Business Studies Coursework Essay Example

Business Studies Coursework Essay For my GCSE Business studies coursework, I have been asked to design a new business. I have decided on creating a new range of Alco-pops for retail in the United Arab Emirates. To complete the coursework I will be required to, explain my idea thoroughly, and go into depth on how I will go about deciding whether it will be a profitable business. I will use a variety of methods to obtain and analyse evidence to back up my case. I will be required to talk to the intended market to find out what is currently required in the marketplace. Dubai is situated in the United Arab of Emirates, a country in the Middle East. Less than a century ago Dubai was predominantly desert, at a time where the industrial revolutions was taking place in the UK, Dubai didnt have no running water, no roads and the main form of transport was camel back. But in the 1960s this all changed, Dubai struck oil, and became very rich over night. Since then the population has been increasing vastly, with over a million people working and residing in Dubai. Dubai from desert has become the new Manhattan, with its skyline being much larger and appealing then the ones of the United States. This has caused for the tourism industry to boom, resulting in over 400 hotels opening in Dubai alone, all meriting themselves on their high ratings. Dubai boasts having the mostly highly rated hotel in the world, The Burj al Arab. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Studies Coursework specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Business Studies Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Business Studies Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Dubai is growing at increasingly fast speeds, and entrepreneurs have seen the markets potential. There are billions of dollars being invested into Dubai. Companies have flocked here as they have realised that Dubais economy is going to boom and everyone in it will profit. The United Arab of Emirates is an Islamic state and therefore there are very strict rules on consummation of alcohol. Islam states in the Quran that alcohol is prohibited, and therefore I will not be strongly targeting Muslims for this product. Instead I will be targeting the non Arabs, foreigners and especially tourists. The law states that alcohol can be freely bought and consumed in hotels and bars. The drinking age is 21, and to buy alcohol to drink at your house, you are required to have a license. The fact that I am targeting people that arent predominantly local to the country isnt a problem, as there are more expatriates in the country than local people. I will make the drink is a variety of different flavours, which would be decided after I have received information back from my questionnaire. In Dubai there are only two competitors in the Alco-pop industry in Dubai, both are internationally renowned. The first is Bacardi Breezers and the other one is Smirnoff Ices. The United Kingdom has shown even with these two big names in the industry smaller less known names can be successful. The market in the UK is full of new Alco pops and some of these are dominating the industry. As stated previously it its illegal to consume alcohol in the UAE for anyone under the age of 21 therefore I will be targeting it at anyone over the age on 21. Although my main target audience will be in the 21-35 as after the age of 35 people tend to move on from drinking Alco-pops to drinking spirits and such. To target this youthful drink I will try to make the drinks colourful, and stand out. Many women drink Alco-pops as an alternative to beers that men drink, as they are both similarly priced and contain similar amounts of alcohol. Therefore I will target some flavours directly towards woman. For example I will make a strawberry flavour that is baby pink in colour. Alcohol consumption is not targeted at any particular class, although in the UAE the majority of the target audience will be of a medium if not higher class. This is because people from the lower classs tend to be local to the country and therefore are usually Muslim, and Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol. Therefore on the packaging of the drink, I dont think I will need to have Arabic writing. I will use English as the majority of the target audience can read English, I will also make the packaging look professional and elegant to ensure the higher and medium classes. The price will be set accordingly to my competitors. Market Research Market research is the collection of data from customers and potential customers. Market research is essential for companies aiming to gain maximum profit on a product. Companies use market research to find out which segment of the market the product is best aimed at. From this data they can work out the type of person the packaging should attract and what advertising would be most effective. There are two types of data company could use for their market research. The first of which is using primary data, this is data that a company gathers themselves from there own market research. The second type of data is secondary data, this is gathered from research that has already been conducted and is available to the company. An example of this is the census. Primary data is gathered by the company by doing field research. This is where the company conducts research into the particular field they want information on. To conduct field research the company must decide, what information it needs, who it needs to ask, how it plans to ask the people and how the data is to be presented. Once this information is gathered, the company can either conduct the research themselves or ask an independent company who specialize in market research to carry out the research. Advantages of gathering primary data are that you can be sure that the data gathered is correct and hasnt been edited. Also using primary data gives you the researcher the ability to gather data on exactly what is required. Disadvantages of using primary data is that is it is time consuming and costly. Market research can be gathered by conducting surveys. As it would be too costly for a company to send out the survey to a whole population, companies try to send it out to a cross section of intended market. This cross section can be gained by sampling. There are many different methods of sampling, these include * Cluster Sampling This is a sampling method where the population is split up into clusters, and a random sample of these clusters are selected. * Quota Sampling The population is split up into segments, and a number of people from each segment are asked , the number of people asked reflect the amount of people in that segment out of the population. * Random Sampling -This is where a certain number of people are chosen at random from a population to be questioned. Secondary data is data that has already been gathered and is available for the company to use. Its original use maybe different from what the company wishes to use it for. Secondary data can be obtained from other companies or maybe available from media sources. Advantages of using secondary data include, that it is time efficient, and less costly than primary data. The disadvantages of using secondary data are that the data could be out of date, and biased. It is also very hard to find relevant information. I will be using both kinds of data for my research. I will be conducting a questionnaire and interviews, which are both primary data, as the data has been collected by myself. I will stand in a local mall and give my questionnaire to 50 people who have been chosen at random, from the ages 21 and over. This is because the legal drinking age in Dubai is 21, and I dont want to encourage underage drinking. Also our main market will be people who go to clubs and bars, as this is usually when people try new drinks.. I will also interview a local liquor shop owner to ask him what he thinks of the market at the current time, and what he thinks will be best suited to the current market. There may be problems when conducting both types of primary data as with the questionnaire, people may not answer truly, also there a sector of the population that cant read or write English, this can be overcome, by asking a friend of mine who can speak Arabic to write out an Arabic version of the questionnai re, and then later he can translate it back into English for me to analyze. A problem I may encounter with conducting the interview is that, the local business man may not want to share his knowledge of the market, if this is the case, then I will have to offer a sum of money, and see if that works. Market research is very valuable to me, and therefore if he does request money then it will have to be paid. After I have conducted my primary research, I will search the internet to see what current marketing schemes are being conducted by competitors, and I will also do research on what the population of Dubai is like, to see how the product can be marketed to obtain maximum revenue. Finally my textbook will be an essential source of research, as it gives me a lot of information on different types of marketing ideas. Marketing Mix The marketing mix consists of the Four Ps. It is a concept that is aimed at creating a good marketing campaign for a product. When using the marketing mix you must consider the price, product, promotion and place of sale. Product Product is the first P that I am going to talk about, this is because it is seen as the most important in the marketing mix. A product is what the business is going to try and sell. Some businesses, usually smaller ones try to target particular market segments with their product. Other businesses create a product range to try and tap in to many different market segments. When a business is developing a new product they can either create a product that is market led or product led. If I product is market led, then this product was made because a business identified there was a need for a certain product in the market. If a product is said to have been product led, then this means that the product was a totally new idea, and that it would be the first of its kind in the market. The product part of the marketing mix is seen to be the most important as if the product doesnt achieve that markets intended uses then even if it is promoted well, priced cheap and distributed in a good locatio n its sales will not be very high. Price Price is also an important part of the marketing mix, as if the price is too high then sales may be low, and if the price is too low then profits will be to a minimal if made at all. There are many ways in which a business prices its product, one of which is Cost-plus pricing. This is the most common way businesses set prices. This is when they add up how much the product costs them to make including labour costs and finally add on the profit which is usually a percentage of what it costs them to make. Another way a business prices its products is by Competitor based pricing. This is where competition between businesses helps set the price. For example if two businesses sold products that are very similar to each other, and the products both achieved the same purpose and were off the same quality then consumers would compare prices to see which one to buy, and usually consumers would buy the cheaper one due to them making a saving. Promotion Promotion is by means a business informs potential customers of what products it is retailing. A form of promotion is advertising, forms of advertising include classified, informative, persuasive and generic advertisements. The biggest way products are advertised is through the media. Examples of this are television, radio and cinema. Also many advertisements are now in forms of printed media, examples of this is newspapers, magazines, trade magazines, posters and billboards. Bigger companies use specialised advertising agencies to advertise their products. These companies will produce an advanced campaign. Place The final P is place, this is where the product is to be sold to the final customer. It is also about how the product will get to the final destination before being sold to the customer. Businesses must choose the right channel in which their products should be distributed, the right method in which they are distributed and finally choosing the right sales outlet to be the most successful in the place part of the marketing mix. The chain of distribution is where a product is sold in very large quantities at a reduced price from the producer to the wholesaler who then sells it at a higher price than they got the product at to the retailer, who finally sells its to the consumer at the recommended retail price (rrp). Questionnaire I am considering creating a new alco-pop for sale in the United Arab Emirates, can you please spare a few moments out of your time to answer a few questions? Thank you, your co-operation is appreciated 1) What Gender are you? Male Female 2) How Old are You? 21-25 26-30 31-35 36+ 3) Would you like to see A new Range of Alco-Pops in Dubai? Yes No 4) What type of Promotion attracts you the most? Please only select one Buy One get One Free Coupons Money Off Free Gifts 5) What form of Advertising attracts you the most? Please only select one T.V Radio Magazines Billboards Posters 6) Do you Drink Alco-pops regularly compared to other Alcoholic Beverages? Yes No 7) What Bars/Clubs In Dubai do you Visit Regularly? Please only select One Jimmy Dix Trilogy Hard Rock Left Bank Scarlet Harvesters The Lounge Other (Please Specify..) 8) If a new range of Alco-pops was introduced, what flavours would you like? Please only Select your favourite Strawberry Lime Lemon Mango Cranberry Watermelon Blackberry 9) Where would be an Ideal location for a new Bar? Jumeriah Sheik Zayed Road Airport Jebel Ali 10) Do you Visit the Airport Regularly? Yes No Questionnaire Responses 1) What Gender are you? 15 Male 15 Female 2) How Old are You? 14 21-25 6 26-30 6 31-35 4 36+ 3) Would you like to see A new Range of Alco-Pops in Dubai? 30 Yes 0 No 4) What type of Promotion attracts you the most? Please only select one 21 Buy One get One Free 1 Coupons 7 Money Off 2 Free Gifts 5) What form of Advertising attracts you the most? Please only select one 13 T.V 9 Radio 1 Magazines/Newspapers 6 Billboards 1 Posters 6) Do you Drink Alco-pops regularly compared to other Alcoholic Beverages? 24 Yes 0 No 7) What Bars/Clubs In Dubai do you Visit Regularly? Please only select One 4 Jimmy Dix 11 Trilogy 7 Hard Rock 3 Left Bank 0 Scarlet 3Harvesters 2The Lounge 0 Other (Please Specify..) 8) If a new range of Alco-pops was introduced, what flavours would you like? Please only Select your favourite 5 Strawberry 8 Lime 7 Lemon 1 Mango 2 Cranberry 7 Watermelon 0 Blackberry 9) Where would be an Ideal location for a new Bar? 12 Jumeriah 10 Sheik Zayed Road 6 Airport 2 Jebel Ali 10) Do you Visit the Airport Regularly? 22 Yes 8 No Questionnaire I conducted my questionnaire at the Mall of the Emirates. I wanted to conduct it in a bar, but due to being under the age of 21, by law I am not allowed to enter a bar. I gave my questionnaire to random people walking by that looked of non Arab decent. This was because as previously stated Muslims are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. I followed this up by asking people whether they were Muslim or under the age of 21, if either of their answers to these questions was yes then I wouldnt give them the questionnaire to fill in as their opinions wouldnt be worthwhile. In total I gave the questionnaire to 30 suitable candidates, as I felt that this was enough to start off with and to obtain a rough idea. Promotion Promotion is the ability to inform potential customers that your product actually exists, and convincing them to buy it. Hence promotion include informing customers about what products and services you as a business have to offer, informing customers why your product and services are beneficial to them, and persuading the customer to buy your product. Advertising Advertising is the main method in which the public come to know of a product of a service. Depending on the product or service and the amount of capital available advertising can be as small as an add in the local paper to a full blown advertising campaign. Advertising are aimed at a certain market segment (target audience) although there is no way of knowing whether they have been reached. There are four types of advertising, the first of which is Classified advertisements, which are usually small ads offering goods or services locally. The second is Informative advertisements, which are simply announcements giving information. The third method of advertising is Persuasive advertisements which are aimed at influencing people. The final method of advertising is Generic advertisements which are usually produced by a whole industry. Broadcasting Media One of the most expensive media to advertising on is the television screen. Prices keep rising, along with the costs of making the advertisement there are also the television stations fees which even on smaller stations can start at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1000 per second in peak time. Although it costs a lot it can be expressed as the most effective form of advertising as it can be targeted to reach the intended target audience. Another form of broadcasting media is the radio, with more and more commercial radio stations opening up, prices to advertise on radio have seen a recent decline, which can range between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 per second. Radio advertisements like television advertisements can be aimed at particular market segments, which can be great at making sure an intended market knows about the product. Cinema advertisements are becoming ever popular with local businesses. They usually tend to be slide shows or short videos made semi professionally. Printed Media Newspaper and magazines advertisements are growing and it is predicted that they account for more than half of all the expenditure on advertisements. There are many types of newspapers, which range from local one to national ones. Local newspapers can be useful for local businesses to advertise in as they are cheaper and they only reach a local area. Where as bigger businesses may prefer to advertise in nation newspapers such as The Mirror. Who charge à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½27500 per a full page advertisement. Posters and billboards are usually put up on the side of busy roads to attract the eye of drivers. Advertising is a big thing in the UK, and advertisements are popping up on the sides of buses, in train and bus stations, on football shirts etc. They are literally everywhere you look, people are being creative and thinking of new places that will catch the eye of as many people as possible. Agencies Bigger business tend use specialist advertising agencies to put together full advertising campaigns. The agency will be asked to product a campaign which will include a slogan and storyboard ideas. Advertising Standards Authority It is the role of the advertising standards authority to ensure that all advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful. Public Relations Many bigger businesses have actual parts of their company which are responsible for public relations. They are to make sure that products are seen well in the public eye, and that reputation is kept high. This is because reputation can be lost very easily but it is very hard to gain, and can be costly to a company. Customer relations ensure that customers are treated well with courtesy and politeness, and are given a good image of the business. They also enforce certain pledges that will be beneficial to the customer, to help increase the publics view on the company. Bigger businesses use celebrity endorsements to increase the companies images. By getting celebrities to say good stuff about a product that gets the public to go out and try a product as celebrities opinions are viewed highly in the publics view. Promotional Questions As previously stated promotion is a major part of creating a successful product. It allows people to learn of the existence of a product, which in my case is my new range of alco-pops. Without people knowing of its existence sales would be low. There are many different methods of advertising, and depending on the location various different methods work for different reasons. To find out what methods work in Dubai, I asked in my questionnaire what form of advertising attracted that individual. The results of this question are shown below My results show that television is the most favoured form of advertising, with 13 out of 30 selecting it. Television has proven to be a very successful form of advertising because if put in between a particular program, then a certain market segment can be targeted. Also it can be put in peak television time, this is when many people are watching television and therefore many people will see the advert. Although these are very successful methods, it is also very expensive to advertise on television in peak time, and I feel that I wouldnt have enough capital to start off with to afford television advertising. My results show that radio is the second more favoured form of advertising. This could be because that unlike the United Kingdom Dubai is very spread out and not cramped together, this means that people have to drive almost everywhere. Thus with so many cars on the streets a lot of traffic is created, causing for journeys to take a while, and people getting bored in the car and listening to the radio for entertainment. With so many radio stations coming up and targeting specific audiences, it would be very easy to choose an appropriate station that would reach the intended market segment. Radio advertisements are also considerably a lot cheaper than those of the television, and I feel that I would be able to afford a radio advertisement. Although I feel that a radio advertisement wouldnt work for promoting a new range of alco-pops. This is because with the radio, there is only sound and thus people wouldnt be actually able to see the drink. As it is a drink, its main selling point wi ll be its taste, and it would be very hard to persuade people to try it with just sound. In third place was Billboards. Billboards are proving to be very successful in Dubai because as previously stated there is a traffic problem in Dubai, and therefore cars will be move slowly, causing individuals in the car to look more outside, and therefore Billboards would be seen by many people. Many companies have already realised the potential of billboards in Dubai, and they are seen to be popping up all over the place in Dubai. I feel that billboards would be an effective form of advertising for the drink, as taste is sub consciously linked with appearance. Therefore as long as the billboard makes the drink look attractive with an eye catching picture and slogan it will be very efficient. Even if viewers dont take much notice of the billboards the viewers brain will automatically remember them, this is known as passive learning, therefore billboards can be easily installed into peoples brains. Billboards advertisements arent even that expensive and therefore a lot of capital wo uldnt be required. Below are a few pictures of billboard advertising being used in Dubai. In fourth spot were magazine and newspapers advertisements, newspaper advertisements can be very successful in Dubai. This is because there is a particular newspaper named 7 Days, that is free and delivered to the majority of houses in Dubai on a daily basis. As it is free and is delivered to peoples houses, its convenience causes for many people to avidly read it. Many different companies advertise in 7days as it seems to be a cheap and effective way to advertise. Two examples of different companies advertising food are displayed below. As stated previously I dont think I would be able to use television advertising to start off with, and radio wouldnt be effective. Therefore to start off with I will use Billboards and newspaper/magazine adverts. Eventually if the business hits off and we create a profit I will consider using television adverts. Apart from advertising, product sales can also be increased with special promotions. For insistence a business can give a free gift with there product, though they will profit less, it will attract people to come and try and there product, and in the food and drink industry, if they like the product they will buy it again. There are many different types of promotions that businesses uses and these vary depending on the targeted market segment, although the principle behind it is always the same, that by giving customers some think that they would be interested in, they will buy the product. To find out what types of promotion potential customers in Dubai like, I asked this question in my questionnaire, the results are shown below. My results show that most people were attracted to buying one drink and getting another free. In my opinion this is favoured due to most people drink alcohol socially, and usually when in a group of two and more the first drinks are bought by one person and then the second are bought by another and so on, therefore it can be quite costly depending on the amount of drinks bought. Thus people would like to get one free, as then they could end up paying half of what they should have. Buy one and get one free offers can be quite costly for the business, and I feel that if we were to run this offer it would be for a limited time, just because it would ensure more people would gain a chance to try it. This is because people will see the offer and then buy it because of the discounts, so if more people try it, they we maybe able to gain more customers. Although money off discounts on drinks is in theory the same thing as coupons, my results show that there is a big difference in peoples view on them both. People prefer money off discounts over coupons and this is because that although they maybe of the same value, people prefer just to get the discounts because with coupons they first have to obtain them and there is a chance they could lose them. To a business money off discounts cost them more that coupons, this is because that everyone is entitled to the money off discounts, whereas only people who are able to present coupons are entitled to that discount. It is a known fact that humans like free gifts, therefore if there was a free gift that came with a drink that potential customers were attracted to they would buy the drink over other drinks. If I was to use this form of promotion I wouldnt give a free gift with every purchase of a drink instead, I would give a free gift for the amount of lid tops collected. This would encourage people to buy more and more drinks as after they have bought a certain amount they would be rewarded with a gift, thus increasing our sales. I would make it so that the more they collect the better the gift was, but that they were still able to cash in on there lids even if they didnt have very many and obtain a cheap gift. The gifts that I would give would be wallets, clothing and bottle openers. They would all be branded with our logo, so that other people would be able to see this merchandise and it would promote the drink. I would make the merchandise exclusively available though this scheme therefore ma king people feel unique with these goods. To obtain the gifts customers will have to send the lids off to us with a filled in form, this form will request peoples addresss for the gifts to be sent to. Once we have these addresses as long as they agree on the form we are able to keep them on record and keep details on of our customer base. Having these details will be helpful as every so often we are able to mail them with new promotions and advertise new products. After evaluating each form of promotion I have decided to use them all. To start of with, I would use Buy one get one free offers as this would encourage more people to try the drink at bars, although this offer would only last for a few weeks. After this I would run a money off discount scheme. Both these forms of promotion will encourage new customers to try the drink. Again this scheme would only last for a few weeks after the buy one get one free offer. These two are only to be run for a short time as they are very costly, and are only used to create an initial customer base. After they have finished I would introduce coupons that could be rewarded for discounts against the drink, bout would be placed in newspapers and magazines and discount books. A month after that had been introduced I will finally bring in my free gifts scheme, which in itself is giving customers gifts that promote the drink. I feel by having this advertising campaign we will be able to create a large client base that would regularly buy our drink. Place Place is a major part of the marketing mix. The place that a product is sold is very important to getting as many sales a possible. A business must choose the right channel of distribution, right method of distribution and the right sales outlet. A business thats product is distributed well ensures that the product arrives at the final destination intact and undamaged. This is done by using good packaging and choosing the right form of transport a product will take. New technologies introduced by ICT have made distribution a lot easier. With the invention of stock control systems, it has become very easy for stock levels to be checked and once stock gets down to a certain level more stock can be ordered all automatically. The system knows when a product is being sold as when its bar code is scanned at the till it automatically decreases stock levels. Chain of Distribution The chain of distribution is the journey a product will take before reaching a customer. Usually this is from the producer to the wholesaler who then sells it on to the retailer and finally the consumer buys it. The producer produces the products is very large quantities. And if it is a big business then sells the goods on to a wholesaler in large quantities at a reduced rate. If it is a local business the product is usually sold directly from the business to the customer. Wholesales buy products in bulk, and the majority of the time spend a lot of money providing both transport and a storage site for the goods. Wholesalers then usually open cash and carry stores, these are usually where wholesalers sell goods to retailers. The price of these goods has increased from what the wholesaler paid for them as they have to recoup the transport and storage costs. Also retailers buy products in lower quantities than wholesalers. Once the retailer has bought the goods from the wholesaler they then sell the products at retail outlets. This can be anywhere a consumer can purchase goods. Nowadays there is a big difference in the range of shops, as they can range from the local corner shop to the giant chain superstores. Small Retailer All the time big retails stores open up, and some can be on every high street in the UK. Although these shops can afford to reduce the prices on many products they still have a lot of competition from small retailers. One of the reasons for this is that many customers prefer the personal service offered by these shops. This means that usually small retailers build up relationships with their customers both on a business and personal level, this ensures that each customer is personally served. Another reasons for small retailers still being successful is that they are usually very convenient, this is because they are normally very close to peoples homes and are usually open till later hours than the superstores. Some families in the Uk are on benefits and therefore sometimes run out of money and must wait till their benefits come in before being able to make purchases. If the relationship is strong enough small retailers sometimes give credit to these people and allow them to pay at a later date. Retailers and wholesalers both break bulk, this terms means that they both buy in large quantities and sell it in smaller quantities. A new concept to come to Dubai, that has shown to be successful in the United States of America, is the shopping mall. These usually are huge building that include many shops in, that are linked together under one roof. All sorts of shops are placed these malls from the big chain super markets to your local retailer providing food. In the Uk these can also be found, but not on the same size as those in the USA or even Dubai, although in the Uk there are also out-of-town shopping centres. These are very large sizes that are based out of town where a lot of space is available to build these shopping centres. International Networks Some of the bigger distribution run internationally. While a lot of money is to be made from import and export there can be a lot of hassle making sure products clear customs and excise. Also these businesses must make sure they comply with shipping laws and regulations. The law in the United Arab Emirates states that alcoholic beverages are only to be sold in licensed bars in hotels. Therefore I can only select for my drink to be sold in bars part of hotels. To start off with I have decided that I will sell my drink to bars in the UAE and then eventually with retaining my profit I will open up a bar in a hotel. As the majority of hotels in Dubai already have bars in them, I have come to the conclusion it will be best to plan to open the bar in a hotel not yet built yet. There are hotels opening up all over Dubai, and therefore I need to find the ideal location to place my bar. To do this in my questionnaire I asked where would be the ideal location for a new bar, the results are listed below. The majority of people stated that they would like to see a new bar open up in Jumeirah. Jumeirah is probably the most expensive part of Dubai, and there is a lot hotels there, this would mean if I was to place my bar their, I would have a lot of bars in direct competition with mine. This could prove to be quite costly as if some of the bars there are already very well established and to be able to take their regular customers would be very hard. A lot of people also expressed that they would like to see a new bar open on the Sheikh Zayed road, although I feel that this was a bad option to put as the Sheikh Zayed road is very big and goes through the whole of Dubai, therefore I cannot really tell where the customers wanted the bar on the Sheikh Zayed road. In turn I will discard this selection. A few people stated they would like to see the bar open at the airport. I feel that the airport would probably be the best option as there arent that many bars around there, so competition would be low, and also Dubai airport is one of the biggest airports in the world, and many people stop over in Dubai for a couple of hours before flying elsewhere. Hence it would be a good idea to open a bar near the airport as then these people who are seen to be in transit can spend their time in the bar instead of getting bored in the airport. This would definitely increase sales, also by targeting it towards tourists, when these tourists go back to their homes, if they liked the bar they will recommend it to their friends, so that when they come to Dubai, they can also visit it too. Jebel Ali was the least favored place for a potential bar to be opened, I feel this is because Jebel Ali is on the side of Dubai. Although Jebel Ali would be an ideal place to place the bar due there being virtually no other bars there, but I feel that not many expatriates live there, and therefore it will have largely Muslim population, who will not visit the bar. After analyzing the opinions the people who conducted the questionnaire and weighing up the advantages and disadvantages I have come to the conclusion that I will open my bar at the hotel. Apart from the factors already expressed for the airport another factor in aiding my decision was from an article in the newspaper. It states that a new type of hotel will be opened near the airport, and I feel that this new concept could revolutionize the hotel industry and could attract a lot of customers. I also feel that the modern look and will be the same touch that I want to add to my bar. The article is over leaf. In the long term as more and more people move to Dubai it is my belief that Jebel Ali will expand, therefore if eventually I am in a position to expand I would like to open a bar there. To create enough profit to be able to open the bar I must sell my drinks to bars in Dubai, but I have decided to do a deal with certain bars and only give a selection of bars the rights to be able to sell my drinks. This is because I want to make the drinks exclusive as this will create a certain excitement about the drink and will make people want to try it even more. It also allows me to create good links with bars that we will be competing with when my bar opens up, this will be good as that way we will be able to work with each other to generate the most amount of profits possible. To decide what bars to sell my drink at I asked in the questionnaire what bars and clubs people visited regularly, this was because I wanted to decide which bars to allow to sell my drink. The results are below The majority of people stated they visited Trilogy the most, Trilogy is a big club situated in the middle of Jumeirah, it is located as a prestigious hotel, and therefore the majority of its customers are tourists. By allowing that club to sell the drink, I can ensure our name gets known on the international front, so if we ever- expand to sell the drink world wide our name will already be out there. 4 people stated they visited Jimmy Dix often, Jimmy Dix is located in Bur Juman, which is a town that is expanding and a lot of investment is being spent on it, therefore I feel that Jimmy Dix as a bar will grow too, and could be become one of the biggest bars in Dubai. Therefore making strong link with the management of that bar at an early stage will be very worthwhile. Hard Rock is an internationally renowned bar that has opened up all over the world. It is very successful, and because of its high reputation guarantees a lot of customers. It is located near the marina and probably the biggest bar on that side of Dubai. Again by selling my drinks at that bar it allows for our name to get known on the international side. Left bank got 3 votes, Left Bank is a nice bar, although it mainly targets the older population. My questionnaire has shown that older people tend not to drink alco-pops and instead drink liquors. Hence I feel that this bar wouldnt be suitable to sell my drink at. Harvesters is part of the Crowne Plazza hotel, and therefore it gets a lot of customers both from visitors of the hotel and from people living in Dubai. It is in a very popular part of Jumeirah and it received three votes. I feel that it would be good bar to sell my drinks at. Scarlets is very close to Harvesters, and is a nice bar although didnt receive any votes as it isnt as popular as the others. I have decided against allowing them to sell my drink for two reasons one of which is that we are selling it at Harvesters which is in direct competition with Scarlets and also as it isnt that popular. All together I have decided that it will be sold at Trilogy, Jimmy Dix, Hard Rock and Harvesters. I have tried to chose bars in different locations of Dubai, and ones that are very successful. By having them spread out I can be sure that my drink is reaching various different markets who live in the different areas.

Aaron Copeland essays

Aaron Copeland essays An Abb, honorary canon of Albano, a sincere mystic and at the same time one of historys most publicized lovers, incredible showman, hypnotic virtuoso, astonishing amalgam of magician, zealot and philanthropist, Liszt is easily the most colorful personality in the history of music (Lieberson 256.) From his dazzling beginning in the musical circles of Vienna as a child prodigy of eleven years old, Ferenc (Franz) Liszt would establish himself as the leading piano virtuoso and one of the foremost progressive forces in music of his day. Franz Liszt was born in Raiding, Hungary (now part of Austria) about thirty miles from Vienna, Austria (Longyear 105.) His Father was steward to the family of Esterhazy and a good amateur musician; consequently, he was also Liszts first piano teacher. Young Liszts extraordinary abilities were recognized without delay and he was soon taken to Vienna to study piano under Czerny and composition under Salieri (the former teacher of Schubert, an acquaintance of Liszts.) His phenomenal aptitude for the piano at the age of eleven was greeted with a kiss from Beethoven, and praised endlessly by the musical circles of the day. In 1823, Liszt went to Paris, where he studied music theory and composition (Politoske 1.) The French immediately recognized him as a brilliant performer with an almost uncanny ability to improvise on the keyboard. He had once wanted to become a priest, but inspired by the success of Niccolo Paganini, he then worked to become as much a master of the piano as Paganin i was of the violin. Soon he became in touch and at home with Parisian culture, fully immersing himself in the society, literature, and art with friends such as writers Hugo, Lamartine, George Sand, Sainte-Beuve and painters like Delacroix. He also met the Countess Marie d'Agoult, the writer known as Daniel Stern, who was his mistress from 1835 until 1844 and the mother of his daugh...

B-cell Cancer and Different Stages of B-lymphocyte Development Essay

B-cell Cancer and Different Stages of B-lymphocyte Development - Essay Example At any point in the body, millions of B cells are circulating in the blood and lymph (the fluid and protein that has been squeezed out of the blood i.e. blood plasma) but are not producing antibodies. Once the B cell encounters its corresponding antigen and receives an additional signal from a helper T cell, it can further make a distinction into two types; plasma b-cells and memory b-cells. "In humans, the development of B cells in the bone marrow is initiated by the assembly of genes for the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of antibodies in B-cell progenitors, mediated by a process called V(D)J recombination. In this process, the DNA located between the rearranging gene elements is deleted from the chromosome (or sometimes inverted)." (NEJM -- Cellular Origin of Human B-Cell Lymphomas) The argument that is going to be presented in this essay revolves around the premise that each type of B-cell cancer reflects a different stage of B-lymphocyte development. It is therefore central to understanding of this essay that the relation between types of B-cell cancer and stages of B-lymphocyte be established. As discussed above, the B cell enters into differentiation and directly become one of the two types of cell. However, B-cells can also go through an intermediate differentiation step - the germinal centre reaction where the B cell will hyper mutate the variable region of the antibody and possibly class switch. How Cancer Begins In any type of cell, the genetic code can produce abnormal types and amounts of proteins if it gets damaged and altered. This leads to abnormal behaviour of the cell and it continue dividing and stays alive contrary to normal instructions to rest or die. The first cell to turn to abnormal growth control is known as the cell of origin. When it divides, the new cells inherit the same genetic behaviour of the cell of origin. Thus, the descendants are clones of this cell. This entails the beginning of cancer where cancer cells are growing with abnormal proportions and have growth and survival advantages over normal cells since they refute the normal genetic code. These cells may eventually form lumps called tumours. Lymphoma The cancer which affects the lymphocyte type of cells is known as lymphoma. The b-cell in particular originates and differentiates in the bone marrow and around 85% of the lymphomas are of b-cell origin. "New findings about lymphoma made in the past two years by Dr. Dalla-Favera's lab have shown that the cancers develop with a mechanism unique to B cells, but that they are also vulnerable to some new experimental drugs". Other forms of lymphocytes comprise of the t-cell, which originates in the bone marrow but differentiate in thymus gland. A third kind of lymphocyte is of natural killer cells which are specialized in killing foreign threats and alerting other immune systems of such possible threats. The different types of lymphoma are determined according to what type of lymphocyte has become cancerous, and the stage of development. "Lymphoma is not one cancer, but a name for a group of related cancers that arise when a Lymphocyte (a blood cell) becomes malignant.The normal function of lymphocytes is to defend the body against pathogens

Strategic analysis of a company and its competitive environment Essay - 4

Strategic analysis of a company and its competitive environment - Essay Example External Business Environment Analysis Macro Environment PESTLE analysis of UK can be used in order to understand the macro-environment of UK that is influencing the dimension of food retailing industry of UK. Political In recent years, UK government has decreased spending on retail industry in terms of cut in subsidy and putting addition fair price burden on food retailers. On the other hand, UK governments’ decision of reducing corporate tax to 22% has helped food and other retailers to save additional amount of money from operation (Verdict Research, 2013). Economic Consideration of research report of Nicholson (2011) and Verdict Research (2013) reveals the GDP growth of UK was less than 0.1% while unemployment rate was close to 8% in recent years and due to ongoing economic crisis, consumer spending on retail food items has also been decreased by close to 3%. From economic perspective, food retailers are facing inflationary pressure which is decreasing their scope to avoid rising price of food retail merchandises. Social According to Verdict Research (2013), UK customers are showing the demand for healthy and more nutritional food choices in recent years due to increased health awareness and change in life style. On the other hand, demand for online retailing has also been increased among youth and teenagers and working professionals. Therefore, food retail chains have the option to invest resources in developing online distribution channel in order to cater demand of young customer segments. Technology Nicholson (2011) reported that most of food retailers are banking on latest technologies such as RFID, electronic data exchange, ERP, Big Data analytics in order to not only speed up the value chain process but also understand customer purchasing behaviour. Environment UK government has already advised large scale retailers (including food, grocery, clothing etc) to reduce carbon emission by 20% in the value chain within 2015 and due to such regulator y pressure, food retailing companies are also adopting the concept of green supply chain model to reduce carbon emission in the value chain (Verdict Research, 2013). Legal In UK, European Union labour law are being followed food retailers in order to handle human resource and labour related issues while Food Safety Act, 1990 is being used in the country to ensure control of quality in offered food items (Food Law Practice Guidance, 2012). . Business Trend Consideration of the report of Nicholson (2011) reveals the fact that UK food and drink retailing segment has been under consistent pressure for last three years due to intertwined factors like the banking crisis which decreases access to funds for retailers, decrease in household food retail expenditure due to ongoing economic crisis, marginalization of consumer spending on food retail items, rise of unemployment rate in the country etc. Due to conjoint negative impact of the mentioned factors, growth of UK food retail segment has been slumped for last few years. Such downturn can be depicted in the following manner; Figure 1: UK Food Retailing Expenditure Growth Trend (Source: Verdict Research, 2013) It is evident from the above diagram that consumer spending on retail food items has been decreased or remained flat for last three years in UK. Verdict Research (2013) reported that volume growth for food & grocery retailing was only 0.1% in UK and

Right, Wrong and the Truth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Right, Wrong and the Truth - Essay Example It is easy to find a person who might even kill someone else just to be able to get his hands on some wealth. Bertrand Russell writes, â€Å"Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many questions as we could wish, has at least the power of asking questions which increase the interest of the world, and show the strangeness and wonder lying just below the surface even in the commonest things of daily life.† Ethics play a very important role in the life of any kind of a citizen; may he be a layman or a business man. In every part of life, every man has the choice of being where he is, choosing the decisions that he must take in order to make his own life better, and having the choice of stepping on other people’s dreams to do the same or not. In business for example, ethics play an important role when people decide to cheat or not to cheat by selling bad quality products to consumers. Again, the question of what is right and what is wrong arises over here because morally speaki ng, it is wrong to cheat people and have them pay a higher price for something that is not worthy of the same. According to historical norms, various customs that have been taking place since times immemorial still find their way within our modern lives. However, some of these customs are banned according to the legal system within countries because they are simply very immoral in nature. For example, in earlier times, discrimination and slavery played a very important role in the lives of the upper class; however today, it is against the law to be discriminating against any person on any basis including gender, caste, creed, race etc. Thus, this is a question of both ethics and morality because it helps to understand what may be closer to being right and what may be morally accepted by society at large without harming the maximum number of people involved in the process. In many cases, the truth is far from what may be right or wrong and not many people can do something to change t hat. For example, it might be wrong to practice female infanticide in parts of the world, however, the truth is that many tribes and families have been practising it for a long time in remote areas and will not stop because it has almost become custom like. In villages in India, it is tough for people to stop practising this heinous act because they are not aware of its implications and carry it out because it is a tradition for them to be able to give birth to a boy. Coming back to socio cultural dimensions around the world, again, the idea of understanding what may be right or wrong is almost funny. It is like explaining the theory of brightness and darkness to a blind person. For the blind man, the darkness in his world holds a different kind of colour altogether that a normal person will never be able to understand. At the same time, someone who is colour-blind sees the world in a different manner than a person who is able to differentiate between colours easily. Thus, it all bo ils down to a matter of perspective; today what may seem right to one group of people may be extremely wrong in the eyes of the other. The world is made up of different kinds of people who hold different thoughts and notion within their minds. It is very difficult to be able to change people’s minds and get them to believe in what a single person might be thinking.

Impact Of Dei Verbum In Roman Catholic Church Religion Essay

Impact Of Dei Verbum In Roman Catholic Church Religion Essay Throughout the history of Christianity, the church has convened a number of councils in order to clarify teachings, address problems, or enact reforms. In many instances, these councils have resulted in momentous turning point in the course of Christian church history. These councils also attempt to respond to the urgent needs of the emerging generation during this modern era. The general councils began in Nicaea in 325, convened at intervals throughout the first millennium and the medieval period, struggled with the age of reformations to the modern world, with a total of 21 councils convened in the span of more than 1600 years. Unlike other councils before the modern era, the opening of Vatican councils seemed to create new perspectives for the Roman Catholics especially in more specific areas on their beliefs and practices. Vatican II was reopened in 1962 by John XXIII which it stunned many by his actions. Shortly after ordination as the pope in 1949, John XXIII believed the church ought to look at the state of the world in order to meet the impending needs of the people. With that, preparation lasted for almost four years and the entire council stretched across four autumns until the 16 documents were completed. In the process, there are two majors camp of people, one who were called the conservatives disputing the fact that the church needed no change at all and the convening of Vatican II was not necessary. The church is self-sufficient and to avoid that happened during the Enlightenment period, the ideal way is to insulate itself behind a powerful structure that would claim to have all the answers. While others were keen to see a new millennium coming forth through Vatican II and Christians from other denominations such as the Lutherans, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Quake rs were cordially invited. This was a revolutionary move by the Pope John XXII. Although, John XXII did not manage to see through the council, his post-decessor Pope Paul VI continued this council and brought it to completion.  [2]   Among all the various key documents of Vatican II, Dei Verbum (DV) (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) could be considered one of most well received and a foundational component on Catholics thinking on revelation, exegesis and the use of the bible in the Roman Catholic Church. Hence, to what extent does the DV theological idea applied in the 21st century context? Therefore, it would be attempted to present the impact of DV in the current and local context.  [3]   Looking at the rear mirror of church history, there were tremendous issues surrounding the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) especially during the medieval period. Probably the first threat to the divine revelation came from Marcions denial of the Scripture and the nature of God appeared in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Shortly after this, the Gnostics came into the scene whereby they typically claimed to have secret revelations from Jesus, incorporated new systems of beliefs which are inconsistent with the Church. Consequently, the Catholics became more restrictive in the availability of the scripture to the people. RCC believed that God revealed Himself to the people through Jesus Christ. On the other hand, RCC viewed these divine revelations as being originally transmitted primarily by oral means (Sacred Tradition) and later by written means (Sacred Scripture). These Scared Tradition Scared Scripture were additional to the bible. With this emphasis, the bible is not con sidered to be the exhaustive, comprehensive teaching of the Christian Faith. Rather, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture together are considered the integral source of divine revelation, as explained in the new Catechism of the Catholic Church: Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out of the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own always, to the close of the age.  [4]   With this notion, RCC tend to weigh more heavily on the catechisms as compared to the bible. For this reason, translation and transmission of the bible was not placed on emphasis. Besides this reason, extensive manpower and efforts required to recopy the text. RCC was fearful that the bible could be stolen and abused by individuals. Hence, the reproduction of this decreased during the middle ages and people generally do not have access to the bible.  [5]  The bible basically played a subordinate role in the lives of the believers. Ecclesiastical authorities restricted people to access scriptures and normally reserved for certain level of bishops.  [6]   With the introduction in DV through Vatican II, Scared Tradition was stated as not being static and unchanging but constantly developing through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to a fuller and deeper understanding of the truth. This ongoing of development does not mean the truth but rather the grasping of the truth by the believers.  [7]  Thus, DV call the RCC to return to the main source which is the bible. Like most of the sixteen documents, Dei Verbum was carefully, even passionately considered, but in many ways the subject of Revelation was exceptional, being fundamental to Vatican II in several respects.  [8]  Joseph Ratzinger mentioned that it is important to note that only Scripture is defined in terms of what it is: it is stated that Scripture it the word of God consigned to writing. Tradition, however, is described only functionally, in terms of what it does: it hands on the word of God, but it is not the word of God  [9]   As such a new movement brought forth many renewed faith within the Catholics and their access to proper understanding of the Scriptures.  [10]  The Council then laid down new direction which promoted the reading and studying of biblical texts in a new way. The manner through which Catholics gained new access to the Scriptures was at least the five following ways. Firstly, the Catholics are able to hear the preaching of the word in the communitys vernacular. Before Vatican II, the priest celebrated Mass in Latin with his back facing the people, making the action of the Mass seem far away. It was easy for the faithful to fall into the role of spectators. Now the assembly is more actively engaged, helping us to experience all of us celebrating the Eucharist with the priest. Vatican II liturgy mentioned that the members should be full, conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations (#14).  [11]  This phenomenon occurred during the 4th century when St Jerome was com missioned by Pope Damasus I to translate to the Latin language and by 13th century, it became the commonly used translation in the Roman Empire.  [12]  With that, most of the masses were conducted in Latin where the indigenous languages were ignored in this situation. Consequently, the nominal people would have minimum understanding of the passage. By and large, the language Latin was not well received in most part of the community and shortly after, the language seemed to be lost. Also, since this is not their native language, the believers would find it difficult to understand and make sense of it. With DVs proposal of using indigenous languages, the believers were able to understand the message preached. According to the Catholic leader, he mentioned similar phenomenon in the RCC in Singapore and how this new dimension added life within the Church and more people are eager to hear the message.  [13]  It appeared that in the past, most people attended the mass because of a form of obligation and doze off during the proceeding. The many reasons given were that they do not understand the meaning of the message. With this new initiative, the preaching became more relevant at least the native language to the local context. Secondly, there was a change in the form of sermons from just a regurgitation of the bible to homiletical preaching: From a liturgical format to a homiletically manner. DV recognized that biblical exegetical plays an essential and positive role in the understanding of the bible. Moreover, it would add substance to the delivery of the message and allow the revelation to fill human hearts more and more  [14]  The efficacy of the word of God depends on the careful preparation and delivery of the message on the pulpit; this requires good training. Efforts were placed in making the sermon digestible and applicable. Therefore, the use of preaching has been increasing to bring a biblical message into the hearts of believers, but sadly, it is not yet universal. In the local context, there seemed to be more of such homiletical preaching occurring among the RCC.  [15]   Next is the liberty for personal bible study by the individual Catholic. This is something uncommon before the Vatican II as the bible is known as the authoritative and scared text, where only the bishops, the academics or scholars were able to read and make interpretations of it. The effects of releasing the Holy Scripture to all were seen from the Protestants movement whereby numerous interpretations arise within the short span of time.  [16]  Besides, it might appear that the bible is not scared enough that only the bishop has the access to it. Thus, the availability of the bible to Catholics became restricted due to the theological, social and also various heretical religious movements. Looking in retrospection, Vatican II created some impact in this area whereby Catholics are able to access to the bible in their native language allowing the Logos and Rehma word of God to be spoken during their devotional time. From a unidirectional reception to a bidirectional, believers are able to directly communion with God through the bible. The Church today encourages its members to make use of new methods of Scripture study and to cherish the Scriptures. Catholics are growing in their understanding of the Bible through the benefits of historical research, literary analysis and archaeological findings. Church documents wisely steer Catholics away from literal-minded approaches and from reading the Bible as if it were a science or history textbook. Since Vatican II, there is fairly widespread of the RCC participation in bible study groups, often advance by Ecclesial movements such as the Neo-catechumenate and the monastic tradition of  Lectio divina. It is sometimes ecumenical in nature whereby the study with Protestants or the Jews and they almost always find both enlightening and enriching. This action was illustrated in the DV 6 (no. 22) if these translations are produced in cooperation with the separated brethren as well, all Christians will be able to use them  [17]  that encouraged the RCC to make peace with the Protestant Bible Societies and work with them. Although there have been a longstanding hostility, full collaboration between the Catholic Biblical Federation and the United Bible Societies was soon established, bringing a notable increase in production of vernacular versions all over the world.  [18]   Similar collaboration has developed with publishers of daily bible reading aids such as the Bible Reading Fellowship, though in this country, at least, nothing seems to check a lamentable decline in general knowledge of the Bible.  [19]   As such, bible study became a central activity of the reformer groups which sprang up especially among the poor. More often than not, it was their daily reading of the bible that brought light into their own situation which was the main cradle of liberation theology.  [20]  In the local context, similar trends were observed in Singapore as well where such practices mushroomed. Many RCCs instituted bible study within the congregations on a regular basis where the believers examine the scripture. Such phenomenon was not evident before Vatican II. With this, Catholics became more familiar with the bible and equipped to defend their faith.  [21]   Finally, the last trajectory, posed a more complex issue to be addressed. It is the formal and scholarly pursuit of biblical study in the academy. Although the goal of academic study is to enable the deepening understanding of the Scripture, the methodologies employed might be deliberately bracketed faith. Since, most Catholic biblical scholar adopted certain methodologies from the Protestants colleagues, they might realized some incompatibility of the certain traditions practiced in the Catholic Church to deviate from the original intention of the Scripture. However, such rigorous academic study facilitated the understanding of the bible from a more holistic manner (theological, cultural, social and context). Consequently, some Catholics started to realize that certain doctrines seemed to be inconsistent with the Holy Scripture and some abandoned certain practices in the Catholic faith. Conversely, some others turned away from the Catholic faith and embraced the Protestant beliefs.à ‚  [22]  Also, many lay leaders are able to learn the bible from a theological angle, able to defend their faith. In Singapore, there are many such theological training evolving within the different Roman Catholic Churches and programme were developed to educate and trained lay ministers.  [23]  Growing numbers of lay women and men are attending theology schools, leading and/or joining Bible study groups and reading an array of solid articles or books on the subject. Priests and religious are no longer the only Scripture experts. Therefore, it is evident in RCC that such changes are happening now and hopefully will be ongoing. Since Vatican II, many speculations about the impact were raised, and it seemed there is an effect of change in the RCC circle as being more biblical, and personal faith; returning back to the original intent of God. Although, many of us were too young to think of Vatican II except as history, this phenomenon caused an effect in the universal church especially in the Catholic circle. According to the RCC in Singapore, many of the believers started getting more involved and serious in studying the bible. In this sense, it also means that wave from Vatican II remain active in both the academic and among the people of the RCC. Although some changes were seen in the RCC, it is heartbreaking to see the overwhelming cases of sex abuse scandals within the RCC, which caused a stir among congregations. Questions were raised regarding the credibility of these priests and the role of the scripture in their lives and casted doubts on the transformation in the RCC due to Vatican II. In conclusion , with the inception of Vatican II, there has been a vast enrichment of the lectionary for Mass and the readings for daily prayer of the Church and made a tremendous impact in the RCC. Hopefully this will continue to fulfill its original intention by Pope Paul XXIII when he convened the pastoral council.

Cosmogony :: essays research papers fc

Cosmogony Works Cited Brandon, S.G.F. Dictionary of Comparative Religion. New York: Charles Scribner’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sons, 1970. â€Å"Cosmogony.† World Book Encyclopedia. 1990 ed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Different religions view the idea of how the world was created, or cosmogony, in different ways. China holds many cosmogonies, but they all revolve around the same ideas. Egypt’s cosmogony was motivated by the desire that their God created all other gods. The views of people define the cosmogony in Greece, mostly of Homer. Cosmogony in the Hebrew religion is defined in the first two chapters of Genesis(Brandon 208). Japanese cosmogonic mythology has its beginnings of myths that one can trace way back. Some views of the different religions remain the same, but most views differ from each other.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chinese philosophical interest was centered on human affairs. Egypt was motivated to show that divine fiat conceives cosmic creation (Brandon 208). The Greek philosophy concerned itself with considering origin and constitution of the universe. Some cosmological ideas in the Hebrew religion represent the creation of the universe by divine fiat (Brandon 208). Divine fiat is defined when God said ‘Let there be light’; and there was light (qtd. in â€Å"Cosmogony†). Pentateuch and Yahwist deal with the creation and the fall of Adam. Shinto produced another cosmogony that presents a division in the universe. The upper world consisted of gods and everlasting bliss. The middle world included man on the surface of the earth. The lower world of darkness, known as Yomi, which possesses evil spirits that live under rule of earth-mother (Brandon 210).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Huai-Nantzu, in China, the universe of space and time arose before Heaven and Earth took shape. The earliest Egyptian cosmogony presented Atum as the creator and Heliopolis as the place. The Greeks believed Hesiod also explains evolution of mankind as a series of Five Ages. Yahwist, in the Hebrew religion accounts on the creation of the world by an editor who fused Pentateuch and Yahwist into continuous writings of divine creation. The Japanese believed the world of forms to be formed from emanations proceeding from the Dhyani-Buddha (â€Å"Cosmogony†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Han Dynasty founded the first fully developed cosmogonies for China. This naturalistic cosmogony taught that the origin of the all things lay in the Great Ultimate. The Great Ultimate produced two forces of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang combined to form four emblems, which then produced the Eight Trigrams. The Eight Tigrams resulted in all the phenomena of the world (Brandon 207).

Should the military age enlistment be raised to 21?

In a high school in Texas, there's a table set up in the corner of the lunch room. Two clean cut men sit behind it, chatting casually about something unimportant. They're trying to get high school students to join the military. But in this particular high school, the students aren't allowed to drink soda or leave the cafeteria for lunch; because they're not capable of making healthy meal choices. So the question here is should the military age enlistment be raised to 21? There are so many speculations about why not should the age be raised. one can be that we would have a much smaller military or a lot of teens who join the military for the benefit for college cannot will afford to go. But the fact is that an 18 year old kid is too immature for many reasons. Recently released studies indicate that our decision making capabilities are not fully developed until we reach our early 20s. That data would indicate that not only would the average teenager be unable to make a wise decision in life but also mean that will be unable to make quality decisions while in the service. Also another hypothesis its, why in to many states, young people under the age of 21 are considered to be too immature to drink alcohol or to vote in this country, but the government can put a deadly weapon into their hands to make a life or death decision. in order to these there are not well educated to make a well informed decision. I’m not saying that something miraculous occurs by the time they turn 21, but that will give them a little more experience to make the right choice. In considering this subject, two phrases come to my mind: Young and dumb and older but wiser. Those two key phrases say a lot about maturity and the human mind. So my conclusion is, the government accepts that an 18 year old is too immature to use alcohol responsibly, to leave school grounds, or to pick a college course without some guidance. But if our culture is willing to accept those as truth, we must also accept that an 18 year old is not mature enough to make a measured decision to go to war-and certainly an 18 year old is not mature enough to engage in that war with a full understanding of what that means.

What to Do If Youre Bored in College

What to Do If You're Bored in College When you thought of what college would be like, you probably didnt think about it being boring. Despite all the activity that takes place on a college campus, there can be times when things do get a wee bit slow. So what can you do to help pass the time? 1. Walk to a New Part of Campus If you need something to do, one of the best ways to find something exciting is to step outside and see whats going on. Put on a pair of comfy shoes, grab your phone, and head outside to explore a part of campus youve never visited before. You just might stumble across a few friends playing rugby, a cool new part of campus where you can study, or an art exhibit that piques your interest. 2. Head to the Gym Dont feel like working out? Hitting the gym might be just the pick-me-up you need to get some energy, refocus your priorities, and pass some time. Plus, youll get exercise and the health benefits to boot. 3. Join or Start a Pick-up Game If things are a little slow on campus, chances are you arent the only one looking for something to do. Head to the gym, see who else is hanging out, and start a pick-up game. Youll burn calories, meet some new people, get some exercise, and pass the time- while possibly earning bragging rights. 4. Read Something for Fun It may sound crazy given how much reading you do in college anyway, but think about it: When was the last time you read a gossip magazine just for fun? Or caught up on the latest news about your favorite sports team?  Head to the bookstore or a local supermarket and, for a few bucks, treat yourself to some fun, easy reading that doesnt require you to take notes. 5. Do Homework in a New Location Consider this, would you rather work on your homework when youre bored or when there are tons of fun, exciting things going on that you dont want to miss? Finding a new study location can also help make doing your homework feel less tedious. A new environment can do wonders for your focus, outlook, and productivity. 6. Hang out in Your Residence Hall Lobby Your residence hall common area might seem like a place that you just pass through on the way to and from your room every day. If you time it right, you can head down, enjoy the extra space, perhaps watch a game on the TV, and meet some new people or hang out with ones you already know. It can be a nice way to do something new in a place that already feels familiar. 7. Watch a Game in Person If youre bored on campus, see if theres a game scheduled. Choose a sport you havent seen in person before. Watching rugby, soccer, softball, lacrosse, or water polo can be a great way to spend an afternoon. 8. Watch a Game on TV or the Internet So, things on campus are a little slow and boring. Grab some friends, head to the dining hall, pick up some snacks and drinks, and watch the game on TV or on the computer in your room. It might not be as exciting as watching the game in person, but it can be a great way to pass the time- especially if the weather outside is far from ideal. 9. Go to an Event Youve Never Attended   The chances of absolutely  nothing  happening on your campus at any given point in time are pretty slim. The problem might be, however, that the things that are going on just arent on your radar. Challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and attend an event that youve never gone to before. 10. Go to a Cultural Event off Campus Cant find anything to do on campus? Check out the local entertainment listings of whats happening  off  campus. A  poetry slam, art fair, music festival, or some  other event can be just what you need to turn a boring day into a memorable one and get familiar with your new city at the same time. 11. Go to a Museum off Campus Youre in college because you enjoy learning new things and living an intellectual life. Take that smarty-pants brain of yours and go learn something new at a museum exhibit in town. Viewing something new and exciting from a certain time period, artist, photographer, or sculptor can be a great learning experience. If youre lucky, you can even use what you learned as bonus points in an upcoming class assignment. 12. Call and Catch up With a High School Friend Things can get so busy in college that it can be difficult to  keep in touch with your high school or hometown friends. When was the last time you had a nice, long phone call with a friend you knew before you left for college? If you have some free time and are a little bored, use the break to your advantage and catch up with an old friend. 13. Hang out in the Campus Coffee Shop The campus coffee shop offers far more than just your favorite kind of coffee. It can be a good place to get some work done, surf the Internet, people watch, or otherwise just hang out. And if youre bored, it can be a great place to get a change of scenery without spending  too much money. 14. Grab Some Friends and Head to a Movie off Campus   If you use your  student discount, you can catch a new movie, have some social time, get off campus, and mentally check out  from the stress of college life  for a few hours- all at a discounted price. 15. Grab Some Friends and Watch a Movie Online   If the weather is bad but you need something to do, grab some friends and stream a movie in someones room. Even if its a horrible movie, you and your friends will have something to laugh about. 16. Do Something Creative   For students lucky enough to have a creative streak, the time to relax and make something just for fun is rare. Turn a boring afternoon into one of those moments when you can let your creativity flow without having to worry about your upcoming assignment. 17. Crank up the Music and Organize Your Life Use a free (read: boring) afternoon to do all the things you dont want to  do  but actually need to get  done. Do your laundry,  clean up  your room, organize your paperwork, make sure your  calendar/time management system  is up to date, and generally get your  to-do list  done. Cranking up the music (or watching a movie) can help make the tasks go faster. The way youll feel when everything is done will be well worth it.

Book Comparison-Ultra-Marine and My Papas Waltz

Book Comparison-Ultra-Marine and My Papas Waltz Similar Themes, Different StylesIn Raymond Carver's "Ultra-Marine", the reader witnesses his despair and depression on his outlook of life. He is lonely and somewhat angry about the things happening in his life. He sees no hope for the future and all his memories are that of sadness, pain and unrealized dreams. Carver's use of metaphors conveys his outlook of life. In "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, the poet is able to convey the idea of child abuse through the imagery that he uses in his poems. In his poem he portrays the relationship between the father and son. Although the father shows his love violently, the son is there when the father needs him. Even though Carver and Roethke have different styles, they are able to convey the same themes of loneliness, desperateness and anger."My Papa's Waltz" has different interpretations, though looking closely at each stanza one is able to see the parental abuse hidden under the poet's words.Raymond Carver

International Business today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Business today - Essay Example Employers and even senior management staff have lost their jobs. There is less credit available in the market today and many businesses are suffering. The world is experiencing a serious economic recession (Petrov, 2008). The origin of the crisis is complex. Several forces have interacted and resulted in this situation. While the exact causes of the economic crisis may be debatable, most economic experts such as Jeffrey Stoffer are of the opinion that the most significant cause is the collapse of housing bubble in the United States. What happened is that the prices of the houses were far above the expected returns on the houses at the time of purchase .The problem has spread from the United States of America to the rest of the world. This is an opinion that has come to be accepted by most players in the world economy (Pinyo, 2008). In the United States, there was high investment in real estate. Many individuals in the United States bought homes. Banks encouraged individuals to buy homes. Some of these people could not afford homes so mortgages were offered even to those who were likely to default from payment. Those who already owned homes saw the value of their homes rise and rise. They tapped into the equity and purchased many consumer goods. Mortgage system was uprooted from commercial banks and transplanted into investment houses. Shares of the investment banks sold to investor in the stock market. Investors, both domestic and international, made money off the interest paid by the original borrowers. Banks encouraged more and more people to buy homes and credit credentials were not properly scrutinized. Some banks even gave out loans to those who could not afford to acquire these assets. The individuals who bought homes used them as collateral to acquire further credit. Since the houses were overpriced, stock prices became higher and higher. This increase in prices led to further investment as investor confidence grew. Financial models projected stability in the future and the real estate business was booming. This however was not to last very long. The interest rates charged on the mortgages increased. As the interested rates mortgages shifted upwards, most of the mortgagees could not afford to pay, they therefore defaulted. This was to mark the beginning of the serious problems to come. Banks were not able to foresee what was to come and did not change. Even though many individuals defaulted from payment, many banks continued to bundle mortgages which were eventually sold to investors. The banks simply took back the homes and put them in the market to be resold to other individuals. Financial statements from banks indicated that they were doing well and stocks continued to sore. Housing prices jumped and increased rapidly and steadily. With time some borrowers lost their jobs and an increasing number defaulted from payment. As a consequence housing prices went down and many the bank loans became bad. The banks therefore sought to get rid of the loans by dumping them on the market. Fortunately or unfortunately the stockholders found out about the bad loans

Database Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Database Security - Research Paper Example The DBMSs provide an interface that that enables users to interact with the database itself, other applications for capturing and analyzing data (Oppel, 2004). Database security is concerned with aspects aimed at protecting the contents of the database, users and owners. The protection ranges from system protection against software and hardware malfunction to intentional and unauthorized use of the database and unintentional access by entities not authorized. Databases may be exposed to threats in the form of loss of integrity, confidentiality, authenticity and availability. Most large databases face security challenges related to survivability, intellectual property rights and data quality. According to a report by the American firm Verizon, databases are at the core of any organization as they store confidential data and customer records, yet they are the most breached business assets (Kroenke & Auer, 2007). Data must be available at every necessary time, and it must only be available to appropriately authorized users (Elmasri & Navathe, 2010). It is also of critical importance to track users who access data and the data they access. Data authenticity ensures that data is edited by authorized sources and confirms that users accessing it are actually who they claim to be. Authenticity also verifies that outbound data is being delivered to the expected recipient. Through data integrity, external data is verified as having the correct format and the necessary metadata. Data integrity is also concerned with the accuracy and verifiability of input data as well as ensuring that data follows the correct rules of workflow for the organization (Kroenke & Auer, 2007). All changes to data and their authors must be reported as a compliance requirement for data integrity. Through data confidentiality, it is ensured that only correctly authorized users have access to confidential data. This ensures t hat the entire database is