Fahrenheit 451 & Gattaca Comparative Study

Throughout time Science Fiction writers have produced their work, using the concept of dystopia as a method to express their outlook and opinion on the issues within their existing societies, in which they are writing from. The writer delivers a message to the audience, educating them about the current contextual concerns and the possibility of the dystopias that are developed as a result. This is demonstrated in the novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury and the film Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol.Both of these composers illustrate their fears for the fate of their society through the structural and language features of their texts. Ray Bradbury explores the value of using knowledge and independent thinking rather than blindly following the ‘rules’, without a second thought or question. Andrew Niccol uses the reality of scientific methods, addressing the responder of the direction society is heading in and the fatal result of the future if we were to mess wit h the balance of nature. Like all texts, Fahrenheit 451 is a product of its time.It was published in the early 1950s, during a time recovering from World War II and facing the Cold War, which caused key contextual concerns of this period. During the McCarthy era, the rise of the mass media contributed to the themes and ideas explored by Bradbury’s dystopian fiction novel. These ideas include the danger of censorship, knowledge vs. ignorance and the role of technology which are explored in a world where people are so busy that they do not stop to think or notice beauty or to really communicate with the people around them.This is a world where the media feeds the minds of numbed masses whose highest goal is happiness; a goal that persistently eludes them. Although Gattaca was created many years afterwards, Andrew Niccol’s futuristic film also explores the contextual concerns within his present society; the twenty-first century. Niccol looks at the role of science and tec hnology and the concerns that can come from being too dependent upon these. Gattaca provides us with a dystopic vision of the not-too-distant future if we are to continue to strive for perfection.He challenges our concept on what it is to be an individual human being and what extent we are willing to go to before our morals and ethics are forgotten. This is shown in the film through ideas such as destiny vs. free will, systematic discrimination and the role of nature and technology. A key concern that Bradbury has about the future that is directly related to context is the danger of censorship. The Nazi book burnings in Germany in 1933 had been widely publicised after World War II. These book burnings became a major symbol of the repression that followed in Nazi Germany.The importance of literature and the freedom to read and write was a central concern of liberal-minded people during the 1950s, and this thought was common to Bradbury. In Fahrenheit 451, society has evolved to such and extreme that literature is illegal to possess. No longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy. A major example of censorship is book burning, which with Bradbury’s use of symbolism reinforces the ideas of anti-censorship.Fire is used symbolically to identify the issues of censorship and represents the destruction of books, people and society. Censorship in the world consists of book burning, manipulative parlor families, and the intolerance of those who attempt to be an individual. Bradbury’s use of symbolism reinforces the ideas of anti-censorship. Fire is used symbol of censorship as it represents the destruction of books, of people, and of society, however is used to cover up all things that the firemen’s propaganda does not enforce.The first sentence of the novel introduces the role of fire saying â€Å"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed†. Obviously fire is a symbol of destruction, but in this quote fire has multiple functions; it destroys the book in one sense, but in another it changes the book and even creates something new. Captain Beatty wants to use fire to cleanse the world of knowledge, a thing that he believes is evil. He wants to use fire to erase people's memories and problems. He believes that fire can destroy anything and make problems disappear.When he explains that cremation is important to make people forget the dead, he says that they should â€Å"Forget them. Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean†. He thinks that the only way to have a peacefully and happy society is to make people forget the past and ignore or forget anything that they do not like. This reflects back to the society after WWII and the motives of the Nazis – removing thoughts and the past will result in peace and happiness. Bradbury a lso serves to warn us of the danger of ignorance in this futuristic dystopia.This again is reflective of the Nazi book burnings and the idea of people leaving behind knowledge and becoming ‘blissfully’ ignorant of the past. In Fahrenheit 451 the fireman's responsibility is to destroy knowledge and promote ignorance in order to ensure equality. Ignorance, however, promotes suicide, poor decisions, and empty lives. When Beatty discovers Montag's hidden collection of books, he explains that all firemen become curious of books, and may have time to explore them for a short time before disposing of them.He then tells Montag about the state of the world: people are made content by their lack of knowledge. Those who truly know the world are unhappy, while those who are ignorant of it have a false sense of happiness. From this moment, Montag is given the choice of conforming and living an artificial but happy life, or seeking knowledge and bearing the pain that accompanies it. In the novel, when Captain Beatty mentions the history of fire fighting and the history of books.He says, â€Å"Classics cut to fit fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two-minute book column, winding up at last as a ten-or-twelve-line dictionary resume. † The use of a hyperbole in this quote exaggerates to make a point of how really short they are to him or compared to what they used to be, displaying the ignorance towards knowledge and the past. Losing touch with nature and becoming reliant on technology is a concern that Bradbury forces us to examine in Fahrenheit 451.Bradbury uses personification to demonstrate this idea, describing technological equipment as animals and giving them human characteristics. â€Å"The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the firehouse. † This quote is a pure example of personification, where the mecha nical hound, a mere machine, is described as having a personality and behaviours similar to that of a human being. Also, this quote can be expressed as an irony to the people in the society.Another example of the being too reliant on technology is the palor walls and the people of Fahrenheit 451 spend most of their time consumed by the information they are being fed, losing touch with the outside world, or nature and becoming completely dependent on technology. Using personification once again, Bradbury defines the machine used to ‘clean out’ his wife, Mildred as a â€Å"black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water and the old time gathered there†, once again refer to a machine as an animal. The way he writes â€Å"This machine pumped all of the blood from the body and replaced it with fresh blood and serum,† indirectly xplains the emptiness of the people's souls in the society. This machine is pumping Mildred's blood and we can say that Mildred is the ‘representative’ of the society. In this line, it states that the machine can just replace the blood with new one, meaning that there's nothing precious in Mildred's soul. Her life is just full of nothingness, nothing to hide and nothing to lose. Technology has stripped society of its personality and identity. Niccol too explores the role of nature and technology in the futuristic dystopia he has created in Gattaca.He forces the responder to question the dangers of uncontrolled technology. In the ‘not-to-distant future’, the world of Gattaca is where genetic engineering has become the normal approach to procreation. Overall the setting of the film is quite severe and uncluttered and is dominated by people and symbolic locations. This sterile and cold society of elitist collaborations like Gattaca promotes competition, isolation and discrimination. This is something that is dangerous to individuals and relationships and shows an arrogant belie f to the world of science.The film begins with the quote â€Å"Consider Gods handwork: who can straighten what he has made crooked† from Ecclesiastes 7:13, followed by the quote â€Å"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother Nature wants us to† from Willard, then cuts to extreme close ups of Vincent exfoliating, removing fingernails, hair, skin fragments and eyelashes. Niccol very intricately places the two quotes one after the other to force the responder to think about what being human truly is and how far is it before we’re ‘playing god’. This is extremely relevant to today’s society, as we continue to tamper with Mother Nature.The use of the extreme close-up of the fragments reminds the audience of the idea of being ‘put under the microscope’ reflects society’s obsession with defining people by their genetic ‘background’ and further magnifies the importance of genetic materia l. The role of human relationships is important to Niccol in his film Gattaca. He forces us to understand the concept of systematic discrimination. People are no longer discriminated against by race, personality, or religion, but are judged only by the superiority of their genetic code, as stated â€Å"We now have discrimination down to a science†.Visual metaphors in the film reinforce this concept. Various motifs throughout the film, such as glass and water, which illustrate the invisible walls Vincent is rebelling against. These motifs are seen in the film in separate scenes; one when Vincent is looking into Gattaca through the glass, when he is still a janitor, and another is shown in the swimming scene, with Anton becoming a symbol of the society who rejects Vincent. The continuously daunting identity checks throughout the movie reinforce the oppressive and dystopic society and the concerns presented further display the idea of discrimination.Although the discrimination i s not one that we have in this current society, the amount of discrimination we have now builds concerns that this could be a possible path for the future. Furthermore, a similar concern to that which has been raised in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the idea of conformity versus the individual. This can connected to the idea of destiny versus freewill. Vincent chooses to ignore his destiny and rebel against what is considered to be ‘normal’ in order to reach his dreams. Gattaca shows us that our destiny cannot be mapped out using our genetic code.In the beginning of the movie the idea of destiny seems to overshadow freewill. This is shown when Vincent’s ‘destiny’ is supposedly mapped out at the moment of his birth, being born with a 99% chance of a heart attack, his father realising this did not give him his name as he did not deem him worthy. Despite Vincent’s life being apparently planned for him, â€Å"there is no gene for the hu man spirit,† and this is shown when Vincent beats his ‘perfect’ brother in two rounds of the game ‘chicken’. The swimming scene contains another form of symbolism with the colours the two brothers are wearing.The two brothers wear contrasting colours when racing. Vincent is wearing white, symbolising purity whilst his brother, wearing black represents altercations, and something that has been tampered with. When his brother asks how he could possibly have beaten him, Vincent replies â€Å"This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back†. This quote further supports the concept of free will vs. destiny and that our free will and our determination are what ultimately determine the path our life will take.Therefore, by taking a step back and examining the contextual concerns of the time that texts were written in, allows us to clearly see the issues and values the composers of texts are trying to create. In Ray Bradburyâ€⠄¢s Fahrenheit 451 the major value he is trying to send is that literature is much more important than technology and expresses to us his concerns for control of thoughts and the limit of knowledge one is permitted. Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca informs the audience of the values of individual identities and surpassing one’s boundaries. He allows us to understand the obsession with being perfect can be an unwarranted threat.Both these writers of Science Fiction address to their audience of the unnecessary extremes that our world could lead to if we do not understand what our boundaries are. The context and techniques of these two medians have supported the statement that Science Fiction writers create dystopias to communicate their concerns about society and its future. They use these techniques to underline what society would be like if a totalitarian regime is enforced on society, where individual thought is discouraged and propaganda is fed to the masses in order to contr ol society.

A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Essay

On June 20, 1675, Metacomet, also known as Philip by the early American colonist, led a series of attacks on colonial settlements that lasted for more than a year. These attacks became known as â€Å"King Philips War.† It was a desperate attempt by the Natives to retain their land as their culture and resources dwindled before them. Mary Rowlandson, a famous victim of these Indian attacks, recounts her eleven-week captivity in her published book, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. The book describes her experience as a captive of the Wampanoags in great detail, and combines high adventure, heroism, and exemplary piety, which made it a popular piece in the seventeenth century. Throughout the narrative Mary Rowlandson portrays her skills as a writer with the delineation of her character. In her captivity, Mary Rowland realizes that life is short and nothing is certain. The common theme of uncertainty teaches Rowlandson that she can take nothing for grated. In a single day the seeming stability of life disappears without warning as portrayed in the opening scene when the town of Lancaster is burned down and she is separated from her two elder children. Rowlandson transitions from a wife of a wealthy minister with three children to a captive prisoner with a single wounded daughter in one day. Another instance of uncertainty is between The Twelfth Remove, where she is approved by her master to be sold to her husband, but the next day in The Thirteenth Remove she writes, â€Å"instead of going toward the Bay, which was that I desired, I must go with them five or six miles down the river into the mighty thicket of brush; where we abode almost a fortnight (271).† In addition to the uncertainty nothing in her captivity was consistent either. One day the Indians treat her respectfully, while the next day they give her no food. This inconsistency can be seen between The Eighth Remove and The Ninth Remove. In The Eighth Remove, Rowlandson is asked to make various garments in return for a shilling and different types  foods; however, in The Ninth Remove, Rowland was asked to make a shirt, but receives nothing in return (267-268). The inconsistency stems from the uncertain future, which plants fear in Rowlandson’s character. The only light she can see in her dark captivity is the light of her God. As a Puritan, Rowlandson believes that God’s will shapes the events in her life, and that each event serves a purpose. The common Puritan belief that humans have no choice, but to accept God’s will and make sense of it is portrayed throughout her narrative. This belief in God produces values of fortitude and determination Rowlandson uses to survive the eleven-week captivity. This is can be seen in The Second Remove as she is about to collapse from fatigue and injury, â€Å"but the Lord renewed my strength still, and carried me along, that I might see more of his power (260).† Rowlandson often creates parallels between her own situation and biblical verses about the Israelites because the Puritans thought they were the descendants of the Israelites in the new world. This is portrayed in the closing scene when Rowlandson is reunited with her family and she quotes Moses speaking to the Israelites, †stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (288).† Moses said this to the Israelites at their arrival to the promise land after forty days of wandering in the desert. Rowlandson compares her captivity to the forty days in the desert, and her reunion with her family to the arrival at the promise land. In Rowlandson’s captivity, her perspective of the Native Indians evolves from savagery to aspects of civility. The more time she spent with the Natives the more relations she made with them that culminate into respect and appreciation for their culture. Initially Rowlandson considered the Natives â€Å"barbarous creatures† who â€Å"made the place a lively resemblance of hell† after the burning of Lancaster (259). As a result she speculates the Natives as violent savages. She was also disgusted with the various foods they ate such as ground nuts, tree bark, and horse liver; nevertheless, after three weeks of starvation she acquired a taste for the irregular foods. This is depicted in The Fifth Remove, â€Å"but the third week†¦ I could starve and die before I could eat such things, yet they were sweet and savory to my taste (265).† This expresses a minor change of heart Rowlandson  has for the Natives as she finds herself eating the same foods and enjoying them. In addition to the acquired taste of the Native foods, more similarities become apparent such as â€Å"praying Indians† who claim to have converted to Christianity and some instances where the Natives are wearing colonists’ clothing (279). The once distinct difference in civility and savagery becomes blurred in the similarities Rowland notices between the colonist and the Natives. Rowlandson explores the fearful hesitation most colonists feel in the face of the new world. The new world is the unknown environments outside the colonies, mainly toward the west. This includes the forest and wooded areas that are associated with the Natives. It is where the Natives live, where they take their captives, and a place of unknown to the colonist, which made it fearful. Rowlandson described it as a place of â€Å"deep dungeon† and â€Å"high and steep hill (266).† In Rowlandson’s captivity, she is pushed into the forest where her experience brings her further away from civilization. Her and other captives, such as Robert Pepper, gain practical knowledge about the natural world during their time spent with the Indians. Although this knowledge is key to her survival, it brings her anxiety and guilt because she feels as though she is being pushed from civilization. The delineated characterization of Mary Rowlandson in her published book, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, depicts the way Puritans approached life with religious concepts and beliefs, but the influence of the Native culture is what separates her work as the first captivity narrative. In her captivity she loses her original physiological security through eleven weeks of uncertainty and inconsistency. This forces her to think outside her Puritan ideology into the new world of different environments and experiences. Her new experiences allow her to grow and appreciate the differences of the new world, and in her reflection Rowlandson closes the gap between the Natives and Puritans by identifying the similarities between the two cultures.

Background The Employee Selection Process

An analysis of the appropriate measures employers must take in order to minimize the risk of hiring unsuitable employees. This paper analyzes methods employers must take to protect themselves from hiring bad personnel especially these days, when violence, sexual arrestment and corporate fraud are increasing in the workplace. The author suggests several steps human resources personnel should take in order to minimize the risk of hiring unsuitable employees. All work environments, big or small, have potential for trouble. Human relationships are complicated in all situations. Thus when workers spend such a large percentage of their days in the workplace problems are bound to happen. If employers stay aware of developing problems and deal with issues as they occur, the risk in the workplace will be minimal. Background checks and references are crucial for control of the problems arising in the work place. Defamation suits and discrimination can be avoided through carefully drafted written policies. Being wary of providing references is not the solution. The employers must work with the employees to draft policies that will be secure, efficient and control workplace problems. Privacy issues can be avoided if the employees know the underlying reasons. Education is the key and hence, human resource managers must work to provide the necessary security for both the employee and employerthrough background and reference checks.

Impact Of Be True To Your School On Different Persons Essay

Impact Of Be True To Your School On Different Persons - Essay Example The narrative included Greene and his peers getting summer jobs, drinking liquor, finding the latest hits of the day and earning marks for their teams, among others. These events were faithfully chronicled in a daily diary, which for its frequency could tend to become tedious at times. But this is quite rare and to be expected since the diary involved every single day of the entire year. What Greene has accomplished in this particular narrative, however, is the transformation of the seemingly banal and ordinary American teen life into something compelling, entertaining and memorable. Grown-ups would find it easy to forget what transpired in their youth, having more serious concerns and real-life troubles to occupy their minds. Greene will teach them to look back and marvel at those days when everything was simple when the most challenging events include getting at least a score of B and pursuing a romantic interest. These things - within the context of Greene's narrative - assume an entirely new utility: they serve as a reminder. For some, it would be a reminder of what shaped them into what they are now. For others, it would about the things that made them happy or the time when the seeds of their dreams began germinating. Greene articulated this best when he, at the beginning of the story, wrote: â€Å"When I look at the diary after years had passed, I realized that what I had here was something money could not buy: time preserved† (vii). Perhaps this was the reason why Lindy met Greene several years later when he flew to where she lived in Ohio. She met him for dinner and went as far as going up with Greene to his room (46).

The consumers awareness regarding Walmart Essay

The consumers awareness regarding Walmart - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Walmart as one of the leading retail stores, which was founded in the year 1962. It delivers a pleasurable and suitable experience of shopping to its broad range of customers worldwide. Currently, there are 629 stores of Walmart operating its business functions throughout the United States. It has been identified that Walmart possesses a significant range that exceeds 10,130 units of retail stores and carrying out its business operations in 27 countries throughout the world. In the financial year of 2012, the present sales of Walmart amount to US$ 443 billion and it engages a significant number of associates globally. In the article â€Å"Company Spotlight: Walmart Stores, Inc.†, it has been observed that Walmart generally executes through few of the business sections that include â€Å"Walmart US†, â€Å"Sam’s Club† and â€Å"Walmart International† throughout the world. The main purpose or vision of Walmart lies in its policy of ‘saving money of the people’ and to help the people to live well in this world. Moreover, the organization also has delivered various financial prospects especially upon its related industry i.e. retail industry and has altered the nature of the business that the organization executes worldwide. In addition, Walmart enhanced the overall impact upon the retail industry and ultimately increased the potentials of the customers in spite of operating in different countries where the customers shop (Walmart Corporate, 2012). It has been observed that in the year 2011, Walmart attained various awards such as â€Å"Corporate Environmental Excellence for Walmart Canada† and â€Å"Top Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities† among others for various efforts that were performed by Walmart while executing its business operations (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Most people are fully aware regarding the business operations and functions of Walmart and its deliverance of broad variety of quality products. In the study, there has been a conduct of various research and online questionnaires regarding the frequency of visit of wide range of customers to Walmart. Moreover, the research also has assisted to explore whether people are familiar with the corporate practices of Walmart. Methods A survey method has been conducted with the public or the customers as respondents in order to acquire a general idea regarding their valuable opinions upon Walmart. An online questionnaire has been designed in order to accomplish the research. The purpose of this survey is to trace the number of people who possess the experience of shopping with Walmart, reasons behind the selection of Walmart as their shopping destination compared to others and the description of the products that people generally purchase from Walmart. Moreover, the purpose of this survey has been also to trace how often people do shopping at Walmart along with acq uiring a general idea regarding the knowledge of the people about the corporate practices of Walmart. In addition, the questionnaire in the survey is also based upon whether anyone has done any shopping or has not possessed the shopping experience with Walmart. If any person replied that they do not possess or have not done any shopping at Walmart then they had to respond the following question i.e. ‘For what reasons do you chose not to shop at Walmart?’ In the questionnaire, the questions also include the judgment of the people, whether Walmart is a good place to work or not. Apart from the above questions that have been mentioned in the questionnaire, the initial or the primary questions include the gender i.e. whether the customer or the respondent is female or male, the age of the respondent and the status of the respondent or the customers i.e. whether the respondent is an employee, student or others. The questionnaire that has been designed in order to conduct the research study was fundamentally provided to a sum total of 50 people who

Does diet have an impact on breast cancer recurrence Literature review

Does diet have an impact on breast cancer recurrence - Literature review Example These factors then influence the recurrence of breast cancer. Therefore, improved diet and increased physical activity lead to reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence. Pathophysiology is the study of the changes that occur in the body as a result of the presence of a given disease. One of the diseases that need to be described using through pathophysiology is the breast cancer. The pathophysiology of breast cancer uncovers the development of breast cancer in the body of a human being so that the necessary treatment and prevention strategies can be enhanced (Nelson et al, 2012). Breast cancer results from various personal, environmental and hereditary factors. Pathophysiology on breast cancer indicates that the disease develops due to some damages on the DNA including lesions which often occur as a result of genetic mutations. The immune system may also fail to act on cancerous cells, and lead to the development of the disease. Another cause of the disease is the malfunctioning of a growth factor during cell division and growth of the breast. Breast cancer may also be caused by inherited genetic damages on the DNA (Panjari et al, 2012). Receptors a nd hormones also play a crucial role in the development of breast cancer. Breast cancer cells have some receptors which may bind hormones and trigger changes in the cell compositions. Some of the receptors include estrogen receptor, HER2 and progesterone receptor. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF), cancer is the leading type of cancer affecting women in the world and the most common cancer overall in terms of prevalence. There were nearly 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 (World Cancer Research Fund International 2012). The leading country in terms of diagnosed cases is Belgium. United Kingdom was seventh while United States was ninth. About 3.2 million people with cancer in developed countries still

Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Computing - Essay Example DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is based on copper wire or other transmission technology framework. Digital Subscriber Line technology uses electronic waves for the communication and data transfer. However the fiber optics technology is based on the cylindrical glass tube with stressed characteristic being the intensity of light in the tube. The technology of fiber optics is based the light waves those travel through the glass tube that works as the transmission medium for the communication and transmission (Schneider., 1995; Ray, 2004; Kurose & Ross, 2009). This report is aimed to assess and review some of the main areas and aspects of the communication as well as transmission technologies of the DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and Fiber Optics technology frameworks and platforms. This report is designed to explain the relative benefits and limitations of Fiber Optic infrastructure over DSL infrastructure. Therefore this research will pay attention on some of the main aspects and the relationship of these two technology frameworks, rather than only describing these transmission technology frameworks. Digital Subscriber Line and Fiber Optics technologies both are modern technologies designed for the provision of internet and various other network communication facilities. Both these technology frameworks are currently working competently at home, business, and diverse areas of organization. The prime aims and objectives of this report are to analyze these transmission technologies for the assessment of better technology. In this regard I will compare and evaluate features of each technology regarding its formation, functioning, performance, data communication, issues and technology deficiencies. Main aims and objectives of report are presented below: At the moment a lot of users or persons using the network and communication services have no

Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Management - Assignment Example The success of business in the 21st century depends on the ability of the organization to integrate technology in the business operation. In the advent of information technology, organizations have endeavored to inject business efficiency by using technology to run their data analysis and management and computer systems to enhance business management. The web, internet and computer technology helps the organization to streamline their business functions and to develop strategies for management decision making. Microsoft and Procter & Gamble are among the organizations that have embraced the use of technology within their business operations. A close evaluation of the two companies will help reveal the value of technology within the business environment. Information and its management is an important factor in the business environment. All the management decisions are driven by the data that the management team collects during the previous fiscal years. The managers analyze data and interpret to know their business performance and determine their next course of action. As Wolfgang (3) points out, the efficiency of the management in the data-analysis stage determines the nature of the direction that they opt to follow in their future business. Technology has provided new ways of analyzing information, hence providing the managers with a new approach to business decision making. In Procter and Gamble, the management shifted their focus on data analysis systems to shape their business using effective decision-making tools.

The Externalities of Petroleum Sector in Saudi Arabia Term Paper

The Externalities of Petroleum Sector in Saudi Arabia - Term Paper Example The production of petroleum accounts for one of the most environment-polluting activity around the globe which results in adverse side effects on the environments ability to support life. The same activity, however, accounts for the greatest revenue generating activity for major oil producing countries of the world including Saudi Arabia. The production of petroleum thus can be said to impact both positively and negatively on both people and the environment. Saudi Arabia is the leading oil producer and exporter in the world. With its petroleum-based economy, Saudi Arabia’s oil accounts for about 75% of the government revenues and 90% of the country’s total exports. The petroleum sector in Saudi Arabia contributes about 45% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product compared to the 40% contribution by the private sector (Alshehry and Belloumi, 2015). The Per Capita GDP in the country is estimated at $20,700. Despite the efforts for diversification in the petrochemical sector, the economy of the country remains highly dependent on oil in the second decade of the 21st century. As of 2011, Saudi Arabia produced approximately 10.782 million barrels of petroleum daily with a greater portion being exported. Domestic consumption of oil to generate electricity has been on the increase over the years. The country has the largest crude oil reserves in the world that account for about 18% of the world reserves as reported by the O rganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Saudi Arabia can economically be said to be a rentier state given that it depends on externally generated rents as opposed to the surplus production of its population. The categorization of the country as a rentier state is evidenced by the percentage of its petroleum rents in terms of total government revenues. As a rentier state, the rent-seeking behaviour is characteristic that cuts commonly across the public and private sector (Al-Thukair, Abed and Mohamed, 2007). The

A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism Assignment

A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism - Assignment Example A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism In A Passage to India, the author bases his story on the complex interactions between British colonialists and the Indian society, setting the story against the backdrop of the independence movement in India and the British Raj. The story revolves around Dr. Aziz, an Indian, and his British friends, including Miss Adela Quested. When Dr. Aziz is accused of assaulting Miss Adela (Forster 55), the run-up and aftermath of the trial bring to the fore common prejudices and racial tensions between the British rulers and indigenous Indians. This paper will seek to understand the events in A Passage to India through the lens of prevalent themes in Orientalism. One of the central themes in Orientalism is that knowledge about the East in Western society consists of preconceived archetypes, rather than reality or facts, which envisions Eastern societies as all similar to each other and, most importantly, radically dissimilar to the West (Forster 21). This apparent a priori knowledge in Western society about the East as being antithetical to Western society is also prevalent in A Passage to India, which turns consistently to the perspective of India as a country that is so exotic, diverse, and vast that Western people cannot understand it. Indeed, the characters compare and contrast India with England, in which the latter is presented as a charming and small island that does not overwhelm its people because of its neat lakes and valleys.

Questions to Ask Before You Believe a Pol Essay Example for Free

Questions to Ask Before You Believe a Pol Essay Opinion polls and other sample surveys can produce accurate and useful information if the pollster uses good statistical techniques and also works hard at preparing a sampling frame, wording questions, and reducing nonresponse. Many surveys, however, especially those designed to influence public opinion rather than just record it, do not produce accurate or useful information. Here are some questions to ask before you pay much attention to poll results. †¢Who carried out the survey? Even a political party should hire a professional sample survey firm whose reputation demands that they follow good survey practices. †¢What was the population? That is, whose opinions were being sought? †¢How was the sample selected? Look for mention of random sampling. †¢How large was the sample? Even better, find out both the sample size and the margin of error within which the results of 95% of all samples drawn as this one was would fall. †¢What was the response rate? That is, what percent of the original subjects actually provided information? †¢How were the subjects contacted? By telephone? Mail? Face-to-face interview? †¢When was the survey conducted? Was it just after some event that might have influenced opinion? †¢What were the exact questions asked? Academic survey centers and government statistical offices answer these questions when they announce the results of a sample survey. National opinion polls usually don’t announce their response rate (which is often low) but do give us the other information. Editors and newscasters have the bad habit of cutting out these dull facts and reporting only the sample results. Many sample surveys by interest groups and local newspapers and TV stations don’t answer these questions because their polling methods are in fact unreliable. If a politician, an advertiser, or your local TV station announces the results of a poll without complete information, be skeptical. Even professional sample surveys don’t give exactly correct information about the population. There are many potential sources of error in sampling. The margin of error announced by a sample survey covers only random sampling error, the variation due to chance in choosing a random sample. Other types of error are in addition to the margin of error and can’t be directly measured. Sampling errors come from the act of choosing a sample. Random sampling error and undercoverage are common types of sampling error. Undercoverage occurs when some members of the population are left out of the sampling frame, the list from which the sample is actually chosen. The most serious errors in most careful surveys, however, are non-sampling errors. These have nothing to do with choosing a sample—they are present even in a census. The single biggest problem for sample surveys is nonresponse: subjects can’t be contacted or refuse to answer. Mistakes in handling the data (processing errors) and incorrect answers by respondents (response errors) are other examples of non-sampling errors.

Logistics and Project Planning Essay Example for Free

Logistics and Project Planning Essay The mission of elc was to provide consumers with access to the Internet at the lowest cost. Despite the excellent support and recognition from the public, elc was experiencing adversity of keeping their business profitable after the Internet Investment bubble burst. The original concept of owning many of the large stand-alone cafes with 250-500 PC terminals at each cafe was not working well. elc undertook a dramatic restructuring of the company by downsizing the cafes. Many of the large, original stand-alone elc stores will be run by franchisees. These franchised stores will become smaller stores which have 20 to 30 PCs terminals at each cafe and with no staff required except for regular maintenance. Less involvement with store operations allows elc to concentrate on activities of their core competence and outsource all the non-core activities. Their core competence was to continue building their ‘easy’ brand and applying the yield management model to the Internet cafe business. Their business goal was to open 4 new franchises per week over the next 3 years. In order to achieve the goal of growing their franchised Internet cafes business, an efficient, flexible and cost-effective logistics system is what they need for the provision of equipment to the franchisee. Since logistics is one of the non-core activities that is perceived as a bottleneck for scalability, the present logistics system of elc will be reviewed and findings of whether to outsource the logistics system will be presented to the management team. Background of easyGroup Stelios Haji-loannou, the founder of easyGroup, is the renowned Greek entrepreneur who utilized his family money to launch a serial of ventures. His first venture, Stelmar Tankers was found in 1992. The company very soon went into the public sector and was listed on New York Stock Exchange. In 1995, he found easyJet. easyJet was a no-frills, low cost airline company and later grew to become the largest no-frill airline in Europe and was listed on the London stock exchange in 2000. Building on the success of easyJet and to extend the ‘easy’ brand further, he formed the holding company easyGroup in 1998. easyInternetcafe was his first venture under the umbrella of the easyGroup. Other companies in the group included easyJet, easyCar, easyCinema, easy. com, easyMoney and easyValue, easyBus, easyPizza, easyCruise, and easyDorm. Low price and no-frill is the key elements of the ‘easy’ brand. Yield Management Model Stelios is an enthusiast of Yield Management Model and he applies the model to his business. According to Wikipedia, yield management is the process of understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, perishable resource (such as airline seats or hotel room reservations). Stelios believes that lowering the price will increase the demands of the customers significantly. By locating all the large internet cafes in high traffic areas, elc aimed to capture the maximum revenue by providing internet services with a variety of price points at different points in time (peak hours or off peak hours). The price for Internet access varies based on demand, raising the price in dollar per hour in mid-afternoon, when stores are nearly full. That gives bargain hunters an incentive to visit in the non-peak hours, when price is dropping. The model is well suited for business with high fixed cost and perishable supply. The large numbers of computer equipments inside the Internet cafes are capital intensive for elc. The empty seats inside the cafe in a certain time period cannot generate any revenue and thus can be said to have perished. elc uses one of their capital proprietary products, CVM, to monitor how seats are occupied and react accordingly, for example by adjusting the price to offer discounts when it appears that large amount of seats are remaining empty. However, this model is not working for elc as it does for airline and hotel industries. The customers’ willingness to pay for using the internet access at theses internet cafe is impulsive and their demands are not easy to predict. The yield management model works well for airlines and hotels mainly because their customers usually plan ahead of time on their journey. Therefore, airlines and hotels are more likely to predict their customer demands and adjust the prices accordingly. They still have time to attract customers by offering last minute deals. But for internet cafes, customers do not make reservation for their usage of Internet in advance. Customer demands are thus very hard to predict. Even though the CVM can adjust the pricing based on the vacancy of the cafe, it is difficult to attract enough customers in a short period of time to fill up the empty usage of the internet access. Since Internet was still a new technology at that time, Internet access was not yet considered to be an essential product. Customers were likely to learn when to visit the cafes so that they can pay less compared to other time period.

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Child Rights

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Child Rights Assignment one Discrimination of others can occur for a number of reasons, and to a number of different people. Individuals may be discriminated against obviously and deliberately, known as direct discrimination. People can also be discriminated against indirectly. Indirect discrimination comes about when specific actions or practices meant for all are inadequate for an individual, which can then cause discouraging effects (Equality law, no date). Children and adults with special educational needs (SEN) may be subject to discrimination as a result of their additional needs. Due to this, there are regulations, legislation and laws put in place to safeguard and protect individuals with SEN. Laws and legislation have moved forward and adapted over time to facilitate those concerned. One Act that became a turning point for children with SEN was the 1981 Education Act. Prior to this Mary Warnock published a report regarding mainstream and special schools and the education of children with SEN within them. Some of her recommendations became part of the 1981 Education Act, one of which being that children diagnosed with additional needs should be educated where and when it is appropriate within a mainstream setting, and so integration began. Integration then led to inclusion with several Acts and pieces of legislation following, for example, 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, 1997 Green Paper: Excellence for All Children and 2001 The Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (Gibson and Blandford, 2005). Another piece of documentation is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC); this gives rights to all children, additional need or not. The convention sets basic standards for children that should all be respected by the relevant government. Within this document there are fifty four articles summarising and clarifying these rights. These articles cover a range of topics, for example, Article 14: this is regarding a child’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, Article 27: this outlines the right for every child to have an adequate standard of living which enables their physical, mental, moral, spiritual and social development, and Article 28: this states the right of the child to education, ensuring equal opportunities and access to education for all children (UNCRC, 1989). One convention regarding all with SEN is The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This document outlines the importance for people with SEN to be treated as equals and to benefit from their human rights, as a person without SEN would. Article 24 covers the subject of education. This reiterates the right of people with SEN to education, and to be able to achieve this right without discrimination. It also states that governments should ensure an inclusive education system (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2008). All of the above pieces of legislation and documentation are put in place to ensure a safe and healthy environment for those with SEN, and to ensure equal opportunities for all regarding all aspects of their life, whether it’s their education or having the chance to have your own views listened to. For the practitioners working with children, inclusive practice should be something they take their time to ensure is in place in their setting. The term inclusion has taken the place of integration, and is promoted or required within legislation in all EU countries (Evans Lunt, 2002). There are two models that outline the ways society view disabilities, these are the medical model of disability and the social model of disability. The medical model of disability sees disability as a problem that needs to be fixed or cured. This model depicts a negative image of disability because the emphasis is placed on the disability and not the individual needs of the child. On the other hand, the social model of disability empowers people with disabilities by recognising they have an equal right to be included within every part of society (Disabled world, 2010). This model highlights that it’s ‘the collective responsibility of society to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life’ (Disabled world, 2010). Rosenthal (2001, p385) writes that ‘inclusion is a process, not a fixed state. By inclusion we mean not only that pupils with SEN should wherever possible receive their education in a mainstream school, but that they should fully join with their peers in the curriculum and life of the school’. When Ofsted inspect a school, they look for educational inclusion. This entails a school having teaching and learning, triumphs, viewpoints and the well being of every child counting. This inclusive experience is expected with a wide range of groups of people, including those with SEN (Birnbaum, 2010). To ensure inclusion within a setting, practitioners must ensure all staff show respect for each child by treating them as an individual and taking note of their particular needs. When showing respect, and listening to the child, the likes and dislikes of the child should be acknowledged and taken on board when planning for that child. The practitioner’s ability to adapt the learning environment will help to empower the child. When adjusting practice it is important to remember the child’s preferences, appropriateness of the topic and how these are developed, to help their confidence and self-esteem to grow (Lodato Wilson, 2005). Westwood (2007, p.83) writes about three different circumstances needed to encourage and accommodate children with SEN and their interactions with others. These are, ‘the general attitude of the teacher and the peer group towards children with SEN must be as positive and accepting as possible, the environment should be arranged so that the child with a disability has the maximum opportunity to spend time socially involved in group or pair activities, during recess and during academic work in the classroom and the child needs to be taught the specific skills that may enhance social contact with peers’. An inclusive practice is an important part of education for all involved, and it begins with the practitioners, they must have a positive attitude towards SEN which should then be reflected within their setting. It is also fundamental for practitioners to highlight how they strive to promote inclusive practice with all parents, staff and professionals they may be working in partnership with. Within the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice there is a chapter that highlights the importance of parents working in partnership with practitioners. It emphasises the role parents play in their child’s education, and their involvement making decisions regarding their child, and what would be best for them (Green, 2003). Green (2003, p305) also writes, ‘if early years staff do not communicate with, ask questions of, and receive relevant information from, children’s parents, they will not be fully prepared to respond to children’s individual needs, identify potential points of crisis for them, or have the awareness to help them to cope with new or worrying situations’. As well as practitioners ensuring they have regular contact with parents, it is vital they make themselves approachable to parents. This will encourage the parent to communicate with the practitioner, and give them the confidence to do so. When working with children with additional needs, there may be a number of other professionals also involved with that child. There could be a physiotherapist, who may provide physical healing methods for a range of injuries or illnesses, the family may also be given some exercises to further the treatment (Behrens, 2013). A speech and language therapist could be required to carry out an assessment to identify any communication difficulty, to measure the degree of difficulty, to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the child, and to set some targets to work towards which would be discussed with the parents, and possibly other professionals (Wright, 1993). The child may visit a paediatrician at a local hospital, often referred by a GP (general practitioner). The paediatrician will speak with the parents and the child, where possible, and carry out necessary observations and assessments to gather all of the information needed to decipher the best possible actions for the child, an d make any further referrals if needed (Miall, Rudolf and Smith, 2012). It is important for practitioners to be aware of children having involvement with other professionals, and ensuring communication between the services is effective. Within all childcare settings a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) must be in place. The SENCo role may differ slightly from setting to setting (Crowne, 2003). However, the SEN Code of Practice (DfE, 2001) highlighted some key responsibilities for the SENCo. They are: ‘ensuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of children with special educational needs, advising and supporting other practitioners in the setting, ensuring that appropriate Individual Educational Plans are in place and ensuring that relevant background information about individual children with special educational needs is collected, recorded and updated’. All practitioners should ensure the appropriate adaptations are carried out within their setting. Adaptations should be made in the environment, with the resources in use, and practitioners need to adapt their practice if needed, and display a positive attitude towards each child and their inclusion within the setting. Adjustments to the environment could include installing ramps or lifts, ensuring doors are wide enough for wheelchair access, varying toilet heights to facilitate all children, and table and seat height is adequate for all (Klein, Cook Richardson-Gibbs, 2001). The immediate nursery environment should also be adapted where necessary, ‘adapting the environment to suit their individual needs will help their progress’ (Beaver et al., 2001, p63). Reasonable adjustments should also be made with the resources within the setting. This could be ensuring that all activities are set up at a level that can be accessed by all children. Each practitioner also needs to consider that they know the strengths and areas of need for all children in their care, all activities should therefore further the strengths of children with additional needs, but are also challenging and able to enhance all of the children (Deiner, 2010). Another area for adjustment could also be the attitudes and perspective of the practitioners themselves, and although the activities and environment are important factors that should always be considered, each practitioner is a role model and their ‘behaviour toward children- acceptance, consideration and respect- speaks louder to the class than anything you deliberately set out to teach’ (Deiner, 2010, p.2). In conclusion, there are several entitlements and rights of children with SEN that must be met by the practitioners and professionals that care for them. These entitlements are highlighted within a number of legal documents and pieces of legislation. A key requirement within some of these documents is the definitive access to an inclusive education that will meet each individual child’s needs, including making reasonable adjustments and adaptations if required. Each practitioner should also ensure they cooperate fully with the families and work in partnership with them to deliver the highest quality childcare they possibly can. Reference List Beaver, M., Brewster, J., Jones, P., Keene, A., Neaum, S. Tallack, J. (2001) Babies and Young Children: Diploma in Child Care and Education. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Behrens, M. S. (2013) What is Physiotherapy? USA: Gilkie Publishing. Birnbaum, R. (2010) Choosing a School for a Child with Special Needs. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) Online. Available at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml (Accessed 21 October 2013). Crowne, E. (2003) Developing Inclusive Practice: The SENCO’s Role in Managing Change. Abingdon: David Fulton Publishers. Deiner, P. (2010) Inclusive Early Childhood Education: Development, Resources, and Practice. 5th edn. Belmont: Wadsworth, CENGAGE Learning. DfE (Department for Education) (2001) SEN Code of Practice. Online. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DfES%200581%20200mig2228.pdf (Accessed 7 January 2014). Disabled world (2010) Definitions of the Models of Disability. Online. Available at: http://www.disabled-world.com/definitions/disability-models.php (Accessed 27 November 2013). Equality Law (no date) Promoting Equality, Preventing Discrimination. Online. Available at: http://www.equality-law.co.uk/news/106/66/Types-of-discrimination-definitions/ (Accessed 16 October 2013). Evans, J. Lunt, I. (2002) ‘Inclusive education: are there limits?’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17 (1), pp.1-14. Gibson, S. Blandford, S. (2005) Managing Special Educational Needs. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Green, S. (2003) BTEC First Early Years, 2nd edn. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Klein, M.D., Cook, R.E. Richardson-Gibbs, A.M. (2001) Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings. Albany: Delmar, Thomson Learning. Lodato Wilson, G. (2005) ‘Promoting competency, independence, and self-advocacy’, in Schwartz, D. (eds) Including children with special needs. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 257-270. Miall, L., Rudolf, M. Smith D. (2012) Paediatrics at a Glance, 3rd edn. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons Ltd. Rosenthal, H. (2001) ‘Discussion paper- Working Towards Inclusion: â€Å"I am another other†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Educational Psychology in Practice, 17(4), pp.385-392. UNCRC (The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) (1989) Online. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx (Accessed 21 October 2013). Westwood, P. (2007) Commonsense methods for children with special educational needs, 5th edn. Oxon: Routledge. Wright, J.A. (1993) ‘Assessment of Children with Special Needs’, in Beech, J.R., Harding, L. Hilton-Jones, D. (eds) Assessment in Speech and Language Therapy. London: Routledge, pp. 128-148.

Small C lass Size :: essays papers

Small C lass Size When looking at small class size, it is important to first understand that this concept is very popular with parents and communities. In New York, according to many parents, classrooms are ridiculously overcrowded and something must be done. A union of parents has formed in the community to try and get the legislature to pass an act that will reduce class size (Hartocollis, 2004). Although this union of parents is very active, because of the factors that go into reducing class size, they have not been very successful. Most parents and teachers believe that with reduced class size, the amount of attention spent on their child will increase drastically. This is the prime reason for the desire and commitment to reduce class size. According to Class Size Matters (2002), an organization made up of parents and educators, â€Å"smaller classes are seen as the most effective way to increase the quality of instruction, far above raising salaries or providing professional development.† This exemplifies the belief that reducing class size is the most appropriate way to increase teacher-student involvement and make the classroom atmosphere more accessible to all students. Along with closer involvement between teacher and pupils, with small class size, there is more room for students to interact with each other. It also allows students who would not normally speak up to become more active and involved in discussions. Much research and experimentation has been done concerning the effects and benefits of reducing class size. David Alan Gilman (2003), studied an experiment done on class size and lays out the findings in great detail. In the experiment he studied there were twelve million students involved, so it was relatively small-scale. The participants were voluntary and participated in the experiment understanding fully what it was all about. The experiment was random assignment between teachers and students and had one control with a regular class size and two treatment groups containing classes with smaller amounts of children. The findings of this experiment were very much in favor of reducing class size. Students in the experimental groups with smaller classes â€Å"performed better on all sets of achievement measures† (Gilman, 2003). Also, six years later, when the students who were not in the control group were interviewed and restudied, the experimenters found that they â€Å"performed better in all academic areas studied, that they expended more effort and initiative in the classroom, and that their overall behavior was well above the students that were in the control group† (Gilman, 2003).

Analyzing the Marketing of Rehabilitation Goods & Services and The Dis

The Marketing of Rehabilitative Goods and Services by Gary L. Albrecht was written with the intention of giving its reader a better understanding of who has the most to gain in the business of rehabilitative services. One position states that the institutions benefit most, while others feel it is the consumer who has the most to gain. The main controversy discussed in this article is the usage of marketing strategies for rehabilitative health care institutions to increase sales and raise profit margins on service that was once provided pro bono. Another concern is with the amount of new equipment and ever changing standards of rehabilitation. Are consumers well enough informed or educated into making the proper decisions as to what care they need? Also, how do the poor, elderly, disenfranchised, and those who cannot afford healthcare receive treatment? Are patients receiving the best possible care for their ailments; or are they being exploited? These are the dilemmas on the issue o f rehabilitative goods and services. The Disability Wars by Timothy Kenney describes the nightmare of becoming physically disabled to the point where one can no longer work and care for their family. It also talks about the hardships of and problems brought about through the use of medical benefits and collection of social security. Both articles will now be analyzed more closely and possible resolutions to each of these issues, marketing of rehabilitation goods and services, and the disability wars will be discussed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main issue with the marketing of rehabilitative goods and services deals with, the new wave of marketing strategies and promotional ideas implemented to increase sales and profits of the health care institutions. This rehabilitative service, which was once provided to those in need pro bono, is now recognized as a commodity. Due to the increase in the elderly population and the popularity of sport, there are more people with disabilities than ever before. Thus an influx in the supply and demand has been created and the market for rehabilitative services exists. With more patients than the normal health care provider can care for, new institutions are being erected all across America with their sole purpose in rehabilitating the disabled. One such facility is the Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. This medical ce... ...y.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The moral and ethical questions that are raised in this article have to deal with insurance companies and social security alike having the ability to deny claims as they please, leaving people with serious medical conditions out there with no support when they need it the most. Another big controversy with social security is the fact that people pay into it for so many years and when it comes time for social security to pay back, they just deny the claim and send you back to work. But once the ill person returns to work the social security payments are immediately deducted from their checks again. A possible solution for this problem is to have the CDC and FDA get together and make a list of acceptable diseases and syndromes that will be covered by social security and then provide assistance to everyone who falls into the acceptable categories. It is understandable that the insurance companies are in business to make money, however the Social Security Administrati on should not. They should be required to pay back out to those who have paid in. Some legislation should also be passed as to how insurance companies can disseminate amongst valid claims.

Internet Taxation and the Expansion of E-Commerce Essay example -- Tax

Internet Taxation and the Expansion of E-Commerce Internet taxation is an issue concerning different aspects of the Internet and its taxing. The taxes include: (1) taxes imposed upon Internet access fees, (2) sales taxes charged to online businesses selling to other businesses, and (3) sales taxes charged to consumers buying from a business. This is a very important issue as Internet sales continue to increase and as more business is conducted over the Internet. Because of this, revenue is not being pumped into state and local economies as much for lack of purchasing at local stores, and economies’ revenues are suffering as a result. Taxes could be imposed on Internet purchases, but this would in turn affect those businesses who conduct their business online, either business-to-business or business-to-consumer, and those consumers who shop online. Internet Taxation: What it is and Why it is Important As already stated, Internet taxation is the imposition of taxes on Internet access fees and taxes that could be added to goods, services, properties, and information purchased over the Internet. In 1998, Congress passed the Internet Tax Freedom Act which established an Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. This Commission was set up to study federal, state and local, and international taxation and tariff issues concerning purchases over the Internet, and everything else along with electronic commerce. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is â€Å"any transaction conducted over the Internet or through Internet access, comprising the sale, lease, license, offer, or delivery of property, goods, services, or information, whether or not for consideration, and includes the provision of Internet access.† (The Internet Tax... ...mmission on Electronic Commerce, Mar. 8, 2005, http://www.ecommercecommission.org/ITFA.htm Lassman, Kent 2001, The Internet Tax Freedom Act: Congress Could Put an End to Tax Confusion, The Federalist Society, Mar. 8, 2005, http://www.fed-soc.org/Publications/practicegroupnewsletters/telecommunications/tc020102.htm Maguire, Steven Dec. 12, 2000, RL30431: Internet Transactions and the Sales Tax, Congress, Mar. 8, 2005, http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/ Science/st-65.cfm?&CFID=19433234&CFTOKEN=43272686#_1_3 Nellen, Annette Sept. 26, 2001, Overview to E-Commerce Taxation Issues, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mar. 8, 2005, http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/ facstaff/nellen_a/ECTaxUpdate9-01.doc Taxes-Background on Internet Taxation, January 2001, Association of American Universities, Mar. 8, 2005, http://www.aau.edu/sheets/InternetTax.html

Characters of Romeo and Juliet Essay

In The Prologue of Romeo And Juliet, the fate of the â€Å"star-crossed lovers†, the title characters, is already told. They have been doomed to â€Å"take their [lives]† before the play has even begun. This foretelling of what the audience is about to see displays that the play is about how and why the events unfold, and not what happens. Act Two, Scene Two is an important scene in the play, which is because this is where Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the two children born of the â€Å"fatal loins† of their feuding parents, meet for the second time, after Capulet’s Masquerade. They fall in love, starting the chain of fated events that cause their deaths. Before meeting Juliet, Romeo was seen to be melancholic; he was supposedly in love with Rosaline, which was unrequited. He seemed to be introspective, and have a very negative outlook; in Act One, Scene One his father, Montague, said that Romeo had been shutting himself â€Å"[a]way from light† in his room. Romeo appeared to have a very poetic, yet bleak, attitude to love. This is demonstrated by Romeo’s use of extended oxymoron in Act One, Scene One, where he talked of â€Å"loving hate†, and â€Å"misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms†. His poetic words seemed to indicate that perhaps Romeo was not in love, rather in love with the idea of being in love. He spoke of Rosaline, the object of his love, as though she was a deity, even stating she has characteristics of the goddess Diana (â€Å"she has Dian’s wit†). The goddess Diana was an emblem of chastity, and the object of Romeo’s affections has taken a vow of chastity. Ironically, Romeo refuses to â€Å"examine other beauties†, as his friend and kinsman Benvolio suggests at the end of Act One, Scene One. In Act One, Scene Five, when Romeo firsts saw, spoke to, and kissed Juliet, he still used decorative language, and said similar to what he had previously said about Rosaline. He said that Juliet â€Å"doth teach the torches to burn bright†, a metaphor, after first seeing her in Act one, Scene Five, after calling Rosaline the â€Å"all-seeing sun† in Act One, Scene Three. This seems to indicate that Romeo is too quick to announce his love, saying of Juliet what he had said not long ago about Rosaline. He did, however, denounce his previous love and say that his love of Rosaline was not comparable to his love for Juliet in Act One, Scene Five, with the rhetorical question â€Å"[d]id my hear love till now? â€Å". In Act One, Scene Three Juliet is seen to be polite and respectful young girl. Her mother, Lady Capulet, who is less close to Juliet than her Nurse, tried to persuade Juliet to marry a suitor that has been chosen for her. Marriage was an â€Å"honour that [Juliet] dream[ed] not of†, being only thirteen years of age. Lady Capulet, in Act One, Scene Three, told her daughter that â€Å"[t]he valiant Paris seeks [Juliet] for his love†. Juliet seemed in no rush to fall in love and marry at such a young age, she stated she would â€Å"look to like†, but â€Å"no more deep [†¦ ] endart [her] eye†. She appeared grounded, with no unrealistic expectations about love, and in no hurry to find a husband, despite her mother’s insistence that girls younger than Juliet â€Å"[are] made already mothers†. When Juliet met Romeo for the first time in Act One, Scene Five, although she echoed Romeo’s poetic and metaphor rich language, she appeared more playful and flirtatious, telling Romeo he â€Å"kiss[es] by th’book†. In Act Two, Scene Two, Romeo speaks of his love for Juliet and watches her after she appears at the window. He compares her beauty to that of the sun: † [it] is the east and Juliet is the sun/Arise, fair sun,† when she appears at her window. Shakespeare uses this language to depict that Romeo has elevated Juliet to the stature of a goddess. This is reinstated, with Juliet’s beauty repeatedly being compared to (and bettering) the brightness of celestial objects; Romeo says that the â€Å"brightness of her cheek would shame [the] stars†. Shakespeare used more positive metaphor, repetition, and a less structured and poetic approach to Romeo’s speech to show that Romeo’s newly found love of Juliet has effected a change in his language. Romeo is presented as more happy to love, and simply be in the presence of Juliet: he is eager for her to â€Å"speak again†, rather than strike up a conversation instantly. When Romeo begins speaking to Juliet, after hearing her speak of her love and asking why she must love a member of the family she hates, asking â€Å"wherefore [is he] Romeo? â€Å", Shakespeare wants us to understand Romeo’s devotion to Juliet. Romeo offers to forsake his name, saying that â€Å"[h]enceforth [he] never will be Romeo† demonstrating his willingness to make sacrifices for the love of Juliet. During this scene Shakespeare repeatedly uses names, or words referring to names (for example, â€Å"name†, or â€Å"called†) to show the conflict between language, the words and names, and experience, reality; Juliet states that â€Å"a rose/By any other word would spell as sweet†. Romeo is eager to â€Å"exchange [Juliet’s] love’s faithful vow for [his]†, which shows not only Romeo’s eagerness to prove his unchangeable love to Juliet, but his need to be loved in return. He tries to swear his love many things, including â€Å"yonder blessed moon†, Juliet takes vowing love much more seriously, and asks Romeo not to swear by the â€Å"inconstant moon† as it is too changing to vow such an important thing on. This presents Juliet as a mature girl, who tries to consider the consequences of actions and promises, whereas Romeo is completely absorbed in the idea of love. Juliet is concerned that her and Romeo’s love is moving too fast, saying that it is â€Å"too like the lightening†. Shakespeare uses this again showing Juliet’s rationality, but also showing that she is young, love is new to her and she is in no rush. Romeo does not appear to share these concerns; he is more concerned with loving and being loved, only satisfied by Juliet’s â€Å"faithful vow†. She is however in love with Romeo, and is not happy to see him go, â€Å"[p]arting is such sweet sorrow†, but is eager to see him again. Towards the end of the scene Juliet’s language becomes more like Romeo’s in eagerness to vow love, and in use of simile, comparing Romeo to a â€Å"wanton’s bird†, tethered by her love. Romeo’s rashness, loyalty, and need to love Juliet and be loved in return are important characteristics that will end up sealing his grim fate at the end of the play. Juliet’s young age, and contrasting maturity, grounding in reality and strong will in her love will be ever important, and her need to see a plan through will be important factors that help lead her towards her tragic ending. â€Å"For never was there a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. â€Å"

Comparison of The Lottery and The Story of an Hour Essay

The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin this legend was or so a married woman who was told that her husband had died. The wife went by some emotions hardly the main emotion she went finished upon hearing ab proscribed her husbands death was elation. She entangle free from his heading in her life, but at the same(p) quantify, she also felt sadness. She did not belief sadness for her husbands death. She felt the sadness for her happiness ab by his death. When she chuck discover herself a little whispered denomination escaped her slightly parted lips. She verbalise it over and over under her lead free, free, free (The Story of an Hour, by Kathy Chopin). In this excerpt the writer describes how Mrs. mallard was spot about the death of her husband. But presently in that location was a dull scan in her eye, whose gaze was fixed by off yonder on nonpargonil of those patches of blue sky. It was not a shine of reflection, but instead indicated a rupture of in utterigent thought.This quotation appears by and by Mrs. Mallard goes to her room to be al nonpargonil with her thoughts. This summons gives us insight into how Mrs. Mallard feelings are developing about the death if her husband. She sees something only different than what someone else would see after finding out their husband has died suddenly. The drawing off, by Shirley Jackson this story is about rituals. The townspeople gather every division on June 27th. The townspeople go for some(prenominal) emotions toward their yearly ritual. They feel apprehension, excite custodyt, anticipations, sadness and relief. In this story, the drafting is to pick someone in the town that must be stone to death to maintain their yearly ritual. The soul that wins after the motions of picking pieces of paper out of a box happens to be the young comer to the Event. Soon the men began to gather, analyze their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.They stood together, by from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed (The Lottery, Shirley Jackson) this quote gives the contributor insight into how the men were apprehensive and uneasy around one another. They exhibited signs of worry and uneasiness about the events that were to follow. These devil stories are a akin in the means that the characters in the story go through high and low emotions. Both writers are females and they write their stories in the third individual, both(prenominal) stories are best described as a limited third person. Kate Chopin has write her story from the point of view of the wife but mostly third person limited. The story arrays with a narrator but then the wifes thoughts begin to tell what she is feeling from her point.In The Lottery, the story is third person only, the author, has the narrator tell the story as if he were there but not directly mixed in the actions of the story. These two stories have a unique way of getting the contributors attention in how they wrote their stories. Kate Chopin gives the reader the impression the story is going to be a long drawn out tale but the story is ground off the hour that Mrs. Mallard has to take what her life will be like without her husband. Whereas, The Lottery is a drawn out story that in real time only takes approximately 15-20 minutes to eject the task of picking out pieces of document and stoning the winner. Shirley Jackson expands her story on what the atmosphere is like with the townspeople, she also goes in depth with the many characters. Shirley Jacksons, The Lottery could have been shorten but would have spoiled the suspense.

A cultural analysis of Greece Essay

This melodic theme turn overs a pagan analysis of Greece and how this furnishs into the inelegants handicraft practices. The importance in ofttimes(prenominal) indite cig bet be seen in the matter of numerous cross- ethnic studies that aim to come up with an impelling theoretical framework that guides intertheme companies to relate to different companies from different countries with different goals. One of these frameworks was formulated by a series of field of study studies conducted by Hofstede in which the author short letter nuances consort to five indices.Basically, Hofstedes approach rescues that glossiness seat be expound as a set of characteristics ingrained or wired-in to the brains and the psyche of the members of a particular association thereby affecting behavior. With such bring ining according to national nuances, cross- cultural managers tar pee thus make hold of this information that sack distri nonwith reste as a basis for cross-cul tural and human beings(prenominal) initiatives of the organization.In application, this penning examines Greece according to Hofstedes five dimensions and how this translates into the dry lands pipeline subtlety this paper whence comp atomic number 18s this with the trade enculturation in the United States. The conclusion past leads to the identification of the different predicts of compatibility and participation, and the areas which the classic and the Ameri finish vocation civilisations nookie reconcile for a much self-made business communications and relations.Global Business heathen Analysis Greece I. Section One Introduction communication plays an big role in both cross-cultural relations, and in the thought of business, communication in the international context spans beyond language and includes protocols, perceptions and otherwise elements pertaining to business practices.According to Hendon, Hendon and Herbig (1996), the challenge is that although two or to a greater uttermost than parties are trying to r to each one an agreement aiming to serve each others interests, cultural factors whether in hurt practice and perception pro make uply digest to the processing of information that would lead to either the victory or the failure of the negotiations or the focusing dodging should international companies decide to operate together.As Hendon, et al. (1996) pointed out, cultural aspects play managers, thereby affecting their behavior this as well confers at the organisational level thereby the stop of the embodiment of the national culture of these companies is constantly present. cross-cultural issues own become crucial precondition that to a greater extent and to a greater extent businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities brought by globalization.One of the issues that emerged from this is that there was an identified military group point of conflict establish on the precept that the differences i n the values of the different groups whitethorn lead to problems, thereby jeopardizing the advantages offered by the global and international merchandises (Fontaine, 2007). As a result, international organizations run through a crap invested in cross-cultural management initiatives in order to create the to the utmostest pointedness efficacious approach should the company reaches the point of venturing into foreign operations or cross-cultural negotiations.In plus to the organizational dimension in cross-cultural issues are the elements that s alikege advance influence the operations of any business. Kanungo (2006) identified that globalization ha alike created a meaningful regard to the consumers behavior now that they are cognisant of the strong global forces technological innovation and the environment. These elements do non sole(prenominal) represent modifications in terminuss of the markets and the societies global businesses cater to only alike the potential overall shift and cultural perceptions that resonate at various levels, from the single to the organizational behaviors.Which is why given that globalization has become a phenomenon that represents present-day human race (Steger, 2003), change surface companies who are not internationalized are restrained subject to few global forces such as buying or selling their supplies from sources overseas. It is in addition contingent that the company whitethorn feed to work with a foreign employee or a worker from a different cultural background. In any case, the instances of a cultural add-on has become to a greater extent(prenominal) and much regular (Berger, 1998, 124).However, it is big to face up at the galore(postnominal) theoretical foundations on cross-cultural studies, peculiarly as to how national cultures are perceived as an principal(prenominal) influence in organizational and management behavior. there is unitary distinctive studies that pot be considered to set about created a substantial buzz in the correct context of cross-cultural studies Geert Hofstedes foursome dimensions, which would later add another component. Hofstedes studies gave itinerary to conclusions that would foster in the different approaches towards understanding different cultures, and how these discount withal create effects at individual, organizational and national levels.Hofstedes Four Dimensions One of the most commonly used model in cross-cultural studies is Hofstedes four dimensions these dimensions emerged from Hofstedes studies on 40 different countries in which he identified four major prevailing factors in wrong of the cultural aspect (Bjerke, 1998) ? Power keep ? Un authorizedty dodging ? individualization/collectivism ? masculinity/femininity In order to understand these four dimensions, it is important to look at how Hofstede views culture and how this plays a role in global business applications.Hofstede is renowned for his research on differences among countries in harm of their culture and how these differences are essential. Hofstede operated establish on the concept that comparisons among cultures rump play a portentous role in the making the undecomposed decisions based on the acquired information about other cultures this is deemed helpful when it comes to making negotiations and even designing business strategies should companies decide to enter a foreign market.Hence, Hofstedes works watch been founded on how the differences of these cultures are influential to behavior across may brotherly levels. Hofstedes dimensions tend to worldwideize groups, hence, for instance, multicultural nations are createn as a singular culture (Fontaine, 2007). The four dimensions Hofstede formulated are the main indicators that seat notice the points of akinities and differences across these many an(prenominal) national cultures (Vinken, Soeters & Ester, 2004). His studies on many national cultures take a c rap because served as a character reference point among many cross-cultural managers.Hofstedes approach is known to adapt a much scientific approach as he argued that cultures tooshie be measured and analyse (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavy & Sanders, 1990) such can be seen not only in his database which analyzed countries according to their measures in force-out distance, uncertain(p)ty dodge, individualization/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity notwithstanding to a fault in terms of how these factors can impact many organizational tasks such as business negotiations. horticulture is therefore an important indicator of behavior and at the self kindred(p)(p)(prenominal) time, it acts as a binding force that defines a group, a edict or a region.The four dimensions Hofstede identified are based on how a culture can be too define according to relations, attitudes and values in specific contexts, it can be observed that these four dimensions that pertain to Hofstedes defin ition of culture the programming of the mind that differentiates one group of another (as cited in Fontaine, 2007, 125) presents a predictable framework of characteristics. A fifth dimension was to a fault introduced by Hofstede by including Confucian framework to his dimension, and he identified this as the long term/ short term orientation.The long term/short term orientation, a recent addition to Hofstede/s dimension, was founded on the perceptions of time, and how this can affect the behavior of plurality. This dimension was based on the Confucian orientation with respect to past, present and future, and for Hofstede, this fifth dimension can reflect a societys perception of time, particularly as to how this affects their perseverance and regard for values, and how societies also wish to play respect and gain st capability (Jacob, 2005).This orientation is seen as an important component as this can reflect how some pot can act as based on their expectations with respect to time, such as, for instance, whether their actions are motivated by long-term causes or their short goals. The situation distance aspect refers to a cultures orientation towards authority. This orientation includes how muckle understand forcefulness and how power works in their communities. With this component, power distance serves as an indicator of equality such as whether some cultures tend to be more democratic or practices a great tally of inequality (Hofstede, 2001).Another office identified by Hofstede (2001) is the dubiousness scheme. Generally, this refers to how society can tolerate uncertainty. This therefore fates how a culture may be more comfortable in a more coordinate and rational framework because the tolerance of ambiguity is first whereas some societies may tend to live in the uncertainty, hence, their systems do not adhere to strict rules. Individualism/collectivism pertains to how a culture tend to be more individualist and autonomous or the chara cter of the collective fills the members of its society (Hofstede, 2001).In the former, there is a greater grit of independence because the individual is advance to think for himself or herself. A collectivist culture, its opposite, tends to have a greater degree of influence according to the tender or cultural psyche and norm. Although individuals can be said to initially come from delineate groups such as families, the degree of cohesion across social levels differs from one culture to the attached. Last but not the least, the masculinity/femininity world power measures sexual urge roles in a culture, especially as to how each of these genders are positioned in the society.The values among these two genders are among the fundamental elements in any society because one tends to dominate the other, if not, the attempt to equalize roles can be said to be also present in some cultures (Hofstede, 2001). In addition to the aspect of the relevancy of power in these roles, this in dicator also describes whether the country is masculine or feminine the former associates the culture as more assertive and competitive, thereby embodying the manful characteristics whereas feminine cultures are viewed as caring and more modest.The strength of Hofstedes approach is that the study and the self-possessed data have come up with a set of information that king-sizedly describes the national cultures thereby demonstrating a general find how nation in a certain country can be expected to behave. The five dimensions have served as an important framework and Hofstedes model has served many nation-level researches especially as to how the applicability of his collected data can be regarded to be valid at a certain point (Smith, 2006).However, the model is not without any criticisms as this brings the issue on how many dimensions must(prenominal) be used as a performer to measure culture (Smith, 2006). Another study conducted by Blodgett, Bakir and Rose (2008) that the model has limitations especially as to its cogency among individuals. From this, it can be garner that applicability of Hofstedes framework mainly gives a good reference for a cultural overview of nation, but in more specific terms, there is still some postulate as to the design of a more in effect(p) cross-cultural analysis model.II. Section Two Grecian Culture an Overview Greece can be easily associated with its idealization during the antiquity, with the country immersed in a rich culture of intelligence and might, in addition to the production of some(prenominal) works of art and architecture that can be considered to still have an influence in the innovational world. Hence, Greece has al slipway had the impression of classicism, especially with the mark odd by Hellenism in the world and classical floor transcending fact and has become an interesting subject for literary works.From political thought to mythology, Grecian as a culture keeps to be an object of fascin ation, especially as it has founded an important definition where the Western world begins in this Mediterranean archipelago. Culture can be basically specify through customs and traditions, and in Greece, albeit its development into new-fangledity, has maintain a strong cargo area for tradition this tradition is defined by the roles contend by devotion and paganism in the country.Greece is dominantly Jewish-Orthodox Christian although some variations of the faith, as determined by paganistic influences, can be seen to be present and also vary from island to island. This is why Hellenic culture is generally regarded to have a lavishlyer degree of composite beliefs and that Hellenics also tend to be superstitious (Buxton, 1999). other(a) classical civilization has exhibit a significant number of intellect yet at the same time, the society was also driven by its fab past.Such combination can be seen to present an attempt to balance myth and reason, and in modern Greece , this can be seen to have developed as modern classic society remains to take pride in its past through the unvarying nominal head of its customs and traditions, yet at the same time, modern Grecian culture has demonstrated significant social changes that have take place in the last century. This is discussed by Mouzelis (1978) who mentioned how societal values remain to be dictated by its content values, and these core values, evidently, play a significant role in the definition of a societys culture.The economy, in the past centuries, has created a significant impact to the social development of any society, and Greece, as it moved on to the modern times, had adapted to these changes. In the social context, Greece had demonstrated the ability to adjust to these new economic demands, and its society, inevitably, has redefined social classes. Its economy also started to redefine itself especially as to how it would define its role in the modern world. any in all, the moderniz ation of Greece has created a degree of impact to its modern culture, but interestingly, Hellenic culture has strongly maintained what it has always been.As previously mentioned Greek culture has been distinct in terms of the roles religion plays in the lives of the people this religion fuses the more organized leanings of the Christian Orthodox Church and the more paganistic or mythical practices that many Greeks still practice today. In addition to customs and traditions, Greek culture has maintained its strong identity across many cultural facets, from its art, music, food and wine. The Greek people has demonstrated a strong palpate of resilience considering the number of wars they had to fend in the modern times.These wars include its conflict with the Ottomans in which the country fell under rule for a long time, the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Greco-Turkish wars. The country also fell under military dictatorship from 1967-1974. With their wounded past, the Greek people had redeveloped a strong national character that had adapted to the realities they faced, especially as Greeces glory would seem to be stuck more in the past and the modernity seems to have favored more the Western nations (Chilton, Dubin, Edwards, Garvey, Fisher, & Ellingham, 2008).Interestingly, as Greece would struggle to gravel its place in the modern world, the Greek society and the people had gone through periods of diaspora in order to efflux the conflicts at home. Those who were left behind would be stuck in the chaos of the country in which the economy would find a hard time adjusting to the greater powers advance from the western world, more specifically europium. The Greek people experienced lack of opportunities in addition to poverty, especially as the country would prove to lack in enough economic resourcefulness until recently.Greece, for a significantly portion of the 20th century, was under-developed, but it was not until in the 1980s that the cou ntry would start to catch up and become more integrated with the rest of Europe (Chilton, et al. , 2008) There are some interesting factors in Greek culture that can be regarded to have influenced attitudes of its people. One of these concepts is filotimo. Although hard to translate, filotimo generally refers to the Greeks delight in for darksome honor that they should possess this goes well with anther important Greek characteristic of integrity which is about behaving as an upright individual.Although a hotshot of deep honor, as a translation, does not provide enough interpretation of the concept, filotimo can be considered to refer to a character that is extremely desirable, but basically, it can be associated with a spirit of self who is intrinsically good (Makedon, 1995). In addition to the concept of filotimo, modern Greece had emerged with additional cultural concepts in terms of character, and these are leventia and palikaria. Leventia refers to a sense of manfully exc ellence thereby emphasizing the importance of having certain male characteristics.Leventia is paired with palikaria which also refers to the same meaning. As pair, possessing or being leventia and/or palikaria is about the ability to survive through hard times, especially if the individual or the family has been subject to a critical amount of duress. Having leventia and palikaria can gain an individual substantial hold from those around him because of the display of a strong sense of self as seen in courage or proactiveness that addresses the source of any problem (Makedon, 1995).Last but not the least, albeit its painful periods of oppressiveness, the Greek people have a great amount of fill out towards liberty. The love for liberty has always been a Greek characteristic, as seen from the ancient Greek civilization to the modern Greek society. Many themes in the Greek arts have portrayed the importance of freedom, and evidently, as the cradle of democracy, Greek culture had lo ng wanted to fight oppression and aimed for a more spare and democratic society in which they get to possess a certain amount of freedom despite the restrictions posed upon them (Makedon, 1995).Generally, these characteristics show how modern Greece have managed an important element of its identity, and that is its Orthodox church however, despite the practice of orthodoxy, this aspect of freedom is practiced in such a way that the Greek people remains to have an commit mind towards its paganistic past. In a way, the Greek culture can be regarded to have managed to lessen the conflict betwixt mythos and logos, and today, the Greek people has been finding ways to make room for the modern and how it fits to its long standing tradition.Greek Business Culture Studies on the Greek business culture has had references to Hofstedes cultural framework. In terms of the malt whiskeys of Greece according to Hofstedes four dimensions, Greece has the fol milding measures in these four indices (Hofstede, 2001) ? Power distance index 63 ? Individualism 35 ? Masculinity 57 ? Uncertainty avoidance index 112 In terms of Greeces slay in the power distance index, this ready shows how its people, according to Hofstedes framework, demonstrates the emergence of the social classes in Greek society.This is to say that people are aware of the powers that are present in the society and they know their place with respect to that power. The score of the country in this index can be considered to be just, hence, demonstrating that although people do recognize the battlefront of inequalities in its society, they see the comportment of nub to get over certain barriers. The median score for this index is 55, and with Greece at 63, the amount of inequality is above total yet not as drastic as compared to other countries.Basically, this shows how hierarchy plays in the society which can be considered as a paradox considering the Greeks love for liberty and democracy. In a sense, such score shows how the Greeks have embraced reality and that certain powers have created a strong influence in the country. The next score shows that the country has lower measures of individualism thereby viewing that Greece is a exceedingly collective society. This shows how Greeks have a strong regard for family and community, and how individuals are strongly influenced by their environment.Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) mentioned that when Greeks enter an organization, there is already the expectation that the Greek employee expects to work for this company for the rest of his or her life, and at the same time, in exchange for this loyalty, they expect that the dissolute forget also look after their family. The next indicator is masculinity, and Greece scored slightly above the global average of 50 (Hofstede, 2001). This is an interesting score as generally, the Greek society has demonstrated the strong male influence in terms of their position in the family and the society.T he roles between males and females have been regarded to be also more distinctive, in which case the women know their positions and the limits of their power and influence. The uncertainty avoidance index shows the highest score for Greece, and based on this, there are many rules that prevail in the Greek society. Again, this is an interesting score because this contradicts the Greeks love for freedom, but then again, such rules and restrictions may have brought the Greek people to be hungry for more liberty in its societies.The many bounds in Greek society can be seen in its history where the country went through oppression through foreign tenancy and dictatorship. Overall, as employees, Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) discussed the characteristics of Greek employees, as follows (273) For Greek people, the work culture is based on sense of honour, dignity, loyalty, and sense of duty reflected in the Greek word filotimo which is similar to the concept of face as reported for chin ain these societies, filotimo or face becomes an asset for organizations. In cases, however, where expectations are not met, the personnel can be alienated. From the results of Hofstedes study, Greece can be summarized as high power distance, strong uncertainty avoidance, socialist and masculine (Joiner, 2001, 232). This profile, as translated into Greeces business culture, strongly demonstrates its association with societal values.According to Hofstede (2001), among the four indicators in his cultural model, the most relevant in the aspect of organizational design can be attributed to power distance and uncertainty avoidance which is why these factors are important in assessing the relationship of national cultures and the organization. In the organizational context, the Greek business culture shows a strong sense of hierarchy and the partenalistic relations that know in Greek companies this is evident in the high score in the power distance.In further putting this with respect t o Hofstedes description of this dimension, the Greek society as well in Greek organizations, there is the accepted presence of inequalities in terms of the distributio of power. The acceptance in human inequality, interestingly, may not fair well with the Greek fundamentals on democracy but apparently, such cultural characteristic is more of an indicator of a strong sense of respect towards authority (Joiner, 2001). Leadership is therefore accentuate in Greek organizations, and in business, there is much dependence on the companys leadership when it comes to making decisions.Such cultural factor can then be attributed to the historical development in Greece which, accoding to Psychogios and Szamosi (2007), lived in a society with the centralized Greek political system that highlights the powerful state and the large public sector (8). In terms of the reprehension of Greeces high uncertainty avoidance index, many studies have actually revealed that groups with hih uncertainty avoi dance index demonstrate a fear of making decisios, hence, the presence of many rules that can be easily referred to.In Greece, according to studies by Bartholomew (1995), Bourantas, et al. (199), among others (as cited in Joiner, 2001), fear of decision-making has been found among Greek managers and subordinates, hence, much of these activities are left to the pep pill management. There is indeed the influence of culture in terms of the business own practices. Although this may not be admittedly in all cases, the general perception towards Greek businesses reflect how the business culture have its foundations according to its societal values, these values are which influenced by the countrys culture.III. Section ternary In Comparison with the US Business Culture Based on Hofstedes cultural model, Greece scored high in power distance index, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance index, whereas it scored low in individualism. These stacks translate to the Greek business culture of centralization, concentrated power, more distinct gender roles, and high reliance on the organizations to take care of the employees family. Greek employees are also found to possess the characteristics of loyalty, integrity and dignity, as command by the concept of filotimo.In comparing this to the American culture, the contrasts can be immediately seen the differences in the slews Hofstede gave the United States (Hofstede, 2001). The US scored high in individualism, low in power distance index, uncertainty avoidance index, and long term orientation, whereas in terms of masculinity, the US scored above average. The similarities can be therefore seen in the masculinity aspect in which both shows that gender roles remain to be differentiated in the American business culture. However, the similarities end there.Based on the scores, the American culture can be described as highly individualistic, with a greater sense of equality and fewer rules thereby showing greater tolerance in ne w ideas and beliefs. Basically, the American business culture does embody these characteristics. As the country embraced capitalism and industrial enterprise earlier than Greece, the countrys business culture tends to have a more progressive and liberal approach. There is a strong presence of market economy forces in the United States, and employees are also driven by the economic opportunitis presented to them.One of the important aspects in the American business culture is the presence of competition, and competition is present not only among businesses but among individuals as well (McCraw, 2000). Hence, unlike in Greece where a bulk of the important responsibilities are left to pep pill management, American organizations and their employees grab these opportunities to hold more responsibilities because it means more opportunities for them to gain better positions. Competitive is therefore a characteristic of the American business culture, and this makes sense according to the results of the scores of the United States according to Hofstedes model.Although these scores and comparisons between national and business cultures can be regarded to be applicable, it should be noted that the degree of relevance may not be trustworthy in all cases. In addition to the challenges as to the validity of Hofstedes model (Blodgett, et al. , 2008), there is also the case of change that can peradventure take place at social and business levels. As discussed in the first section, the applicability is limited as to the relevance of national cultures to business cultures although the fundamentals of a national culture tends to become apparent generally.For instance, the Greek concept of filotimo can be considered to be avowedly even at business levels, and at the same time, the collective spirit can be seen in how many Greek corporations are family-owned. Such is true in the case of the United States in terms of the masculunity scores. Although in some instances gender ro les remain defined in the US, in the business world, more and more women have started to hold significant positions across many organizations.Therefore, the relevance of national culture perceptions are only true up to a certain extent but information such as those gathered by Hofstedes studies serve as serviceable references to the basics of the social and business dynamics in a country. IV. Section Four Opening an American Business in Greece Based on the scores in Hofstedes cultural framework, the USAs national culture distance from Greece is at 3. 47 according to 42 surveyed American firms in the country (Kessapidou & Varsakelis, 2002).With this number, it can be assumed that there will be greater difficulty in the prospering governing of the American company in Greece however, this may not be the case, and the same is true even if the company has a Greek affiliate. According to Kessapidou and Varsakalis (2002), the strength lies in the Greeks characteristic to be collective, hence, they tend to acquiesce with the requirements of the company. In addition, the concept of filotimo can drive Greek employees to perform better, thereby filotimo, in a sense, serves as a source of competitiveness, which is compatible with the American busines culture.However, there may be some problems in terms of the management aspect between the American and the Greek managers, or the Greek managers bringing to comply with the demands of American management practices. Although there are highly centralized American companies, the delegation of power and business is one of an American companys assets, hence, should decisions imply to be made, even some subordinates may footfall in and show a sense of leadership. This may intimidate Greek managers and employees, especially if the firm would have American employees working in the Greek operations.In addition, the Greek employees may think that the Americans are too aggressive and ambitious in the workplace, thereby possibly creating a rift among the employees. Hence, the recommendation is that prior to the establishment of the American operation in Greece, both sides need to be educated about the cultures they are about to encounter. Since that Greece is going to host the company, the American company inescapably to comply more with the Greek culture, but since it is the American company that is going to establish the business, the Greek employees and managers also need to