House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Essay

The House of Mirth is separated into two books of approximately equal length, with Book I having at least thirty more pages than the other. In the commencement of Book I, the central character, who goes by the name of Lily Bart is twenty-nine years old and gets acquainted with the fact that she is on the threshold of losing her influence to hang about in society by the desirable quality of her looks and charisma alone. She believes that getting married is her only way out. The itinerary of Book I describe Lily’s tribulations in accomplishing this goal. By the end, Lily has continued to exist after an attempted rape which nonetheless hurts her repute and causes her to be unable to find the high regard of Lawrence Selden and is desperately in liability. Book II, commences in Monte Carlo with additional and given up for lost scandal, moves to New York and additional debt. It ends in deficiency, lonesomeness, and an unintentional death that could without difficulty be called a suicide. Similarities The story presented by Edith Wharton is rather tragic. It is about a beautiful, high-spirited woman who is in dire need of getting over the manipulations of others and the extremely stern society around her. The only assets that the central character Lily has are her beauty and charisma. She is well-acquainted with the rules of the upper class New York society of 1905. Lily tells Lawrence that, â€Å"a girl must [get married] and a man if he chooses†. (Wharton, p. 165) Lily basically is totally dependant on her aunt for her financial expenses and believes that she should get married to a wealthy man as soon as possible. But, as she confesses, she always does â€Å"the right thing at the wrong time†. She is nearly married to about three different men who are pretty wealthy but she is not able to go ahead with it. She is in love with Lawrence, but considering the fact that he is not rich and has to work to make both ends meet, she does not even let herself imagine that she should marry him. She comprehends the susceptibility of her position she does not have any fortune of her own, and for that reason her reputation must be impeccable. The people that she is surrounded by have â€Å"minds like moral flypaper — they can forgive a woman anything but the loss of her good name. Unfortunately, Lily’s inherent honesty makes it impossible for her to realize the treachery and desperation around her. She makes some foolish choices: We resist the great temptations, but it is the little ones that eventually pull us down. † (The House of Mirth, p. 1). In both the movie and the book, perhaps her only mistake is that she ends up trusting all the wrong people. Because of this we can see in the movie and the novel that her reputation is looked down upon and she ends up owing a great deal of money to a man who misused her trust and made attempts to ruin her reputation. As is said, we witness in the movie that â€Å"by the time she is willing to accept the proposal of businessman Sim Rosedale (Anthony LaPaglia), he is no longer willing to offer her the position of wife, only mistress. Rosedale has a kind heart, and he likes Lily. But he is a businessman with ambitions of being fully accepted into society, and he can see that Lily is damaged goods. Perhaps her very willingness to accept him makes her less appealing† (The House of Mirth, p. 1). Lily realizes the sensitivity of her position in the society and she realizes that nothing she does would be right for her after she has been betrayed by nearly everyone and is shunned aside by her society. She now makes attempts in both the movie and the novel to support herself first as secretary/companion to a vulgar social-climber, then as an internee in a millinery shop. She makes one last exaggerated plea for help from her cousin, and also comprehends a drastic attempt at blackmail, but that is a â€Å"great temptation† she is able to resist. The movie definitely is a great adaptation of the novel written by the author with first-rate performances and extravagant details of that period. Edith Wharton’s 1905 â€Å"The House of Mirth,† apparently is a novel about early-20th century New York upper classes, and is really an outer-space story, and instinctively at least, the director Terence Davies seems to know it. In order to Wharton’s book to the display, Davies takes care to get all the accouterments right: the depressively sparkling balls and social gatherings of turn-of-the-century Manhattan society life, the faux-rustic lavishness of the nation state homes of the rich, the odd rules and regulations and subtexts prowling behind the way a woman might trip her delicately gloved hand into that of a man. In Wharton’s view, and in Davies’, it is an ambiance that is hospitable on the exterior but fastened with fatal gas, an accurate arrangement of molecules that looks for and finds and strangles the life out of foreign creatures, like Wharton’s great conqueror Lily Bart, who need air and brightness and love. It takes one beautiful alien to play Bart. Davies’ â€Å"The House of Mirth† is not anything like a science-fiction movie, for sure, apart from the way it uses ambiance to communicate a sneaking pastiness of claustrophobia and even danger. What is evident from the first frame, just like it is evident in the beginning of the novel by Wharton, is that Lily is a human being who just does not fit in this world. What is worst is that she herself believes and is convinced with this fact. The deception of the story, nevertheless, is that we are not in actuality sure about the origin of Lily; Wharton’s wrapping up is that there are no definable monetary, communities or devout divisions that are moderately right for her, and Davies’ movie, with all its miserable sophistication, incarcerates the real meaning of that peripatetic restiveness. A gorgeously beautiful but spinster woman of twenty-nine with deteriorating prediction, Lily has been raised to accept as true that luxury is exactly what she deserves. Hence, Lily lives further than her means, relying for the most part on the resentful contributions of her elderly aunt, Mrs. Peniston. All the lacking that Lily suffers because she does not have money, she makes up for in behavior of verbal communication and coquetry: she has the ability as well as the charm to turn any encounter into an enticing meeting. Nevertheless her game playing, as Wharton has written and as Anderson plays it, is not entrenched in heartlessness. It is more a particular kind of non-interventionist resourcefulness, such that her possible love interest and a little bit retribution Lawrence Selden are overwhelmed by it. â€Å"I always like to see what you’re doing,† he tells her only half-teasingly. â€Å"You’re such a wonderful spectacle. † (Wharton, p. 35) To keep herself buoyant economically, Lily is desperately in need of a husband, but she is disastrous in finding one due to the fact that, deep down, she knows she does not want one. She is most involved with Selden, a legal representative of self-effacing means who lives for books and fine art and a warm fire. But not even Selden is a sanctuary for her considering that he proves himself competent of devastating coldness. And after Lily unsuspectingly puts herself in a negotiative position with a married friend, Gus Trenor, she comes to realize that she will have to make her own money to support herself. The movie presents to us that Wharton’s book is not an assembling cry for women’s expressive and financial self-government. It is far more understated, and a lot less joyful, than that. But the narrative repetitively affirms the worth of that self-determination, exclusively by showing us how tantalizingly it is kept out of poor Lily’s reach. The movie incarcerates something of Wharton’s reticent tenderness and attractive rhythms in the way it sets Lily revolving on her unhurried spiral to calamity. The movie takes a few emancipations with the story, concentrating, for example, two of Wharton’s innovative characters into one. The movie â€Å"House of Mirth† is a dignified movie, sometimes too much so, moving with the momentum and sprightliness of a dowager aunt and the channel of communication, much of it taken straight from the novel is from time to time stiff and discomfited. But the movie does an unimpeachable job of screening to us, in the first half of the movie, both the mesmerizing comforts and the tediousness of the life Lily desires to, with its seamless drawing rooms and unnaturally effervescent parties. The second half is shadowy and more visually solemn, as Lily thrashes about to keep her existence together. But that pessimism makes it obvious that this less-glamorous continuation is not right for Lily, either. She can be considered an exotic bird, in poor condition for the filth and dirt of the everyday world but far too unexpected to be serving tea to rich, unintelligent gentlepeople. Lily, too contemporary, too fundamental and too beautiful, fits nowhere, in no detailed society, time or place (Zacharek, p. 1). Edith Wharton plots The House of Mirth on a sequence of meetings set in vibrantly distinct social settings. The first communal setting is Lawrence Selden’s residence at the Benedict and the convention is between him and Lily Bart. The second is the Trenors’ country house throughout a week-long party. In the pinnacle, Wharton shows with great power the sexual operation at the heart of the financial dependence of women. In the increasing action, Wharton sets up the rudiments of Lily Bart’s personality by showing her in stroke in a social situation which restrains her choices. In the lessening action, when Lily Bart has been evicted from the society that has prearranged her values, Wharton shows that Lily Bart is not ready to become accustomed to a dissimilar way of life. Lily Bart becomes a disastrous figure; trying with her imperfect moral possessions to live up to her intellect of what is right, even when it means facing impoverishment (Wharton, p. 25). Conclusion In the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that the movie and the novel namely The House of Mirth written by Edith Wharton has much in common.

How to Brush Your Teeth Properly

How to Brush Your Teeth Properly Proper teeth brushing involves four things; a soft toothbrush, the correct angle of brushing, brushing in a pattern and brushing at least twice a day, after breakfast and before bedtime. Proper tools and ingredients to brushing your teeth properly is, a soft toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. A soft tooth brush also makes it much easier to remove plaque below the gum line. This is where periodontal disease starts. Use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste that contains fluoride.Apply it to the soft brush. It might stop a cavity in its tracks and give you more resistance to future cavities. Angle the bristle of the brush along the gum line. At a 45 degree angle, apply firm pressure so the bristles slide under the gum line. Vibrate the brush while you use short back and forth circular motions. Brush two or three teeth at a time, then move to the next teeth. Tilt the brush so you can use the tip of the brush to brush the backs of your front teeth.It's fine t o brush any regular pattern you choose, but since the insides of your teeth get less attention you might want to start with the insides of the upper teeth then go to the insides of the lower teeth. Switch to the outsides of the upper teeth, then the lower teeth. Brush the chewing surfaces of the upper teeth then the lower teeth. End by gently brushing your tongue and the roof of your mouth. This removes germs and keeps you breath fresh. Properly brushing your teeth will simply keep the dentist away.Brushing your teeth is a preventive method to keep your mouth staying healthy, looking great, and having fresh berth throughout the day. Your mouth carries many different germs and sometimes bad breath. Brushing your teeth twice daily is about the best habit you can get in. There are other methods used to help aid brushing you teeth such as dental flossing and mouthwash. Those are other important roles that you should take when taking action of keeping your mouth healthy. So everyday, twi ce a day you shall take these simple steps into action when trying to brush your teeth.

Integrated Case Study: Bandon Group, Inc. Essay

This paper is the continuation of Bandon Group Inc. integrated case study. This part of the case study mines feasibility of an ERP system at Bandon Group and evaluate alternative ERP and CRM packages for Bandon Group and make recommendations for a solution which will meet their needs. Step 8: Determining the feasibility of an ERP system From the description of the executive managers of the divisions, it is pretty clear that Bandon Group has encountered big challenges with the current IT situation. Many of the issues discussed possibly will be solved by restructuring and re-engineering the organization, the business process and by placing the legacy systems with an ERP system. ERP provides the backbone for an enterprise wide information system. A primary benefit of ERP is easier access to reliable, integrated information. A related benefit is the elimination of redundant data and the rationalization of processes, which result in substantial cost savings (Lau, 2003). From the case study, we have learned that the co-owners are requesting eBusiness know-hows, on-demand reports that generates electronic reports, the need to address for more information for tactical and strategic management, the need to standardize business process and the need for more targeted marketing (Sumner, 2005). The dilemma was to decide whether the system should be centralized or decentralized. The implementation of the CRM softwares in the divisions were decentralized and the division mangers were seeking better management  information but they were encountering data relational problem. In general, when we look at the current IT situation especially the use and implementation of CRM and OMD application, it is intolerable. The problem get worse when the company plans to expand its business with the existing situation. The answer for Bandon Group should pursue and EPR solution absolutely is yes. That would be my recommendation. Basically ERP implementation requires organizations to re-engineer their key business in fundamental ways and restructuring the overall organization system because the ERP is there to address business issues and to place the company in a better competitive environment and position. Kumar (2010) emphasize that managers must conduct a feasibility study of the current situation to assess the organization’s needs by analyzing the availability hardware, software, database ad in house computer expertise and make the decision to implement ERP where integration is essential. To decide whether Bandon Group should purse for ERP solution, we should reconsider the benefits of implementing ERP. As Sumner (2005) outlines the benefits. Some of the main benefits ERP he mentioned. ERP maximizes throughput of information Minimize response time to customers and increase interaction with customers, Increase interaction across the enterprise, Improve on-time delivery, Reduce direct operating expense, Increase interaction with suppliers, etc. When we come to the Bandon Group practical case, integration problem was critical for all divisions. Some of the areas that ERP overcome are: Coordination: after implementing ERP, it has been confirmed that ERP has the ability to support coordination across business functions. Database: by implementing ERP, it is possible to integrate data so that data will have the same meaning across multiple functions. Process: after implementing ERP, it has been realized consistent business processes which are based upon an information model. Information: Pursuing ERP makes real-time information consistent Information system: ERP has enabled stand-along systems to become integrated systems. Once again, it is my recommendation to Bandon Group to purse CRM solution. Like ERP, it is an integrated approach to managing relationships by focusing on customer retention and relationship development  (Chen and Popovich, 2003) and CRM initiatives increases competitiveness. Adding to their notes, they said that CRM offers customization, simplicity, and convenience for completing transactions, regardless of the channel used for interaction. Sumner (2005) share their idea. The main characteristics he distinguished CRM facilitates customer contact and call list management, It maintains information on customer contacts in a database and forecast customer’s needs, It organizes marketing campaigns, Enables queries to a product marketing database,  Delivers on-line systems that enables customers to configure products on-line, Handles customers’ services. It my recommendation to Bandon Group to implement EPR firs and CRM follows because ERP provides CRM software. Conceptually, ERP covers all the basic business process but CRM systems focus specifically on processes at the customer interface (Schubert, 2010). The current situation at Bandon Group is not limited to customer relationship or the problem of Bandon Group is not limited to lack of sales and marketing data, the billing system, web enabled support system, better invoice or the integration of the software but the company and its process need overall business restructure and re-engineering because that is all about ERP. Step 9: Determining ERP/CRM design issues Business processing workloads are among the most demanding workloads in the enterprise. These include transactional workloads reflecting the â€Å"engine† of a business’ orders and sales, ERP workloads for managing workflows, and CRM for managing customer relationships and decision management solutions. These workloads need to be available to end users, end customers, and business partners. To achieve that goal, they are typically supported by a combination of hardware characteristics, such as built-in reliability and scalability features, and software characteristics, such as system management and support for high availability. In light of this, my recommendation of ERP and CRM packages for Bandon Group would be implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Microsfot Dynamics ERP and CRM is designed to help any organization acquire and retain customers (Microsoft, n. d). The software enables to perform and automate common business tasks  including: Easily access information about business records from one place. Schedule activities, track them, and send e-mail. Generate reports. Manage marketing lists. Track advertising and marketing campaigns. Sort customer responses to sales and marketing initiatives. Keep detailed notes and an activity history for each business record. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also can run from within Microsoft Office Outlook. On top of the other benefits and functionalities mentioned above, Rhodus and Paris (2013) said that Microsoft CRM and ERP helps the company in integration by creating one view of customer experience, building stronger relationship and creating customer intimacy, improving management visibility, provide visibility and access to customer relationship, etc. I believe that Microsoft Dynamics is the best software solution for the current situation at Bandon Group. References Chen, I, J. and Popovich, K. (2003) Understanding customer relationship management (CRM). People, process and technology. Business process management journal, Vol. 9 No 5. Retrieved from http://cis.csuohio.edu/~ichen/CRM.pdf Kumar, P. (2010). Successful implementation of ERP in a large organization International journal of engineering science and technology. Vol. 2(7), 3218-3224. Retrieved from http://www.ijest.info/docs/IJEST10-02-07-151.pdf Lau, K, L. (2003) Developing successful implementation plan for issues and challenges. Retrieved from http://iacis.org/iis/2003/Lau_ERP.pdf Microsoft (n. d) Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 User’s Guide. Retrieved from http://blogs.msdn.com/b/crm/archive/2008/07/21/crm-4-0-user-s-guide-now-available-in-pdf-and-word.aspx Rhodus, B. and Paris, E. (2013) CRM & ERP – better together. Retrieved from http://www.bkd.com/docs/webinars/2013/8-21-13-presentation.pdf Schubert, P. (2010) Realizing Benefits from Current ERP and CRM Systems Implementa tions: An Empirical Study. Retrieved from http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/koblenz/fb4/iwvi/agschubert/publication/mate rialien/bled-23.06.2010 Sumner, M. (2005) Enterprise resource planning. Pearson Prentice hall, Upper saddle river, New Jersey

Slang Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slang - Essay Example One of these words that I came across recently among the college mates is fuut. In this journal article, I discuss the grammatical meaning if the word, its use among the students, its origin, as well as longevity. Definition and Grammatical Function Fuut, being a versatile word among the college vocabulary functions as a noun, a verb, as well as an adjective. The context with which the people use the word determines its grammatical function. In its contextual meaning, fuut is poor treatment of other people by a person, whom they used to share a close relationship or friendship together. As such, it could also apply to groups of people, where a group could treat another group badly. For instance when used in its plural status in a sentence, two rival groups could say â€Å"of late, the cheerleaders fuuts on the basketball team.† This means that the two groups initially were close, but due to some issues, fell apart. Subsequently, the cheerleaders now treat the basketball team b adly. As a noun, one could refer to another person, especially one who treats him/her badly as a fuut. In this context, John could say, â€Å"Mary is a fuut.† This means that Mary currently treats John badly, despite their having had a good relationship before falling out with each other. Negatively, it can also mean that the action if person lead to the occurrence of a problem. For instance, John could say, â€Å"Mary’s fuut is gives me a headache.† In order to belittle the rival, one could add â€Å"ie† to the noun to form-fuutie. This could also mean that the opponent disregard the other party’s behavior, to a point of him/her. For instance, John could say, â€Å"Mary is just a fuutie.† as such, he makes fun of her behavior, showing how lowly she reasons. Further, adding –â€Å"ie† changes the noun to an adjective. The basketball team could say, â€Å"The fuutie cheerleaders did not appear in our tournament.† In this form, fuutie describes a group of cheerleaders who treat a basketball team badly, despite their having needed their support. Finally, fuut could also mean a verb, which means the action of treating another person badly. An observer could say, â€Å"of late, Mary really fuuts on John.† This means that she currently treats him rather badly. Additionally, it could also act as a verb by adding-â€Å"ing† to mean the act of treating another badly. For instance, the basketball team could say, â€Å"the fuuting cheerleaders are unreasonable.† However, without the suffixes, â€Å"ing† and â€Å"ie†, the word could not function as a verb or an adjective. 2. Demographics for the Term Mostly, people or groups that previously had a close relationship but fell apart use fuut while describing each other. Of course, when two friends become enemies, there is loss of communication. The fact that they shared quite a lot, and knew each other well, would lead to hatre d and at times hostility. Open scorn is part of the behavior that these people exhibit towards each other. As such, the most likely groups of people to use this word are onetime close friends or lovers. Age in most cases determines the meaning of the word. For instance, is an adult person uses the word; it could have a very different meaning from when a teenager uses it. Additionally, it also has a different meaning when used by a kid. However, it is rare for the adults and the kids to use such a word. Innocently, a wife could tell his husband, â€Å"

Essay on a set topic - choose ONE of the below questions as your

On a set topic - choose ONE of the below questions as your topic. Indicate which one you have chosen - Essay Example In the recent years there have been efforts to try and address the issue of climate change. Countries are being advised to adopt anti-climate change policies. In this context, they are actually required to address the key issues in the society that have prevented the adoption of the strategies. The study would discuss on how the social and cultural processes have impacted while addressing this issue of climate change. How values affects the decisions and actions with regard to climate change, what role culture plays in the strategies for adopting to climate change, and in the process overcoming the barriers to change. The study would also highlight the irreversible losses of cultural and natural heritage as a result of climate change, and finally, what cultural practitioners contribute to the search for creative solutions to the negative impacts of climate change. Discussion Climate change is caused by a variety of factors which include oceanic processes like oceanic circulation, var iations in solar radiation that is received by Earth, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, and lastly, human induced alterations of the natural world; the latter effects are currently resulting in global warming, while climate change is often used to describe the human specific impacts (Rothwell, 2006:56). The factors that shape climate are referred to as climate forcings. They include processes like variations in solar radiation, continental drift, mountain building and, variations in earth orbit, and changes in the concentrations of greenhouse gases. There are arrays of climate change feedbacks that can either diminish or amplify the initial forcing (Barnett & Adger, 2003:134). The human factors that cause climate change include: an increase in the carbon (iv) oxide concentrations as a result of emissions from fossil fuel combustion, followed by the aerosols and then cement manufacture. The other factors include the following: animal agriculture, deforestation, ozone depletion, an d lastly, land use. They are also of concern in the roles that they play, both separately or in conjunction with the other factors, in affecting the climate, microclimate, and measurement of climatic variables. On the other hand, according to Jones (2009:101) asserts that culture in the context of climate change, refers to the common manner or way a community of persons make sense of the world. Culture has social, material, ideological, and artistic dimensions, all which have an impact on what people think, believe and value, and how they respond to the call of action The determination of knowledge from the social settings requires social constructivism. The term social constructivism is referred as a sociological theory of knowledge that is usually applied to the general philosophical constructivism into social settings. Whereas groups construct knowledge for one another, they collaboratively create a small culture of shared artefacts with shared meanings (Grant, 2007:167). When on e is completely immersed within this culture of this sort, one is all the time learning about how to be part of that culture on various levels (Barab, Dodge, Thomas, Jackson, & Tuzun, 2007: 268). As a consequence, strong social constructivism as a philosophical approach suggests that the natural world has very small and/or non existent role in the construction of scientific knowledge. Recently, scientists have been struggling to comprehend the past and the future climate by utilizing observations and

Organisational change 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organisational change 2 - Essay Example one were to google-search the phrase â€Å"what is change?† close to 20 million book entries would align themselves in his computer screen as if one could have the luxury to get to the 20-millionth entry. But indeed, as Stickland (1998) observes as early as in his writing time, change would be a subject that could swiftly expand in treatment and in scope due to the speed with which it would show itself in human activity. In the two decades preceding Stickland’s book publication, the word â€Å"change† has more than doubled its appearance in literature titles (Stickland, 1998). Most book publishers and authors, it is observed, get deep into serious treatment of the subject of change, its nature, its effects and anything it can do, yet miss out on its definition. In fact, Ly (2009) notes that change is a â€Å"phenomenon for which there is no agreed-upon definition.† It is just like saying it is just there; it just happens. It assumes the characteristic of time, that the more people attempt to define it, the more it confuses, making description the easiest way towards understanding. But of course, a few authors made some sincere attempt to define it, if only to have some sense of it. Ly (2009) was resourceful enough to feature some of them. Hanelock defines change as any significant difference in the status quo. Linquist refers to it as a modification of, deletion of, or addition to attitudes and behavior. Morgan defines change as a process or condition of being different between time 1 and time 2. Of course, the most common reference for definitions, Webster, calls change as an act of becoming different. (Ly, 2009). And if man sees change as part of himself and his evolution, never has change been more obvious, pronounced and ubiquitous in organizations than now because of the constantly varying character of the environments they are in. Zimmerman (2011) notes very profoundly that in view of these highly charged surroundings, organizations need to change

The start of the parole system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The start of the parole system - Research Paper Example His release is conditional, contingent upon satisfactory behavior. He is under supervision and treatment by a person trained in parole work. Englands contribution to what later metamorphosed into parole was its program of transportation to the American colonies, a program motivated, not by humanitarian considerations, but by economic pressures. In the sixteenth century, Englands economy was in a decline. There was much unemployment. The labor market was overcrowded. In the colonies, on the other hand, there was need for cheap labor. The British government decided to grant reprieves and stays of execution to convicted felons physically able to work so that they might be shipped abroad and impressed into service. This system of deportation is part of the history of parole in that it involved mitigation of penal sentence and placement of the erstwhile prisoner in the free community. As in parole, the individual was not an altogether free person. The first English transportation law was proclaimed in 1597, authorizing deportation of rogues. In 1619 one hundred "dissolute persons" were ordered to Virginia. The government paid a contractor, usually the shipmaster, about five pounds for each prisoner so shipped. In Virginia, the offenders were put up at auction, the highest bidder winning them as indentured servants. The British government thereafter exercised no further responsibility for the welfare or control of the former prisoners, so long as they did not return to England. If they returned without authorization, they were subject to death. Boatloads of felons came over, but were not sufficient to meet the demand. Virginia thereupon began to import Negro slaves. The labor shortage eased, but the white exiles, despising their lot, fomented unrest among the blacks. This caused consternation among their masters, who could now get along without the transported convicts. Minus the white trouble-makers, they could keep the slaves

The Marketing Situation of X Infotech Research Paper

The Marketing Situation of X Infotech - Research Paper Example X Infotech services are sought after by a host of customers, in different sectors, as Mainframes have applications everywhere. Installing a new server costs around $100,000, with storage solutions costing extra. Naturally, most customers of the firm are company representatives or startup businesses. The company needn’t bother about Age and psychographic information about its customers, as most of them are young geeks looking for a foothold entry into new business models. Most orders are placed online, or through customer calls Monday to Friday. Maintenance of systems is a major priority, as Mainframes systems are subject to command failure, or allied shortage. For this purpose only, the company hires trained, experienced technical staff on a per-request basis, and is gradually expanding its scales. The core philosophy of X Infotech is â€Å"commitment to customer needs†, for which it is continually striving ahead. One new emerging area is the dot com boom. Many start up s rely on highly-secure 128 K encryption devices, to facilitate payment options on their websites, thanks to the arrival of e-commerce. This calls for enormous space in the server area. As mentioned in the Boston Matrix, this falls under Question Marks, and it has become the most significant business for IBM vendors. After initial installation, a large number of controlling applications in Mainframes can be configured online. All the customer has to do is, log on to numerous vendors which understand the particular script in which the programs have been initialized. Naturally, low-cost vendors from India are an attractive option to several cost-conscious customers, and it’s not good news for X Infotech, who need to do their homework well, if not willing to be eaten by trouble brewing abroad.

Global competitiveness of the company Unilever in Pakistan Research Paper

Global competitiveness of the company Unilever in Pakistan - Research Paper Example The government has developed the policies which could keep the costs of production low thereby, providing benefits to private sector. However, legal framework of Pakistan is very weak because of ineffective policies and weak regulatory structures (Asian Development Bank). Infrastructure Resources in Pakistan are limited and the country’s infrastructure needs are massive. It is because of the limited fiscal space and huge gaps in capacity of public sector to develop infrastructure (IPDF). With the increasing multinational companies, a significant development has been observed. However, infrastructure ratings are mixed such as low rank in electric supply and telephone lines and better rank on transport and railways infrastructure (Asian Development Bank). Macro-economy Table shows that GDP growth of Pakistan is 4.1 percent in 2010 as compared to 2.1 percent in 2009. In 2007 the GDP growth rate was 7.0 percent and in next few years it declined significantly which reflects the imp act of global financial crisis. Exchange rate of Pakistan Rupee is Rs.86.21/1$ in 2010 as compared to Rs.60.16/1$ in 2005. It means that Pakistani Rupee has declined significantly against dollar within a period of five years. Inflation has increased from 9.3 percent in 2005 to 12.90 percent in 2010 (Board of Investment: Government of Pakistan). Pakistan economy has faced two major natural disasters in the past few years including massive flooding and earthquake. Because of poor infrastructure and construction, such disasters actually hurt the Pakistan economy. According to CEO, Ehsan Ali Malik, full-year sales target of Unilever declined by 7 percent in Pakistan because of floods (Sharm). Table: Economic Indicators of Pakistan Source:... Global competitiveness of the company "Unilever" in Pakistan Pakistan economy is facing significant challenges because of security concerns and macroeconomic deterioration. Since private sector plays a very critical role in supporting the overall economy therefore, Pakistani government supports and attracts private sector investments. The government has developed the policies which could keep the costs of production low thereby, providing benefits to private sector. However, legal framework of Pakistan is very weak because of ineffective policies and weak regulatory structures. Resources in Pakistan are limited and the country’s infrastructure needs are massive. It is because of the limited fiscal space and huge gaps in capacity of public sector to develop infrastructure (IPDF). With the increasing multinational companies, a significant development has been observed. However, infrastructure ratings are mixed such as low rank in electric supply and telephone lines and better rank on transport and railways infrastructure. Unilever has been pursuing very aggressive marketing strategies. Since company has developed huge range of products and most of the customers are not even aware of the products which belong to company. Therefore, company should develop advertising strategies that promote company image with products and sales should be promoted by attracting the customers to believe in Unilever.

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Strategic Management - Assignment Example Rumelt has severely criticized the contemporary concepts of strategy, which is largely followed by strategists, marketers and leaders. According to Rumelt, a good strategy consists of a specific plan for solving a defined problem or challenge. It involves multiple stages and tedious development of expertly and thoughtfully implemented policies. This strategy is designed focusing on the obstacles and the appropriate procedure to mitigate them. A major differentiating factor between Rumelt’s good strategy and other contemporary strategy is that his strategy stresses upon intelligent utilization of resources in order to solve specific issues, rather than distributing the resources without proper research.According to Rumelt, bad strategy is not necessarily the reverse of good strategy. In general, bad strategy has emerged from specific leadership dysfunctions and specific misconceptions. Bad strategies are characterized as follows;1. Fluff: It means filling slogans with trends an d popular buzzwords rather than important insights, thereby rendering the slogans empty. Here, aims or objectives of an organization are bluntly put in their strategies, without adding creativity or streamlining the same with business function or target customers. Most of the mediocre and traditional organizations follow the similar unproductive approach.2. Failure in facing challenges: It is impossible to create a strategy if leaders fail to identify as well as isolate the major issue or challenge faced.

Israeli and Arab conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Israeli and Arab conflict - Essay Example It starts with the Biblical story of Abraham who moved from the land of Ur in present-day Iraq/Iran to the land of Canaan as it was then called. According to Biblical traditions, Abraham was promised the whole land adjacent to the Red Sea and within the west of the Jordan river. However, there were some native Canaanites on the land. Abraham's grandson, Jacob (Israel) moved to Egypt with his children and grandchildren. They lived in Egypt for a few hundreds of years and became a great and populous nation. They then returned to the land of Canaan a few generations after Abraham. The descendants of Abraham became known as the Israelite community. They lived side-by-side with the natives of the land of Canaan. This include the Philistines, the Jebusites, the Hittites and many other native tribes. After a few centuries, the Israelite community became more numerous in the land and with the rise of David as king and leader of the community, it was transformed to a state and its capital was established in Jerusalem. The State of Israel was however divided into two: Judah in the South and the Northern Kingdom. The northern Kingdom was destroyed and the people were sold into nations around the world. The people from Judah however remained a united state around the capital Jerusalem. Eventually, the Roman defeated Judah in AD63 and the remnants of Judah were sold as slave in the Diaspora (Safrai 1). In the Diaspora, the people of Judah continued to maintain their traditional practices and maintained their identity. They became known as the Jews. Meanwhile, the Romans renamed the State of Israel Palaestina which became known as Palestine (Safrai 1). As the Roman power faded, the land of Palestine was inhabited by people from other Middle Eastern origins and this include the Canaanites, Philistines and others who lived in the land before Abraham moved onto it. After the Romans, the land came under the control of the founder of Islam and his successors. As a result of that, they converted to Islam and assimilated to the main sphere of Arab communities. However, the land of Canaan/Israel became known as the Holy Lands and it changed hands for generations before the Crusaders contested over the land for generations. Eventually, it became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s and it remained under Ottoman rule until 1918. British Rule & Palestine The Ottomans were Muslims, however, they never considered themselves Arabs (Willner et al 487). There was therefore a clear distinction between Ottomans or Turkish Muslims and Arabs of the Middle East and North America. During the era of the Ottoman domination of the Middle East and North America, the Arabs were ruled by Ottoman governors. Hence, the British defeat of the Ottoman Empire came with a promise of liberating the Arabs after the war (Willner et al 489). Britain used a complicated system of forming alliances and diplomatic ties with different peoples around the world during the First World War period which was fought between 1913 and 1917. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire was part of the â€Å"Asian Theater† of a larger war that was fought in Europe and other parts of the world. Britain had used the help of the Americans, Monarchical Russia and many others to defeat the Germans in the European War. They had also promised the Jewish Group seeking a homeland for the Jewish people known as the Zionists in Europe and around the world that they will help

Sams Surprise Essay Example for Free

Sams Surprise Essay Weve done it! shouted Janice, as she danced around the room. We can now do anything we want! Her husband, Sam, just stared at her, half asleep on the sofa. He had been down at the White Horse all afternoon, watching the horseracing with his mates. He had come home a bit worse for wear and was now thinking his wife of twenty-eight years had suddenly gone round the bend.  It was nine oclock on a Saturday evening. Janice called her husband into the dining room for his dinner. Slowly, Sam got up and staggered in, to be met with the overwhelming scent of burning candles and incense sticks all around the tiny room. It was a beautiful aroma but very sickening at the same time. On the table was his favourite meal, medium rare steak and oven chips with lots of mushrooms and pepper sauce; the smell wafted through the air mingling with the scent of the candles. In the middle of the table was a very large bottle of champagne. Only two place settings were on the table, with new champagne glasses. The way Sam was feeling, it was the last thing he wanted to drink!  Why had his wife gone to all this trouble? Had she a big win on the horses? Unlikely, she always said that only fools gamble on the horses, that it was a mugs game to throw away all that hard-earned money on a silly old nag. If Sam had asked his wife what she was up to, she would tease him all night trying to get him to guess what it was. He knew her too well, and he was not in the mood for guessing tonight. His hangover was starting to set in. His tongue was feeling strange; it was as if a hamster had left its fur on it! Someone had got into his head and was thumping a drum, very badly. Sam decided to play along with her, after all shell tell him soon enough, because she could never keep a secret for long, it would be eating her up in no time at all. Then it suddenly hit him, the day, the time; it could only be one thing! Her only vice was the National Lottery if youre not in, you dont win was her motto. Maybe now it had paid off! She did say We could do anything we want. That must be it!  All of a sudden, Sams hangover was cured, he decided he did feel like drinking some champagne and even the candles and incense sticks were not as nauseating as first suspected. Janice appeared at the doorway looking very sexy in a beautiful black negligee, her hair had been tied back, with only a few strands dangling around her face. She was wearing a lot of make-up. Janice never wore make-up, she said it made women look tarty and out for a good time! She was always telling our two daughters, Kellie and Katie not to wear too much makeup when they were going out, as men would get the wrong impression. She had been quite a strict mother. No short skirts or low cut tops were allowed to be worn by her daughters!  The girls were twenty-two and twenty-four years of age now, living their own lives in the next town with their partners. Their son, Daniel, who was twenty, was the only one still living at home. It had been very quiet in the house; all evening, no loud music could be heard coming from Daniels room. Which was unusual. He loved his Eminem music to be played so loud that the whole street could enjoy it! Thump, thump, thump, was all that could be heard when coming round the corner at the end of the street, however the neighbours very rarely complained about it. Maybe he had gone out for a change but he never went out, his girlfriend, Jayne, always came here. This was all very strange.  Sams thoughts drifted back to his wife standing in the doorway. The last time he saw her looking like this was on their honeymoon. It brought back wonderful and distant memories of the Isle of Man, where they had spent two glorious weeks, hardly stepping outside their hotel room! Janice strolled over to her husband, cupped his face gently with her hands and kissed him lovingly on the lips, and whispered, I love you. Sam was completely taken aback; it was all so out of character for his wife to behave like this. Thoughts started running through his mind. Had she something to tell him? Was she having an affair? Poor Sam was totally bemused as to what was going on in his wifes head.  Sam ignored all of these thoughts; his wife would never have an affair. She took her wedding vows very seriously, every one of them! He started thinking again of the most likely reason for her behaviour, the Lottery! He started to eat his dinner, thinking of all the things they could do with the money a foreign holiday, new house, new car, the list was endless. He was getting very excited, he was dreaming about lying on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean, drinking champagne, when suddenly Janice proposed a toast Heres to us being able to enjoy life and to do exactly as we please, when we please, now that Daniel has finally left home!  Suddenly Sam felt very ill. Although the meal looked delicious, it didnt taste as nice as he first thought and he certainly did not enjoy it as much as he thought he would, considering his dreams had come crashing down around him!

Misbehaviour Should Be Accepted In Organisations Commerce Essay

Misbehaviour Should Be Accepted In Organisations Commerce Essay Normal behaviour in an organisation has been analysed by many university experts and management theorists. These people believe that these positive activities contribute a lot to the organisation. Hard-work and discipline are good examples. However, the opposite theory misbehaviour in organisation behaviour is attracted by more and more people in a modern well-run organisation. The purpose of this report to ascertain what is a well-run organisation, what the accurate definition of misbehaviour is, and how misbehaviour influences a well-run organisation. After we have researched this theory comprehensively, it will be clear to see the reason why companies accept misbehaviour and how misbehaviour can create a positive effect in modern companies. The scope of this report will cover employees misbehaviour in the workplace and the relation between management hierarchy and workers. 2) Definition of a well-run organisation: The key characteristic of an organisation is that it is an purposefully organised group, department or family to achieve present targets set in the decision making state, and organisational present constitute member should adapt to the change of exterior or interior situation in order for the organisations survival. Generally, an organisation must be able to effectively implement and integrate with some controlling power for the successful continuation of the organisation. (Wilson Ronsenfeld, 1990). Organisations are always expected to successfully achieve targets in the process where from output to input, it then of course depending their resources should be used appropriately. Otherwise, an organisation is not only supported to be successful but also to be effective related to the output, involved in their final result and target. There are some related factors that could improve organisational performance, such as increasing profitability, improved service delivery and to maximise efficiency in key activities. In addition, efficient organisations must ensure that it reaches a satisfactory target, understanding the clients demand and requirements, and are compliant to specific requirements, adaptable in the change of exterior and the demand situation. (Mullins, 2007). 3) Definition and classification of misbehaviours: Organisational misbehaviour is defined as any intentional action made by members of an organisation that defies and violates shared organisational norms and expectations, and/or core societal values, mores and standards of proper conduct. (Yoav Vardi and Yoash Wiener 1996). However, all errors, mistakes, or even unconscious negligence do not constitute organisational misbehaviour, despite the bad effect it produces in the organisation. We will be focusing on individuals who are directly and intentionally involved in some form of misconduct in a well-run organisation. But this phenomenon may also come from a group of individuals or indeed the organisation itself. Organisational misbehaviour may also change in different situations and it can be functional or dysfunctional, positive or negative, short term or long term; it depends on the circumstances and manner of acting. The organisational misbehaviours are grouped into 3 major categories: misbehaviours that are intended to benefit the self, misbehaviours that intend to benefit the members employing organisation as a whole and misbehaviours that intend to inflict damage and be destructive. Misbehaviours that are intended to benefit the self are internal and often victimise the employing organisation or its members. Examples of such misbehaviour is the distortion data, the stealing and selling manufacturing secrets, the harassment of others, misleading customers and sabotaging processes. Misbehaviours that intend to benefit the members employing organisation as a whole are for the most part external in nature, usually directed toward outside victims such as public agencies, customers, social institutions, or other organisations. This sort of misconduct is self-serving and organisations members will take benefit of this cheating. Falsifying records, cheating governments and the misleading of customers belong to this category of misbehaviour. Misbehaviour that intends to inflict damage and be destructive can be both internal and external with the main goal being to hurt others or the organisation, to cause minor or considerable damage, both visible and invisible such as mistreatment, sabotage and theft. 4) Why can we accept misbehaviours in well-run organisations? Organisational misbehaviour can be as minor as being late for work, or as serious as theft, such as the stealing company resources. One research done in 2003 in the United States for example, claimed that over 95% of all businesses experience employee theft, with an estimated loss of $25 billion every year. Before we discuss whether or not misbehaviour is acceptable within an organisation, we should first know the source or reason of such behaviour. Peter Michael Blau, an Austrian sociologist and theorist, produced many theories about social phenomena and population structures. One of them, namely the Social Exchange theory, explains organisational misbehaviour. The Social Exchange theory is a combination of theory of economics, psychology and sociology, used to explain social behaviour of humans, based on exchanging benefits between two parties. When putting this theory in a workplace, it explains that the relationship between employees and employers are built based on the exchanging of benefits. Employees devoted their effort and time to work in exchange of their salary paid by their employers. When one party gives more to another, it is expected to receive more in return. There are both material and non-material benefits. Financial rewards or salaries for employees are both material benefits. Whereas, non-material benefits can be appreciation from managers and supervisors, or merely a certain level of support. Employees might receive their salary each month but they might not receive non-material benefits as frequently, such as job satisfaction. Employees have the potential to feel mistreated, causing the relationship between employees and employers to be ruined. When employees feel that they are unfairly treated in the workplace, while there is little chance that they can come forward or take a stand against their employer, the only way employees can repay such mistreatment is to engage in organisational misbehaviour. Understanding the reason of organisational misbehaviour, we then know why we should accept such behaviour other than taking eliminations and punishments. As an unkind action will repaid by an unkind response, making misbehaviour counter-productive. 5) Advantages of misbehaviour: Despite the fact that misbehaviour can be destructive, misbehaviour can also be seen a useful tool for well-run organisation. The hierarchy can see the dysfunction in the organisation: In the organisation, an employee will not always obey their superior; they will argue their point if there is something wrong or if they simply have a different opinion. It is preferable if the management can clearly see the dysfunction in the organisation. Therefore, the management is forced find the best way of preventing mistakes in advance of any challenges to their decisions. Increasing the rules, procedures, and bureaucratic control: Misbehaviour in an organisation also can be explained there are some leaks in the regulation of the organisation. For instance, in some organisations, discrimination is a normal situation. Regardless of race discrimination or the discrimination between the upper class and the lower class, there must be set rules to control them, in order to treat everyone equally. The management need to be in control of the organisation because misbehaviour will arise if ignored. As a result, the potential for misbehaviour encourages improved control by the management. Hierarchy need more concern to their employees: In certain situations, there will be a conflict when employers feel that they are unimportant, or indeed they feel that they are not totally involved in the organisational culture and feel uncomfortable in their position. Therefore, the organisation could understand they need to pay more attention to their employees and ask their opinion. When these employees feel that they are important to the organisation and they can contribute to the organisation, they will be more obedient and productive. Stimulate innovation and adaptation: Innovation is a very important part in an organisation. Misbehaviour means people challenge the status-quo, the result being that they misbehave. To stimulate innovation and adaptation not only benefit the organisation but also its employees who are stimulated by new challenges. Increasing the quality of decision making: Should one person make a decision independently of others, this course of action will ultimately cause others to challenge it. Many people will have differing opinions which they will want to put forward. To gather and coordinate the employees differing opinions on finding the best way to deal with a given issue will increase the quality of the decision making process and will remove the chances of disobedience, as the employees can voice their opinions. 6) Conclusion: Based on the information we have gathered, including the text book and internet sources, we have come to the decision that misbehaviour should be accepted in a well-run organisation. Organisations should emphasise misbehaviour as well good behaviour. Employees work for organisations, the aim employee working is variety, but in common the aim is to earn money to support themselves and their families. On the other hand, the employer has the employee, that is an equivalence exchange. Bosses should not be angry if an employee misbehaves with economic efficiency. An organisation is consisted by group, and a group consists of employees. Due to different backgrounds and different learning capacities, these people will definitely conflict when their opinions differ. The upper management power need rules and regulations to stop the dysfunction in a well-run organisation. Overall, satisfaction for employees is very important in well-run organisation, because employees may misbehave if they feel dissatisfied with the working conditions and management decisions. Companies are willing balance the benefits between the employer and employee. At last, employees can make a valid contribution to the organisation and enhance the companys productivity and competitiveness in the markets in which it competes.

History and Methods of Chemical Warfare

History and Methods of Chemical Warfare Cori Haws In this report I intend to investigate from the perspective of a chemist the history and development of chemical weapons systems focusing primarily on their development, and the usage throughout the 20th century to present day and the means to which they act. As a starting point it is important to clarify what is meant by a chemical weapon or CW. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons defines a chemical weapon as a toxic chemical compound or its precursor which can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical reaction. Delivery devices designed for the delivery of chemical agents, filled or unfilled, are also considered as such. For the purpose of this report I will be focusing on the chemical agents themselves opposed to the systems used to deliver such agents. Chemical warfare generally involves the use of the known toxic properties of chemical substances in the intent cause damage to life. This is distinct from conventional warfare, most of which requires the ‘self-destructive’ properties of particular chemical reactions (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene with Oxygen), and different from Nuclear, Radiological and Biological weapons such as Hydrogen bombs, Atom bombs and weaponised Anthrax in the method of action. There are many classifications for Chemical Weapons and are defined by the way of which they in fact act on an organism. These sub-categories include; choking agents, impede a victims breathing; blister agents, irritate and poison tissue; blood agents, inhibit the ability to transfer and utilise oxygen; nerve agents, inhibits nervous system operation, and riot control agents, short term lasting low risk to life agents. It is important to mention that while some substances are inherently toxic not all are considered chemical weapons. For example raw materials, substances for medicine, herbicides and insecticides all are able to cause significant harm to life but under controlled and regulated conditions are not significantly dangerous to be classified as chemical weapons. Brief History of Chemical Weapons While chemicals have been used for warfare for a considerable amount of time, albeit in highly primitive and at the time for yet unexplained reasons. (I.e Poison arrows, molten tar and arsenic smoke), most of the use of chemical weapons in modern history is limited to World War I where Chlorine and phosgene gasses were released in large qualities during trench warfare. Notably the first use was 22nd April 1915 on the town of Ypres in Belgium, overseen by Fritz Haber, the chemist who developed the process for production of ammonia. This attack resulted in the death of 5,000. During the war several different types of chemical weapons were developed primarily by German scientists, probably the most well-known being mustard gas and derivatives. Throughout the course of the First World War it is estimated that over 90,000 were fatally wounded by chemical weapons for a total of over a million injuries by use of approximately 124,000 tons of chemical agent. The idea of the danger posed by c hemical weapons as demonstrated by the Great War was influential in the coming years as although most countries felt reluctant in developing them the fear of even deadlier weapons being used in future conflicts. Although Chemical weapons were not used during World War II, it is know that both axis and allied powers possessed chemical weapons for use in retaliation. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed and maintained large stockpiles of chemical weapons in fear of use. Statistics show that at the time both superpowers possessed enough chemical agents to destroy most organic life on the planet. It is noted that during the Iraq conflicts that Saddam Hussein used a variety of agents namely Mustard Gas and nerve agents possibly including what is considered the most potent nerve agents ‘VX’, against the Kurds in 1988. This prompted the Geneva Convention to prohibit the production and prompt the destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles. The most recent examples of Chemical Weapons use were the terrorist attacks in Matsumoto, Japan and in Tokyo involving the nerve agent known by its name of Sarin (GB). Sarin was also reportedly used in Syria on the residents of the Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus on the 21st August 2013 resulting in an estimated 350-1500 deaths. Choking Agents As stated previously the most notable Choking agents which have been used in warfare originate from WWI. Chlorine as we know is a strong oxidant agent due to its high electronegativity. This fundamentally is the reason to which it is dangerous. Being highly reactive means it is likely to react with most other elements to form chloride compounds. The second reason being that in standard conditions it is a gas meaning that containing it is difficult. The preface of which Chlorine gas works as a chemical weapon is by the means of inhalation. The respiratory system itself is highly sensitive tissue surrounded by a mucus membrane. The mucus membrane is a high percentage water. When Chlorine has been inhaled especially in high concentrations it will react with the water of the mucus membrane to form Hydrochloric Acid, which causes serve irritations within the lungs, generally causing secretion of fluid into the lungs eventually resulting in what is called secondary drowning as a result of Pulmonary Edema. In extremely high concentrations even two or three breathes of chlorine gas can be fatal due to serve tissue damage. Though due to Chlorine gases reactivity it can easily be filtered from air using activated carbon which is a form of processed carbon which has pores to increase surface area to around 500m2 per gram. The chlorine will simply react with the carbon before doing any damage to human respiratory tissue. Phosgene, the second Choking agent developed also works by means of reacting with water to form Hydrochloric acid. The reaction was generally slower but unlike Chlorine gas, did not have a distinguishable odour and usually killed it’s victims within 24 hours of inhalation. Mustard/Blistering Agents Blistering agents were developed at around the same time as the previously stated choking agents. Mustard Gas was developed in 1916 for the Imperial German Army and could be synthesised in a variety of ways including reacting Sulphur Dichloride with Ethene (1), reacting Sulphur Monochloride with Ethene (2) or using Thiodiglycol and Chlorinating with Phosphorus Trichloride (3). The third reaction was generally used by the British when creating mustard. It was a cleaner way to produce it as the purity was approximately 96% whereas the second method was fast but was only 70-80% pure and as a result did not keep for long periods as it decomposed, increasing the pressure of the containers it was in meaning it generally leaked. SCl2+ 2 C2H4→ (Cl-CH2CH2)2S 8 S2Cl2+ 16 C2H4→ 8 (Cl-CH2CH2)2S + S8 3 (HO-CH2CH2)2S + 2 PCl3→ 3 (Cl-CH2CH2)2S + 2 P(OH)3 Mustard gas is a blistering agent as it bonds an Alkl group to guanine in DNA, damaging the DNA and preventing cellular division and results in cell death or development of cancer. Due to this method of acting upon a subject it was rare for a victim to suffer immediate symptoms as the damage would not be evident until the effected cells die and fail to regenerate. As Mustard gas is not very soluble in water but is highly soluble in fats resulting in rapid absorption through skin tissue. After 24 hours skin irritation would occur then large blisters would form anywhere the mustard agent came into contact with the skin resulting in chemical burns. At the time of WWI serve mustard burns where 50% of the body was burned were often fatal. A victims eyes would also become greatly effected becoming sore and swelling causing blindness. At high concentrations blistering of the respiratory system would result in internal bleeding leading to pulmonary edema much like choking agents. While many people during have been killed by the use of Mustard gas and its derivatives, it also had done the world a large amount of good as it was discovered from autopsies of mustard gas victims that there was reduced white blood cell count and after further research Nitrogen Mustard was eventually used as the first chemotherapy drug to treat diseases related to the white blood cells such as lymphoma and leukaemia. Cyanide and Blood Agents The most well-known blood agent is Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN). HCN is produced on an industrial scale as it is a vital precursor to many useful chemicals in pharmaceuticals as well as in polymers. Cyanide ions are responsible for the effects of poisoning due to the fact cyanide ions interact with the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase by binding to it and reducing its effectiveness effectively halting cellular respiration. As a result the cells of an organism become unable to use the oxygen in the blood generally leading to hypoxia.

Essays --

 The Civil War lasted for four years, three weeks, and six days. The Civil War caused a numerous amount of good and bad things. Along with the union coming out victorious, slavery was abolished, territorial integrity was gained, the reconstruction era began, and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Although, many people were involved in the process leading up to the civil war. Abolitionists played a huge role in the progression in civil rights. They fought for the freedom of slaves and the ceasing of slave trade from Africa. There were many activists involved in this movement, including Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. These two women abolitionists are two of the most dynamic woman and well known abolitionists. Although Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth have many similarities, they have certain aspects that allow them to differ from each other. Despite their slight differences, Tubman and Truth were seemingly the most efficient and effective in their duties as abolitionists. Consequently, Harriet Tubman was born a slave into a slave family. As a slave, at five years old, Tubman was "rented" to families where she was put to work winding yarn, checking animal traps, cleaning the houses and nursing children among many more laborious tasks. When she was older, she decided she prefered to work outside of the house as opposed to laboring inside the house with domestic chores. As a teenager, she would upset her owners and often was reprimanded and sent home because of her rebellious attitude. Later on in Tubman’s life, she married a free man and also found out that her mother was freed by her owner, but her mother was never informed of her freedom. This directly affected Tubman because her mother’s freedom also meant that Tubman was b... ...ght her battles and was often victorious. According to Sandra Johnson, in her article Truth and Tubman: Women who fought against slavery, in the Austin Weekly News, 2005, Tubman did not feel Lincoln was working hard enough to free slaves, yet when Truth met with Lincoln she praised him for his efforts. One more difference between the two women is that Tubman worked to free slaves, but Truth fought for women’s rights in addition to ending slavery. In summation, Tubman and Truth were exceptionally brave women who fought for ideals in which they strongly believed. While Tubman’s courage was founded in a rebellious nature, Truth’s courage was based in her faith in a Higher Power. Both women, despite their differences in opposing their foes, have rightfully earned their positions as heroines in American history with their efficient and effective duties as abolitionists.

UNDERSTANDIN OIL :: essays research papers

The brutal attacks/bombings this week in New York, and Washington D.C., along with threats of attacks there and elsewhere in the country have changed our times forever. While the mass media concentrates on the details of the destruction, and the blanketed words of politicians, I will attempt to understand and explain the events from the fence. BOMBING AND BEING BOMBED ARE THE SAME THINGS ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE FENCE. Terror is not a spontaneous human action without credence. People just don’t hijack planes and commit harikari (suicide) without any weight of thought to the action. No one in the media seems to ask WHY DID THESE PEOPLE DO THIS HORRIFIC ACT OF VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION? To be able to understand the answer to this, we must first look at our U.S. Mideast Policy. During most of the 20th century, U.S. businesses have worked on attaining oil rights and concessions from countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. After WWI, secret back door deals by our State Dept. yielded oil rights from then defeated Turkey to fields in what is now Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in return for looking the other way at a crime against humanity, the Genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. Oil profits have been the motivating factors behind many attempts at counterinsurgency of democratic regimes by the CIA and the U.S in the Middle East (such as Iran in the 1950s, where the Shah replaced the Prime Minister who refused to give up oil rights to the U.S., and since the people couldn’t deal with the Shah, an extremist government headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini ultimately prevailed). During the Iran-Iraq war, America supplied both sides with weapons and advice. These are n ot the actions of a rich superpower wanting peace. Let’s not forget that Saddam Hussein, before being America’s vision of the Anti-Christ, was a close ally of the U.S., and the CIA. So what was the firm belief system of consecutive American administrations that caused all this to occur ? PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL LEAD TO HIGHER OIL AND GASOLINE PRICES. Let’s not also forget the power of the Arms industry, disguised as defense, that still sells billions of dollars of weapons to the area. Therefore it has not been in the short-term economic interest of the U.S. to foster Peace in the Middle East. Using the above reasoning, the U.

American US Alignment

This research essay looks at the Latin American alignment with United States in the post cold-war era. Latin America has been associated with Soviet Union from the 1960s until the 1980s. Thus we will take a look on patterns in which US alignment has taken, taking in consideration political economic military and cultural connections.The essay illustrates factors reinforcing and causing tension for US-Latin America connection. Further will take look at the nature and extent of Latin America shift to leftward in the past decade as well as discuss the emerging alliances. From the findings it can be noted that United States hegemonic and coercive control transited to partnership and cooperation as a result of changes in the international system and limited resources of the United States.The factors contributing to this alignment include natural and human resources of Latin America; geophysical proximity and scarcity of resources in the world. It is concluded that this alignment have both beneficial and side effects to both involved. PATTERNS OF LATIN AMERICAN-US ALIGNMENT IN THE POST COLD-WAR ERA, CONSIDERING POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, MILITARY AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONSAccording to Klaveren (1992) Latin America has been viewed as a marginalized and abandoned continent. It has had little or distant influence on global politics due its geo-physical isolation. The region has been relatively been calm except during the Central American crisis of the 1980s. Klaveren (1992) elaborates that although Latin America has been peaceful externally it has had a history of internal conflicts in which foreign countries have not been involved except the United States.Due to interdependence and emergence of new rules in the global arena, there has been a change in redefinition of security concept. The United States redefines it in terms of drug trafficking, environmental protection and migration flow (Klaveren, 1992, p.29). Klaveren (1992) notes that geographical, cultural and political pro ximity of Latin America to US makes it player in supply of specialized and non-specialized labor to the aging population of United States. As a result they alleviate labor shortage to the later and aggravate brain drain in the former (Klaveren, 1992, p.30).Latin America has had good political ties and values with United States for a long time since World War 2. However there has been shortcoming in relation to human rights violation and democracy (Klaveren, 1992, 30). Economically Latin America trades with United States on several commodities, whereby the U.S. is a major market for Latin America motor vehicle parts, capital commodities and agricultural products (Klaveren, 1992, 27).There have been cultural ties between the U.S. and Latin America. Currently there is an influx of migrants from Latin America. They are progressively becoming large population in the U.S., which definitely has effect on U.S. life (Klaveren, 1992, 30).FACTORS THAT REINFORCE AND CAUSE TENSIONS IN THE LATIN AMERICAN CONNECTIONS WITH THE USLatin America possesses vast natural resources, for instance, Brazil is ranked among 10 top most powerful economies of the world while Mexico is in the second lot (Klaveren, 1992, 26). Latin America is endowed with mineral resources such as oil that is critical to world economy. Since Latin America has relatively developed industrial sector it is able to exports products to U.S. with the likes of Brazil and Mexico. More so, because of geo-physical proximity to U.S. they are able to supply specialized and non-specialized work force to them (Klaveren, 1992, 26).On the other hand a couple of factors cause tension with the U.S. one being the diversification of Latin American economies with inclusion of Japan and other developing countries. The lack of effective security measures in Latin America brings into fore the security concerns of U.S. with the increase of drug trafficking and proliferation of small arm (Klaveren, 1992, 26).THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF LATIN AMERICA’S SHIFT LEFTWARD OVER THE PAST DECADE.Latin America was formerly under American system from early 1960s but due to changes in the global economy it has moved from â€Å"natural segmentation to institutional integration based on geographic specialization† and has created their own niche so as to offer specialized services to the receiving end of the technological flow (Klaveren, 1992, 22, 27).Since the end of cold war, the influence of Soviet Union to Latin America  Ã‚   has declined. This resulted to difference in structural institutions of Latin America. For instance Brazil and Columbia had different positions on the liberalization of services in Uruguay Round (Klaveren, 1992, 39).Also, Klaveren (1992) notes that Brazil and Chile developed different alternatives to solve debt crisis after the 1980s Central American crisis. This gives us the complexity nature of Latin America in the post cold war era. The internal issues are as different as is the exter nal. Therefore, only a collective action based on concrete and common interest (Klaveren, 1992, 39).Latin America internal issue could only be dealt on specific case by case and by sector to sector.This is observed when looking at how in the UN General Assembly, Latin America votes with other developing countries or in the third world. However, there is differentiation within the Third World countries that could make variation in the pattern of how Latin America will play in global power (Klaveren, 1992, 39).A number of challenges are yet to be tackled by Latin America such as â€Å"pleas for solidarity and just international order† which will seem to be unnoticed and changes in the international system will have a direct and long term effect on Latin America (Klaveren, 1992, 41). Thus the influence of the region to international system will depend on specific strategies, internal, economic and political environment in which the strategies will be based upon (Klaveren, 1992, 41).Each country will have to mobilize economic, political and strategic resources so as to impact the global system otherwise they will be isolated (Klaveren, 1992, 41). The individual country foreign policy must adapt to changing international system and that scarcity of resources demands careful and selective decisions on approaches and choices to make (Klaveren, 1992, 41). It is worth noting that although sound external strategies are good; they must be backed with domestic conditions for them to flourish (Klaveren, 1992, 41).THE EMERGING REALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE US AND LATIN AMERICA AND WITHIN THE LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIESThe new emergence in realignment comes in the wake of global changes and the different administration of the US over time. Varas (1992) explain that the gradual integration of Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean economies in the North American geo-economics space led to erosion of single Latin American region.The post Latin American will be characterized with sub region system with different economic, political and strategic weight. There foreign policy, he adds, that was once useful for hegemonic alliance is now obsolete and new paradigm is necessary to address regional and international changes (Varas, 1992, p.48). Within the Latin American countries should use broad based approach, which takes account of political, economic and cultural orientations.   The United States have now transited from a hegemonic and coercive control to partnership and cooperation control. In this regard, according to Varas (1992) the U.S. was no longer  Ã‚   dominant in the international system as well as had limited resources to control and support the hemispheric countries.Thus policies of free trade and decision-making were determined bilaterally in this new system. While the Latin America was agitating for liberalized world trade the U.S., advocated for open trade and cooperative approaches to international problems such as weapon proliferation, terroris m, international violence and environmental degradation (Varas, 1992, 51). The U.S. cooperation with Latin America is on security matters where it seeks to establish credible defense systems, which are effective in peaceful conflict resolution (Varas, 1992, 56). The U.S. is also helping to strengthen democratic institutions and human rights although democracy is still elusive (Varas, 1992, 67). More so U.S. is strengthening its ties with Latin America on socioeconomic issues, especially when considering immigrants to US.CONCLUSIONThe long-term effect of these developments will not lack the merits and limitation for either side. To the U.S. they will be consolidating their presence in Latin America and use low cost measures in ensuring security to its nationals especially when dealing with drug trafficking, greenhouse effect, terrorism and global violence. However, this is threatened by the increasing immigrants from Latin America to U.S. The U.S. will have to depend on immigrants fo r labor because of its low fertility rate and aging population. The Latin America will suffer brain drain although such scenario would provide employment opportunities for its emigrants. The Latin American countries will definitely have economy growth due to direct foreign investment, just international trade and transfer of technology. The emergence of new developed economies like Japan, China Korea and Taiwan add to long-term effects to Latin America. REFERENCEKlaveren, A. (1992). L. America & international system. In   J.Hartlyn, L. Schoultz, & A. Varas. (Eds.). The US & Latin America in the 1990s and beyond (pp. 22-41). Latin America. UNC PressVaras, A. (1992). From coercion to partnership: a new paradigm for security cooperation in theNorthern Hemisphere. In J. Hartlyn, L. Schoultz, & A. Varas. (Eds.).   United States and L.   America. (pp. 48-67). Latin America. UNC Press.

Belgium Cultural Analysis

I. Introduction II. Brief Discussion of Belgiums relevant history III. Geographical compass a. Location amidst France (S) and Holland (N) Ger more and Luxembourg (E) and sum Sea (W) b. Climate Belgium has equ adapted weather, adoring in summer (May to September) and cool to refrigerated in winter, with snow truly likely. temperate mild winters, cool summers rainy, humid, cloudy c. d. Topography The coastal component p imposture, extending about 1648 km (1030 mi) inland, consists of sand dunes, flat lea land, and p anileers (land re take overed from the sea and protected by dikes), and attains a maximum of 15 m (50 ft) above sea level.Eastward, this region in st sequences gives way to a gently curlicue centimeimeral plain, whose more fertile v individually(prenominal)eys atomic number 18 irrigated by an extensive nedeucerk of shoot awayals and waterways. Altitudes in this region ar about 60180 m (200 600 ft). The Ardennes, a heavily wooded plateau, is located in southeastward Belgium and continues into France. It has an aver date altitude of about 460 m (1,500 ft) and reaches a maximum of 694 m (2,277 ft) at the Signal de Botrange, the orbits graduate(prenominal)est point.Chief rivers be the Schelde (Scheldt, Escaut) and the Me purpose (Maas), both of which rise in France, flow by Belgium, pass finished the Netherlands, and empty into the unificationwards Sea. IV. Social Institutions a. Family i. The nuclear family Belgians be among the happiest, or so satisfied wad in the bea and among the to the lowest degree(prenominal) likely to leave their country. bliss is a safe and comfortable tone sh ard with family and friends. Much of the Belgian goal revolves al just about their family. The Belgian family has re master(prenominal)ed very crocked despite enormous changes in familiarity due to industrialization. slightly children clear a strong sense of loyalty non lone(prenominal) to their pargonnts, plainly b esides to grandp argonnts, siblings and cousins. The extend family has re master(prenominal)ed relatively close. It is not unusual for a family to lie with in the same local anaestheticity or as yet the same rear throughout a life fourth di clobber forcesion. The average Belgian family size is 2. 9 throng. ii. The widen family The extended family has re primary(prenominal)ed relatively close. It is not unusual for a family to live in the same locality or even the same firm throughout a life clip. iii. Dynamics of the family . agnate mappings p arnts in Belgium sent their children to pre initiate programs so that they could give away to become more(prenominal) independent and affablely adept. Most Belgian children over age 2 attend these take- ancestryed programs liberal- m. Belgian p argonnts listed littler classes and more physical look ating and harmony as desirable improvements. 2. Marriage and causa Long marriage engagements be common, as is living toge ther in the lead or instead of marriage. Only civil marriages are easy-grounded, plainly legion(predicate) couples in like manner fuck mop up a ghostly ceremony. As you announce your wedding in Belgium, the first thing that you must do is to print cardinal wedding invitations, one from the grooms family and the an other(prenominal)(prenominal) from the brides family. The invitations are a symbol of the union of the two families as well as the descent of the new union. Following the ancient Belgium customs duty the bride must walk up the isle to hand her mother a whizz flower which is followed by an embracing. After your marriage is over the bride presents the grooms mother a hotshot flower and and then the two of them embrace. This symbolizes the brides acceptance of her new mother which is simply fantastic.another(prenominal) noteworthy wedding feature in Belgium is that the bride must carry a finickyly embroidered handkerchief with her name on it. This is aut horisation as after your marriage exultation is over this handkerchief is framed and hung on the w every in a rump of honor. at that place is more to add to this tradition. This very handkerchief is passed on to the next womanish fragment of the brides family when she plans to get married. iv. Female/ manlike Roles Fathers are ultimate closing makers. Mothers field of operations and rule household matters v. Education 1. The role of study in society a. particular b. Secondary c.Higher d. The structure of the readingal system consists of pre school (3-6 geezerhood) six days of primary school and six historic period of secondary school. Belgium has two systems of education the state system and the toffee-nosed ( more or lessly Catholic) system. Education is cease in both of these systems, and the curriculum is the same. in that location are four types of education customary Secondary Education (ASO) planetary education closely theoretical that prepares schoolchilds for hikeder education. finesse Secondary Education (KSO) Along with general subjects, students take visual arts, music, dance, drama, etc.A previous knowledge of the subject is required. professional person psyche Secondary Education (BSO) in this folk students whitethorn choose from a plectron of courses such a hairdressing, car mechanics, and sewing, among others. Students complementary the 12th year level detect certificate of higher secondary education. This parchment is sufficient for higher specialized read interpreting, architecture, technical engineering, pedagogy, etc. Only 16 17% of Belgian students graduate at this level. Education is considered very all important(predicate) in Belgium. therefore monetary metre are high and students take school very seriously.At Christmas and Easter schools are closed for two weeks. Carnaval and any Saints Day (Nov. 1) bring compendious breaks of a week each. Summer holidays (vacation) last from June 30 to September 1. 2 . Literacy rates 99% over 15 post read and write vi. semipolitical System 1. political Structure federal parliamentary state under a constitutional monarchy 2. Political Parties Flemish parties Christian parliamentary and Flemish or CDV Marianne THYSSEN Dedecker List Jean-Marie DEDECKER Flemish big(p)s and Democrats or Open VLD Bart SOMERS Groen Mieke VOGELS (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) New Flemish Alliance or N-VA Bart DE WEVER Social Liberal Party or SLP Geert LAMBERT note precedent to 19 April 2008, kn cause as disincorporated spirit Social Progressive Alternative or SP. A Caroline GENNEZ Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB Bruno VALKENIERS Francophone parties Ecolo (Francophone Greens) Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Isabelle DURANT Humanist and Democratic Center or CDH Joelle MILQUET National comportment or FN Daniel HUYGENS Reform Movement or MR Didier REYNDERS Socialist Party or PS Elio DI RUPO other minor parties 3.Stability of disposal Very Stable Original member of EU and debt = 80% of GDP 4. finicky Taxes Expatriates in Belgium are principally regarded as Belgian assess residents and are and so subject to Belgian income tax on their worldwide income. However, the Belgian authorities prepare encouraged multinationals to transfer foreign executives to Belgium by introducing special tax concessions to non-Belgians who are temporarily disciplineing in the country. The tax concessions put up such transportations to be treated as non-residents for tax purposes. The concessions do not expire in to inheritance tax.To qualify for these special concessions, a number of factors are considered e. g. does the barter make specify a limited time? , has the expatriates family moved? , is the expatriates centre of economic and/or personal interest in Belgium? , is the employment with a qualifying entity? . Under the special concessions Only Belgian sourced income is taxable, including property income and dividend income, although bestow world -wide, earned income must be declared. municipal taxes are pay offable at 7% of total income tax payable. there is no capital gains tax, except for legitimate types of bargain of Belgian property. Expatriates who benefit from the non-residents special tax regime flowerpotnot invoke double taxation agreements because they wholly apply for the benefit of Belgian residents. 5. Role of Local Government each of the countrys has a council of 50 to 90 members take for four-year terms by direct voter turnout and empowered to legislate in matters of local concern. A governor, appointed by the king, is the highest executive officer in each province. There are 589 communes.Each municipality has a townshipspeople council elected for a six-year term. The council elects an executive physical structure called the board of aldermen. The head of the municipality is the burgomaster, who is appointed by the sovereign upon nomination by the town council. Recently, the number of municipaliti es has been greatly reduced through consolidation. vii. Legal System 1. Organization of judicatory system The judiciary is an independent secernate of government on an equal foothold with the legislative and the executive branches. Minor offenses are dealt with by justices of the peace and police tribunals.to a greater extent serious offenses and civil lawsuits are brought in advance regularize courts of first instance. another(prenominal) district courts are commerce and labor tribunals. Verdicts rendered by these courts may be appealed before 5 regional courts of appeal or the 5 regional labor courts in Antwerp, capital of Belgium, Ghent, Mons, and Liege. All offenses punishable by prison sentences of more than five age must be dealt with by the eleven courts of assize (one for each province and the city of Brussels), the only jury courts in Belgium. The highest courts are five civil and execrable courts of appeal and the supreme Court of Cassation.The latters duty is to verify that the law has been properly utilize and interpreted. The constitutionality of legislation is the province of the Council of State, an advisory legal group. 2. Code, common, affectionateist, or Islamic law country? Belgian Civil Code 3. interest in Patents, craftsmanshipmarks, other conventions Yes viii. Social Organizations 1. assembly behavior 2. Social Classes There is a relatively even distri saveion of wealth, with 5 to 6 portion living close to the poverty line. The majority of the population is nerve center class.The vast majority has equal opportunities for education and a professional life. There is a very inclusive well-disposed hostage system. 3. Clubs, Other organizations Belgium hosts many international organizations and hundreds of lobbying-groups, only their presence has little direct advert on social life. The close authoritative organizations are the Catholic Church and its affiliates and social organizations related to the pillars, such a s trade unions. 4. Race, Ethnicity, and Sub culture The nations cultural renewing has been enriched by international and local immigration.The high numbers of Flemish names in the south and Walloon names in the north indicate long time inborn mobility. In the last hundred years the roughly important immigrant groups were Jews who form a sizable community in Antwerp Poles, who came in the early 1930s and after the fall of communism Italians (in the 1930s and 1950s) and North Africans and Turks, who arrived in the 1960s. There are many new-fangled immigrants from other countries in the europiuman colligation as well as many expatriates working in or around European Union institutions and NATO headquarters.The percentage of noncitizens in the population is high at 15 percent nationally and 28 percent in Brussels. ix. military control customs and practices- Relationships & Communication. Although third-party introductions are not necessary, they often smooth the way. . unheedin g of how you are introduced, you must always be polite and well mannered. .Belgians are wide-awake and p brutalnt so take time before they trust others, be they individuals or representatives of companies. .Business dealings tend to be bureaucratic. There are many procedures and a great deal of paperwork. Belgians are gauzy linguists and many are sufficiently swimming to conduct clashs in English. .Belgians prefer spook to directness, believing that subtlety is a formulation of intelligence. .Although they are more direct in their communication than many cultures, if a result is too direct it may be seen as simplistic. .They prefer communication to be logical and based on undercoat . Belgians often engage in long, little discussions before reaching a decision so that they can be reliable(a) that they stir considered all the alternatives. They cogitate it is rude to be confrontational. Business Meeting Etiquette .Appointments are necessary .The person you are meeting be queath generally set the time for the meeting, commonly mid morning or mid afternoon. .Avoid scheduling meetings during July and August, which are prime vacation times the week before Easter and the week between Christmas and New Year. .Everyone is expected to arrive on time .Arriving late may brandmark you as unreliable. .Meetings are dinner dress . scratch appointments are more socially than art oriented, as Belgians prefer to do commercial enterprise with those they know. Do not remove your tip during a meeting. fix Etiquette .Men should labour dark coloured, right assembly line suits with snow-white shirts and silk ties. .Women should stick out concern suits or conservative dresses. .Men should only violate tied(p) habilitate, never loafers or other slip-ons, as they are too casual. .Polished shoes are an integral part of a professional image. Business Cards .Business cards are exchanged without formal ritual. .Have one side of your business card translated into French or Dutch. This shows adore and understanding of the linguistic heritage of your colleagues. If you have meetings in both areas, have two sets of business cards printed, and be conscientious to use the proper ones. .Present your business card so the recipient can read the side with their national language. V. faith and Aesthetics a. Religion and other sentiment systems i. Orthodox doctrines and structures universality is the main religious faith. The government financially supports the Catholic and Protestant churches as well as the Judaic and Muslim faiths. The Catholic Church controls an important network of schools with 70 percent of the pupils in secondary education and two main universities.Religious beliefs and practice declined during the twentieth century, but approximately 65 percent of Belgians believe in God. some people who place they do not believe in God take part in religious rituals for major events such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Minority fai ths include Muslims, Jews, and Protestants. ii. Relationships with the people The Catholic Church controls an important network of schools with 70 percent of the pupils in secondary education and two main universities. iii. Prominent religions Catholicism iv. Membership of each religion v. all powerful or influential cults? No b. Aesthetics i.Visual Arts The meretricious age of graphic arts lasted from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth century and was embodied mostly in painting. The Flemish Primitives school of painting (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) made the region the main esthetical center of Europe outside of Italy. Artists such as Jan avant-garde Eyck (13951441) and Rogier avant-garde Der Weyden (14001464) were interested in spatial composition and psychology and rendered the colorise and textures of living and material objects with realism. The main artistic figure of the next century was Pieter Breughel the sr. (15251569), with his lively paintings o f peasant life.Pieter Paul Rubens (15771640) was the most illustrious painter of his time, receiving commissions from European sovereigns. His main focus was on the human figure. Rubens influenced Anthony Van Dyk (15991641) and Jacob Jordaens (15931678). The graphic arts declined until the late nineteenth century, when James Ensor and Rene Magritte (in the twentieth century) revived the avant-garde. The most innovative works of living artists can be seen in contemporary art museums in Antwerp and Ghent. ii. Music Classical, Blues and Jazz, Folk, knock down and Rock iii.Performing arts The Franco-Flemish means dominated European music in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with composers such as Josquin des Prez and Orlando di Lasso. In the twentieth century, the most famous Belgian musician was the singer Jacques Brel. Several living classical composers are active. The harmonica player Toots Thielemans is the most famous jazz musician. The Blindman Kwartet combines jazz, pop , and classical music. The presence in Brussels between 1959 and 1987 of the French choreographer Maurice Bejart horny a new generation of choreographers.The main theatrical centers are De Singel in Antwerp and the Kaai Teater in Brussels. Several theaters and orchestras are supported by the government. iv. Folklore and relevant symbols The calotte (plural calottes, French from Provencal calota or Italian callotta), is a skullcap emaciated by students at catholic universities in Belgium. In the front of the calotte are chevron representing the Belgium flag (black, yellow and red) and stripes representing the colour in of the city or the university where the calotte has been received.At the bet on of the calotte, the faculty of the student is represented by a color and a symbol, with if need an additional symbol to determine the speciality. florid stars around the calotte represent the number of years that the student has studied successfully (if a year has to be retaken, a argent star will represent it). In addition to that, a number of semiofficial and personal pins will be added to the calotte, all representing something about its owner examples include positive position in a student organisation (above the considered years star) Hobbies and occupations (cardplayer, partyer ) Character (patriot, lazy ) the meaning of the calotte has evolved, but whatever the theories may be on its origins, the calotte is mainly a support that indicates the students belonging to a group. The student is also able to express his individuality by fooling several insignia on the calotte that will reflect their academic curriculum, their personal interests and even their character. VI. Living Conditions a. Diet and Nutrition i. pith and veg consumption rates lolly and potatoes are the traditional staple foods. Most meals include, pork, chicken, or beef, and Seafood is hot in the northern part of the country. The national drink is beer, but wine is imported in coarse quantities. In northern cities, popular dishes include mussels with fries and waterzooi a broth of vegetables and meat or fish. Throughout the country, French fries are eaten with steaks or minced raw meat. preparedness is traditionally done with butter quite than oil in that location is also a high consumption of dairy products. ii. exemplary Meals Traditionally, the noon meal is the main meal of the day businessmen take a two-hour break and most children come station from school. This is the meal that begins with soup or hors doeuvres, then a hearty meat or fish dish with potatoes, followed by a separate course of salad or cooked vegetables. frequently the meat is carved in the kitchen and the record garnished with seasonal picvegetables. It is interesting to note that picvegetables and salads are almost a social locating symbol the higher the level, the more picvegetables and salads are used.For most families, however, potatoes are the only vegetable requiremen t. A dessert for dinner would be fruit and cheese, a tart or pudding. Wine or beer is usually served as well iii. Malnutrition rates n/a iv. Foods in stock(predicate) The Belgian market offers best opportunities and has enjoyed considerable growth in mod years in the following areas 1. wellness and organic foods, 2. energy foods and sports drinks, 3. snack foods, 4. cultural foods, 5. ready-made and microwave products, 6. frozen and white food and vegetables, 7. ried fruits and nuts, 8. wine, 9. specialty meats such as bison and pet food, 10. seafood, and 11. specialty products (e. g. kosher food, mad rice,maple products and other confectionery goods etc. ) b. living accommodations i. Owning your own home isnt considered such an important an investment as it is in some other countries. Types of housing obtainable While property in Belgium is bald-faced by UK normals, the various fees, charges and deposits associated with buying a house and securing a mortgage are lik ely to discourage all but the most determined buyers.Theres no mortgage relief on income tax ii. Do more people own or rent? more than own iii. Do most live in one family dwellings or with other families? One family c. Clothing i. National Dress Belgians, especially those in the cities, wear modern Western-style clothes. The ethnic costumes of the Flemings and Walloons are seldom fatigued today. On some farms women still wear the traditional dark-colored clothing and white aprons, and men wear the old-fashioned caps. ii. Types of clothes worn down at work Men who work in offices are expected to wear suit jackets to work.It is generally acceptable for women to wear slacks to work. d. Recreation, sports, and other leisure activities i. Types operational and in demand The most popular participant sport in Belgium is bicycling. Belgians also participate in and watch association football, and there are many regional teams. Other sports popular in Belgium include tennis, hogback r iding, hiking, and skiing. Belgians also enjoy the popular European sport of sand sailing. A break of minicar with sails called a sand yacht is impelled along the coast, powered by the wind. besides popular, especially in Wallonia, is pigeon racing. As many as 100,000 pigeons may be entered in a single race. Like many other Europeans, Belgians are avid soccer fans. There are over lx teams in the national league. Concerts and theater are popular evening pastimes in the cities, and Brussels also has opera, ballet, and cafe cabarets (restaurants with musical sport such as singing and dancing). ii. component of income spent on such activities 9. 5% e. Social Security Belgium has a all-inclusive system of social shelter, which applies to all residents.It covers family benefits, unemployment indemnification, work chance insurance, wellness thrill, old age and invalidity pensions, and long-term care insurance. Belgium takes great pride in its benefits systems and the quality of its social trade protection work, although the high cost of providing those services and benefits (employer divisions of up to 40 per cent accession employee contributions of up to 20 per cent of plebeian pay) has recently prompted the government to consider changes to the social security system in an sample to encourage individuals to assume greater state for the costs of retirement, disability and even health care. . healthCare Health insurance is mandatory in Belgium, and basic cover is generally provided by the national social security system. Contributions are paid by both employers and employees, and most forms of public assistance (unemployment benefit, old age pensions, certain forms of sickness and gestation benefits) are paid net of withholdings for health insurance, the benefit authority effectively paid the employer contributions. Foreigners coming to live in Belgium without working (e. . retirees and the idle rich) must generally raise proof of health in surance in order to obtain a conformity permit. There are special health insurance plans, valid in a number of countries, designed specifically for the call for of expatriates and those who travel frequently. If you qualify for non-resident tax status, you may not be required to stand to national social security, in which result you will probably be cover by your employers health care plan. (You should check All employees and self-employed people in Belgium must contribute to a health insurance livestock ( mutualite/ziekenfonds) as part of the normal social security recordment process. Some notes are restricted to members of various religious, political or professional organisations for historic reasons, but most are open to all. Your employer should be able to provide you with information about operable funds, and you should ask neighbours or colleagues for recommendations. All funds charge the same basic contribution and pay like benefits, but some take longer than others to make reimbursements.Health insurance contributions are made by your employer at a time to your chosen fund. These amount to 7. 35 per cent of your gross salary, of which 3. 55 per cent is withheld from your pay and the remaining 3. 8 per cent contributed by your employer. If youre self-employed, you contribute the full 7. 35 per cent through your quarterly social security payments. Cover is mechanically provided for dependent family members, including spouses (if they dont have their own cover) and children up to the age of 18.When you enrol in a Belgian health fund, theres a six-month delay period before you can claim benefits. This waiting period can be waived if you were previously included for at least six months in another persons health cover (i. e. as a dependant) or, in many representatives, if you were cover by a state health care plan (or the equivalent) in another EU country for at least six months before your arrival in Belgium. For most medical services, you mus t pay the bill and then submit the recognize for reimbursement.Reimbursements are usually less than the charges incurred, and most Belgians take out supplementary health insurance to cover the unreimbursed portion or to upgrade their cover from the statutory level. Many employers provide supplementary health insurance cover as an employment benefit, or you can purchase individual cover. supplementary health insurance is also available to self-employed people through professional associations and private insurers. In typical Belgian fashion, the exact nature of what is and isnt cover by the state system is quite an complicated.Services rendered by most doctors and specialists, infirmaryisation, prescriptions, maternity and childbirth, rehabilitation and other forms of therapy are normally covered, although the self-employed are covered only for major risks, which include mental illness, tuberculosis, cancer, patrimonial diseases and birth defects, most types of surgery and child birth. There are no fewer than 18 categories of medical procedure and service, each with its own reimbursement level, varying from 0 to 100 per cent (although the number of items qualifying for 100 per cent reimbursement is constantly diminishing because of funding problems).There are also certain best-loved categories of people who are entitled to a higher level of reimbursement for many items, including widows, orphans and those receiving certain forms of public aid (e. g. the blind). A standard doctors appointment, for example, is normally reimbursed at 75 per cent, whereas those in a preferred category may be reimbursed at 85 or 90 per cent, depending on their circumstances. Its wise to keep copies of all receipts and any other documents you send to your health insurance fund in case anything is lost.Rather than sending each receipt separately, its often bust to collect all receipts for a given illness or accident or all receipts during a three or six-month period before submi tting them for reimbursement. If you have supplementary insurance, your health fund usually forwards information to your private insurer, and both insurers normally pay reimbursements straight off into your bank account. If youre hospitalised, you must usually pay a fixed fooling accommodation fee, either in advance or when youre discharged, but the hospital normally sends all other bills directly to your health insurance fund.In the case of prescriptions, if you take most of them to the same chemist, its usually possible to register with him so that he bills your health insurance fund directly. In this way you pay only the unreimbursed portion of the prescription fees, as well as saving yourself the headache of property track of your payments. Prescriptions are subject to a particularly complex scale of reimbursement percentages, check to the social and medical usefulness of each medicine and whether its available off the shelf or must be made up by a chemist.Certain types of m edicines have maximum unhurried contribution levels, where 100 per cent of charges are reimbursed after a certain period. VII. verbiage a. Official Language(s) Belgium has three official languages French, German, and Flemish, which is similar to Dutch. b. Spoken vs. Written languages- N/A c. Dialects Dutch in Belgium is virtually equivalent to Dutch in the Netherlands, with the exception of a few local terms and expressions, although certain areas in Dutch-speaking Belgium have local dialects that can sometimes be incomprehensible to speakers of standard Dutch.The French spoken in Belgium is standard but with its own distinctive accentuate (at least according to the French ) and a few specialised words, notably the use of septante and nonante for 70 and 90 instead of soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix. (Oddly, the Belgians do use quatre-vingt for the number 80 sooner than octante, which is used in Switzerland and some other francophone areas of the world. ) VIII. Executive Summ ary IX. Sources of Information