Faamatai: Traditional Religious System

It also alms to define and determine religious connections between the Mat system and the tabulate (Indigenous religion). Last but not least, it also focuses on how the system changed after Christianity arrived. Many people define the term mat in different ways. For example, Via and Tintinnabulation define mat as a â€Å"member of the nun (village) and a leader of an alga potato (extended family) with a complex network of fall (diffuse cultural connections'. Pall's offers another deflation which states that mat evolves from two words â€Å"mat† (eye or seeing) and â€Å"l† (towards or at).When two words are put together, It creates a traditional definition, the â€Å"act of looking towards or at someone or something†. In other words, a mat is the â€Å"eyes† of the family. He or she is the role model of the family. Family members look up to him or her as a strong leader and effective decision maker. To understand the framework of the mat system, one must first review the Samoan culture characteristics. The Samoan identify their culture as the Fashion way of life according to custom.Pall's described the term Fashion as referring to â€Å"the ancient ways of life Inherited from the ancestors†. The rod FAA means â€Å"in the manner of†, so the Samoan made it blend in with certain words in order to contrast the different ways of doing things. Traditionally, there are no laws in the context of the Samoan culture. However, Samoan people respected the decisions made by their own mat. To further understand the Samoan way of life, one must understand the village structure In the Samoan culture.The (nun) village Infrastructure Is made up of all extended females and relatives who reside In that particular village. They are Individual heirs and descendents of the mat such as father, mother, brother sister and etc†¦ In the alga, all can be related whether by blood as traceable to a common ancestor, through marriage ties or eve n adopted connections. At the head of each alga was a mat. He was the one who held the family title until it was passed on by choice rather than by inheritance. The first stage in becoming a mat was to serve as a tattletale's (untitled man).A tattletale's Is defined as an untitled man who serves his mat with honor and diligently. Being In this level requires a lot of patience and caring. Each tattletale's has one goal in life which was taut (serve) as further explained by Applied as follows: â€Å"A fulfill mat a Samoa faithful muumuu maim lava lee tag as taut Elli I lee mat male alga ma lee nun. O taut a lee tuna's e mama maim AI fumigant's ‘see's. A iii SE e via Oho I lee tutelage pull, all e taut, AAU o lee ala I lee pull o lee taut†. When a chief was chosen, a person who served the chief, family and village well Is most likely the primary he must first serve because the path to leadership is service) When a mat was sought, each alga would agree on a candidate and th en all would decide on one who would be worthy to succeed to the title. Once receiving the title of mat, he is responsible for the leadership of the whole family. In the fond o lee nun (council of chief), the mat was the one who represented the whole family.The authority of the mat was freely expressed by him in all matters, but most of the time he is free in so far as what he does was for the good of the family. In this respectful way, it could be seen, that the role of the mat was not merely authoritative, but it was also one of serving. It was then seen that all behavior was conditioned by the loyalty and devotion not only of the mat but the whole family. It was the pride of one's family which seemed to be the basis of the Samoan culture. This has been an initiating factor by which â€Å"law and order† was kept.In the Fashion, the extended family is the basic component of the village. Like I mentioned earlier, the village infrastructure is made up of all extended families which headed by a senior chief. Without the extended families and their chiefs, there would be no council of chiefs in the traditional village structure. The village itself became a factor in keeping the strong bond within the society. Socially, each village was embraced by a common pupilages (traditional greeting of mat titles in seniority).Mauve stated that a pupilages is a rotational formula which contained all the dignity accorded to the village especially to the principle chiefs, stating their relationship to the broader royal lineages of Samoa. In the olden times, Samoan lived in a hierarchical society. In all levels of its political structure including the mat system, it was so clear for it to be seen. Through all these levels, there was one of unifying force at work in the maintenance of â€Å"law and order† such as loyalty and devotion, being part of the family, and villages and districts connecting to the royal line.Politically, with the hierarchical structure of so ciety, it could be seen that the ancient gods were also structured in such a way. It was the case that authority was delegated from the top to the bottom. If there was a need to carry out a proposal or any new ideas, it was first to be approved by the higher authorities. Permission had to be sought from the chiefs. Although these different levels still existed in the Samoan society, but there was still the awareness of the necessity to function together as a corporate unity in order to survive.The socio-political structure of the mat system was believed to have great importance. Many believed the importance again lies within the idea that it was probably within such a social structure and that the structuring and the understanding of the gods had originated. According to Mauve, he stated: In Samoan society, there were â€Å"As† such as the As Militate, As Loyola or As Amiga. The â€Å"As† gives the meaning of being very high in rank within the Samoan society. The full meaning of this word would not be expressed if only the word honorable was used.The meaning of the word was not only â€Å"honorable† but took up other meanings such as sacredness and holiness in the ensue of been higher above all others in society. In this sense, As would really refer to the Alai(high or paramount chief). An Alai(high chief) was considered as the head of the village and its council of chiefs. Telltale (high talking chief) were orators and they spoke on the behalf of the Alai. According to Applied, mat were always the ruling powers in the society. Their authority is still strong today.Their authority was to be chiefs were, it was always to be carried out by the magma(group of tattletale's or untitled men). What can be said at this point is that in the structural set up of the Samoan society, there is a clear distinction between the higher and lower classes. The structure of the society and the distinctions could have been the basis of the religious structurin g and understanding of the ancient gods. In fact, the Samoan indigenous religion also had a structure where there was the recognition of higher gods and lower gods.In such a structure, there were responsibilities and functions performed by the gods that coincided with the responsibilities set out in the social life of the people. If the high chiefs were seen to rule and grant permission, then the higher gods were seen to posses more power. The higher gods would then be sought for the granting of the things that the society wanted. In this section, I will focus on the religious connection between the Mat system and a more detailed study of the traditional religious beliefs and other cultural practices.I strongly believe that much of these beliefs and practices had great affect on the way Samoan had accepted Christianity. Before Europeans had ever set foot on the islands, Samoan had their own beliefs of deities believed to be divine. According to Melissa, he stated â€Å"Samoan relig ion as it generally understood refers to a system of beliefs, the ceremonial and tall activities that are associated with it, and the worship of a supernatural being or beings. † In addition, Samoan had no national religion. This was a time of myths and what has often been referred to as a time of superstitious beliefs.It was at this early stage that these myths and the history of Samoa were preserved in memories and through oral traditions. According to traditional beliefs, every individual had his own â€Å"tutu†(guardian spirit). It was the case that the families had minor gods and villages had their own local deities. These deities such as fire, rain, agriculture and etc†¦ Were insider sacred and important to the Samoan. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will briefly explain the religious connections of the mat system and the indigenous religion through many traditional beliefs such as the Toga myths, man, spirits, and other various gods.One of the most popul ar beliefs in Samoan society was the Toxicological creation myth. In the alga, the head of the family is considered as the mat which was closely similar to the Toxicological and his rule. According to one myth, it stated that Toxicological existed as the main source in space and created the heavens. He was also known as the superior being or leader. I believe these creation stories had influenced many traditional world views of the Samoan and its mat system. In fact, the mentality about Toga creating Samoa still exists.The variety of these creation stories has led to the idea that traditional beliefs had been elaborately connected in Samoa. In this case, the Samoan culture was produced in distinction of ranks and indigenous religion enforces it by giving the high ranks a special place in it. As also stated by Isaiah: The Samoan ranking system and cultural structure appears deceptively simple on the surface at first glance, but a deeper look into it vales a very competitive, complica ted and rigid system. The religious beliefs of the people played a very important part in society.As I mentioned earlier, the Titus (guardian spirit) had influenced many Samoan greatly especially the mat. The tutu is sometimes considered as a god of an individual. In most cases, mat are considered as the god of their own family. They believe the spirit of an ancestor is links the mat system to the indigenous religion is the concept of man (invisible living force) which responsible for all the startling occurrences and effects beyond the human mind. In the Samoan culture, if a mat was able to defeat another mat at war, then he was said to have possessed more quantities of â€Å"man† than the man he defeated.This concept was always associated within the mat system. The traditional belief of man(power) that a mat had to protect the family physically and his ability to supply materially had been a strong qualification for becoming a leader. Man, however was also known in the prim itive world as the abundant special supernatural forces that could present in a man. In Samoan society, man was that force behind anything which was impossible for man to do. In this case, Samoan believe man and gaga(spirits) have strong relations.It can be noted that for a man or mat to receive man, it would be possessed through favor of the gods or the passing of it to him by another man who had it before him. Many scholars saw this concept as a way for the gods to communicate their will to the people. Many believe that Samoan were also committed to polytheistic beliefs. Applied stated that the life of the people depended greatly on the gods in which they recognized as having strong powers over them. It was the gods that they would always call upon in times of difficulties.Some of these various gods such as Laminas, Lethally, and Fee were believed to help many people avoid sickness, war and death. Laminas was defined as the child of the moon. This particular god was identified wit h the moon. In worshipping this god, there was much feasting and prayers. The head of the family or mat would pray that the god would help their family to prevent disease and death from entering their home. In other cases, such as war, this god was also asked to help that particular family or chief. It has been noted that this god was one of the inferior gods in the traditional beliefs of theSamoan society. Another particular god which many believe to be one of the well known house- hold gods was Lethally. This god was known to be embodied in the form of the centipede. In worshipping this god, people would often seek it in a tree that was usually near the house. If a person within the family was very sick, this god was called upon as to determine whether this person would die or become well again. In this particular belief, the mat would take a mat outside and await the coming of this god. The mat would be under close observation.If the god did come, and was seen to eave crawled und er the mat, this meant that the sick person would die. If the god came and crawled on the mat, this meant that sick person's health would be restored. One of the most famous gods which was also well known to the Samoan people was the Fee (octopus). This god was often worshipped as the warrior's god. It was believed that this god had its resting place on the island of Western Samoa. According to Melissa, it showed that before any war, the chiefs would seek this god and receive his blessings.In receiving the blessing of this god, there was the renewal of strength among the warriors. As a matter of fact, the main point behind all these traditional beliefs is that these gods really had much affect on the lives of the people. Not only the gods helped wartime or other ceremonial events. This proved to me that many of these gods were considered as important factors behind keeping the law and order in the Samoan society and also the mat system. Samoan also had strong affection towards many cultural practices such as the outage, VA ceremony, biogas, sofa's and etc†¦In the next part of the research, I will explain the relationship of the mat system and each cultural practice that Samoan hared and believed in since ancient times. Earlier, I mentioned that the framework of the Samoan society was revolved around the mat. These mat were responsible for all lands and matters pertaining to the alga. They also served as main decision makers for the alga or village. They also had man(power) that could cause any injury to anyone in society. In this matter, the power of the chiefs and traditional beliefs of the gods was believed to bring law and order in unity.It also brought strong ties and cultural connection between the gods and chiefs. One of the most important cultural practices that Samoan dealt with was known s outage (oath). According to Mauve, outage is one of the scariest and most sacred practices that chief ever gathered in the olden time. In this practice, the ac cused offender goes before the village councils and admits his guilt. This was where the fear of the gods came in to help solve a problem within society. This method was strictly practiced and enforced by the chiefs.According to the practice, if a crime was committed and the person who committed the crime was not known, all the villagers would be gathered by the chiefs of the village. Each person was asked to sake the outage(oath) and swear by the name of their own family god or village god. The chiefs then asked the curses of the gods to be on that person if he was the one. It was often the case that the curse would include one's family member to become very ill if the person lied. It was the fear of these curses by the chiefs that would lead the guilty person to confess. In fact, many believe these cultural practices hardly failed.The reason for this is because the guilty individual really feared the possibility of offending the gods and he could not at any time compromise the rep utation of the await to which he belonged. Another important cultural practice that Samoan still carried on today was the ‘VA ceremony. ‘VA ceremony is a traditional ceremony in which formal speeches are present among the chiefs. This ceremony usually held during the welcoming of the amalgam(traveled group). The religious part of this ceremony is when a chief partake his ‘VA cup. Before each chief take his cup, a portion of the ‘VA was poured out of the cup.This was considered as an offering to the gods. It was also a sign of respect to acknowledge the help of the gods in bringing the Amalgam to their destination. To clearly explain the meaning of it, Tubule stated: The spilling of a few drops of VA on the floor before drinking would seem to have the same significance as do many of the ceremonies in/the various religions of the world – incense burning – sprinkling of holy water – offering libations of wine – and the offering of sac rifices varying from pound notes to lizards eggs – all are offered with the idea of placating or seeking the assistance of some God.We are apt, perhaps, to view the custom of the Samoan as being merely the prostration of the intellect at the thresh-hold of the unknown, but re not all sacrifices by whomsoever offered, Just this. Mauve also stated that among the chiefs. For example, a chief would say: â€Å"o lee ‘VA linen o lee ‘VA o taut, la mania lee auto ambulant† It means this VA, it is for the gods, bless our gathering. In all, I found out that most of these traditional practices shared an important relationship between religion and social life of the Samoan people.It was so clear that Samoan had to live in a society where religion was seen as an important aspect in the culture. It was also clear that many of these cultural beliefs and traditional practices were considered as a set stage for Christianity. In this stage, it pointed out two important key elements that summarized the whole relationship between the mat systems and indigenous religion. One key element was the recognition of one great god above all gods, which was Toxicological.It was this god that was so superior and was given such high respect. This reveals that even though Samoan were viewed as polytheists, there was still the recognition of one god, Toga. Secondly, Fear for the gods and spirits was another key element in the Samoan indigenous religion. This element explains the fact that gods could bring disaster to the people o matter what the case is. It can be said that the people in fearing had imagine the awful punishments that could take place because of disobeying the chiefs and the gods.With all the tradition beliefs and cultural practices that Samoan shared in their society, I can now have a clear mind of what the early missionaries had walked into. Last but not least, this section focuses on the new changes of the mat system when Christianity arrived in Sa moa. During my research, I found many ways of how the traditional and cultural beliefs were adapted to accept and embed Christianity without losing its value. I also found out how the mat system was easily led to the process of accepting the new religion.There are many reasons why Christianity was easily accepted in Samoan society. Some of those reasons can be willingly determined while other reasons are more difficult to discover. To look deeply in those reasons, I trace it back to the importance and significance of the cultural and traditional beliefs that I mentioned earlier in the research. A fact that is now to be noted is that many of these beliefs and practices are still kept by the people. Though there have been many changes that have taken place, the practices of the past can till be noticed in the present.In the mat system or political structure of Samoa, mat were always heading the families or villages. Within any villages, there was an Alai (high chief) that holds a high er rank. The fact is that there is only one Alai for a village and his authority becomes highly respected and recognized. According to Applied,'Alai would hold the authority to express what to do and forbid the things that should not be done. This political structure is very similar to those that Christianity shared.This was one of the few reasons why Samoan easily accepted the Christian god because of the reactive of owing respect and obedience to anything that the chief ordered. Another reason that linked the mat system to the new religion was the creation myth of Toxicological. During ancient times, Toga was referred as the creator of the heaven and earth. I personally believe that the knowledge of these myths created a clear path for Samoan to easily accept the new Christian God. It seems that what the new religion was teaching to the people was nothing new.Same goes to the concept of man and spirits. I also mentioned earlier that Chiefs were also believed and strength. Chief al so held the roles of expressing the will of the gods. In this concept, it has a very strong relation to the new religion. Christianity believed missionaries were looked upon as priests receiving power from God to preach out the new religion. For what has already been mentioned, I can now see a strong relationship between the traditional beliefs in the mat system and Christianity. Today, mat system played an important part in the new religion.In the pre- Christianity era, chiefs were believed to have powers that can meditate with the ancient gods. When missionaries arrived, they assumed new roles. They became deacons in the church. It was so obvious that many of these traditional practices and beliefs have helped greatly in accepting and understanding Christianity. I believe the Samoan society was always flexible ever since the start of their civilization. With this flexibility, Christianity was able to integrate with the traditional Samoan beliefs.As a result, it seems the new relig ion had to be taken up and practiced as if it was truly part of the ancient Samoan society. In conclusion, I believe the structural set up of the mat system served as a basis for the continuing strength of the Fashion (Samoan way). The continuing strength f the Fashion was to a great extent due to fact that an authority did not come to bear all the weight of the emotional, political, social and religious attachment to the people to their culture.The culture and the religious beliefs had helped making the people remain Samoan. I also believe the mat system had a strong relation and religious connection to the ancient indigenous religion. After gathering all the necessary information and specific evidence, it proved me that the mat system not only had similarities with Christianity, it was very easy for the people to accept the new religion into their indigenous society.

In What Ways Does Euripides Explore Issues Of Race, Gender And Class?

* What do you think Euripides' views are on this issue * Would an Athenian audience agree with him? Euripides explores these fields mainly by putting forward the character of Medea. In other words, the treatment of her character in the play mainly by the other members of the society which she finds herself defines the listed issues above – race, gender and class. Euripides presents the theme of race mainly through the character of Medea. On our first acquaintance, Medea particularly points out the fact that she is a â€Å"foreign woman coming among new laws†. This makes evident where she stands in the society, as foreigners are regarded as inferior to the real Greeks. By this, Euripides presents a form of racism eminent in the life of the ancient Greeks. Also, Medea's race was believed to be barbaric or sub-human which also contributes to the reason why her character is diminished. Jason refers to her roots as a â€Å"barbaric homeland' which suggests a feeling of superiority. Another aspect in which Euripides explores the theme of race is through the supremacy of the Greeks, which makes evident the predominance of their race in the ancient times. This is exemplified by the reference to Jason's journey to the Colchis in Medea's speech, where he steals the Golden Fleece. This presents the greed and political oppression of the Greeks, which are obvious elements of racism and colonialism. This is similar to the tradition of the powerful nations of the world in the recent centuries. Through this, a satirical tone runs throughout the play, as Euripides is able to recreate the superior and dominating nature of a very powerful foreigner living in the Greek community. In my opinion, I think the Greeks would have disliked Medea due to the fact that she has a history of insubordinate behaviour, thereby standing against their very Greek norms and beliefs. Also, the relationship between Aegeus and Medea also echo the treatment of foreigners in Ancient Greece. He tells Medea that he â€Å"does not intend to take her away with him to Corinth†. This makes evident the political view regarding the banishment of foreigners. As she is exiled from one domain of Greece, she has to be snuck into another region, which portrays the unfairness of the society, brought about by the mere issue of race. Euripides presents the theme of gender as one of the most dominating and important themes which run through out the play. This is because Medea acts contrary to the perceived way by which women are to expected to behave. By this I mean to be loyal to their husbands, even if it means suppressing their views on both moral and political issues that affect them. Medea is described as a ‘wide bull' by the nurse. This simile makes us aware of her viciousness. It is important that I not that the use of the word, ‘bull† symbolizes her likeness to men rather than what is expected of a woman in the Greek context Medea is also characterized with great cleverness and wit, though she is a woman. She is able to manipulate all the powerful male characters, which are satirically presented as gullible. Creon, a very powerful character, the King of Corinth says â€Å"I fear you†¦yet nonetheless, Medea you shall have what you ask for† even though he is aware of her evil capabilities. Also, Jason, her husband, a very powerful character with a legendary history is also easily exploited and convinced, due to Medea's shrewdness. â€Å"I am pleased Medea that you have changed your mind†. Thus, Medea is characterised as a rebel in the society. In my opinion I feel that the Greeks would have found this rather annoying, as they were used to seeing women less oppressive, like Medea. Euripides might have therefore been mocking the Greek mentality of women in his society, as he presents his female characters to be more knowledgeable than the men. A contrasting opinion is however made evident in the latter part of the play, as Euripides' view on women is of a different light. In one of Medea's speeches, she says, â€Å"we women are the most wretched†. This might be interpreted as Euripides' own opinion of women in his society or one of Medea's cynical comments on the situation she finds herself in. The nature of Euripides' view on the female gender is therefore ambiguous. Another way in which Euripides explores the theme of gender is through the characters of the Chorus. These are the average Athenian women, thus they represent the view of the majority. The chorus also represent rebellion to their society as they tend to have sympathy for Medea, even in her selfish actions. This is sort of a slap in the face for the leaders of the society- Jason and Creon, as they stand views contrast with one another. They refer to Medea as â€Å"the unhappy woman from Colchis†. Perhaps, Euripides, by this means is putting forward, cry for equality in the society. The theme of class is explored by various characters in the play. Unlike, the previous themes, it involves more characters such as the nurse and the tutor, who are symbols of sympathy for Medea. â€Å"Poor woman! Has she not stopped crying yet?† The first group of people presented to us in the play are of a lower class, compared to Medea- the Tutor and the Nurse. Unlike the other characters who oppose her status in the society, these two characters condone her feelings of anger and regret. They are therefore like her only companions as Jason has abandoned her. â€Å"It was too much, I couldn't bear it†, says the nurse as if it were her that is suffering from such betrayal. Perhaps, this is what becomes of the lower class, as they get attached to their masters who employ them and have no form of power to influence the disasters that take place. Finally, Medea makes evident, a running theme of class in the play. She is obviously of a very high class, as she is the wife of a King. This thereby contributes the power she is entitled to in the society. It is however difficult to pin point exactly where Medea stands, as she is obviously respected in the society, but not shown to be of great importance to some characters, such as Creon due to the fact that she is banished by him. â€Å"I have made my mind up, you are my enemy†. Her barbaric background also contributes to her high class as she is a Princess. In my opinion, I do not believe that the Greeks would have recognized her class but not necessarily respected her character due to those grounds. I personally don't think this was particularly reflected in the play by Euripides, rather, he concentrated on building her character on more intellectual grounds such as her cleverness. In conclusion, I think Euripides is able to explore these themes in great detail giving us different opinions which maybe sometimes ambiguous, as we are not able to know what he is thinking. This, in my opinion is what makes the play a very well written work of art and I think it also would have appealed to the Greeks.

Mesopotamia vs. Egypt Essay

When you think about Mesopotamia and Egypt you may think that they are very different. They are, but they also have many similarities and differences as well. Both of these societies have done things that have effected the way we live today. One similarity is they were both polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods. Another similarity is the both had their own writing system. Two differences they have are their feelings about the afterlife and their rivers. A similarity between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians is they both had their own writing system. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics which used pictorial symbols that represented sounds, concepts, or syllables. Because it took so long to learn how to read and write using hieroglyphics, scribes and priest were mainly they only ones who used it. The Mesopotamians used cuneiform. Cuneiform was basically wed-shaped symbols that represented words or syllables. Because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a very small group made up of priest and scribes. Cuneiform originated in Mesopotamia but was then used by the Sumerian and Akkadian. Another similarity is both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods. Both believed that everything happened because of the gods, and if you made the gods mad then you would be punished. The Mesopotamians were a little more skeptical about the gods compared to the Egyptians, the Egyptians were very optimistic about the gods. Also, both groups were very dependent on the gods and prayed to them daily. Many of their gods had to deal with nature. A difference between the two is their rivers. The Egyptians relied on the Nile river. It would flood often, but it was predictable. Because of this, the Egyptians built their homes where they wouldn’t get destroyed. They would also used irrigation to help their crops when the river would flood. The Mesopotamians had the Tigris and Euphrates river. It would flood Mesopotamia at unpredictable times at least once a year. The floods would destroy many homes and buildings. Another difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt is their outlook on death. The Egyptians spent their whole lifetime planning for the afterlife, they even planned their burial. After death hey were mummified and buried with their prized possessions and things such as food to help them along their trip to the afterlife. But the Mesopotamians had a bad outlook on death. They believed they gods were harsh, and did not look forward to the afterlife. As you can see Mesopotamia and Egypt have many similarities and differences. They are similar by both having their own writing systems and they were both polytheistic. They are different because of their outlooks on the afterlife and the flooding of their rivers. Both of these civilizations have shaped us today. Without them we wouldn’t be the world we are now.

Leadership Skills in Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership Skills in Practice - Essay Example Leadership theories are diverse in their nature explaining and establishing different view points on the problem of leadership skills and effective management. Following Boehnke and Bontis (2001) the transforming leader recognizes an existing need for a potential follower, but then moves forward seeking to arouse and satisfy higher needs (in terms of Maslow's need hierarchy) to engage the full person of the follower. The followers themselves may be converted into leaders. The main disadvantage is that the transforming leader is seen as a benevolent father who remains friendly and treats the employee as a child and a less experienced person(Barker 2001). The leader provides a model of integrity and fairness with people as well as being one who set clear and high standards of performance (Segriovanni & Glickman 2006). Other characteristics less frequently mentioned include: seeking others' highest good, treating others with dignity, showing respect for others and genuine interest in th em. A transformational leader can be seen to be firm and to reprimand when necessary, to give autonomy to followers, to encourage self-development of followers, to be participative, to be willing to teach followers, and to mix easily socially with followers (Armandi et al 2003). The advantages of participative (democratic) leadership are that it allows greater independence to employees and values individual culture and uniqueness of everyone. Good administration is the hallmark of good management and the proper and efficient use of resources. Managers become leaders when their personality and character, their knowledge and functional skills of leadership are recognized and accepted by the others involved. The main disadvantage is absence of strong power and influence upon employees. Situational leadership allows organizations to overcome current problems and respond effectively to coming changes. Leadership may be exercised from any direction in the space, or any value location, depending upon the dynamic constellation of the pattern of unification polarization in the group at a particular time, thus, depending upon one's value system, leadership at a given time may be malevolent as well as benevolent. Servant leadership is marked by great responsibility to wards society and his follows, the organization and customer. A person may be appointed or elected as leader with the expectation that he or she will lead in a particular direction or directions of behavior and value realization, but may find that to hold leadership under changing conditions of polarization and unification, he or she must deviate from the expected directions, at times even need to controvert them (Hoyle and Wilmore 2002). In contrast to other theories, servant leader does not respond effectively to economic and social changes limited by social responsibility and ethical issues. All the theories mentioned above, transformational and participative (democratic), servant and situational leadership, can be effectively used Tesco and its management. The effective leader for Tesco stores as the kind of

FIN501 MoD 4 Case Assin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FIN501 MoD 4 Case Assin - Essay Example A financial structure of a company on the other hand includes the short term debts, business creditors and other short term liabilities (Ho and Lee, 2003). Most businesses finance their business through debt or equity or a combination of both. Through debts the companies secure long term bank loans or take bonds which are redeemable after a long period of time. Through equity the companies issue common shares, preferred shares and sometimes the retained earnings injected at the end of the trading period where a profit has been realized. This literature will examine the financial books and ratios of 3 companies and determine their financial structure and the risks they run in choosing that particular mix (Ehrhardt, 2013). The choice of whether to use exclusive debt or equity financing or what mixture depends on the financial position of the business, the credit standing, the tax situation of the country and the nature of the business. This mix will determine what the cost of capital i s (Finnerty, 2013). Equity financing has its own advantages in that there is no burden of debt hanging over the owner’s heads, they therefore do not run the risk of going bankrupt unlike when financed by a debt. The owners too consent to the risk of losing all their investment in case the business fails. The disadvantages of equity financing is that the many the investors the more the control of the business is diluted and so are the profit shares. Debt financing on the other hand is advantageous to the management of the business in that the lenders do not take any control of the business or direct how the money lent will be spent. The lenders also do not share the profit of the company, all they are entitled to is the loan repayment and the interest on loan. But one of the major advantages of debt financing is that it reduces the tax liability of the business because the interest paid on loan is tax deductible. This protects a part of income from taxation and at the same tim e lowering your business’ tax liability. The disadvantages of debt financing involve ruined credit rating and risking bankruptcy (Besley and Brigham, 2008). An optimal capital structure is one that attains a good balance between the returns of the capital structure and the risks that the structure exposes the company to. The optimal capital structure will minimize the risks involved yet maximize the returns and it also increases the valuation of the stock in the stock market at the same time minimizing the cost of capital (Ho and Lee, 2003). eBay This is a multinational company based in America with outlets in more than 30 countries worldwide. It was started in 1995 and deals with providing consumer-to-consumer internet services. Its nature of business involves providing an over the internet market where customers can auction their goods, this was the initial venture. However, with time the company has diversified its services providing online advertisement services through e Bay classifieds, online payment through PayPal and online event ticket trading through StubHub (Gitlin, 2007). Between 2005 and 2009 it had acquired Skype but then sold a majority stake so as to concentrate on the other internet services it was renowned for. Examining the financial statements of the company for the period ended 31st December 2012 the following information was obtained. The company has a total assets value of $37.074 billion

Discussion Board 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Board 5 - Essay Example The Washington Times, p. 1. Retrieved July 7, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001572892 sexually assaulted her, and the woman offered evidence in the way of a bite mark and DNA from certain articles of clothing. Because of Mr. Albert’s celebrity status, the case was closely followed by the public and much attention was given to the use of the forensic evidence, especially the bite mark left on the victim. Cases involving celebrities are often sensationalized by the media, perhaps giving more credibility to certain forensic evidence than is warranted, when in actuality forensic evidence such as bite marks, fingerprints, palm prints and lip prints should not alone be evidence enough to convict a person of a serious crime, especially a crime involving the death penalty. An article by Molly Burton and Donna Lyons, appearing in State Legislatures (2001), stated â€Å"Back in the 1970s, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) did proficiency tests of crime lab hair comparisons, bite marks, serology, these types of things. They knew they were getting it wrong like fifty percent of the time. It was terrible. And then that sort of analysis disappeared with the LEAA (p. 1).† What Burton and Lyons are suggesting, is that each of these sources of evidence are, first, subject to lab error and one should not infer from the results of a test using these sources that the information stemming from the tests is infallible. Alone these sources of evidence should not be enough to cause a person to be convicted of a major crime, especially one that carries the penalty of death. â€Å"Fraudulent and junk science is a critical, critical area,† write Burton and Lyons, â€Å"Forensic science has not always been the discipline that the best pe ople in the profession want it to be (p. 1).† One case that brought attention to the infallibility of fingerprint evidence was an

World war I Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

World war I - Assignment Example Women have played their role equally in the war as compared to men. In the poetic thought Jessie Pope has shown the woman as brave and gallant and she has dealt with the delicacies of war in a more professional way and she has proved as a star in filling the minds of young men with loyalty and patriotism. She has expressed in her poem â€Å"The Call† that trenches are very horrible place and she is actually provoking the men that it is the duty of men and it’s not the duty of women that they have to face the horrible situations. So there is a concept that women are not too much powerful like men so it’s the duty of men that they must have to face the difficulties of war. Actually in the very poem she is longing that the men must lift their level of bravery and they have to face the war in a braver manner because the military uniform is not for the women rather it more suits to men. It is the duty of men that they look sober in shouting and shooting while women ar e not born for such deeds. So from the very idea of the poem â€Å"The Call† by Jessie Pope it is evident that war is a more suitable topic for poetry because it has a number of aspects which can be expressed in a poem in a more powerful

Pollution Monitoring and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Pollution Monitoring and Control - Essay Example There are various sources of freshwater across the world, however these resources are in danger of being exploited and mismanaged not only due to human error, but also because of ecological degradation. The primary sources of pollution in freshwater is associated to untreated wastes being discharged irresponsibly, companies dumping industrial effluents, as well as the by-product of the run-off produced by agricultural areas. The causes continues to increase due to the societal urbanization and the growth of industries, which brings about the utilization of synthetic organic substances that cause considerable effects on sources of freshwater bodies (Hogan, 2010). It has been well known that countries that are developed are those who experience the issue of chemical discharges integrated in their water sources, whereas developing nations come across water pollution due to agricultural by products. Such concerns then affect the health of the people as there are chemicals and substances in drinking water, which leads to illnesses (Schueler, 2000). Water Pollution Water pollution entails any modification in the quality of water as adversely impacted by any organism or substance. There are various types of water pollutants and there are those that are fatal when consumed. Pollution varies, although the common organism that affects the health of humans is attributed to pathogenic organisms. Such organisms roots from human wastes that are not treated appropriately. Two forms of water pollution can be differentiated based on its source, the point and non-point sources (Biswas, 2008). Point sources are water pollutants that are derived from singular dump site of plants, companies and factories. This type of source is considered easier to monitor due to the designated sites wherein the wastes are dumped, which makes the types of pollutants under point sources easier to regulate. On the other hand, non-point sources are those that are produced in a scattered manner based from various areas or runoff from agricultural fields. The latter is harder to regulate because there is no designated area to monitor or regulate (EPA, 2006). Human Health and Water-borne Diseases Water-borne illnesses are those that are acquired through consuming contaminated water. Major ity of these illnesses are infectious and are caused by human waste, while others are due to chemicals that serve as contaminants. Illnesses caused by pathogens are more prevalent in developing countries as caused by poor sanitary practices. These organisms are integrated in water sources, which becomes in direct contact to individuals ingesting food and water. On the other hand, chemicals that contaminate water are naturally in land, but come into contact with water due to human activity (Nwachcuku & Gerba, 2004). The researcher will expound on 1) pathogens and 2) chemicals, as water pollutants that affect the health of humans. Pathogens One of the most common types of water pollutants are pathogens. Pathogens usually take the form of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms. These are derived from human and animal wastes, which cause water-borne illnesses. The integration of these pathogens in water is dangerous to human beings, as ingestion of contaminated water would be d etrimental to the consumer’s health (Marechal, Ahmad, Engerrand, Galeazzi, & Touchard, 2006). Not only does it induce symptoms that negatively impact the patient’s over all well-being, but it also progresses to illnesses that can cause permanent damage to the individual’s internal organs. There are also instances that such diseases can lead to death (Biswas, Tortajada, Braga, & Rodriguez, 2006). The highest probability of ingesting water with microbes are those

Critical and Post-Modern Organization Theory Essay

Critical and Post-Modern Organization Theory - Essay Example They state that Critical Theory strives hard to liberate and enslave human beings through transformation of various conditions and circumstances. This theory also aids in descriptive and normative base in social inquiry where it seeks to reduce command and power, and increase freedom in all respective manners. Critical theories have gone through different historical phases and have passed several generations (Fellunga, 2002). Critical theory has set its aims, methods, theories, and explanations in both natural and social sciences and thus this theory is extended to ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of history. Furthermore, critical theorists argue that enterprises do not have a practical approach in instrumental sense, but rather they have a keen interest in the moral sense. They do not strive to achieve some independent goal but instead they seek human liberation in coercion, repression, and domination. While the formulation of materialism stated, that critical theory has all the rights to function within the boundaries of division of labor. But within this scenario, philosophy normative stance has the right to condemn the ethics, principles and embodiment of reason (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2005). On the other hand, post modern theory or post modernism has been derived after modernism but both these terms have a wide distinction among each other. Modernism is concerned with identity, unity, authority, and certainty while post modernism reflects difference, separation, textuality, and skepticism. Post modernism originated from architecture and covered two main theories; deconstruction and post structuralism. This theory is used not only in art-related fields but it also assists in marketing & business, law and culture fields. Basically post modernism are those group of critics who are inspired by the postmodern culture in which they live

The novel Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

The novel Great Expectations Essay The novel Great Expectations was intended by Charles Dickens as a social commentary on the society of pre-Victorian era England. Through his use of intricate characterisation, narratorial perspectives, comprehensive descriptions and the ironic outcomes, Dickens ridicules and thus reflects many key values and attitudes of that society. He shows the importance of class and the prejudices associated with class, the values of society towards women and the attitudes of individuals, as well as the injustices and arbitrary nature of the justice system. Victorian England was a society that valued class distinctions, and this is clearly shown in Great Expectations by the variety of characters portrayed and the eventual outcomes of their actions. There were many prejudices associated with class. Upper-class people were treated with more courtesy and society had little respect for the lower classes, often treating them as criminals. This prejudice towards the lower classes is clearly evident in Great Expectations. Magwitch tells Pip about his trial with Compeyson. Magwitch had to sell all his clothes to pay for a lawyer and was still given a longer sentence because everyone saw what a gentleman he (Compeyson) looked, and what a wretch I (Magwitch) looked. While the rest of the novel is told through Pips narration, this section is told through the narration of Magwitch. This highlights the situation and arouses sympathy in the responder towards Magwitch. As well, Estellas initial treatment of Pip also shows the prejudices of class. Estella makes fun of Pips appearance; what coarse hands he has, what thick boots, simply because Pip comes from a lower working class background while she has been brought up as a lady. These instances reflect the attitudes of that society towards people of different class backgrounds. A persons class background dictated their life. Money and wealth was valued and dominated life. Yet Dickens portrays his characters to show the startling between the lives of different classes. His depiction of Joe as a man of the working class is in direct contrast with the gentleman characters such as Compeyson and Drummle. Joe is portrayed as a wholesome, hardworking man lacking in material wealth but in possession of a kind heart, Drummle is portrayed as gentleman who are cold, cruel and completely without morals who either beats or cringes. Dickens rewards his characters for their behaviour with what he believes they deserve. Joe was able to lead a comfortable and happy life with Biddy while Compeyson and Drummle met violent ends. This characterisation shows the startling differences in the moral fibre of the different classes, and discredits a popular attitude at the time that upper-class people were more gentile and moral.

Concept of Flexibility in Architecture

Concept of Flexibility in Architecture 1.0 Introduction An Overview Of The Terminology And The Conceptual Framework This chapter aims to define the meaning of the term ‘flexibility’, †Adaptability’ and ‘typological variety’ are the other concepts that related to ‘flexibility’. Both N.John Habraken (2008) and Tatjana Schneider and Jeremy Till (2007) mention that flexibility and adaptability have overlapping meanings,but the colloquial and the technical meaning can provide a departure point for their clarification and the conceptual framework of the study. The meaning of the typological variety is more obvious, it points to freedom of choice (Duygu Albostan, 2009) The English colloquial usage of the word â€Å"flexibility† is : capabilities of being bent,pliancy. Susceptibility of modification or alteration; capacity for readily adaptation to various purposes or conditions;freedom from stiffness or rigidity. (Oxford English Dictionary Online,2009) It is important to refer professional or researchers who point out the technical meanings of the concept of flexibility ,according to their changing senses over time. Andrew Rabeneck, David Sheppard and Peter Town published two articles related to flexibility and adaptability. The articled entitled â€Å"Housing Flexibility† (1973) and â€Å"Housing Flexibility/Adaptability?† (1974) â€Å"Flexibility†is proposed against â€Å"tight-fit functionalism† (p.698) They introduced the term †tight-fit functionalism† that refers to the unhealthy situation of mass housing in the twentieth century of Europe.They explain it as miniaturized living areas with the cell types rooms which do not allow any changes(1973,p.698) The unsuccessful attempts in flexibility are criticized for they may lead to what they call the ‘fallacy of freedom through control†.(1973,p.701) Flexibility housing should be capable of offering â€Å"choice† and â€Å"personalization†. (1973,p.701) Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town involve the scope of flexibility in housing project. They see flexibility as a tool to make the minimal housing environments capable of offering for ‘choice’ and ‘personalization’. They criticize flexibility can lead to too technical or complicated housing projects. The adaptability approach,in contrast to the flexible,emphasizes planning and layout rather than constructional technique and services distribution.It is based on carefully considered variations in room sizes, relationship between rooms,slightly generous openings between spaces and little overt expression of room function.(Rabeneck, Sheppard Town, 1974, p.86) Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town claim that flexibility relates to design decisions about the permanent and fixed parts of the building:the structural system and service spaces, whilst adaptability related to consideration about the architectural layouts of the remaining spaces such as the organization of the rooms, their dimensions, the relation between the rooms and their functions. The concept of flexibility deals with the ‘constructional technique and services distribution†. (1974, p.86) As previous, they claim the flexibility related to structural system and services spaces, in â€Å"Housing Flexibility/Adaptability?† (1974) they again emphasize on the construction technique and the position of service spaces. They also compare the flexibility with adaptability. They claim that adaptability more towards the architectural layout. Herman Hertzberger emphasized the importance of the concept of flexibility in architectural design in his book entitled Lessons for Students in Architecture (1991). According to Hertzberger flexibility suggest and open-ended solution,which refers to what is called ‘rhetotic value’of flexibility that defines by Schneider and Till (2005). Flexibility signifies-since there is no single solution that is preferable to all others-the absolute denial of a fixed, clearcut standpoint. The flexible plan starts out from the certainly that correct solution does not exist Although a flexible set-up admittedly adapts itself to each change as it presents itself, it can never be the best and most suitable to any one problem;it can at any given moment provide any solution but most appropriate one. (1991, p.146) From Hertzberger’s perspective, flexibility refers to the caple of proposing different solutions for diverse users with no certain single solution but most appropriate one. He discussed flexibility in a different perspective by introducing the term ‘polyvalence’ which means a characteristic of a static form, a form that can be put into different users without having undergo changes itself, so that a minimal flexibility can still produce an optimal solution. (1991, p.147) Steven Groà ¡k discussed the difference between flexibility between flexibility and adaptability from a different perspective in his book entitled The Idea Of Building: Though and Action in the Design and Production of Buildings (1992). The spatial organization and internal environment may be suitable for only a limited array of uses. Here we should distinguish between ‘adaptability’, taken to means †capable of different social uses†, and â€Å"flexibility†, taken to means â€Å"capability of different physical arrangement†. The building’s capacity for accommodating changed uses will depend on the extent to which it is adaptable and/or flexible. (Groà ¡k, 1992, p.15-17) Groà ¡k tries to explain the the adaptability related to the use of space whilst flexibility refers to different physical arrangement.He emphasize that flexibility is valid not only for interior but also for the exterior adjustments. In this respect,it can be inferred that Groà ¡k agrees with the definition of Rabeneck, Sheppard and Town. Gerard Maccreanor explained the relation between the concepts of flexibility and adaptability by emphasizing the flexibility includes adaptability as well.(1998) Flexibility is a â€Å"designed idea that leads to the collapse of the traditional layout†. (1998, p.40) Adaptability is a different way of viewing flexibility.The adaptable building is both transfunctional and multifunctional and must be allow the possibility of changing use; living into working,working into leisure or as a container of several uses simultaneously. Adaptability is not primarily concerned with a designed idea of flexibility based on the collapse of the traditional layout. An apparent robust identity and enduring presence within an urban context is required that allows the building to cope with future needs and changing conditions. (Maccreanor, 1998, p.40) Flexibility has for a long time been a subject of interest for architects. In the years to follow this resulted in many buildings with open, changeable planning around fixed service cores.One conclusion is that flexibility doesn’t simply imply the necessity of endless change and breakdown of accepted formula. On the contrary, the buildings that have proven to be the most adaptable, were those not originally planned for flexibility. (Maccreanor, 1998, p.40) Maccreanor points out flexibility is neither a characteristic of indeterminate space that allows â€Å"endless change†, nor is it a characteristic of detrminate space with too much technical equipments.In other words, if architects leave thir buildings open for infinitely different solutions for the users;they lead to â€Å"open-endedness † (Scheneider Till, 2005, p.158) and â€Å"uncertainty† (Hertzberger, 1991, p.117). By the same token,if architects put more emphasis on flexibility through building with movable partition, they will create â€Å"false neutrality† as a result of too much technical or strictly defined spaces (Schneider Till, Theory, 2005, p.158). They are the two controversial approaches to flexibility in architectural design that belong rather to â€Å"the rhetoric of flexibility† by Schneider Till (2007, p.5) Gerard Maccreanor has a different view about flexibility. He said that flexibility does not imply ‘an endless change’. He also asserted that the building which are not originally design for flexibility, can be the most adaptable one. Adrian Forty (2000) deals with flexibility as an issue that requires long-term thinking in architectural design. The incorporation of â€Å"flexibility† into the design allowed architects the illusion of projecting their control over the building into the future, beyond the period of their actual responsibility for it. (Forty, 2000, p.143) The confusion in meaning of â€Å"flexibility† is based on two contradictory roles: †it has served to extend functionalism and so make it variable† and â€Å"it has been employed to resist functionalism. (200, p.148)

My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement Essay -- Philosophy of E

My Eclectic Educational Philosophy Thinking back on the years of high school, I remember having wonderful experiences both inside the classroom and out. I had influential teachers and the drive to succeed in order to obtain a higher education. I realize that not all students have that drive to continue their education, but as an aspiring educator I wish to seek and find that drive in each of my students. The famous philosopher and educator, John Dewey, once said, "The aim of education is to enable individuals to continue their education -- or that the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for growth." As a facilitating instructor, I plan to pursue this "aim of education" with an eclectic blend of elements stemming from philosophies of education that already exist while creating and incorporating my own. The definition of progressive education is an educational philosophy emphasizing democracy, student needs, practical activities, and school-community relationships. Part of this philosophy with which I identify so well is the idea that the teacher should be more than just a regurgitation of their content area. I feel that an important element in teaching students and students reaching their goals is student-teacher interaction. The students should be more involved in classroom decisions when appropriate and as often as possible because, after all, it is their classroom on an everyday basis as well as mine. Because educating young minds will soon be my responsibility, I believe that part of that responsibility is to teach every child that enters my room the proper skills to become more advanced learners and listeners. So, incorporating student intervention in the classroom decisions will help a... ...dle. I do understand however, on the contrary, that too much communication can be a bad thing, so my job is to only teach appropriate levels of communication and ways to use it. Being a teacher is something I have always wanted to do with hopes that one day I will be able to have a classroom of my own filled with bright colors and fun, reliable resources. I picture books everywhere of every culture providing inspiration, excitement, and aspiration for each of my students. Artwork will hang from the walls and the desks will be in a neat linear design while smells of candy fill the room; my students will never need for anything. Today, as a college student making my way closer to my future, my hopes of having that classroom are now becoming a reality. As clique as it sounds, I dream of being the teacher that each child wants to have -- some day I will.

Ronald Reagans Space Shuttle Challenger Essay -- essays research pape

Ronald Reagan’s â€Å"Space Shuttle Challenger†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the presidency of George Washington, the people of The United States have turned to the commander in chief in times of distress to receive assurance and hope. Kurt Ritter comments on President Reagan’s address to the nation given on January 28, 1986 saying, â€Å"Perhaps no president could have fulfilled the country’s need to mourn and, then, to begin to heal as skillfully as Ronald Reagan (Ritter, 3).† On that morning the space shuttle â€Å"Challenger† violently exploded while the nation watched live televised coverage of the shuttle’s launch. President Reagan was scheduled to give his State of the Union Address on that date, but instead he reached out the country in this time of mourning. He spoke from his oval office to heartbroken teachers, children, NASA Space Engineers, and the entire country. President Reagan’s reaction to the tragedy of the challenger guided the United States out of despair and into a new li ght of hope behind seven fallen heroes. In this essay I will show that Reagan gave our country a new light of hope through his emphasis on Pathos but also incorporating Ethos and Logos in this memorable presentation. There is no doubt that the when the President of the United States speaks everyone listens to what he has to say. This credibility makes the Ethos of Reagan’s Speech almost unsurpassable. As mentioned Reagan was scheduled to give a State of the Union Address to our country on the evening of January 28, 1986. Instead, he postponed it, because â€Å"the story of the day was tragedy. Here he wanted to give an upbeat speech about America moving ahead. It just didn’t fit. It seemed in congruous (Weinraub).† He showed the country that his priority is the emotions of his people by, for the first time in history, postponing on the State of the Union speech in order to discuss the current event. This strengthened the creditability of his argument immensely. He likened the astronauts to pioneers and stated in his speech that â€Å"They had a special grace, that special spirit that says, ‘Give me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy.† With this he appea ls to the spiritual side of his audience using the word grace to describe the fallen. Again, â€Å"The president concluded by attaching the nation’s sorrow to God’s grace (Ritter, 4).† He said â€Å"As they prepared for there journey and waved ... ...ng that â€Å"nothing ends here†. Reagan’s speech on the night of January 28, 1986 dramatically â€Å"took the first step toward uniting the country in its grief (Ritter, 4)†. Ronald Reagan reached out to the schoolchildren of America and all other citizens of the United States to counsel them in time of tragedy. He gave hope to the nation through emotional and spiritual reference. He was effective in conveying his message but the way his thoughts were organized was in part ineffective. His speech is very unorganized, and he could have ordered his thoughts better. More importantly than disorganization though, Ronald Reagan reached out to a nation that needed him as there president. He gave the people of the United States hope and Reassurance, a task that the President has been expected to do since the beginning of our country. Citations Apple, R.W. Jr. â€Å"President As Healer.† The New York Times 28 Jan. 1986:A2. Ritter, Kurt, and David Heary. Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator. Connecticut: Greenwood, 1992. Sloan, Thomas O. ed. Technical Communication New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Weinraub, Bernard â€Å"Reagan Postpones State of Union Speech.† The New York Times 29 Jan. 1986:A9.

Nike: A Strange and Terrbile Saga :: Company Business

Nike: A Strange and Terrbile Saga Image is a vital to the success of the giant international sports footwear and apparel corporation Nike. Endorsements by sports superstars like basketballer Michael Jordan, soccer maestro Eric Cantona and sprinting ace Cathy Freeman -- to name just a very few -- have made the company's "Swoosh" logo synonymous with "cool" for millions of young people worldwide. That image would be badly tarnished if it became widely known that the Nike empire is built on cheap Third World labour (including child labour), denial of trade union rights and collaboration with repressive regimes, most notably the Suharto regime in Indonesia. Nike Australia's public relations spokesperson, Megan Ryan, was coy about how much the company spends on marketing and sponsorship when Green Left Weekly spoke to her recently. She refused to disclose how much it pays top athletes to endorse its products. She said Nike sought to sponsor, and be endorsed by, the "best athletes possible" as a recognition of their achievements. The only image Nike sought from association with sports mega-heroes was to be recognised as an "authentic" sports brand. "Nike is not a fashion brand", she insisted. Perhaps Ryan hasn't stood on a city street corner, or in a suburban shopping centre, to see just how much Nike gear has become part of youth culture. This is in large part due to the "street cred" that comes from being associated with the likes of the larger-than-life Michael Jordan and the outrageous "dunk-punk" Dennis Rodman, US NBA basketball -- according to one poll, the most popular sport among Australian young people -- and, indirectly, African-American fashion and music. Okay, Ryan finally conceded, there is "some flow-through effect". In fact, more than 60% of Nike sales are to non-athletes. To achieve this "flow-through effect" Nike pays Jordan, the jewel in its endorsement crown, an estimated US$20 million a year to have a sandshoe named after him. In 1992, the company forked out $250 million on its advertising and promotion budget alone. Nike advertisements appear in magazines not noted for their sports content, such as Rolling Stone and the Source, the premier US hip hop magazine. Nike billboards have featured the Swoosh symbol painted by street graffiti artists, and flying basketballers letting loose with technical sports terms like: "I'm gonna dunk on your ass". And, of course, Nike has a home page on the World Wide Web where athletic Web surfers are urged to "hear Spike Lee talk about the Air Jordan XI, call 1-800-645-6031" (perhaps Spike jogs?

From the Farm, Inc Marketing Plan Essay

The purpose of this paper is to determine how to drive more sales to From the Farm’s website as well as increase overall brand awareness through the use of targeted marketing and advertising programs and also to gain a deeper insight of prospective customers which can assist in forming target market segments and creating targeted marketing and advertising programs that cater to those segments. Furthermore, we need to determine how to remain cost-effective with these proposed improvements to the marketing programs. Being a small e-commerce startup with limited funds and personnel, FTF has struggled for over four years to create effective marketing programs and have seen very little positive impact of their past marketing efforts. The lack of an effective marketing strategy which includes targeted advertising has led to increased and somewhat unnecessary marketing costs because several of the marketing campaigns are built on the premise of â€Å"testing it out† and seeing what kind of response it gets. The implementation of targeted marketing and advertising programs can not only increase From the Farm’s sales revenue, but also be more cost-effective since the campaigns are targeted and relevant to their audience. In addition, an improved digital marketing strategy can help FromTheFarm. com improve their overall market positioning due to the fact that they will gain a better understanding of their customers through the data that is collected and thus enable them to build a more effect online marketing strategy. Furthermore, this enhanced insight of their customers can also enable them to improve their product development and product offerings on their website. All of these things combined can definitely contribute to growing their sales revenue and more importantly, by having targeted marketing and advertising programs, they can ensure that every dollar spent is not a dollar wasted. Company Background From The Farm, Inc. (FTF) is a privately-owned e-commerce company headquartered in Stockton, California which specializes in the sales and home delivery of gourmet and organic foods and produce. FTF was founded in 2008 with the purpose and intent of becoming â€Å"America’s Online Farmer’s Market†. According to a report done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers only earned an average of $0. 16 for every dollar spent on the food they produced (Canning, 2011). FTF’s mission is to provide an online marketplace which connects customers with American Family farms by offering farm-fresh products and other specialty food items delivered straight to their door. By allowing customer to purchase directly from the farmer though the website, they cut out the middle man, and therefore give customers the opportunity to taste and experience what truly fresh food and produce tastes like while also supporting the success and livelihood of hard-working farmers all over the county. FromTheFarm. com is currently funded by its parent company, Onions, Etc. , one of the largest onion distributors in the United States. Currently, FTF only has two full-time employees – the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)/General Manager and a Marketing Specialist – in addition to the Founder/CEO, one marketing intern, and one contract-based Marketing/PR Consultant. Any other tasks with regards to finance and accounting are handled by Onions, Etc. personnel and all IT related tasks are outsourced to an outside IT firm and web design firm. FTF has undergone major organizational changes in the past twelve months, in an effort to restructure the marketing team with the intention of implementing an improved marketing strategy in order to grow sales and increase brand awareness. Due to limited funds and personnel, FTF has struggled to create an effective targeted marketing and advertising strategy and as a result have not seen much growth since being founded in 2008. 1. 0 Market Summary and Target Audience Being that From the Farm is a small, family-owned company they do not have the financial strength that other larger food retailers have; however they still have a tremendous opportunity to capture the market being that the food e-commerce market has yet to be penetrated. According to a recent report by eMarketer, as of 2012, U. S. -commerce sales have grown to $224. 2 billion and are expected to grow to $361. 9 billion by 2016. Currently, online food and beverage sales is the smallest U. S. e-commerce category, however, this segment reached sales of $5. 09 billion and experienced a 17% growth in 2012 (eMarketer, 2012). Another report by Nielsen indicates that the sales rate for consumer packaged goods online is expected to reach $25 billion by 2014. This t rending growth can be attributed to the fact that more and more consumers are beginning to do their grocery shopping online (Nielsen, 2011). FTF can definitely capitalize on this emerging trend since the online grocery shopping experience is primarily fueled by a needs-driven experience since there are a greater variety of options available online. In addition, e-commerce allows for smaller companies such as FTF to compete against â€Å"Big Brand† companies since the big brand physical advantages become nonexistent and opens up the opportunity to create a niche brand for customers who prefer to buy their food and groceries online. With a creative and effectively targeted market program, FTF can reach a significant amount of customers online and leverage unique and exclusive products such as tropical fruits, figs, Piedmontese beef, and fresh cherries to capture these customers. There is a huge opportunity to capitalize on the available internet marketing technologies being that there is so much data available through these marketing channels and the fact that many consumers are turning to e-commerce to purchase goods. According to a recent Digital Marketing Report by eMarketer, â€Å"88. % of US internet users ages 14 and up will browse or research products online in 2012, an 83. 9% of that group will make at least one purchase via the web during that year† (Peart, Utreras, & Wang, 2011). Target Market Since From the Farm is a food e-commerce company, it is easy to assume that this website and its products can appeal to the masses. There is a large assortment of foods from fresh fruit and produce includi ng exotic tropical fruits to certified organic meats to an array of desserts which means that FTF has something to offer every kind of customer. FTF’s customers will consist of individuals who are 25 years old and up and have a wide range of preferences when it comes to food, whether it may be parents looking for healthy foods for their kids or health conscious individuals who prefer organic and gluten-free products or chefs and restaurant owners that need to order in bulk, From the Farm can accommodate a very diverse set of needs. Nonetheless, From the Farm’s products aren’t just for those who want to purchase these items for personal consumption because From the Farm also offers products that can be sent as gifts. As stated previously, From the Farm’s customer base is diverse since it consists of individuals with varying needs and preferences when it comes to food selections. The primary market that FTF will target is the online grocery shopper market. The profile of typical online shoppers is as follows: single or dual-income households with no children and are technically savvy, affluent, and time poor. This group consists of early adopters of new technology and is heavy internet users who regularly purchase goods online. Convenience is a main factor for this group and they have little to no concern about product price or delivery charges. The other major category within this market is families with young children. Similar to the previously discussed category, this category includes single parents, dual-income households, middle-income and above average-earning households. The key differentiator is that this category has one or more children, typically with at least one child under the age of five years old. This group consists of adults in their late 20s to 40s. The individuals in this category turn to online grocery shopping because it saves them time, is less hectic, and overall more convenient in nature. Other categories include college students and military families who are not located close to a standard-size store or who wish to purchase products found only in their home regions. In addition, the elderly, disabled and those individuals who find it difficult to get out of the house make up a significant share of online grocery shoppers. As such, the share of senior citizens and disabled individuals has grown over the past five years and is expected to continue growing in the future. Furthermore, online grocery shoppers are more than twice as likely as the average internet user to go online to read and post product reviews, download coupons and search for recipes, according to a study by the Nielsen Company from September 2009 (Panteva, 2012).

Bi Canadian Tire

CASE SYNOPSIS The IT group at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), located at the headquarters of a network of five major business groups, is faced with developing an implementation plan for the development of a business intelligence (BI) infrastructure and business capability at Canadian Tire Retail (CTR). Concurrent to this initiative is the development and implementation of an IT strategy for CTC that places a number of programs on the priority list, with BI seen as a high priority item for which the organization can score some â€Å"quick win† business success.CTR is a major Canadian retailer of automotive, sports and leisure, and home products. CTR business analysts have had the benefit of working with an information warehouse for the past nine years. However, numerous technological, organizational and people challenges associated with the information warehouse have lead to the realization that a complete redesign of the information warehouse is required. Students are require d to analyse the business context of the BI initiative and identify the major challenges that will be associated with its development and implementation over the next 2. years. They will then develop an implementation plan that accounts for these challenges and ensures that CTC will be able to realize the full business value of these investments. Suggested  Questions 1. What is BI and how can it help Canadian Tire? In the case there are 10 common challenges of BI implementations, which of these would you rate as most important for Eubanks and Wnek at CTC, and why? How would you address them? 2. To what degree do you think CTC/CTR’s organizational structure influences the business intelligence initiative?Specifically, what challenges will the shadow IT groups raise for the implementation of the BI strategy? Is this important? Why or why not? 3. Compare the exhibits that depict the current versus the future desired BI infrastructure. What challenges exist for the implementati on of the BI initiative? 4. Given your analysis, develop an implementation plan to project completion. This plan must lay out the priorities and address the major challenges you have identified.

Dulce Decorum

Taylor 1 Dying for a State through Poetry Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est uses vivid imagery which removes any romantic ideas that it is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland. Randall Jarrell’s The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner uses ambiguity to compare death for the state and abortion. Both writings convey the horror of dying for a state. The Death of the Ball turret Gunner begins â€Å"from my mother’s sleep, I fell into a state and hunched in its belly until my fur froze. † This is saying that the gunner was born from his mother’s warmth into a cold state, as he is born in the belly of a high altitude bomber.The â€Å"State† is referred to as cold and less nourishing in Randall Jerrell’s poem. In Dulce et Decorum Est the poem reveals hidden truths of the first world war, and showed the cruelties the soldiers had to face on a day to day basis. Dulce et Decorum est begins â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars† (5) A ll the turmoil’s that young men were put through making them feel and look older than they really were, breaking them down making them lose their spirit they had as young men. What makes this poem unique is the fact that Wilfred Owen was there to witness the horrors of the first world war.Owen continues â€Å"An ecstasy of fumbling fitting helmets. † As the soldiers ran from the gas bombs their helmets bouncing on their heads, putting them at bigger risk of dying for your country. War is often glorified by others that have not experienced how horrifying war can be and they think that they can be hero’s, because of stories they heard as a child from a mother or a father that makes war seem romantic and patriotic so they should enlist in the romance of being that hero not realizing that the war is truly a horrifying experience.Owen states at the end of his poem â€Å"to children ardent for some desperate glory† (25) Children who think it is sweet and honora ble to die for ones country because someone who has no experience has told them stories of romance and patriotism allowing them to believe they will be hero’s in the perfect dream. Taylor 2 Wilfred Owen and Randall Jerrell both tell the gruesome truths of the war and ow it really was to be that unsung hero that watched his friends die and be put into a cart to be hauled off not really knowing if their families and loved ones knew they had passed on, or how it was to be the product of a war and to not live past your first hour because you were born into the freezing belly of a bomber plane and treated like trash when the plane has finally landed and was being cleaned out. How the war today is any different than what both of these authors are trying to say?There is no difference because in Dulce et Decorum est the very last words â€Å"The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. † â€Å"It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland. † The recruitment offices of today still tell their soldiers that they are doing America a favor by fighting for them and that it is an honorable way to live life however it is not said that it is honorable if you die but if you live you have better opportunities in life to go somewhere and be someone.What happened to those young men who fought in the First World War? Most of them lost their friend because they were told it was honorable to die for their country, then a lot of them came home from the wars crippled and could not participate in the things they did before they enlisted, and then some of them came home in a plain pine box to families that only then saw the horrors of the war.

Destination Attributes

Investigating destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values of the Bengali community in London to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh 2. Introduction: Today tourism has been considered as a great phenomenon Involving movement of Industry In the world. In tourism Industry, more than 235 million people employment opportunities generating around 9. 2% of global GDP (WTTC, 2010).The tourism Is sharply Increasing In spite of having global economic downturn, even during the first two months of 2010 worldwide the number of International tourist arrivals raised by % (WTO, 2010). The World Tourism 2020 Vlslon forecasted that the world tourist arrivals will reach to 1,561. 1 million In 2020. The fastest growing tourism regions are in the Third World countries and Bangladesh is one of them to be flourished and promoted significantly and effectively (Echtner and Prasad, 2002).Cox's Bazar, a place of tourist's paradise with natural and man-made artistic attractions is ready to welcome the touri sts around the globe. The increasing trend of tourism industry indicates some vital factors to the host community and tourists such as economic evelopment, greater scopes for understanding, making stronger regional bonding, exchange of cultural beliefs and values, refreshment and entertainment, education, spiritual enlightenment, sustainable development and many more. 3.Research aim and objectives: The aim of this research study is to explore three dimensions of tourist behavior regarding destination attributes, motivational factors and travel values of the Bengali community in selecting Cors Bazar as a tourist destination. There are some specific research objectives to carry out the aim which are as follows: i. To study about the tourism resources and attractions currently offered to the tourists, li. To analyze the push and pull factors related with the choice of a tourist destination, ill.To Investigate various travel values regarding destination attributes of the participants In selecting a tourist destination. 4. Statement of the research problem: The tourist market share and revenues are comparatively lower than neighbour countries even though Bangladesh Is endowed with enormous destination attractions due to the lack of promotional activities, the Ignorance about the motivational factors nd the overall apathy about the travel values of all the tourists vlsltlng Cox's Bazar (Patwarl, 1 993; Hossain, 1999; Hossain and Hossain, 2002). . Research questions and hypotheses: On the basis of the research problem, there are few research questions along with relevant hypotheses formulated which are given below: Q-1 : What are features of Cox's Bazar as a tourist destination? H-1: New, innovative and unique features of a destination always attract tourists. Q-1 : Are the destination attractions accessible for the tourists in electronically and physically? H-2: Knowing information prior about a ourist destination.Q-3: Is it offering both push and pull factors to me et the tourist's need, want and demand? H-3: Sometimes, tourists want to get rid of boredom and monotony while others prefer to visit friends, families and relatives. Q-4: How are the travel values Judged towards future tourism development and tourist's satisfaction? H-4: The feedback from the tourists focuses on the pros and cons of a tourist destination as an integral part of future development initiatives. 6.Rationale: There are different Journals and books studied and explored regarding tourism, ourist attraction, promotional tools and destination development especially in terms of different factors associated with destination attractions, tourist/travel motivation and travel values. The brief description of some of those literatures have been mentioned and discussed beforehand in the section of previous research studies. There are only a very few concerned literatures and research studies available about Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh especially in the field of tourist/travel motivati on and travel values.However, Meng et al. (2008) studied the effects of gender differences on the erceptions of destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values and leading to further research opportunity in another location. In addition, Kim et al. (2002) and Hong et al. (2009) analyzed the relationship between push and pull factors in tourist/ travel motivation and revisiting a destination and indicates for future study opportunity on the interaction of tourist/travel motivation and travel values for tourist market expansion.Furthermore, there is also a further research opportunity to Justify the relationship between push and pull factors of foreign tourists for greater nderstanding about tourist behavior in a broad context studied by Bashar et al. (2008). Thus, this research study can assist to understand the tourist behavior in three main dimensions including destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel values of the Bengali community in London to Cox 's Bazar, Bangladesh which could contribute to the body of knowledge.The above discussion highlights the further research scopes in different aspects of tourism especially to attract more tourists to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh for which this research study will be carried out to nhance the body of knowledge. In this study, the feedback will be evaluated from the tourists those who visited or visit Cox's Bazar about tourism amenities used in their stay as well as their feelings towards their overall satisfaction level.The promotional tools and feelings about the tourism resources will be assessed to find out more effective promotional methods and ways of further tourism resources development to meet the current and increasing tourism market demand. This is optimistic to achieve the desired objectives through this research study. 7. Literature review: Tourism is the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and h ost communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors (Goeldner et al. 2000). Moreover, the term tourism' means the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive primary focus on understanding tourist/travel behavior based on destination attributes, factors of tourist/travel motivation and travel values of the Bengali ommunity in London to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. 7. 1 Previous Research Studies: Tourism is a multifaceted industry and opens doors for both the host and tourist on behalf of a destination country as a medium of exchange.Tourism is an important tool for local economic development as well as infrastructural growth. Promoting the local residents and tourism-related stakeholders are essential to achieve a tourism- led development in a tourist destination area (Matarrita, 2010). Tourism is comprised with various components like accommodation, dining establishment s, recreational roperties, tourism attractions, travel intermediaries, transportation and other supporting sectors in which the people can be involved in different ways.These tourism elements act as destination attributes and have a great influential role in economic development, practicing cultural beliefs and values, environmental protection, preservation of historical sites, natural and artificial tourism attractions after all, to all of the destination attributes (Blake et al. , 2008; Tao et al. , 2009). In promoting destination attributes, the host government along with the involvement of nternational, national, regional and local organizations is required to be well coordinated to the potential tourists (Soshiroda, 2005).In this process, the tourism stakeholders are encouraged to take part in decision-making, sharing benefits, developing opportunities and utilizing the tourism resources for local and tourism industrys interests in a pro-active manner (Tosun, 2005). Education a nd training among local people can represent a good impression as part of destination attributes (Echtner, 1995; Sebele, 2010). Tourism attraction is a function of a site (destination attribute), a marker (an informative lement) and a tourist (Richards, 2002).However, the tourists are positively inclined to discounted facilities, promotional offers and take risk to those destinations but good knowledge can moderate this intention (Wong et al. , 2009). Many researchers have investigated tourist/travel motivation from different views like sociology, psychology and anthropology (Maslow, 1970; Cohen, 1972; Crompton, 1979; Dann, 1977). In this research study, the tourist/travel motivation focuses on the analysis of two different aspects namely push factors and pull factors that have been are ommonly accepted and practiced (Yuan et al. 1990; Uysal et al. , 1993). In these terminologies, push factors describe the internal forces of people for which they are pushed to travel whereas pull fa ctors state the external forces of destination attributes that appeal the potential tourists/travelers to travel there. Push factors include intangible or intrinsic aspirations of the individual tourist/traveler. On the other hand, pull factors consist of those elements which emerge the destination attractiveness as it is perceived by the tourists/travelers.These may contain tangible estination attributes, marketed image of the destination, tourist's perception and benefit expectation (Baloglu et al. , 1996). Push and pull factors in tourist/travel motivation are also influenced in different settings like nationalities, tourist destinations and events to select a destination finally Gang et al. , 2006). These intrinsic and extrinsic factors develop the perceptions of an individual tourist/ actual destination attributes and how the tourist/traveler processes information (Gartner, 1993; Dann, 1996; Baloglu et al. 1997). These motivational factors act ogether in a dynamic and evolving context in destination selection process (Correira, 2000) and the tourist/travel motivation is seen as a multidimensional concept that focuses on tourist decision (McCabe, 2000). Tourism is a paradigm of human beings and human nature and it is always a complex task to find out the reasons, needs and wants of the tourists for travelling to a particular destination (Yoon et al. , 2005).The tourists expect their participation in destination attractions (instrumental performance) and the psychological interpretation of a destination product expressive attributes) to fulfill their requirements and develop travel values (Noe et al. , 2003). In tourism industry, push and pull factors represent demand (tourist/ traveler's desires) and supply (tourist destination attributes). In some cases, higher cost of travel, government regulations, destination image and reputation, international political situations, personal safety issues, fear of terrorism, health epidemics play a vital in selecting a destination (Prideaux, 2005).The preconceived image of a destination (Bosque et al. , 2008), variety seeking tendency, gender ifferences (Meng et al. , 2008), partner's influence, satisfactory level of previous experience, personal feelings and preferences are closely related with the perceptions of destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel values (Hong et al. , 2009). There is a need of well coordination among push and pull factors as like as the tourists/travelers would be benefitted based on their motives from the destination attributes in an effective manner.

Financial and Corporate Actions of Laird plc Essay

Financial and Corporate Actions of Laird plc - Essay Example Materials division manufactures equipment that shields electromagnetic interferences, thermal management systems, signal integrity equipment, etc (Laird, 2014c). The global electronics and instruments industry has seen a growth of 4.3 percent in the year 2011 and has been evaluated at $1,844.3 billion (MarketLine, 2012). This study is focused on the company’s financial details including the company turnover, industry performance, and market report and market share. It also includes the last few years’ financial performances of the company, its financial activities and its internal and external performance analysis. As stated in the above figure, the company had made the highest revenue in 2011, as it discontinued some of its operations that year, which added to the total revenue (Laird, 2014e). However the revenues generated from the continued operation has been increasing:  £491.3 min 2011,  £520.2 min 2012 and  £537 min 2013 (Laird, 2014d). The profitability has decreased severely in 2011 and again increased in 2013, but in the recent year, it has been seen to have a downward trend (Laird, 2014d). The downward trend is mostly because of the lower sales volume due to high competition and the high fixed cost of operation (Morningstar, 2014a). The operating profit has increased from 2011 and is almost steady in past two years. It is clearly seen that after discontinuing some of its operations, Laird has increased its profitability. In the last year, i.e.2013, the Performance Materials division made revenue of  £342.8 million, which is 6 percent more than previous year’s revenue that is  £324.7 million. The IT and Telecom sector made the maximum revenue of 35 percent, followed by the Smartphone business which made 24 percent. The Wireless Systems division made revenue of  £194.2 million which is 1 percent less than the previous year that is  £195.5 million.  

Colorado Department of Education Website Search and Critique Research Paper

Colorado Department of Education Website Search and Critique - Research Paper Example The pages "For Educators" and "For Administrators", on the other hand, contain almost the same information such as educator licensing services, information on early childhood, K-12, and adult education programs, and links to outside resources. Finally, the "For Parents & Students" page offers information on district schools, state & federal grants, and home schooling, among many others.  Ã‚   Helpful Information Overall, I think the website offers  a holistic picture  of the current state of educational system in Colorado. Through data and statistical reports, one can get a glimpse of how schools and students perform well or poorly. This constant monitoring of performance serves as a reminder  for school administrators to maintain or improve their performance. Parents and students, meanwhile,  can readily access a wide variety of information that  can guide them in making education-related decisions. The website offers information on district schools, their performance, a nd programs that enhance student learning. Finally, the public is kept updated on latest developments through the news and announcement pages. Missing Information I'd like to find information about the department's future plans and directions.

Character Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Character Analysis - Assignment Example Amir has a great friend Hassan and a wealthy father. He greatly adores his father. In his first year of friendship with Hassan, he is joyful about the friendship and values Hassan very much. However, things begin to change and jealousy, cruelty and the power struggle are witnessed. Amir’s mother died while giving birth to him (Hosseini 12). He therefore lives with his father who means everything to him. He comes out as someone who has a great lack in his life because of the death of his mother. He also feels somehow responsible for the death of his mother. As a tribute to her dead mother, he throws himself into writing and poetry. Things start changing for the worse when Amir starts believing that his father also holds him responsible for the death of her mother. Amir starts getting jealous with Hassan because of the attention that Hassan is receiving from his father, Baba. Amir admires Baba very much, but Baba does not seem to have time for him. Lack of ‘manliness’ seem to be the reason for the behavior and attitude of Baba towards Amir. Baba cannot understand how his son cannot stand up for himself. All the tension finally comes to breaking point when Amir wins a Kite –fighting tournament and Baba finally shows him some love (Clapsaddle 3). This does not however end the jealousy and cruelty he bears towards Hassan because of the affection Hassan gets from Baba. Amir shows his disapproval of Hassan by not helping him when he is raped by Assef. He goes ahead to accuse Hassan of theft and this leads to Hassan being thrown out of Baba’s house. When Amir and Baba arrive in the USA, he no longer views his father as legendary father. To him he is now just a normal father. America allows the young man to forget the betrayals and power struggles he had with Hassan in Afghanistan. Amir now starts to take care of his father. He goes ahead to meet a Saroya who he