Case Memo: Howard Wolowitzz & Rajesh Koothrappalii Essay

THE PARTIES: 1.Howard Wolowitzz: eighty-seven years old, was an excellent engineer. He was a retired soldier who had served with the Canadian Army. He worked in Ontario later, and became a realtor and a developer of lands. 2.Rajesh Koothrappalii: fifty-five years old, was a chartered accountant. He has abundant experiences and background knowledge about the hotel businesses. ABSTRACT: Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii first met in 2000. From then on, Wolowitzz and Koothrappali decided to begin investing in the hotel businesses to make profits under the suggestion of Koothrappalii as Koothrappalii was very familiar with the hotel industry. Through several investments on the similar projects, Howard Wolowitzz fundamentally believed that he and Rajesh Koothrappalii had been into a â€Å"partnership† when conducting business activities. After Koothrappalii personally made some investments without Wolowitzz, Wolowitzz thought that he was â€Å"betrayed† by Koothrappalii and should be compensated by a portion of earnings from Koothrappalii since Koothrappalii violated the â€Å"fiduciary duties† towards his â€Å"partner† to make a â€Å"secret profit.† ANALYSIS: 2001-2003: Invested in North Etobicoke In 2001, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii invested one hundred thousand Canadian dollars each in a company in north Etobicoke which is an electoral district in Ontario, and both became the shareholders of the company. After the subdivision of the company was sold in 2003, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii received five hundred thousand Canadian dollars respectively. In this situation, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii are not in a partnership, but both are the equal shareholders of the same company. First of all, they never conduct a written or oral agreement that ensures their partnership in doing any kinds of business. Moreover, according to the Partnership Act., the partnership means two or more people running a common business and having the aim of earning profit are in a relationship called partnership. The partners in the partnership have to share the same venture and profit in business which they are carrying on. Each partner is fully liable for the debt of the firm in their partnership, and general partners should get actively involved in the management of the business. However, in terms of the definition of the partnership entity, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii did not carry on the same business and not be fully liable for the debt of the firm they invested. Instead, they are the shareholders with limited liabilities, and they do not have authorities to make any decisions in management while investing in business. Additionally, they do not share the profit earned in real. The profit they earned is based on their personal investment rather than the shared one. Therefore, at that time, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii were two persons who individually invested in the same firm and obtained their own profit under the suggestion of Koothrappalii. 2004-2006: Invested in Mr. Sport Hotel In June 2004, Rajesh Koothrappalii advised again that he and Howard Wolowitzz invested in the same hotel near Niagara Fall, called the Mr. Sport Hotel. This time they invested and became the shareholders of the Mr. Sport Hotel. Differently, Rajesh Koothrappalii, who was based on his excellent experience and knowledge about the hotel industry, involved in the management and arrangement of the hotel. As a â€Å"manager,† Koothrappalii was remunerated by an amount of ten thousand Canadian dollars per month. Until the early 2006, the Mr. Sport Hotel was sold. Meanwhile, Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii received one million Canadian dollars respectively from their shares through the sales of the hotel. Although Rajesh Koothrappalii participated into the management of the hotel and also invested his capital to the hotel, he and Howard Wolowitzz were still not in a partnership under this condition. To make sure a partnership legally exists, the Nature of Partnership in the Partnership Act states a few rules have to be followed. One of them claims that all partners who contribute the same amount of capital to the firm should share the same responsibility of debts and profits earned. Also, they all ought to actively participate in the management, arrangement and decision making of the business they run. Nevertheless, even though Rajesh Koothrappalii involved in the management of the Mr. Sport Hotel, Howard Wolowitzz did not involve in. As demonstrated above, they still did not assume the same venture and share the same profit of the business together; even they did not run the same business. Obviously, their business actions violate the Nature of the Partnership which claims â€Å"Partnership is the relation that subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view to profit.† It is undoubted that there was no any partnership relationship between Wolowitzz and Koothrappalii. The business relationship between these two persons is just that they are the shareholders of the same hotel, and Rajesh Koothrappalii is the manager of the Mr. Sport Hotel as well. We suppose that the Mr. Sport Hotel was run by a corporation. Rajesh Koothrappalii would be a director and shareholder in this situation since he managed and invested in the Mr. Sport Hotel. Considering about the duty of good faith, a director holds this duty towards his shareholders for making his own best judgments to fulfill the best interests of the company. However, Rajesh Koothrappalii did not increase the loss and cost of the company when he was the director of the Mr. Sport Hotel. On the contrary, he generated the profits of shareholders, and we can assume that he executed the duty of good faith towards Howard Wolowitzz and other shareholders. A Few Years Later: Invested Separately In a few years later, Rajesh Koothrappalii sometimes suggested Howard Wolowitzz to invest on the same project with him; sometimes he followed the investment opportunities alone without noticing Howard Wolowitzz. Those actions made Wolowitzz feel that he was betrayed and excluded by Rajesh Koothrappalii who made a â€Å"secret benefit.† In fact, there is still no partnership here among Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii. Besides what was illustrated above that they repeated the same actions and fell into the same circumstances: no shared profits, no shared risks, no personal liability towards the full debts, no involvement in management of the business and no running of the same business. There were several core problems appeared. More fundamentally, no written or oral agreement was given to prove their business relationship, and neither Howard Wolowitzz nor Rajesh Koothrappalii was entitled to be an agent of their partnership if the business relationship exists. When a person becomes a partner of a partnership to carrying on a business, he is entitled to sign as an agent or a representative of the whole partnership and the other partners as well. A person, as a delegate of the partnership, has an apparent authority to sign a contract and conducts business activities to make a profit to the partnership. The contracts he signs and the business activities he involves in should be considered as an effective document. However, none of them has an apparent authority when they conduct business activities outside their â€Å"partnership.† In other words, none of them can be considered as a legal agent of the â€Å"partnership,† and they cannot make decisions on behalf of the â€Å"partnership† legally. Moreover, without notification, no other people outside their â€Å"partnership† would consider them into a partnership and treated them as legal partners in business. The public did not realize and acknowledge that Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii are legal partners in a partnership. The absence of the apparent authority is not the only problem. To be one partner in a partnership, everyone has a responsibility to fulfill the fiduciary duties with each other. As noted in Partnership Act, â€Å"[p]artners are bound to render true accounts and full information affecting the partnership to any partner or his legal representatives.† That is to say that the accurate information and accounts having influences on the partnership must be available to all partners. Standing on the Howard Wolowitzz’s point of view, Rajesh Koothrappalii â€Å"concealed† the information of investment opportunities of their partnership, and reserved the beneficial opportunities to himself. Furthermore, Howard Wolowitzz believed that â€Å"[e]very partner must account to the firm for any benefit derived by him without the consent of the other partners from any transaction concerning the partnership or form any use by him of the partnership property, name or business connection.† Indeed, Rajesh Koothrappalii did not notice Howard Wolowitzz about some investments although he invested by himself. It is not necessary for him to inform Howard Wolowitzz since no real partnership exists between them. 2011ï ¼Å¡ Purchased a Hotel Rajesh Koothrappalii spent two million Canadian dollars on an obsolete hotel located on Queen Street at the downtown area of Toronto and started to renovate it with his two sons. Then, he had an agreement with Triden Investment Inc. (abbreviated as TII) and allowed TII to set up residential condominiums on his place. Also, they agreed that they would divide their profits through selling the condominiums. Koothrappalii estimated that he would gain a profit of around six million Canadian dollars. The Partnership Act clarifies some elements of partnership, including having a real relationship between partners, carrying on a business in common and having a view to profit. At first, according to this time period of this case, it is certain that Rajesh Koothrappalii and Triden Investment Inc. had an agreement about the construction of the condominiums and his two sons Rajesh Koothrappalii entrusted TII to build the condominiums. However, they did not create any agreement about a partnership relationship between them in a written or oral manner. In addition, Koothrappalii and TII did not run a business in common. It is a fact that Koothrappalii had an ownership of property which was the hotel he purchased, but he did not manage and operate the construction. Not only did TII construct the hotel, but also managed the whole process of construction. Furthermore, Koothrappalii and TII had a share of profit. Although the share of profit is a key point of partnership, they cannot be regarded as a partnership if this point is only condition they have in common. With the perspective of TII, Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz do not have any partnership relationship in this construction project. Rajesh Koothrappalii individually signed an agreement with TII about the construction of condominiums without acting as a partner of the â€Å"partnership† with Howard Wolowitzz. TII, as an outsider from the â€Å"partnership† between Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz, did not acknowledge and discover the partnership’s existence between Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz. Thus, it shows that Wolowitzz does not have an apparent authority of a partnership and does not make the third party know he had a partnership with Rajesh Koothrappalii. In addition, Rajesh Koothrappalii purchased the hotel and had an agreement with TII by himself and Wolowitzz did not get involved in these procedures. Therefore, Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz do not carry on a business in common. More importantly, Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz do not share the profit of the construction. Sharing a profit between partners is an essential element in the partnership. CONCLUSIONï ¼Å¡ In terms of the above facts and analysis of this case, Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz do not have a partnership relationship. There is no adequate evidence to show that they acted as partners. The business behaviors and actions of Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz do not correspond to the definition of the partnership. Firstly, they never make a written or oral agreement of partnership between them in each business investment from the beginning to the end. Secondly, they do not carry on one business in common. Last but not least, they do not have a share of profits and costs. In this case, their actual business role are shareholders or investors, they do not form any typical forms of business. The main reason is that they undertake and invest their own business separately. Despite of considering about the partnership relationship, Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz do not have any partnership liabilities since they do not form a partnership. From a legal point of view, Wolowitzz is not entitled to have claims on the compensation about fiduciary duties like secret benefits from Koothrappalii. Conversely, Koothrappalii has no an obligation to compensate for Wolowitzz in fiduciary duties because they are not in a partnership. In conclusion, the partnership between Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz does not exist in this case. ADVICEï ¼Å¡ To Howard Wolowitzzï ¼Å¡ According to my analysis and conclusions of this case, I suggest Howard Wolowitzz not to sue Rajesh Koothrappalii. The above analysis reveals that his appeal is likely to be rejected and he may lose a lawsuit because there is no any evidence to show that Rajesh Koothrappalii and Howard Wolowitzz have a partnership relationship. Wolowitzz’s business actions cannot prove that he has the conditions of partnership. Thus, Koothrappalii does not have any liability of partnership to compensate for Howard Wolowitzz. Also, Wolowitzz misunderstand the concepts of partnership. He thinks that he is in a partnership but actually he is not in law. So Koothrappalii has no liability to him. However, there are some situations in this case I’d like to mention. Initially, Koothrappalii suggested Howard Wolowitzz to invest many businesses every time. If Koothrappalii mislead Howard Wolowitzz to invest a business with his advice, Wolowitzz may lose a lot of money and this investment is very beneficial to Koothrappalii to earn more profit. It is apparent that he provides Howard Wolowitzz with inaccurate information in order to achieve his business purpose. When this kind of situation happens, Wolowitzz can sue Koothrappalii and he has a personnal liability to Wolowitzz because his business behavior violates the law of business defraud. Nevertheless, If Koothrappalii suggests him to invest and offer true and reliable investment information to Howard Wolowitzz and Wolowitzz obtains the loss of profits in his own investment, this problem will be attributed to Wolowitzz instead of Koothrappalii. In this situation, Koothrappalii has no any liability to Wolowitzz, and he does not violate the law of business defraud as well. In addition, if the Mr. Sport Hotel is run by a corporation, Koothrappalii will be a director and shareholder of th e Mr. Sport Hotel from 2004 to 2006. At that time, Howard Wolowitzz is also a shareholder of that company but not a director of the company. If Wolowitzz can find evidence that Koothrappalii’s investment as a director does not give the best interests to the Mr. Sport Hotel, Howard Wolowitzz may sue him in fiduciary duties as a shareholder. In this situation, Rajesh Koothrappalii violates the duty of good faith. But I’d like to warn Howard Wolowitzz that there is a limitation period of a contract and tort appeal which is two years. From the time of this situation to now, the time range is around six years. Thus, it is less likely to appeal successfully for Wolowitzz. An another thing I’d like to suggest to Howard Wolowitzz is the concept of apparent partners. We know Howard Wolowitzz are not in a partnership so he cannot be related to the concept of apparent partners in this case. However, if he wants to establish a partnership with other people in the future, he has to pay attention to his apparent authority of a partnership. When he and his partners are going to corporate with the third party, he is bound to make the third party notice that he and his partners have a partnership relationship. This is one of the most significant points in the partnership. Furthermore, this case will cost Howard Wolowitzz a plenty of money, energy and time. If he loses the lawsuit, he will spend more costs on it since he has to bear a part of the winning party’s legal fees. Howard Wolowitzz should realize that he almost has little chance to win this lawsuit so I suggest that he had better not to sue Rajesh Koothrappalii. It will be not good for him. Time and energy are very important to him because the opportunity cost of time and energy are earnings. He can take advantage of the time he puts on this lawsuit to invest and develop more businesses for earning profits. Eventually, I’d like to recommend Howard Wolowitzz to study and learn the statutes and laws of business in Canada via different kinds of social media like TV news, magazines, newspaper or Internet. These are good and convenient ways for Howard Wolowitzz to understand the business law further. He can develop his law knowledge better. He also can know various cases about business law on news. It is a good source to pay attention to many laws that he does not really know. Also, Howard Wolowitzz can search for some laws on the Internet. This method will show him about laws fast and efficiently. There are some good business laws on the website, such as e-laws on Service Ontario website. Furthermore, going to library is a nice choice to read the statutes of business law if he is interested in more business law. To the lawyer, Ms.Littigator: From my analysis and judgments of this case, I advise that Ms.Littigator had better not help Howard Wolowitzz sue Rajesh Koothrappalii because the probability of losing a lawsuit for this case is very large. Firstly, it is hard for you to win a lawsuit for this case because Howard Wolowitzz and Rajesh Koothrappalii do not have a partnership legally. They just acted as shareholders to invest their business separately all the time. With the perspective of a lawyer, Ms.Littigator cannot have sufficient and strong evidence to prove that they have a real partnership relationship. Secondly, I found that a situation may bring a benefit to Howard Wolowitzz. If the Mr. Sport Hotel is run by a corporation and Howard Wolowitzz have evidence that Rajesh Koothrappalii did not make the best interests to the corporation called the Mr.Sport Hotel rather than himself as a director, it is possible that you may help Wolowitzz sue Koothrappalii in the fiduciary duty of corporation rather than the fiduci ary duty of partnership. However, the most important thing is that a limitation period of contract and tort appeal is two years. Thus, I still think that it is good for you to not help Wolowitzz sue Koothrappalii. What is more, you are more likely to lose your profit, energy and time. If you lose the lawsuit, you will not attain the remuneration from the losing party. You also lose your time and energy on it. Actually, you can use the time you put on this lawsuit to deal with a new lawsuit which you can win. Finally, if you really would like to help Howard Wolowitzz, I have another several suggestions. Howard Wolowitzz was a veteran in his early life. He may not know the newest version of the business law. As he became a land developer and always carry on a business by himself, Howard Wolowitzz may not have much chance to collaborate with others and form a partnership when doing business. This makes him unfamiliar with and misunderstands the meaning of a partnership, and was mistaken about the business relationships between Koothrappalii and him. To this point, since Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz have been in an acquaintanceship for a long time, they must know each other very well, and may know that Wolowitzz did not know the business law of partnership a lot. However, when Koothrappalii and Wolowitzz conducted investments, Koothrappalii did not indicate their relationships in business unequivocally to Wolowitzz and even did not mention that they are personal investors but not partners. There is a point hidden here that Koothrappalii may mislead Wolowitzz with the â€Å"partnership† relationship between them, and made Wolowitzz firmly believed that they are in a partnership. The key conditions including the age, a retired soldier, the familiarity with business laws and the mistake caused by a long-time friend Koothrappalii can lead Ms.Littigator and Howard Wolowitzz to a relatively advantageous position in the court. Unless Ms.Littigator emphasizes the characteristics of Wolowitzz that he is older, not knowing business laws so much and believed Koothrappalii but was misled by him, Ms.Littigator does not have any chance to win this lawsuit. IMPRESSION OF HOWARD WOLOWITZZ: Howard Wolowitzz was once an engineer and a war veteran. Thus, he did not have any business experiences in the past few years. That’s why he does not totally understand and know the business laws. In any court action, Howard Wolowitzz is a typical person who is hard to win the lawsuit. He does not have patience to analyze his situations in different ways. He does something on impulse and does not considerate about one thing carefully and comprehensively. This kind of incautious personality is more likely to lead him to make mistakes in other cases as similar as the case we analyzed before. Also, Howard Wolowitzz is an easily angry and not tolerant person. When he thought Rajesh Koothrappalii hide him to make a â€Å"secret benefit†, he was very angry about Rajesh Koothrappalii and want to sue him immediately. This fact also reveals that he made decisions fast and this kind of attitude causes him to make mistakes easily. What’s more, he did something with his emotions. For example, he loves Rajesh Koothrappalii as â€Å"a son†. Actually, Rajesh Koothrappalii is not his son and Howard Wolowitzz did not realize that he did not have authorities to interfere with Rajesh Koothrappalii’s own business. Therefore, a person has similar personalities and attitudes like Howard Wolowitzz is more likely to make mistakes in and misinterpret the law.

The Sound of Writing

I was staring at empty space. I tried to look for the fixed contours on the paper and the silhouette of the pen I was holding. I tried but to no avail. My mind was swimming in an endless array of uneasiness. I was not certain whether I was dreaming or already awake. This was hard, I told myself. I felt a drop of sweat trickling down my cheek. Thomas Edison once said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. If he was right then I was on the right track. But doubt was slowly lurking and creeping around me. Was it really this hard to be inspired to write? I just comforted myself by constantly saying what Jean Anouilh once said, that inspiration was a farce that poets had invented to give themselves importance.When I was starting to become a writer, I was not even aware that I was trying to be one. Grade school for me was seventy percent playing and thirty percent dreaming. And my dreams during that time were all about winning an Academy Award or being named as one of the sexiest people in the world. Becoming the next president was also in my mind. But the thought of being a writer was like imagining myself eating salad with an alien in a crater of a moon in one of the planets in the Andromeda galaxy; it never crossed my mind.In a nutshell, when I tried to analyze how I was as a writer in grade school, all I could say was that I was a courageously idiotic writer. An idiot, but brave nonetheless. This was largely due to the fact that everything I had written at that time was not even close to being brilliant or great. All the words I wrote were simply inspired by having the guts to just do it. If there was a paper too difficult to do and a word too hard to define, all I did was to write and write because I believed that everything would be just fine.I was stupid enough to go forth while all hell broke loose and still smiled at the end of the day. I was guided by my own foolish belief I was brave simply because I would not back awa y. This was writing for me in grade school. Writing for me back then was not about being witty or being brilliant. Writing was all about just stroking my pen without regret and without regard for the outcome. However, in a sense, everyone who attempted to write had some ounce of courage. I felt that I was a better writer than the other students not because I wrote well but rather, I wrote braver. And I was braver longer than most. As Ronald Reagan once mentioned, heroes were not braver than anyone else. They were just braver five minutes longer.As I made the transition from grade school to high school, I started to become idealistic. I began having these grand notions of changing the world and eradicating poverty. I was dreaming of winning the Nobel Peace Prize or be named the next Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. This time, I was absolutely clear in becoming a writer. Writing for me during high school was all about greatness. I felt the need to write to impress. I wanted to be witty and brilliant. I wanted everybody to be mesmerized in reading every single word I wrote. When I tried to look back during those days, even when I wrote poorly, I blindly presented my written work of art full of hubris and unafraid. I often compared writing to boxing.As Muhammad Ali would say, to be a great champion, a person had to believe that he was the best. If he was not, he should pretend that he was. This was me in high school. I was the writer who was so full of himself. If a teacher or a classmate did not like what I wrote, I simply told myself that these people did not understand the high level of writing I was doing. I understood myself to be a brilliant and confident writer. In reality, compared to who I was as a writer in grade school, only one thing had changed. If I was a brave and idiotic back then, I was not confident but just cocky in high school. And to my realization, I was still stupid for thinking of how great I was.When I stepped into college, a ren ewed vigour was awakened within me. Maybe I got too tired of being cocky and stupid that I started seeing a new side of me I never saw I had. This time I believed I had transcended from being the good and the better man to the being best man. I was no longer the idiot and stupid writer. I was filled with excitement. I was now the fool. Somehow, the words and lines I were using suddenly all sounded a bit poetic and romantic. I often pondered if I was to be the next William Shakespeare.This time, I was inspired by the others that had gone before me. I wanted to sway the hearts and minds of people with my writing. I wanted to invoke their deepest darkest secrets through my words. I wanted to encapsulate each soul with a stroke of my pen. I longed to see their tears and hear their laughs by my artistry in poetry. I would be that whom which T. S. Eliot described as the genuine poet who could communicate his words before it was understood. And to my shock, I did see their tears and heard their laughs because of what I had written. I saw my professors crying in pain because they could not even bear one more word of my work. I heard laughs not because I was funny, but because my work was hilarious. Despite this, I still continued and persevered. As one of my favourite authors, Richard Bach, would say, a professional writer was an amateur who did not quit.Everything was a bit different after that. Somehow, until to this very day, I would still be idiotic, stupid and foolish. But this time around, I was a wise fool at the least. I had been quoting Edison, Anouilh, Ali, Reagan and Eliot just to name a few thinking that by using their words, I would be a good writer; I would sound better. But I soon realized that writing was about finding my voice.I needed to find my own words. Writing was about knowing and understanding who I was. Thus, I resolved to search for the right words, the right imagery, the right tone and the right sound. However, I always asked myself if there were indeed such things. Then, it hit me. I was so concerned with the way I was writing that I forgot to find my purpose for it. Why did I want to become a writer? The answer was simple. It was because in writing, I offered who I was and not what I had. That sounded right, I told myself. It sounded just about right.

Educational Reforms in Pakistan Essay

Educational reforms are a significant reference point in the educational history of Pakistan in terms of their scale, the amount of money invested in them, the order of their urgency and their official/political ownership. The reforms are also important as their need was felt by the donor country (the US), and the contours of the implementation process were drawn up by consultants who came as part of the grant package. Before we look at the politics of these educational reforms we need to understand that historically dominant groups have always used terms like ‘reforms’, ‘development’, ‘civilisation’, ‘emancipation’, and ‘peace’ for their hegemonic purpose. Many imperialist powers annexed other countries ostensibly to civilise them, to develop them, to liberate their people, and to bring peace to the colonies. The important point to note here is that hegemonic powers first turn development into ‘undevelopment’ and then offer reforms for their own version of development. For instance, when the British came to India the country was doing fine economically. Michael Parenti in Against Empire writes, â€Å"In 1810, India was exporting more textiles to England than England was exporting to India. By 1830, the trade flow was reversed. The British had put up prohibitive tariff barriers to shut out Indian finished goods and were dumping their commodities in India, a practice backed by British gunboats and military force. Within a matter of years, the great textile centres of Dacca and Madras were turned into ghost towns.† This rather long quote refers to a typical pattern of hegemonic designs of development, ‘undevelopment’ and one’s own version of development. In India, after turning development into ‘undevelopment’, the British claimed to bring development through the construction of roads, railway tracks, buildings etc. This view of development is purely physical. This interesting pattern is also shared by military governments. It is claimed that most developmental works were carried out by military dictators like Ayub, Zia, and Musharraf. We can also equate this pattern with ‘form’, ‘deform’, and ‘reform’. Military governments first dissolve parliament and then, after ruling for a long time, promise to give back democracy (their own version of it) as a token of favour. In other words, the dominant group first deforms the existing practice and then embarks on reforming the process. Let us now look at the rationale of the post-9/11 reforms. Ironically the need for such reforms was not felt by the local government but by the US. In the 9/11 Commission report, the US is urged to â€Å"support Pakistan’s government in its struggle against extremists with a comprehensive effort that extends from military aid to support for better education, so long as Pakistan’s leaders remain willing to make difficult choices of their own.† Following this commitment, a large sum of money was given to Pakistan for educational reforms. According to USAID, â€Å"From 2002 through 2006, USAID provided a total of $449m to address the most pressing needs: education, health, economic growth, and good governance.† One of the major reforms was to purge the curriculum of hate material. It is important to note that most of this hate material was in fact included during the period of the Afghan war. Besides help in the shape of weapons, money, training etc, a large sum of money was also allocated by the superpower for designing such primers and books that would excite the youth for jihad. This jihad was a political need of the superpower to settle scores with the Soviet Union. For this purpose a centre was established in Peshawar to design such books. Tariq Ali (quoted in Mamdani) referred to primers that stated that the Urdu letter tay stood for tope (cannon), kaff for Kalashnikov, khay for khoon (blood) and jeem for jihad. It is interesting that money is now being squandered on taking out the hate material which was once inserted with consent. This should not come as a surprise as education has always been used by hegemonic forces as a potent tool to realise their vested interests by moulding marginalised groups. Having looked at the upper level of politics in educational reforms now let us see political manoeuvring at the national level. Pakistan has always suffered from the problem of poor allocation of funds for education. Here was a very good opportunity to make appropriate use of money to bring a qualitative change to the educational system of Pakistan. But on the contrary, the government used this money for its own image-building. To do wonders, a retired general was appointed as minister for education. At the local level, slogans of self-praise, such as ‘Parah Likha Punjab’ were coined to create the illusion of development. On the top, political appointments were made, some of them quite controversial. A sizeable amount of funds was allocated to print and electronic advertisements for the image-building of the provincial leadership. In the books published by the Punjab Text Board a message from the chief minister was also inserted. A typical practice in most research projects, initiated in the name of educational reforms, was to focus on the enhancement of numbers. Showing increased numbers at the end of a research project would satisfy the donors, and the salaries of the employees and consultants would be justified. What do we find as a result of such lucrative projects? We should expect a typical number-crunching game without any sustainable qualitative change. It is important to realise that for real improvement in education, money is important. But money alone cannot bring about any meaningful change unless the desire for reform comes from within, appointments are made on the basis of pure merit, planning is done carefully, an effective monitoring system is in place and goals are not limited to demonstrating expansion in numbers.

Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent Response Essay

Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent Response - Essay Example The girls are born to a very influential Spanish family which lives in the Dominican Republic. Due to the strong opposition of the girls’ father to the political dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, which prevailed in their homeland, the family manages to immigrate to America. The story revolves around their feelings as immigrants, the problems faced by them, the dilemmas they go through as immigrants where they had to let go of the memories of their past and try to adjust in a new life and culture which did not particularly match theirs. In many of the book reviews that I have read, it has been written that the novel is inspired from Julia Alvarez’s personal life, which can be a possible reason for her very realistic outlook on the problems faced by immigrants. I myself felt that there were many aspects of the book that I could relate to as an individual. As with the previous book â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God,† love plays a very important role in this book as well. The central character is Yolanda narrates a considerable part of the story. In one chapter of the book she narrates her experiences as a college student. Her major was English which was challenging for her because in her class of English majors many were native speakers of the language and many of the phrases which they spoke were difficult for her to understand.

Marketing Mix Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Mix - Research Paper Example Several components are collected and divided into four different variables which are known as four Ps – Product, Place, Price and Promotion. In general the term ‘marketing mix’ is used to signify these four Ps. These four Ps are the main elements of marketing mix. Each of them is briefly explained below. Product Product means the tangible goods or the intangible services or the combinations of two that are offered by the companies to their customers. For instance, an Apple iPad is a tangible product whereas a software or insurance policy is an intangible product. According to Pride and Ferrell, a product includes functional, psychological as well as social benefits or utilities. Furthermore it may also include various supporting services like guarantees, installation and repair (Pride & Ferrell, 2010, pp - 282). Price Customers have to pay a certain amount of money in order to purchase a product and this is called price. Companies earn their revenues from the pric es of their products. Price of a particular product can be decided by adopting different policies or strategies. Some of these strategies are ‘target pricing’, ‘ongoing pricing’, ‘value based pricing’ etc. ... Place is basically referred to these and all the locations where the products are made available by the company. Promotion Promotion means all the activities that are involved in communicating the advantages and benefits of a particular product to the customers. The principle objective of promotional activities is to persuade the customer for making him/her purchase the product. There are different kinds of promotional activities that are practiced. Advertising, public relation, personal selling, sales promotion are the most widely practiced promotional tools (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2008, pp. 47). Marketing Mix and Ford Ford motor is one of the biggest automobile manufacturing companies in the world. The company has been producing quality cars for the past century. Different categories of cars starting from SUVs to sedan are produced by Ford. Various functional services like warranties, repair of damages come automatically when any of Ford cars is purchased. The company decides the p rice on the basis of its target revenue as well as consumers’ perception regarding the product. In case of its ‘Escape’ model, Ford calculates the probable retail prices that can be charged by its dealers. However, it is found that the dealers hardly charge the full price that is on the sticker. Instead of doing that, they offer trade-in-allowances, discounts as well as credit terms while negotiating the price with their customers. Such activities help the company to gain competitive advantage (Kotler, 2008, pp. 48-49). As far as distribution channels are concerned, there is a huge network of independent dealers who sell different cars of the company. Dealers are selected carefully by Ford, but once they are selected they get all

Cango Third Analysis Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cango Third Analysis Report - Essay Example Performance appraisals are often done by the company in regards to motivating the employees to engage, align and act in proper synchronization with regards to the company’s goals and objectives (Grubb, 2007, p. 2). The subjective measure of performance takes into account, the various influencing factors that can affect an employee’s performance. But at the same time, since they are dependent on human judgments rather than judged from the objective point of view, there is a tendency of errors. The reason for the errors can be mostly attributed to the human’s ability of judging an employee’s capability and performance (Jones, Steffy & Bray, 1991, p. 307). It can be clearly seen from the transcripts that Clark has confessed to the fact that he is having a serious problem of evaluating his subordinates on the basis of their performance while following the company’s normal scale of subjective performance evaluation. It is quite evident that while evaluating his team members, Clark is making errors related to the factors of leniency. As per the transcripts, Clark prefers to recommend employees with a higher rating on their subjective type performance appraisal rather than giving them a lower rating. This clearly highlights his erroneous evaluation of performance reports, due to his lenient nature of evaluation, while providing the subordinates and team members with a benefit of doubt. Clark’s habit of providing handling performance appraisals on the basis of benefit of doubt also highlights his ability of judging his team members abilities, while using the subjective scale of performance. Clark’s Way Out There can be a number of ways in which Clark can handle this problem while still following the company’s subjective performance appraisal system. Training In an attempt to handle this problem, Clark can opt for help from fellow managers who are working at Cango. Taking this approach of seeking help will lead to an informal form of training from his colleagues, thereby making him more efficient in the handling of the performance evaluation system of the company. Better judgment Another way to tackle his existing problem is through the fact of going for a one on one interview and feedback session for his team members with regards to the targets and assignments they have achieved. This will enable him to make an informed and well justified choice, thereby removing his option of benefit of doubt, while evaluating his team members. 2. Clark’s Suggestion and Its Implication It can be commonly said that the performance management system is done with the sole aim of motivating the employees. It involves the process of defining performance of the employees with regards to the competency required to perform the specified tasks. Performance analysis is also related to the process of determining and understanding the various factors that effectively contributes to the performance of the employees as well as managing them for the purpose of developing their skills and competencies thereby converting them to highly valued resources for the company. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=qCZTEPI52pkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=performance+management+system&source=bl&ots=YB_a0Dlos7&sig=HEKfKSExUpmHdDu2Yvut9Rv17hk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=u5tyUKLbEOPEmAW6-YDgBQ&ved=0CEUQ6wEwAg#v=onepage&q=performance%20management%20system&f=false, p. 53) Performance management system can be either subjective or objective based in nature. Objective based performance manag

Explore your favorite object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Explore your favorite object - Essay Example The image is of particular interest because it reinforced my chemical knowledge of glucose as a compound of three elements. Being able to visualize the distinct elements also increased my interest in learning composition of other chemical compounds because of the reinforced notion that chemical composition of elements and compounds are not just theoretical aspects. Identifying the distinct elements of glucose also helped me to visualize possible chemical reaction mechanism as compounds interact, because of the ability to of the distinct elements to move across structures of involved compounds. The chemistry knowledge that the object reinforces, especially with visualization from the high leveled zooming, makes it the interesting object to me. Even though other chemical objects are available on the screen, glucose is a common substance, a factor that makes it outstanding to capture my interest (Scale of the Universe

Alternative Beverages Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alternative Beverages Industry - Case Study Example People who associate with strenuous activities and sports are inclined to purchasing sports drinks, which are said to help them reenergize and enhance their capability to participate in their respective activities. The ‘mature’ or adult consumers have the vitamin-enhanced beverages, which are said to boost their health as they help them supply the body with vitamins. Energy drinks’ and readymade teas’ target the teenagers, as they seem to assist improve their concentration. In the alternative beverages industry, Pepsi faces stiff competition from its rival company, Coca Cola, and other players with a smaller market share. These include Monster Beverage and Red Bull, which are companies that developed unique brands and advertised them well to earn a fair share of the market (Esterl, 2013). Alternative Beverage Market in the U.S The economic recession back in 2008 dealt a heavy blow to the alternative beverages market. Though there were many opportunities for key players in the alternative beverages segment, demand for the highly priced commodities decreased due to the poor economy. In between 2008 and 2009, sports drinks’ sales declined by thirteen percent and the sale of vitamin-enhanced drinks declined by twelve percent. In 2009, sixty percent sales of alternative beverages were made from sports drinks, followed by sales of energy drinks at twenty-three percent and finally vitamin-enriched drinks, which accounted for eighteen percent. 2008 and 2009 were slow years for the alternative beverages industry in the United States as they did not experience growth but market forecast experts predicted a six percent growth by 2015 (Harder, 2013). Organizations lobbying for health diets attributed conditions such as obesity and diseases like diabetes to the overconsumption of carbonated soft drinks. This has influenced many Americans to consume healthy food thus shying from carbonated soft drinks and moving to alternative beverages. Thi s trend saw companies such as Pepsi create several brands of alternative beverages and this helped cushion the company from dropping sales of carbonated soft drinks (Datamonitor, 2007). Global Alternative Beverage Market In 2005, the alternative beverage market experienced growth that resulted to a value increase of twenty seven billion dollars. In 2009, the industry’s value increased to reach a global value of forty billion dollars and the experts projected a fifteen billion dollar increase by 2014. Consumer preferences had changed due to emphasis on healthy diets thus reducing the market share of carbonated soft drinks, which held forty-eight percent of the market. Data shows that consumers preferred alternative beverages to carbonated soft drinks, which translated to a two percent decline for the latter in 2009. From 2005 to 2009, the global market value of alternative beverages had grown by nine percent and forecasts targeted a nine percent growth by 2014. The United Stat es held a forty-two percent market-share of the alternative beverages, followed by Asia with a thirty one percent and finally Europe with twenty three percent (Harder, 2013). Five Forces Model Firms in other industries offering substitute products There are many companies offering alternative beverages besides PepsiCo. These are Coca Cola, Monster beverages, Red Bull and other smaller players. With all these competitors and their substitute alternative bever

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 18

1 - Essay Example At the door there is a hanging on the wall showing a menu of river fish available to the customers that day. There are leafy trees around the shop indicating that the environment around supports plantation. People from the region get to purchase fresh produce from the farms and fish from the shop since these products are available. The painting has a message that further reinforces the title â€Å"Honest Weights and Square Dealings.† This assures the customer of reliable, honest dealings and quality services. It is during the time of a business busy schedule as indicated by presence of majority of family members. The members are making an effort to attract more customers to the shop. On the poster advertising the name of the business there is a phone number at the top, meaning that the society is developed and uses mobile phones as means of communication. Outside the kiosk two young men hold melons up close to their heads. One boy is using both hands showing how strong he is. Around them there are several baskets of oranges placed left and right of the shop. There are berries on display at the centre of the shop. This indicates the business has no monopoly over the market. Several marketing strategies have been used such as; display of fruits outside, hanging of the menu which has affordable prices at the door, and the two boys outside the kiosk advertising. There are flowers outside the kiosk that adds aesthetic value, attracts and makes the shopping area attractive. The flowers beautify the place implying the kiosk cares for their social welfare, quality and hygiene. A small girl curtseys and welcomes the customers into the shop. The photo shows two gentlemen inside the kiosk ushering in customers indicating that the services being offered in the shop are friendly. The back door is visible and it leads to another room. This family has used a portion

Analysis of time series data Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Analysis of time series data - Research Paper Example Statistical forecasting methods depend on the fact that a time series could be rendered stationary. A stationary time series is a time series whose statistical properties such as mean, variance, autocorrelation, etc. remain constant over time. Statistical forecasting methods compute these stationary time statistical properties from its past values, and use them to predict future values since they will remain the same in the future. Obtaining statistical values such as means, variances, and correlation from non-stationary time series are non-meaningful. This is because such statistics represent only the past but not the future. For example, if the series is consistently increasing over time, the sample mean and variance will grow with the size of the sample, and they will always underestimate the mean and variance in future periods. For this reason much caution should be given to extrapolate regression models fitted to non-stationary data. However, most naturally created time series are non-stationary when expressed in their original units of measurements. They exhibit trends, cycles, random-walking and non-stationary behavior. They remain non-stationary even after deflation or seasonal adjustment. Transforming Non-Stationary Time Series: Non-stationary time series could be converted into stationary ones using mathematical transformations. Predictions for the stationarized series can then be "untransformed," by reversing whatever mathematical transformations were previously used, to obtain predictions for the original series. Thus, finding the sequence of transformations needed to stationarize a time series often provides important clues in the search for an appropriate forecasting model. Trend-Stationary Time Series: It is a time series with a stable long-run trend and reverts back to the trend line following a disturbance. It is stationarized by de-trending. De-treding involves fitting a trend line then subtracting it from the time series. Another way would include the time index as an independent variable in a regression or ARIMA model. Difference-stationary Time

You Decide - Case Study Essay Example for Free

You Decide Case Study Essay HMO which stands for Health Maintenance Organizations are licensed health plans that place providers, as well as the health plans, with dealing with HMO’s there is a risk of medical expenses. The downfall with HMO is that patients must stay inside their network and if the go outside the network they will have to pay out of pocket expenses. HMO is very limited; many patients don’t like limitations when it comes to their decision about their health. PPO which stands for Preferred Provider Organizations provides patients any provider of their choosing. It is known for PPO plans for patients to take advantage of discounts if they choose inside their network. The downfall with this plan, it can be costly if the patients go out of their network. The insurance company will pay 80% of the insurance and the patient is responsible for the remaining cost 20%. If the patient wants to go out of their network then the insurance company would have to pay half the cost and the patient will be responsible for paying the remaining costs. Indemnity insurance is when a policy based upon a fee scale, such a sliding fee, with minimum limits on healthcare costs. The downfall is with this plan is the patients will get stuck with the bill which was not covered by the insurance company. Problem Identification: As reviewing Cooper-Pearson Sports Marketing Company, the company CEO, Mr. Donovan has told me that for the past two years he has lost fifteen key senior employees. Mr. Donovan states he believe one major reason he is losing his staff is because his company cannot afford to hire and train the best. He feels it is waste a time and money, especially if the companies have to hire new staff. Fearing the in the short run the new employees will not stay with company. When doing the exit interviews, he noticed majority of the interviews with past employees, they would consistently mention leaving because of the lack of adequate or affordable medical insurance. When talking with former employee Daniel he stated he the Cooper Pearson Sporting Marketing was his first job right out of college and he looked at the company as family, but as years past has more obligations and the benefits didn’t fit his needs with the pace with economics. Talking with Doulas who is potential employee, his enthusiasm for the company was incredible but unfortunately he has asthma and would have to visit his doctor on a regular basis. Douglas implied that there is limited medical insurance for his health care needs. Situation Analysis: By Organizations manage the quality of the services delivered by their network providers and facilities through a variety of means, including treatment record audits, satisfaction data, and the tracking of complaints, adverse incidents, and quality of care concerns. Increasingly, managed behavioral health care organizations are expanding their quality measurement efforts to include patient safety considerations, evidence-based guidelines, treatment outcomes data, and objective measures, such as the Health Plan Employer Data Information being in business for ten years it is still a growing company and has potential of expanding. We have looked into manage-care physician credentialing is when company is seeking health care providers, the process must be conducted in a manner that meets the goals of managed care program. There are some perks when it comes to physician that uses physician credentialing such as†¦ †¢Better payment from insurance carriers, this will not be a burdened with need to drain patients pocket †¢Serving more patients which make physicians more reliable providers if they are listed in the Preferred Physician’s Group and avoid out of pocket expenses †¢Improving quality in healthcare which includes an extensive background check to avoid fraud. Liberty to choose the fee plan, this would be the best way for a physician to choose the best fee plan that will be profitable to them, they can get fee per service or do capitation fee model based on average number of patients served per month in network †¢Access to fee schedule which will determine the maximum reimbursement limit for different services and help send billing claims accordingly †¢Positive Marketing with thorough physician credentialing plan it can provide a positive marketing benefit to net work, attract large number of members through cost-effective plans. The benefit of prescription drug program to the employer and the employee is that employees can save money by going with generic medication, mail order, and lower copayments. Pharmacy benefit is a very important component in health care benefits and when optimize can contribute to clinical, economic and quality of life outcome of benefit to payers as well as members. The importance of quality management indicator in quality management indicator in manage care programs are very essential to have basically to make sure the patient is satisfied, which is key to happy employees. Is it important to have quality assurance which makes sure records, tracking of treatment, are there are any complaints, any incidents and quality of care for the patients. Solutions: Looking over the problem and analyzing the data, I came up with few solutions that might Cooper-Pearson Sport Marketing Company, that would keep the employees he have and attractive new employees, by changing the health care plan. I think the company should have an HMO but it should be better HMO and I believe the company should also let the employees choose if they want PPO or HMO. Both Manage Care Programs have their perks and it will be benefiting not only the employee but the employer as well. If and when Cooper-Pearson Sports Marketing Company expands the company, they most definitely have to invest or least think about changing the health care insurance if they are going to keep their employees at the company and attract future employees. That is the only way to fix this issue with employees leaving because of the healthcare plan. The benefit of the employer improving the health care plan and implanting this in the plan is that employees would appreciate it and would want to stay and for the future employees would want to join the company. If the employees and future know that Cooper-Pearson Sports Marketing Company are in an affordable prescription that would help many that are on daily medication, in the long run they will be able to depend on not only the company but their health care and not have to worry about their health. When employees know that there is a sense of quality management when it comes to their health care, they know the company have the health at best interest, the employees would know that they would be satisfied.

Virtue Ethical Theory Essay Example for Free

Virtue Ethical Theory Essay To be Happy, isnt that what life is all about? Some call it eudaimonia. Aristotle, one of the many great philosophers of our time, defined eudaimonia as â€Å"that at which all things aim†. Meaning, your life has come together as a whole, thus leading you to be happy. However, Aristotle also says that aiming for happiness is not what should I do, rather what sort of person should I become? For example, if we look at the people around us, we should only see people doing the things they feel they will be successful at, which will ultimately lead to great happiness, like going to school and getting a good job, which leads to things like a house, car, vacations and family. Flourishing is another common term, which means to grow or develop in a healthy way. It is not the kind of happiness you would get from winning the lottery or being lucky, but rather from doing, and accomplishing. So why do we still see people failing and unhappy around us? If we look at their choices and perhaps their ethical beliefs, we start to understand where ethics belongs in the journey of life, which leads me to what I am going to discuss, virtue theory. I will explain and offer an evaluation of this theorys strengths and weaknesses, as well as what it means to be virtuous. Aristotle believed that there are two types of virtue: intellectual virtues and moral virtues. Intellectual virtues are taught and moral virtues are developed through habit. (Richard Kraut, 2012). He believed that you are not just born a virtuous person, rather it is a skill acquired throughout ones lifetime. It is a committed way of living excellent. A common example used in todays description of virtue theory, is learning to play an instrument. To learn an instrument takes daily practice that sometimes takes years to master until it becomes second nature. To become virtuous takes the same dedication to become habit forming. Aristotle believed that all people have the possibility to learn moral education, i.e. the right way to act in different situations. However, Aristotle believed virtues cannot only be taught but that one must, most importantly connect with what it means to be virtuous. (SparkNotes Editors on Aristotle, 2005). Virtuous people are most commonly adults because they acquired these virtues though practice and by aspiring to be virtuous people at a young age. Virtue ethics avoid using a formula to determine ones actions, unlike most ethical theories, which involve rules and actions. It is based on character and focuses on the kind of person we ought to be, rather then what we ought to do. In Immanuel Kant’s deontology theory, a person makes a decision based on certain rules or principles. (Christopher Panza, 2010). Even though humans are naturally inclined to do what nature tells them to do, they often do not. Kant defines this as acting from motive of duty. For example, deontology is the belief that killing someone is wrong, even if it was self-defense. John Mills Utilitarian theory, sometimes referred to as consequentialism, is defined as â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number of people. (Chrishopher Panza, 2010). For example, sacrificing one innocent person to save fifty innocent people or to choose the least bad of several bad options for the greatest amount of good. The theory of Aristotle’s golden mean, states that virtue is a point of moderation between two vices. (Karen Murdarasi, 2008). Which simply means too little of a good thing is undesirable, and too much of a bad thing is undesirable. A person who shares too much of their wealth is wasteful rather than a person who doesn’t share any is stingy. Generosity would be the virtue between the two means. Another famous example is the virtue of courage. Courage lies between the vices of rashness and cowardice. The coward has too much fear or fear when he shouldn’t have any. The rash person has little fear and too much confidence. The courageous person has the right amount. But how are we to know exactly how much of anything is right for anybody? Different degrees are needed for different situations for different people. Aristotle repeatedly reminds us that everyone is different and that virtues do not rely on religion, society, or culture. Instead it depends on the individuals themselves and the individual situation. We must understand that this doesn’t mean that cheating on your spouse occasionally is acceptable, nor is it tolerable to cheat frequently. We simply wouldn’t do it because virtuous people would take pride in being loyal and staying faithful to each other. There are many virtues that Aristotle lists, but most famously there are four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Prudence is the virtue that allows us to correctly know what is right and wrong in any given situation; to choose between virtuous and vicious actions. When we think back to the popular example of courage, an act of prudence would be being able to distinguish the difference between the two vices. When acts are courageous rather than rash or cowardly. Like the other three virtues, prudence is a virtue that can be adapted by anyone. Prudence is an intellectual virtue more than a moral virtue because we can learn it, but it is very connected to the moral virtues. We couldn’t learn prudence without moral virtues and it is not possible to be prudent and not morally good. An example of prudent behavior would be choosing an appropriate time and place of acting in a given situation. We wouldn’t go on Facebook while we were at work, nor would an individual decide to drive after having too many drinks at a party because prudence requires us to judge correctly for a specific situation. Justice is another cardinal virtue. It is ranked as the second of the cardinal virtues, behind prudence, but before fortitude and temperance. Justice means giving each person what he or she is rightfully due. For example if we lend money to a friend, it is right for us to get back what weve lent. We have the right to be given back what we are due and the friend has an obligation to pay back what he or she owes. We often say that â€Å"justice is blind† because it should not matter what we think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay him back. Justice is also related to the idea of rights. We often use justice as a negative point; when we say things such as â€Å"he got what he deserves,† but used in its proper meaning it is positive. Injustice happens when individuals or the law deprives someone of something that he is owed. Fortitude is the third cardinal virtue. This virtue is commonly referred to as courage. Using courage to do the right thing is fortitude. Using courage to do the wrong thing is called obstinacy. Fortitude is about strength of the mind; Mental and emotional strength needed while facing adversity, pain, difficulty or danger in achieving one’s goals. We can use this virtue to overcome our fears and strengthen our character. When practicing fortitude, the person is willing to put him or herself in danger if necessary, but does not look for danger for fun. It is when a person endures pain or misfortune and doesnt complain about it. It is fighting the good fight and never giving up no matter what. Temperance is the ability to restrain yourself from good pleasure, such as eating or drinking, when doing so will benefit yourself or others. It is a form of self-discipline. Eating and drinking are all necessary for our survival, but if we over eat, we call that the vice of gluttony. Likewise, if we overindulge in alcoholic beverages we call that drunkenness. Temperance has nothing to specifically with how much we eat or drink; it’s about how much control you have over these things. Everyone wants to be in control of their own actions because that is one of the things we were designed for. In my research of ethics, I often thought of the TV show The Walking Dead, which deals with how a society is forced to handle a zombie apocalypse. What is different about this show than other zombie shows, is that The Walking Dead focuses more on the characters and the human response to the apocalypse rather than focusing just on the zombies. The Walking Dead is focused around Rick, a small-town Sheriff’s deputy, his family and a number of other survivors who have came together as a group in order to survive in the world after it has been taking over by zombies or as the characters call them, Walkers. If bitten by one of the Walkers, the victim dies a horrible death only to resurrect a short time later. How do the 4 cardinal virtues apply when you are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse? What does Eudaimonia mean to those that are fighting to stay alive at every moment? What would Aristotle do? Virtue ethics applies a great amount in The Walking Dead. Surviving amongst the zombies is without a doubt, the most challenging threat. As they learn more about the zombies, they find ways to avoid them and distract them, but most importantly they learn and master the most efficient and beneficial ways to kill them. It is surviving amongst the humans that, then becomes the most challenging threat. Prudence is most definitely practiced while living through the zombie apocalypse. It’s about doing the best thing based on the circumstances. Prudence is always about doing the right thing or doing the good thing most effectively. Rick responds with prudence to most situations, but again it is based on the circumstances. Some of the decisions he makes in this situation he wouldn’t need to make if there was not a zombie apocalypse happening. He makes the decision to give his 12-year-old son a gun and teaches him to use it for self-defense against the zombies and other humans that threaten him and his family. This proves to be very prudent because Carl saves many lives after knowing and learning how to use a gun. Another example of prudence in an extreme situation like this might have been when Rick and the gang run across a group of prisoners, some with better intentions than others. One of the prisoners, aggravated with Rick’s leadership, instantly tries to kill him during a zombie attack, not once but twice. Rick does not think twice and buries a machete into his skull. Maybe he was being prudent by eliminating the future threat to his family and group. Justice in the land of people-eating zombies will never be similar to justice in our normal world. If someone murders someone in our zombie-free world, we have laws that will bring justice to that situation. When someone murders in The Walking Dead, it is usually in self-defense, but there is still no government or laws that will bring justice to that situation. Many believe justice was brought when Shane, Rick’s best friend and partner on the police force, finally died. When Shane left Otis for dead after shooting him in the leg to distract the zombies, or blatantly verbalized his feelings that he wanted to call off the search for Sophie or when he attempted to kill Rick on three different occasions, one can only hope justice will be done. A few episodes later, Rick kills Shane in self-defense, therefore justice was done. Another example of justice in The Walking Dead is when Michonne stabs the governor in the eye, trying to kill him. He has done nothing but lie to everyone, kill innocent people, and he also sent men after her to kill her. So she tried to kill him but instead popped his eye out. Again, justice would be different if the zombie apocalypse was not in full swing. Mental strength or fortitude is shown in numerous situations in The Walking Dead. These characters put themselves in danger, almost always to try to better the situation for the group. In one scene, Rick and Glenn need to get to a vehicle and they figure out that covering themselves with zombie guts and blood allows them to walk among the ‘Walkers’ unnoticed. That would take extreme mental strength and courage. Another example is when Lori, Rick’s wife, sacrifices her life for her unborn baby. In the same scene, she asks her 12-year-old son to shoot her in the head immediately after the baby is born to prevent her from turning into a Walker. Again, they both show fortitude for the situation they were put in. Temperance or the restraint of a pleasurable act, might not be the same in a normal world than during a zombie apocalypse. Their world is in complete turmoil and there is a shortage of everything from food to bullets. When they find food in the prison they have to ration it to last a long time. If someone were to be gluttonous or to lose self-control during this situation it could be detrimental. If eudaimonia is happiness or human fulfillment then how does that apply in a zombie apocalypse? Maybe staying alive is maximum happiness? Just getting through everyday is fulfillment enough. Staying virtuous in a zombie land is a virtue in itself. Without law or fear of punishment, no one is trustworthy. The living, are as dangerous, if not more threatening than the undead. Living virtuously in a zombie-infected world is where one can find flaws in the virtue theory. Aristotle believed our obtainment of virtues could only take us so far. In order to become a virtuous person, one must demonstrate virtues in a certain type of world, not in a zombie infested post apocalyptic nightmare world. In our normal world, virtue theory also has its flaws. After all, if ethical theories didn’t have flaws philosophers would be out of a job. One of the problems with virtue ethics is that there is no general agreement on what the virtues are. What may seem virtuous to one person may not be to the next. Everyone has their own idea of virtue in any situation, and even if they act with good intentions; it may not bring out the best in the situation. How do we decide what virtues are the best for everyone? The idea of what is a virtue may change and may differ from time to time or from place to place. If there is no universal or generally accepted standard of what the virtues are, is this really a solid basis for an ethical life? Individual and cultural virtues are never going to be the same. Susan Wolf points out an additional disadvantage in the theory of virtue ethics. She claims that if everyone were virtuous there would be no incitement or diversity in the world. By this she meant that we need negative traits in the world to be able to recognize and distinguish the positive ones and learn how to develop our characters. (Mr. C Farrow, 2010) Virtue ethics is also accused of not giving enough guidance for particular moral dilemmas. So unlike deontology or utilitarianism, it doesn’t give us a formula for our actions. It doesn’t give us an easy way to tell what the right thing is to do. It would say the right thing to do is what a virtuous person would do. However, if we lack that particular virtue it is not that easy know what that means. To wrap things up, virtue ethics was originally developed as an opposing theory to deontology and utilitarianism. Though it is clear virtue ethics has its advantages and disadvantages, it seems to be the most logical and morally conscientious of the three ethics. The disadvantages listed above can be easily cleared up with Aristotle’s explanation that there are no permanent rules in ethics. Virtue ethics attempts to bring out the best in any individual and encourages us to be better people. By using the theory of virtue ethics, people are encouraged to develop their own character by aspiring to be virtuous like others. Repetition is the key to making actions a habit, and once these virtuous acts become second nature, then that person can become virtuous

External Influences on Building Design

External Influences on Building Design Many people don’t realise how hard it can be to design something. Especially building, this is why architect’s job isn’t easy. The massing and overall design of the building is influenced by number of different factors and how important they are differs for each design. I would like to highlight the most important ones, and highlight which one of them cross reference quite often.       As Richard Rogers said â€Å"form follows profit, and this is aesthetic principle of our times†, unfortunately this is main factor impacting the design and all the other processes in architecture. Although it’s not the only one. Other example is often on the very beginning of the project – the site. Size configuration, topography this has huge impact on design. Sometimes we can change slightly topography, but site shape would be more of an issue. Often in extreme cases this becomes the asset of finalised project, like it happened in Tokyo project â€Å"A life with large opening† often called â€Å"gap house† designed by ONDESIGN. Next factor is often one of the most influential in good and also in the bad way. These are and include number of people, starting from client all the way to neighbourhood, which sometimes influences the design. Probably one of most important stakeholders is user/client, they often provide driving force for the design. As they may be personally involved in process of design and then construction. Possibly the best example of this could be STAMP HOUSE designed by Charles Wright Architects. This project in was directed and influence by various factor of which the most challenging was client, that desired carbon neutral, off-grid architectural statement that would be: â€Å"new face of tropical architecture†. Effectively this particular project was as highly influenced by client’s introduction of environmental design. Final design was to minimalize impact on environment (as client requested), so that ecosystem around it would not be affected. Therefore architect’s had to work very closely with experts and various organisations. Effectively this lead to zero carbon project that is level 5 cyclone proof and therefore classed as a cyclone shelter, additionally it’s flood proof and wouldn’t suffer from any natural disaster as it uses on sight solar panels and rain water collected in 25000 litres tank that is also located on the site. Another very influential stakeholders are neighbours and community groups. They often effect not only design but also whether building will be completed or not. Good example could be found in Manchester where public was picketing construction of new Manchester Metropolitan University campus building, the site chosen by MMU has previously been picketed by same group of people and that was probably what caused investment to fail. This time it was different partially due to professional manner of architect’s, MMU and local government. Although as many people claim the main role in this case was played by another influential and sometimes critical factor – economic status. As the economic crisis emerged rate of investment started drastically falling down, MMU used this fact to gain planning permission for Birley Fields proposal and convince authorities and residents. This just reinforces and relates back to famous Rogers quote â€Å"Form follows profit, is the aesthetic principle of our times†. This briefly mentioned local government as they are stakeholder representing local and public interests. They are often main body that appoints people to ensure, that building at it final stage is safe to use. Which obviously needs to be considered and included during design stage. Unfortunately not everything could be predicted like 9/11 terrorist attack. Although government and designers with engin eers do their very best to prevent similar disasters from happening. This includes meeting and exciding building regulations, fire regulations and many more. These also relatively strongly influences the design. Number of people work to make sure building is safe the most important and influential of which is engineer or team of engineers. They do all the hard calculations, and this is what they have done in case of WTC. Architects and engineers jointly admitted that they designed World Trade Center to withstand air plane collision. Although it was impossible for building to handle this with so intense fire inside it. This leads me to another factor that strongly influences design that makes it possible and functional. Even greatest building on the earth without sufficient services and structure to support it – is a disaster. This is why engineer and sometimes ME engineer effect design. Often especially in big projects architect and structural engineer work in collaboration to create final design. This is evolution from the sentence said by Louis Sullivan about his new Wainwright Building – â€Å"form follows function†. Even if architect and engineer work close together they are often limited by construction methods and processes, like it almost happened with Beetham Tower in Manchester. The design caused a lot of dispute on how and whether it would be possible to safely construct four-metre cantilever which is definite land mark in Manchester’s skyline. Frank Lloyd Wright found similar problem when he proposed Mile High Illinois which was proposed in 1956 and never been built, simply because construction methods wouldn’t allow it then and possibly even now it cou ld be challenging to construct this proposed building. Although this shouldn’t be a reason not to design it there are number of projects that has been designed and either not build or changed during construction because this coordination between architect and engineer wasn’t successful. Similar cooperation would be good between ME engineer and architects. Although services that ME is taking care of often are not of particularly important at the design stage and therefore sometimes they tend to be pushed to blank box where they should be placed or they not even included at all. Unfortunately this is often not enough place and highly effects aesthetics of interior. This wasn’t case in Pompidou Centre in Paris where all the services are on the external faà §ade and therefore services engineer strongly effected or actually created the appearance of this building. This innovative design created very industrial appearance, also its good place to realise how many serv ices and work goes into parts of building that are usually hidden. Possibly hiding all this causes people to think anyone can build a building and call it   architecture – and this is incorrect. Another influencing factor is definitely sustainability. This factor is more and more often mentioned in client’s requirements as its good for PR. Although due to global warming and heat island effect more and more government’s and authorities include some form of sustainability in their building regulations. And therefore it’s definitely outside of architect’s influence. Although sometimes this as well as other restrictions allow great designs to be created and to emerge, similarly like it was with Pompidou Centre with services, they allowed it to be great building. Often sustainability of the building doesn’t cause huge effect on the design, although it has to be considered from the start. Another strongly influential factor that I would like to mention is time. As we know ‘time is money’ this is wha t Benjamin Franklin said, and it’s still valid. Different people need quick design for number of different reasons. No matter of reason this influences the design. It may be that because architect need to finish design very quickly and he can’t refine all the. It could be that someone works really well under pressure and therefore final design may come out brilliantly. In most cases where time is important factor client decide to use unconventional building process called ‘Design and Build’ this means that construction starts as soon as architect creates rough shape. That causes that some of the details can’t be changed as they may already been built. This isn’t something new, it’s happening for long time, one of best examples is Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, this Roman Catholic basilica designed by architect Antoni Gaudà ­, construction started in 1882, this is 122 years ago, and it’s still not finished. This wouldn’t be possible without this construction method, and hopefully if finished in 2028 as current estimates show it would be definitely one of the longest construction processes in the history. As visible on photo above it’s not surprising, because as its being build, the attention to the details and the beauty of construction is at the highest possible level. Other influential factor that in my opinion is fundamental is the function. The role of architect is to find the solution for many, sometimes very hard problems. This is what in my opinion defines good architect. It’s not only how ‘pretty’ the building is, or how tall, it’s about how well architect or even designer thought about potential issues and how he solved it. Otherwise building is just – a shed. Functional but without thought putted into it, althought because â€Å"form follows function† or at least it should, the design supposed to reinforce the function, an d definitely not to go against it. This is what many people claim that has happened in case of Vitra Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid, even though she is great architect, specific to her design style. As many people claim, the sculptural fanciness of designer caused building to be not functional as fire station and had to be handed over, and now it’s â€Å"used for exhibitions and events and continues to be one of the highlights on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein.† And I’m not disputing fact that it’s obviously architectural highlight of the area. Although it’s definitely in its design more suitable for exhibition area rather than fire station, because in case of fire it was hard for fire engine quickly leave, to the extent that some people called it dangerous. And therefore I think it’s important to create great designs, but not to forget about primary needs of the place, even factory or storage buildings could be architectural statement not only a building. There are many, many more factors that affect architectural designs all over the planet. Some more and other less, it all depends on client , and situation that the building is being build, however definitely most important and most influential is function followed by site, money and the client. References: Shoebox dwelling. 23 Oct 2012. House in a Gap. [Online]. Available at:  http://shoeboxdwelling.com/2012/10/23/house-in-a-gap/ [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Ondesign. Unknown. A life with large opening. [Online]. Available at:  http://www.ondesign.co.jp/english/works/062/#workTitle [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Oxford Dictionaries. Unknown. Oxford English Dictionary – stakeholder. [Online]. Available at:  http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stakeholder [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014]   Charles Wright Architects, Unknown. Stamp house publication. [Online]. Available at:  ww.wrightarchitects.com.au/projects-2/contact/stamp-house/ [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Manchester Evening News, 26 Feb 2011, Revealed: New plans for Manchester Metropolitan University’s new Hulme campus. [Online]. Available at:  www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Manchester Metropolitan University. Unknown. Birley Fields campus publication. [Online]. Available at:  www.mmu.ac.uk/birleyfields [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] 9/11 Blogger. 21 Feb 2007. What the World Trade Center Building Designers Said: Before and After 9/11. [Online]. Available at:  http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2007/210207designers.htm [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] History, 25 Jan 2001. Unknown. 911 Facts with Hero and Victim – interview with Frank DeMartini. [Video online] Available at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl1GfcD3KZ0 [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] World Trade Center. n.d. [Image online] Available at:  http://www.photosup.biz/img/world-trade-center-new-york.html [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Beetham Tower. n.d. [Image online] Available at:  http://www.cityadvisor.info/[emailprotected] [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Wainwright Building. n.d. [Image online] Available at:  http://www.essential-architecture.com/STYLE/STY-Sullivanesque.htm [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Frank Lloyd Wrights mile-high building. n.d. [Image online] Available at:  http://www.wbez.org/blog/john-r-schmidt/2011-08-25/frank-lloyd-wrights-mile-high-building-90793 [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Gagnon, B. 20 Sep 2009. Sagrada Familia 01. [Image online] Available at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sagrada_Familia_01.jpg [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014]   SBA73. 21 Feb 2011. Sagrada Familia nave roof detail. [Image online] Available at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sagrada_Familia_nave_roof_detail.jpg [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Zaha Hadid. Unknown. Vitra Fire Station Publication. [Online]. Available at:  http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/vitra-fire-station [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Anniina Koivu. 11 Jun 2013. Happy Birthday Fire Station. [Onilne]. Available at:  http://www.vitra.com/en-gb/magazine/details/184799 [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014] Form follows profit1200921975

The Moviegoer By Walker Percy Essay -- essays research papers

In Walker Percy’s story The Moviegoer, Binx Bolling, a Stockbroker on the verge of turning thirty is on a quest. Set in 1960 New Orleans during Mardi Gras Binx, an upper class southern gentleman sets out to find out about himself. Answer questions that have tugged at his soul. Questions about despair, everydayness, religion and romance. Binx is stuck in a quagmire. He must break out from this cloak of ennui and find the essence of being. But how? How can people, a person with a soul and a world at their fingertips be so inept at finding what makes them alive. Can it be found in religion or on the arm of a southern beauty? Maybe it can be found in the surrealism of a movie, or the excitement of making money. What if an answer is found? Will it frighten a person back to their everydayness? Some of these question are sound, others may be just thoughts in the authors mind, but they are questions that Binx must find out about. The following will talk about the idea of despair & everydayness and if others think about searching the way Binx Bol ling does. Binx is deathly afraid of being pulled into everydayness. That is to say that he does not want to fall into the trap of a daily, weekly of life long rut. He does not want to settle for just living just an existence. He wants to be noticed, to have the ability of excitement on a daily routine. To work hard and start a family and fight for what he thinks is a grand life. Only to realize years later that such a routine was estab...

Analysis of Willa Cathers OPioneers! :: Willa Cathers OPioneers! Literature Essays

Analysis of Willa Cather's O'Pioneers! Willa Cather’s best known novel, O’Pioneers!, is an epic story of hope and courage in the late 1800s on the American frontier. During the story, the main character Alexandra Bergson grows to love her land in central Nebraska. The land is her home and livelihood. The land is the reason her father moved them there in early 1880s. The land known as the Divide proves to be a very tough place to live. It will drive many of the settlers away, but in time shows the strength and strong-willed personality of Alexandra. This story represents an unconventional love story where there is more love from a person for the land, rather than for a human being. When John Bergson, Alexandra’s father dies, she inherits the farm and takes the responsibility of taking care of the land. He entrusts her with the farm because he knows she will work hard to save the farm. Because she is the oldest child, she must set the example for her younger brothers Emil, Lou, and Oscar. (The story gives very little reference to their mother, who also dies.) As the story progresses, Alexandra learns new farming techniques from Ivar (who later becomes a servant) and the farm soon becomes more successful than any of the other farms on the Divide. About three years after the story begins, Carl Linstrum, Alexandra’s best friend moves away. This is very hard for Alexandra because they are very close. Carl is the only person who understands her. This is not the only hardship that she has to endure; moreover, her closest brother, Emil, and her best friend Marie Shabata are killed later on in the story by Marie’s jealous husband Frank. Alexandra looks at the land like it is her best friend, possibly even like a human being. She constantly looks for ways to improve it. This gives her more pleasure than anything else, and yet she is comfortable with being emotionless from her the outside world.

Le Morte D’Arthur Essay -- Character Analysis, Thomas Malory

Comparative Essay Many themes in popular literature today include a type of betrayal to others or themselves. In the story Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, a noble knight by the name of Sir Bedivere is ordered to dispose of a sword and instead secretly hides it under a tree betraying his king. In â€Å"Genesis 3† Adam’s new companion named Eve becomes too curious about a forbidden tree when talking to a serpent and disobeys god and eats it. Sir Bedivere and Eve both betray others through their greed, temptation, and ignorance; however Sir Bedivere’s betrayal to King Arthur is far greater than Eve’s betrayal to god. Greed can often influence one’s judgement as a result; Sir Bedivere and Eve are overtaken by greed during their betrayal to their masters. Sir Bedivere is noble knight that serves his beloved King Arthur, and soon is faced with a decision between a treasure and his king. Sir Bedivere’s greed is portrayed when he, â€Å"hid [the] Excalibur under the tree† (Thomas 12). Shortly after, he is exposed to the king; King Arthur becomes appalled by his noble knight and asks why he would â€Å"betray me for the richness of my sword† (Thomas 23). It is evident Sir Bedivere greed overpowered his commitment and loyalty to the king. Eve a companion of Adam in â€Å"Genesis 3† portrays her greed when she learns about the tree in the center of the garden. She becomes curious and wants to learn its powers for â€Å"gaining wisdom† (â€Å"Genesis† 6), and â€Å"she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband† (â€Å"Genesis† 6). Eve disobeys God as she does not follow the specific instructions God gives her. The more she learns about the tree, the more Eve wants to take a fruit. In the end, greed is one of many things that convinces her to betray God.... ...nd Eve both let ignorance drive their betrayal, however Sir Bedivere lack of knowledge hurt himself and the king. Eve on the other hand, had some discretion when talking to the serpent. While Sir Bedivere without thinking of the consequences, jumps on the opportunity, once again making the betrayal greater than Eve’s. Greed, temptation, and ignorance are all influences to each Sir Bedivere and Eve’s betrayal in Le Morte D’Arthur and â€Å"Genesis 3†. Both characters use these to influence to betray their masters on various levels. Throughout Le Morte D’Arthur, there is no question Sir Bedivere’s betrayal was an act of selfishness in contrast to Eve where she is simply curious about the tree in the center of the garden and is swayed by the serpent. Therefore, Sir Bedivere’s betrayal is represented at a higher level, whereas Eve’s was an act of innocent curiosity.

First Year Experience

English 1301 Professor Terri Craig 20th March 2018Registration DayWelcome to Lonestar Cy fair for the spring semester of 2018 all new and incoming first year college students. We here at Lonestar wish nothing but the best for you in your academic careers; while pursing your degree, in whatever that may be. Today will be your first introduction into the Lonestar college and registration system. The registration process may seem overwhelming at first but that is simply because you have never had an experience like it before. Once you understand how everything operates around here, you will realize how simple and easy registration really is. I will be going over deciding your major, choosing your classes, and setting up financial aid. Everything will be explained in detail so that there will not be any confusion along the process. First things first, you all want to have a major so that you all do not waste your time. Everyone is not expected to know exactly what they would like to major in, so having an idea is also fine. To anyone who is unsure on their major you can meet up with any of our advisors here at the school free of charge Monday through Friday. They will dig into your personality a bit, asking you various questions such as are you more of an introvert or extrovert, also your preferences to point you in the right direction of what to major in. The advisors will also help students decide on which classes to take to reach the ultimate goal of graduating. Deciding on a major is important for two reasons when first starting off college. Reason one being that you all do not want to waste your time chasing a career path that does not suit you or you do not enjoy. Secondly, in order to pick your classes accordingly, you have to have a major. Having a major brings me into my second topic, which is picking your classes.Picking your classes will be the easiest task you have on registration day. You all will choose your classes in the enrolment lab; the Enrollment Lab is a computer lab located on the first floor and is available to students who need assistance. During this process you will be able to decide on the days, time, and types of classes you wish to take. Do you want to have class in a classroom or online? Or do you want to have a mixture of both? Are you a morning person who can function or do you prefer to sleep in and have class later in the day? You have the option to pick and decide how you want to approach your classes. If you would like to know more about your potential professor, you can look up the different reviews they have to decide if they best match your learning style. Once you have decided on your classes, all you have to do is register and you are good to go. Its best to pick classes that day because they will often fill up quickly. Now that you all have decided on your major and which classes to go along with that, you need to check in with financial aid.Financial aid is not a requirement for everyone who attends college, but for most it is a major help. If you are interested in financial aid, save yourself the hassle and have everything you need prepared before you go, to save yourself a bit of time. Financial aid is funding available to students to assist with the completion of academic programs if you qualify for it. This includes student loans, scholarships, and work study programs just to name a few. It is best to go early to the financial aid office because it is often the busiest on registration day. Registration day is always confusing for any new comer into any college system. However, as you can tell the, registration process is not that difficult at all. Once you decide on a major, the other steps just come naturally. I hope you all find it simple and easy to navigate around the school on registration day.

Indian Culture Essay

Welcome to our guide to India. This is useful for anyone researching Indian culture, customs, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to India on business, for a visit or even hosting Indiancolleagues or clients in your own country. Remember this is only a very basic level introduction and is not meant to stereotype all Indian people you may meet! Facts and Statistics Location: Southern Asia, bordering Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km Capital: New Delhi Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north Population: 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.) Ethnic Make-up: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist , Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) Government: Federal Republic Languages in India The different states of India have different official languages, some of them not recognized by the central government. Some states have more then one official language. Bihar in east India has three official languages – Hindi , Urdu and Bengali – which are all recognized by the central government. But Sikkim, also in east India, has four official languages of which only Nepali is recognized by the central government. Besides the languages officially recognized by central or state governments, there are other languageswhich don’t have this recognition and their speakers are running political struggles to get this recognition. Central government decided that Hindi was to be the official language of India and therefore it also has the status of official language in the states. Travelling to India? Why not learn some useful Hindi phrases ? Indian Society & Culture Hierarchy The influences of Hinduism and the tradition of the caste system have created a culture that emphasizes established hierarchical relationships. Indians are always conscious of social order and their status relative to other people, be they family, friends, or strangers. All relationships involve hierarchies. In schools, teachers are called gurus and are viewed as the source of all knowledge. The patriarch, usually the father, is considered theleader of the family. The boss is seen as the source of ultimate responsibility in business. Every relationship has a clear- cut hierarchy that must be observed for the social order to be maintained. The Role of the Family People typically define themselves by the groups to which they belong rather than by their status as individuals. Someone is deemed to be affiliated to a specific state, region, city, family, career path, religion, etc. This group orientation stems from the close personal ties Indians maintain with their family, including the extended family. The extended family creates a myriad of interrelationships, rules, and structures. Along with these mutual obligations comes a deep-rooted trust among relatives. Just Can’t Say No Indians do not like to express ‘no,’ be it verbally or non- verbally. Rather than disappoint you, for example, by saying something isn’t available, Indians will offer you the response that they think you want to hear. This behaviour should not be considered dishonest. An Indian would be considered terribly rude if he did not attempt to give a person what had been asked. Since they do not like to give negative answers, Indians may give an affirmative answer but be deliberately vague about any specific details. This will require you to look for non-verbal cues, such as a reluctance to commit to an actual time for a meeting or an enthusiastic response. Etiquette and Customs in India Meeting Etiquette Religion, education and social class all influence greetings in India. This is a hierarchical culture, so greet the eldest or most senior person first. When leaving a group, each person must be bid farewell individually.