The City of Baghdad Essay Example

The City of Baghdad Essay Example The City of Baghdad Essay The City of Baghdad Essay Essay Topic: City Lights Great Britain would have a mandate over the government set by the United Nations. This would end in 1932. All British power would officially be gone in 1958 when a military coup would overthrow the monarchy that Great Britain help set up. For the next ten years Baghdad would not have a stable government. Many military coups would take over the government. In 1968 the Baa oath gained power over the government. They would bring a relative stability as oil prices around the world would increase, bringing in a lot of revenue to the city. This would help increase its rate of development. For the ext eight years Iraq would go to war with Iran. Iraqs government would suffer severely from the Persian Gulf War. It would become unstable because of many of the sanctions set by the United Nations. This would also lead to many social and structural problems. Bigheads culture would change over the year as well. Its location would help contribute it to being one of the most cultural places in the past. Some of the reasons for this was its connection to trade routes, its closeness of water, the land, and the good weather. Its connection to the trade routes would attract many types of goods from all over the world. Some places that would trade with Baghdad was China, India, and parts of East Africa. Soon many more people would start to come and settle in the city. Schools would be set up as a result of the amount of people coming and making homes in the city. During this time it was estimated that one and a half million people were located in Baghdad alone. It was believed that because it was the capital of Baghdad alone, many people were attracted to the city. Writers, poets, artists, and scholars would come to Baghdad and settle down or to visit. One of the most famous books in history, The Thousand and One Nights, was set in Baghdad. Many foreign books would be translated into Arabic because of the caliph during this time period. This would result in many bookshops to be set up. It would become a from one that mainly Just spoke, to one with an actual written language. Bigheads location would also contribute to its paper production, allowing to to produce more books at a faster rate. More people would be educated to read from these books, and the citizens of Baghdad would start to follow a secular movement. They would request for more books to read for pleasure and entertainment. Because many scholars would be located in Baghdad, it would become one of the biggest educational centers during its time, being referred to the center of the world. As a result of all of these factors, Baghdad would become one of the biggest cities in the world, not Just because of its expansion, but its population as well. However, the city would undergo a lot of turmoil. As stated before, many different civilizations would take over Baghdad, weakening its population and the society. In 1907 it was reported that the population of the city was only at 185,000 people. This was obviously a major decrease from its previous one and a half million. After the Ottoman rule, the British loud have control over the city. The British citizens power would only be lesser than the governor. After officially gaining independence in 1932, the citizens would overthrow the British installed monarch in 1958, officially removing all British power. Bigheads Western population would start to decline at this point, being limited to businessmen and important diplomats. The population of the city would start to grow again. However, after the Persian Gulf War many problems would arise. The United Nations set trade sanctions limiting the oil Iraq could export. This would heavily educe the amount of money coming into Iraq, which would affect Baghdad in a very negative way. The city could not support its medical, educational, and even its sanitation systems. This would lead high rates of disease and illiteracy. As United States influence would increase, the citizens would start to detest them. They would start to rebel, but the violence would go down in 2007. All U. S. Influence would be gone by 2011. The neighborhoods in Baghdad today share many characteristics with cities. The neighborhoods themselves have schools, hospitals, and shops as well. There are also mosques in these neighborhoods. Doctors and lawyers usually focus their studies in neighborhoods such as these. The population now is estimated to be around 7. 2 million people. Many structural aspects of Baghdad have changed because of wars and other events. At the beginning of its time, Baghdad was referred to as the round city. It had circular walls surrounding the city, giving reason for its nickname. Its location near water was one of the main reasons for its location. However, because the city was so small when it was first established, Baghdad started to expand in size. Many districts would start to be built around the city. The city would continue to expand as its population grew. When the Mongols sacked Baghdad, they basically destroyed their irrigation systems. It would be very hard to restore. After centuries of political turmoil, the Ottoman ruler Amidst Pasha would affect the architecture of Baghdad. He destroyed the city walls originally set up by the first caliph of Baghdad. This would allow the expansion of the urban society. He established many things to help the city flourish for a short period of time. Some of the things he did was set up a water apply system, pave streets, set up street lights, and many other things. Many years later Baghdad would be bombed during the Persian Gulf War, ruining large parts of the United Nations. The city would not have enough money to restore its infrastructure, even though parts of it would be fixed in the late sass. After the Iraq War, one of the main goals of the United States was to restore the citys infrastructure. Parts of the infrastructure is still being rebuilt today. All of the events in Bigheads history factored in to the citys problems and strengths today. Baghdad would have been a completely different city today without hem. Its contributions to the world were very significant, and the center of knowledge of culture was unmatched during its time.

Languages of Spain Other Than Spanish

Languages of Spain Other Than Spanish If you think that Spanish or Castilian is the language of Spain, youre only partly right. True, Spanish is the national language and the only language you can use if you want to be understood almost everywhere. But Spain also has three other officially recognized languages, and language use continues to be a hot political issue in parts of the country. In fact, about a fourth of the countrys residents use a tongue other than Spanish as their first language. Here is a brief look at them: Euskara (Basque) Euskara is easily the most unusual language of Spain - and an unusual language for Europe as well, since it doesnt fit in the Indo-European family of languages that includes Spanish as well as French, English and the other Romance and Germanic languages. Euskara is the language spoken by the Basque people, an ethnic group in Spain and France that has its own identity as well as separatist sentiments on both sides of the Franco-Spanish border. (Euskara has no legal recognition in France, where far fewer people speak it.) About 600,000 speak Euskara, sometimes known as Basque, as a first language. What makes Euskara linguistically interesting is that it has not been shown conclusively to be related to any other language. Some of its characteristics include three classes of quantity (single, plural and indefinite), numerous declinations, positional nouns, regular spelling, a relative lack of irregular verbs, no gender, and pluri-personal verbs (verbs that vary according to the sex of the person being spoken to). The fact that Euskara is an ergative language (a linguistic term involving cases of nouns and their relations to verbs) has caused some linguists to think that Euskara may have come from the Caucasus region, although the relationship with languages of that area hasnt been demonstrated. In any case, it is likely that Euskara, or least the language it developed from, has been in the area for thousands of years, and at one time it was spoken in a much larger region. The most common English word that comes from Euskara is silhouette, the French spelling of a Basque surname. The rare English word bilbo, a type of sword, is the Euskara word for Bilbao, a city on the western edge of Basque Country. And chaparral came to English by way of Spanish, which modified the Euskara word txapar, a thicket. The most common Spanish word that came from Euskara is izquierda, left. Euskara uses the Roman alphabet, including most letters that other European languages use, and the à ±. Most of the letters are pronounced roughly like they would be in Spanish. Catalan Catalan is spoken not only in Spain, but also in parts of Andorra (where it is the national language), France, and Sardinia in Italy. Barcelona is the largest city where Catalan is spoken. In written form, Catalan looks something like a cross between Spanish and French, although it is a major language in its own right and  may be more similar to Italian than it is to Spanish. Its alphabet is similar to that of English, although it also includes a Ç. Vowels can take both grave and acute accents (as in and , respectively). Conjugation is similar to Spanishs. About 4 million people use Catalan as a first language, with about that many also speaking it as a second language. The role of the the Catalan language has been a key issue in the Catalonian independence movement. In a series of plebiscites, Catalonians have generally supported independence from Spain, although in many cases opponents of independence boycotted the elections and the Spanish government has contested the legality of the votes. Galician Galician has strong similarities to Portuguese, especially in vocabulary and syntax. It developed along with Portuguese until the 14th century, when a split developed, largely for political reasons. For the native Galician speaker, Portuguese is about 85 percent intelligible. About 4 million people speak Galician, 3 million of them in Spain, the rest in Portugal with a few communities in Latin America. Miscellaneous Languages Scattered throughout Spain are a variety of smaller ethnic groups with their own languages, most of them Latin derivatives. Among them are Aragonese, Asturian, Calà ³, Valencian (usually considered a dialect of Catalan), Extremaduran, Gascon, and Occitan. Sample Vocabularies Euskara: kaixo (hello), eskerrik asko (thank you), bai (yes), ez (no), etxe (house), esnea (milk), bat (one), jatetxea (restaurant). Catalan: sà ­ (yes), si us plau (please), quà ¨ tal? (how are you?), cantar (to sing), cotxe (car), lhome (the man), llengua or llengo (language), mitjanit (midnight). Galician: polo (chicken), dà ­a (day), ovo (egg), amar (love), si (yes), nom (no), ola (hello), amigo/amiga (friend), cuarto de baà ±o or baà ±o (bathroom), comida (food).

International Investment Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Investment Report - Research Paper Example China is the largest country among the four emerging economies of the world and other three countries include Brazil, Russia, and India. It is the fastest growing economy among all these four countries. Data for 2011shows growth rate of China has outpaced peers with sharp contrast in GDP, merchandise export and GDP average growth rate as shown in the image below: China is expected to maintain the growth momentum and outpacing its peers even G7 countries over years in future for many reasons with increase in middle class being among the leading ones. Rising middle class refers to increase in income bracket of large number of people. This trend has a constant positive growth projection to year 2050 as shown in the image below; hence, it can be predicted that there would be increasing opportunities of investment in China. To mention, the world’s largest coffee shop Starbuck has also planned to expand in the more 70 smaller cities of the country (Bloomberg, 2012). This report anal yzes China as an investment opportunity for a coffee house and for this purpose; the report will analyze the macroeconomic factors that could influence the business in the country. The report discusses about the economic, financial, political factors along with historical events that could impact the business and its geographic location that could influence the business in the country. At the end, the report analyzes the overall risks that businesses could face while starting a business in China. (Global Sherpa, 2011) (Global Sherpa, 2011) ECONOMIC STRUCTURE, INDICATORS AND RISK ... This slowdown has been controlled by the targeted stimulus. For instance, construction of 36 million social housing units, support for SMEs in Wenzhou, bonuses cut down in the automotive sector, and subsidies on purchase of household electrical appliances etc. All these factors have supported the economic situation despite having troubles with export (Coface, 2010). FINANCIAL STRUCTURE, INDICATORS AND RISK Financial factors other important influence the businesses. Risk rating for the country is as follows: (Coface, 2010) However, access to finance for SME is difficult as banks are reluctant due to string of defaults as the main risk. Also overall strict policies have been imposed on banks for credit giving to avoid misallocation of resources etc (Coface, 2010). The overall financial figures are positive as investment in the country has increased, poverty level has decreased etc. The coffee shop market is expected to grow by 55 percent and it would reach to 4.5 billion Yuan ($714 mil lion) in 2015 from 2.9 billion Yuan last year in 2011. To share this benefit, global coffee competitors such as Starbucks of US and Luigi Lavazza Spa, an Italian coffee company have entered and planned expansion in major and minor cities of China (Bloomberg, 2012). POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND RISK China has been mainly a socialist country. However, the country has accepted the capitalism mode of economy but socialism is still what it breathes. The political risk refers to intervention of country’s government in the business affairs of the foreign person or a company that is doing business in the country. China is usually accounted for this political risk and its government has already once considered the nationalization of industries in 1949 (China Risk Management, n.d.).

Globalization and International Relations Essay

Globalization and International Relations - Essay Example However, since globalization, the global economic environment has undergone tremendous changes. According to Devetak and Hughes (2008, p. 34), globalization connects nations through a global network, and it assists a nation to get access to foreign markets and customers. Since the nations got ranges of benefits from globalization, governments adopted a liberal approach towards international trade. As Slaughter & Swagel (1997) point out, the removal of trade barriers promote import and export activities by which a government acquires foreign investments (IMF). In order to take advantages of liberal international trade laws, a number of corporate global giants spread their business across the globe; this practice greatly promoted international relations. For instance, Starbucks Coffee Company transplanted its business operation from the United States to China. The improving unemployment rates in third world countries can also be clearly referred to the fruitful effect of the globalizat ion. The global interconnectedness helped these nations to attract more and more investors to complete their capital accumulation process successfully. In addition, multinational companies started their production activities in developing and underdeveloped countries and this practice created ranges of employment opportunities in those countries. Globalization has also intensified the immigration processes. Even though the ultimate cause of immigration is not globalization, this concept has considerably increased the number of immigrants (‘Migration and globalization’). Before the 21st century, traveling from one’s home country to a foreign destination was expensive and time consuming. In addition, inter-communication between countries was... This essay approves that the productive elements of globalization contributed to the development of a new technological era that restructured the living standards and business concepts of the modern world. The increased application of technology in productive activities also augmented the volume of production. It was necessary to employ more and more workers in order to efficiently operate machineries and other technical systems. This situation also created wide ranges of job opportunities for skilled individuals. Similarly, even technologically underdeveloped nations got access to improved technologies as a result of globalization and this situation in turn improved international cooperation. The explosive growth of information technology (IT) is one of the major outcomes of globalization and industrial revolution. Globalization has also intensified the immigration processes. Even though the ultimate cause of immigration is not globalization, this concept has considerably increased the number of immigrants. This report makes a conclusion that globalization has greatly added value to international relations as this concept facilitates international trade transactions. Increase in export and import trade encourages nations to function cooperatively. The globalization also amplified immigration by which nations could resolve their staffing shortage issues. Moreover, developments in IT sector have greatly restructured the ways nations communicate today.

Medical Marijuana Legalization Essay Example for Free

Medical Marijuana Legalization Essay Are there medicinal benefits of marijuana? Could there really be more to the cannabis plant than â€Å"getting high? † Yes, the cannabis (scientific name for â€Å"marijuana†) plant does in fact have medical uses, and there is much more to this extraordinary plant than consuming it to experience its psychoactive effects. However, most Americans are unaware of the present day medicinal applications of cannabis. From migraines to multiple sclerosis, cannabis can help. The cannabis plant is grown naturally and contains no added chemicals, making it ideal. In modern medicine, the cannabis plant has many medical uses. Cannabis was legal to consume in the United States up until 1937, when the â€Å"marihuana tax act of 1937† made possession or transfer of cannabis illegal throughout the United States under federal law, excluding medical and industrial uses. The American Medical Association was not in favor of this legislation. Before this law was passed, marijuana was legal and quite popular in the United States. Martin Booth explains in his book Cannabis: A History, that In the 1880’s â€Å"hashish† parlors were very popular in America and it was estimated that their were around five hundred of these parlors in New York at the time. From 1850-1942 cannabis was listed in the U. S Pharmacopoeia as a useful medicine for nausea, rheumatism, and labor pains; it was also easily obtained at the local general store or pharmacy. More than 20 prescription medicines containing marijuana were sold in U. S. pharmacies at the turn of the 20th century, and marijuana-based medications were commonly available until cannabis was taken out of the U. S. Pharmacopeia in 1942. Then in 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug. According to this act a schedule I drug means three things: the drug has high potential for abuse, the drug has no currently accepted medical use in the U. S, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. Other schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, peyote, MDMA (ecstasy), and mescaline. The once medicinally valued cannabis plant is now classified with drugs in which have completely different and much more harmful effects. Marijuana cannot be classified with the other schedule I narcotics because it can be beneficial to many people with a number of different diseases or health problems. Marijuana can cure migraines, Doctors in California report they have cured over 300,000 cases of migraines with medical marijuana (medicalinsurance. org marijuana-health-facts). The American Association for Cancer Research has found that marijuana actually works to slow down tumor growth in the lungs, breasts, and brain considerably. Studies also suggest that use of medical marijuana helps lower intraocular pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients (glaucoma. org /treatment/should-you-be-smoking-marijuana-to-treat-your-glaucoma-1. php). Marijuana is also a muscle relaxer that has antispasmodic qualities that have proven to be a very effective treatment for seizures (nimh. nih. gov). Marijuana works to stop the neurological effects and muscle spasms that come from multiple sclerosis by protecting nerves from the damage caused by the fatal disease (multiple-sclerosis. emedtv. com). Marijuana is so beneficial that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actually used part of the plant. The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short. The FDA isolated a single molecule cannabinoid pharmaceutical; it was called Marinol and was used for treatment of nausea and vomiting in cancer chemotherapy patients who did not respond to conventional antiemetic treatments, according to the article Medicinal use of cannabis in the United States: Historical perspectives, current trends, and future directions. From the same article the doctors talk about another medication with similar effects of marijuana, except this one is a synthetic molecule shaped similarly to THC. ) It’s called Nabilone and has been approved since 1985 for use with nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients. As of 2011 there are currently sixteen states and Washington D. C. that support medical marijuana. The sixteen states include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Our federal government on the other hand, does not agree with these state laws and continues to prosecute medical marijuana users because it remains illegal under federal law. The medicinal uses of the cannabis plant have been around since our country was founded, yet in present time, marijuana â€Å"presents no known medicinal value†. The founding father of our nation George Washington, said, â€Å"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere! It has been used in America since our country was founded, but as of now our country cannot come to terms of agreement regarding the cannabis plant. Marijuana can be used to treat or relieve symptoms of many diseases and discomforts, but for now its still illegal and preventing many Americans from getting their medicine. Marijuana has many uses but our federal government cannot see that or chooses not to believe it, regardless, it is still a very applicable medicine. Medical marijuana is used in other countries includin g our neighbor up north, Canada. So, why is it still illegal in America? If marijuana were to be legalized in the United States for medical purposes, our country would greatly benefit. Marijuana is one the purest most natural substances known to many yet it is referred to as a â€Å"drug†, however over fifty percent of Americans think that medical marijuana should be legalized. Sometime in the near future our country will recognize all the medical benefits of this magnificent plant, but until then it is still a federal crime to use and possess.

Arkansas: A Different State Essay -- American History Essays

Arkansas: A Different State For many people the very mention of the word â€Å"Arkansas† conjures up images that are unflattering and certainly not very complimentary. To suggest that Arkansas is â€Å"a different state† is to guarantee almost immediate agreement from any given audience, but such agreement is usually about the negative aspects of the state instead of the ones making for actual difference. Those negative aspects extend back to the early days of the territory. When Cephas Washburn was on his way to Arkansas in 1819 to serve as a missionary to the Cherokees, he stopped at the present site of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to obtain specific directions to the territory, only to be told that â€Å"the way to get there was wnknown.†1 Other remarks pertaining to Arkansas are even less positive; it was stated that â€Å"Arkansas is not part of the world for which Jesus Christ died,†2 and as late as 1989 one writer was still able to describe Arkansas as â€Å"the least known of the fifty states.†3 One of the most famous publications that helped to give Arkansas a negative image was Thomas W. Jackson’s On A Slow Train Through Arkansas. Published in 1903, this book contained many descriptions about life in the state, including a pitiful account about a traveler who â€Å"stopped at a place where there was one doctor, two shoe makers, and a blacksmith. The doctor killed a man. They didn’t want to be without a doctor, so they hung one of the shoe makers.†4 Jackson’s book helped to convince many readers that people in Arkansas wore no shoes.5 Of the well known national writers to comment about Arkansas, surely H.L. Mencken of the Baltimore Sun was most memorable. In August, 1921, his acid-tipped pen described the state of Arkansas as â€Å"track... ...kansas,† Arkansas Historical Quarterly, XXXVIII (Spring 1979), 63. 7 Ibid., 68. 8 Harry S. Ashmore, Arkansas: A Bicentennial History (New York: W.W. Norton, 1978), xvii. 9 Daniel Pool, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist — the Facts of Daily Life in 19th Century England (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 75. 10 Imogene Wolcott, ed., The New England Yankee Cook Book (New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1939), 161. 11 Ibid., xiii. 12 Williams, et al., 9. 13 Francis Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (New York: The New Library of American Literature, 1963), 223. 14 Ibid., 228-229. 15 Ibid., 333. 16 Helen McCully and Eleanor Noderer, eds., The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating and Drinking, II (n.p.: American Heritage Publishing, 1964), 537.

Consumer Behavior Research Project

| |Consumer Behavior Research Project 2011 | | |[pic] | |6-12-2011 |Engaging in environmental responsibility increases the profitability of a company. | | | | Consumer Behavior Research Project 2011 Engaging in environmental responsibility increases the profitability of a company. INTRODUCTION More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of taking care of our environment. Almost everybody has heard about environmental problems (likely) caused by human consumption. In order to stop the constant decline in natural resources and the excessive demand of consumers, things need to change. Business has to change their philosophies into a focus on not harming human and ecosystems (Hofstra, 2011). But in our ‘free market economy’ companies need to be able to make a profit or at least break-even from a change, before they will embrace it. That is why this research papers answers the question: Can a company increase their profitability by engaging in environmental responsibility? To answer this question, the following problem statement was formulated: Engaging in environmental responsibility increases the profitability of a company. Two sub questions need to be answered first: 1. Do consumers want eco-friendly products? 2. Do customers act upon their environmental believes? 3. Is there empirical evidence of increased profits by engaging in environmental responsibility? The first two sub questions are questions that must be answered positively for the hypothesis to hold. Without consumers willing to purchase products from environmentally responsible companies, there is no way that companies can make extra profit from engaging in environmental responsibility. Although a positive answer on the first two questions is a condition for the hypothesis to hold, it is still no conclusive evidence that engaging in environmental responsibility will increase profits. For conclusive evidence empirical proof is needed, which will be provided in the third sub question. The expectation is that engaging in environmental responsibility will increase the profitability of a company. Methodology of the research The first two sub-questions will be answered by examining the results of the provided questionnaire (among 24 respondents by e-mail). Several statistical tests will be used to determine the significance of outcomes and the relationship between several variables. In order to research the third sub-question of the research project, to test whether firms make more profits when they engage in an environmental responsibility, a literature study will be provided to review studies that look at the market value of firms. Due to the limited amount of time and resources for this research project, the use of existing science and literature is required to give a useful insight into the problem statement. These sources will provide an overview of the profitability of firms that are engaged in environmental responsibility. Theoretical background Our research considers 2 backgrounds. First, to research consumers, that is, the demand for environmentally responsible produced products, the assumption is made that consumers are aware of the impact consuming has on the environment. Recent years, media has reported frequently about environmental changes induced by mass consumptions and its corresponding mass production. Furthermore, more products use labels to signify they are produced in an eco-friendly manner. Also companies actively try to build their ‘green’ image with marketing. Therefore this research assumes that people are aware of harming the environment by consuming. For the supply side of our research, the standard economic theory (SET) is used. One of the aspects of this theory states that firms are profit-maximizing. Firms will only involve in certain activities such as environmentally responsible producing, when it pay-offs in terms of profits. When it does not improve a firm’s profit, it will abandon it. According to SET, when this research shows that environmentally responsible producing results in larger profits, firms will adopt it. Research findings Do consumers prefer environmentally responsible produced products? Are consumers aware of environmental problems? The first four questions of the survey correspond with this question. But before the data from the survey can be used for analysis, an internal consistency reliability analysis is necessary. Such an analysis will tell us whether or not the data is useful and reliable. Reliability is important, because in the absence of reliability it is impossible to have any validity associated with the scores of a scale. Conducting and interpreting the internal consistency reliability analysis can be done through Cronbach's alpha. The following questions in the survey correspond with whether or not the respondent thinks the environment is important: -Q1: An increasing amount of consumers recognizes the relevance of taking care about â€Å"mother earth† considering the design, production and disposing of the purchased products. Do you agree or disagree? -Q2: What is your opinion about the statement? â€Å"Caring about the flora (vegetation) is important† -Q3: What is your opinion about the statement? â€Å"Caring about the fauna (animals) is important† Q7A: Do you consider yourself as a person who is striving to be a more ‘eco-friendly’ consumer? Higher values of Cronbach’s alpha are more desirable. As a rule of thumb a lot of professionals require a reliability of 0. 70 or higher before using an instrument (See Appendix, Figure 1). Using SPSS an alpha value of 0. 878 is obtained, which is considered very high (See Appendix, Figure 2). This means the test results are internally consistent and reliable. The data needs to be normally distributed to use a parametric test; otherwise we will have to use the non-parametric test. Both the Kolmogorov-Smirnov as the Shapiro-Wilk test of normality, tells us the data (Q1,2,3,7A) is not normally distributed (See Appendix, Figure 3). A good non-parametric test is the ‘one sample chi square test’. To use this test the data needs to be simplified to agree and disagree. Running the chi square test on the first three questions, results in a significant positive outcome for all three questions (See Appendix, Figure 4). Looking at the percentages of people that responded positively, it’s very clear in general a significant majority of people care about the environment (Q1: 75%, Q2: 95,8% Q3: 87,5%). Also 95. 8% of the respondents indicated that they are aware of environmental problems caused by human consumption. (See Appendix, Figure 5) When asking respondent’s why they think taking care of the environment is important, a common answer is ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Biodiversity’. In short: The vast majority of people is aware of environmental problems and thinks taking care of the environment is important because of ‘sustainability’ and ‘biodiversity’. Are consumers convinced buying products from environmentally responsible companies will offer a solution for environmental problems? Questions 6A and 6B are both questions indicating that the consumer believes buying products from environmentally responsible companies will have benefits for the environment, if answered positively. A ‘one sample chi square test’ on both of these questions tell us that a significant majority answered these questions positively (See Appendix, Figure 6). This means that consumers think that companies need to pay attention to the environmental impact of their activities. The industry and the shop chains have to change their methods of production and selling of the products. By looking at the way people answered the questions, one can say that consumers almost demand companies to be environmentally responsible. Not only do they want companies to meet the legal requirements (with regard to the environment), but they want companies to really examine and optimize their production process in order to minimize the use of energy, pollution and waste. From our research it is very clear that consumers are aware of environmental problems and want to do something about it. They also believe that the environment will benefit from companies that produce and sell products in an environmentally responsible manner. This is why they are not only willing to buy products from environmentally responsible companies, but are almost demanding companies to be environmentally responsible. Do consumers act upon their environmental believes? In the previous question, we have found that consumers prefer environmentally responsible produced products. However this does not necessarily have to mean that consumers act upon this. First of all we have to know if consumers belief that they (the consumers) are responsible for making a chance and buy eco-friendly products. This is what Q6C asked our respondents. The result of the ‘one sample chi square test’ is that a significant majority of the respondents think that consumers are responsible to make a change in purchasing ‘eco-friendly’ products (See Appendix, Figure 6). So now we know that not only do people believe companies should produce in an environmental responsible manner, but that they also believe consumers are responsible to buy the products of those companies. As it is common knowledge that people don’t always do what they think others should do, let’s take this research a step further and take a look at how the individuals themselves behave. Question 7A answers this perfectly, by asking: â€Å"Do you consider yourself as a person who is striving to be a more ‘eco-friendly’ consumer? † This time a ‘one sample chi square test’ tells us nothing, because there is no significant majority of people who agree or disagree. The ‘one sample chi square test’ is therefore not of use this time. A ‘Related-Samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test’ is useful in this case; this test measures the differences between the answers on question 6C and 7A and then tests if the media between them equals zero (not significant). The result of this test is a rejection of the null hypothesis (H = 0 ? Median of differences between Q6C and Q7A equals zero. ). A closer look at the results tells us that people don’t do what they think others should do (See Appendix, Figure 7). This result is very interesting, and in laymen’s terms means that a majority of the people claims that ‘consumers are responsible to make a change in purchasing ‘eco-friendly’ products’ but do not ‘consider themself as a person who is striving to be a more ‘eco-friendly’ consumer’. To make matters worse the same test between Q6A and Q7B also leads to a rejection of the null hypothesis (See Appendix, Figure 8). Meaning that a majority of the people think consumers are responsible to purchase ‘eco-friendly’ products, but not purchase them themselves or talk about environmental issues with friends. What do these findings mean for the answer on the question if people act upon their environmental believes? Even though our results are not directly in favor of a positive answer on this question, we can make some nuances. Because when looking at the descriptive statistics and frequencies we can obtain that still 37. 5% of the consumers strives to be a more ‘eco-friendly’ consumer (vs. 29,2% not & 33,3% don’t know). (See Appendix, Figure 9). In short, not all consumers how see the importance of ‘eco-friendly’ products, act upon this. Sometimes they do not act upon it, even if they believe consumers are responsible for making chances and buying eco-friendly products. But there are still a lot of people who do act upon it and strive to be more ‘eco-friendly’ consumers. Now we have a positive answer on the first two sub-questions, the conditions for the hypotheses to hold are met. There is demand for products from environmentally responsible companies. However, this is still no conclusive evidence that engaging in environmental responsibility will increase profits. For that, some empirical proof is needed. Is there empirical evidence of increased profits by engaging in environmental responsibility? In order to give a reliable conclusion about the third question of our problem statement, Is there empirical evidence of increased profits by engaging in environmental responsibility? , already existing literature was used. But before something meaningful can be said about increased profits, the term environmental responsibility(ER) and also increased profits itself need to be defined. In the literature studied, the ISO14000 standard was used to signify ER. The use of this standard, or certificate, is to[1] . Recognize and manage the environmental impact of a firm’s activities, products and services. 2. Give the firm support to constantly improve their impact on the environment. 3. Give a firm the methods to set environmental goals and methods how to achieve these goals. Among these methods to reach these environmental goals are management sys tems that take into account the environment and also the use of product labels. Beside the certificate for ER, increased profits also needs to be defined. This can be done by looking at the market value of a firm. The market value of a firm represents the book value plus expected future earnings[2]. The book value consists of all assets on the balance sheet of the firm[3]. An increase in the market value of a firm will show that a firm has become more worth, because its assets have increased in value, for example its current assets has risen. Another possible increase in market value is by a change in expected future profits. For instance, the disclosure of forecasted profits by the board of the firm can increase market value. What does the empirical evidence reveals about environmental responsible firms? The study that was used compares the market value of 156 Egyptian firms over 3 years, between 2003 and 2005. Of the examined firms, 84 of them did have an ISO14000 certificate; the other 72 firms did not have a certificate. Next, the research looks at the contribution of such an ISO14000 certificate, the dependent variable, to the market value, the independent variable. Being environmental responsible as a firm, has a positive and significant impact on the market value[4]. Thereby, the research concludes that the firms, who do have the ISO14000 certificate, have increased their market value. In other words, the research found that applying ER to your firm is positively reflected in your market value and, on average, does not lower your market value. 5] Discusion Survey The first obvious shortcoming of the survey is the low number of respondents (24). With such a low number of respondents, statistical test are not very reliable. Most of the respondents fell into the same age group, meaning that the survey is not a good representation of the population. Also a lot of respondents were irritate d by the large amount of open questions, which could lead to rushed answers. Literature Study Now we have seen that the practice of ER is profitable, we will look at the shortcomings of this research and its results. The first downside of the research, from a company's perspective, is the fact that we do not know by how much ER is profitable. Indeed, the goal of the firm is to maximize shareholders value as much as possible, mainly in order to attract new and reward current shareholders. However, we do not know to what extent engaging in ER is more (or less) beneficial in comparison to firms that do not produce with the environment in mind. Firms will only engage massively in ER when it will maximize shareholders value more than when they do not apply ER to their firm. This research does not provide conclusive results on this topic. Another downside of the research is that it only focuses on Egyptian firms. A study that takes firms of other countries into consideration will provide a better conclusion. Although Egypt has a free market economy, a research conducted in the West with positive results regarding to profits due to engaging in ER, will inspire Western firms more than the same outcomes in Egypt. Furthermore, the small period the research evaluates, 3 years, is subject to market fluctuations. It could be that the general stock market, where the market value of a firm is based upon, improved during these examined 3 years. On to other hand, the environmental business is changing constantly. A research that examines a period longer than 3 years needs to account for increased legislation regarding waste and pollution, which would increase the difficulty of the research. Lastly, we also face the limitation of why firm profits increase by involving in ER. Having concluded that engaging in ER is profitable is step 1, why engaging in ER is profitable, is the next step. Is it because firms that practice ER are selling more? Do these firms sell more because they can sell their products for a lower price? Or do they sell more because customers or businesses who purchase these products or services perceive more value because these creations are produced responsibly? Or do profit increase because firms have smaller expenses to produce the same amount of products or services? Are those lower expenses the result of economies of scope or economies of scale? All those questions are beyond the scope of this research should be answered with future research. Conclusions This research tried to answer the question whether or not engaging in environmental responsibility can increase the profits of a company. After finding that consumers really prefer environmentally responsible produced products in the first sub-question, the second sub-question asked if they also act upon this. The answer was somewhat interesting because a lot of respondents believed the consumer is responsible for eco-friendly consuming, but at the same time didn’t strive to be ‘eco-friendly’ consumers themselves. Nevertheless a lot of consumers do strive to be ‘eco-friendly’ customer. It is beyond the scope of the research to look at the reasons don’t do what they want other to do, but is interesting for further research. After concluding there is a demand for environmentally responsible produced products, the research continued by looking at empirical proof for supply these environmentally responsible produced products. Knowing those consumers are willing to buy, there is possibility for firms to supply these environmentally responsible produced products. However, firms will only produce and provide these products when this is more profitable than their current supply. In order to determine whether it actually pays off for a firm to provide environmentally responsible produced products, a literature study looked at this. The literature study provided empirical proof that firms engaging in environmental responsibility have an increase in profit or market value. This conclusion is somewhat positive because there is a positive relation between producing environmentally responsible produced products and the market value of a firm. However, the literature study did not give insight into whether applying environmental responsibility to a firm outperforms firms that do not practice environmental responsibility. This leaves room for future research to examine to what extent engaging in environmental responsibility is beneficial for a firm’s profits. References Books Frank, Robert H. 2008. Microeconomics and Behavior. Europe: McGraw-Hill Education. Blackwell, Roger D. , Miniard, Paul W. , Engel, James F. 2006. Consumer behavior. Mason: Thomson/South-Western. Papers Wahba, H. 2008. â€Å"Does the market value corporate environmental responsibility? An empirical examination,† Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 15: 89–99. Appendix Figure 1 |Cronbach's alpha |Internal consistency | |? ? . |Excellent | |. 9 ; ? ? . 8 |Good | |. 8 ; ? ? . 7 |Acceptable | |. 7 ; ? ? . 6 |Questionable | |. ; ? ? . 5 |Poor | |. 5 ; ? |Unacceptable | Figure 2 |Reliability Statistics | |Cronbach's Alpha |Cronbach's Alpha Based|N of Items | | |on Standardized Items | | |. 878 |. 889 |4 | Figure 3 Tests of Normality | | |Kolmogorov-Smirnova |Shapiro-Wilk | | | Figure 4 |Test Statistics | | |Q1 |Q2 |Q3 | |Chi-Square |10. 714a |20. 167b |18. 182c | |df |1 |1 |1 | |Asymp. Sig. |. 001 |. 000 |. 000 | | | Figure 5 Q1 | | |Frequency |Percent |Valid Percent |Cumulative Percent | |Valid | | |Frequency |Percent |Valid Percent |Cumulative Percent | |Valid | | |Frequency |Percent |Valid Percent |Cumulative Percent | |Valid | | |Frequency |Percent |Valid Percent |Cumulative Percent | |Valid | | |Q6A |Q6C | |Chi-Square |14,727a |11,842b | |df |1 |1 | |Asymp. Sig. |,000 |,001 | | | Figure 7 [pic] Figure 8 [pic] Figure 9 [pic] ———————– [1] http://www. iso. org/iso/iso_14000_essentials [2] http://www. investopedia. com/terms/m/marketvalue. asp#axzz1fUqMwWqQ [3] [pic]()*+,-. 78S†¹ Z? oaIA oA†? n[AH

The Giver Totalitarian Society

Issues facing parties and the United States after World War II included the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. Republicans attracted conservatives and white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their resistance to New Deal and Great Society liberalism and the Republicans' use of the Southern strategy. African Americans, who traditionally supported the Republican Party, began supporting Democrats following the ascent of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights movement.The Democratic Party's main base of support shifted to the Northeast, marking a dramatic reversal of history. Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency in 1992, governing as a New Democrat. The Democratic Party lost control of Congress in the election of 1994 to the Republican Party. Re-elected in 1996, Clinton was the first Democratic President since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected to two terms. Following twelve years of Republican rule, the Democratic Party regained ma jority control of both the House and the Senate in the 2006 elections.Some of the party's key issues in the early 21st century in their last national platform have included the methods of how to combat terrorism, homeland security, expanding access to health care, labor rights, environmentalism, and the preservation of liberal government programs. [10] In the 2010 elections, the Democratic Party lost control of the House, but kept a small majority in the Senate (reduced from the 111th Congress). It also lost its majority in state legislatures and state governorships.The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other influential opponents of the Federalists in 1792. That party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, with the election of Andrew Jackson. Since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, it has gradually positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic and social issues.Until the period following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—which was championed by a Democratic president but faced lower Democratic than Republican support in Congress—the Democratic Party was primarily a coalition of two parties divided by region. Southern Democrats were typically given high conservative ratings by the American Conservative Union while northern Democrats were typically given very liberal ratings. Southern Democrats were a core bloc of the bipartisan conservative coalition which lasted through the Reagan-era.The economically activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932, and served to tie the two regional factions of the party together until the late 1960s. In fact, Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the nationa l government until the 1970s. [11] Based on a series of polls conducted in 2010, Gallup found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 29% as Republicans, and 38% as Independents. 12] A similar series of polls conducted in 2011 found the percentage of Democrats to be the same at 31%, while a two percentile-point rise in the number of Independents, to an all-time high of 40%, appeared to stem from an equal drop in the number of those Americans identifying themselves as Republicans from the previous poll, to 27%. [13] A Pew Research Center survey of registered voters released August 2010 stated that 47% identified as Democrats or leaned towards the party; the same poll found that 43% of registered voters identified as Republicans or leaned towards the Republican party. [14]

Free Essays on Floriance Kelly

During the progressive Era, Florence Kelley was an important person because of all of the contribution’s that she has made trying to improve child labor for women. There were many reasons for Florence Kelley becoming interested in reform and socialism, one of the people who influenced her was Friendrich Engels. Kelley knew of the conditions that needed to ch changed in her time. Those conditions that needed to be changed influenced her passion for reform and pushed her to work harder. Organizing a child labor committee and setting a form of minimum wages for workers were only a couple of the many things that Kelley did to contribute to reform. Karl Max also being one of her many influences was only part of how Florence Kelley became interested in Socialism and reform. The first time Kelley was introduced to social reform she was attending Miss Longreth’s School. Kelley became frustrated by the obstacles that her own society put against women’s participation in public life. At the University of Zurich there she joined a community of people who embraced the teaching of socialism. She became aware of these ideas and they helped her to inform the people of the abuse to poor working people and of their working conditions. These were many of the among reasons she became interested in reform. Of the conditions that were right in front of her she knew things needed to be changed. She was then hired to the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics to investigate sweat-shops and their systems. Florence Kelley knew that the working conditions were dangerous and people were getting harmed. During this time Kelley wanted to help the children in the working industries of the time. The children were being worked for very long hours and very little pay. They also worked in harsh and dangerous conditions. One of Kelley’s main concerns was the unequal treatment in society toward women. Florence Kelley made many contributions during her time as... Free Essays on Floriance Kelly Free Essays on Floriance Kelly During the progressive Era, Florence Kelley was an important person because of all of the contribution’s that she has made trying to improve child labor for women. There were many reasons for Florence Kelley becoming interested in reform and socialism, one of the people who influenced her was Friendrich Engels. Kelley knew of the conditions that needed to ch changed in her time. Those conditions that needed to be changed influenced her passion for reform and pushed her to work harder. Organizing a child labor committee and setting a form of minimum wages for workers were only a couple of the many things that Kelley did to contribute to reform. Karl Max also being one of her many influences was only part of how Florence Kelley became interested in Socialism and reform. The first time Kelley was introduced to social reform she was attending Miss Longreth’s School. Kelley became frustrated by the obstacles that her own society put against women’s participation in public life. At the University of Zurich there she joined a community of people who embraced the teaching of socialism. She became aware of these ideas and they helped her to inform the people of the abuse to poor working people and of their working conditions. These were many of the among reasons she became interested in reform. Of the conditions that were right in front of her she knew things needed to be changed. She was then hired to the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics to investigate sweat-shops and their systems. Florence Kelley knew that the working conditions were dangerous and people were getting harmed. During this time Kelley wanted to help the children in the working industries of the time. The children were being worked for very long hours and very little pay. They also worked in harsh and dangerous conditions. One of Kelley’s main concerns was the unequal treatment in society toward women. Florence Kelley made many contributions during her time as...

Semiotics Definition and Examples

Semiotics Definition and Examples Semiotics is the theory and study of signs and symbols, especially as elements of language or other systems of communication. Common examples of semiotics include traffic signs, emojis, and emoticons used in electronic communication, and logos and brands used by international corporations to sell us things- brand loyalty, they call it. Semiotics Takeaways Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, in particular as they communicate things spoken and unspoken.Common signs that are understood globally include traffic signs, emojis, and corporate logos.Written and spoken language is full of semiotics in the form of intertextuality, puns, metaphors, and references to cultural commonalities. Signs are all around us. Consider a set of paired faucets in a bathroom or kitchen. The left side is almost certainly the hot water tap, the right is the cold. Many years ago, all taps had letters designating the temperature of the water- in English, H for hot and C for cold; in Spanish, C for hot (caliente) and F for cold (frio). Modern taps often have no letter designations or are included in one tap, but even with a single tap, the semiotic content of faucets still tells us to tilt or turn left for hot water and right for cold. The information about how to avoid being burned is a sign. Practice and History A person who studies or practices semiotics is a semiotician.  Many terms and concepts used by contemporary semioticians were introduced by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913). Saussure defined a  sign as any motion, gesture, image, pattern, or event that conveys meaning. He defined langue as the structure or grammar of a language and parole as the choices made by the speaker to communicate that information. Semiotics is a key study into the evolution of human consciousness. English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) tied the advancement of intelligence to three steps: understanding the nature of things, understanding what to do to achieve whatever you wish to achieve, and the ability to communicate these things to another. Language began with signs. In Lockes terminology, signs are dyadic- that is, a sign is tied to a specific meaning. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) said that signs work only if there is an intelligence capable of learning from experience. Peirces conception of semiotics was triadic: sign, meaning, and interpreter. Modern semioticians look at the entire network of signs and symbols around us that mean different things in different contexts, even signs or symbols that are sounds. Think of what an ambulance siren communicates when you are driving: Someone is endangered and we are in a hurry to help. Pull over to the side of the road and let us drive by. Textual Signs Intertextuality is a type of subtle communication in that what we write or say often is recollecting something shared between us. For example, if you mimic James Earl Jones deep baritone saying Luke, you can transmit a raft of Star Wars images and sounds and meanings. Knowing the semiotics you are, Grasshopper, is a reference both to Master Yoda and to Master Po in the 1970s Kung Fu television series. In fact, you could argue that Yoda was a semiotic reference to Master Po. Metaphors can act as meaningful stand-ins to people who are familiar with the culture: He was a rock to me in my hour of need and That coffee is hotter than Hades are intertextual references to the Judeo-Christian Bible, and theyre so common that it doesnt matter whether youve read the Bible. Metonyms can, too: The Smoke is a metonym for London, a reference to its once-prevalent smog, which still means London even if the smog is less prevalent. Writing William Shakespeares and Lewis Carrolls writings are full of puns and cultural references, some of which, sadly, are no longer meaningful to modern speakers. The master of intertextuality was the Irish writer James Joyce, whose books such as Ulysses are so dense with snippets of different and invented languages and cultural references that the modern reader needs hypertexts- live weblinks- to get them all: Stephen closed his eyes to hear his boots crush crackling wrack and shells. You are walking through it howsomever. I am, a stride at a time. A very short space of time through very short times of space. Five, six: the nacheinander. Exactly: and that is the ineluctable modality of the audible. A hypertext supports semiotic understanding. We know what a hypertext means: Here youll find a definition of this term or this phrase. Nonverbal Communication Many ways that we communicate with one another are nonverbal. A shrug, a roll of the eyes, a wave of the hand, these and thousands of other subtle and unsubtle body language memes communicate information to another person. Vocalics is a type of nonverbal communication embedded into speech: the pitch, tone, rate, volume, and timbre of spoken language communicate  additional information about the underlying meaning of a group of words. Personal space is also a form of semiotics that is specific to a culture. A person approaching too close to you in Western culture might seem a hostile incursion, but in other cultures personal space dimensions are different. Simply touching someone can calm an angry or sad person, or enrage or offend them, depending on the context. Sources Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics: The Basics.Klarer,  Mario. An Introduction to Literary Studies.Lewis,  Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. Craig, Robert T. Communication Theory as a Field  in Theorizing Communication: Readings Across Traditions.

A Proposal for the City of New York, the Avant-Garde, and Current Art Essay

A Proposal for the City of New York, the Avant-Garde, and Current Art Practices - Essay Example Wodiczko himself seems particularly tied to the revolutionary Situationist International, often referencing them in regards to his work. The Situationists incorporated Marxist ideology and combined the sense of political ideology and art. It originated in the late 1950s as a critique of capitalism. With regard to its social and artistic avant-garde structure, it harkens back to what Poggioli sees in The Theory of the Avant-Garde as the beginning of the avant-garde. Poggioli identifies the artistic origins in 1870s France as, â€Å"†¦the connections between the political left and the literary left were sufficiently clearly defined and important to a generation that experienced â€Å"L'Annà ©e Terrible,†Ã¢â‚¬  L'Annà ©e Terrible being a series of poems by Victor Hugo that fused contemporary French political concerns regarding the Franco-Prussian War with literary avant-gardism. Indeed, many writers have identified the early connections between artistic and intellectual movements and the desire to institute progressive social reforms. Linda Nochlin quotes art critic Thà ©ophile Thorà ©, who wrote in 1855, â€Å"Art changes only through strong convictions, convictions strong enough to change society at the same time.† In the early 19th century Henri de Saint-Simon suggested that to change modern society it would be only necessary to organize intellectuals and artists and join then with engineers and inventors.