Cola Wars †The Carbonated Soft Drink Industry Essay

Threat of New Entry The existing players in the soft drink industry have much advantage relative to new entrants. First, supply-side economy discourages new entrants by forcing them to enter the market in large scale. CSD’s demand side benefits of scale also makes it difficult for new entrants to be accepted by the public. In 2002, a survey found that 37% of respondents chose a CSD because it is their favorite brand, while only 10% said so about bottled water. This demonstrates CSD customers’ high brand loyalty and their lack of desire to buy from new entrants. In terms of capital requirement, concentrate manufacturers only requires $25~$50 million to set up a plant that can serve the entire United States of America. Yet, new entrants may have difficulties competing with major players’ well-established brands and their large scale unrecoverable (therefore, hard to finance) spending on advertising. There is also unequal access to bottlers and retail channels for newcomers. Most bottlers are in long-term contracts with major CSD brands; also, the largest distribution channel, supermarkets, consider CSD a â€Å"big traffic draw†, thus provide little to no shelf space for newcomers. In addition, strong fear of retaliation from major players also makes newcomers hesitate to enter. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Required inputs for CSD are mostly raw materials such as caramel coloring, phosphoric or citric acid, natural flavors, caffeine, and fructose. Almost all suppliers of the CSD industry provide undifferentiated commodities and thus have little bargaining power and almost no strength to integrate forward. Bargaining Power of Buyers End consumers and retail channels can both be considered as buyers in the CSD industry. End consumers are likely to have brand loyalty to their CSD as analyzed in threat of new entry. Thus, consumers are expected to continue purchasing a brand unless there is a significant price increase or substantial change in flavor. Consequently, end consumers have little bargaining power. Retail channels, on the other hand, have more bargaining leverage since they buy CSDs in much larger quantities than end consumers. Yet, for retail channels such as supermarkets (making up almost one third of all retail volume), CSDs are considered a â€Å"big traffic draw†, thus reducing its bargaining power. In addition, fountain outlets (making up another 23.4% of retail channel) also have insignificant bargaining power since they rely on CSD companies’ heavy investment in dispensers, cups, point-of-sale advertising, and many other types of equipment. Threat of Substitutes CSDs are unique in terms of taste and properties. When a consumer craves CSD, it is difficult to find a replacement that can equally satisfy his or her desire. Even after CSD was identified as the â€Å"largest source of obesity-causing sugars in the American diet† in 2005, CSDs still â€Å"accounted for 73.1% of U.S. non-alcoholic refreshment beverage volume (down from 80.8% in 2000)† at around the same time. It is true that consumers are moving towards alternatives that have more natural flavors such as several tea-based drinks and bottled water; yet, CSD firms have quickly adapted to this shift and largely dominated the market of these alternatives. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Even though rivalry among existing competitors – Coke, Pepsi, and Cadbury Schweppes seem intense, the profitability has not been weakened. This is largely because of the high concentration of competition and their focus on promotion, advertising, and other forms of branding instead of waging large-scale price wars. In a way, the success of Coke and Pepsi required the heavy competition on these dimensions. â€Å"Without Coke, Pepsi would have a tough time being an original and lively competitor. The more successful they (Coke) are, the sharper we (Pepsi) have to be.† says Roger Enrico, former CEO of Pepsi. The CSD industry profitability lies within the Cola War itself that forces major players to improve continuously. Through Porter’s five forces analysis, it becomes clear that CSD is so profitable because of the way its industry competition is shaped: high entry barriers due to newcomers’ unfavorable supply-side economies of scale, demand-side benefits of scale, and unrecoverable advertising spending; low bargaining power of suppliers and buyers since CSD requires mainly homogeneous commodities, buyers have high brand loyalty, and retailers rely heavily on CSD firms’ investments; well handled threat of substitutes; and healthy internal rivalry that is vital to continuous improvement.

Cybercrime Law Essay

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is the first law in the Philippines which specifically criminalizes computer crime, which prior to the passage of the law had no strong legal precedent in Philippine jurisprudence. While laws such as the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792 regulated certain computer-related activities, these laws did not provide a legal basis for criminalizing crimes committed on a computer in general: for example, Onel de Guzman, the computer programmer charged with purportedly writing the ILOVEYOU computer worm, was ultimately not prosecuted by Philippine authorities due to a lack of legal basis for him to be charged under existing Philippine laws at the time of his arrest. The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines approved on 12 September 2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.The Act, divided into 31 sections split across eight chapters, criminalizes several types of offenses, including illegal access (hacking), data interference, device misuse, cybersquatting, computer-related offenses such as computer fraud, content-related offenses such as cybersex and spam, and other offenses. The law also reaffirms existing laws against child pornography, an offense under Republic Act No. 9779 (the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009), and libel, an offense under Section 355 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, also criminalizing them when committed using a computer system. Finally, the Act provides for a â€Å"catch-all† clause, wherein all offenses currently punishable under the Revised Penal Code are likewise punishable under the Act when committed using a computer, with corresponding stricter penalties than if the crimes were punishable under the Revised Penal Code alone. The Act has universal jurisdiction: its provisions apply to all Filipino nationals regardless of the place of commission. Jurisdiction also lies when a punishable act is either committed within the Philippines, whether the erring device is wholly or partly situated in the Philippines, or whether damage was done to any natural or juridical person who at the time of commission was within the Philippines. Regional Trial Courts shall have jurisdiction over cases involving violations of the Act. A takedown clause is included in the Act, empowering the Department of Justice to restrict and/or demand the removal of content found to be contrary to the provisions of the Act, without the need for a court order. This provision, originally not included in earlier iterations of the Act as it was being deliberated through Congress, was inserted during Senate deliberations on May 31, 2012.[6] Complementary to the takedown clause is a clause mandating the retention of data on computer servers for si x months after the date of transaction, which may be extended for another six months should law enforcement authorities request it. The Act also mandates the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to organize a cybercrime unit, staffed by special investigators whose responsibility will be to exclusively handle cases pertaining to violations of the Act, under the supervision of the Department of Justice. The unit is empowered to, among others, collect real-time traffic data from Internet service providers with due cause, require the disclosure of computer data within 72 hours after receipt of a court warrant from a service provider, and conduct searches and seizures of computer data and equipment. It also mandates the establishment of special â€Å"cybercrime courts† which will handle cases involving cybercrime offenses (offenses enumerated in Section 4(a) of the Act)

Beauty is not so easily measured

While love is something that can be sensed as being palatable and felt directly within one’s self, beauty is not so easily measured—an aesthetic that is judged by each person according to his or her own likes or dislikes. Kawabata Yasunari’s classic short stories â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† and â€Å"Immorality† both look at love and beauty and how they are measured, each in a poetic and colorful way.â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† is a 1929 short story, or â€Å"palm of the hand story,† as Yasunari called them (Ljukkonen, online), about a film writer and his relationship to beauty via his movie that is being filmed, and via his relationship with his wife and children.   It is a story about beauty and this man’s relationship to beauty, and the psychological relationship he has to the idea of beauty and what is behind the idea of beauty.Yasunari wrote â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† as a first-person account from the film writer’s standpoint.   The man is on location for a film he has written about patients in a mental hospital, and is in the process of discovering a final scene for his film.   He finds it one morning while â€Å"gazing out on the Kamo River,† (Yasunari, 1929/1990, p. 128) upon waking, finding himself amid the memories of a previous day and recalling a mask that he had seen in a display window.   It is that image that gives him the idea for his final scene of the movie, â€Å"a daydream† (p. 129) filled with masks of smiling faces.The search for the masks to be used in the film becomes the central drama of the story—and the protagonist’s relationship to those masks once he takes them to his wife and children after the filming of the movie is complete.   The masks are delicate and the actors must handle them carefully.   Yet, there is some power within those masks.   The film writer decides to buy them so they can be handled with out fear of them being destroyed, and it is in the power of those masks that the protagonist realizes his own relationship with beauty.â€Å"Well then, I’ll buy them.   I did actually want them.   I daydreamed as if awaiting the future when the world would be in harmony and people would all wear the same gentle face as these masks.   (p. 131)His children love the masks, but he refuses to wear them.   His wife agrees to put one on, and it is in that moment that he discovers his true relationship to his wife’s beauty.   â€Å"The moment she removed the mask, my wife’s face somehow appeared ugly† (p. 131).   It is as though he is seeing her face for the first time—and his own idea of her beauty, or, in this case, the â€Å"ugliness of her own countenance† (p. 131).   As his wife lay in the hospital bed, he is faced not only with a new idea of beauty, but his own sense of self—one that might appear as â€Å"an ugly demonâ €  (p. 132) to his wife.   He would be exposed to his real self, his true nature.Psychologist C. G. Jung writes that the mask can be seen as the outer persona we show to the world, the way we want to be seen (Jung, 1929/1983, p. 96).   â€Å"The mask is the ad hoc adopted attitude, I have called the persona, which was the name for the masks worn by actors in antiquity† (Jung, 1921/1983, p. 98).   The narrator is forced to confront not only what lies behind his wife’s beauty/ugliness, but also his idea of his own beauty/ugliness.   The â€Å"beautiful mask† (p. 132) reveals another question, too:   whether or not the face he sees on his wife could be artificial, too, â€Å"just like the mask† (p. 132).   It’s a perplexing question, but one that reveals, like the mask, much about the filmmaker’s relationship to himself and his world.While the idea of beauty colors Yasunari’s 1963 â€Å"palm-of-the-hand† story †Å"Immortality,† the concept of eternal love is the central theme.   In this short story, two lovers have reunited after being apart for at least five decades—but their reunion comes in the afterlife, as they are now each dead.   Yasunari presents a portrait of an eighteen-year-old girl and a man sixty years her senior walking through some woods in a land they’d both known together while alive.   The scene is haunting as the girl is not aware the man has passed on into the afterlife until the end, when, upon that realization, the two â€Å"go into the tree and stay† (Yasunari, 1963/2005, p. 326).The love between the two has been eternal, in a sense—the girl killed herself because of her love for the man when they had to separate, and he wound up spending much of his life on the land overlooking that spot in the ocean where she died. The man has returned to the land where she died to reclaim her.   He wants to be with her forever.   However, he doesn’t know he is dead, and neither does she. Once she realizes he, too, is dead, they are able to reunite into eternity in nature, merging themselves into an old tree where they will live forever.Like â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile,† Yasunari uses the idea of beauty and the mask that we wear—Jung’s â€Å"persona†Ã¢â‚¬â€as an aspect of â€Å"Immortality.†Ã‚   The girl tells the old man, Shintaro, that she has lived in the afterlife with the image of him as a young man.   â€Å"You are eternally young to me,† (p. 325) she says, even though the man is now old.If I hadn’t drowned myself and you came to the village now to see me, I’d be an old woman. How disgusting.   I wouldn’t want you to see me like that.   (p. 325)For the girl, memories are important.   Her spirit carries them as she lives in the afterlife.   Scholar James Hillman says that memories are important for the soul, carrying with them e nergy that thrives for the departed person.   The girl realizes this, too, in a way:   â€Å"If you were to die, there wouldn’t be anyone on earth who would remember me,† she says (p. 325).The soul, they say, needs models for its mimesis in order to recollect eternal verities and primordial images.   If in its life on earth it does not meet these as mirrors of the soul’s core, mirrors in which the soul can recognize its truths, then its flame will die and its genius wither.   (p. 159)The girl imagines ugliness representing old age—that ancient mask we all wear once we have passed from the prime years of our life.   Even though the old man is wearing that mask, she doesn’t see it:   she has only her memories carried with her at the time of her death, so she sees him as an eighteen-year-old, also.   For the man, he never experienced his lover as an old woman; thus, her youth is indeed eternal for him.Yasunari uses few characters in both stories, keeping each â€Å"palm-of-the-hand† short and simple.   The narrator in â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† is joined by the mask buyer, his wife, and his children in the tale, while it is only Shintaro and his young lover in â€Å"Immortality.†Ã‚   We do not see deeply driven characterization in either story, as Yasunari essentially paints portraits of each actor through their thoughts and actions.   Like a beautiful painting of a sunset or sunrise, we must use our imagination amidst the texture and colors of the painting to grasp its deeper meaning.Indeed, Yasunari’s beautiful use of words shines in both stories in his colorful imagery.   It is simple:   â€Å"An old man and a young girl were walking together,† he writes to begin â€Å"Immortality.†Ã‚   He ends that story almost the same way he begins â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile†Ã¢â‚¬â€with the picture of the sky.The color at evening began to drift onto the smal l saplings behind the great trees.   The sky beyond turned a faint red where the ocean sounded.   (p. 326).â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile,† on the other hand, begins with the image of the sky as well.   â€Å"The sky had turned a deep shade; it looked like the surface of a beautiful celadon porcelain piece† (p. 128).   It is a daydream of sorts, a beautiful portrait into which Yasunari takes the reader as he moves through the inner world of the film writer.Both stories are magical.   It is the â€Å"magic of those trees† (p. 325) that captures the imagination of Shintaro and his young lover.   Those trees are part of land his family owned, and he later sold to the men who turned the land into a golfer’s driving range.   The trees are on land overseeing the ocean where the girl jumped to her death.   Trees are sacred and magical in many mythologies.   Buddha gained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, and many myths use trees as the focus for rebirth (Anderson, 1990, p. 25).   In the same regard, the ocean, too, is a mythical place:   from where gods and goddess reside and in the Greek legend Odysseus sailed before being reuniting with his lover (Anderson, p. 25).The magic of â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† comes in the healing properties of the masks.   It is through the image of the mask that the film writer is able to create an ending for his story—a â€Å"beautiful daydream† (p. 128) to conclude the â€Å"dark story† (p. 129).   The masks represent his own distrust of himself and the world around him, covering with an artificial beauty the truth that lies behind them.   The masks magically hide what is true and meant to be revealed—whether it is an â€Å"ugly demon† (p. 132) or an â€Å"ever-smiling gentle face† (p. 132).What is also interesting about â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile† is in how the film writer’s screenplay is based on a sce ne inside a mental hospital.   We learn later that his wife is in a hospital of sorts—and we never learn the exact nature of her illness.   Could it be a mental hospital?   And might her hospitalization also be a reflection of his â€Å"gloomy† personality (p. 129)?   He’s afraid of what is hiding behind the masks—so much that his initial reaction to putting on the mask himself is fear.   â€Å"The mask is no good.   Art is no good† (p. 132).   Masks and art each reveal the hidden dimensions.   The film writer himself uses his films to balance his own â€Å"gloomy† personality.   Yet the shadows of life are revealed through film and art, and are experienced in hospitals.   Each is an aspect of â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile.†Yasunari gives much to think about regarding our relationship to each other and ourselves in â€Å"The Man Who Did Not Smile,† and to our relationship with the magic of eternal love in â€Å"Immortality.†Ã‚   Both reveal the hidden aspects of our existence on earth, offering us a short look at the feeling of living in a world of melancholy and loneliness amid what we call beauty.   Our own mortality rises from the depths of eternity through these stories, and it is in the hidden beauty of our daily lives that Yasunari’s works can be realized.BibliographyAnderson, William.   (1990).   Green man:   The archetype of our oneness with the earth.London:   HarperCollins.Hillman, James.   (1996).   The soul’s code.   New York:   Warner Books.Jung, C. G.   (1983). Definitions.   (R. F. C. Hull,Trans.). In   A. Storr (Ed.). The essentialJung:   Selected writings.   (V. S. de Laszlo, Ed.) (Pp. 97-105).   Princeton:   Princeton University Press.   (Original work published 1921).Jung, C. G.   (1983). The relations between the ego and the unconscious.   (R. F. C. Hull,Trans.). In   A. Storr (Ed.). The essential Jung:à ‚   Selected writings.   (V. S. deLaszlo, Ed.) (Pp. 94-97).   Princeton:   Princeton University Press.   (Original work published 1929).Ljukkonen, Petri.   (2005).   Yasunari Yasunari.   Retrieved November 19, 2005 fromhttp://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/Yasunari.htm.Yasunari, Yasunari.   (1990).   The man who did not smile.   (L. Dunlop, Trans.).   InPalm-of-the-hand Stories.   (J. Martin Holman, Trans.).   (Pp. 128-132).   San Francisco:   North Point Press.   (Original work published 1929).Yasunari, Yasunari.   (2005).   Immortality.   In (G. Dasgupta, J. Mei, Ed).   Stories aboutus.   (Pp. 323-325).   Nashville:   Thomas Nelson Publishers.   (Original work published 1963).

Business Management Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Management Case Analysis - Essay Example If Google chooses to adopt freedom of expression then it faces the consequences of being the source of arrests of users who go against the law or posting or emailing or organizing information against the Chinese government. On the other hand if it chooses to comply with the Chinese government, then it faces criticism from users, and critics not to mention going against its companys mission (Baron 1). In making an ethical decision, the decision maker is faced with the challenge of complying with all stakeholders and shareholders concerned. In the case of Google, the companys ultimate aim is to satisfy its shareholders and stakeholders. The best course of action, as its cofounder explains, is to avoid harming the company and the Chinese people (Baron 1). By adopting a neutral approach to corporate governance, the company complies with the local laws and maintains a self-filter of censored materials. Censored materials, as deemed by the Chinese government, comprise of blogs, email, and search generated materials which could jeopardize the government. This approach serves the higher good of the Chinese population, and the world. This is congruent with the constructivist approach as prescribed by Mill and Bentham (Course Notes) who are of the view that ethical decisions should benefit the larger good than the morality of the individual. This decision would also be congruent with Googles corporate goal of serving its shareholders. By entering into China, it would be able to harness new market and new consumers regardless of the restrictions of censorship. By complying with the local government, Google would be avoiding costs of legal battles, and operational costs involved in disseminating information to the government in case it loses at court. These would affect the profitability of the company which would ultimately harm the interests of the shareholders (Course Notes). By adopting this course of action however, Google loses some of the trusts

Create a Unit of instruction (UBD) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Create a Unit of instruction (UBD) - Assignment Example Therefore, the primary unit of this curriculum is intended to develop an organized approach in order to promote nutritional aspects along with different physical educational activities which ensure to develop children’s health. In order to precisely and most apparently highlight the major factors in terms of promoting nutritional and physical development of the children, the different areas of this report would be assessed in accordance with the guidelines of Understanding by Design (UbD) approach. The nutrition and physical activity curriculum incorporates the following stages: Significance of nutrition and physical activity and their role for developing children health Comprehensive health and physical education need as per the standards of NJCCCS (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards) for promoting good health for the children Identify the desired results in terms of learner outcomes and goals Create â€Å"essential questions† that will focus upon the work co ncerning the key concepts, themes, issues and problems of the topic Design effective assessment plan in accordance with the promotion of good health for the children Design effective learning experience or course which can enable the child care settings (parental and institutional) to equip the students with skills, proficiency, knowledge as well as understanding. b. State the Appropriate NJCCCS it Addresses The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) can be duly considered as one of the major frameworks for educating a child relating to the development which has been formed by the New Jersey State Board of Education during the year 1996. The NJCCCS framework tends to incorporate adequate guidelines and principles that apparently define the major learning process for the students to accomplish desired education or the learning outcome (State of New Jersey Department of Education, n.d.). The guiding principles underneath the NJCCCS address various aspects towards improv ing the curriculum in terms of developing child educational settings. Additionally, the principles of this framework also tend to incorporate adequate measures associated with promoting good health and wellbeing of each student within different educational institutions. In this regard, nutrition and physical activity is also a major consideration of the NJCCCS framework which highly focuses on improving the dietary and physical education for each child within any educational, healthcare and parental settings. Furthermore, the framework also ensures to streamline the practices concerning the wellness and good health of the students within the educational settings and confirms to develop physical, psychological as well as educational growth of each child (The State of New Jersey, n.d.). c. Identify the Desired Results in terms of the Learner Outcomes and Goals Identifying desired results can be regarded as one of the primary and initial stages of UbD approach ensuring to efficiently u nderstand the students regarding the significance of nutrition and physical activities. In this context, the identification of desired results in terms of learner outcomes and goals has been explained in the following discussion. Established Goals The essential factors concerning nutrition and physical education for the children will be focused in terms of clearly identifying the desired results of the unit. Therefore, in the major stage of designing the unit, certain realistic goals in accordance with the NJCCCS

Answer a question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer a question - Essay Example Similarly, Andrews and Karlin purports that metacognition is the way an individual is aware of what they know and what they do not know. Moreover, it is also known as the knowledge and the control an individual has over his own learning, thinking, and how he analyzes his thought processes (Andrews & Karlin, 2002) (page 29 Line 1 to 4). Evidently, metacognition is related to thinking, especially when one is analyzing their thought process of not understanding a concept as well as the ability of communicating ones lack of understanding. For instance, in a science lesson a deaf student who reads, in English, a science section of black holes who shows excellent metacognition strategies that are associated to thinking. Then using American Sign Language (ASL) the students informs the teacher his lack of understanding the concept of black holes. Consequently, the teacher then provides an explanation in ASL to the student. The student also uses English text and employs translation together w ith code switching strategies. As such the student is demonstrating metacognitive awareness in informing the teacher that he does not understand. Moreover, he is thinking together with analyzing his thought processes of not comprehending the concept of black holes and shows the ability to communicate that he does not understand (Andrews & Karlin, 2002) (Page 29 line 3 to 12). On the other hand, metacognition is also related to reading skills. Mostly, the strategies that are normally used in reading include meta-comprehension and metalinguistic awareness skills. Meta-comprehension is the readers’ awareness and control over their own comprehension. For example, a skilled deaf reader knows how to approach a text, locate an important piece of information, and also how to summarize important points and organize information as well as how to make wise decisions on how to best process the reading task. In addition, good deaf readers also set a purpose for reading, make predictions w ith regard to the meaning, form good hypothesis, form mental judgments, monitor their understanding as they read, use prior knowledge effectively, fix a difficulty when it arises, and realize the variety of strategies they can employ after the comprehension breakdown (Andrews & Karlin, 2002) (Page 29 lines 32 to 45). On the other hand, the least skilled deaf readers will tend to rely on the pictures, do not have the ability over the text, misunderstand the text, have limited strategies and tend to get frustrated easily and give in the process (Andrews & Karlin, 2002) (Page 30 lines 1 to 3). Moreover, Andrews and Mason claims that metacognitive skills increase the reading comprehension of the underachieving readers. For instance, although teaching metacognitive comprehension strategies does not automatically guarantee successful reading comprehension among the deaf students, effective instructional approaches will enable the deaf students to use the strategies as a tool to comprehend English texts (Andrews & Mason, 1991) (Page 544 lines 41 to 50). Better readers normally possess good metacognitive strategy and they are also interested in reading as compared to the poor readers (Baker & Beall, 2009) (Page 381, line 8 to 11). Personal experience After knowing the effectiveness of the metacognition

Discuss whether or not plea bargaining should be abolished Essay

Discuss whether or not plea bargaining should be abolished - Essay Example However, this fact can not be ignored that plea bargaining is an essential component of the justice system because it allows the trial convictions, to be more thoroughly considered when the judges are not under the pressure of too many cases. Plea bargaining reduces the number of cases that would otherwise go for trial conviction to less than half, thus improving the efficiency of the trial conviction cases. Without the facility of plea bargaining, the whole justice system is likely to collapse under the immense and unbearable work load. If the option of plea bargaining is eliminated, this would overcrowd the courts and the attention will have to be focused also on futile and pointless cases along with potentially strong and complicated cases that genuinely require trial convictions. Every day, thousands of cases of petty crimes are taken to the court, and if each and every case was given the highest consideration, the idea of a functional justice system would become unapproachable. Therefore, it is important to have a system in place that would cater for crimes of petty nature, and plea bargaining sufficiently serves this purpose. Plea bargaining allow the defendants to enter into reasonable agreements in a very short period in comparison to the lengthy trials that are conventionally conducted in cases of severe crime cases.

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty of TESCO Essay

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty of TESCO - Essay Example Tesco PLC is a public limited company in the retail industry and its headquarters is in the United Kingdom. Tesco is a general merchandise and British multinational grocery retailer. After Wal-Mart, it is the second largest retailer in terms of profit margins and is even the second largest retailer in terms of revenue growth in the world’s retail industry. Jack Cohen in 1919 invented the company as a chain of market stalls. The name of the brand ‘Tesco’ appeared in the shipment of tea that Cohen had purchased. The supermarket’s store that was about 500 in the 1990s is now approximately about 6350 located in various locations. Tesco expanded its business very rapidly and has a market share of about 30%. The countries in which the company has entered and is operating brilliantly are UK, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Mainland China, Hungary, Czech Republic, Japan, Republic of Ireland, South Korea, Poland, Turkey, etc. The main idea behind the research study is to a nalyze the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty at Tesco. Customers are the most important factor behind the success or failure of a company. It is very much important that the organization takes effective measures to satisfy the customers and build a brand loyal customer base that would generate high revenues for the firm. Tesco through its market expansion strategy has become the market leader in UK retail industry. It has enhanced on its strengths and explored the possible opportunities and developed some innovative strategies to acquire the maximum percentage of the market share.

Disrupted Occupations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disrupted Occupations - Assignment Example Most elderly people are accustomed to the spatial orientation of buildings, corridors, and transport systems like outdoor pavements. Most elderly residents of nursing homes have limited mobility. In addition, the warmth of friendships and companionships of fellow residents within a nursing home give meaning to the lives of elderly clients under nursing care. Physical movements, social interactions, and mental composures of nursing home residents are defined within the realms of their built environment. Any attempt to re-design the built environment will significantly impact on the lives of accustomed nursing home residents. For example, renewing concrete pavements may make them slippery, thus endangering the physical health of residents. Re-painting social interaction halls will with distinct paints affect the aesthetic appearance and fragrance of a local interaction space. In addition, building a new room for each resident instead of allowing residents to share rooms will severely a ffect the psychological well-being of residents, specifically when they are separated from their roommates. Consequently, re-designing a nursing home will invariably necessitate a re-establishment of a sense of being for the affected residents. Residents will have to; find new friends, learn to accept new fragrances and appearances of painted spaces, and adjust their mobility in order to avoid slippage on the new pavements. Such re-orientation of one’s sense of place and being is of a particular interest in current occupational therapy research.

How the current labour market conditions have impacted on resourcing Dissertation

How the current labour market conditions have impacted on resourcing and talent management activities - Dissertation Example This essay discusses that with the passage of time human resource of the organisations has gained important place in the organisation. The human resource is now viewed as important strategic partner of the overall organisation. For this purpose, organisations are working hard in order to come up with effective and efficient human resource management strategies and policies. Organisations are coming up with appropriate human resource management strategies in order to use the human resource as a source of competitive edge over other competitors in the industry. One of the important elements of the human resource management is of human resource planning, which allows the organisation to carefully plan the elements related to human resource. With the help of human resource planning and employee resourcing the organisations work to match the demand of the labours with supply of the labours. However, it is important to notice that there are several external and macroeconomic factors which directly influence the process of human resource planning and employee resourcing. There have been several research studies conducted in order to understand the impact of the external factors on the human resource policies of the organisation. Hence, it is important to consider these external factors while devising the human resource policies. Some of these factors include: conditions of the labour market, economic conditions, etc. Because of all these changing factors the human resource policies and strategies of the organisations should be flexible and should incorporate all important elements. 1.3. Significance of the Research Study: The research study is of high importance for the human resource professional and analysts along with the organisation who are striving to devise effective and efficient human resource management policies and strategies. The research study will explore the impact of the changing labour market conditions on the activities related with the employee reso urcing and human resource planning. It is important to acknowledge here that the human resource policy of any organisation cannot be formulated in isolation and organisations should also consider the external factors. One of the main factors in this regard is of the labour market. The conditions in the labour market directly influence the supply of the human resource which in turn affects the human resource planning strategies and activities. Apart from this labour rules and regulations also influence the human resource policies of the organisations. The management of organisation ensure that the human resource management policies are according to the regulations imposed by the government. Another important macro environment factor in this regard is of the economic conditions. The economic conditions impact the labour market and in turn also impact the human resource policies. 1.4. Rationale of the Research Study: The main motivation behind the research study is to understand the im pact of the labour market conditions on the employee resourcing and the human resource planning activities of the organisation. The labour market c

Stereotypes in the Media Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes in the Media Essay Over the past couple of decades the usage of offensive stereotypes have played a big role in popular films, TV shows, music videos, and comedy routines today. In fact one can only argue that these offensive stereotypes have increased considerably and will only continue to grow. There are many reasons as to why these stereotypes have only increased and have led to the creators of these films making millions and millions of dollars. The main reason behind this is making fun of race, color, poverty, and other cultures and using straightforward offensive words to do so is humorous to a large part of the US population. Although most of us would feel insulted if these offensive racial stereotypes were directed toward us. The purpose of comedy routines/films was to bring laughter for the media today, which was not the case decades ago. The reason why the media displayed much discrimination and stereotypes in the films was to portray minorities as dangerous, uneducated and unsuccessful. Though now the media has showed much improvement in how they portray minorities, there are many films showing Blacks/Hispanics being the main character and successful such as Will Smith has played the heroic and professional character in many films such as Independence Day, Men in Black, Bad Boys etc. This has helped pave the way for Black’s reputation on the big screen and real life. Antonio Banderas is another actor who has been very successful in his career and received awards and nominations for his roles in movies where he has played famous Latin artists. This is another positive way for minorities to be looked as equal to Whites in the media and not just be portrayed as the stereotypical characters. The media that helped make these diverse programs so successful for many years; the focus is on the entertainment rather than just the diversity and stereotypical views of minority characters. This has changed the mindset of many who thought that minorities were only to be displayed at delinquents on television. I believe Black and Hispanics characters will continue to grow on TV and the big screen. On the comedic perspective, perhaps people will be able to see past all the stereotypical and racial jokes because the media has gotten passed it. The film â€Å"Ethic Notions† was one of the first films that the media discriminated against black Americans from the early 1900s to the present. It showed the appalling ideas and thoughts that whites presented through the media about black people in America. As a result, blacks were depicted in the media as frightening savages. A Broadway play was introduced in which black males tried to attack young white virgins. Even black children were depicted as unruly savages. Whites created degrading nursery rhymes in which the children played violent games and accidentally killed each other. Such images were put forth to suggest that blacks needed to be controlled and that America should return to the good old times with slavery. 20th century the images and the depiction of black Americans didnt change at all. The only difference now is the hate is now on film. Blacks began to enter theater and they used it as a step in the right direction to get out of the south and start a new life with opportunities. Through the 1940s the blackface became discarded but its image left its mark on society. Soon cartoons became the voice for racism. This way when any violence or mistreatment were occurring it would be entertaining and humorous. The cartoons had the power to influence young minds to see stereotypes as being entertaining by making references to black. Movies and crime shows have often show Black and Hispanic males as the offender, running from the police, being disrespectful or involved in hostile situations. The problem is not that they show this behavior but they show it constantly, over and over again, overwhelmingly portraying negative images, and therefore, racial stereotypes of Black and Hispanic males. This, in turn, perpetuates racial stereotypes. Showing these images repeatedly creates a racial stereotype in the minds of those watching. Pretty soon the viewer believes all Black and Hispanic males act a certain way. Movies, in particular the ones about gang violence or living in urban areas, focus on black males committing crimes, running from the police, and being hostile or angry. A movie called Menace to Society, which was produced by Black men, was a complete disservice and totally negative portrayal of black men. These same producers could have produced a movie showing black men in a positive light, instead of getting caught up the desired â€Å"street life† and perpetuating the myth that there is something good and respectable about being a thug and involved in criminal activity. Other movies like Colors portrayed black men as animals, showing no emotion and knowing nothing more then to engage in violent, criminal behavior, a racial stereotype. They could be used to raise awareness for the following reasons: fight against the belief of these stereotypes, to show how hurtful these stereotypes can be, and the fact that they exist today and are causing harm one way or another. On the other hand in most music video and comedy routines they are used to bring laughter, to show that offensive stereotypes sell, and lastly to show that we should not be bothered by these stereotypes because it is only those who are ignorant and negative that use these stereotypes to cause harm. The first one is because humor keeps society entertained and shows individuals to not take the issue so serious, and humor breaks tension between different races to not make feel people inferior to others. The second one shows that inter-racial skits in movies/shows do well in box office/television. For example a hit show out now is Modern Family, they have a character played by Sofia Verger, who plays a Colombian woman and is married to a White man played by Ed O’Neil who is a remarried man alongside with her son from her previously marriage back in Colombia. This show demonstrated the life of an inter-racial marriage and their own comedic ways whether it be Sofia yelling at Ed and he does not understand a word she is saying because of her accent or Sofia dragging Ed to a Spanish fiesta also known as a Spanish formal party. This is a very popular show that has received high ratings and does well for the ABC network. The last one is to show we are all in this country for the same opportunities and there are many celebrities from different races who have done well for themselves. Ultimately it is up to us whether we blame the media for reinforcing these stereotypes or we thank them for bringing this to our attention through comedy or documentaries and it does not matter who is producing the content but how we are influenced by it in a positive way. Another hit show mentioned by S. Robert Lichter and Daniel R. Amundson, was I Love Lucy, with the character of Cuban band leader Ricky Ricardo played by Desi Arnaz and his wife played by Lucille Ball. This show was based on Lucy’s schemes and adventures going wrong with a touch of Ricky’s comedic way and displays of â€Å"Latin† temper. I Love Lucy was the most-watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons. Even though this was not the break-through for Hispanic characters on television it had high ratings and Ricky’s character was not displayed as a villain, criminal, or threat to society simply as an ordinary man trying to make a living as an up and coming Cuban singer in New York. Lichter and Amundson mentioned that this and other show shows with Spanish characters such as Chico and The Man did not explore the Latin culture or Hispanic contributions to American history, ethnic comedies became the hottest new TV trend in the 1970s. It is not surprising that Latinos were depicted in stereotypic negative ways by the mass media when they are also denied access to positions of employment where they might help to produce more realistic and humanistic portrayals of themselves. When the media refers to or are revolved around offensive racial stereotypes there will always be an argument as to whether the film should reinforce or subvert the stereotypes. It would be nice to think that we can all be influenced from childhood to not judge or take offense from stereotypes that have been made by the media but rather laugh it off and not take insult from it. Our nation abides by one of the most important amendments, which is freedom of speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the United States of America and by many state constitutions, state and federal laws. Judgment of the government and advocacy of unknown ideas that people may find offensive or against public policy, such as racism, sexism, and other hate speech are generally permitted in the media. There are many organizations that support the first amendment, one being The Creative Coalition, which was formed for the charitable and educational purposes of bringing together artists and entertainers to learn about pressing issues so they can better teach and influence the community and our nation. Their programs focus on their special services to its members to help prepare them for public roles as advocates and spokespeople for The Creative Coalition program. The Coalition believes informed advocacy is the way to be an effective advocacy, and encourages the continuing education of its members as they exercise their rights as citizens in public settings I must admit it does not help when the media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans, it presents a misconception of all African-Americans. When a Black actor is chosen to play the villain in a violent movie, this plays into the hands of those who believe the stereotypes. The consequence of this; was that it brainwashed and influenced society to have their set perspective on Blacks/Hispanics on who they were in America. This was unfair and unreasonable for minorities; this left many to think whether it was safe to be around minorities. For example in the documentary â€Å"Ethnic Notions† it takes you back in time when Blacks were used as slaves, and why the evolution of racial stereotypes started in America. The media can have control of this stereotype that has grown into the minds of White American if they continue to use a diversity of actors/comedians and movies based on different cultural experiences from each individual. With the continuation of using a diversity of backgrounds in storylines of movies and educating our children to not fall into the racial stereotype beliefs, we can decrease this misconception portrayed in our media today. For example like Justin Lewis and Sut Jhally used The Cosby Show, as a form to reconstruct race and role of social class should be looked at in television. As Bill Cosby was a physical education teacher, which help pave the way for African Americans as he represented that his race can also become part of the middle class. The episodes brought some humor, but the show concentrated on bringing out intelligent character studies and real-life situations. The Cosby show was created to change the ways African Americans were portrayed on television and was the turning point for racial tolerance for white viewers that Blacks have become ordinary and could be successful professionals. The Cosby Show had much success with high ratings on television from 1984-1990. This show was a proof that the media did not need stereotypes to be funny it actually challenged stereotype. In the media today Hispanic characters were less likely to play the villain than they were in the 1992 network prime time schedules. On a positive note, according to Lichter and Amundson, the drop in criminal portrayals is down 63 percent, which is better than it was before 16 percent. For new reality series some of the highest changes were seen in shows such as COPS an America’s Most Wanted in 1994-1995 the crime rate for both Hispanics and Blacks lowered down from 45-16percent for Latinos and from 50-20 percents for Black criminals. This is a huge improvement for society and minorities. In conclusion, from the information provided above the media has came a long way from representing minorities on the big screen/TV as the typical stereotype such as the villain, criminal, or from the lower class. The media did help characterize minorities into a negative character on television but has also paved the way for much success for the minority celebrities in the media. Therefore we can sit and take offense on racial jokes or stereotypical characters but it should not be instilled in us to judge or take offense on this. The media has actors such as Ricky Ricardo and Bill Cosby who have shown much success in their careers; also two actors from different races such as Antonio Banderas to Morgan Freeman have shown success today. These actors today have been portrayed, as the heroic and villain character in movies but this should not give a reason to stereotype their race. As much as these stereotypical materials are used in the media, it is only used to entertain audiences and to continue to bring back their targeted audiences. The same also goes for comedians with their racial jokes, it is simply used to attract their audiences and keep them entertained through laughter, that why we have seen comedians such as Eddie Murphy, Dane Cook and George Lopez mocking not only those from their own race but from other races, because they know this will sell and bring back their audiences. Society has come a long way from setting stereotypes and making judgment on how minorities are portrayed in the media by the changes made in the media and the success it has brought to TV as well as to prove on reality shows. Bibliography 1. Freedom of speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the United States of America and by many state constitutions, state and federal laws ( First Amendment wikipedia 2010 par. 1) 2. Gallager, Charles A. (2008) Rethinking the Color Line: Television and the Politics of Representation, Distorted Reality: Hispanic Characters in TV Entertainment 302-320 3. Riggs, Marlon (1986) Ethnic Notions.

Graduate Essay Example for Free

Graduate Essay High expectations College admissions are tough—approximately 50 percent of all college applicants are rejected by their school of choice. And when it comes to graduate school, things are even tougher, and expectations are higher. The ability to create a piece of writing that properly illustrates your individuality and distinguishing characteristics are vital for admission. Admissions officers look at thousands of essays, so differentiating yourself is vital. However, distinguishing yourself from everyone else can be a tough challenge. Thats why were here to help. Survival of the fittest You will find yourself pitted against thousands of other students, many with similar backgrounds and similar academic ratings. What you need is an unforgettable first impression—one that will get you instant approval in the eyes of admissions officers. The key to that first impression is your admission essay, which is your primary chance for a good first impression. It is your first chance at presenting a well-thought-out exposition of your worth, your virtues, and your individuality. Fresh ideas Any professional writer will agree that editing by persons other than the writer himself is a very important step in the writing process. Even the most seasoned writer can always benefit from the â€Å"fresh† eyes of a third party, whether editing or critique is needed. Thats where we come in. Our team of professionals will edit and reinvent your essay to give it that fresh edge. An essay that looks like everybody elses will take no time to reach the reject pile. But with the extensive experience of our writers and editors, we are quick to recognize the ordinary from the excellent, vastly improving your chances of getting accepted. Our service You can take advantage of our pool of experienced professionals to leverage yourself above the majority of applicants. We eliminate any grammatical errors and unneeded wordiness, and we streamline sentence structure and improve style. We offer three types of services according to your needs. First is our Admission Essay Writing service, where personal facts are presented to the best advantage. While good grades and flawless records are also important, they are not enough to distinguish you. What really differentiates an admissions essay is the personality and character that the essay shows about you. Second is our Admission Essay Editing service, where we eliminate all spelling, grammar and style errors. Most importantly, emphasizing your individuality by affecting a unique style and preserving your voice. Our third service is the Admission Essay Review, which entails elimination of errors and professional editor’s suggestions for improving your essay, again with special emphasis on stressing your individuality. All services are delivered as double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman documents, with no page limits.

Culture of Hispanic Latino Americans

Culture of Hispanic Latino Americans One of the fastest growing and the most interesting of origins come from is Hispanic/Latino Americans. I preferred this ethnic group as it the biggest growing populations in the US so I can healthier relate to them. Additionally, my attention upon achieving my Paralegal degree is inside Human Trafficking as well as Sex Trade which engage this Hispanic/Latino Americans in the midst of others. Furthermore, my son-in-law is Hispanic American also for that reason I would like to know more concerning his culture. Being a fast growing community, one way or another, we as Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans have an association with them. For my part, my son-in-law is a Hispanic American, and I want to learn more of his very rich culture. Also, we can observe that a lot of actions are being undertaken to make their presence more pronounced in the community. It would no longer come as a surprise then, if the status and acknowledgment of their presence would significantly change in the future. Thus, their culture is worth studying. In retrospect, I can say that my reasons for wanting to study this group and their culture are not just for these reasons. I am interested in a more specific are, which is the involvement of ethnic groups in Human Trafficking and Sex Trade. It can be observed that these unlawful activities primarily targets individuals from the minority group, and in obtaining my Paralegal degree, I have more than a passing fancy for these concerns. Language and Population: we should first have a basic understanding and appreciation of their culture before going into detail about the concerns that are currently being faced by the people with Hispanic origin. This will then be our reference in the kind of life they are generally living. It was mentioned before that the Hispanic population is the fastest growing community in the United States. They constitute 11% of the countrys population, and surveys have shown that there are approximately 31 million people who have Hispanic origins (Clutter and Nieto). If most races are being identified primarily because of their physical attributes, the Hispanic Americans have a different reason that bind them together. Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese, among others, and basicaly Asians are being identified because of their eyes and physical appearance. Africans are distinguished because of the color of their skin. For the Latinos, it is different. They cannot trace their origins in just one country (Garcia). When we combine a Cuban, an Argentine and an Argentine, we will see various cultures that do not necessarily coincide. One thing binds them together, and that is their language (Arana). Admittedly, like most other communities who are adapting to new cultures, this is increasingly becoming forgotten. However, it cannot be denied that they are being bound by one language, and this is Spanish (Arana). This is the point of reference for the mixed and diverse cultures that the Hispanos have. Even so, there had been a steady decline in the fluency of speaking Spanish among the Latinos. This is because of their continuous and increasing interaction with non-Hispanics, which made their practice of their native tongue very limited. At this point, it is very helpful to note the evolution of way the Hispanic Americans see themselves. Increasingly, they are becoming determined to be called in a manner they think befit them. For one, less and less of them have been refer to themselves as Americans (Englekirk and Marin). Most of them are more comfortable in still referring to themselves as Mexicans. Being Hispanic or Latino, seems to be more acceptable to them, than be identified to be the Americans. Differences and similarities between Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans and Hispanics/ Latino American are not several sometimes people attribute who and what they are today to where they came from, and what kind of family brought them up. Many studies have tried to link ones behavior, health, and other things with family history and genetics. There still exist the debates and discussions about nature as opposed to nurture. In all these things, family history, including ones family tree, becomes prominent. Indeed, in my own case as an Anglo-Non Hispanic American, my family became very influential in the person that I have become. Raised as a Methodist, celebrations of Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter happen in our homes as Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans, Perhaps this added joy to childhood, as I cannot imagine one without the festivities which brought simple joys to me then. Admittedly, ours was not a very religious family, and I can say that it is more so now than then, as we stopped going to church as a family while I was still in high school. As far as working is concerned, I can honestly say that the work ethic in my family is indeed very strong as Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans. This seems to be the natural tendency for the women in the family. Proof to show, all the women in our family worked outside the home. This is in addition to the responsibility of taking care of the children and of the homes themselves. My adoptive father and mother, although the latter is not very close to me, were teachers/administrators. My stepmother was employed in the same profession as my adoptive parents. Even my grandmothers on both sides worked as well. This is not to say, though, that ours has broken away from the traditional way of living that has been in existence during our time. While I was growing up, girls were not groomed for college. They were not encouraged to pursue higher education in order to have careers of their own. We have not been set to conquer the world, as the boys in the family do. What came about in my life was the trend during those days. I started working while I was still in high school, married afterwards, and raised my own children. At this day and age, women no longer do that. Careers are being established as much by men as by women. The closest similarity between Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans and Hispanics/ Latino American is probably the feeling of not being accepted in addition to often being rejected. I have felt that way as an Anglo-Non Hispanic American at times, being adopted but I am sure it does not compare to the degree of their circumstances. It is like salsa and ketchup, which are two very different condiments but both have their own significant and striking features. For their part, the Latinos have distinct family values that are very admirable indeed. Family is the very essence of their living, and this importance and respect that is being accorded to the concept of familial usually extends to more than the immediate family. They go by the conventional norm regarding the father as the head of the family. The mother then, is in charge of everything that is concerned with matters of the home. They feel a strong sense of responsibility for familiar concerns that include, but are not limited to, financi al problems, health issues, and such other concerns that affect the state of living at home. Also, they have certain etiquettes and beliefs that distinguish the Anglo-Non Hispanic Americans and Hispanics/ Latino American from most cultures is the way they talk to each other is one, as they tend to treat each other with formality. If we are to compare this with the American way, which is usually informal and casual in nature, there is indeed a significant difference. It is to be noted that Latinos speak in a loud, fast and animated manner when the conversation is informal in nature. When that is not the case, each conversation is then punctuated in the beginning and in the end, of firm handshakes. Body language and gestures like a peck in the cheek signifies how close a Hispanic individual is to the person one is talking to. Most notable also is the particular attention given by Latinos to their looks and appearance. This, for them, is very much in connection with honor, pride and dignity (Clutter and Nieto). Thus, it is common to see well-groomed and impeccably dressed Hispa nic people during social gatherings, church events, and in work. This code of etiquette relaxes during informal events, and tennis shoes and jeans are becoming the popular choice of the people also. In terms of time management though, they are more flexible and less conscious of punctuality than most Americans. Being late is a socially acceptable behavior for the Hispanic people, because that is the kind of culture that they are used to. Also, we have discussed earlier that what binds the people is their language. They remain connected, despite the cultural and historical differences, because of this factor. Considering this, it would be understood then, if they try to lessen their public speaking. It was noted that generally, most Latinos are reserved in public speaking, and this is because of their heavy accent (Clutter and Nieto). Although this may still be true until now, we can say that this is rapidly changing, as most of the younger generations who are immersed in the America n culture, have the tendency to be less fluent of their native language, than of English. Religion is aspect of their culture that is worth noting is the religion of the Hispanic community. Most of them are Roman Catholics, constituting more than 90% of the population, and this somehow influences the other cultural traditions, practices, and beliefs of said individuals. The core of the Hispanic culture, thus, does not just mean music and food. There is a spiritual foundation in most of the things that they do and believe in. For instance, these people are known for the creativity and hype that is present in their festivities and celebrations. What we do not realize is that they put more weight and significance to the celebrations that is related with religion, like patron saints days, rather than birthdays and personal festivities. The same goes true for the situation that the community in question, and my own. Despite being an adopted child, I believe that I lived a privileged life, and I think the same cannot be said for the Latinos. Everything that they have, they have to work for-from the acceptance, trust and respect of the people around them, the food that they place in the table and to the status that they have in society, socially and economically. Employment There is one very common misconception for Hispanic Americans, and this is their seeming simple-mindedness (Englekirk and Marin). This is mainly due to the initial impression for those who have first settled in the country. This perception was somehow a root, or a trace for that matter, of the low impression and general distrust for the Hispanic Americans. They were thought to be of inferior class than the natives. This view aids in the initial labor and employment opportunities for most Hispanic Americans. They have been involved in agriculture, mining and transportation, nature of work that requires physical, rather than mental abilities. They had more opportunities as compared with the Japanese and other Asians who were banned from working in and migrating in the United States. Thus, it was the Mexicans who had the most opportunities. They were the ideal candidates to work on these manual labors at a lesser cost. During these times, Mexicans flock states like Texas and California, as these are the places where those jobs were in demand. This was during the 1930s. Their employment opportunities improved along with the change in the perception of people of their abilities and skills. Especially with the Equal Employment Opportunity in effect, their rights in the working environment have changed dramatically and brought immense economic and financial security. These new opportunities, the bette r treatment, and generally the improved situation, was brought about by the after effects of World War II. All aspects of the Hispanic Americans living dramatically improved after said event. Political Situation and Immigration Concerns Hispanics/ Latino American political standing and voice as a people is not handed-in in a silver platter. Latinos still are struggling for representation politically, although this would seem to take more time because their bet in the gubernatorial election against Arnold Schwarzenegger has lost (Masci). This is the very person who held the torch in this aspect of recognizance for Latinos all over the United States. On a lighter note, their campaign for more participation in the political arena seems to continue, as the Democratic candidate in New York is most likely going to hold a position in the House of Representatives (Griffin). With these events and circumstances in mind, we can see that their campaigns and advocacies to make their standing in society better are getting results, albeit being small and seemingly insignificant at first. This advocacy for better representation in government seems to have stemmed from several reasons. Leaders of the Hispanic communities claim that they are underrepresented in virtually all aspects. In jobs, they are short-listed, and this results from their limited access to job training programs (Griffin). We cannot say that just because there had been a significant development in the economic and political situation of the Latinos, that the situation no longer needs analysis. If we are to look into the lives of the majority of the Latinos, we will see that there are various flaws that really need attention. One of these would again be the limited access of these people to many of the social programs of the government (Griffin). There is also the aspect of civil rights implementation and effect on the Hispanic communities in the United States. â€Å"Federal enforcement of civil rights in education, for example, relies on victims of discrimination to file complaints† (Griffin). This remains to be an unexploited avenue for the Latinos, as there are many of them who are hesitant to file complaints against people who slighted them. There are several reasons for this, and one of the major ones would be the consequences that it would bring. No Latino in his right mind would prefer the ill will of the members of the community, and this would cause such person to just keep quiet. Also, there are instances, and many of them for that matter, when the Hispanics do not complain simply because they are not familiar or are unaware of the grievance process. What more, there are many who cannot complain because they, themselves are not eligible to. This is when Human Trafficking and other abuses would come into play. There had been many instances in the past when the news carried reports on illegal immigrants. These people have not entered the country through the approved and legal process of the American Embassy. This concern has been one of the primary concerns of the Hispanics then. Many of them entered the country unlawfully and are residing in the United States without proper documents. This makes them prone to abuses, as they would not be able to complain, and neither do they really have the legal backing of the government to protect them from abuses. This immigration concern of the Latinos brought legislators to propose that there be more rigid immigration laws to implement (Griffin). This would certainly affect the chances of many Hispanics who want to enter the country, for their own chance for success. This is one of the issues that are being faced by the community. Along with the social concerns that have been discussed early in this paper, it would no longer come as a surprise if th ere would be health concerns that the Latin communities in the United States face. Because the majority still faces financial difficulties, health issues are prevalent. This is to be expected because these families would not concern themselves much about basic nutrition and regular check-ups. These are basic factors that make good health, and these basic standards are not being met by these families. Health concerns take the back seat, and survival becomes the priority. Works Cited Arana, Marie. The Elusive Hisapanic / Latino Identity. Nieman Repeorts Volume 55.Issue 2 (2002): 8. Clutter, Anne W. and Ruben D. Nieto. Understanding the Hispanic Culture. The Ohio State University Extension. 23 July 2009 . Englekirk, Allan and Marguerite Marin. Mexican Americans. RoohIt!. 28 July 2009 Garcia, Jorge J.E. Hispanic/Latino Identity. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Limited, 2000. Griffin, Rodman D. Hispanic Americans: Can they find economic prosperity and political power? CQ Researcher Volume 2.Issue 40 (1992). Masci, David. Latinos Future. CQ Researcher Volume 13.Issue 36 (2003).

The Myth and Ritual of Coffee in Mario Puzo’s The Fortunate Pilgrim :: Essays Papers

The Myth and Ritual of Coffee in Mario Puzo’s The Fortunate Pilgrim When I arrived in Italy in May 1998, my first order of business was to sample some Italian coffee. Being an avid coffee drinker, and having heard that Italians brew the best in the world, I was quite eager to find a little bar that would cheerfully quench my craving. I was not disappointed. The cappuccino that I sipped that day was a two-layer affair, a mountain of rich foamy milk atop a modest amount of strong, hot espresso. It was heavenly. As I swirled the thick steaming layers together, I was fascinated by the lively Italian being spoken in the bar, the laughter, and the peace and ease in the bartender’s face. I felt honored to be privy to the rituals that were taking place before my eyes. Coffee is a truly a mythological treasure. It serves the dual functions of waking one up and providing one with relaxation. It is both acid and base, bitter and sweet, caustic and comforting. It is used for an array of purposes: to soothe, to give energy, to lend fortitude, to bring people together. Sometimes it is ascribed almost supernatural healing properties. In Mario Puzo’s The Fortunate Pilgrim, coffee takes these roles and more: the drinking of coffee is an immensely important ritual that serves a myriad of social functions and responds to a wide range of human emotions. Wine, arguably the only other substance surrounded by so much myth and ritual, also plays a part in Puzo’s novel, but it is coffee that is the drink of choice and ritual for Lucia Santa. Early in the novel, the beverage is aptly described as â€Å"ceremonial†: â€Å"Lucia Santa served the ceremonial coffee, then said, ‘Zia Louche, I am going to see the little one. Care for the girl and Lorenzo. Do me this favor.’† (Puzo 36) Coffee is the focal point of the meeting, a warming beverage to represent the warmth between two people. It is this warmth, this caring human connection, that enables Lucia Santa to ask her friend for a favor. At the same time, the hot coffee lends fire to her courage and conviction, giving her the requisite strength to confront Filomena. (37) Interestingly, coffee becomes a pacifier, a salve, when Lucia Santa returns from Filomena’s house shaken and distraught with her baby Vincenzo in her arms.

Mexico :: essays research papers

PopulationThe Mexican population is divided into three main groups, the people of European descent, the Native Americans, and the people mixed with European and Native American descent or better known as Mestizos. Of these groups, the Mestizos are by far the Largest, making up about 60% of the people of Mexico. The Native Americans are the next largest with 30% and the Europeans the smallest with only 10%. The society is semi-industrial. The population of Mexico in the 1995 census was 93,670,000 giving the country an estimated person for about every 4 square miles. About 75% of people live in urban areas. Mexico consists of 32 administrative divisions, 31 states and the Federal District. The capital and cultural center of Mexico is Mexico City, with a population of 8,236,960 in 1990. Other important cities are Gaudalajara, population 1,628,617, Netzahaulcoyotl, population 1,256,115, Monterrey, population 1,064,197, Puebla, population 1,054,921, Leon, population 758,279, Cuidad Jaurez, population 798,499, and Tijuana.ClimateMexico is bisected by the tropic of Cancer; therefore, the Southern half is included in the Torrid Zone. In general, climate varies with elevation. The Tierra Caliante (hot land) includes the low coastal plains, extending from sea level to about 3000ft. Weather is extremely humid, with temperatures varying from 60-120 degrees. The Tierra Templata (temperature land) extends from about 3000-6000 ft. with average temperatures of 62-70 degrees. The Tierra Friar (cold land) extends from 6000-9000 ft. with average temperatures of 53-65 degrees. The rainy season lasts from May to October. Although sections of Southern Mexico receive about 40-60 in. of rain a year most other parts are much dryer. Rainfall averages less than 25 in. in the temperature lands about 18 in. in the cold land and less than 10 in. in the Semiarid North. Government: 1980-PresentDuring the 1980s Mexico pursued an assertive hemispheric policy. In 1982Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado was elected to succeed President Lopez Portillo. By the mid 1980's a rapid increase in foreign, coupled with falling oil prices, had plunged the country into severe financial straits. Amid reports of widespread irregularities, the PRI claimed victory in congressional elections in 1985. However in that same year the added burden of a devastating earthquake, which killed 7000 kept Mexico's financial systems desolate.Carlos Salinas De Gortari, the PRI candidate was elected president in 1988. Another thing that happened was Hurricane Gilbert devastated the Yucatan Peninsula and severely damaged the southern most parts of Texas.

My Diary On Tom Robinson?s Case :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that I am looking back on Tom Robinson’s court case, I have seen what my decision has done to my family and I have heard what my friends and neighbors have to say about the ordeal. If I could go back in time, I would still make the decision to defend Tom Robinson. This decision is backed by many reasons of logic and my morals. Many decisions people make are decided on what suits themselves, they do not think of other people and how it may affect them or show them what is right and what is wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that defending Tom Robinson was the correct, moral action to take. If I did not take this case, I could never look at my children again (Lee 88). Many people say that I am a disgrace to the family for taking the case (Lee 83), however, I see it a little differently. In my eyes, I would be disgracing the family for not taking the case because it would not be just not to defend Tom Robinson since I knew that he was innocent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the trial, I believed (and still do) that Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, beat her (Lee 187). When I cross-examined Mayella, I tried to get her to admit to this, but she still insisted that Tom Robinson raped her (Lee 187-188). If a person would look at the evidence on hand, they would know that this was not the case. First of all, Tom’s left arm was crippled from being caught in a cotton gin (Lee 186). Considering the fact that she was bruised and beat on the right side of the face, this was not possibly an action from Tom. However, Bob Ewell was left handed, meaning that when he was hitting Mayella, he hit her along the right side of the face (Lee 177). Second of all, Tom was only trying to help Mayella with her chores around the house because no one else in the family would help her (Lee 191). Thirdly, why on this particular day, November 21st, were the children out of the house? Mayella told Tom that she had saved money for a whole year s o she could treat them to ice cream (Lee 193). Also on that day, she asked him to come inside for the first time to fix the door hinges that did not need to be fixed (Lee 193).

A Cinematographic Vampire’s Tale: Understanding the Symbolism Behind the Horror Icon

Cinema is the place where we as viewers engage in sharing a collective dream. Certainly, horror movies enrich us as viewers with the most dream-like of plots. This is because they open a portal into another world where we are allowed to engage with our nightmares. All over time various horror movies show us how normality is endangered by a monster, but the creature who has haunted the screen like no one is undoubtedly the Vampire. According to Ivan Phillips the figure of the Vampire has drifted and shifted through the pages of newspapers, travel journals, novels, poems, comics, and plays for 300 years, it has haunted cinema and television for almost a hundred, its shadow is creeping into the social, narrative and ludic networks of the digital’. The image of the Vampire is constantly present in the virtual and literature culture of the twenty-first century. Although this being moved from its folkloristic origins in which he appeared in works of J. Sheridan Le Fanu, John Polidor i and Bram Stoker, the vampire still remains an iconic figure in Western Culture. This personage provides paradoxical fascination as it exists ‘at the edges of what is deemed normal, acceptable and safe, the vampire embodies the foreign and the unfamiliar’. Although, the vampire is often seen as a bringer of death, there are numerous metaphorical meanings and readings of this being. Through Marxist discourse the vampire is portrayed as the monster of monopoly capitalism and the agent of foreign ownership. This idea of the ‘bloodsucking capitalist’ is perceived in a negative way the Marxist community. In a xenophobic society this idea of the vampire embodies a general fear of the unfamiliar and may also constitute a racial difference. But the vampire not only represents the non-conformity it also alludes to an illicit desire. According to Jorg Waltje, this being is the embodiment of humanity's ‘hopes and desires: beauty, strength, and immortality’. Although these elements do not express fear in the same way as the vampire's link with death but in the same manner they express an external behaviour which puts at risk society's stability. The vampire hints to a sense of ‘unsettlement’. Through his figure the viewer, in a quite troubled sense, comes face-to-face with the dramatization of humanity. As a creature, the vampire encompasses men's vulnerability and his inability to alter the laws of time. As Sarah Sceats states ‘Vampires represent what we both fear and desire; they evoke a marginal world of darkness, secrecy, vulnerability, excess, and horror. Whatever they are, it is positively Other’. This notion of ‘excess' was also tackled by Omar Calabrese in one of his chapters. According to Calabrese one could only escape from ‘a closed system’ through this notion of excess. The vampire represents this excess as he personifies ‘those aspects excluded or rejected by society, its existence in itself denotes excess’. In addition to this, Calabrese associates this vampiric excess to the exotic erotic which alludes to the scandal and breaks the boundaries of what is socially acceptable. In this sense the vampire's bite is linked with the erotic. Further to this ‘explicit erotic act’ we have an unavoidable act with death. It was Bram Stoker which explored this notion in his novel Dracula. In the scene, where Lucy dies we see an excessive use of the erotic; ‘She seemed like a nightmare of Lucy as she lay there; the pointed teeth, the bloodstained, voluptuous mouth – which it made one shudder to see – the whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy’s sweet purity’. Through this, Bram Stolker illustrates us with an example of how death is linked to the erotic. The notion of ‘excess' is repetitively used and reused by Stolker. In fact, he describes Lucy as a ‘nightmare †¦ hich it made one shudder to see’ As viewers, as film enthusiasts or as junkies of the silver screen, we have grown accustomed to think that nothing happens outside of the frame. Yet this idea seems to crumble to the ground when it comes to Dreyer's, Vampyr. The latter haunts us with ‘a distinctly innerving sense of not knowing where anyon e is, creating a feeling that anything culd be happening beyond the frame, in the ‘blind space' in which the monsoter lurks’. Visually speaking, Vampyr resembles Jean Epstein's La Chute de la Maison de Usher and Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou. Dreyer's horror movie encapsulates ‘clear moments of crossover between the two movements’. Therefore Vampyr distinguished itself from other movies of the same genre because of the various artistic influences which left their imprint. Comparison can also be drawn between more contemporary movies which are not necessarily classified under an artistic movement but which are still relevant to vampire studies. Coppola's movie is separated by decades from its predecessors and is more straight forward in the narration of events. Visual metaphors are central to its filmic structure and the American director’s interpretation is completely submerged in blood, but while this film is heavily conditioned by an erotic element, the scenes of blood in Vampyr are scarce. The ‘spots of blood’ carry psychoanalytic connotations. Barbara Creed states that the manifestation of horror is culturally and socially constructed through the ‘images of blood, vomit, pus. shit etc’. These images emphasize a split between the law of the father and the maternal influence. This division has to be viewed under a pre-Oedipal line of thought. In this stage there is a fierce attachment to the maternal figure. In Dreyer's vampire movie, blood is linked to the maternal entity because Chopin ‘punctuates the flesh and transgresses the sanctity of the body’. Another overwhelming point stated by Creed is that the female vampire does not limit herself to mutating her victims into creatures which are one with the night. Her victims are testimony of the vampire's ability to destabilize ‘traditional gender definitions’. Although lesbian connotations are often attributed to this particular flick, there is no real intimacy between Leon and Chopin. The scene in which Chopin ‘feeds' upon her young prey, does not communicate a sense of desire. The village doctor who is at the service of Chopin, does not coincide with the medical man who represents a positive force in the traditional gothic horror narrative. In Coppola's Dracula, based on Bram Stocker's novel, Van Helsing is an educated individual and an adversary to the malevolent vampire. The doctor ‘sucks' the blood from the living thanks to the transfusion equipment just as Chopin uses fangs. The victim of the doctor's bloodsucking, artificial technique is Gray. He is the character who often looks at the actions taking place by standing behind doors or windows; ‘he is an outsider peering in’. In fact, Gray is removed from the narrative action even as he witnesses the first death. David Bordwell believed that Gray ‘is a curious character’ and he is more of a mediator than a provocateur of action. However, Gray still ‘possesses an active and enunciating gaze’. This male character's progress is often hindered by other characters, by the props and also by buildings. What is so overwhelming about Vampyr is the collision between reality and the supernatural. Everything seems to take place within a dream-like state and the movie is ‘ephemeral, polysemic and shifting, provoking opinion and polarising debate’. The movie afflicts the viewer with dissonance and discomfort, especially when our gaze meet Chopin's stare as Gray is sealed in the coffin. The latter is an artefact which shares an endless tradition with the general notion of vampirism. It is the space where these beings retreat and hide away from the daylight. The coffin is the body-fitting box where Dracula and Count Orlock patiently wait their time to rise while the vessel is sailing. This tomb or repository is ‘the most vampiric of all enclosure’. Gray finds himself trapped in a coffin and at this point in the movie's chronology, ‘the spectatorial gaze is doubly trapped, within the confines of a sealed coffin and the immovable dead body’. As the coffin containing Gray's corpse is being carried away, the procession passes next to Gray's unconscious body. In Vampyr, the element of the doppelganger has a heavy resonation. Vampyr is venerated amongst lovers of the genre even though movie makers throughout those years did not have the present technological resources. Old, B&W, silent movies may seem alien in form and content to younger generations, yet what some of these past flicks embody inextinguishable artistic and human values. We've already drawn remarks on Coppola's remake of Bram Stocker's narrative work into film. Long before the release of this movie, ‘the most haunting of any attempt to dramatize Bram Stocker's novel’ was Murnau's Nosferatu. There is a strong resemblance between Murnau's vampire and the one lurking in the book. What is it that viewers find so terrifying about Nosferatu? Is it the vampire’s appearance and inhuman gestures? Does he embody the general notion that â€Å"we fear whatever we cannot explain or understand through rational thinking†? As consumers, for there is no better way to call genuine movie enthusiasts, we ought to dig deeper and deeper into the sequence of images. Most of the time denotations come with connotations and it is up to us to fish out such hidden meanings. The imagery in Murnau’s movie suggests the concept of repression and ‘the arch is a visual leit motif in the film’. Arches and similar structures try to stop the vampire from emerging. Count Orlock is therefore a repressed force who is also linked to Jonathan via these same arches. In a memorable scene in the movie, the Count emerges from under an arch and Jonathan from another as they meet for the first time. Jonathan is also linked to the menacing creature through the house which stands on the opposite side to his. Count Orlock purchases this house, thus becoming the young man’s reflection. Jonathan is a loving companion to Nina while Nosferatu becomes a ‘demonic alternative husband’. Nosferatu contains numerous references to ‘a number of traditional or cultural elements’. Myths about Persephone and Orpheus also produce an echoing effect through this vampire movie. Nosferatu was not meant to float in its own air bubble, separated from all other influences and ideas. Murnau transfuses into the motion picture ‘the product of a synthesis’. This adaptation of Dracula, which donated to all lovers of the horrific this ‘thin, repulsively bald’ being, dates back to ‘the heyday of expressionist fantasy’. What come into collision are the natural and the fantastic. These two distant realms are central to Nosferatu yet neither dominates the film. The viewer cannot but notice the obsession with filing space and the ‘obrusive sets’. Like Tabu, Nosferatu is primarily set in natural surroundings and both of Murnau’s movies deal with a menace. The latter diffuses into an ordinary world and out of a fantastic, paranormal world. Nosferatu portrays an animal-like being (a mixture between a rat and a human skeleton) who is ‘constantly associated with nature throughout the film’. Even Count Orlok’s movements does not coincide with those of a human being , in fact even his castle ‘is like a natural continuation of the rock’ thus the true protagonist in Nosferatu is Nature which is closely linked with its natural settings. In Nosferatu, Murnau used a sort of trick photography also with expressionist angle shots. As Gilberto Perez Guillermo suggests these specific techniques are used to illustrate a remote, fragmented and bizarre environment. Nosferatu is generally seen from distance and this gives us the impression that the nocturnal creature is merging itself with the surrounding nature. Murnau succeeded into creating an iconic- power image through which he shows Nosferatu as ‘seemingly immensely tall’. In particular the scene where the vampire is standing on the deck of the vessel which is no longer conducted by a human being. Murnau makes also the use of the negative image, this technique is ideal to express ‘mystery, fantasy, and unreality’. This negative image basically involves an X-ray photograph, in this film it was used when Jonathan was being carried into ‘the land of phantoms’ in Count Orlock's weird carriage. The three movies which have been discussed so far are all based on similar, if not identical, themes. In each case the relationship between the female character and the parasite represented by the vampire is at the heart of the movie's plot. Guillermo del Toro took on a different approach and directed a vampire movie which derailed from the norm set up by the previously discussed films. Narrative-wise, Cronos ignores the myth of the Count and focuses on a device that causes transformations to take place within the main character's physique. The Cronos looks like an insect which shares some sort of a mutual parasitic relationship with its victim. Apart from a different take on the blood-sucking creature's myth, Cronos proposes characters which are marked by an ‘implied absence’. Del Toro's movie might ‘represent a nostalgic look at the past’ in the sense that the long-gone years receive a corporeal dimension belonging to the present. The main character in this Mexican Gothic is a perfect illustration of this notion. Jesus Gris is the ‘purveyor of antiques and guardian of the new dawn’ the latter being Aurora. What distinguishes Jesus Gris with Dieter de la Guardia, the dying industrialist who is aware of the Cronos' true nature and powers are there past scars which must be dealt with in modern times. On the one hand the ‘scars’ of Jesus are related to family life while on the other Dieter de la Guardia is at the mercy of an ailing health. Above all else, the Cronos is a ‘fascinating hybrid of science and nature’ and the golden case is said to hold an insect which lives off human blood. In return the creature rejuvenates its bearer and prolongs his life, killing off the threat posed by ‘corruptible, material flesh’. The device is needed by de la Guardia because it surpasses the technology of modern times. Only the Cronos can achieve what technology has failed in. There also lies a fine parallelism between de la Guardia and the angel’s statue. The man’s body is full of holes just like the archangel’s interior which is infested by cockroaches and if the statue reminds us of the divine, the deteriorating human body indicates an inevitable ending. Erotism is a stranger to the film’s plot, yet del Toro’s work delves into universal dreams, such as eternal youth and the conflict between life and death. Jesus caries the device while de la Guardia holds the instructions; Jesus is the unsuspecting individual who comes across an artifact of mysterious powers and who ends owning itself to it. The Cronos dehumanizes him and his need for human blood becomes more prominent as the film unfolds. Just as the insect feeds upon the blood of the device’s holder, the latter ends up developing an appetite for human blood. Viewers have grown accustomed to having a female figure within vampire stories. Whether the woman is a prey, a victim or an object of desire, she has been instrumental to Dracula’s and Vampyr’s storyline. In Cronos, Aurora ‘plays the role of the love interest for which the monster must make his sacrifice’. Transformation and shifting of form does not limit itself to Jesus’ metamorphosis, but it also manifests itself in the relationship between the vampire and the female figure. The erotism is replaced by an ‘innocent, filial love’. Contrasting and comparing characters and plots allows us to point out what is present in one movie and absent in another. Some characters from different filmic works may share the same attributes or characteristics, while others may interpret the same role but in a totally different manner. The so-called â€Å"assistant†, the faithful follower who is at the service of his master, is present in all four films discussed so far. However Angel, the nephew of de la Guardia, is not as submissive as Renfield and the village doctor. Angel’s mode of thinking is simply capitalistic. He yearns for his uncle’s wealth and represents the ‘cynical angel’. In contemporary popular culture the power of the vampire’s bite did not vanish but in some manner it did change. We can see this notion through the creation of diverse pop culture vampires such as Angel and Spike in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). These modern vampires have been ‘desexualized and de-victimized’ because they only obtain and drink blood from butchers. Now the vampire is made more human and this highlights the fact that contemporary vampires have a more mundane appearance. In the new millennium the vampire seemed to have changed from a creature of fear to a creature of ‘sympathy and emulation’. This is made more evident in online discourse about the vampire. As argued by Mary Williamson in her book Lure of the Vampire, in the virtual world the vampire is perceived as a ‘forgivable outcast’ and thus we sympathize with him. In Facebook, a social network used by millions in the world the presence of this being is very strong. Through one particular application called Vampire application we see several imitations of the ‘folkloric tradition of the vampire’. This application is diffused from one user to another via a ‘virtual bite’. During this process a user is sent an invitation to enrol himself to such application, were the user gets to interact with other individuals who share their interest and curiosities about this subject. Users get to fight other vampires, fill their hunger or feed upon weaker vampires. Once cravings for this so called ‘virtual-violence’ are stated by many, users can also send gestures such as hugs to their nearest companions. Feeding and fighting are the highlight of this application were vampires get points and money for doing so which than they can be exchanged for weapons or to improve their senses or powers . In this application placing someone in a suit will result in losing all their fights for two consecutive days, which is quite a deal breaker. This application also embraces violence amongst friends. Some of the many options this application boasts are the way one can attack another throughout the Facebook community. This application is filled with the erotic; this notion solidifies the ‘traditional elements of the transgressive vampire’. At each and every single level the vampire's abilities achieves a new rank and this creates a new type of vampire. As noticed by Mary Williamson in the virtual world this being is not perceived as an ‘outcast’ but rather a fundamental figure through which players communicate. In the online world the vampires have become a part of a different ritual, a social ritual by which relationships and friendships are maintained and expanded’. In this application, what used to frighten about this creature is eliminated and instead it is accepted. In fact, with the loss of penetration of the bite the vampire is ‘de-sexualized and sanitized’. According to C alabrese, the vampire represents only a slight alteration beyond what is socially accepted and thus it represents; the shifting of limits. ‘When confronted by an ‘acceptable’ excess, the limit is simply moved (perhaps to a considerable distance) in order to absorb it’. When in the virtual world, elements like blood and the penetration of the bite are removed ‘the virtual vampire becomes the monster that is us’. In the twentieth century, sympathy for this being has grown bigger. In fact as stated by Williamson, this being has generated new implications and attitudes ‘towards the ‘self ’ in the twentieth century’. There is a great desire to imitate the vampire not as a rebellious figure but rather to imitate a ‘bohemian outsiderdom which locates the individual as the desirable outsider, the sympathetically alienated’. In the virtual context perception of the self becomes ‘fluid and flexible’. As it is no longer linked with the body but it is highly linked with the fulfilment of desires. In this sense identity is constructed as one desires. The virtual identity can be understood through the Lancian psychoanalytic theory. ‘In the online world the virtual identity is not reflected but is rather constructed; the subject is not created in the reflection but rather in the digital composite’. This leads us to do a parallelism between the vampire and the virtual identity. According to Shannon Winnubst, the site represents the mirror reflection in which an individual forms and constructs his ideas about the self. On the other hand the vampire ‘in lacking a mirror reflection, does not even register on the radar of identity-formation: he does not have the necessary condition for the possibility of becoming a subject’. Also Rhonda Wilcox explored this theme using the imaginative Id and the Jungian shadow. According to Wilcox the online body represents the negative aspect of one's personality. In this manner the vampire is portrayed as the doppelganger of the victim before it was biten. Stoker's Lucy and Angel in Buffy are the perfect examples, Stoker’s Lucy from chaste to ripely erotic, or perhaps the souled and soulless incarnations of Angel in Buffy – so too does the virtual body provide opportunity for the vampiric shadow to find form in cyberspace. As stated by Wilcox, the imaginative Id illustrates the unconscious which is repressed and which encourages the pre-vampiric identity to free itself. In this sense online where the personality is fluid the wishes of the Id can be fulfilled as there are no repercussions which constitute some sort of restriction in the corporeal world. When talking about horror movies there is a subtle difference between the onster and the human being. But as indicated in films by Dreyer, Murnau, Coppola and Guillermo del Toro a strong link exists between the two beings. The myth and the vampire have always been subjects of debates. Although there are number of similarities and differences between Vampyr and Nosferatu yet both films show us the vampire as being more than just a b lood sucking, nocturnal creature but it is also the representation of the darkest corners of the human psyche ‘For this is one of the functions of our monsters: to help us constrict our own humanity, to provide guidelines against which we can define ourselves’.