Europen Union Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Europen Union Law - Essay Example This is subject to the principles of equivalence and effectiveness, i.e. national procedural rules must not discriminate against EC law rights and must afford full effectiveness to EC law rights. Where national rules of procedure respect these principles, EC law normally does not require any particular regime of procedural or adjectival law to exist in the member states. In particular, EC law does not normally create any remedies in its own right, leaving the law on remedies to national law. In these fields of law, the doctrine of supremacy of Community law is well established. In case of conflict between Community law and national law, the member states courts are obliged to respect the Community law which to a large extent has direct effect in the member states and also in relations between private parties. Member states courts might sometimes hesitate to set aside national law provisions regarded as important because they are contrary to Community law and they normally know their own national law better than Community law. Thus, there are problems not only of obstruction but also of ignorance. There has been and still is an ongoing struggle to secure the full application of Community law in the member states. . ... If the national court decides to make a reference to ECJ, proceedings are stayed in the national court until the ECJ gives its ruling. The Court has also assessed the legality of derogations to Community rules by reference to fundamental rights. In particular, the Court has applied article 10 of ECHR to a case in which a Member State justified a measure having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions based on the need to secure protection of fundamental rights, such as media plurality2. The key factors that have helped in developing the Community legal system, are that the obligation in Community law to duly motivate any decision3, the principle of transparency to which Community and domestic Administrations have to comply with, individuals' right to have their legal positions fully and effectively protected4 and the principle of the liability of a Member State for breach of Community law5. The judgments of the Court, in this aspect, have played a fundamental role in trying to build an even playing field to secure a minimum standard of substantive judicial protection of Community rights. The Court has asserted a founding principle of the EC legal system that national judicial remedies must be adequate, and any impediment to Community rights being enforced effectively should be removed in the name of the supremacy of Community law6. In 1976, the Court had insisted that an essential element of the Community's constitutional order was the freedom of Member States to implement their Community obligations according to their individual traditions of public law and civil and criminal justice7. The only conditions set down by the Court of Justice were equal treatment and effectiveness. National courts and administrations were prohibited from making it more

Concept of Human Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Concept of Human Nature - Essay Example It is the confirmation of friendship or competition that we will concern with. In the bygone eras, there were wars and rumors of war. There were those who went to fight battles and returned as heroes. Then there were those who fought battles but did not return. There were also those who masterminded plans of action for the furtherance of kingdom. And there were others who masterminded treacheries. Scores were settled in the process of wars and battles. The charade was so well knit and appeared so real that none noticed the element of treachery in the episode. Sometimes the plans boomeranged on those who engineered the plots. The plots were so brilliantly drawn and executed that it was not till the final act was over one could perceive anything amiss. However, in the end, some way or the other, the executor of the treachery was exposed and divine justice settled the scores with just retribution (Song of Roland). Not all the scenarios ended in bloodbath. There were those who spent time in soliloquy and reflection. They were men and women of foibles and passions like the rest of mankind. They laughed and cried in their childhood. They embraced in lust in their adolescence and they went in the worldly way of business. But they remembered their ways. They felt something amiss. They knew that they had crossed the boundaries of decency at such a time and place. The peace had departed from them and they were like caged animals. They lived in the open air, but they felt the iron bars around them. They constantly felt the pricks of their emotions like swords after their souls. Then they had to break down. They had to open up (The Confessions of J.J. Rousseau). Destiny with God After all the things are said and done, the end comes with a mixture of sadness and happiness. The secret thoughts are hardly spoken. The matters of the heart are kept very closely guarded secrets. The keepers of secret do so for a reason. They dread to speak about their longings and desires. They hide them away like treasures. They wait for the end. They know the opportune time will come. The fear is there that the end might not come according to their plans. There is the lingering fear that the object of their desires might go the opposite way. They pursue the goal of their desires with all diligence. Sometimes they come so close that they could grasp it with their arms. But they must wait. The right time has not arrived. They must pine away some more time. Ultimately they reach their goal. The time is now ripe. They could count the cost. They could look back and see the long and arduous journey. Many died on the way. There is the tinge of sadness around the joy of triumph. They have won the war, but at the cost of some battles. One cannot undo the trysts of destiny. One has to march on. There are some miles yet to go. One cannot march on without having learnt to bear the gains and losses of a journey. It is enough that you have come so far. We must learn to wait to see what is yet to come (Racine). Conclusion There are those that scheme and plot to have circumstances go their way. They succeed many times. Then there are those who make sincere plans and goals and work at achieving them. They may or may not succeed. It is fine if they

Ross Theory Of Prima Facie Duties

Ross Theory Of Prima Facie Duties Prima facie, a Latin name is mainly used in academic philosophy and law to mean apparently correct or at first glance. The idea of prima facie duties first originated with David Ross, who was a Scottish philosopher. Ross was among the great proponents of intuitionism or ethical pluralism theory. According to the theory, good is indefinable and there exist moral truths which are self evident (Ross, 2002 Pg 4). According to Ross, there are various prima facie duties that people can use in determining the concrete thing to do. In this case, a prima facie duty refers to a duty that is obligatory or binding, holding other things equal, unless any other duty or duties triumph it (Ross, 2002 Pg 5). Whenever there is a prima facie duty to perform a given task, there is always a strong presumption that is in favor of performing it. An excellent example of a prima facie duty is the obligation to keep secrets and promises. People ought to keep promises unless a stronger moral consideration arises. Concrete or actual duties are the duties that people undertake given a particular situation. This contrasts with the prima facie duties. Depending on the nature of the actual duties, one ought to perform it in a moral way. Prima facie duties have a close relationship with actual duties, in the same way that reasons have a close relationship with conclusions of reasoning. Prima facie duties According to Ross, prima facie duties recognize that people face a lot of daily choices where they have to act morally. In such cases, individuals weigh such moral choices using their intuitive judgment (Ross, 2002 Pg 10). Ross developed the theory because he was not satisfied with the utilitarian view that morality could be reduced on the basis of maximizing utility. He proposed six categories of prima facie duties that individuals can use in determining the right thing to do. Fidelity This involves a duty to safeguard ones contacts, secrets and promises and avoiding deception. In this case, if an individual keeps a promise, then he or she has a prima facie duty to honor the promise. Gratitude This duty involves showing appreciation at all times. The duty advocates that individuals should be grateful for all good deeds toward them. The duty continues to add that such individuals should show appreciation by doing good deeds to others. For instance, if a person holds the door for an individual carrying a heavy load, then the individual should be grateful for that. Non-injury This duty is also referred to as non maleficence. It indicates the duty to avoid causing harm to others. The harm can either be physical or psychological. The actions of any individual should not harm the health, security, happiness, character, wealth or intelligence among others. Justice This duty requires that individuals should act in a way that leads to a fair distribution of both benefits and burdens. According to Ross, this duty can have negative effects. The duty rests on the possibility of achieving a distribution of happiness or pleasure, which is not in the interest of the individual concerned. This gives rise to the duty to avoid such a distribution, which can be termed as unjust (Ross, 2002 Pg 21) Beneficence This involves the duty to do deeds that promote the well being of others. This involves fostering their health, wisdom, security, happiness or moral goodness. According to Ross, this duty arises from the fact that there are individuals in the world who can use help in improving their current condition (Ross, 2002 Pg 22). The person holding the door for the individual in need shows the duty of beneficence. Self-improvement This indicates the duty to act in a way that promotes ones well being. This pertains to ones security, wisdom, health, happiness and moral goodness. This duty calls for intelligence or virtue for it establish a strong connection (Ross, 2002 Pg 21) Evaluation of Prima Facie Duties The six duties as stipulated by Ross advocate for morality, but have proven to conflict with one another in some real life situations. For instance, an elderly woman collapses with a possible heart attack. A man who witnesses the situation realizes that the phone is a few blocks way. There is a childs bike lying nearby, but the child is out of sight. A section of the prima facie duties suggest that the man should take the bike and call for help. On the other hand, some duties advocate that taking the bike is not right. This indicates a situation where the duties in the theory are conflicting and confusing at the same time. In the real life situation above, the non injury and justice duties indicate that taking the bike will be unjust and will cause injury to the owner. On the other hand, the duty of beneficence and harm prevention will advocate that taking the bike would be morally right. The solution in such a case would lie in the prioritization of the duties. In this case, harm prevention and beneficence would have the first priority over the duties concerning justice and non injury (Pojman, 2011 Pg 139). The actual duty would be to take the bike and get help. In such a case, there would be a temporary loss of the bike for the bike owner, but this would prevent the death of the sick woman. The theory presents duties that should guide moral doings in daily situations. However, it is evident that the prima facie duties are not sufficient to determine the choices that people should make. The efficiency of the theory lies in the priority of the different duties. Some duties are have more priority in given cases than others. For example, in our case above, the beneficence and harm prevention duties would come before the non injury and justice duties. This calls for priority rules to guide the duties in case they conflict. For instance, holding all other things equal, it would be crucial to avoid causing harm or injury that to do a positive deed (Timmons, 2002 Pg 193). The priority rule indicates that the non injury duties override all other duties. Moreover, fidelity comes before beneficence. For example, keeping a promise or secret comes before any acts of kindness. Beneficence, skill and moral character override any other conflicting prima facie duty that involves ones pleasure or short term pain. However, the most significant thing is to recognize that the theory cannot exist with exceptions. The duties therein and the priority rules are subject to exceptions. Moral intuition Moral intuition serves a significant purpose in the advancement of this theory. It has three major functions. First, moral intuition reveals when a prima facie rule does not apply despite signs that the duty was applicable in the beginning. In simple terms, it enlightens individuals if they have any exceptions. This kind of moral intuition depends on the morally significant aspects present in the situation, and the location of the chooser. Secondly, moral intuition explains the prima facie duties in detail. This way, a chooser will make the best decision based on moral intuition. Thirdly, moral intuitions clarify the propriety rules present in a situation. It allows the chooser to choose non injury over beneficence (Audi, 2009 Pg 67). Moral intuition can vary from one individual to the other. The source of moral intuition is one that has received varying responses from scholars (Tropman, 2006 Pg 130). The ability to have upright moral perceptions depends on ones moral upbringing and the resulting moral habits. Moral perception may be distorted or corrupted depending on the upbringing and moral environment. Conclusion The theory and its applications have worked remarkably in many situations involving moral problems. The theory specifies how individuals should tackle situations so as to make moral decisions (Waluchow, 2003 pg 78). However, the theory has led to conflicting sides in given situations such as an abortion. Some duties are in favor of the fetus while some are in favor of the mother. Such situations have revealed the loop holes in the theory. However, with effective moral intuition, the theory can help individuals make moral choices depending on their situation. Moral intuition interprets the prima facie duties for any individual in relation to a given situation. It also guides the chooser on the duties to give precedence over others. Therefore, the effectiveness of the prima facie duties depends on the ones moral intuition.

Integral Philosophy of Education Essay -- Educating Educate Education

Integral Philosophy of Education ABSTRACT: Education, an action, is a process, a development of the imperfect human being intentionally directed at achieving the ideal of human plenitude in the best possible manner. This is a description of the educational process based on the human being who travels toward plenitude, a point of arrival; the human being who achieves his or her own perfection in the best possible manner; and a method: intentional guidance towards plenitude in the harmonious formation of humanity. It is not enough to say what education is or what it is like. It is necessary to clarify what education is for. The harmonious development of essential, integral and vocational abilities makes the student more perfect and causes his or her cosmic and social circumstance to be more perfect. In this integral philosophy of education, I offer a new "Paideia." It is necessary to seek the student's point of balance between the sciences of empirical verification and humanistic duties. Otherwise, we will march towar d the disintegration of the human being, to the anti-knowledge of a very powerful technocracy. Integral personal and community education is education which promotes the person in a changing society susceptible to progress. That student perfectibility which is anxious to satisfy demands can only be fulfilled with love. The contemporary world has not rehearsed on a large scale an education for love. If we do not found education on love, the world will not be inhabited by humans. Education is not just an idea, it is a fact. We start with the fact: there are educational centers, teachers, learners, seminars on educational sciences and magazines on pedagogy. But education in action, is the process of developing an i... ... we do not begin to educate for love, the world will not be inhabitable by man. We must search for more wise men and fewer scholars. Let us attempt to lift a small child from his unhappiness and frustration, he is an admirable being who lives and dies among asphalt and smoke, always tormented by the clock, bothered by diseases which civilization produces, saturated with problems, always searching for, but generally frustrated before finding love. Love is a living affection which is benevolent and which professes itself to God and to human beings. We are able to conquer adversity and death with love. Speaking in an Augustinian manner, we can say that man is love. All impulses, all passion, all senses have their roots in love's strength; even understanding a goal (value) which provokes desire in us (love to know about something). Our destiny is illuminated by love.

College Debate Essay

In Katherine Porter’s essay, â€Å"The Value Of a College Degree†, Katherine answers the question to whether continuing education beyond high school is worth it or not. Since college costs are increasing radically every year, many students and parents aren’t considering a two- or four-year college education a necessity. Her essay is reaches out to those parents and students who are in doubt, with the use of cited evidence and her many research studies, she is determined into convincing those who question attending college to pursue further education. Although the question of whether continuing education beyond high school is worth it or not remains unsettled by many, it should definitely be considered. First off, a valuable college education brings out the best in a person; it makes them stronger and builds an immense amount of confidence. Some may consider pursuing a college education as something that’s completely out of reach, but I might just have to say that you’re wrong. A college education not only builds strength and confidence, it also helps you grow. College students are situated in different types of situations, environments and or settings in which they encounter all kinds of people. To explain much further, as said in a source found in Google: â€Å"College education has a profound effect on a person and his or her life. It helps people choose their careers more wisely and the college experience makes people become more confident and can make better and well judged decisions.† (Google.com, Value of College Education) A College education develops growth in terms of adulthood and maturity, built from experience. Many high school students believe that doing well academically would be enough. That is only somewhat true; most colleges consider well-rounded students, like those who participate in extra curricular actives, activities such as being involved in sports, volunteering, and community work. Keeping an open mind when considering college selections is a very important factor when it comes to decision making. Parents and students should not allow money or locations limit their thinking when researching schools. By attending college fairs, and purchasing college guide books they’ll learn about colleges that ‘fit’, in an overall aspect. Scheduling interviews, preferably on-campus interviews, will allow students to demonstrate genuine interest and allows him or her the opportunity to make a valuable link. All in all, the key factor isn’t getting a college degree itself but the degree owner. A college education is now a necessity, and the average American couldn’t possibly make it through these times and those that are to come without one. â€Å"Get in(worry about the money later.†

Ponzi scheme and Madoff Fraud

Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent undertaking whereby the investors are duped into a seemingly profitable deal. The clients are asked to â€Å"invest† their money in a venture to earn huge interest rates. This normally works through the payment of the earlier investors’ interests and principals by using the later investors’ principal amount. This illegal activity got its name after Charles Ponzi of England (1920s). Bernard L. Madoff and Ponzi scheme Bernard Madoff, 70, is the former chairman of Nasdaq Stock Market. He held the position till December 2008 when he was arrested over alleged possibly the largest fraud ever in history.He is the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, which undertakes market-making, and acting as middleman in buying and selling of securities, but is since under receivership after a court order was obtained to place an injunction on its operations by the Security Exchange Commission. (Mike, 2008) It was revealed that Madoff had a separate and secretive investment arm of his firm which was running on a separate floor of their premises. The firm’s financial statements were kept â€Å"under lock and key† and Madoff was â€Å"cryptic† about the firm’s investment arm, according to some top level management employees of the firm.This secret investment arm is the one under investigation due to believe that it is where the Ponzi scheme was perpetrated. (Mike, 2008) Madoff was very smart in playing the Ponzi scheme. He filed false returns with the Securities Exchange Commission, and fabricated gains claiming that its investments together with accounting and audit firms it ran were highly lucrative. At some point for example, Fairfield Sentry Ltd, Madoff’s hedge fund ran by Madoff Investment Services to invest in the shares in Standards & Poor’s 500. Fairfield claimed that its share index had risen by 5.6%, while that of S&P 500 had fallen by more than 30%. Fairfield was late r said to be down by 0. 06% when that of S&P 500 had fallen by about16%. The firm was averaging 10. 5% annually since its inception in 1990. These statistics are quite illogical to believe, and is one way in which Mr. Madoff managed to survive through his Ponzi scheme. (Mike, 2008) The firm’s losses accrued up to $50 billion since it was no longer able to meet its customer demands. This is after clients requested for about $7 billion when they had only about $250 million in the account. (Mike, 2008)Prevention of similar frauds The SEC should be made more proactive. For instance, warnings such as those of Harry Markopoulos, a financial analyst, should have been taken seriously by the SEC since he started his revelation back in 1999. The hedge fund of Mr. Madoff too didn’t register till September 2006, which is too late. Recommendation for enforcement of law, such as Sec. 17 (a) of the Securities Act 1933, Sec. 10 (b) of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and rule 10b-5 th ere under, and sections 206(1&2) of the Advisors Act of 1940, will also help prevent such frauds.It is worth to make public the reality of rates of interests offered by a firm to its clients. This creates transparency and some sense of genuineness of a firm’s undertaking. The accounting professionals also should be made to learn from such cases to prevent future occurrences of the same vice. Public awareness programs can be broadcasted through media too. This will warn investors to be careful in their choice of investments portfolio. Reference: Mike, S. (2008, December 13th). Biggest Fraud in History $50 billion Madoff Ponzi Scheme. Retrieved April 4th, 2009, from The Market Oracle: http://www. marketoracle. co. uk/Article7769. html.

Froussart essays

Froussart essays The kingship was a position which bestowed great power and authority. During its peak, it was a status that commanded the utmost of respect, and entailed many characteristics that the average man did not have. Froissart wrote about many of the attributes of a king while he prepared for battle, fought in battle, and behaved afterwards. The communication of a king was also greatly outlined in respect to interaction with ambassadors, with their advisors and with civilians. While a kings actions during wartime and his communication with his empire were important, they were not the only traits which a king must possess to be considered successful. Froissart, having worked as a secretary for King John of France , knew a great deal about pinpointing exactly what these other qualities were. He also considered what it was that made a king inferior and inefficient. A king must have certain qualities if his subjects were to love and respect him. He must have a strong will to complete a task und ertaken, whatever the obstacles. He must be able to foresee the results of every step he took. The capacity to plan his work was one of the most essential qualities of a good leader. The king should also know how to deal with his enemies and how to earn the friendship of other kings. Some other attributes include the fact that a king must be charismatic and smart. Daring, bold and a good military strategist are just a few more of the important characteristics a king must possess. Froissart also believed that a king should be brave and decisive. Uncertainty and pettiness were some features he strongly disapproved of. All of these factors contributed to his opinion of each of the kings he wrote about, especially when he compared Edward the III to Philip the VI. Froissarts bias for certain kings is extremely evident in his writings. His differences of opinion between kings can most likely be attributed to the different governing characteristics...

Global Business Environment Case Study Essays

Global Business Environment Case Study Essays Global Business Environment Case Study Paper Global Business Environment Case Study Paper Hamilton and Webster (2009) state that globalization generates opportunities for business to enter new markets, take advantage of differences in the costs and quality of labor and other resources, gain economies of scale and get access to raw materials. Business globalization, or in other words international business, refers to the increased of mobility of services, goods, capital and technology throughout the world. The goods and services created in one location can now be found throughout the world. According to Harrison (2010) globalization is characterized by several aspects: he development of international trades and the creation of the global marketplace lead to the increase over time of international trade and service. Then, production and investment flows are globally organized. Thus, costs are lower and specialist advantages are in different geographical location. Thanks to the technological development, people around the world are more connected and migration is a major feature of the globalization. This later offers them the possibility of moving across national borders. With this migration and the speed with which communication has improved, communication and cultural flows are important. Although globalization can be a real opportunities for companies, it could be also a threat for their development if managers in charge of this expansion have not gathered and analyses all the information they need about the marketplace they are considering. Indeed, they have to be sure they target areas where there is a market opportunity. They also need to be aware of several factors like laws, culture, society habits and other ones that might conflict the business. : Over the past 40 years, the Careful Group has grown to become the second worlds largest and the Rupees largest retailer of groceries and consumer odds. During these years, Careful expanded internationally. A pioneer in countries such as Brazil (1975) and China (1 995), Careful operates more than 9,500 stores, which are present in 32 countries across 3 geographic zones: Latin America, Europe and Asia, through 4 main formats: hypermarket, supermarket, cash and carry and convenience stores. (www. Careful. Com). However, Carousers situation is not as good as we can think. Since few years, Careful has been hit by falling profit and drooping sales caused by the uncertain economic environment and strategic missteps. Net profits fell by 4% last year and net sales rose only by 1% to 81. Ban euros. In the first nine months of the year, Carousers total like-for-like sales were down 0. 2% (Latin America is the only region to report an increase in like-for-like sales of 8. 6%). (Carousers press release, 2012). In recent years, Careful has abandoned several countries including Japan, Mexico, Russia and Thailand. These decisions are in line with Carousers new strategy of focusing on geographies and countries in which it holds or aims to develop a leading position. (Carousers press release, 201 2) Mr. Plats took over in May with a rife to reverse years Of underperformed in Carousers European markets (Vidalia, D. 2012). He wants it to pull out of encore markets, cut costs at home in France and give store managers more autonomy. (Misleader, N. 2012). Thus, he has started to refocus on core markets, notably in Europe, Brazil and China. According to Black (201 2), Shore Capital analyst, Careful has been run like a dysfunctional football team, where the owners and the management havent seen eye-to-eye, and that impacts the players on the ground and thats exactly whats happened at Careful. Its important that he represents a period of sustained stability and control of the business, To sum up, Carousers strategic missteps took its toll but like the retailing market, Careful has also been hit by the uncertain economic environment. This paper is going to constitute a fictive internal management report for Careful, analyzing the effects of the external global environment on Carousers business process and strategies. TO do so, a first chapter will provide an outlook of the retailing market allowing understanding what the current situation of this market is, especially in a global context. Then the second chapter will focus on Carousers analyses, to understand to what extent Careful can use its strengths and improve its weaknesses but also take advantage of opportunities and resist threats. Finally, the last chapter will investigate the key challenges and implications of Careful by carrying out a PEST analysis. I. Globalization and Retailing market According to Marcel Correctness and Rajah Ala (2012) retailers want expend globally for several reasons. Common ones include a quest for greater economies of scale and scope, a need to diversify risks, a desire to attract rest talent and create new opportunities for existing leaders, and a need to make up for constraints imposed by regulatory agencies when a retailer becomes too big for its home market. Market overview Between 2007 and 2011, the global retailing industry experienced a moderate compound growth of 4. 3%. (Marketing, 2012). Food and grocery is the largest segment, accounting for 61% of the industry total value, with total revenues of $6,678. 9 in 2011. For comparison, the apparel, luxury goods and accessories segment accounts only for 15. 6% of the industry generated revenues of $1708. 7 billion in 201 1 . (Marketing, 2012). Economists forecast an acceleration of this performance with an increase of 26. 2% since 2011. This expected growth would drive the industry to a value of 313,815. 8 billion by the end of 2016. Surprisingly, despite the economic crisis, 2012 was the fastest growing year for retailing since 1999. And this is due to emerging markets that are performing well. For example, China has seen a 10% growth in its retailing market in 2012. The other factor that contributed to this growth is the growth of Internet retailing. This fastest growing channel grew 20% in 201 2 and now account for 4% of all retail sales globally. This trend is expected to grow and rise 6% by 2017. However, this global growth has to be moderate since there is some inflation to be taken into account. (Late, D. 2012). The other trend that is important to notice is the Middle East and Africans growths. Indeed, these markets surpassed Latin America in 2012, which was one of the markets driving the global growth. Increasing by 14%, they became the fastest growing region. (Remuneration, 2012). According to Daniel Late (2012), unlike in Europe where non-grocery sales suffered of the economic crisis, in the Middle East and Africa, non-grocery sales outperformed grocery sales. Forces driving competition According to Porter (1980), there are 5 forces driving the competition on a market: buyer power, Supplier power, new entrants, threats of substitutes, and degree of rivalry. This model provides a useful framework for analyzing the competitive environment of an industry and thus identify and analyses the main threats that can face Careful. ; Buyer power In a market, there are consumers who have wants and needs, and suppliers who supply their demands. (Heathery and Otter, 2011). Since there are a large amount of customers within the global retailing industry, the consumer power is low. However, because of the economic downturn, consumers are cost conscious and seek value for money, which puts pressure on retailers to deliver products, especially brand product at low cost. In France, the French retailer Lecher has understood this trend and has developed a strategy to make low price its competitive advantage. Thus, thanks to low prices and an aggressive communication campaign, sales in 2012 were up 5%. According to a Nielsen Panel, Lecher prices are between 4 and 5% below Carousers prices. (Nicolas, 2012). ; Supplier power In the retailing industry, there are a lot of suppliers. Thanks to this high imputation, retailers can easily use it to have lower prices. Indeed, leading incumbents find their product from various suppliers so they can choose the more interesting according to the price and quality. Furthermore, switching costs are usually low. The leading position and global presence of retailers like Wall-mart or Careful are also strength to negotiate with suppliers. The difference of inputs and the importance of quality/cost are the two main supplier power drivers. ; New entrants Since there are several leading multinational retailers in the market, it may be difficult and may need significant costs to entry. Such companies have developed strong brand awareness through advertising and marketing campaigns. To succeed their entry, new retailers will have to study consumers so that they can provide efficient products but also communicate efficiently. For that, new competitors need sufficient funding to launch their activity and survive in this high competitive context. Careful is a perfect illustration. Indeed, Careful failed against an aggressive development of it competitors in Singapore because this later did not succeed to localize and Offer products expected by the local population (Sharing Ely, 2012). Threats of substitutes There are no real substitutes to the retailing industry. ; Degree of rivalry The retailing market is heavily fragmented, with a large number of players present and is lead by several main industry groups like Wall-Mart, Careful, Metro and Tests. Moreover, with the development of Internet retailing, it is easier for new companies to enter into the market. The similarity of players due to a lack of differentiated products reduces their competitive advantage and thus, drives the degree of rivalry. That is why Lecher chose to capitalize on regional product. This decision was a key of success and participated to he 5% growth in sales occurred in 201 1 (Mortar, 2012). Careful should try to follow the same scheme, by accentuating its implication in the local economies and thus, collaborating more with the local suppliers. This strategy can also enable Careful to meet more effectively the demand of local consumers. . Careful SOOT According to Heathery and Otter (2011 the capacity of a business to take advantage of opportunities and resist threats will depend on its internal strengths and weaknesses. Thus it is essential to undertake an internal analyses to understand to what extent Careful can take advantage of opportunities and resist threats, and in the next chapter, understand by using a PEST analysis how Careful is influenced by the external environment. Strengths ; Leading retailer in Europe and second largest in the world present in mature and emerging markets Thanks to its notoriety and its size, Careful has a high bargaining power. Indeed, bigger a company is, more economies of scale and business scalability will be high. Moreover, the high growth rates offered by emerging countries enables Careful to boost revenues and profits and thus to make up for the sluggish situation in its home market. This illustrates perfectly the other advantage to expand worldwide: diversify risks. Presence in several economies enables to diversify the revenues and reduced vulnerability to a single economy. ; Multi-format and convergence of brands strategies Careful operates through 4 different formats. While the hypermarket format offers a wide selection of merchandises, the supermarket and convenience formats target the daily or monthly purchases and are more accessible. F-Rutherford, small retailers and other businesses purchase in cash and carry stores. In addition, Careful is also present on-line, selling its reduce on e-commerce websites. Thus, the different formats enable Careful to adapt its stores to the market, to the consumers needs. According to the location and the consumers habits in this location, the strategic format varies. Moreover, it also enables to suit the merchandise selection and price preferences of varying consumers. In other words, Careful can target different customer segments. In order to beneficial of its brand reputation, the group has initiated a single brand strategy. Furthermore, this strategy increases the groups market visibility and facilitates quick penetration in new markets. 30 years of experience in retailing private label products Because of the economic slowdown, consumers prefer generic and private label products instead of expensive brands. With its first unbranded product launched in 1976 and Careful brand-name products in 1 985, Careful has an important experience in this field meeting the consumers demand, especially in Europe, which is the key growing markets for private label products. Denominator, 2011 Weaknesses ; Continuous decline in profit margins and slow revenue growth in France More than 70% of the firms sales are in Europe but this is its slowest growth area. According to Correctness and Ala The stronger the retailers market position at home, the better its chances of sustaining overseas investments. (Quoted in Retail Doesnt Cross Borders, 2012). Careful lost market share and its profits fell by 40% in the first half of 201 1. ; Careful has been slow in moving into internet retailing Retailers have developed a new way for consumers to purchase. Nowadays, it is possible De order groceries online and collect them at drives stores which at pick up point. Careful opened Its first drive in 2011 and had only 30 drives at the end of the years. In imprison, Lecher had 144 drives in 2011 and expected 250 units by the end of the year in 2012. (Nicolas, 2012). Opportunities ; Emerging market Careful being present in emerging markets like Brazil, Argentina or India, takes advantage of these growing market to ameliorate its revenues and margins. According too Careful s press release, in 2012, sales in Latin America up 5,2% and 12,3% in Asia. Emergence of internet retailing in Latin America In Latin America, Internet retailing is almost three times smaller than direct sales. However, this market has almost tripled in size over the last five years ND it is expected to keep growing. Brazil, the biggest Internet retail market, accounts for 70% of all regional sales. (Late, D. 201 2) ; Retail reform in India Mufti-national retailers are now able to buy up to a 51 % stake in Indians multi- brand retailers. This decision allows these chains to sell directly to Indian consumers. (BBC, 2012). However, some conditions are imposed on groups wanting to invest in India. For example, companies will have to invest at least $mm (Meme), open outlets only in towns with a population of more than one million and source at least 30% of produce from India Ð’Â » (BBC, 2012). The retreats ; High competition The competition in Carousers home market as well as in the other regions is high. Not only Careful competes with multinational retailers but also with local retailers dominating the local market, more adapted to the consumers needs. In France, Careful has to face the significant growth of Lecher which sales grew 5% in 2011. In China, Wall-Mart plans a vast expansion of its stores. The Times reports the US retail group Ð’Â « would open 100 new stores in China over the next three years, adding to the 370 stores it already owns -? the highest number of any of the foreign supermarkets. The new stores will add 18,000 jobs to its 100,000-strong workforce in the worlds biggest food and grocery market. R, ; High exposure to low growth European markets Careful derives a majority of its revenues from France and Western European countries. Due to the debt crisis, the economies of these nations are estimated to record low growth rates. According to a Carousers press release, sales down 2,2% in 201 2, impacted by continued pressure on consumption in Southern Europe. ; Fiscal cliff The other threat that Careful and the economy sector can worry about is the fiscal Cliff. At the end of the year, the terms of the Budget Control Act of 201 1 in the USA are scheduled to go into effect. This means a 2% tax increase for most workers, and to several tax breaks for business and charges in alternative minimum tax, tax increase for higher income and spending cuts in more than 1 000 government programs. The positive aspect is that this will enable to reduce the US budget deficit by estimated $ 560 billions but on the other hand, it will cut the gross domestic product by 4% points and cause an economic slowdown. Unemployed would rise 1% point and a loss of 2 lions jobs. (C. Larger, 2012). Many analysts say that would send U. S. Economy into a recession, if not a depression. (CNN, 2012). Even if Careful is not present in the USA, the Fiscal Cliff threatens the global economy. But a disaster can be avoided by the Congress action. II. External business environment: Key challenges and implications Political and legal Nowadays, government and business are interdependent (Harrison, 2008). That means that they are linked through several relationships. For example, government determines the legal framework, manages the macroeconomic environment etc. Furthermore, government also need business. Indeed, businesses are a source of tax revenues and since the private sector is the dominant element within capitalist economies, these private business investments drive the economic growth and prosperity. However, with the globalization, governments have now to deal with multinational companies and multinational companies have to deal with different governments, so with different laws and rules. Government decisions are key factor in the international expansion of companies and can be opportunities to take advantage of. For example, the Indian government decided recently to open its retail sector to global supermarket chains. Thus, these chains are allowed to sell directly to Indian consumers by buying up to a 51 % stake in Indians multi-brand retailers. BBC, 2012). According to the 201 2 global retail Development Index (Takeaway, 2012), India is ranked 5 and thus is an interesting market to consider. Indeed, India market with accelerated retail growth of 15 to 20% expected over the next five years. Growth is supported by strong macroeconomic conditions, including a 6 to 7% rise in GAP, higher exposable incomes, and rapid arbitration. Yet, while the overall retail market contributes to 14% of Indians GAP, organized retail penetration remains low, at 5 to 6%, indicating room for growth. So, it would be an interesting market for Carousers supermarkets, all the more Careful is already established in the country through cash and carry stores. However, groups wanting to invest in India should be also aware of the conditions imposed by India. For example, Ð’Â « companies will have to invest at least $ mm (Meme), open outlets only in towns with a population of more than one million ND source at least 30% of produce from India, according to reports. Ð’Â » (BBC, 2012). Moreover, since countries are linked through international trade, some political decision can influence these trad es. As Harrison States political and economic instability is a major cause of risk in the external environment, whether it affects the international environments as a whole or the environment in a particular country. (2010, quoted IPPP). The case of Italy is a good illustration. Reacting to the news that Prime Minister Mario Mont plans to resign, Italian stockers have fallen of Local banks as well as European Banks had been hardly hit by this news: Germanys Commemorate fell 2. 2% and Frances BAN Paris dropped 1. 4%. (BBC, 2012). So this shows that political and economical environments are strongly linked. Economic and Financial The economic and financial environment comprises different factors like the rate of economic growth, exchanges rates, inflation, and so on, which influence business. The rate of economic growth for example enables to indicate the speed at which the total level of demand for goods and services is changing. (Hamilton and Webster, 2009). According to specialists, the world economy will grow at an annual rate of 3% up to 2030 and 4,3% in developing countries. (World Bank, 2012). Goldman Sacks (2003) adds that China and India are predicted to be the worlds two biggest economies in 2050. As We could understand thanks to the previous numbers, developing economies, in particular BRICK economies grow quickly and can therefore be attractive for business. But according to PWS, other countries have to be considered. PWS estimate that the E (BRICK economies, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey) will be 50% bigger than the GO (USA, Japan, Germany, Uk, Italy, France, Canada) by 2020. PWS, PWS. Com) However, before thinking to enter a new market, Careful should be aware of national barriers to trade like tariffs, imposed quotas and non-tariffs barrier. (Morrison, 2009). Tariffs protect local industry and provide government revenue. Imposed quotas limit imports to a specific quantity of value. Thus, in this case, it is better to consider sourcing locally using local suppliers. Moreover, institutions or agreements like the General Agreement on tariffs and Trade, The World Bank and The International Monetary fund can have a dramatic influence on retailers. They help manage, regulate, and police the global marketplace and thus provide the stability in the trading environment. Nowadays, economic power is hold by these supranational organizations. Moreover, through globalization, barriers between nations are reduced. Thereby, nations are more and more interdependent. Thus, globalization carriers dangers because depending on foreign suppliers, business are vulnerable to events in foreign economies and market outside their control. (Hamilton and Webster, 2009). This explains the current recession in Japan. This later depends strongly on its exports and yet, robbers in other markets like the slowdown in the US and Rezone and the anti-Japan protest in China has hurt demand for exports. Social, cultural, and Environmental Although globalization can have some beneficial aspects, it also brings a number of problems of a social nature. Indeed, globalization increases the gap between rich and poor. On one hand the income of the rich increase as a faster rate than the income of the poor. On the other hand, all economies do not participates in the international trades. (Harrison 2010). However, business is not only about making profits. The purpose of business activity is o provide goods and services to satisfy peoples want and needs. There is therefore a social purpose behind business activity. (Harrison, 2010, Pl 80). Held (1 999, quoted in Hamilton and Webster, 2009, pep) added that globalization can be seen as the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all expects of contemporary social life, from the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual Thus globalization is not only an economic phenomenon. It involved also many other cultural and social dimensions. Nowadays, one of the key challenges facing by businesses s the rise of CARS concerns. Consumers are conscious of the social and environmental impacts that are caused by businesses. Thereby, associations to protect consumers, employees and environment multiply and businesses have to prove their commitment. Thus Careful has implemented environmental and social policies in all countries. Careful offers more environment-friendly product and sourcing, and tries to reduce the impact of its stores and its logistic impact on the environment. Careful also carries out its social and societal responsibilities through different actions. (www. Refocus. Com). Amongst them, the integration in the local economy is also interesting to face cultural challenges. Through a local integration, Careful benefits from local products needed by local consumers and provided by local suppliers. Indeed, Careful has to deal with customers but also employees from different cultures. This difference can be an obstacle if not well considered. For example, Careful did not succeeded in providing relevant product to its Japanese consumers. Thus, its main local concurrent knew better how to meet the local consumes demand and could attract ore consumers, forcing Careful to leave the market.

How Radio Waves Help Us Understand the Universe

How Radio Waves Help Us Understand the Universe Humans perceive the universe using visible light that we can see with our eyes. Yet, theres more to the cosmos than what we see using the visible light that streams from stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. These objects and events in the universe also give off other forms of radiation, including radio emissions. Those natural signals fill in an important part of the cosmic of how and why objects in the universe behave as they do. Tech Talk: Radio Waves in Astronomy Radio waves are electromagnetic waves (light), but we cant see them. They have wavelengths between 1 millimeter (one-thousandth of a meter) and 100 kilometers (one kilometer is equal to one thousand meters). In terms of frequency, this is equivalent to 300 Gigahertz (one Gigahertz is equal to one billion Hertz) and 3 kilohertz. A Hertz (abbreviated as Hz) is a commonly used unit of frequency measurement. One Hertz is equal to one cycle of frequency. So, a 1-Hz signal is one cycle per second. Most cosmic objects emit signals at hundreds to billions of cycles per second. People often confuse radio emissions with something that people can hear. Thats largely because we use radios for communication and entertainment. But, humans do not hear radio frequencies from cosmic objects. Our ears can sense frequencies from 20 Hz to 16,000 Hz (16 KHz). Most cosmic objects emit at Megahertz frequencies, which is much higher than the ear hears. This is why radio astronomy (along with x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared) is often thought to reveal an invisible universe that we can neither see nor hear. Sources of Radio Waves in the Universe Radio waves usually are emitted by energetic objects and activities in the universe. The   Sun is the closest source of radio emissions beyond Earth. Jupiter also emits radio waves, as do events occurring at Saturn. One of the most powerful sources of radio emission outside of the solar system, and beyond the Milky Way  galaxy, comes from active galaxies (AGN). These dynamic objects are powered by supermassive black holes at their cores. Additionally, these black hole engines will create massive jets of material that glow brightly with radio emissions. These can often outshine the entire galaxy in radio frequencies. Pulsars, or rotating neutron stars, are also strong sources of radio waves. These strong, compact objects are created when massive stars die as  supernovae. Theyre  second only to black holes in terms of ultimate density. With powerful magnetic fields and fast rotation rates, these objects emit a broad spectrum of  radiation, and they are particularly bright in radio. Like supermassive black holes, powerful radio jets are created, emanating from the magnetic poles or the spinning neutron star. Many pulsars are referred to as radio pulsars because of their strong radio emission. In fact, data from the  Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope  showed evidence of a new breed of pulsars that appears strongest in gamma-rays instead of the more common radio. The process of their creation remains the same, but their emissions tell us more about the energy involved in each type of object.   Supernova remnants themselves can be particularly strong emitters of radio waves. The Crab Nebula is famous for its radio signals that alerted astronomer Jocelyn Bell to its existence.   Radio Astronomy Radio astronomy is the study of objects and processes in space that emit radio frequencies. Every source detected to date is a naturally occurring one. The emissions are picked up here on Earth by  radio telescopes. These are large instruments, as it is necessary for the detector area to be larger than the detectable wavelengths. Since radio waves can be larger than a meter (sometimes much larger), the scopes are typically in excess of several meters (sometimes 30 feet across or more). Some wavelengths can be as large as a mountain, and so astronomers have built extended arrays of radio telescopes.   The larger the collection area is, compared to the wave size, the better the angular resolution a radio telescope has. (Angular resolution is a measure of how close two small objects can be before they are indistinguishable.) Radio Interferometry Since radio waves can have very long wavelengths, standard radio telescopes need to be very large in order to obtain any sort of precision. But since building stadium size radio telescopes can be cost prohibitive (especially if you want them to have any steering capability at all), another technique is needed to achieve the desired results. Developed in the mid-1940s, radio interferometry aims to achieve the kind of angular resolution that would come from incredibly large dishes without the expense. Astronomers achieve this  by using multiple detectors in parallel with each other. Each one studies the same object at the same time as the others. Working together, these telescopes effectively act like one giant telescope the size of the whole group of detectors together. For example, the Very Large Baseline Array has detectors 8,000 miles apart. Ideally, an array of many radio telescopes at different separation distances would work together to optimize the effective size of the collection area as well improve the resolution of the instrument. With the creation of advanced communication and timing technologies, it has become possible to use telescopes that exist at great distances from each other (from various points around the globe and even in orbit around  the Earth). Known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), this technique significantly improves the capabilities of individual radio telescopes and allows researchers to probe some of the most dynamic objects in the  universe. Radios Relationship to Microwave Radiation The radio wave band also overlaps with the microwave band (1 millimeter to 1 meter). In fact, what is commonly called  radio astronomy, is really microwave astronomy, although some radio instruments do detect wavelengths much beyond 1 meter. This is a source of confusion as some publications will list the microwave band and radio bands separately, while others will simply use the term radio to include both the classical radio band and the microwave band. Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Writing about my career and why i want to study in boston university Personal Statement

Writing about my career and why i want to study in boston university - Personal Statement Example Boston University is the kind of educational institution that emits an air of confidence in its teaching methods. It is the kind of university that creates students and graduates that are prepared for the world after school and who have little fear in the unknown because of the education imparted onto them. I am applying to Boston University because I feel that it is the kind of institution that allows its students to absorb education in their own ways. It also equips its students with the tools needed in order to remain confident in the education they have received and in turn, succeed in life. I am confident that I will be a great addition to the school as my skill set and experience will mesh well with the university’s culture and process. I am, first and foremost a bilingual student, able to converse well in both English and Spanish, which is my native language. This gives me a number of dimensions in which to communicate, learn and impart learning. I am also a proud holder of a dual bachelor’s degree in finance and management, which not only makes learning in similar fields easier, but it also gives me a chance to share information to my fellow students on a higher level. My skill set has also been broadened by my work and volunteer experience both in the United States as well as in my native country, Honduras. These experiences have helped me to become adaptable to any work environment. It has also taught me to prioritize what is important and think ahead. The work experience has also allowed me to interact with different kinds of people and become adept in customer communication which, when related to the educational environment, means I can adapt to different communication styles of each student and professor with little to no difficulty. Aside from my experience in business analysis and employee management, I have also been involved in teaching. I have taught English in Honduras, which has given me a look at what it is to be the

Perfect City in Plato's view, with the philosophers and guardians and Research Paper

Perfect City in Plato's view, with the philosophers and guardians and the working class and how they all work together - Research Paper Example It is far from monarchy which a child of king or queen automatically becomes a ruler by birth right. From this this philosophical thought comes the social and economic stratification which are meant to forge social solidarity in the ideal state (Silvermintz 762) In stratifying, Plato did not discriminate people by birth but by capability and will of who should rule and exercise political power over a state. , "philosophers [must] become kings†¦or those now called kings [must]†¦genuinely and adequately philosophize" (The Republic 5). Plato put so much emphasis on the philosopher king or the philosopher ruler whom designated as the Guardians. They are chosen by an inner calling or daimon and by their birth or privileged station in life. The philosopher kings are also those who are supposed to have a philosophical temperament that can judge between mere appearances of objects and permanent abstract forms or in short, those who can distinguish truth from falsity. For Plato†™s philosopher’s it is necessary for them â€Å"to possess philosophical truths for their own sake, where this in turn implies good regardless of any bene? cial e?ects (Woolf 33). The Guardians are supposed to have a heart of bronze and silver which meant that they have the physical capability and also the intellectual prowess to rule. To have this quality, the philosopher ruler of the ideal city has to undergo rigorous and regulated study which extends until mid-life. Their curriculum of study involves the study of philosophy, the arts, as well as the gymnastics. In the early years of their study, poetry and fictional drama are deemed inappropriate because Plato thought that it could dull the person’s ability to discern and make to make wise judgment. He was also cautious that the undesirable behaviors may be emulated (Republic 395) and that the student may not be able to see its falsity. The study of the Guardians also involved the physical training. To be specifi c, it involves gymnastics and should train physically that is more suited for war. This physical training however must be balanced with music and poetry to avoid the negative tendencies of each training that is, being too physical may make the Guardian brute or too much music and poetry may make the Guardian too soft. Upon the assumption of the role to become The Guardian, the ruler must also have to live an ascetic life and far from the life of a privilege person so that the ruler will not get spoiled which will weaken him. For Plato’s perspective, living a life of comfort will weaken a ruler because it will prejudice him to perpetuate the life that he is beginning to like. To guard against this character weakness, it is mandated that a Guardian or ruler must live a simple life. This also serves as a safeguard from those who wanted to become a Guardian that it is a position of service to its fellow that there are no material incentives in becoming a Guardian. Thus, a Guardia n has no possession also and is not even paid despite the tremendous political power that he wields. Whatever that he has should be donated by society at large and he is not paid for governing. The rationale for this stringent life was that for the Guardian to focus solely on governance. That is, if he will dispense a law or administers justice or that of the state, that he may

Reflaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflaction paper - Essay Example I will ask them about what they feel and think about this exchange of roles. Though many in China have been influenced heavily by western influences, the traditional structures of the family have remained intact along with the norms and culture. The traditional and modern Chinese families are the same in values and morals. The roles, statuses, culture and values remain the same despite rapidly changing technology, innovation. The Chinese still maintain very clear-cut roles, rights, values and moms for men and women. Though a few things have changed such as the freedom to choose one’s spouse, the same cultural values and taboos apply. The family values are still a heavy focus and are cherished, honored and respected. This is true in the modern, urban and rural environments. I do not see anything different in the western definition of wife from Judy Syfers â€Å"Why I want a wife†; description of the Chinese’s wife and the kind of wife she is describing in the west. Though Judy writes to complain and bemoan the â€Å"wife† in the we st it is atypical of the Chinese wife’s reality whether she lives in the west or in China. â€Å"I want a wife who will take care of all the social details of my life† (p.61) is universal. The expectations on gender roles are very conservative in Chinese culture. The relationship between a boy and a girl is expected to lead to marriage and is therefore expected to follow the rules of marriage. If a boy goes out to dinner with a girl then he is expected to pay for the dinner and not doing so will make him loose â€Å"face" and social status. This makes a person to be regarded as a poor dating candidate and so it was very hard for my boyfriend to accept for me to pay for the meal. I have never paid for my own meals in my life form my own savings. The money that I use for buying things is from my father and so even if he is not

Mexico's Global business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mexico's Global business - Essay Example The topography is very diverse, and the climate reflects this fact. At any time of the year you can find an area of Mexico with a perfect climate. Many parts of the central highlands and some coastal locations, have "perfect" weather all year round (Blog, 1996). The country can be split into four geographical areas namely, The Baja Peninsula, The Pacific Coast, The Caribbean coast and The Central Highlands. The Baja has a climate that varies considerably from its west coast to its east coast and north to south. The coastal areas get hot and humid weather in the summer and ideal weather in the winter. The central highlands get ideal weather year-round. The northern desert areas have very hot weather in the summer and cool nights in the winter with some snow on occasions. Details on climate can be obtained from the more specific pages in Virtual Mexico (Blog, 1996). The economic health of Mexico is basically more focused on travel and tourism. The other areas in which the country has a good reputation are industrial production, oil and gas production, textiles and clothing and agriculture. Mexico is highly dependent on exports to the U.S., which represent more than a quarter of the country's GDP. The result is that the Mexican economy is strongly linked to the U.S. business cycle. Real GDP grew by 4.8% in 2006 and by 3.3% in 2007 (Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 2008). Hundreds of North American factories have been built to take advantage of the lower labor costs. Mexico has 1/5 of the world's oil reserves. Mexico produces and exports a wide selection of agricultural goods. Just about every kind of fruit and vegetable is grown on giant modern irrigated farms and small family plots. Political Conditions of Mexico Mexico is bogged down in a grim economic crisis, and the people are tired of inflation, of poverty, and of the appalling poverty-linked crime wave. The government of Mexico is a federal republic (Lake, 1998). The 1917 constitution provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Historically, the executive has been the dominant branch, with power vested in the president, who promulgates and executes the laws of the Congress. The Congress has played an increasingly important role since 1997, when opposition parties first made major gains. The president also legislates by executive decree in certain economic and financial fields, using powers delegated from the Congress. The president is elected by universal adult suffrage for a 6-year term and may not hold office a second time. There is no vice president; in the event of the removal or death of the president, a provisional president is elected by the Congress (Burea u of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 2008). In the 2006 elections, the PAN emerged as the largest party in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, with just over 40% of the seats in each house of Congress. It does not enjoy a legislative majority. Although the PRI no longer controls the presidency and has fewer

Ethnographic Research Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethnographic Research Project - Essay Example Different cultures are affecting the present market conditions and business process. People belonging from various cultures behave in certain ways in their day to day activities. The goods are produced and consumed according to their lifestyle and culture. The companies are also very aware of this. They manufacture and sell goods and services according to the tastes and preferences of its customers. By studying the culture of its targeted customers different brands have developed its brand image. Brand has a strong relation with the product which has unique characterises. It builds up a strong image of the product on the mind of the customer which portrays the status and taste of the customers. The social, personal and cultural identity of people defines the relationship between the production and consumptions. The development of new promotional culture helps to attract more customers. The brands are perceived in a different way for this new promotional culture. The topic of this research paper is ethnography. The main aim of this paper is assessing the role of consumption and cultural production in the present time of new economies. In the modern time the production of the company is highly dependent on the cultural tastes of the customers. The research paper describes the importance of brands and branding in this context. The objectives of this paper are to explain the contribution of design and aesthetics for the development of various promotional cultures by the companies. The research paper will also focus on the process by which consumption shapes our experiences, relationships by opening up different ethical questions. The assignment has also emphasised on the link between consumption and production which has affected many cultural industries. This research paper is done on the study of primary and secondary data. Primary Research is the most important part of this project. A detailed study of this people and their day to day

Islamic finance RM Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Islamic finance RM - Coursework Example The unique consideration concerning credit risk in Islamic banking are current account is considered as more stable source of credit financing since it constitutes largest percentages of the finances. The five years maturity period of ijarah Sukuk is considered as the unstable fund since it takes long time for its maturity. Mudarabah, Musharakah, Qard and Ijarah are working together in the Islamic banks. Musharakah cannot perform its function without Mudarabah and it cannot work in the absence of Qard, therefore they are expected to work together. Oversight by board and management: IIFS is expected to possess a comprehensive risk management process which includes the senior management oversight for controlling the different types of credit risks. 3. Credit risk weighting for the Islamic finance institution can be explained as 400% risk weighted is applied in case of all commercial and private enterprises and 300% of risk weighted funds on Mudarabah basis for withdrawal by the investor during the short notice period. It is useful since it acts as a pledge of assets as collateral, it provides guarantee to the third party and leased assets. 1. The Rate of Return Risk mainly manages the maturities and re- pricing opportunities of the assets and liabilities of the banks. IIFS are mainly exposed to Rate of Return Risk associated with overall balance sheet exposures. It ensures that it can understand the characteristics of their balance sheet position and different currencies jurisdictions. IIFS adopts balance sheet techniques for minimizing the exposures using the strategy which includes determining the future profit ratio, developing new Shariah instrument, expectation for fulfilling the market condition and issuing securitization. Rate of Return Risk focuses on sensitive gap management for reducing the risk and minimizing the gap between maturities of

Ethnographic Research Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethnographic Research Project - Essay Example Different cultures are affecting the present market conditions and business process. People belonging from various cultures behave in certain ways in their day to day activities. The goods are produced and consumed according to their lifestyle and culture. The companies are also very aware of this. They manufacture and sell goods and services according to the tastes and preferences of its customers. By studying the culture of its targeted customers different brands have developed its brand image. Brand has a strong relation with the product which has unique characterises. It builds up a strong image of the product on the mind of the customer which portrays the status and taste of the customers. The social, personal and cultural identity of people defines the relationship between the production and consumptions. The development of new promotional culture helps to attract more customers. The brands are perceived in a different way for this new promotional culture. The topic of this research paper is ethnography. The main aim of this paper is assessing the role of consumption and cultural production in the present time of new economies. In the modern time the production of the company is highly dependent on the cultural tastes of the customers. The research paper describes the importance of brands and branding in this context. The objectives of this paper are to explain the contribution of design and aesthetics for the development of various promotional cultures by the companies. The research paper will also focus on the process by which consumption shapes our experiences, relationships by opening up different ethical questions. The assignment has also emphasised on the link between consumption and production which has affected many cultural industries. This research paper is done on the study of primary and secondary data. Primary Research is the most important part of this project. A detailed study of this people and their day to day

Resume Cover Letter Essay Example for Free

Resume Cover Letter Essay This letter is to express my interest in bringing my expertise as a Human Resource Director to your organization.   I possess excellent interpersonal skills and am effective in management employment and payroll-related issues to achieve company goals and objectives. As you can gather from my attached resume, I have expertise in working effectively with executive management and employees in resolving human resource and payroll issues.   I am a detail-oriented individual with a proven track record for ensuring accurate compliance with state human resource rules and regulations.    In the past 12 years, I have gained invaluable experience as an Employment and Payroll Manager with management and training responsibilities for as many as 3000 employees. In addition to the skills noted on my attached resume, I can also offer your organization: A goal-oriented Professional with a commitment to personal and professional growth and development. Excellent verbal and oral written communication skills. Technical proficiencies in human resource and payroll computerized systems. It is my hope that my education and professional experience will convey to you that I have the qualifications to make a valuable contribution as a Human Resource Director with your organization.   Should you have any questions, I can be reached at the number listed above.

Asymmetry and Polymorphism of Hybrid Male Sterility

Asymmetry and Polymorphism of Hybrid Male Sterility Kimberly Woosley Critical Review: Asymmetry and Polymorphism of Hybrid Male Sterility During the Early Stages of Speciation in House Mice In this study, the researchers sought to determine the genetic cause of male sterility in house mice when there was interbreeding among different but related species. The researchers took two breeds of two species of house mice, musculus and domesticus, and cross-bred wild-type with classic inbred type, from the laboratory, and wild-type with wild-type. They then conducted several generations of directional and reciprocal crosses and compared body weight, testis weight, motility and sperm count. These data were analyzed to determine sterility in the male offspring of the F1 generations. The researchers crossed same species but different breed mice as a control for the expected F1 offspring fertility. They then did eight crosses of the different breeds varying the maternal and paternal parentage. After all crosses were complete they let the mice grow to maturity at approximately 60 days. The researchers weighed the mice, they then dissected them to get the weight of the testes and used histology to examine the seminiferous tubules and spermatogenesis to determine sterility. The results of their study showed a decrease in fertility of the hybrid mice except for when a domesticus female was mated with a musculus male. In those two crosses, the hybrids showed similar or increased body weight, testes weight, motility, and sperm count when musculusPWK was the paternal mate regardless of which breed of domesticus was used. In the other six crosses, the F1 offspring all had decreased testes weight, decreased sperm count, and no motile sperm. The researchers then crossed the F1 males of the intrabred domesticusLEWES x WSB with the musculusPWK female and the F1 males of the intrabred musculusPWK x CZECH with the domesticusLEWES. Comparing the two, the researchers noted when the female domesticusLEWES was mated with the male musculus with only half the genes coming from musculusPWK the F1 males still showed an increase in testes weight and sperm count over the musculusPWK female from the first cross. Their results showed that there is a combination of genetic factors at play and that the musculus X chromosome has a large effect on the fertility of the F1 generations. The results varied in some crosses indicating that other loci were involved in the interference of spermatogenesis. However, they were unable to determine exactly which genes were epistatic on male reproductive growth and fertility. They did use their finding to infer polymorphism on autosomal traits when combined with some X, Y traits in certain breed crossings. The researchers acknowledge that this study was fixed on male sterility and did not take into account female sterility or decreases in immune function that could also lead to reproductive isolation. The conclusions drawn by the researchers is valuable for further research into the genetic makeup of which genes are interacting or epistatic on the fertility of hybrid species. Scientists could take the study deeper in an effort to isolate the genes involved and determine which are responsible for speciation in the wild. Overall, this was an excellent article, the authors explained the data clearly and used previous research to back up their hypothesis. The authors broke down each aspect of X-linked, Haldanes rule, D-M incompatibility, and polymorphism as it pertained to their results showing how their study supported previous results and could lead to future explanations of speciation. Reference Good, J., Handel, M., Nachman, M. (2007). Asymmetry And Polymorphism Of Hybrid Male Sterility During The Early Stages Of Speciation In House Mice. Evolution, 62(1), 50-65. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00257.x

America :: essays papers

America What is the AMERICAN DREAM? I concluded the matter of dreaming about life’s basics wants that are exclusive to North America. The American Dream is the following: Go to college, get a good job, and finally get your own family. If we think about it, the American Dream is indeed a UNIVERSAL DREAM. The concept of the American Dream is created by this value system. The American Dream is intended to be a way of life attainable to all Americans. Whatever maybe the case, the act of trying to escape reality and the result such an act brings, is evident throughout the three novels Jews without money, by Michael Gold, Street Corner Society by William Whyte, and Passing, by Nella Larsen. All three of these books confront the myth of the American Dream. The American Dream can either be a reality or a nightmare depending upon the cultural prejudices and availability of freedom. Individuals who are united through some common bond, which may be religion social status of color, create a group or class of people. While individuals are subject to racial prejudices, which often makes up upward mobility not possible. Without equal opportunities to move upwards within society, the American Dream is not attainable. But it is possible in cases where people are willing to sacrifice their heritage culture etc. Nella Larsen, show us through this novel, that if people want, they can achieve the American Dream, but they would have to ‘pay a price for it.’ This is especially true of Clare Kendry. Her passing is motivated by her desire to improve the conditions of her socioeconomic life. She is successful in achieving her American Dream, but in the end she does face the consequences of her actions. She manages to rise from being a poor girl to settling down in a well household. Using her white skin color and blond hair as commodities, she escapes the reality of her true character. She gained wealth and respect in the community through marrying an affluent successful white man. But the truth is that she paid the price of ‘passing’ because she couldn’t express who she was and her true identity in the fear of being ‘caught’ and then left aside abandoned from the ‘whites’ and the ‘black’ communities. In her case, her decision to ‘pass’ was self-initiated. Clare was afraid to face everyone, especially her husband, with her blackness.

Biography of Alexander Hamilton Essay -- Hamilton Founding Father Bio

Biography of Alexander Hamilton Summary Alexander Hamilton was most likely born on January 11, 1757, although the exact year of his birth is unknown. Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis or St. Kitts to Rachel Fawcett and James Hamilton, but he spent the majority of his youth on the island of St. Croix. His formal education as a child was minimal. When his mother died in 1768, Hamilton took his first job as a clerk in the offices of merchant Nicholas Cruger, keeping Cruger's business records, and coordinating business efforts between the merchant ship captains, government officials, and planters. Cruger and a local Presbyterian minister, Reverend Hugh Knox, recognized Hamilton's genius and persuaded him to leave St. Croix for New York City. Alexander left the island in 1772, never to return again. In New York, Hamilton attended several preparatory academies and schools to prepare himself for college. He interviewed with John Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey, which is now known as Princeton, but eventually enrolled in King's College, which is now known as Columbia. In 1776, Hamilton withdrew from King's College and joined a local New York militia to fight in the American Revolution against the British. During his first year of service, Hamilton served as an artill... ...entirely out of the political world after his resignation, but his involvement in politics after the late 1790s did his cause more harm than good. In the election of 1800, for example, Hamilton inadvertently split the Federalist Party to allow his rival, Thomas Jefferson, to become President of the United States. In 1804, Hamilton wrote a series of essays against another rival, Aaron Burr that was partly responsible for Burr's loss in that year's New York gubernatorial race. Burr blamed Hamilton for his loss and challenged Hamilton to a duel in which he shot Hamilton. Hamilton died the next day on July 11, 1804, at the age of forty-seven.

Ethical Computing

Ethical Computing QBA 362 w/ Burke Ltelatk H. Fritz FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 E T H I C AL C O MP UT I NG 1. Find a code of ethics from a firm of your choosing (other than the CPSR or the ACM). What do you think are the best five guiding principles from all the tips that you found? http://www. buzzle. com/articles/computer-ethics-code-of-ethics-in-computing. html Code of Ethics ? Information stored on the computer should be treated as seriously as written or spoken word. ? Privacy should not be violated. In case of academic use, it is known plagiarism. ? ? ? Information for public viewing should not be modified or deleted or inaccessible since these are considered as destructive acts. Intrusive software such as â€Å"worms† and â€Å"viruses† which are destructive to the computer system is also illegal. Congesting somebody’s system with a lot of unwanted information is also unethical. Sending obscene and crude messages through mail or c hat is also forbidden. ? Sending sexually explicit content, message or pictures is also forbidden †¡ I felt the top five codes under Buzzle ®Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Code of Ethics were the best. Because in general it covers a broad area of things. Treating information stored on computers as if they were written or spoken words, is like asking users to respect the rights of others, as well as their responsibility towards other people’s work. (Individual Responsibility) Leaving other people’s work in tact as they are—without modification or deletion, is important because it preserves the other person’s integrity. It’s kind of the same as walking into (or breaking into ) someone’s home and rearranging their furniture without their knowledge. Preserving Integrity) †¡ 2 FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 2. Is forwarding e-mail jokes good or bad? Summarize the opposing arguments you found. †¡ I personally forward e-mail that I think is appropriate for the individual I am sending the message to. However, congesting someone’s space is considered unethical according to the Buzzle ® Code of Ethics. †¡ Another factor I was totally oblivious of was the fact that all these people’s names and address are forwarded with the mail. My current method of forwarding the message is just to cut the message content and then forward it to friends. Sometimes I insert their address in the blind carbon copy (bcc) area to keep their address private. It is all about respecting someone’s privacy and integrity. 3. How does anonymous e-mail work and why would you use it? †¡ There are so many sites where you can set up anonymous e-mails, i. e. http://www. sendanonymousemail. net/ or http://www. hidemyass. com/anonymous-email/. But you can just as well set up a bogus account and use it to send anonymous e-mails. There were so many given reasons to use such websites like, â€Å"catching a spouse/partner cheating,† whistle-blowing, reporting illegal activities to the authorities. But I say, if you can’t say it in person, write it in a letter and sign it with your name. Be account for what you believe. It takes guts, but sometimes we just gotta. †¡ 4. What are five ways e-mail use can be unethical? Which do you think is most common? Why? †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ Using e-mail to steal company information. Using e-mail to scam people out of money. Using e-mail to conduct illegal activities, like money laundering, human trafficking, etc†¦ Using e-mail to ruin someone’s reputation or â€Å"blasting† stuff about a foe. Using e-mail in push/mass marketing. (Free Viagra or stuff like that) The most common I used to get is push/mass marketing. I once got my Inbox filled with 10,000 messages in less than a month. 5. Why is deliberate spreading of viruses unethical? Name five reasons. ? ? Intrusive software such as â€Å"worms† and â€Å"viruses† which are destructive to the computer system is also illegal. (Buzzle  ®) Congesting somebody’s system with a lot of unwanted information is also unethical. Buzzle  ®) ? 1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people: If it is unethical to harm people by making a bomb, for example, it is equally bad to write a program that handles the timing of the bomb. Or, to put it more simply, if it is bad to steal and destroy other people’s books and notebooks, it is equally bad to access and destroy their files. (CEI) 3 FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 ? 2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work: Computer viruses are small programs that disrupt other people’s computer work by estroying their files, taking huge amounts of computer time or memory, or by simply displaying annoying messages. Generating and consciously spreading computer viruses is unethical (CEI) ? 7) Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization: Multiuser systems use user id’s and passwords to enforce their memory and time allocations, and to safeguard information. You should not try to bypass this authorization system. Hacking a system to break and bypass the authorization is unethical 4

Gender and Sex Worksheet

————————————————- Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is wheather a person is male or female. Sex in biological terms is the property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions.Gender and sex are not the same sex refers to the differences of biological and gender describes the characteristics of male and females. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? * Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. Gender and sex concepts and constructions of masculinity and feminity of being able to tell the difference between the two. They show them as being completely different like males being the protector and the ladies as being caring and emotional.Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? * Yes, I do feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. I feel that we look at males in one light and females in another, we all at some point expect men to be the ones that are tough, and brave and look at women as being emotional. When it could be the other way around. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain.Yes, I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation in many ways. We have a understanding of what each gender is and what they provide, causing us to make a decision on who we want to be with in life. Whether we are Heterosexual: att racted to individuals of the opposite sex, Bisexual: attracted to members of either sex, Homosexual: attracted to individuals of one's own sex. References Debbie Bridges, August 02, 2012, Sexual Orientation, Retrieve from: www. webmd. com Brandon Jones, March 18,2013, Sex and gender distinction, Retrieve from: www. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_ Gender and Sex Worksheet 1) What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? a. Gender is the condition of being female or male and an internal sense of self. Sex in biological terms refers to the physical attributes such as sex chromosomes and hormones. No they are not the same thing even though much of society uses these words interchangeable to hold the same meaning. Gender is what a person most identifies with internally and externally. And sex is how you are born you are either borne a female or a male. 2) How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? b. They play apart in many different ways we are born either male or female which is our sex. This determines what role we will fall in to in society. Gender is our internal self which sex we feel we most identify with. We are born in to the construction society has set out for us. Men are the head and women follow behind and this is seen in many aspects of society. Such as the house hold in wages, job advancement, and job opportunity. 3) Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? c. Yes our concepts do affect the way we view gender and sex in diversity. We believe that there is only a right way and a wrong way and if you do not follow society ways than we are viewed and categorized differently. Our views and the views society says are the norm in which we must follow. 4) Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain. d. Yes our concepts do contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation our concepts of sex in you are born with female organs or male organs by being born in to a certain sex you will take on a certain role society says you should fit in to. You are also to like or be attracted to the opposite sex as you as society says that this is the norm. Gender and Sex Worksheet Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is the description or identification of a person as either male or female. In bioloical terms, sex is described as the biological differences between men and women. Gender and sex are not the same thing. Gender describes a person as male or female, which can be determined by the ender in which a person identifies with.For example, a transgendered female is essentially a person that was born a male, but identifies with females. In this particular situation, the person would be considered female from the gender perspective. However, the person is still considered male from the perspective of sex in the bioloical sense. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gende r and sex are major contributors to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. The biological sex of a person determines how parents and families interact with their children from birth.If the child is a girl, we dress them in pastel colors and buy them dolls. We tend to be more compassionate towards our daughters. If the child is a boy, we dress them in blue and buy them tonka trucks and action figures. We tend to be more active and athletic with our sons. However, if at some point that child finds themselves to identify with the opposite gender, they will exhibit characteristics of that gender (i. e. a male with feminine behaviors and characteristics). Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity?I think that our society’s concepts of gender and sex definitely contribute to how we embrace gender and sex. We tend to be less open-minded if a transgendered woman prefers to be addressed as a male and wants to be called by a male name. We are uncomfortable when a male dresses as a female and exhibits feminine behaviors and characteristics. In actuality, we should all accept those for who they are, no matter their gender or sex. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain. Our concepts of gender and sex can contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation.It is considered normal to be heterosexual in our society and being gay or lesbian is becoming more acceptable in our society. However, if a transgendered woman, who is biologically a male, chooses to be intimate with a male it is considered to be homosexual behavior. This scenario could go both ways because the transgendered woman considers herself a man being intimate with a woman, which is characteristically heterosexual behavior. I believe that love is universal ans should not be defined as heterosexual or homosexual. People should be with the person that they lov e unconditionally, whether they are male or female. Gender and Sex Worksheet ————————————————- Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is wheather a person is male or female. Sex in biological terms is the property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions.Gender and sex are not the same sex refers to the differences of biological and gender describes the characteristics of male and females. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? * Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. Gender and sex concepts and constructions of masculinity and feminity of being able to tell the difference between the two. They show them as being completely different like males being the protector and the ladies as being caring and emotional.Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? * Yes, I do feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. I feel that we look at males in one light and females in another, we all at some point expect men to be the ones that are tough, and brave and look at women as being emotional. When it could be the other way around. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain.Yes, I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation in many ways. We have a understanding of what each gender is and what they provide, causing us to make a decision on who we want to be with in life. Whether we are Heterosexual: att racted to individuals of the opposite sex, Bisexual: attracted to members of either sex, Homosexual: attracted to individuals of one's own sex. References Debbie Bridges, August 02, 2012, Sexual Orientation, Retrieve from: www. webmd. com Brandon Jones, March 18,2013, Sex and gender distinction, Retrieve from: www. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_

Contemporary Art Issues: Malay’s Identity in Lat’s Cartoon Essay

Definition of cartoon by David Low is: â€Å"A cartoon is a drawing, representational/symbolic, that makes a satirical, witty or humorous point,† (Muliyadi: 2008). Lat has been known for his contribution to Malaysia’s art scene and social impact through his cartoons, autobiography comics like The Kampung Boy which are sold all over the world. In this forum, we will see the importance of Lat character and the Malay culture which he bring along in his cartoons. Presented by Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood, Lat’s Malay identity have been reveal and presented as one of the study which is important for Malaysia socio-culture and identity. Lat born in 5th March 1951 in Kota Bharu, Perak and started contribute in Majallah Filem, April 1964 of his first comic Tiga Sekawan and it being publish until 1966. A huge fan of Raja Hamzah, he started to built an identification of character with Malay identity despite of so many local cartoons are very westernize style which is not suitable with Malaysia’s identity. After so many years, he still uplifts the idea of Malaysia culture and we always looking at Lat as our icon who always bring the Malaysian identity in his cartoons. Issue Discussed In this forum we discuss about the identity and cartoons; the definition and how this effect in our culture and sociology does. With Lat’s cartoons, he adapt the Malaysian identity in his drawings through the characters relationship, how is their life, activities, games and also including current issues of that time such as socio-culture and political event on that era which can be seen in Keluarga Si Mamat. Dr. Muliyadi also suggests the early Malay cartoons like Dol Keropok dan Wak Tempeh and Keluarga Mat Jambul by Raja Hamzah which is Lat’s favorite cartoonist. The scene of these comic strips is more about Malay culture in modernization era example Keluarga Mat Jambul is about young-new-wed-couple which live in urban city and women being a queen control whereas Mat Jambul would only nod to his wife. This show that socio-economics and culture has occur major transition, and Raja Hamzah capture the problem and translate it into cartoons strip. But the characters still very westernize and this situation gives Lat an idea to create an identity that suitable for Malaysian cartoons characters. We will also discussing issues on multi-racial, ethnic and socio-culture that Lat put into his every day life comic strip which is very entertaining yet not racist. This is a major success of Lat by using his own interpretation of Malaysian life in his comics and cartoons makes him as a very well known and lovable comic artist in Malaysia. Focus of Discussion The focus is more towards Lat’s work which is The Kampung Boy, Keluarga Si Mamat and his Malaysian Scene which is produced in New Straits Time. Lat show the relationship of four characters in Keluarga Si Mamat which is including their life, activities play together. In The Kampung Boy, it’s about Lat’s childhood life in kampung/village and more towards of Malay culture. Example, superstitious, berkhatan, khatam Quran, weddings, learn to take wudhu’ and listen to old folks and respect their words. These are some of the Malay elements that shown clearly in his autobiography as a kampung boy. The Malaysian Scene is more towards current issues, sometime political and most of it is daily routines which transfer to be a hilarious jokes. Lat never failed to make us laugh. Some of the issues that he brings up are about lack of service in some of government offices, corruption, and Mat Rempit. All of these serious issues become a joke from Lat’s view, his way of express his feeling towards this issue is unique and definitely reflects his idea of humor around everyday life. Malaysian identity in Lat’s cartoon is about multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi- cultural, customs, tradition and harmony. Lat always put kampung visual and style, which always make us remember the roots of Malay culture and value of esthetics. Never left out the moral value and family love and respect, Lat’s cartoon is always very humble, down to earth and always remembers that kampung is always the best place of in every people memory. Area of Interest My area of interest is when comes to Lat style and characters. He keeps using very simple approaches to keep his drawing clean, very well structured and sometime it could be very detail. The detailing of his drawing shows in The Kampung Boy where he draws the view inside the house and outside of the house. As we can see its very detailed yet well structured drawing has been produce by Lat. It show clearly the Malay culture such as usage of tempayan is located nearby the stairs so guest can wash their feet before enter the house. The Malay house he draw also stated that he stays in Perak, which is the style of house architecture can only be found in state of Perak. The next figure shows usual Malay dinner in village. The strong Malay culture once again can be found which is cross legged way of sits, having dinner on the floor top of the tikar mengkuang and usage of gasoline lamp which is shown he live without electricity, a very common way of kampung life. We can see that petai or ulam is always on the side of everybody in the house and the dishes are very simple. This detailed is successfully elaborate by using all the traditional Malay elements which is ulam, labu sayung usage as water container that is very common in Perak state, and village attire at home which is kain pelikat and kain batik which adult Malay use it as normal daily attire or basahan. On the next figure, scene of little Lat being chased by his mother due to his stubbornness, and it was drawn beautifully and humorously chasing scene. The elder woman was pictured in the drawing fetching water from well is surprised when little Lat were running around her try to get escape from her mother. Once again we can identify traditional Malay village culture element which is water supply taken from well, chickens as source of poultry and eggs, open type of housing environment (without any fence), and high built houses off the ground in order to avoid floods. Analysis of Artwork Lat artworks have been a very humorous in his owns style. No need to make stupid joke but he always look of our normal routine of life as his inspiration and idea to produce cartoons. Example; figure above is in Keluarga Si Mamat, which shown playing hides and seeks. A very simple subject matter but Lat sees it as a source of humor. The character, Epit, is always being used as the source of humor in this comic. The appearance of Epit itself already makes people laugh. Running naked around is something common for village boy on those days. Other case is how he brings up his childhood memory. He does get through the hard time and always get scolded for his wrong doing. But it doesn’t matter, it’s not something to be ashamed of, but those things make him grow to be a better person. We also can see the image of Malay woman dress when at home which is berkemban or wearing only wrap batik cloth. Once again, Lat cartoon is the perfect tool to study the Malay culture in village as very detail attention he draw in this autobiography. Lat style is very Malay attempt, stylish and clean, arrangement and compositions very well structured, not crowded and still preserve Malay’s value of parenthood and culture. Then Lat produce â€Å"Kampung Boy, Yesterday and Today† which is all about comparison of Malay traditional and modern game. Lat has brought up the memories of grown up towards when we are still young and enjoy time to the fullest. Some of the culture events can be seen in this strips which is ice balls era which is very popular one time ago. This strips shows s very different experience that Lat shared with the new generation of Malay society which is now more modern and materialistic. He still educates the society even though it’s only a drawing. As now we can see that Lat always stick to use local theme because for him it is easier to draw things that he knows. As Dr Muliyadi Mahamood (2008) cited that: â€Å"I drew the reban ayam, (chicken coop) I drew chicken, I drew my teacher, things that more within reach, things that I knew about,† (Lat 1994:17) it shown that Lat is a very straight forward kind of artist and love the conventional method which more comfortable for him. For him his childhood memory, his own experience in traditional Malay village culture is the best thing he ever had in life, and he is very delighted and looks forward about it, and shares his feeling and ideas with the world. Furthermore, Malay culture has been centre of attraction in his drawing, and this culture that can be learns from most of his cartoons. As example below, Lat’s describes his childhood experience when they have to learn how to solat or pray with all the games equipment is hidden beneath their clothes and songkok. The cover blown up definitely, but its shows that no matter what they do, religion and knowledge are crucial, and it should be on the top of the list. Another thing we can examine is what is the game they always playing back in village, when all the hidden things was discovered. Lat’s drawing shows slingshots, gasing, batu seremban and marble are rolling out from their pockets. These are all popular games back in village in those days, in his childhood era. All these elements of traditional Malay culture is connected closely and very important that we can search just by looking at his drawing. Conclusion Lat has played an important role in significant of Malaysian identity in his characteristic of cartoons. Not only he’s the pioneer of early cartoonist in Malaysia, but he also one of the most important person that comes with the idea that Malaysian cartoon needs to be in their own identity or style, kept the culture and preserve the local touch. He also goes along with the social issues, and makes him as an icon and act as mirror of the society. It makes him as a very successful cartoonist in terms of socio-culture and multi-ethnic society. Lat also getting the time frame of events such as in 1970’s where the images of beauty is Malay women wearing kebaya, socio-economics for village folks and their daily routine, and many more. He is very detailed in his drawing and observation, which always includes all the details of traditional Malay culture in his drawings and cartoons, mostly on village area. Lat has prove that being a cartoonist is not all about making jokes, but also to enhance and aware of our own culture, society and current issues at the same time maintain the ethnics harmony and produce artwork without offending other people which is different races and skins. All these elements are crucial in order to enhance the idea of being Malaysian, yet maintain the culture’s identity while preserve the elements of unity between many races.