America Essay -- American History, Hollywood

â€Å"Homeland, the country that I love, forever reign supreme; And when time stands still, my homeland, may heaven hold your dream† (Spring-Rice). Gustav Holsts’ song â€Å"Homeland† is all about people who are patriotic towards their own country. America has been built upon a certain set of rules in which makes it unique from their countries. Americans have excessive pride in their country which shows greatly in their interactions with others. Americans also have other traits which reflect their culture. White America views itself in three ways: appearance, narcissism, and social status. â€Å"You want to fit in with these people? They’re not going to change. You have to† (Traister 675). America has views which are built on appearances. This is because of the media having an influence on what Americans view as â€Å"socially acceptable†. Hollywood sets a standard by using celebrities to show Americans what they should wear. Men are usually viewed as wearing simple but â€Å"masculine† clothing. Also these are said to, â€Å"Emphasize the size of upper body musculature, allow freedom of movement, and encourage an illusion of physical power and a look of easy physicality all suggest masculinity. Such appearance of strength and readiness to action serve to create or enhance an aura of aggressiveness and intimidation central to an appearance of masculinity† (Devor 571). On the other hand, women have more of a variety of clothing styles all of which reflect back to femininity. As Devor states in his article, â€Å"Feminine styles of dr ess likewise display subordinate status through greater restriction of the free movement of the body, greater exposure of the bare skin and an emphasis on sexual characteristics† (Devor 570). Along with clothes how a person presents hi... ...he rich) are viewed in America has having all of the wealth and the power, while the middle and lower classes are left in the shadow. â€Å"Hollywood makes sure its audiences leave the theater thinking you can’t be too rich† (Parenti 406). America’s culture is reflected through what is displayed in the media. Therefore a conclusion can be drawn that Americans’ base their stereotypes of social status off of what is viewed in the media. â€Å"My homeland, be my dream, my hope. Homeland† (Spring-Rice). Appearance, narcissism, and social status are three traits America uses to view itself. America has been built upon pride and patriotism ever since they won their freedom from England. Because of this, Americans take pride in their country. This is why Americans view themselves as â€Å"superior† to others. They love their country and would not want to change anything about it.

Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair Essay

A. What is Ryanair’s strategy and why has it been successful so far? In 1911, Ryanair faced cash flow problem, and was going to be bankrupted. However, it found the way to overcome this crisis by transform themselves from ordinary high-price airlines into the lowest price airline in the EU. They focused on 5 things to rebirth their company. 1. Focused on cut down the costs: Ryanair aggressively cut most of its costs in many ways. Found the routes and airports that charged low landing fees, and low turnaround costs Chose routes to Secondary airports, low airport fee Eliminated all in-flight amenities Used metal stairs instead of â€Å"air bridge† Paid lower commissions to travel agents Saved cost in its internal operations Implemented economies of scale by using one model aircraft and treating all customers equally 2. Focused on operating efficiency: Ryanair carefully allocate all of its resources and assets to get the highest performance outcome. Optimized airplanes usages by relocating the planes used in loss-making routes to gain-making routes. Attempted to increased aircraft turnaround rate in many ways Operated only one type of aircraft Provided the newsletter to employees, which contained its and its competitors’ movements 3. Focused on customer satisfactions: Ryanair sustained customer care. Even though they are mostly middle-to-low classes who expected less services due to the lowest airfares, they would receive more than their expectation. There were 160 full-time reservation agents at its call enter at Dublin answered calls Maintained its record for on-time flight due to good-performed aircraft turnaround Received airfares in other currency Had fewer restrictions to change the tickets 4. Focused on ancillary income: Ryanair gained extra revenue from other sales and services. In-flight sales: beverages, snacks, and traditional items Advertised spaces renting Other referred fees 5. Focused on its employees: Ryanair never forgot to sustain and motivate employees. Imprinted its values to employees. â€Å"the firms as brutally cost conscious† Gave its stock options to employees Rewards system varied with performance, commission, and corporate profits Had lots of job opportunities, e.g. promotion or rotation Had no bureaucracy and hierarchy Compared to its competitors, Ryanair became succeed because it was the first low-cost airlines which provided low airfares that generate increased volume of customers. At the same time, it had maintained a continuous focus on customer satisfactions, cost management and operating efficiencies, leading to the great reputation that transfer â€Å"from mouth to mouth† by its loyalty customers. That created more customer and more income, being its sources of fund for reinvest. Also, the extra revenue from sales, advertised spaces renting, and referral fees could support its financial health and accommodate it to sell the ticket more lower price. Moreover, started with people, Ryanair’s employees shared the same values and goals with their company, â€Å"cost-conscious† with â€Å"good-services†. Sharing the company’s benefit with them also motivated them to work better and better. This was the other important foundation for its success. That’s why, Ryanair was success and became very high competitiveness in this market. B. Looking to the future, what should be the strategic concerns of Ryanair? What recommendations would you make to the top management? In my opinions, the most strategic concerns of Ryanair is its competitors. Assuming we were in 1999, at that time, no carrier that were Ryanair’s primary competitor. However, in this year, no-frills carriers accounted for 3% of the European air travel market. This implied that the competition would be more intense. I would like to go through each competitors one-by-one. Virgin Express: It was most harmful competitor. It had many features as same as Ryanair, and some of them were better than Ryanair’s, e.g. nine languages services in ticket reservations, no physical tickets (lower its costs), etc. Virgin Express’s financial lost in 1998 might be resulted from only a shortage of pilots. If Virgin Express could fix that problems, continuously improve its features, and fully implement cost control, it would become very competitiveness to the market. Suggestion for Ryanair: Sustain doing the  ways Ryanair was, improve quality of service, innovate the ways to reduce costs, and focus more in marketing and creating brand awareness easyJet: It was also harmful competitor. It had the same business model concerned about cost control, it gradually grew and was going to change from subcontracting to their own operation by reinvesting. However, its philosophy was â€Å"won’t complete with other low-fare guys†. Suggestion for Ryanair: Quickly expand the flying routes and grasp that benefits before easyJet does. British Airway’s Go: British Airway’s Go had powerful backups and great brand values. It provided better service in-flight but also sold ticket at the cheap price. Leading to the price competition in the future. Suggestion for Ryanair: The company have to innovate its new unique point to eliminate the problem that it would have faced the loss of its customers to the competitors. It also need to in-depth its group of customers to find the ways out. Also, Ryanair have to be alert all the time. As the market become more intense, only dynamic organization can survive.

Book Critique Family to Family Essay

Author Information The authors of the book are Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee. Content Summary In the book, Family to Family, Families Making a Difference, the writers detail the major premise of the work within its first few pages: â€Å"Family to Family will help you discover God’s purpose for your family, develop a family mission statement, establish core values, make time for quality and quantity family time centered around God’s purposes, and equip you to lead your children to Christ and mentor them spiritually† (3). The book’s purpose is to maximize family time in the Lord, bringing family members closer together by helping them actualize their standing first in Christ, and then as they relate and interact with each other. The book promotes the idea of discovering â€Å"the critical link between being on mission as a family and passing the baton of your faith on to your children† (3). This line of thought is prevalent in the book and it seems to summarize the mission of the writers. The book views itself as being based and rooted in the solid foundation of the scriptures, and the authors express as much: â€Å"The bottom line–God’s plan for the family has been revealed in His Word†¦ The success of our families will be determined by our commitment to know and live the principles of God’s Word† (3). In the first chapter of the book, the writers make the contention that many families are not healthy and are not spending quality time with one another. The writers reference research gathered from The American Family Association and George Barna. Through the accumulated research, the writers state that, â€Å"only 34 percent of America’s families eat one meal together each day. (In addition) the average father spends only eight to 10 minutes a day with his children. This includes meal times.† (6) Another alarming statistic that they present to their audience is that â€Å"only 12 percent of America’s families pray together, (and) the average couple spends only four minutes of uninterrupted time together a day† (6). After the writers finish sharing some alarming statistics, they proceed to identify what a healthy Christian family should look like. They call for persons to examine their own families and to ask the following questions: Is it a cohesive unit or a disjointed collection of individuals? Is it on mission for God or unsure of its mission? Is it flowing or fumbling? Disciplined or destructive? Purposeful or pointless (7)? From the second chapter onward, the writers seek to allow the book to serve as a guide to nurture an unhealthy family as they move towards an improved level of spiritual health. The writers begin by proposing a family mission statement, stating that, â€Å"A family mission statement will serve as a centerline and guardrails for your family on the road through life† (25). The writers lead us on an extensive exposition on the importance of a familial mission statement and how to initiate one and incorporate one into our families. In chapter two, they present seven realities, which are geared towards accepting and incorporating the fact that God is and can be an ever-present reality within your family. The writers then discuss the importance of teaching and sharing the Gospel with children. They present the fact that 90 percent of all Christians have accepted Jesus before the age of 25, and therefore, place a premium on passing the baton onto the next generation as early as we can (51). The remainder of the book becomes a summary of other evangelical programs and ideas, shared in an effort to encourage the entire family to become an evangelizing force together. They include the models of concentric circles (75) and other familial evangelistic ideas, which are geared towards the family being unified and presenting that unification before others as a witness to their unity in Christ. In the final chapter of the book, the writers detail the importance of Biblical based evangelism for all of those persons involved in the family unit. The writers advocate what they call the FIRM approach to evangelism, which involves: F – ask about family, I – ask about their interests-listen, R – ask about religion-listen, and M – share the message (114-115). Lastly, the writers provide some practical methods for sharing the Gospel, which include some scripture memorization and tips on a salvation-testimony presentation. Evaluation The book seeks to establish a rationale for the disunity of the modern family and then to provide mechanisms to promote unity within the family through the Word, then to evangelize through the family as a united front in Christ. The book is short, efficient and to the point. It allows for easy reading and presents an effective rationale for families being unified first in Christ (with each other), and then presenting that unification as an active, vibrant testimony to others. The writers identify early on that this is a book for families in crisis, and the greatest contributing factor to that difficulty involves time and busyness within the members of the family itself. Due to the simplistic presentation of the material, the writers allow for a potential impact for a wide variety of persons and family units (beyond the traditional ones). The writer’s presentation of unhealthy families and the facts provided which detail children who have fallen away from the church cannot be understated in its level of importance, and serves to provide the reader with a foundation for the rest of the work. The flow of the work involves a clever method employed by the writers that mixes conversational and anecdotal stories with necessary information, which is important to hold the interest of the target audiences. The writers may have perhaps offered a more compelling argument, had they given their target audience a little more background information concerning the statistics they compiled, rather than just highlighting that information in endnotes. The chapter on mission statements feels rushed, and gives the impression that research for the work appears to be somewhat lacking. Case in point: there is no citation offered concerning the comparison of Jonathan Edwards and the Jukes families. This cannot help but offer the audience the false notion that the writers composed the necessary research to develop the notion they are putting forth (24-25). The writers provide another example without properly citing and giving credit to the source on page 26, in the example of the bucket of sand and the big rock and the little rock. This is an illustration which has been used by many in the past, and the writers are not the original source of it. They state, â€Å"Perhaps you have seen the illustration of the big rocks and little rocks† (26). Again, this may be nitpicking; however, I believe that they need to demonstrate responsibility, since the book is a Christian work. The book contains relevant study questions and provides a plethora of workbook-like material. That being said, the work is ideal for small group studies in the church and provides a foundational approach for working with families. Beyond being simple enough for the new convert to understand, the book is filled with practical and insightful applications for all believers to use in their endeavors to spread the Word within their families and to others. The writers have fulfilled their purpose in the book. It is obvious to see, with the statistics presented and the commentary offered, that families are in trouble and the church needs to respond to their needs. The church is comprised (mostly) of families. The enemy is aware that if he destroys the family unit (as presented in scripture), then he goes a long way to placing a major injury on the church. Pipes and Lee are to be commended for their efforts. They wrote Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy, as a reply to the susceptibility of even supposedly Christian families to the status quo. This status quo, as presented by the writers, involves an adherence to one of the varying levels of dysfunction that many families experience. The outline for families in the scriptures is one man, one woman, and if they are blessed, then children. This work provides an excellent evangelistic modality within which to engage all types of families (single parent, no children, etc). This is due to the fact that, regardless of the construction of the particular family, salvation is needed within and should be displayed cohesively to the world. That being said, one can see that, once a family mission statement is adopted, the potential for manipulation within a family is obvious. Potential problems could arise should one of the parents attempt to use the mission statement to manipulate their children to act and perform in the manner that they desire. Should conflict and divorce arise in the family (which is a startling reality for the church as well as the world), then these paradigms constructed originally to help could instead be used to further divide the entire family. With any risk of developing methodology and then instructing others to incorporate this methodology into their lives, without being able to control all extraneous variables (which only God can), there is the potential danger for some using the writer’s material for abusive purposes. Yet in taking this risk, the writers succeed. This is largely due to the fact that they speak the truth of the scriptures in love, and are to be applauded for developing and exhorting others to incorporate these methods into their lives to improve their families and evangelize the lost. There is something pure and right about someone trying to assist others whom are in desperate struggles in this life. The writers have presented a unique and challenging way for the church to implement and instruct families which are in desperate need of such tutoring. A most wonderful encapsulating quote is found on page 114, which states, â€Å"The bottom line is sharing the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. This is what this book is all about: raising your family to follow Christ. Following Christ means sharing the gospel with those who do not know Him. Jesus said, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’ (Matt.4:19). If you are not fishing, you are not following. You and your family are on mission to be fishers of men† (114). This is a rousing call to families and the Body of believers. Those who endeavor to heed the call must realize the writer’s purposes in desiring to show them a way to raise their families to serve and follow Jesus. BIBLIOGRAPHY Pipes, Jerry and Victor Lee. Family to Family, Families Making a Difference. Lawrenceville, GA: Jerry Pipes Productions, 1999.

Totalitarianism in the Soviet Union essays

Totalitarianism in the Soviet Union essays The events surrounding the rise of Stalin in the Soviet Union and the rise of dictators like Mussolini and Hitler in Europe proved to be a defining mark of the 1930's and early 1940's. As such, these dynamic figures ushered in a new era in which the West was brought face to face with words such as totalitarianism, fascism, National Socialism, and the realities of a disintegrated Europe, that increasingly relied on ideological remedies to systemic problems. In this way, many scholars have concluded that the regimes of Stalin and Hitler were not themselves totalitarian as much as they were merely representations of what some have termed "organized chaos". However, such a view, although it has some merit, flies in the very face of prior and existing definitions of the term as well as the key signs that these regimes demonstrated prior to the Second World War. As such, this brief essay will attempt to chronicle some of the ways in which both of these regimes epitomized totalitarianis m in every aspect of the word. For purposes of clarity, this essay will utilize one of the prominent Soviet historians Robert Conquest's definitions of totalitarianism. Conquest says the following, "Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever necessary (Conquest 74). As such, the all-encompassing nature of the state and the level to which the state is controlling nearly every aspect of the life of the society is the predominant factor. Naturally, when one considers the level of totalitarianism that existed within both the Soviet and National Socialist systems, it will be necessary to consider the following freedoms: economic, political, social, press, and art. As this analysis will make manifestly clear, both regimes sought outright control of nearly every aspect of these freedoms that have been enumerated upon....

Diceratops - Facts and Figures

Diceratops - Facts and Figures Name: Diceratops (Greek for two-horned face); pronounced die-SEH-rah-tops; also known as Nedoceratops Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (70 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 15 feet long and 2-3 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Two horns; odd holes on sides of skull About Diceratops (Nedoceratops) You can learn a lot about Greek numbers by studying ceratopsian (horned face) dinosaurs and their distant and not-so-distant relatives. Theres no such animal (yet) as Monoceratops, but Diceratops, Triceratops, Tetraceratops and Pentaceratops make for a nice progression (alluding to two, three, four and five horns, as indicated by the Greek roots di, tri, tetra and penta). An important note, though: Tetraceratops wasnt a ceratopsian, or even a dinosaur, but a therapsid (mammal-like reptile) of the early Permian period. The dinosaur we call Diceratops also rests on shaky ground, but for another reason. This late Cretaceous ceratopsian was diagnosed at the turn of the 20th century by the famous paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh, on the basis on a single, two-horned skull lacking the characteristic nasal horn of Triceratopsand given the name Diceratops, by another scientist, a few years after Marshs death. Some paleontologists believe this skull actually belonged to a deformed Triceratops, and others say Diceratops should properly be assigned to the synonymous genus Nedoceratops (insufficient horned face.) If, in fact, Diceratops winds up reverting to Nedoceratops, then the possibility exists that Nedoceratops was directly ancestral to Triceratops (this last, most famous ceratopsian only awaiting the evolutionary development of a third prominent horn, which should only have taken a few million years). If thats not confusing enough, another option has been touted by the famously iconoclastic paleontologist Jack Horner: perhaps Diceratops, aka Nedoceratops, was actually a juvenile Triceratops, in the same way Torosaurus may have been an unusually elderly Triceratops with a grotesquely overwrought skull. The truth, as always, awaits further fossil discoveries.

Crim230 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Crim230 - Assignment Example The Supreme Court affirmed the court’s decision. I obtained the information on the case from the Westlaw website, an online legal research service. The case is significant to criminal justice system as it questions the application of the peremptory challenge by the prosecutor in criminal cases. The prosecutor’s reliance on the peremptory challenge in discharging off the four black venire men questioned whether the prosecutor used the sole basis of race to strike them off the venire. The Supreme Court’s affirmation of the court’s decision indicated that the peremptory challenge could not be used solely on the standard of race to exclude jurors (Reuters 10). My role in the case is that of prosecutor and i am advocating for the conviction of the defendant based on the charges forwarded against him. I am also advocating for the striking off of the four black venire men from the jury in line with using my peremptory

Sales promotion portfolio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sales promotion portfolio - Research Paper Example Currently there are around 700 restaurants of Pizza Hut in UK with more than 154 stores of Pizza Hut owned by the franchisees (PizzaHut, 2011). The sales promotion helps the organization to change the perception of the customers towards their buying decision by offering them different incentives, which they are able to get eventually. This is the reason why Pizza Hut uses different sales promotion techniques because the company understands the significance of sampling and making a product trial during the marketing campaigns. The sales promotion strategies help Pizza Hut to increase its market share because these promotions entice the customers to switch their brand loyalty towards Pizza Hut. Another advantage that Pizza Hut gets with these promotional tools is the immediate result, which other IMC tools are not able to produce for the company (Pride et al., 2006). Sales Promotion Sales promotion can be defined as the activities which are planned by the organizations in order to impr ove the quality of the products or services and build a positive attitude of the customers towards their products or services (Bose, 2004). ... Since sales promotion influence the behavior of the customers, therefore Pizza Hut can analyze this theory in order to understand and change the behavior of the customers towards the deals and offers it is offering to the customers (Bose, 2004). Tools of Sales Promotion In order to understand the dynamics of sales promotional tools, it is important for the organizations to understand that these tools are different from other marketing and promotional methods, because these tools provide precise advantages for encouraging the customers to buy the product or services (Sagar, 1998). As compared to the sales promotions tools, other promotional techniques are used to attract the customers with help of an event or a program and they are not always designed for the direct purchase. Some of the most commonly used sales promotion tools are: Discounts and Coupons Free Samples Direct Mail Rebates Demonstrations Exhibits Point of Purchase Display Money Back Offers Mystery Rewards Branded Magnets and Pen Contests Gifts (Sagar, 1998) Promotional Strategies Used by Pizza Hut UK Pizza Hut uses different promotional tools for the increase share in the market, increase frequent buying, increase volume of sales and convince the customers for buying the product. The promotional mix of Pizza Hut consists of â€Å"Personal Selling, Advertising and Sales Promotion†. Since Pizza Hut uses Pull Strategy to fulfill its global objective, therefore many promotional tools are needed to implement this strategy successfully. The ‘Healthy Eating’ campaign is used to increase the awareness level of the customers, change their attitude towards pizza, motivate them to get involved in the product, and reduce risk for the product.