primary reason for becoming witches is a sense of spiritual emptiness and disenchantment with mainstream religions. Speaking of her coven, Phyllis Curott, a Wiccan high priestess, says: â€Å"All of us were dissatisfied with the teachings and practices of the religions with which we had been raised.† (Cunningham, 1993, 71) Modern witches, Curott explains, try to answer questions such as, ‘How can we rediscover the sacred?’ But is witchcraft the path to genuine spirituality?Certainly, through the research process that shall be handled within this study, the particular understanding of the different questions that are related to the validity of the practice of Wicca and the primary reasons why the said group of believers are viewed by the societies that they are living with. It is from this particular study that the clarification of s uch issues could be noted to be given. With the use of the different authenticated literature sources, this study is expected to give a clarified explanation of the different factors that contribute to the existence and reputation of the Wicca group in the humans society today.ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYArin Murphy-Hiscock. (2005). Solitary Wicca For Life: Complete Guide to Mastering the Craft on Your Own. Provenance Press; 2 edition.The author of this reading focus on explaining the different issues that are related to the developments of Wicca practices from then up until the present years of human generation. Considerably, such practices are actually presented by the author as they compare from the earlier years of Wiccan practice towards the modern day rituals that they are doing.This would be much helpful for the research in explaining the different truths behind the developments of Wicca as the years of human generation advances and the progress of human culture continues to evolve .Scott Cunningham. (1993). Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Includes Authors Book of Shadows). Llewellyn Publications.A book based both on the personal experiences of the author himself and the explanations behind why and what the practices of the Wiccan affiliation do is the primary feature of this book. Likely the author wants to point out that understanding the said practices would give the observers a much in depth understanding of the beliefs of those practicing Wicca.This would be helpful in presenting the real base of Wicca and how people living within the said practice actually fare in their lives.Thea Sabin. (2006). Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy ; Practice (For Beginners (Llewellyns)). Llewellyn Publications.This book explains the basic explanations behind the Wiccan practice. Likely the idea of the author is to share a little light on how the practices of Wicca are actually useful to the human society if used well for better purposes.Gerina D unwich. (2000). The Wicca Spellbook: A Witchs Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions, and Recipes. Citadel publishing.This gives a better view of the major spells and rituals that Wiccan believers are using to practice their religion. Likely, the said practices are presented in a way that they become more practical for the regular person’s use. This book is more of an instructional approach as to how Wicca becomes a practical source human power for several reasons that people may be interested in.Kelly, Aidan (May 1991). Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939-1964. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.The art of magic has been presented by media as a simple matter that could be used by anyone who wants. Understandably though, magic, in this book, is presented as a certain source of extraordinary power that could only be used by the people who are able to use the said practice in a correct way.Marla Alupoaicei. (2008). Generation Hex: Understandi ng the Subtle Dangers of Wicca.   Harvest House Publishers.This reading shows the more negative side of the practices and rituals of Wicca. Many of the practices and rituals associated with modern witchcraft are strikingly similar to the uncanny aspects of Satanism. Hence, even so-called innocent curiosity can easily lead to occultism. Indeed, many have fallen prey to Satan’s evil influence in this way.Not to be ignored is the fact that occasionally practioners of modern witchcraft are drawn to it because they are hungry for power or revenge. â€Å"There are people who can call themselves witches and use it for fiendish purposes,† said Jennifer, a modern witch. In any event, both benign and vengeful witches are in danger of coming completely under the control of Satan and the demons.

Italians essays

Italians essays Where did the people come from? Food Famous Person Why did they leave their country? Religion What areas of North America did they settle? Music Why did they settle where they did in North America? Language Most of the Italians who came to North America in the 1800's were from southern Italy. In the 1800's life was hard for Italians in in southern Italy. The country was going through a time of policatal troubles, and crop failures had caused widespread starvation. The Italians wanted to get better jobs and have a better way of life. What areas of North America did they settle? Although most Itailians had been farmers in Italy, when they came to North America they settled in cities such as New York City, the port where most Itailains arrived. Others went to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and to Canada in Montreal and Toronto. Why did they settle where they did in North America? Many of the Italians who stayed in New York worked in construction or railway companies or on docks. Most of the Italians had no job training and little education so they had trouble getting jobs. They would take any of the jobs they could find. In New York three quarters of the laborers in the construction industry were Italians. Many of them built the New York Subway. When North Americans think of Italians food, they usually think of pizza and spagettie. However, Italian cooking is much more varied. Each region of Italy has its own specialities and cooking styles, depending on the local ingrediants that are avaiable. Some of the food and drink that many North Americans enjoy today, such as pizza, and a type of strong coffee, called espresso, were brought by Italians. Italian food was unknown in North America before the arrival of the Italian immagrants. Today, Italian ...

Understanding Earth and its History

Understanding Earth and its History We live in an interesting time that allows us to explore the solar system with robotic probes. From Mercury to Pluto (and beyond), we have eyes on the sky to tell us about those distant places. Our spacecraft also explore Earth from space and show us the incredible diversity of landforms our planet contains. Earth-observing platforms measure our atmosphere, climate, weather, and study the existence and effects of life on all the planets systems. The more scientists learn about Earth, the more they can understand its past and its future.   The name of our planet comes from an Old English and Germanic term eorà °e. In Roman mythology, the Earth goddess was Tellus, which means the fertile soil, while the Greek goddess was Gaia, terra mater, or Mother Earth. Today, we call it Earth and are working to study all its systems and features.   Earths Formation Earth was born  some 4.6 billion years ago as an interstellar cloud of gas and dust coalesced to form the Sun and rest of the solar system. This is the birth process for all stars in the universe. The Sun formed at the center, and the planets were accreted from the rest of the material. Over time, each planet migrated to its present position orbiting the Sun. The moons, rings, comets, and asteroids were also part of solar system formation and evolution. Early Earth, like most of the other worlds, was a molten sphere at first. It cooled and eventually its oceans formed from water contained in the planetesimals that made the infant planet. Its also possible that comets played a role in seeding Earths water supplies.   The first life on Earth arose some 3.8 billion years  ago, most likely in tidal pools or on the seabeds. It consisted of single-celled organisms. Over time, they evolved to become more complex plants and animals. Today the planet hosts millions of species of different life forms and more are being discovered as scientists probe the deep oceans and polar ices. Earth itself has evolved, too. It began as a molten ball of rock and eventually cooled. Over time, its crust formed plates. The continents and oceans ride those plates, and the motion of the plates is what rearranges the larger surface features on the planet. The known contents of Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North and South America, Central America, and Australia, are not the only ones Earth has had. Earlier continents are hidden underwater, such as Zealandia in the south Pacific.   How Our Perceptions of Earth Changed Early philosophers once put Earth at the center of the universe. Aristarchus of Samos, in the 3rd century B.C.E., figured out how to measure the distances to the Sun and Moon, and determined their sizes. He also concluded that Earth orbited the Sun, an unpopular view until Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published his work called  On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres  in 1543. In that treatise, he suggested a heliocentric theory that Earth was NOT the center of the solar system but instead orbited the Sun. That scientific fact came to dominate astronomy and has since been proven by any number of missions to space. Once the Earth-centered theory had been put to rest, scientists got down to studying our planet and what makes it tick. Earth is composed primarily of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, nickel, sulfur, and titanium. Just over 71% of its surface is covered with water. The atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with traces of argon, carbon dioxide, and water. People once thought Earth was flat, but that idea was put to rest early in our history, as scientists measured the planet, and later on as high-flying aircraft and spacecraft returned images of a round world. We know today that Earth is a slightly flattened sphere measuring 40,075  kilometers around at the equator. It takes 365.26 days to make one trip around the Sun (commonly called a year) and is 150 million kilometers away from the Sun. It orbits in the Suns Goldilocks zone, a region where liquid water can exist on the surface of a rocky world.   Earth has only one natural satellite, the Moon at a distance of 384,400 km, with a radius of 1,738 kilometers and a mass of 7.32 Ãâ€" 1022  kg. Asteroids 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29 have complicated orbital relationships with the Earth; theyre not really moons, so astronomers use the word companion to describe their relationship with our planet.   Earths Future Our planet will not last forever. In about five to six billion years,  the Sun will begin to swell up to become a red giant star. As its atmosphere expands, our aging star will engulf the inner planets, leaving behind scorched cinders. The outer planets may become more temperate, and some of their moons could sport liquid water on their surfaces, for a time. This is a popular meme in science fiction, giving rise to stories of how humans will ultimately migrate away from Earth, settling perhaps around Jupiter or even seeking out new planetary homes in other star systems. No matter what humans do to survive, the Sun will become a white dwarf, slowly shrinking and cooling over 10-15 billion years. Earth will be long gone.   Edited and expanded by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Cultural Diversity and Globalization Case Study - 4

Cultural Diversity and Globalization - Case Study Example Hofstede’s cultural dimensions can be used to explain the cultural differences between the two countries. These differences are very important as they are the main cause why Euro Disneyland failed despite its huge name and publicity. The dimensions of culture are very well known in organizational behavior and sociology. They include power distance, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity (Kwintessential, 2010).The first dimension is power distance. It is defined as the extent of belief in the inequality or equality of distribution of power in the society. The countries that have high power distance exhibit acceptance with regards to the inequalities of people. In these countries, people conform to the powerful and follow orders. Countries like China, Mexico and India. In these countries, we can witness disparity in incomes and power. The countries that have low power distance exhibit equality. In these countries, power is equally distributed in the society. The United States of America, Austria and Norway have low power distance. We can see less disparity of incomes and power in these countries.France has a relatively high power distance than the United States of America. This means that people of France accept, to a certain extent, inequality of power. For this reason, Euro Disneyland should have special rights for people in France and ‘rules are for all’ strategy is not appropriate for France. The second dimension is individualism. Countries that have high individualism, people there care about themselves and family only. Low individualistic or collectivist countries have people that care about the extended family and the whole clan. These countries lack personal initiative and people are dependent on family. The United States of America is a highly individualistic country. Personal values of the people are strong. France is relatively less individualistic and people still care about their families. The degree of individualism is less in France than in the United States of America where people have relatively strong family values.

Early Childhood Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Early Childhood Education - Essay Example This report stresses that money is available through local authorities to fund free early education especially for children in great social need. This is the same as the system used in Norway where grants from the state and local authorities are channeled through general-purpose grants scheme. Barnehager are funded by the state in conjunction with the local authorities and the parents. In Canada, funding for early childhood system covers only children in the kindergarten (5 year olds). Unlike other countries like Italy, Spain, Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland and so forth where 4 year olds are provided for. In England, Early years teaching qualifications are nationally recognized thereby providing career advancement. The Qualification and Curriculum Authority as well as the NSTO are charged with the responsibility of training and the responsibilities for training and qualifications for early years. This paper makes a conclusion that the development of the early childhood education in England has come a long way. Great progress has been achieved in terms of creating an affordable form of education and childcare to children and families. Much effort has gone into making these services accessible, and of high quality. Many years of dedication to research in this sector are now bearing fruit in terms of quality output. The state has responded positively and has provided resources and leadership in ensuring that the work started many years ago by men and women of vision benefits entire communities.

Cooking to Become a Chef Essay Example for Free

Cooking to Become a Chef Essay Cooking for me is my way of expressing myself. It gives me a chance as a person to show my friends and family what I’m good at and what I love to do. I haven’t always enjoyed the art of cooking. With cooking, I have learned to prepare different types of meals using different methods, ingredients, a potpourri of equipment and seasonings. Food seasoning is a personal trademark you create and eventually it classifies you to either be prominent as a chef or just a plain Jane Suzy homemaker who cooks for her family only for the fact that we all need to eat. Experimenting is what got me where I am at today. My mother was a diabetic so the meals were prepared with a bland taste, no seasonings, with just a tad bit of pepper, nothing more. When I started cooking I hated it for the simple fact I didn’t know how. I had to follow recipes even for macaroni and cheese. It wasn’t until I met my husband and his family that I started to enjoy cooking because the meals were starting to taste better and I was learning how to make them taste better. He and his family slowly taught me how to cook and when to use seasoning and how much to use. At first, my meals were a work in progress. As the years went on, I have learned to use my eyes and taste buds for measuring cups and spoons. That’s what helps create your own â€Å"cooking signature†. As you learn to cook, you learn to shy away from some or all of the exact measurements in order to create your signature. For some, cooking is just another everyday back breaking chore, a necessity to always haven to follow a recipe, precisely measuring each ingredient, to the point of the great inventor of the microwave ovens. For others it comes natural, a passion they thrive to live on by creating their own â€Å"cooking signature†. Coming to mind are a couple of brilliant and extraordinary chefs that are indulgingly reliable. These two men have countless awards, degrees, own restaurants, shows and cookbooks to show and prove their overwhelming credibility’s. They are Wolfgang puck and Bobby Flay. Neither of the two were born to cook, none of us are. Some talents came naturally while the rest they learned and were taught. Both men attended Le Cordon Bleu and both men are featured on the food network. I may not have earned any degrees or awards such as a Michelin star or chef of the year and did not attend a culinary institute like they have, however, my cooking now exceeds my friends and families expectations. The qualities of an excellent educational resource would have to include tips and the breakdowns of recipes or step by step instructions for them. Pictures or video tutorials are also very helpful to one who’s learning the art of cooking. Tutorials show you step by step from preparing to serving the dish or meal. I have found two out of thousands of resources that have all the educational resources needed as well as countless credibility and qualifications to help you succeed as a prominent chef. These two would be, Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary institute and the Food Network a television show on cable and the food network also has a very useful website, www. foodnetwork. com . The food network website is filled with a massive amount of information that is accurate and full of every resource there is needed for and about cooking. The food network is a unique lifestyle network and Web site that endeavors to be more than just cooking. The network is devoted to exploring new and different ways to tackle food through pop culture, contests, adventure, and travel while also increasing its repertoire of technique-based information. Food Network is strewed to more than 96 million U. S. households and averages more than seven million Web site users monthly. With its headquarters in New York City and branches in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Knoxville, Food Network can be seen internationally in Canada, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Monaco, Andorra, Africa, France, and the French-speaking territories in the Caribbean and Polynesia. Le Cordon Bleu, www. LeCordonBleu. com, is an extremely accredited culinary institute. The school is constantly keeping their courses up to date and actively adapting to current and future needs of culinary services. The schools graduates leave the school with a diploma that is acknowledged around the world. That has been proven by both Flay and Puck. The culinary institute is solely dedicated to the appreciation and mastery of culinary arts to the their students who study there from over 70 countries around the world. This is where I would want to further my culinary learning, to gain more knowledge; they are one of the top culinary institutes. Qualifications of the resources should include Awards, culinary degrees, owning of their own restaurants with worldwide recognition. They should be well respected, well known with credibility too. Trademarks and copyrights also makes these resources important and credible. We want to make sure our resources are also current and up to date. However, cooking has been a part of our lives undoubtedly forever. Resources such as cookbooks are for the most part revised after some time, but not always. So see, there are numerous and countless educational and reliable resources out there for everyone, from beginner to expert. With a little bit of research one could capture the success of becoming an artistic cook. Learning new ideas and tricks, or just wanting to better yourself in your own kitchen, whatever the case may be, No one should ever have to struggle with cooking. With a little bit of patients anyone can learn how to cook.

America Has Been A World Power Essay -- essays research papers

America has been a world power for as long as anyone can remember. But how did it become what it is today? Through decades of racism and greed! Our country is one of the most racist country’s there has ever been! But without it America would be nothing like it is today. Slavery made America and racism made it grow. America has proven itself to be a selfish, greedy, and racist country. The 1840s were years of extraordinary territorial growth for the United States. During a four year period, our American territory was increased by 1.2 million square miles, a gain of more than sixty percent. The expansion of our country was so rapid, that it came to be seen as an inexorable process, prompting many Americans to insist that their nation had a "manifest destiny" to dominate the continent. The expansionist plans was never a clearly defined movement, or one that enjoyed broad support. Some party leaders greatly opposed territorial growth, and even expansionist Democrats argued about how much new land should be acquired, and by what means. Some supporters of Manifest Destiny favored rapid expansion and bold pursuit of American territorial claims, even at the risk of war with other nations. Others believed that the land would voluntarily submit to the benefits of the republic. In an often-used metaphor of the day, these regions would ripen like fruit and fall into the lap of the United States. The champions of Manifest Destiny were at best a motley collection of interest groups, motivated by greed and the continues want for more. There are several reasons why the united states decided to expand. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, many Americans believed that the rapid growth would cause an economical downfall . But such vast distances were quickly being conquered by technological innovations. Although the United States had no shortage of unoccupied lands, expansionists argued that the republic must continue to grow in order to survive. Using the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, they viewed a great region of land as the mainstay of a growing republic, and warned against the concentration of political and economic power. Troubled by creeping urbanization a... ...Mexico, whose government, Polk incorrectly believed, was acting in concert with Great Britain to thwart U.S. territorial ambitions. Although Polk insisted that the United States was not waging a war of conquest, critics accused the president of manufacturing a war to seize California and New Mexico. In the months following the war, Polk also considered extending U.S. sovereignty over the Yucatan peninsula and Cuba, two regions which he believed were vulnerable to encroachments from the British. These initiatives received little support in Congress, however, and were abandoned shortly before Polk stepped down from office. In the 1850s, having established itself as a transcontinental empire, the United States ceased to regard British activities in the western hemisphere with alarm. Preoccupied with the increasingly bitter sectional conflict over slavery, many Americans rejected Manifest Destiny. Although southern extremists would sponsor filibuster expeditions into Latin America with the objective of gaining new lands to extend the slave empire, the expansionist movement faded from the national agenda in the years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

A Comprehensive Time-Series Analysis Essay

The report is mainly focused on the structural time series model as it is applied as a means of portraying the structural behavior of life insurance demand. The study is focused on the impact of selected variables including the price level, revenue, interest rate, seemingly perpetual joblessness and population on life insurance demand. Problem The importance of life insurance companies has increased significantly over the past several years. However, despite this remarkable rise, there is little that is known about the structural behavior of the demand for the products and services offered by life insurance companies, and what external factors drive this demand. The problem of this study aims to tackle is the behavior of life insurance demand within a period of deregulation and reform that is existing within the industry, also exploring the relationship between demand and a specified set of explanatory variables over this time. Feasibility This project has the prospect of being highly feasible. Although there is very little research with regards to life insurance there are extant research conducted pertaining to life insurance and other kinds of insurance in other regions of the world (e. g. Southeast Asia) that is similar in several aspects to our study. Aside from this, the proponents of this research are leaders in the field of life insurance and as such their study is heavily grounded on years of experience and knowledge in the field. This shows the feasibility of such an endeavor. Audience The primary audience for this market study may be useful in assisting life insurance companies in the various facets that comprise their current corporate strategy for Life insurance. One of the cases that this paper can be applied is for the case of seasonal issues. Secondly, this research and similar research in this area can be of interest to other institutions that are similarly involved in life insurance. For example, it might be useful to generalize the results of the comparison of forecasting models to other categories of financial intermediaries such as banks and monetary agencies providing aid in life insurance issues. Topics to investigate This report intends to examine clearly the following areas pertinent to Life Insurance: †¢ Provide a very innovative perspective to the study of life insurance demand. †¢ Determine the relationship between the cyclical and trend components of demand and the specified set of economic variables affecting life insurance. Determine whether insurance demand is stochastic using an singular variation model o Determine if life insurance demand has a deterministic seasonal component attached to it existing within the first quarter of each year of the sample period and a relative fall during the fourth quarter of the year. †¢ Utilize a seemingly unrelated time series model in order to test for the presence of common factors. †¢ Investigate the forecasting power of the singular variation model when it is opposed to the multivariate model that includes explanatory variables Methods/Procedure In an effort to provide an original perspective towards the study of life insurance demand and overcome inadequacies in previous research, this study employs the structural time series model. As opposed to traditional methods, this methodology is based on representing explicitly the components of a series. While these components cannot be observed directly their usefulness can be found in an economic point of view. This paper is based on a sample of quarterly, seasonally unadjusted insurance data covering the period between the second quarter of 1980 and the fourth quarter of 2003 that results in 90 total observations. The main advantage of using quarterly data, as opposed to annual data, is that it allows us to address possible seasonal fluctuations appropriately. Qualifications/Facilities/Resources The researchers of this study are esteemed experts in the field. Part of the group hails from a college institution under the Department of Economics and Finance. The rest are expert leaders in the field of life insurance and are employed in multinational commercial insurance companies. The group is knowledgeable in the statistical method to be used and have been involved both directly and indirectly in the creation of research pertinent to Life insurance.

Adaptive effectiveness Essay

The business environment is dynamic and changes constantly thus making it complex. As a result, our understanding of the environment and ability to predict its response to management actions becomes limited. In conjunction with the changing social values, a knowledge gap emerges which results in ambiguity regarding the most appropriate way to manage an organization. Despite the ambiguity, managers have to make decisions and implement organizational plans. An adaptive model of management therefore comes into perspective in providing a proper way for managers to proceed sensibly with their decisions and plans in the face of uncertainties (Nyberg, 1999). An adaptive model of management can be valuable to organizations in testing, refining and improving their policies and objectives. Despite the fact that development and implementation of organizational policies and objectives is based on the best available information and expertise, the organization is required to implement numerous new and experimental strategies. See more:  Masters of Satire: John Dryden and Jonathan Swift Essay In such situations, the organization is faced with questions regarding how best to implement the strategies such that they are aligned with its objectives and the best actions for the implementation (Nyberg, 1999). In addressing such questions effectively, an adaptive model offers the most appropriate approach. An adaptive model of management entails â€Å"integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically test assumptions in order to adapt and learn† (Salafsky, Margoluis & Redford, 2001). A comprehensive research is incorporated into conservation action to ensure the model is effective and produces best results. Moreover, the model seeks to use management intercession as a tool to examine the functioning of the ecosystem through testing of its key hypothesis (Resilience Alliance, 2010). Uncertainties are first identified and methodologies for testing their hypotheses are established. In addition to management being utilized as a tool for changing the system, it is also used as a tool for learning about the system. This paper seeks to explore the Model of Accessing Adaptive Effectiveness in organizations and its role in the realization of organizational success. The appreciative inquiry approach, a technique that supplements the adaptive model, will be examined as a result of its influence on organizational changes. Moreover, in probing the adaptive model, business impact assessment is crucial in evaluating the changes realized and their effects on the organization’s position. This paper will therefore examine the features of this model and its impact on organizational changes.

Patriot Act essays

Patriot Act essays Under the new Patriot Act, the Attorney General can subject an immigrant to mandatory detention only by certifying that an alien is likely to engage in or support a bad act. This detention would be mandatory even for immigrants who have been granted asylum. If these detainees are not allowed an opportunity to contest and challenge their likelihood of engaging in dangerous terrorist activities, they will be stuck in these centers. Another problem is the lack of space and the increasing number of detainees. From the year 1994 to 2001, the average daily detention population has more than tripled, from 5,532 to 19,533. At this rate, there will be more and more detainees. Where is the INS planning to house all these people? What is the INS going to do with the detainees if they do not pose a threat to Americas security? What is the INS going to do with the children who have been detained in these less than desirable conditions? Another problem is that it is an enormous strain on both INS and taxpayers to lock up people who do not pose as danger to our nations security, and it is also a waste of space, and it deprives the INS to make the best use of its limited detention space. INS does not have the capacity in both space and structure to imprison every person who comes through the system. This is not a problem that INS can outgrow or easily resolve. INS is currently dependant on local and state jails to lock up the increasing number of detainees. This has a highly devastating impact on the detainees, including the asylum seekers who are unfortunately locked up with the criminal population in these jails. Additional growth of detainees will only intensify these problems. One possible way to resolve this situation is to place a concept of supervised release as an option to mandatory detention (This concept was earlier proposed by Professor Margaret Taylor ). It is a waste of both time and space to i ...

Summer Word List for Writing Prompts or Worksheets

Summer Word List for Writing Prompts or Worksheets Children can forget a lot over the long summer vacation, which can last up to three months. To keep their skills fresh, help them retain what they have learned, and get them ready for the next school year, give them over-the-summer assignments containing summer-related words. Matching vocabulary to the fun summer vacation activities and topics will heighten student interest. Use this summer word list to create many summer activities such as worksheets, writing prompts, word walls, word searches, journal writing, and mini lists for students to memorize, either as sight words or using flashcards. The words are grouped in sections by alphabetical order to make it easier to find just the vocabulary you are seeking. Air Conditioning to Cooler Summer months tend to be hot, so terms like air conditioning and cooler are sure to be on students minds. But, there are also fun words associated with the season, such as amusement parks, baseball, beach, and berries- which are all prevalent during the summer.   Use these terms to create a  summer word search or crossword puzzle. The linked example printables can give you ideas and help get you started, or use the free worksheets, which contain some of the words on this list as well as other summer-related terms. Air ConditioningAmusement ParkApplesAugustBackpackBallBaseballBeachBerriesBucketCampingCarnivalCooler Daisy to Grasshoppers Kids love plants and insects, so tie these words in to  free science printables, which cover those topics as well as oceanography-related terms. Or use patriotic words, such as Fourth of July and flag, as writing prompts. Instruct students to write a short paragraph or essay (depending on their ages and ability levels) on what they plan to do on the Fourth of July or what the American flag represents and why they think its important. Alternatively, have students maintain a small garden (with their parents help) and keep a daily or weekly journal about their experiences. Who knows? They may even see a grasshopper or two along the way. DaisyDivingFamilyFarmFerris wheelFlagFlowersFourth of JulyFriendsFrisbeeGamesGardenGatheringsGrassGrasshoppers Hat to Shovel Use any or all of the words in this section to create a word wall. Type or print the words in big, bold letters on sheets of construction paper, and hang the words at various locations throughout the class, or create a bulletin board dedicated to these terms. Have each student draw a picture related to an assigned word, or have each of your older students write a paragraph about an assigned word or two. HatHikingHolidayHotHumidIce CreamJoyJulyJuly FourthJuneLightningOceanOutdoorsOutsideParkPicnicPlayingPopsicleRelaxRoseSandalsSandcastleSeaSeashoreSeasonShortsShovel Sidewalk Chalk to Zoo Buy some sidewalk chalk; then have students go outside and draw a picture of one of the assigned words or a scene featuring several words. (Make sure you get the principals permission first.) You can have students do this individually or in groups. Then, take pictures using smartphones, go back inside (or find a nice shady spot), and discuss the scenes or images students have drawn. Send the list of words in this section home with students and ask them to write a short paragraph over the summer using some of the words, based on the activities they participated in during the season. Students are sure to come back in the fall, excited to share their stories, which include their summer words. Sidewalk ChalkSnorkelSportsStarsStrawberriesSummerSunSunburnSundressSunflowerSunglassesSunhatSunnySunscreenSwimSwim TrunksSwimsuitTanThunderThunderstormTravelTripTubeVacationVisitWater ParkWater skiWatermelonWavesZoo

Trusts and Equity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Trusts and Equity - Coursework Example Trustees of Trust have many responsibilities in the exercising of their duties as a trustee. The areas that often posses most difficulties for trustees and is most often misinterpreted, in this area of investment. The Trustee Act 1956 followed an approach of a permitted legal list can be amended from time to time by the new categories if investment. However even though there are no restrictions on the type of investment the trustees can make. There is a general requirement that a trustee exercising any power of investment shall exercise the care, diligence and skill that a prudent person of business the affair of authors. Adam and Beth should consider to take the investment idea that investment advisor have proposed to them. They can invest in stock exchange in order to reduce the risk for losing a lot of money in their investment. The act allows the trustees to invest in any asset as if they were absolutely entitled. The power to invest can be overridden or amended by any investment powers in the trust deed. Typically, these allow trustees to invest in a wide range of investment such as life assurance products, deposits and shares. When selecting investment like investing in shares, the trustees are required to regard the standard vestment criteria that the investment should be suitable and diversified. In order to meet the requirement of the Trustee amendment Act, it is strongly recommended that trustee should work with qualified financial planner who has experience in trustee investment. It should be noted that the investment strategy applied to the trust assets like those shares that Adam and Beth have in that private company can be significantly different than that for an individual. This is because a trust can have different classes of beneficiaries such as income beneficiaries and capital beneficiaries. Modern trusts tend to be fully discretionary trust which will require the trustees to carefully balance all the interest of their beneficiaries.

Policy Choices under IFRS in UK and German Context Essay

Policy Choices under IFRS in UK and German Context - Essay Example The present research has identified that after the mandatory adoption of IFRS by the public listed companies in 2005-06 especially in the Euro zone, the companies develop their financial statements in accordance with the guideline provided by the IFRS. IFRS, however, allows different policy choices for the companies to make. For example, in measuring the inventory, IFRS has provided a policy choice of measuring inventory amount on the basis of either FIFO method or on weighted average method. Similarly, some other choices have also been framed by IFRS to the companies, like they can value their property, plant and equipment either on cost model or revaluation model etc. Nobes studied this area of research and outlined 16 policy choices that are mostly available to the companies. The four choices have been eliminated from this analysis as some of them are industry specific and some of them are commonly used by every company no matter in which industry they operate. The rest of twelve policy choices do have some issues with them as some organizations do not disclose their policies at times. The most common examples are of â€Å"investment property† and â€Å"inventory† such that in relation to investment property, organizations do not disclose whether these investment properties are valued at cost or fair value, and in case of inventories, organizations at times do not disclose whether the inventories are valued at FIFO method or weighted average method. ... ing pro?t (b) no such line 3 (a) equity accounting results included in ‘operating’ (b) immediately after (c) after ?nance 4 (a) balance sheet shows assets = credits (b) showing net assets 5 (a) liquidity decreasing in balance sheet (cash at top) (b) liquidity increasing 6 (a) Statement of Changes in Equity, including dividends and share issues (b) SORIE, not including them 7 (a) direct operating cash ?ows (b) indirect 8 (a) dividends received shown as operating cash ?ow (b) as investing 9 (a) interest paid shown as operating cash ?ow (b) as ?nancing 10 (a) only cost for PPE (b) some fair value 11 (a) investment property at cost (b) at fair value 12 (a) some designation of ?nancial assets at fair value (b) none 13 (a) capitalisation of interest on construction (b) expensing 14 (a) FIFO for inventory cost (b) weighted average 15 (a) actuarial gains and losses to SORIE (b) to income in full (c) corridor 16 (a) proportional consolidation of some joint ventures (b) only equit y method The following table reflects the 6 big corporations of UK which represents their policy choices of IFRS. Policy Changes GSK Astra Zeneca BAE British Airways Rolls Royce SAB Miller Total Percentage 1 (a) income statement by function 1 1 1 1 1 5 83.33% (b) by nature    1 1 16.67%    (c) Neither                   0 0.00% 2 (a) inclusion of a line for EBIT or operating profit 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100.00%    (b) no such line                   0 0.00% 3 (a) equity accounting results of associates and joint ventures included in ‘operating’    1 1 16.67% (b) immediately after    0 0.00%    (c) after finance 1    1 1 1 1 5 83.33% 4 (a) balance sheet showing assets = credits    1 1 16.67%    (b) showing net assets 1 1 1    1 1 5 83.33% 5 (a) liquidity decreasing (cash at top)    0 0.00%    (b) liquidity

Design an Early Childhood Education Website Essay

Design an Early Childhood Education Website - Essay Example This is a key and significant trend in the early childhood education and if this trend is not addressed properly then the rate of dropouts will increase drastically. â€Å"In 2002, then President George Bush passed into law the No Child Left Behind(NCLB) Act, which sought to improve the academic performance of disadvantaged student.† (Bird, 2013) Early literacy: Another key trend associated with the childhood education is early literacy. Generally the first association of kids with books, stories as well as their first significant attempt to write something generally happens within first 3 years. So it is also responsibility of the parents as well to ensure that there is a significant amount of interest of among the kids related to books, study as well as writing. Reggio Emilia Approach: In discussion of early childhood education. The Reggio Emilia Approach is one of the key trend associated with early childhood education and wasfirst introduced in the year of 1940. Followings are the key features associated with this approach: The ever changing political, social status of the world society has its impact on the early child education system in the world. If one consider the same from an integrated approach, that is considering child education and care together, there are 2 separate phenomenon associated with the early child education program: The second one is the less apparent one associated with various kinds of cultural, political and economic events which strongly influenced the adaptation of relatively integrated approach discussed earlier to ensure early childhood education. (Haddad, 2006) This approach is most modern one and is developed on the basis of research and analysis of the child care service model and preschool education model. The main focus of this new model is to remove the inconsistencies associated with

Jasmin Vardimon Company

Jasmin Vardimon Company Jasmin Vardimon Company (JVC) is one of Britains most pioneering physical dance theatre companies, creating work that excites both the eye and the mind by pushing the boundaries of human physicality whilst engaging in universal, contemporary themes that strike an emotional chord.[1] In this piece of work I will be discussing one of Britains leading Contemporary Choreographers, Jasmin Vardimon. I will discuss her history, how she rose from the Kibbutz in Israel, to become one of the most influential and dynamic choreographers in Britain today. I will discuss her companys origin, her most important work to date, achievements and awards that she has received and how she is influencing the contemporary dance world in Britain and abroad today. Biography Born and raised on a Kibbutz in central Israel, Jasmin Vardimon has become a significant element within the British dance scene. Before turning to dance, Vardimon done military service at the age of 18 for two years, she also worked as a psychological interviewer, studying and interviewing people. She has made a name for herself throughout the years after first joining the Kibbutz Dance Company, which is one of Israels principal dance companies, before going on to win the British Council On the Way to London award in 1995.   After moving to London in 1997, Jasmin Vardimon founded her own company Zbang, which is now know as Jasmin Vardimon Company. Influences Throughout the past decade Jasmin Vardimon has developed a strong recognisable artistic voice in the contemporary world. Vardimons work is centred around the human behaviour, which is portrayed through the storyline of each piece. Vardmons choreography is Renowned for dynamic, funky and highly physical choreography that is thrilling to watch[2]. From personal experience of seeing Jasmin Vardimon show called Yesterday in the McRoberts Theatre, Stirling, I felt the performance was one of the few shows that I have seen, were I was unable to take my eyes off the dancers. The physical demands that the dancers face, such as the fluidity of the complex movements and how all the dancers have each series of sequences in perfect unison, also the way they were able to interpret each characters. The characterisation made the choreography and storyline so believable. In my opinion the show was absolutely breath taking. I read see and hear all the time and get influences from many little things, mostly from real life.[3] Human behaviour is a big influence in Jasmin Vardimons work, and this is strongly seen in her choreography. I believe that the psychological work that she did previous is one of her main inspiration when creating as she has a great understanding of the human psyche. Vardimons style merges together physical theatre and dance, with the outcome being energetic, explosive, beautiful with quirky character. Another influence in Jasmin Vardimons work is multimedia technology. In many of her works strong visual effects have been used to make the pieces come to life. Video recordings, video playback, special effects and complex lighting have been used to create the mood and atmosphere for the setting. When creating movement, Vardimon works hand in hand with her dancers giving them a chance to help create material, from which she will develop further, I work, a lot, with task orientated techniques so I would give [the dancers] a task and see how they react to my idea and then Ill take it from there.[4] Important works One of Jasmin Vardimons most important works to date I believe would have to be Yesterday. This production was choreographed for her company, Jasmin Vardimon Company, for their 10th anniversary tour, which began touring in Autumn 2008, and is still touring at present. YESTERDAY is a retrospective new piece featuring some of the most breath-taking duets, striking solos andiconic moments selected from the companys repertoire: Justitia, Park, Lullaby, Tà ªte, Lurelurelure and Ticklish.[5] As well as using material from those previous works, Vardimon has added in new highly convincing, exciting and complicated choreography to make the show come alive. With a wide range of multimedia technology being used to enhance the effect the audience will perceive, this show as having phenomenal reviews from critics. Jasmin Vardimon explains in an interview with Neil Nisbet in article 19, that this piece is not a new piece of work, but a collaboration of all her previous work she has done with her company Jasmin Vardimon Company, (JVC). As well as having and choreographing for her own company, Jasmin Vardimon has worked with many other companies Hellenic Dance (Athens), CandoCo, WID, Bare Bones, Transitions and curated the Dance Ballads Festival at the Oval House[7]. In 1998 Vardimon was Associate Artist at The place and from 1999 to 1005 she was a Yorkshire Dance Partner. She is currently Associate Artist at Sadlers Wells in London since 2006. During the past decade Jasmin Vardimon as receive numerous awards for her choreography and contribution to the contemporary dance world. Some of the many awards she has won are, Jerwood Choreography Award (2000), the London Art Board new Choreographers Award in 1998. She was also nominated for the Best Female Artist award at the Critics Circle National Dance Award in 2003. Jasmin Vardimon Company, is a international company performing in some of the highly profiled theatres around the world. The 10th anniversary tour is the biggest tour, the company has done to date, performing nationally and internationally in Europe and Asia. The company is based in Brighton though does not have a permanent residence there. The contribution Jasmin Vardimon is giving back to the contemporary world is through her educational outreach programme. There are two main workshops given, choreography and Repertoire, which is adapted for all levels. The workshops help to give dancers, amitoure and professional the chance to see how Vardimon works, also giving the dancers the chance to develop dance and theatre skills. The workshops can be tailored for the participants. They can be pure dance and physical theatre, or have a deeper look at social contents and problems such as bullying and illness. The workshops are run by members of the JVC giving the chance to learn first hand what its like to work in such a inspirational company. [1]http://www.jasminvardimon.com/media/press/JVC_Yesterday_PR.pdf,   PRESS RELEASE 15 July 2008 [2] www.Parktour.co.uk [3] http://www.londondance.com/content.asp?CategoryID=1509 [4] http://www.article19.co.uk/06/interview/jasmin_vardimon_1.php [5] http://www.jasminvardimon.com/productions.htm l [6] http://www.jasminvardimon.com/productions.html, The Times [7] http://www.jasminvardimon.com/who.html#jasmin bib http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-performance_in_profile-2009-british_council-jasmin_vardimon_company.htm http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Jasmin-Vardimon

The Stars Are My Destination :: essays research papers fc

The Stars My Destination Introduction '...The key turned in the lock of his soul and the door was opened. What emerged expunged the Common Man forever.'; The Stars My Destination ~pg 22 Gully Foyle. Uneducated. No skills. No merits. No recommendations. A short description given by the author Alfred Bester of his main character as the stereotypical Common Man of humanity. A man who later motivated himself to become something more than just a 'mere' man. Within the few pages of just the first chapter, Bester had pulled me into the diluted, freakish mind of Gully Foyle. the Story... As the story began, Gulliver Foyle was awaiting death aboard the wreckaged ship NOMAD in deep space. It's been six months since the NOMAD was left out to rust. Foyle just happened to be the sole survivor. Until one day, a sister ship to the NOMAD, VORGA managed to cross paths with the wreckage. Foyle did everything he could to send out rescue signals. But alas, his actions were wasted time and effort, for she had rejected him. And thus began his quest for vengeance upon the VORGA. As his ship drifted out further into space, Foyle had spent his entire time aboard not welcoming death anymore. Instead he was now obsessing himself with the destruction of VORGA. For the first time in his life, Foyle was now motivated. He felt the need to punish and there was nothing anybody could do. He had vowed to himself to fight anything that was a threat towards his plans to destroy the ship that could have saved him. While floating, into an asteroid belt, he was saved by the Scientific People of the Sargasso Asteroid. A tiny planet that was built by man. Primarily made of rock and two hundred years of salvaged ships. The tiny planet had made a new addition to their planet and population. It's rather ironic that of all people, Bester had decided to reverse the psychological role of scientists on this planet. He had turned the scientists into our definition of uncultivated savages in society. During his stay with the Scientific People, Foyle was forced into their society whether he liked it or not. They had given him a new name and tattoo across his face: NOMAD. Foyle knew he couldn't stay. He still had a score to settle and so he busted off the asteroid with a vengeance burning higher. After escaping the Sargasso Asteroid, Foyle was then picked up by the Navy and

Lord of The Rings/Kite Runner Compare and Contrast Essay

What objects do you associate innocence with? Marriage, virginity, a childhood toy? When we think of dominance we think of war; we think of negativity. When the phrase ‘parental influence’ comes to mind, we go to our mothers tucking us into bed and watching the game with our fathers—at least that is what us lucky ones think of. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that innocence stored forever, violent free lives, and a mother and father by our side.The Kite Runner and Lord of the Flies have many similarities, particularly when comparing themes such as loss of innocence, power and dominance, and paternal influences and the ways in which they are depicted through symbolism and irony. From the beginning of The Kite Runner Hoseinni showed innocence through Amir’s passion and longing for kites, but not any kite; Amir longed for the winning kite in the annual kite flying tournament. Kites were constantly present during Amir’s childhood. They were his good ness and his purity; the goodness and purity of Afghanistan at that time.Amir’s innocence was stolen by him when he was twelve-years-old by the neighborhood bully, Assef. Amir longed for the winning kite, but at the expense of his friend, Hassan: â€Å"But there were two things amid the garbage that I couldn’t stop looking at: One was the blue kite resting against the wall,† (75). Amir witnessed the rape of Hassan, and after he took his trophy kite home and hung it up on the wall it mocked him, reminding him of his cowardice, and the purity and the innocence that were taken from him. When Amir returned to Kabul as an adult there were no kites.Afghanistan had been run over by the Taliban and everything had been destroyed, just like the innocence that was taken by Amir and the goodness and that was stolen from him. In The Kite Runner, Amir wanted the winning kite. After witnessing the rape of Hassan—witnessing his beloved friend sacrifice himself for the fi rst place kite and seeing Kabul in ruin with the kites gone and the tournaments ended, he craves the innocence and goodness of his past. In Lord of the Flies, Golding used symbols very similarly to Hoseinni’s use of the kite as a symbol of innocence.Instead of an object or toy, Golding used Simon to show purity. Simon, the quiet and kind hearted boy, was murdered savagely by his peers. Simon had been the good and the innocent on the island; unlike the other boys he knew that the evil was inside of the others, though he himself had been too good for the evil. Simon was taken away from the boys but not by outsiders, like the Taliban; the boys themselves took Simon away, unlike The Kite Runner where Assef and the Taliban took the innocence away from Amir. â€Å"There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws† (153).The boys turned into savages and took Simon away from themselves. Unlike The Kite Runner, Simon and innocence were not wanted and were easily thrown away. As goodness was being murdered, the boys turned into monsters. Not once did they think of what was being depleted. Another theme shared by the two novels is the idea of power and dominance. In The Kite Runner, Hoseinni showed this through the bully Assef, who later became a Taliban official. Not only did Hoseinni use Assef and the Taliban as symbols of power, but he enforced them through irony.One example of dramatic irony in The Kite Runner took place when Baba was talking to Amir as a child. Baba said to him, â€Å"’God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands! ’† (17). Baba was referring to the Taliban and how he hoped they would never come into power, though consequently, the Taliban later dominate Afghanistan. Baba pleads to God for help if the Taliban run over, he pleads to a God that he doesn’t necessarily believe in, and ironically, the Taliban justify all of their actions with the word of God. Likewise, Golding used Jack and his hunters to illustrate power and dominance in Lord of the Flies.In order to assert their dominance Jack and his hunters murdered the pig in an ostentatious manner thinking that being flashy and strong will bring respect. Not only did Jack allege his power through conspicuous hunting acts, but he also imposed power with his violent mannerisms towards Ralph, Piggy, and the others. Jack is not the only power figure in this story. In turn, the British official that appeared to rescue the boys has a stature of power along with the British army. Golding expressed his love of irony with the British soldier on the island as well.The boys had been creating their own war on the island, and they were, in a way, mimicking the war that had been happening on a world-wide scale. Golding did not stop here, as the British soldier then observed the boys savagery, he reprimanded them for not being more proper and British. â€Å"’I should have thought that a pack of British boy s—you’re all British, aren’t you? —would have been able to put up a better show than that—‘† (202). How ironic, that despite the soldier’s talk of being proper and â€Å"English,† he too was being a savage. He too, was in the middle of a war.Not only do The Kite Runner and Lord of the Flies share themes of innocence and power, but they both partake in the lack of positive parental influence. In The Kite Runner, Amir envied the father-son relationship that Hassan and his believed-to-be-father, Ali, shared. Like his stolen innocence, Amir yearned for his father’s approval, for these were the things he could not have. â€Å"He’d close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups’ time with him† (5). Here, Hoseinni clearly illustrates that as growing up, and even as an adult, Amir never received the love and the affection that he so craved from his father.At every turn he would find a cl osed door; Baba would see Amir as a calamity. The one person who gave Amir positive parental influence was his father’s friend and business partner, Rahim Kahn. Amir did not take this influence to heart; his longing for approval from Baba and a mother he did not have created a hole that Rahim Kahn could not fill. With a deceased mother and apathetic father, Amir had a deep hunger for a father figure to such a degree that the lack of a parental influence caused self destruction and mental instability. In contrast to The Kite Runner, the boys in Lord of the Flies did not care for paternal influences as Amir did.In fact, they rejoiced because there were no adults on the island to keep them in check; â€Å"’Aren’t there any grownups at all? ’ ‘I don’t think so. ’ The fair boy said this solemnly; but then delight of a realized ambition overcame him’† (8). From the start, Amir wanted the parental influences that he grew up with out; the boys on the island were more than happy to be rid of them. The consequences of the lack of parental influence did not make an appearance right away, but contrary to what the boys believed, not having a parental figure did have its repercussions.One can take Roger, in consideration. At first he could not bring himself to throw stones at the smaller, younger boys. The memories of civilization and punishments still had their hold on him, but as the story progresses, Roger finds himself becoming less and less humane; much like Assef, in The Kite Runner, who as a child, subconsciously knew he could be punished for his bullying, but as he grew older and as the influence of his parents lessened, he was able to use his wrath however he pleased.The lack of parental influence in Lord of the Flies through the immature, adolescent behavior of the boys and lack of adults residing on the island leads to destruction and chaos, similar in ways to that of Amir’s, but far more externa lly dramatic. Indeed, Golding and Hoseinni share many tastes when it comes to writing, and that becomes quite apparent when one looks at the themes of the two novels. Through the loss of innocence, power and dominance, and the lack of those positive parental influences Golding and Hoseinni manage to paint the picture of a life different than the life of the average American youth.Amir kept his innocence in a kite. In his homeland. The boys on the island never knew that their innocence lay within one small boy. They didn’t have a father to look up to, a mother to run to, and neither did Amir. Now, innocence is mocked. Parental figures are pushed away, but most don’t know what it is like to lose that innocence. To not have a mother or father there in times of need. Where is your innocence stored? Where do you find the comfort and protection that are craved through a mother’s love and a father’s adoring pride?