Saturday, August 31, 2019

Ancient Greeks: Theatre as Competition and Ritual

Ancient Greeks: Theatre as Competition and Ritual The ancient Greeks were the inventors of what is today known as â€Å"theater. † Beginning with religious ritual celebrations and competitions, they created an art form which has been parent to the modern theater, as well as television and film. Although the origins of Greek theater are unknown, it is believed that it grew out of the dithyramb, songs and dances honoring Dionysus held at a festival called the Dionysia (Theater of Ancient Greece). Although these uninhibited songs and dances probably grew out of ritual celebrations, they eventually became more formalized and symbolic, eventually evolving into the Greek theater (The Ancient Greek Theatre Page). Theater started as ritual fertility celebrations by the â€Å"Cult of Dionysus† in Athens. These rituals altered over time and became Spring ritual with theater at the center of the celebrations (Drama 30), although it is impossible to know how the rituals separated into comedy and tragedy (Greek Theatre). A lesser festival in honour of Dionysus, The Lenea, became another theater festival/competition halfway through the fifth century BC. The rules of the Lenea were different from those of the Dionysia. In the Lenea, there were only four tragedies, two from each of two playwrights, and five comedies from five playwrights (Greek and British Theatre). According to Aristotle's Poetics, Greek tragedy came before satyr plays and comedies. Tragedy came out of the dithyrambs sung in praise of Dionysus at the Dionysia every year. By the 600's BC, the dithyramb was changed into a formalized narrative sung by a chorus (Greek Theatre). Tragedy lost its Dionysiac associations very early, and only one of the preserved plays, Bacchae by Euripides, has any Dionysiac content, namely the myth of resistance to the introduction of Dionysus's cult to Thebes, and the god's revenge upon the city (Greek Tragedy). In the 500s BC, the poet, Thespis of Attica, is credited with creating a new style in which an actor, called the protagonist, performed the characters' speeches in the narrative, using masks to distinguish between the different characters. The actor spoke and acted as if he were the character, and he interacted with the chorus, who acted as narrators and commentators. Because of this, Thespis is considered the first Greek â€Å"actor,† and his style of drama became known as â€Å"tragedy,† which means ‘goat song,' possibly referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus before performances, or to goat-skins worn by the performers (Ancient Greek Theater) Aeschylus introduced the antagonist, and Sophocles introduced a third actor. Plays with more realism and dialogue were written by Euripedes and Aristophanes (Drama 30). Theatrical presentations had a religious element and attendance was practically compulsory. Because of this, the builders of Greek theaters had to provide enough space for large audiences . It is believed that the theatrical representations could have arisen from the substitution of an animal for a human sacrifice and, eventually, the formula of the sacrifice was enacted ritualistically without the actual sacrifice of the animal (The Greek Theatre). Plays were produced which could be seen as a formalistic representation of human sacrifice. An example of one of these representational plays is Oedipus the King by Sophocles. In the play, Oedipus becomes the embodiment of suffering and guilt, serving as a way of cleansing the spectators (The Greek Theatre). By the fifth century BC, the theater had become a major part of the culture of Athens. The most important element of the annual Dionysia celebration was the play competition between three playwrights at the Theater of Dionysus. These playwrights each submitted a trilogy of connected tragedies, along with a satyr play which dealt with the same subject matter as the trio of tragedies (Greek Theatre). The competitors were chosen by a government authority called the archon. Wealthy patrons, called choregos, financed the productions. The funding of the arts was a way of tax avoidance, so they were willing to do so. In return for funding a production, the choregos would pay no taxes that year (The Ancient Greek Theatre Page). These men paid for the production of each dramatist's series, the chorus, and other production costs. The actors were paid by the state. The directors of the plays were usually the actual playwrights (Greek and British Theatre). Once many playwrights began writing plays for multiple actors and submitting plays for the Dionysia, competitions began to be held all over Greece. Prizes were given for the best of these and they were written down and saved (Greek and British Theatre). In the competitions, there were ten judges. These judges were taken from each of the Athenian â€Å"tribes,† divisions of the people made for administrative convenience, not actual tribes. Choosing the â€Å"best new tragedy,† which was the purpose for the competition, was taken very seriously. In 449 BC an award for the best leading actor in a tragedy was introduced (Greek and British Theatre). Revivals of popular plays was not allowed in Greek theater. This was to encourage new plays to be written. In fact, a special state decree was issued to allow the Aeschylus's plays to be performed after he died. Until this, revivals had never happened. Revivals did begin to occur in the fourth century when touring companies began to perform in Attica, a rural area, and beyond (Greek Theatre). The ancient Greeks took their theater seriously. Beginning with religious ritual celebrations, the Greek theater evolved into the modern theater that we know today. Plays from those ancient competitions are known and performed all over the world. The Greeks' contribution to the cultural and artistic development of the odern theater is incalculable. Works Cited â€Å"Ancient Greek Theater. † Greek Theater. 6 Oct 2008. . â€Å"Greek and British Theatre† The British Theatre Guide. 6 Oct 2008. â€Å"Greek Theatre. † Greek Theatre. 6 Oct 2008. . â€Å"Greek Tragedy. † Greek Tragedy. 6 Oct 2008.. â€Å"The Ancient Greek Theatre Page. † The Ancient Greek Drama and Theatre History Page. 30 Sep 2008. . â€Å"Theatre of Ancient Greece. † Ancient Greece. 30 Sep 2008. . â€Å"The Greek Theatre. † The Greek Theatre. 6 Oct 2008. â€Å"The Theatre in Ancient Greece. † Ancient Greece. 6 Oct 2008. â€Å"When Did Theatre Begin? † Drama 30. 6 Oct 2008..

Friday, August 30, 2019

One Year MBA Program / Two Year MBA Program Essay

1. Students are requested to go through the instructions carefully. 2. The Assignment is a part of the internal assessment. 3. Marks will be awarded for each Assignment, which will be added to the total marks. Assignments carry equal marks. 4. The completed Assignments of different modules should be bundled together before sending it to the Institute in the address given above or it can be mail to us 2 weeks before the commencement of the examination with the roll number and name of the student. 5. Students who have not received the full set of modules may send the Assignments after receiving the complete set of modules of the semester. 6. Case study project is given based on the Elective Subject selected. Assignments 1. International Law What are your perceptions on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Would you like to amend any of the articles or add a new article to the declaration? 2. Strategic Management Select an appropriate generic strategy to position your printing business unit in its competitive environment (map the environment primarily as a pattern of competitive pressures from rivals, suppliers, buyers, entrants and substitutes). 3. Business English

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Mentoring & Coaching Essay

Analyse and evaluate the use of Mentoring and/or coaching to support both your own and others,’ development of professional skills and knowledge. In ancient Greek mythology Mentor was the friend of Odysseus and tutor to his son. His name is well-known for a faithful and wise adviser. Today on the athletic field and in corporate offices a mentor or coach can help elevate performance. (http://heartlandbusinessexchange.com/MentorCoach.aspx) There are many definitions for coaching and mentoring. The commonality we can find in these hundreds of definitions of Coaching and Mentoring is that they both aim to support the Coached / Mentees (people that are in a relation with a Coach/Mentor) developing themselves in order to reach specific goals. Coaching is collaborative inquiry into the technical aspects of any activity, most often of work, as well as support for development and performance improvement. Of course, coaching applies to relationships in every setting. Mentoring provides a unique growth-oriented relationship which is the necessary context for risk taking, deep sharing, insights, and growth. Mentoring requires commitment and freely choosing to be held accountable for living out one’s intentions. It also includes coaching, but adds a wide range of strategies for discovering, supporting, and challenging personal, spiritual, and/or professional growth Both coaching and mentoring must be non evaluative, positive, and nonjudgmental if the process is to be authentic and genuine and the results are to be discovery, learning, growth, and improvement. Mentoring and coaching are an investment in another person’s success, you may have experienced this kind of empowering support from parents, a pastor, a teacher, an athletic coach, a friend, perhaps even a boss or your spouse. Often, people like these care so much about you that they will go the â€Å"extra mile† and do all they can to help you succeed. We might call this f orm of support â€Å"intuitive† mentoring or coaching because it is well meaning folks, doing the best they can, based on common sense and what they feel is best. www.businessmentorcenter.com A mentor can enter into a truly collaborative, trusting, positive, and support relationship . He can make you feel comfortable and make a person see the benefits of an open sharing of his feelings and dreams for his life, help to  learn to see oneself more objectively and how to gain the personal insights one needs to succeed, assess one’s natural tendencies and gifts and how their interactions may create internal confusion and dissatisfaction. It helps a person to set goals and develop plans and the self discipline to achieve his goals and more over he helps to solve and understand the problems and conflicts one confronts and move on. Coaching and Mentoring are then aimed to promote the development of an individual in order to be successful in the fulfilment of their tasks (at school, at work or in their personal lives), reinforc ing and strengthening their competencies and self-confidence. Coaching and Mentoring are to be considered as the two extreme of the line. Between these two extremes exists many different and flexible possibilities for support, using Mentoring and Coaching as appropriate to the situation.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Operation Management Techniques at McDonalds Term Paper

Operation Management Techniques at McDonalds - Term Paper Example Owing to the success of the corporation, there is evidence that McDonalds utilizes distinct operation management techniques that often give it an edge over others in the global business environment. This is informed by the actuality that being a service business, McDonald has widespread operations in virtually all the regions across the world that comprise of America, Asia and Europe. This makes it be essential to circumspectly examine the relevant methods of operations management as applied by McDonalds. Such an evaluation will consider the strategic methods that make the company distinct with regard to business effectiveness. Since operations management regards the development, in addition to the organization of merchandise, systems, and services along with supply chains and is founded on the attainment, expansion and use of resources that business entities need to convey commodities to clients, a comprehensive evaluation of McDonalds’ operations management will expose the b asic activities and strategies that make the company unique. Such a report will be necessary in providing information that could be used by other companies pursuing effectiveness. Table of Contents I. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 A. Objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 B. Motivation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 C. Report Outline†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 II. Detailed Study and Comparative Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 ... Operations management techniques in McDonalds†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....7 III. Recommendation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...11 IV. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.12 V. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.13 Introduction A). The Goals and Objectives The central function of this account is to examine McDonalds, particularly how it utilizes operation management techniques in its activities. The description w ill spotlight the manner in which operations management is practiced in McDonalds. This will help establish the dynamics employed by the relevant company in achieving its objectives as well as executing its daily commercial activities. McDonald stands out as a very successful global commercial entity with outlets all over the world, there must be something quite distinct about the operations management of this company (Render & Heizer, 2005). The account will endeavor to underscore the exact essence of McDonald brand in the perspective of operations management to bring out the practices that make the global corporation a success. The eventual aspiration of the testimony is to evaluate and offer a comprehensive account of the practices of operation management in McDonalds Company. B). Motivation The motivation for studying this topic is derived from the significance of operations management in commercial entities as well as the global commercial presence of McDonalds. Operations mana gement is a dynamic discipline in management that caters for the design and administration of merchandises, services and practices (Welch et al, 2007).

Operational planning - arts and events management Assignment

Operational planning - arts and events management - Assignment Example This organisation is a non profit organisation governed by a board of directors who represent key stakeholders who provide a significant amount of funding such as; the local authority, the Arts council, EU Social Development Fund, two national banks, and two charitable trusts who are concerned with groups of people that are socially excluded. These four key points will be discussed through a number of imperative sources such as the most recent government census 2001 that can be found over the internet as well as websites such as, upmystreet.com and mintell.com. This will then help to compile a detailed plan of strategic objectives that will then be used by the 'Theatre Royal'. The various elements of operational planning have been discussed as part of the case study of Theatre Royal. It may be seen that the various aspects of operational planning have been tied together under the various headings as follows. Berkshire Sub-Region Context Map (refer to Appendix 1.0) shows Reading just to the west of the city of London. As you can see Reading is a prime location for any already existing or new organisations, as it has easy access to top motorways in the south west of England such as the M3 and M4 giving easy access to the M25. The location is also within 25 minutes drive from one of Europe's largest trading estates fuelling many new jobs in southern England in the town of Slough. Reading is a very multicultural town consisting mainly of Christians (62.63%) however there are many others from a number of religious backgrounds such as Muslims (4.0%), Hindu's(0.99%), and people who state themselves as having no religion (22.0%), (Refer to Appendix 1.1). The total population of Reading is 143,069 people and of these 129,900 people were born within Europe and 123,080 of these originated in the UK. The population sets in Reading consist of various ethnicities and age groups. Furthermore there are 6,196 people from Asia and 3,632 people from Africa. There are also small minority groups within the Reading area as only 5 people are from Western Europe (Luxembourg), 11 from Western Africa in Congo and 17 people from Oceania (for further statistics refer to Appendix 1.2). This

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Henry inquiry into taxation and the report recommendation Essay - 1

Henry inquiry into taxation and the report recommendation - Essay Example Other areas of possible taxation concern so-called â€Å"social sins† such as tobacco or alcohol, environmental charges etc (Thompson et al, 2010). In other words, destroying human practices should be taxed. The Australian government does not accept the Report to the fullest extent. It claims that many points of a new taxation project should be reviewed otherwise â€Å"it will not implement †¦ at any stage† (Thompson et al, 2010). The government agrees upon some recommendations of Henry Report, but introduces its own corrections. For example, to reduce company tax from 30 to 29 per cent, but not to 25 per cent, as it is suggested in Henry Report. From this point of view, it is possible to claim that Labor Party has suggested more radical measures to be taken by the government in the sphere of taxation and the government suggests more consequential introduction of taxation reform. The most challenging recommendation of Henry Report is the RSPT or tax on resources. Currently, as it is suggested by the Report, there is a need to suggest a more effective means of raising revenue. Profits above normal return on the capital invested will be introduced in July 2012. Still, the government does not seem to acclaim this recommendation as it does not seem doubtlessly relevant to them. In accordance with Henry Report, â€Å"the benefits of including them [some non-renewables] under the RSPT are unlikely to outweigh the costs (compliance and administration)† (Henry Taxation Review, 2011). Henry Report is an innovative vision on Australian taxation appealing for swift and radical changes for Australia. Some points were approved by the Australian government with some corrections. Basically, there are beneficial social, economical and environmental implications in this taxation reform. On the one hand, Labor Party is on the right innovative way of Australian taxation system change and makes an attempt to increase benefits for the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Hilton Hotel Corporations Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hilton Hotel Corporations Strategies - Essay Example Hilton Hotel lays a major focus on the local growth in the lodging sector through expansion of operations into casinos and holiday ownership. In the year 2000, the hotel acquired Promus Hotel Company adding the statistical summation of their properties to 1700. The hotel as a brand management corporation devotes to offering excellent care of its guests accounting for more than 100 million room nights in America yearly. The corporation carters to the needs of both the customers and the owners accounting for approximately billions of dollars of real estate investments in its brands. The corporation earns more profits through other people’s monetary input into the corporation. The corporation has information technology (OnQ) intertwined with its brands. The company’s approximate cost of OnQ is 93 million dollars,40 dollars accounting for application development. The remaining portion of the 93 million estimate accounts for hardware and infrastructure realization. In 2007, the corporation registered 102 dollars growth through investment in OnQ. Maintenance of the OnQ infrastructure accounted for 60 million dollars annually. The corporation earned 750 million dollars through the cross-selling of the branded products. The corporation strives to satisfy the goal of each of its diversified brands. Through the Customer Really Matter (CRM) initiative, the corporation incorporates technology to enhance its relationship with the customers. The company established CRM in 2002, and it has ensured that its employees offer excellent and high-quality service to their clients. The high-quality service in terms of hospitality offered by the hotel employees ensures that it is sort after by a broader extension of clients. In the estimation of CRM’s performance involves calculations as an ROI for the most corporations’ project. An ROI value of the venture is the product of the total number of calls, increase conversion ratio and net revenue per call deducted by OnQ.  

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Born to Dance-Ballet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Born to Dance-Ballet - Essay Example Mr. Carreno won the 1987 New_York International Ballet_Competition and the International_Ballet Competion’s Grand Prix contest. In terms of dance uniqueness and high_point, Carreno mastered the classical ballet dance style. The style includes pas de_bourree, pas couru, and coupe movements. The style incorporates the pieds and echappe jumps. The dance style includes both croisee and efface body_poses (Vaganova, Basic Principles of Classical Ballet). In 2004, Carreno received the prominent Dance_Magazine Award (Roca 187). At 43 years of age, Carreno retired from the American_Ballet Company during 2011(Sulcas 1). In terms of big events performed, Carreno was the principal classical ballet_dancer during the 1990’s prestigious English_National Ballet theatre, the Royal_Ballet theatre during 1993, and the American_Ballet theatre from 1995 until 2011 (Singer 1). Carreno was the principal dancer in the Diana and Action without a shirt (Fuhrer 1). Xiamara Reyes played the leading Ballerina in the dance routine (Sulcas, Theater Pulls out the Showstoppers 1). In terms of biography, Carreno is Cuba’s top ballet dancer, coming from a family of ballet enthusiast. After seriously taking up education at the Cuban_National Ballet_School, Carreno won the Gold_Medal award in the New York Ballet_competition (1987 and the Gran_Prix award in the Jackson,_Mississippi International_Ballet Contest (Singer 1). In terms of what made Corella important, Spain’s Angel_Corella is one of the best ballet dancers of his time. Corella received countless awards for his excellent delivery of the ballet steps. Corella won the Concours International_de Danse de_Danse de Paris as well as the Gold Medal. The two awards led to Corella’s acceptance into the American Ballet Theatre (Jacobs 1). As to high point, Corella became a welcome artist in several prestigious ballet entities. The ballet

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Business strategy report of Vodafone Group PLC Dissertation

Business strategy report of Vodafone Group PLC - Dissertation Example On the basis of strategic management principles, the mission as well as vision of a business firm is formulated. On the further extent, various types of business strategies are formulated, evaluated and implemented on the basis of the principles of strategic management. This dissertation will concentrate on the strategic management of Vodafone Group PLC. The framework of the paper would not only discuss the various types of business strategies incorporated by the company, but would also focus on the new strategies that can be implemented by the firm in the next five years. The learnt from the paper would help the researcher to analyze the business strategies of the company in details. Industry Analysis The industry in which Vodafone PLC is situated is the telecommunications industry. This industry deals with providing long distance communication services through technological means. Till 1982, the telecommunication sector in United Kingdom was in the form of a public owned company named Post Office Telecommunication. The market structure of the broadcasting sector was duopoly in its nature. The two companies that had formed this duopoly were BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority. At this point of time, the mobile or internet services did not exist in the market. With time and development of science and technology, the telecommunication sector in U.K. had expanded. ... had expanded. At present, this industry is highly competitive in nature. Its retail sector is much bigger than that of many other industrial sectors. Companies in this sector in U.K. not only earns substantial amount of profit in terms of billion dollars, but also invest a considerable part of their revenue in research and development for new innovations (Papadopoulos, 2011). Profile of the Company Vodafone Group plc, also recognized as Vodafone, is a UK based global company which is involved in the commerce of providing telecommunication services. The corporation was founded in 1991 in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom. However, the concern shifted its headquarters to London, United Kingdom. The ancestor of Vodafone was Racal Telecom (1983-1991). In stipulations of the total financial proceeds spawned as well as the strength of subscribers, the organization is considered as the second largest telecommunication company in the globe, following China Mobile. The company is present in almost 30 economies of the world and carries its business operations in 40 other nations with the help of its business partners. At present, the company is headed by Vittorio Colao (CEO) and Gerard Kleisterlee (Chairman) (Vodafone, 2012a). It provides employment opportunities to around 87,000 citizens across the globe and also, generates income opportunities to numerous business acquaintances of the company. Some of the commodities of the company include mobile telephony, digital television, fixed line and internet services. As of 2012, the net revenue of the organization was ?46.417 billion and had operating earnings of ?11.187 billion (The World Bank, 2012). Although, the company has a hefty position in the marketplace, it still has to deal with

Friday, August 23, 2019

Video Game Guru Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video Game Guru - Essay Example My outward appearance gives a lot of my friends reason to classify me as a gamer. This is most likely because the images proudly displayed on whatever T-shirt I'm wearing at the moment usually feature some favorite video game character or another. If it isn’t a character specifically, it will most likely be an often quoted line from a game, an abbreviation in ‘gamer speak’ that usually only other gamers recognize or a walking advertisement for my most recent gaming equipment. I almost always have some sort of pocket game handy and I'm the guy everybody comes to when they want to know the best cheats for the most popular game to hit the market this week. Since this is the case, most of the time when my friends find me, I'm either buried in the game itself or deep in conversation with someone else about what to do when the aliens come jumping over boulders at you in Halo 2. No matter what my friends think, though, I identify myself as a gamer because I am intensely interested in all the different facets of gaming. More than just being interested in knowing what the different cheats are in the various games, I want to know about the graphics quality, the sound effects, the realism, the action, the artificial intelligence of the characters and so much more. For me, it is not enough to just play the game and see how far I get. When new games come out, I have known about them since their earliest development.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

School and Students Essay Example for Free

School and Students Essay Done By: Fariha Khan Yr: 8Australian International School should adopt the year round schooling process for the benefit of students. During long summer breaks, students forget what they have learned. Not everyone likes traveling during the same time every year. Short breaks help receive education and allow students take rests in the perfect time without over pressurizing students. So, adopting year round schooling in AusIS would help students and give better grades to them. In long summer breaks, students mostly forget what they learned the past year. Kid’s memories are not that good and for two-three months breaks, students do not want to review what they learned and usually stay busy traveling, having fun, playing or getting bored at home. If the long summer breaks were made short and spread throughout the whole year, it would help students remember what they learned. â€Å"It is assumed that shorter breaks help students retain information- therefore less time needs to be spent on review,† Kathryn L. Brandy, teacher in the year round school, Jacksonville Florida Times Union. If teachers would review bits of information to students, then they would remember the rest of the information. Long summer breaks would affect all the hard work of students throughout the whole year. So, it would be really helpful to students if the long summer breaks were made shorter and spread through the whole year, by this students will be able to catch up to all the work and help them remember what they learned. Traveling at the same time every year is not something everyone like. Some people like to travel during the winter, because it is cold and you do not get tired from long journeys. Whereas for summer holidays you get tired really fast, and the weather bothers a lot. It is very hot at the time and from the hotness some students catch cold. Many problems occur from the summer vacations which affect the student’s life in all the ways (education, health, and etc. ). So, traveling in the summer holidays wouldn’t be the opinion for everybody. If the year round schooling process would start in AusIS, the pressure of students would reduce and perfect amount of education would be enriched by the students. The long summer holidays are not always fun. It gets boring and even annoying for some people. After a big summer vacation, study starts to push in, and for a long time you are in a very big pressure, until another holiday knocks up. If the break was spread around the whole year, students would get perfect amount of education and a good holiday in the time needed. This would also give the opportunity to the students who do not like to travel during the summer to travel in some other time during the year. So, if the summer vacation would be spread through the year, it would help students get less pressurized and study. Finally, I feel that year round schooling would help students throughout the year. It would be better and come as benefit to students. Many problems are faced by most of the students. Some of the most important counted facts would come to be as students forget what they learned the past year. Traveling during summer isn’t what everybody would suggest or follow. Short breaks lessen the pressure of students and help students to enrich perfect amount of education. As, coming to my point I suggest that AusIS should adopt the year round schooling process which would come as benefit to students in health, education and traveling way.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Premarital sex Essay Essay Example for Free

Premarital sex Essay Essay Our fathers understood that sex was a blessed experience made only for married couples as a way to express their love and desire for each other. However, our youths today think of sex as a fun-thing; they have the belief that it is okay to have sex with who ever one is having a relationship with, and youths engage in several relationships before deciding to settle down. Yet, our fathers were right with their opinion about sex; sex should be a blessed ordeal and not a fun thing. Youths should try and preserve themselves for marriage, but in a situation where a person cannot hold himself he should then try and protect himself by using a condom because of the effect that unprotected sex would have on him. One of the major effects of unprotected sex is the risk of the female getting pregnant. In some situation the youths involved might not be ready to raise a child yet, and with the female getting pregnant they have problems deciding on what to do. The man might decide to deny being the father of the baby and puts down the woman. This leaves her with the decision of either aborting the child, raising the child as a single mother or dumping the child off anywhere. Each of these three choices is not to the best interest of the child. If the mother aborts the child that means she has taken the life of a human being, and it doesnt matter if the child is unborn yet or not the child has the right to his life. Even if the mother succeeds in aborting the child she may encounter some complications in the process, and this may affect her later life when she will finally decide to get married and have kids. Another dire option is to dump the child. Some mums dump their kids off in trash, in front of people front doors or at the motherless baby centers. There was even this case of a woman trying to flush down her baby down the toilet; the neighbors heard the baby crying as if it was drowning they called the police, but when the police arrived the child was already dead and the mother too because she killed herself. The best of the three options is the mother raising the child as a single parent, but this is also not a very good idea knowing that no child would want to grow up without his father, at least I know I dont. Also some of  the kids who turn out to be a menace to the society fall in the group of kids raised by a single parent. This is because the parent may not have enough time to spend with the child since she has to work a great amount of time so as to provide both of their necessities and to pay bills; the child therefore spends more time with friends and on the streets since he is not being monitored by his parent. All these are caused because of one small mistake; having sex unprotected. In many American Universities college students engage in unprotected sex, but most of them are not conscious of the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Among college students who live away from home, 56 percent had been sexually active while attending college, and 73 percent of that group reported having unprotected sex while in college, says the survey by the Society for Adolescent Medicine. (http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=514693). From the above survey it means that youths in colleges who engage in sex have high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. These students are very well exposed to these diseases because they would have the tendency of having intercourse with several people due to the fact that they converge in an enclosed environment, and also peer pressure. The female involved may also get pregnant and would have to drop out of school and get a job so as to earn some money to take care of her and her kid. Unprotected sex can also result to early marriage. When a female conceives after having sexual intercourse, the couple involved may decide to get married and raise the baby together, but things dont always turn out well after the marriage; these couples may not know themselves too well. In the event of the marriage they might find out different sides of the opposite person that they dont like, and they may finally break up. This doesnt go to the betterment of the child either because he may end up being raised by a single parent and deprived of the other. All these dreadful things can be avoided by merely abstaining from sex till one is married, but when the urge to have sex cannot be overcome then the person involved should use a condom to protect himself.

Empirical Analysis of Firing Disputes

Empirical Analysis of Firing Disputes Are Common Perceptions on Termination Cases in Mexico Supported by Empirical Data Abstract Using a random sample of cases from the Federal Labor Court in Mexico, this research analyzes firing disputes in Mexico from an empirical perspective. In particular, it focuses on presenting evidence in regard to the following three common perceptions on termination cases: (i) that they are often terminated by an adjudicated decision; (ii) that they are extremely delayed; and (iii) that the final payments obtained by the workers are extremely high. The statistical evidence suggests that an emphasis in the literature and media on a particular subsample of cases with extreme characteristics (e.g. adjudicated or appealed processes) produces these conceptions. The study concludes with a brief comment regarding the importance of empirical studies as a way of better understanding legal phenomena in Mexico. Table of contents I. Federal labor tribunals in Mexico II. Methodology and Data III. Results and Discussion A. Termination payments are extremely high B. Termination cases are extremely delayed C. Termination cases normally go to trial IV. Conclusion Although the analysis of the law in Mexico has changed slightly in the last years, Pounds vision effectively reflects the atmosphere of pure law of the Mexican mainstream. The analysis of labor law in Mexico—the general topic of this research—reflects this analytical path. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the literature related to labor justice has been doctrinal and normative. These studies often ignore factual evidence of how the legal framework affects the legal reality; and if some evidence is presented, it is merely indicative or anecdotal. This doctrinal research figures prominently in public policy debates. This study departs completely from the Mexican mainstream insofar as it is an empirical study based on case file analysis. The research results are based on a random sample of 3,203 files selected from the Junta Federal de Conciliacià ³n y Arbitraje (JFCA) archive. These files correspond to termination cases presented before the Tribunal 15 of the JFCA (Tribunal 15), a labor tribunal (Junta Especial) whose jurisdiction includes the pharmaceutical, chemical, automotive, and paper industries; and the Tribunal 6 and 8 of the JFCA (Tribunal 6 8), the labor tribunals whose jurisdiction includes the textile industry. The period studied extends from 1991 to 1998. Note that case file analysis has been used extensively in other countries with fruitful results. The objective of this research is to characterize empirically the termination disputes in Mexico in the context of the tribunals analyzed. In particular, it focuses on presenting evidence in regard to the following three common perceptions on termination cases: (i) that they are often terminated by an adjudicated decision; (ii) that they are extremely delayed; and (iii) that the final payments obtained by the workers are extremely high. This article is divided into three sections. The first section explains the operation of the federal labor tribunal in Mexico. The second section describes the data and the methodology. The third section examines the above mentioned perceptions on termination cases. I. Federal labor tribunals in Mexico The JFCA is an administrative court that belongs to the executive branch. Because of this dependency, Mexican legal authors have questioned its degree of judicial independence. The JFCA consists of 61 labor tribunals, called Juntas Especiales. Sixteen tribunals are located in Mexico City, and the remainders are dispersed throughout Mexico. Labor tribunals have the legal power to conciliate and adjudicate. In fact, the LFT mandates at least one conciliation hearing before trial. Among the labor tribunals, jurisdiction is determined by industry. Although the labor law openly promotes settlement of disputes, it does not permit the settlement terms to remain confidential. The relevant tribunal must ratify the settlement for it to become binding. An employee cannot credibly forfeit the right to sue his employer unless and until the court approves his settlement. Employers and workers very often submit a settlement jointly to the labor court simply to obtain ratification, which then makes the agreement binding. The approval of settlements primarily serves as a mechanism for confirming that the worker has not renounced some legal benefit and for making the agreement binding at law. Tribunals must record details about the settlement, such as the date of the settlement and the amount paid. Once a lawsuit is filed, the tribunal with jurisdiction over the dispute must schedule at least one conciliatory hearing. At the conclusion of that hearing, the tribunal schedules subsequent hearings for the presentation of evidence and for trial. At any point during the process, however, the suit can be terminated by a settlement. The tribunal must approve this settlement. In fact, the parties can agree to defer hearings if they think they need more time to negotiate the terms of the agreement. If no agreement is reached, a tripartite commission composed of an employer representative, an employee representative, and a government representative may issue an award deciding the dispute. Note that the employee may also drop the complaint at any point during the lawsuit. As noted in the tables below, dropped lawsuits are not uncommon. An appeal mechanism, the juicio de amparo, is available to challenge the resolutions of the tribunal. Note that the parties cannot only challenge the final decision issued by the tribunal, but also other decisions that could potentially affect the outcome of the case, for instance, the fact that the tribunal notified the employer about the workers complaint in an incorrect manner. It is fair to state that the scope of review of the juicio de amparo in labor cases is limited to protect the due process rights of the parties. II. Methodology and Data Clermont Eisenberg divide legal studies based on statistical research into three groups depending on the way in which the data is assembled. Studies of published judicial decisions, studies based on data produced by experimental work or by archival research, and studies involving analyses of publicly available, and usually governmental, databases. The present study fits into the second category, legal research based on archival data. The logic behind analyzing archival cases is simple: random samples of large dockets can provide us with useful information to analyze the patterns of litigation in a particular tribunal. This is particularly relevant when there is no information available—or only very incomplete information—on how certain type of legal dispute is resolved. In particular, information regarding labor disputes is extremely general and imprecise. The data used for this research was obtained through a public information request under the Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Informacion Publica Gubernamental, the law that regulates the access to public governmental information. While some of the variables used in this study are considered public information under this law, other variables are not public information, and have been obtained under a confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality agreement was negotiated with the authorities of the JFCA, who only authorized to review those cases that complied with the following characteristics: (1) closed cases that cannot be reopened by the parties anymore, (2) and cases that had been initiated in 1998 at most. Given these constraints, I was able to assemble a random sample of cases initiated between 1991 and 1998 in Tribunal 15 and Tribunal 6 8. Note that these years refer to the dates in which the cases were presented before the labor tribunals, and not to the dates in wh ich the cases were actually solved. There are two main types of cases observed in the sample: filed settlements and litigated cases. In filed settlements, the employer and employee file a jointly agreement, which is merely ratified by the tribunal. In litigated cases, the parties usually present and produce several documents, such as the employees initial petition, the employers response (if any), the terms of agreement reached if the case is settled, the final award issued by the tribunal if the case is not settled, and the appeals carried out by the parties. Note that litigated cases have three possible outcomes: dropped suits, settlements, and trials leading to a final decision issued by a tripartite commission. As mentioned before, the final decision is known as an award (laudo). Using the information from the documents mentioned in this paragraph, I calculated the duration and the final payment of the cases handled by Tribunal 15 and Tribunal 6 8. These calculations will be presented in further tables. A comment should be made on the validity and usefulness of the results coming from the data analyzed. First, the LFT has not been substantially modified since its enactment in 1970. Second, and based on five interviews with representatives of the government from five federal labor courts that handle similar disputes, it is reasonable to state that the solving pattern of the termination disputes here portrayed is accurate and reflects the current situation. III. Results and Discussion A. Termination payments are extremely high Some Mexican authors have analyzed the LFT from an economic perspective. Basically, their argument is that the LFT should be modified to eliminate all those provisions that create restrictions on hiring, mobility, and termination of employees. These legal restrictions, originally designed to protect the worker, generate a higher social cost than benefit. In particular, these authors claim that the LFT raises termination costs, diminishing the quantity of labor that an employer hires below the socially efficient level. This argument assumes that most of the termination payments are paid according to the LFT and are thus extremely high. No empirical evidence concerning this assumption has been produced. Before presenting the empirical evidence, the rules regarding termination payments should be explained. These rules, provided in the LFT, mainly refer to the provision of fringe benefits, overtime, and the mechanics of termination. Fringe benefits are mainly composed of vacation pay and year end bonuses. Each employee is entitled to a certain number of days of paid vacation depending on his or her tenure at the firm. Also, every employee has the right to receive an end of the year bonus equal to at least 15 days wages. A normal workweek cannot exceed 48 hours. If an employee works more than 48 hours in a single week, he is entitled to overtime pay. The law mandates double pay for up to 9 hours of overtime, and triple pay for any hours above 57 per week. Terminations are classified under the law as justified or unjustified. Justified termination is limited to wrongdoing on the part of the worker, such as three continuous unjustified absences. Termination for any other reason, such as low employee productivity, is considered unjustified and it often implies higher termination cost. For either type of termination, the firm must cover all payments owed to the worker up to the termination date, including overtime and the prorated proportion of fringe benefits until the termination date. Additionally, the worker is entitled to severance pay equivalent to 12 days wages for each year worked, with the wage rate capped at twice the minimum wage. At the time of termination the firm must issue the worker a written document explaining the exact cause of termination as defined by the LFT. Workers have the right to challenge the grounds for termination. According to the LFT, the firm carries the burden of proving that it fired the worker for just cause. Workers terminated in an unjust manner have the right to receive two additional payments. Back pay from the termination date through the date when judgment is issued (including not only the salary, but also the fringe benefits), plus three months salary with benefits. Also, those workers who are denied reinstatement are enti tled to 20 days wages plus benefits for each year worked, without any cap on the wage rate. Note that a worker who proves he was fired without justification can request to be reinstated in his job. The firm may refuse reinstatement for certain categories of workers, such as temporary workers, those with less than one years tenure, and those considered to be at will employees. A firm may also avoid having to reinstate workers it fires in the case of justified layoffs. Table 1 presents the average final payments obtained by workers depending on the form in which the cases concluded. Both absolute and relative amounts are shown. Relative amounts correspond to the amount that workers win as a percentage of the amount they claimed. The data demonstrate that fired workers who initiated a lawsuit usually claimed considerable amounts of money that seldom obtained. Also, note that workers who resolved the case through a filed settlement or a settlement reached during the lawsuit had better final payments. Interestingly, in cases solved by an award, the decision of the parties to appeal increased the amount received by the worker. As the tables portray, most of the termination cases do not receive an extremely high final payment, which contradicts the widely held assumption of the Mexican media and Mexican academic literature. Although this section only presents a descriptive analysis of the data, these results deserve much more attention and analysis in future research. B. Termination cases are extremely delayed This section presents empirical evidence that supports the idea that the duration of termination cases is not necessarily extremely delayed, but it actually depends on characteristics of the dispute like the termination mode, the decision of the parties to challenge the tribunal decisions, or to defer the case. Many Mexican legal scholars have criticized the fact that labor procedures are extremely formal and complicated. According to this view, procedure is the main source of delay in labor disputes. Proposals for diminishing delays in labor disputes include: improving the conciliation system , hiring more legal clerks , replacing the old technology in the JFCA (i.e. principally computers) , and, of course, changing the law to eliminate procedural complexities. The LFT procedures do not limit the time period for case resolution; rather they establish a term in which each action in the process should be completed. The goal of establishing such terms is to create a fast labor procedure (article 685). The labor statute requires different types of procedures depending on the case at issue. The procedure by which termination cases are solved is known as ordinary procedure (article 871). The ordinary procedure starts when the employee files a claim before the JFCA (article 871). After this claim is admitted, the parties are scheduled for a hearing (article 873). The hearing has three stages: the conciliation stage; the claims and exceptions state; and finally, the stage of submission and admission of the evidence (article 875). Each one of these stages has particular time and form characteristics according to which it operates. Article 876 governs the conciliation stage. The goal is for the parties to reach a conciliation agreement through the intermediation of the tribunal. If the parties reach an agreement, the disputed is terminated and the tribunal endorses the corresponding agreement. This agreement, like an award, is enforceable. If the parties do not reach a conciliation agreement, the hearing proceeds to the claims and exceptions stage. Article 878 also governs this stage. The worker presents his claim, and the employer answer him. After this stage, the submission and admission of the evidence stage occurs, which article 880 governs. Next, the evidence is presented before the tribunal in another hearing governed by Article 884. When all these stages have been completed, a legal clerk creates a draft of the final ruling. This draft has to be approved by members of the tripartite panel (the representative of the employees, the employers, and the government). This process follows the rules established in articles 887, 888, and 889. After approval, and if no corrections are proposed, the draft is turned into the award. According to the terms established in the statute for each one of these proceedings, an ordinary procedure should be resolved in 75 effective court days. As table 2 portrays, the average duration of an ordinary procedure (i.e. case solved by an award without being appealed or being deferred) in Tribunal 15 is 440.76 effective court days, and in Tribunal 6 8 is 419.89 effective court days. Several things should be clarified with regard to the description of the ordinary procedure. First, although the labor statute speaks of one hearing divided into different stages; in fact, there are different hearings in which all these stages are completed. Therefore, if the parties cannot reach an agreement after a conciliation hearing, the conciliation continues in the next hearing, and the subsequent stage is postponed and so on. Second, the statute permits the parties to defer the hearings if both sides agree. In other words, if the parties are in the process of negotiating a conciliation agreement, they can ask the labor tribunal for more time. According to table 2, this is not unusual. Third, although the statute specifies that the conciliation stage should be performed at the beginning of the case, the parties can reach a conciliation agreement at any time during the ordinary procedure, even after the conciliation stage has passed. Fourth, the description portrayed for the or dinary procedure does not account for whether the parties (either the employee or the employer) decide to appeal the award or not. If the parties decide to appeal the award issued by the judge, the procedure should be extended by no more than 45 days until the appeal sentence is rendered. Table 2 portrays that the duration of the case increases considerably when the parties decided to appeal the rulings of the labor tribunal. While cases concluding through an award that was not appealed took 450.45 effective court days to be solved in Tribunal 15 and 442.69 effective court days in Tribunal 6 8, cases concluding through an award that was appeal took longer: 904.79 effective court days to be solved in Tribunal 15 and 790.28 effective court days in Tribunal 6 8. The ordinary procedure requirements suggest the excessive formality of the process for resolving termination cases. The real question is how many cases actually pass through all these complicated stages. Table 2 shows the average duration of cases in court effective days depending on certain decisions of the parties, particularly, their decision to appeal the tribunals rulings and to defer the case. Note that 56.97% of the total cases from Tribunal 15 and 23.48% of the total cases from Tribunal 6 8 were filed settlements. These cases were resolved without passing through any of the above mentioned stages of an ordinary procedure and went to the court as a mere formality. The situation is different for litigated cases. Litigation cases are divided between those cases in which the parties deferred the case at least once and those in which the parties never deferred the case. As noted in the tables, the average duration is regularly higher when the parties decided to defer the case tha n when they chose not to defer it. Observe that the difference in duration of a lawsuit also depends on the parties decision to settle, drop, or go to trial seeking an adjudicated award. Finally, the duration of the case depends on whether the parties chose to appeal the rulings of the tribunal or not (including the award). Therefore, it is clear that when an award is issued to resolve a labor dispute or when the parties challenged the tribunals decision, the case was more delayed. However, the real question is how frequently this situation actually occurred. According to the evidence presented here, termination cases were rarely solved through an award (6.09% in Tribunal 15 and 9.76% in Tribunal 6 8), and even more rarely through an award issued after an appeal (1.88% in Tribunal 15 and 2.55% in Tribunal 6 8). Adjudicated awards and appeals appear to be more the exception than the rule. Short settled cases (i.e. filed settlements and settled lawsuits without appeal) instead of long disputes seem to be the typical termination case. Finally, and given the results presented in table 2, it is reasonable to believe that the substantial length of the adjudication process could be itself a contributing factor to the settlement of most cases. Although a profound analysis of such idea goes beyond the scope of this work, it should definitely be considered in further empirical studies. C. Termination cases normally go to trial The media and legal scholars in Mexico have portrayed Mexican labor justice as complicated, corrupted, delayed, and costly. This vision has deeply shaped the perception of the labor justice system. Cases reflecting the view of delayed justice and low final payments appear in the random sample of cases analyzed in this study. Although these cases exist in the data set, they do not at all reflect the typical case. First, case 1/1991 , which began in 1991. In this case, a 26 year old man filed a claim of unjustified termination. He worked in the state of Oaxaca, in a paper factory. He had worked for almost five years receiving a daily wage of $78 pesos and claimed $191,900 pesos. A public defender represented him. In 1995, after four years, an award issued by the judge determined that the termination had been lawful. Thus, the claim was dismissed without any payment to the worker. Second, case 2/1994, which began in 1994. In this lawsuit, a 32 year old man also claimed an unjustified termination. He worked in the state of Chihuahua for a pharmaceutical firm. He had worked for six years and received a daily wage of $307 pesos. A private lawyer represented him, and the amount at stake was $922,429 pesos. The lawyer appealed the first award, which had favored the employer. The final decision, rendered near the end of 1997, favored the worker, but only granted him $7,894 pesos. The case took slightly more than three years of effective court time; and interestingly, the parties decided to defer the case once during the process. At the end of the day, the worker waited three years and received only a small fraction of his original claim (less than 10%). Although the cases portrayed above match the descriptions provided in the news for termination cases that reach the trial stage, it is not clear that these cases are representative of the typical termination case with which the tribunal commonly deals. Other cases in the sample reflect a completely different result. In other words, high payments and little court time. For example, case 3/1994 began in 1994 when a 50 year old man from Mexico City claimed an unjustified dismissal after more than thirteen years of work at a well known pharmaceutical company. The case did not reach judicial evaluation of the merits, and was settled only three months after filing. Interestingly, the parties decided to defer the hearings twice, and a private lawyer represented the employee. The employee, who claimed $267,115 pesos, received $214,959, 80% of his original claim. In another termination case, 4/1997, a 57 year old man filed a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company asking for $1,364,927 pesos. The employee had a 22 year tenure and a daily wage of $2,472 pesos daily salary. The case was settled after ten months, and the employee obtained $1,001,167 pesos, 73% of his original petition. Again, a private lawyer took the case, and the parties deferred the hearings twice. Note two relevant commonalities in the two cases presented: both settled before reaching the trial stage, and the parties decided to defer the hearings at some point in the process. This study finds that settled cases more accurately reflect the resolution of Mexican labor disputes than the cases highlighted in the media, which typically cover cases that go to trial and terminate with an adjudicated award. In other words, the media emphasize cases that usually take a long time to resolve; and in particular, cases in which workers obtain outlying results (very low or high payments). Although these cases eventually come up in labor tribunals, they are rare. A bias for highlighting cases that go to trial has been identified several times in the literature. Laurence Ross and Alfred Conrad showed, in 1970 and 1964 respectively, that only a very small fraction of disputes go to trial and an even smaller fraction are appealed. Consequently, an analysis based only on those cases that go to trial is not representative of the influence of legal rules on social affairs. The conclusions of doctrinal studies based on trials or appealed cases disclose very little about how legal rules affect the behavior of those subject to them or affect the generation of legal disputes themselves. Mexican literature concerning labor law in general, and particularly termination cases, has followed this pattern. The methodological problem in studying only final decisions, like appeals or awards, is that the: simple extrapolation from a sample of litigated cases to the population of all cases is valid only if the sample is random. If cases are not randomly selected for litigation, then a researcher who uses litigated cases is necessarily studying both the selection mechanism and the underlying population of cases simultaneously. The particular set of data gathered for this research avoids this problem to a great extent. First, as explained earlier, the labor statute requires parties to ratify terminations before the labor tribunal for the termination to become legally binding. If an employer fires an employee and wants to have a legal document verifying that the employee was fired without any violation of the provisions of the law, he needs to ratify his dismissal agreement before the labor tribunal. Therefore, termination cases (the underlying dispute) should pass by the court, at least for ratification. Second, cases sampled not only include filed settlements, but also cases that starte d as lawsuits and were later settled, dropped, or decided by an adjudicated award. In short, the random sample of cases studied accurately represents the solving pattern of termination cases because the cases analyzed are a random sample of the underlying disputes, not a random sample from a particular biased sub sample. Table 1 and 2 portray the solving pattern of termination cases in Mexico. Statistics from these tables suggest that the typical termination case is settled in some fashion, and that awards are issued occasionally. A brief survey of the Mexican literature shows that one of the main concerns for labor reformers in Mexico is the long delay in solving disputes. Table 1 and 2 show that this perspective is imprecise. Most of the disputes went to court merely seeking a ratification of the parties agreement and were solved the same day they were presented. On the other hand, if the dispute was not a mere ratification but litigation, duration varied greatly according to the way of solving the dispute and to the parties decision to appeal the tribunals decision (particularly the award). Therefore, it appears that when studies and news refer to delay in labor justice, they actually refer to a sub sample of cases with certain characteristics, in particular, to those cases that finish with an adj udicated award, are appealed, or both. Many analyses of Mexican labor justice in general, and of termination cases in particular, have not seen the whole picture, but only a small fraction of cases with extreme characteristics. These works, though somewhat useful, tend to be biased in their conclusions, and they definitely do not appear to be the best guide for implementing public policy measures or legislative changes. Interestingly, according to the tables, a final judgment (i.e. award) was issued only in 6.09% of the total cases sampled in Tribunal 15 and in 9.76% of the total cases sampled in Tribunal 6 8. Alexander reports that fewer than 5% of litigated cases are tried to judgment in the U.S. Trubek et al. state that approximately 8% of civil suits filed in state or federal court went to trial. Also, Resnik notes that 85% to 90% of all federal civil suits end up settling. Note that 86.14% of the sampled cases were settled in some manner in Tribunal 15 and 77.80% in Tribunal 6 8. Therefore, the results of the present study are consistent in supporting the conclusion that cases that go to trial provide only a distorted window into peoples behavior in response to legal rules. IV. Conclusions This article seeks to analyze termination using empirical evidence. Using a random sample of cases from three Mexican labor tribunals, this work has analyzed three widely held perceptions on termination cases, which are commonly supported by the Mexican media and some Mexican legal scholars. The conclusion is straightforward: the perception of termination cases in private industry has been biased by a sub sample of cases with extreme characteristics, cases that go to a final judgment or are appealed. Interestingly, this biased has not been detected by research on labor law produced by Mexican scholars who study the law from a doctrinal perspective, proving that limiting the study of the legal system to doctrinal analyses of legal norms could lead to erroneous conclusions. Approaching research questions from an empirical perspective is necessary, and it will eventually reveal new features of the Mexican legal system.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Often, The character Shylock, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is portrayed as a beastly monstrosity, with a lust for Antonio's life. Through a more careful examination it can be determined that Shylock was an upstanding member of his community, who endured abuse, forgave easily, and upheld the customs and law. Shylock endured much of Antonio's abuse, overt a long period of time. This can be seen by the sheer volume of disgraces he has bore. A good example is in Act 3 Scene 1, beginning with line 52: "He hath disgraced me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies..." -Shylock Shylock had such a magnanimous spirit, that he even offered Antonio, who had abused him terribly, a loan, free of interest. Shylock was willing to loan money to one who totally ruined him in public, on terms that were nicer than his normal business terms. This kind, forgiving heart can be seen in Act 1 Scene 3 beginning with line 148: "Why, look how you storm ! I would be friends with you and have your love, forget the names that you have stained me with, supply your present needs and take no doit of usance for my moneys, and you'll not hear me! This is kind I offer." -Shylock Often, this quote from Act 3 Scene 1 line 83, "Why, there, there, there, there! A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt! The curse never fell upon our nation till now, I never felt it till now. Two thousand ducats in that and other precious, precious, jewels! I would my daughter were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear;" portraying Shylocks' treatment of his daughter, after she ran away, is manipulated to make Shylock seem beastly. But, within the Jewish culture and the time period, his response was appropriate. After his daughter ran away, she was, for all intents and purposes, disowned. Thusly, the theft of

Monday, August 19, 2019

Environmental Ethics Essay -- Ecology Environment Nature Essays

Environmental Ethics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a strong belief of mine that the responsibility of protecting the environment is much greater on today’s generation than is was for past generations. The reason that I feel the way that I do is because at this point a substantial amount of damage has already been done and in order to prevent any further environmental destruction intervention on our part is necessary. After all, we (humans) are the main cause of the problems; shouldn’t we also be a part of the cure. If we had always taken the environment into consideration prior to our actions we would not be faced with some of the environmental issues we are facing today. The problem started with the past generations but the solution now has to start with us. We have to be overly conscious of our actions and what affect they will have on future generations. Since we enjoy the rights to breathe fresh air, play in the sun, live among a vast variety of plant and wildlife, then shouldn’t our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and their grandchildren, also have the chance to enjoy those same rights? My answer to that question is yes they do! We owe that to them so we all have to take a stand for our values, morals, ethics and actions regarding the preservation of a healthy and rich natural environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The responsibilities for past generation regarding the environment was no less than ours today however, the differences are that we are now stuck with the job of correcting the mistakes of past generations, then the population was much smaller than it is today and will be in the future and more people equals potentially more pollution. I can compare this situation to one of a student who starts a class with all A’s and all he needs is to get a passing grade on the final and he will end up with a least a B for the class, verses a student who starts off the class with low B’s and C’s on his tests who will need to get a high B low A to just pass the class with a C. We are the B, C, student who needs an A just to pass the class with a C. It would be easier for us and less of an emergency if only our past generations would have taken us into the same consideration that we are now trying to for our future generations. It is my assumption that It wil l be easier for the future generations to maintain a healthy natural environment than to have to repair a damaged one. ... ...e else who may be going the same place I try to ride the bus to work or into town when ever I can. I am much more conscious of when and where I drive my car. I feel that I am at an advantage since I live in a big city where I don’t necessarily need to drive in order to get where I need to go I have plenty of options and I have started to use them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion I understand how important it is to preserve and protect the natural environment. I feel that we owe it to future generations to take measures so that they can potentially live somewhat happy healthy lives. The measures that we take today to protect the environment will affect us tomorrow and them a lot further down the line. I am willing to take responsibility for my actions today so that tomorrows generations both human and non human can thrive. I am grateful for the organizations like the Earth Day Organization that work to bring environmental issues awareness to everyone. If everyone would simply try to take the smallest measures to preserve and protect our environment I believe it will result in large results. References: Joseph R. Des Jardins, Wadsworth / Thomson Learning. Environmental Ethics 2001.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Dilemma of Macular Degeneration Essay -- Vision Sight Disorders Es

The Dilemma of Macular Degeneration According to Baily and Hall, while visual impairment early in life is associated with inherited congenital disorders, abnormal fetal devepment, and problems associated with premature birth, most eye conditions are associated with aging. They claim that over 70% of the visually impaired population in the United States is over 65. Age related maculopathy, also called macular degeneration, or AMD, impairs the center of vision in older individuals. The macula is the region in the back of the retina that surrounds and includes the fovea (Goldstein 1999). It is important to understand that when this degeneration progresses enough, the condition constitutes blindness because the foveal area is what is used to focus on something. Most cases do not progress this far, but between five and 20% do. Allikments and Shroyer claim that 11 million people in the United States alone suffer some degree of this impairment, with 75% of those individuals being 75 or older. Seven percent of this older age g roup reportedly suffer advanced forms. Freidman reports the disease as most common in developed countries. The high percentages of individuals who endure this impairment justifies and practically demands future research because the causes are not fully understood. The need for future research can be better emphasized if those with normal vision try to empathize with victims of macular degeneration. One can only imagine how frustrating it must be to receive sensatrions only in the periphery of the retina. Because the macula encompassed the cone rich fovea, which is used to focus on objects, the fovea degenerates as well. This occurence inables individuals to interpret the sensations they experience. Reading, ... ... 385-389. Guyer, David R., (1997). Interferon alpha 2a is ineffective for patients with choroidal neovascularization secondary to age related macular degeneration: results of a prospective randomized placebo-controlledclinical trial. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 278(18), 1470. Hunter, M., (1997). Blocking blindness. McLeans, 110 (21), 62. Langer, Stephen, (1996). Set your sights on better nutrition. Better Nutrition, 58 (4), 58. Ruckmann, Adrea von, Fitzke, Fredrick W., & Bird, Alan C., (1997). Fundus autofluorescence in age related macular disease imaged with a laser scanning opthalmoscope. Investigative Opthamology and Visual Science, 38 (2), 478-485. Spraul, Christoph W., Lang, Gabriel E., Grossniklaus, Hans E., & Lang, Gerhard D., (1998). Choroidal blood flow in AMD. Investigative Opthamology and Visual Science, 39 (11), 2201.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Punjabi Culture

Culture: The word culture  has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food  However, for anthropologists and other behavioral scientists,  culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns. The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor in his book,  Primitive Culture,  published in 1871. Tylor said that culture is â€Å"that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.    Of course, it is not limited to men. Women possess and create it as well. Since Tylor's time, the concept of culture has become the central focus of anthropology. Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made t hings are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason,  archeologist can not dig up culture directly in their excavations.The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patterns they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills. Pakistani culture: Pakistan has a rich cultural diversity as the society is largely multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural. The Pakistani society comprises various diverse cultures and ethnic communities that majorly involve Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloch, Pashtun, Seraiki, Mohair, Kashmiri, Makrani, and the ancient Wakhi and Burusho groups in the north.These Pakistani cultures have been greatly influenced by many of the surrounding countries' cultures, such as the  Turkic people,  Persian, Arab and other   South Asian ethnic Asian group of the  Subcontinent,  Central Asia and the Middle East. Pakistan is in general linguistically heterogeneous, and no single language can be said to be common to the whole population. Each of its principal languages has a strong regional focus. The languages claimed as mother tongue include Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Seraiki, Kashmiri, Brahui, Hindko and Potohohari.Urdu is the national language and one of two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English). Although only about 8% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language, it is spoken as a second and often third language by almost all citizens of Pakistan. Pakistan is a special interest destination as its main attraction includes adventure tourism in the Northern Areas, cultural and archaeological tourism as found at Taxila, Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Swat, and early Mughal and Muslim heritage of Multan, Lahore, Thatta and Peshawar.From the mighty Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land full of adventures and na tural beauties having peaceful general masses. The enthusiasm for poetry exists at a regional level as well, with nearly all of Pakistan's provincial languages continuing the legacy. Poetry is a highly respected art in Pakistan. Since the independence of the country in 1947 and establishment of Urdu as the national language, poetry is mostly written in the Urdu as well as regional languages. The Urdu language has a rich tradition of poetry and Dr.Allama Muhammad Iqbal is regarded as the National Poet of Pakistan. Apart from Urdu poetry, Pakistani poetry also has blends of other regional languages. Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Seraiki, and Pashto poetry have all incorporated and influenced Pakistani poetry. The variety of Pakistani music ranges from diverse provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayeki to modern forms fusing traditional and western music, such as the synchronization of Qawwali and western music by the world renowned Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan .In addition, Pakistan is home to many famous folk singers such as the late Alam Lohar, who is also well-known in the Indian Punjab. Folk dances are still popular in Pakistan and they vary according to region. The folk dances of Punjab are Bhangra, Luddi and Sammi, while Jhoomar is the folk dance of Seraiki region. Lewa and Chap are the most popular folk dances of Balochistan. The folk dances of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are Attan, Khattak dance and Chitrali dance. While Dhammal and Ho Jamalo are the popular folk dances mostly performed in Sindh. |Although Western-style clothing is worn in Pakistan, the national dress, shalwar-qameez, is more common in both rural and urban areas. Made of cotton, the shalwar-qameez differs for men and women. Men wear solid, plain colour, and add a coat for formal occasions. For women, the colours are brighter and patterns bolder, with more tailoring common. Women wear a dupatta (scarf) around their heads and sometimes another long scarf around their shoulde rs. Men only wear shorts for athletic events and women never do. A handshake is the most common greeting, although close friends may embrace if meeting after a long time.It is not appropriate for a man to shake hands with a woman. A title and last name are used when addressing someone. Visiting between friends and relatives is a very important social custom and occurs as often as possible. Hospitality is important and guests are made to feel welcome. In small groups, each person is greeted individually. Personal rapport is important. The family is the centre of social life and support. Although increased modernisation has brought many women into public life, the male continues to reign as head of the home.It is common for the extended family, a father and mother, their sons, and the son’s family to live together in the same household. The presiding male of the family has significant influence over the lives of all family members, although women are increasingly taking on acti ve decision making roles. The elderly are highly respected. Pakistani cuisine is as diverse as its people. Pakistani diet, whereas vegetables and beans are as important. The mainstay of the Pakistani diet is chapati or roti. Pakistani food is generally hot and spicy.Rice is part of most meals and desserts. Tea is the most popular drink. Meat plays a much more dominant role in Pakistani food, compared to other South Asian cuisines. Of all the meats, the most popular are mutton, and chicken. Beef is also eaten, and is particularly sought after as the meat of choice for Kabab dishes. Punjabi culture: Punjabi Culture  is the culture of the  Punjab region. It is one of the oldest in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi culture is the culture of the  Punjabi people  who are now distributed hroughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of the culture are vast. Some of the main areas include Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, science, technology, military warfare, architecture, traditions, values and history. Due to the large number of Punjabi People distributed throughout the world, especially  Pakistan  and  India, many people are increasingly experiencing the culture and becoming influenced by it. Traditional Punjabi culture is being strengthened and expanded in the  Western world. the scope is huge, ranging from Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, architecture etc. People of different languages, cultures, customs and races came to Punjab for various reasons. These immigrants influenced and were influenced by Punjabi culture. Punjabi Literature Punjabi literature  refers to literary works written in the  Punjabi language  particularly by peoples from the historical  Punjab region. The Punjabi language is written in several different scripts, of which the  Shahmukhi, the  Gurmukhi  script s are the most commonly used.The early punjabi literature whereabouts can be seen in the sufi poetry of Fariduddin Ganjshakar. After which Punjabi Sufi poetry developed under  Shah Hussain  Sultan Bahu  ,Shah Sharaf, Ali Haider, Saleh muhammad safoori   and  Bulleh Shah  . In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred the  ghazal  for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the  Kafi. Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The large number of Punjabi poetry works are being translated worldwide in many languages.The  Punjabi language  is also famous for its rich literature of  qisse, most of the which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man’s revolt against a larger system. In the Punjabi tradition, friendship, loyalty, love are given utmost importance and most of the stories in the  qisse  are based on such elements. Waris Shah's qissaà ‚  of ‘Heer Ranjha’ is among the most famous Qisse of all times which is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab. The other three are Mirza Sahiba,  Sassi Punnun  and  Sohni Mahiwal The most popular writer/poet to have writtenPunjabi Sufi  Qisse  was  Bulleh Shah. He is frequently quoted by young and old alike with same respect and on matters of both love and God. Punjabi Architecture Punjabi architecture is the feast for eyes. Punjab is bestowed with worth seeing architecture all around. The oldest examples of architecture sculpture and painting in the Punjab belong to the Harappa civilization. The breathtaking architecture include: * Badshahi Mosque is a famous landmark and a major tourist attraction. Badshai masjid was built by sixth mughal emperor Aurengzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673.It is the second largest masjid in Pakistan and fifth largest in the world. * Taxila  is a town and an important  archaeological  site in the  District of the  Punjab  province in  Pakistan. The site includes buildings, fortifications, settlements, showing architectural influence. * The  Wazir Khan Mosque  in  Lahore,  Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience  tile work. It has been described as ‘a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. It was built in seven years, starting around 1634–1635 AD, during the reign of the  Mughal Emperor  Shah Jehan. Rohtas Fort  is a historical garrison fort built by king  Farid Khan, located near the city of Jhelum  in  Pakistan. This fort is about 4  km in circumference and the first example of the successful amalgamation of Pashtun and Hindu architecture in the  Indian Subcontinent. * The  Khewra Salt Mine  is located in  Khewra, north of  Pind Dadan Khan, an administrative subdivision of  Jhelum District,  Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's largest and oldest salt mine  and the world's second largest. It is a major tourist attraction. Punjab a rts and craftPunjab has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. The richness of the land is reflected in its handicraft. The people of Punjab lay much importance on their artistry and the minute details of their work. The artistic creations of Punjab are acclaimed all over the world. The skilled and dexterous artisans of the state produce a variety of handicrafts and even the rural women have a major contribution in the production of these fascinating art works. Mud work Mud work is a famous rural practice in Punjab, prevalent from the ancient times.It is a trend in Punjab to mud-plaster the walls of the house and then, create motifs and designs on the mudded walls. Metal work Metalwork is also very popular in Punjab. Utensils made of metals are used in households, as also for religious purposes. Basketry work Thin straws of glass are used for basketry works, which is another Punjabi craft that is immensely popular. Mats, rugs, carpets, curtains and hand fans are woven using these stra ws. Embroidery Embroidery is another extensively followed work of art, known in the state by various local names.Phulkari, an intricate needle work, is extremely popular and is mainly taken up by village girls. Juttis of Punjab Punjabi juttis represent the traditional footwear of Punjab, which is known worldwide for its exquisite design and intricate pattern. Punjab festivals Punjab is well known for its festivals which include: Urs The fairs held at the shrines of  Sufi  saints are called  urs. They generally mark the death anniversary of the saint. On these occasions devotees assemble in large numbers and pay homage to the memory of the saint.Soul inspiring music is played and devotees dance in The most important urs are: urs of Data  Ganj Buksh  at  Lahore, urs of Hazrat  Sultan Bahu  at  Jhang, urs of Hazrat  Shah Jewna  at  Jhang, urs of Hazrat  Mian Mir  at Lahore, urs of  Baba Farid  Ganj Shakar at  Pakpattan, urs of Hazrat  Bahaudin Zakria   at  Multan, urs of  Sakhi Sarwar Sultan  at  Dera Ghazi Khan, urs of  Shah Hussain  at Lahore, urs of Hazrat  Bulleh Shah  at  Kasur, urs of Hazrat  Imam Bari  (Bari Shah Latif) at  Rawalpindi-Islamabad and urs of  Shah Inayar Qadri  (the murrshad of  Bulleh Shah) in Lahore.A big fair/mela is organized at  Jandiala Sher Khan  in district  Sheikhupura  on the Mausoleum of Syed  Waris Shah  who is the most loved Sufi poet of Punjab due to his claasic work known as  Heer Ranjha. The shrine of  Heer Ranjha  in  Jhang  has been one of the most visited shrines in Punjabecstasy. The music on these occasions is essentially folk and appealing. It forms a part of the folk music through mystic messages. Industrial and commercial fairs Exhibitions and Annual Horse Shows in all Districts and National Horse and Cattle Show at Lahore are held with the official patronage.National Horse and Cattle Show at Lahore is the biggest festival where sp orts, exhibitions, and livestock competitions are held. It not only encourages and patronizes agricultural products and livestock through the exhibitions of agricultural products and cattle but is also a colourful documentary on the rich cultural heritage of the Province with its strong rural roots. Other festivals In addition to the religious festivals, Punjabis may celebrate seasonal and harvest festivals, which include  Lohri,  Basant,Baisakhi  and  Teej. Punjabi Cuisine:Punjabi cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field; so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi cuisine throughout the world. †Sarso ka sag† and â€Å"Maki ki roti† are examples of well known dishes. Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. Home cooked and Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amount of ghee, clari fied butter, with home cooking concentrating on mainly upon preparations with whole wheat, rice and other ingredients flavored with masala.Within the Punjab region, there are different preferences. People in the area of Lahore prefer stuffed parathas and milk products. In fact, the area is well known for quality of its milk products. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. Tandoori food is a Punjabi specialty for non-vegetarian dishes. Tandoor, Naan, Pakoras and vegetable dishes with paneer are also derived from Punjab. Punjabi Music: Bhangra is of the many Punjabi art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favorite.Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west. Punjabi music has a diverse style of music, ranging from folk and Sufi to classical, notably the Patiala Gharana. Folk music of Punjab is the traditional music of Punjab produced using the traditional instruments like Tumbi, Algoze, Dhadd, Sarangi, Chimta and more. Sufi music includes the singing of Sufi poetry in several genres.Some of the poets whose compositions are often sung include Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Husain, Waris Shah and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. Classical music includes Patiala Gharana and Sham Chaurasia Gharana. Punjabi Dances: Owing to the long history of the Punjabi culture there is a large number of dances, normally performed at times of celebration, including harvests, festivals and wedding. The particular background of the dances can be non-religious and religious. The overall style can range from the high energy â€Å"Bhangra† men’s dance to the more reserved â€Å"Jhumar†, the â€Å"Gidha† women’s dance.Punjabi dances are an array of folk and religious dances of the Punjabi people indigenous to t he Punjabi religion, straddling the border of India and Pakistan. At times of celebration everyone is encouraged to dance. Married Punjabi couples usually dance together. The husband dances in the style of male Punjabi dances, frequently with arms raised and the wife dances in the style of female Punjabi dances. Common Punjabi Folk Dances for â€Å"Females†: * Sammi * Giddha * Jaago * Kikli * Luddi Common Punjabi Dances for â€Å"Males†: * Bhangra * Jhumar * Gatka * Jalli * Dhamal * Dankara Khatka (Sword Dance) Punjabi Clothes: Basically Punjabi dress is simple and easy to use. One can see a variety in the dresses. The people of Punjab wear according to their traditions. Different dresses are used in rural and urban areas. The Punjabi dresses fulfill the requirements of climate and religion. Turban or a cap is a part of Punjabi dress. The male members of the rural society wear Dhoti, Kurta and Turban. The female members like to wear Shalwar, Kurta and Dupatta both in rural and urban areas. Shalwar, shirt, coat and pant are used in the urban areas by the men. The â€Å"Western† dress has greatly influenced the urban areas.The dress is prepared to fulfill the requirements of â€Å"pardah†. Special dress is prepared f or the bride at the time of her marriage. Punjabi wedding Traditions: Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Punjabi and are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. While the actual religious marriage ceremony among Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains may be conducted in Arabic, Punjabi, Sanskrit, by the Qazi, Pundit, Granthi or Priest, there are commonalities in ritual, song, dance, food, dress. The Punjabi wedding has many rituals and ceremonies that have evolved since traditional times. Punjabi Culture Culture: The word culture  has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food  However, for anthropologists and other behavioral scientists,  culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns. The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor in his book,  Primitive Culture,  published in 1871. Tylor said that culture is â€Å"that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.    Of course, it is not limited to men. Women possess and create it as well. Since Tylor's time, the concept of culture has become the central focus of anthropology. Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made t hings are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason,  archeologist can not dig up culture directly in their excavations.The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patterns they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills. Pakistani culture: Pakistan has a rich cultural diversity as the society is largely multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural. The Pakistani society comprises various diverse cultures and ethnic communities that majorly involve Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloch, Pashtun, Seraiki, Mohair, Kashmiri, Makrani, and the ancient Wakhi and Burusho groups in the north.These Pakistani cultures have been greatly influenced by many of the surrounding countries' cultures, such as the  Turkic people,  Persian, Arab and other   South Asian ethnic Asian group of the  Subcontinent,  Central Asia and the Middle East. Pakistan is in general linguistically heterogeneous, and no single language can be said to be common to the whole population. Each of its principal languages has a strong regional focus. The languages claimed as mother tongue include Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Seraiki, Kashmiri, Brahui, Hindko and Potohohari.Urdu is the national language and one of two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English). Although only about 8% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language, it is spoken as a second and often third language by almost all citizens of Pakistan. Pakistan is a special interest destination as its main attraction includes adventure tourism in the Northern Areas, cultural and archaeological tourism as found at Taxila, Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Swat, and early Mughal and Muslim heritage of Multan, Lahore, Thatta and Peshawar.From the mighty Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land full of adventures and na tural beauties having peaceful general masses. The enthusiasm for poetry exists at a regional level as well, with nearly all of Pakistan's provincial languages continuing the legacy. Poetry is a highly respected art in Pakistan. Since the independence of the country in 1947 and establishment of Urdu as the national language, poetry is mostly written in the Urdu as well as regional languages. The Urdu language has a rich tradition of poetry and Dr.Allama Muhammad Iqbal is regarded as the National Poet of Pakistan. Apart from Urdu poetry, Pakistani poetry also has blends of other regional languages. Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Seraiki, and Pashto poetry have all incorporated and influenced Pakistani poetry. The variety of Pakistani music ranges from diverse provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayeki to modern forms fusing traditional and western music, such as the synchronization of Qawwali and western music by the world renowned Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan .In addition, Pakistan is home to many famous folk singers such as the late Alam Lohar, who is also well-known in the Indian Punjab. Folk dances are still popular in Pakistan and they vary according to region. The folk dances of Punjab are Bhangra, Luddi and Sammi, while Jhoomar is the folk dance of Seraiki region. Lewa and Chap are the most popular folk dances of Balochistan. The folk dances of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are Attan, Khattak dance and Chitrali dance. While Dhammal and Ho Jamalo are the popular folk dances mostly performed in Sindh. |Although Western-style clothing is worn in Pakistan, the national dress, shalwar-qameez, is more common in both rural and urban areas. Made of cotton, the shalwar-qameez differs for men and women. Men wear solid, plain colour, and add a coat for formal occasions. For women, the colours are brighter and patterns bolder, with more tailoring common. Women wear a dupatta (scarf) around their heads and sometimes another long scarf around their shoulde rs. Men only wear shorts for athletic events and women never do. A handshake is the most common greeting, although close friends may embrace if meeting after a long time.It is not appropriate for a man to shake hands with a woman. A title and last name are used when addressing someone. Visiting between friends and relatives is a very important social custom and occurs as often as possible. Hospitality is important and guests are made to feel welcome. In small groups, each person is greeted individually. Personal rapport is important. The family is the centre of social life and support. Although increased modernisation has brought many women into public life, the male continues to reign as head of the home.It is common for the extended family, a father and mother, their sons, and the son’s family to live together in the same household. The presiding male of the family has significant influence over the lives of all family members, although women are increasingly taking on acti ve decision making roles. The elderly are highly respected. Pakistani cuisine is as diverse as its people. Pakistani diet, whereas vegetables and beans are as important. The mainstay of the Pakistani diet is chapati or roti. Pakistani food is generally hot and spicy.Rice is part of most meals and desserts. Tea is the most popular drink. Meat plays a much more dominant role in Pakistani food, compared to other South Asian cuisines. Of all the meats, the most popular are mutton, and chicken. Beef is also eaten, and is particularly sought after as the meat of choice for Kabab dishes. Punjabi culture: Punjabi Culture  is the culture of the  Punjab region. It is one of the oldest in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi culture is the culture of the  Punjabi people  who are now distributed hroughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of the culture are vast. Some of the main areas include Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, science, technology, military warfare, architecture, traditions, values and history. Due to the large number of Punjabi People distributed throughout the world, especially  Pakistan  and  India, many people are increasingly experiencing the culture and becoming influenced by it. Traditional Punjabi culture is being strengthened and expanded in the  Western world. the scope is huge, ranging from Punjabi Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, education, artistry, music, cuisine, architecture etc. People of different languages, cultures, customs and races came to Punjab for various reasons. These immigrants influenced and were influenced by Punjabi culture. Punjabi Literature Punjabi literature  refers to literary works written in the  Punjabi language  particularly by peoples from the historical  Punjab region. The Punjabi language is written in several different scripts, of which the  Shahmukhi, the  Gurmukhi  script s are the most commonly used.The early punjabi literature whereabouts can be seen in the sufi poetry of Fariduddin Ganjshakar. After which Punjabi Sufi poetry developed under  Shah Hussain  Sultan Bahu  ,Shah Sharaf, Ali Haider, Saleh muhammad safoori   and  Bulleh Shah  . In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred the  ghazal  for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the  Kafi. Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The large number of Punjabi poetry works are being translated worldwide in many languages.The  Punjabi language  is also famous for its rich literature of  qisse, most of the which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man’s revolt against a larger system. In the Punjabi tradition, friendship, loyalty, love are given utmost importance and most of the stories in the  qisse  are based on such elements. Waris Shah's qissaà ‚  of ‘Heer Ranjha’ is among the most famous Qisse of all times which is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab. The other three are Mirza Sahiba,  Sassi Punnun  and  Sohni Mahiwal The most popular writer/poet to have writtenPunjabi Sufi  Qisse  was  Bulleh Shah. He is frequently quoted by young and old alike with same respect and on matters of both love and God. Punjabi Architecture Punjabi architecture is the feast for eyes. Punjab is bestowed with worth seeing architecture all around. The oldest examples of architecture sculpture and painting in the Punjab belong to the Harappa civilization. The breathtaking architecture include: * Badshahi Mosque is a famous landmark and a major tourist attraction. Badshai masjid was built by sixth mughal emperor Aurengzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673.It is the second largest masjid in Pakistan and fifth largest in the world. * Taxila  is a town and an important  archaeological  site in the  District of the  Punjab  province in  Pakistan. The site includes buildings, fortifications, settlements, showing architectural influence. * The  Wazir Khan Mosque  in  Lahore,  Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience  tile work. It has been described as ‘a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. It was built in seven years, starting around 1634–1635 AD, during the reign of the  Mughal Emperor  Shah Jehan. Rohtas Fort  is a historical garrison fort built by king  Farid Khan, located near the city of Jhelum  in  Pakistan. This fort is about 4  km in circumference and the first example of the successful amalgamation of Pashtun and Hindu architecture in the  Indian Subcontinent. * The  Khewra Salt Mine  is located in  Khewra, north of  Pind Dadan Khan, an administrative subdivision of  Jhelum District,  Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's largest and oldest salt mine  and the world's second largest. It is a major tourist attraction. Punjab a rts and craftPunjab has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. The richness of the land is reflected in its handicraft. The people of Punjab lay much importance on their artistry and the minute details of their work. The artistic creations of Punjab are acclaimed all over the world. The skilled and dexterous artisans of the state produce a variety of handicrafts and even the rural women have a major contribution in the production of these fascinating art works. Mud work Mud work is a famous rural practice in Punjab, prevalent from the ancient times.It is a trend in Punjab to mud-plaster the walls of the house and then, create motifs and designs on the mudded walls. Metal work Metalwork is also very popular in Punjab. Utensils made of metals are used in households, as also for religious purposes. Basketry work Thin straws of glass are used for basketry works, which is another Punjabi craft that is immensely popular. Mats, rugs, carpets, curtains and hand fans are woven using these stra ws. Embroidery Embroidery is another extensively followed work of art, known in the state by various local names.Phulkari, an intricate needle work, is extremely popular and is mainly taken up by village girls. Juttis of Punjab Punjabi juttis represent the traditional footwear of Punjab, which is known worldwide for its exquisite design and intricate pattern. Punjab festivals Punjab is well known for its festivals which include: Urs The fairs held at the shrines of  Sufi  saints are called  urs. They generally mark the death anniversary of the saint. On these occasions devotees assemble in large numbers and pay homage to the memory of the saint.Soul inspiring music is played and devotees dance in The most important urs are: urs of Data  Ganj Buksh  at  Lahore, urs of Hazrat  Sultan Bahu  at  Jhang, urs of Hazrat  Shah Jewna  at  Jhang, urs of Hazrat  Mian Mir  at Lahore, urs of  Baba Farid  Ganj Shakar at  Pakpattan, urs of Hazrat  Bahaudin Zakria   at  Multan, urs of  Sakhi Sarwar Sultan  at  Dera Ghazi Khan, urs of  Shah Hussain  at Lahore, urs of Hazrat  Bulleh Shah  at  Kasur, urs of Hazrat  Imam Bari  (Bari Shah Latif) at  Rawalpindi-Islamabad and urs of  Shah Inayar Qadri  (the murrshad of  Bulleh Shah) in Lahore.A big fair/mela is organized at  Jandiala Sher Khan  in district  Sheikhupura  on the Mausoleum of Syed  Waris Shah  who is the most loved Sufi poet of Punjab due to his claasic work known as  Heer Ranjha. The shrine of  Heer Ranjha  in  Jhang  has been one of the most visited shrines in Punjabecstasy. The music on these occasions is essentially folk and appealing. It forms a part of the folk music through mystic messages. Industrial and commercial fairs Exhibitions and Annual Horse Shows in all Districts and National Horse and Cattle Show at Lahore are held with the official patronage.National Horse and Cattle Show at Lahore is the biggest festival where sp orts, exhibitions, and livestock competitions are held. It not only encourages and patronizes agricultural products and livestock through the exhibitions of agricultural products and cattle but is also a colourful documentary on the rich cultural heritage of the Province with its strong rural roots. Other festivals In addition to the religious festivals, Punjabis may celebrate seasonal and harvest festivals, which include  Lohri,  Basant,Baisakhi  and  Teej. Punjabi Cuisine:Punjabi cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field; so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi cuisine throughout the world. †Sarso ka sag† and â€Å"Maki ki roti† are examples of well known dishes. Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. Home cooked and Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amount of ghee, clari fied butter, with home cooking concentrating on mainly upon preparations with whole wheat, rice and other ingredients flavored with masala.Within the Punjab region, there are different preferences. People in the area of Lahore prefer stuffed parathas and milk products. In fact, the area is well known for quality of its milk products. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. Tandoori food is a Punjabi specialty for non-vegetarian dishes. Tandoor, Naan, Pakoras and vegetable dishes with paneer are also derived from Punjab. Punjabi Music: Bhangra is of the many Punjabi art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favorite.Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west. Punjabi music has a diverse style of music, ranging from folk and Sufi to classical, notably the Patiala Gharana. Folk music of Punjab is the traditional music of Punjab produced using the traditional instruments like Tumbi, Algoze, Dhadd, Sarangi, Chimta and more. Sufi music includes the singing of Sufi poetry in several genres.Some of the poets whose compositions are often sung include Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Husain, Waris Shah and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. Classical music includes Patiala Gharana and Sham Chaurasia Gharana. Punjabi Dances: Owing to the long history of the Punjabi culture there is a large number of dances, normally performed at times of celebration, including harvests, festivals and wedding. The particular background of the dances can be non-religious and religious. The overall style can range from the high energy â€Å"Bhangra† men’s dance to the more reserved â€Å"Jhumar†, the â€Å"Gidha† women’s dance.Punjabi dances are an array of folk and religious dances of the Punjabi people indigenous to t he Punjabi religion, straddling the border of India and Pakistan. At times of celebration everyone is encouraged to dance. Married Punjabi couples usually dance together. The husband dances in the style of male Punjabi dances, frequently with arms raised and the wife dances in the style of female Punjabi dances. Common Punjabi Folk Dances for â€Å"Females†: * Sammi * Giddha * Jaago * Kikli * Luddi Common Punjabi Dances for â€Å"Males†: * Bhangra * Jhumar * Gatka * Jalli * Dhamal * Dankara Khatka (Sword Dance) Punjabi Clothes: Basically Punjabi dress is simple and easy to use. One can see a variety in the dresses. The people of Punjab wear according to their traditions. Different dresses are used in rural and urban areas. The Punjabi dresses fulfill the requirements of climate and religion. Turban or a cap is a part of Punjabi dress. The male members of the rural society wear Dhoti, Kurta and Turban. The female members like to wear Shalwar, Kurta and Dupatta both in rural and urban areas. Shalwar, shirt, coat and pant are used in the urban areas by the men. The â€Å"Western† dress has greatly influenced the urban areas.The dress is prepared to fulfill the requirements of â€Å"pardah†. Special dress is prepared f or the bride at the time of her marriage. Punjabi wedding Traditions: Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Punjabi and are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. While the actual religious marriage ceremony among Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains may be conducted in Arabic, Punjabi, Sanskrit, by the Qazi, Pundit, Granthi or Priest, there are commonalities in ritual, song, dance, food, dress. The Punjabi wedding has many rituals and ceremonies that have evolved since traditional times.