Julian Opie

By Billie-Jo Ellis ? ? ? He was born in London in 1958, but was raised in Oxford. He is recognised for his distinctive contribution to contempory art over the last 3 decades. He graduated from Goldsmith’s School of Art in 1983. In 2008, the four-sided LED sculpture ‘Ann Dancing’ was installed in Indianapolis, USA, as the first artwork on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. ‘Ann’s’ dress will sway and her arms will move. This is the name given to the work of a group of artists, sculptors and installation artists who began to exhibit together in London in the early 80’s.Many of these were exhibited in the Lisson Gallery. A few examples of artists in the NBS are: Edward Allington; Stephen Cox; Grenville Davey; Anthony Gormley; Julian Opie; Rachel Whiteread; Bill Woodrow and many more. Tim Wood identified 4 major themes in the New British Sculpture movement: ? A synthesis of pop and kitsch. ? A assemblage of the decaying UK urban environment an d the waste of consumer society. ? An exploration of the way in which objects are assigned meanings. A play of colour, wit and humor. I heard about Julian Opie about 2 years ago in school and have liked his work ever since. I like the simplicity of it all, yet he still captures the person in the picture, even his faceless LED work still captures a persona and this is why I like him. I got all my information from own personal knowledge, research on the internet (wikipedia. org and Julianopie. com) and books such as Tate Modern Artists.

Do humans have the obligation to help others?

It can also be a response to those who are in need or just a moral issue that we as humans try to make whenever we can. One of the reasons is that we help others because we can not bear to see a person in terrible condition, having a hard time, being physically or psychologically abused, do nothing.These and other everyday situations that come our hearts lead us to help those in need, makes us care for others, something that shows us that not everything in the world is money, fame and selfishness, is also love, mercy , generosity and courage †¦Being kind to someone who needs help is a basic human necessity. If someone needs help, for whatever reason, it is up to other individuals to intercede and help. Morally obligated may be a stretch, but when someone needs help there shouldn't be second thoughts about what to do. Whether someone needs a door held open or someone is drowning, helps should always be on the way.Most of the time, helping someone is a feeling that comes from the bottom of your heart, a feeling that is generally stronger when the person who needs help is a friend or relative, by matters of the heart. However, we will always see people totally unknown in distress, asking for help, and that's when this feeling†¦ with some justice, courage and other feelings or values that I can not think right now, come together to make the decision to help a person sometimes regardless of the situation or circumstances †¦Help when you can†¦ Humans we ´ll never live independently from a society. At some point, anyone depend on another human being for help. We do not know exactly when we need help, or who help us. Therefore, it is better to help a needy person, because maybe in the future you need it, otherwise it would be a little unfair to get help all the time and then ignore the problems of others, just because you do not care what happens to them as they do not  affect you, help others to help yourself†¦

The Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet Research Paper

The Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet - Research Paper Example Irrespective of the contractual arrangements between the parties, the misleading and deceptive conduct provisions of the TPA and/or equivalent Fair Trading legislation may well apply, provided a sufficient jurisdictional nexus is established in relation to the relevant conduct. However, this is on particular problems arose by eBuy and Mr. John Online auction transactions. In the case of an eBay, auction company has control over the goods that are being auctioned. In this case of the auction, the buyers Mr. Paul paid $ 1500 the eBuy company for the goods Television. Misleading and deceptive conduct will extend to the layout of the site itself. In this regard factors such as the size, type, and color of the font, the prominence and location of hyperlinks, visibility and location of key terms and conditions, whether any distracting graphics or technology are used as well as other relevant circumstances, may be relevant to whether the Internet-based conduct is misleading or deceptive. In this case, terms and conditions of the eBay Company were not clear and the size was big so that customers clicking "I Accept" Button without reading and understanding the terms and conditions. And Mr. John was clicking "I Accept" Button without reading and understanding the terms and conditions.Mr. John's claim would depend, essentially, on whether he could establish that he was led to believe that the auction site eBay, through terms and conditions or through representations on the website, misled him as to the characteristics and security of the auction process. This issue was considered in the case of Evagora v eBay Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited [2001] VCAT 49, although, being a Tribunal decision, its precedent value is limited. In that case, Evagora successfully bid for a computer in an eBay hosted auction, which was paid for but never arrived. The seller of the computer was based overseas. Evagora claimed for his loss against eBay, arguing that he did not read eBay's user agreement and that eBay represented that the auction site was safe, which overrode the terms of the user agreement. eBay was held liable by the Tribunal for the loss suffered by Evagora. It is important that the terms and conditions on which a consumer participates in Online auctions website are clear, accurate, and accessible to avoid potential claims under sections 52 and 53. It is also important not to reduce or nullify the effectiveness of any terms and conditions by contrary or inconsistent representations or impressions given to users via the actual content of the website. Answer 2 Harry's Burger Farm collects personal details from Paul. Two years later Paul is upset when his health insurer charges a higher health insurance premium because he is deemed a 'high risk' heart attack candidate. Another insurer refuses to ensure his car, citing high clash statistics for owners of mobile phones.

Compare and Contrast ideologies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compare and Contrast ideologies - Research Paper Example ecessity of democratizing the process by encouraging peoples’ participation in governance and in community-based decision-makings to bring about the utilitarian principle --to be of service to greater number of people. However, while universal principles in governance are similar, the ideological inspirations differ. This is because states either adopt socialism, communism, or liberal democracy as their political system. These ideologies can be distinguished as shown in a table below: The socialist government empowers people to collectively own and democratically operate their industries and social services Decisions are made for utilitarian purpose. This is practiced in France and adopted by Union of Soviet Republics (USSR) (Quinn, 2012). Its economy is driven by a system where property is shared communally. Private property is not quiet encouraged and they practice market exchanges otherwise known as ‘market exchange.’ The workers manage their industries and corporations and select their representatives to head them. International relations are determined by hierarchy of structures but are laid by collective planning. While it’s open for foreign relations, its bilateral and multilateral relations are often ruled by socialist perspective for its general goodness. Ergo, not for private interest (Quinn, 2012). Governance is ruled by communist party (Quinn 2012). Theoretically, some political scientists contended that that there is no government yet that has ably practiced completely the communistic values albeit China and some countries claimed that they are adopting a communist regime. The end of cold war has shown that China has adopted a neo-capitalists system. Ideally, communism is opposed to capitalism and liberal democracy. Although at times perceived as akin to socialism, but its economic system wherein production is controlled by public interest. According to political experts, there is no room for private property ownership (Quinn 2012). The

The Image of the Rural Pride as it Relates to the American Identity Essay

The Image of the Rural Pride as it Relates to the American Identity - Essay Example Land ownership shifted from the elite who held the yokes of servants in the feudal system to that of the common man who either staked his claim or was given land on which his pride and his sweat coaxed out a living. In using the imagery of farms and rural life to express idealism, artists have made a commentary on what it means to work the land and the identity that this image creates in relation to that of American life. As a consequence, those same images have been used to relate the disappointments and changing ideals that have grown. The concept of the rural landscape or representation is not always defined by the image of a happy or successful representation of American rural life. In Grant Wood’s work American Gothic, one interpretation is to see a savagery in the faces of the farmer and his wife, their lives so cruel and harsh that they live with that impressed upon their faces. Charles Demuth resented his surroundings so much that his artwork was representative of that same hard lined concept which produced the idea that rural life was unacceptably harsh. The Rural Aesthetic One of the most iconic pieces of art in the American portfolio is that of American Gothic by Grant Wood. The image of the harsh and sober farmer, his wife looking at him with the barest disdain combined with a hint of respect, suggests both a satirical look at rural life, contrasted with a respect for the stoic and harsh nature of such a life. Corn (1998) argues that the work is not based on satire, but on the way in which Wood was raised, his background informing the aesthetic that he has adopted. As well, Wood, according to Corn (1998), had an aesthetic that was reflected in hard lines. Through the examination of the Midwestern lifestyle, he associated the difficulty of rural work to that of the hard line. Corn (1998) quotes Garland who defines the concept of the Midwest through the representation provided through hard lined works, which gave them the aspects of being †Å"rural, raw and tough – as hard ‘edged’ (p. 397). The work, American Gothic, is one of the most recognizable paintings done in the 20th century. It is often referred to as the â€Å"American Mona Lisa† because of its wide use in pop culture iconic works of advertising and social referencing, and because it is associated with American Art in a very central and meaningful way. Critics of the work often assign it to being either regional or satire, both which the artist believes diminishes his intentions with the work. Wood resented the idea that the painting represented specifically Iowa, the work having a more universal representation of the American farmer and not representative of Iowa. The criticism of satire also did not seem to fit the painting. According to Seery (2002), â€Å"the farther the critic lived from the Midwest, the more predisposed he or she was to read the painting as satire or social criticism† (p. 121). In fact, the painting was depicted as vicious by art historian Mathew Baigell who framed his interpretation as â€Å"a ‘vicious satire’ that depicts the couple as savage, exuding ‘a generalized, barely repressed animosity that borders on venom†

The Effect of Tsunamis on Marine Life Research Paper

The Effect of Tsunamis on Marine Life - Research Paper Example The most common cause of tsunami is the undersea earthquake. Such earthquakes may be too small to trigger a tsunami, but they may help in landslides, which may trigger Tsunami. On 26th December, 2005, early morning, northwest of Sumatra saw a huge tsunami. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history, killing well over 200,000 people. The most surprising fact about this disaster is that the tsunami was not generated in Pacific Ocean, but in Indian Ocean. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue Island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonasia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonasia, Srilanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 30m . The following picture shows the blow of tsunami to one of the sandy beaches in Srilanka. Caption: A devastated Sandy beach in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami in 2006. The tsunami of 2005 was just one example of this devastating natu ral disaster. There have been a number of incidences of tsunami across the world, that have produced enormous destructions in the affected nations. (Bryant pp. 3-7; Commonwealth Veterinary Association p. 1) General Impact of Tsunami on Marinelife The coastal ecosystem gets damaged due to tsunami. The mangroves, estuarine, sea grasses, mudflats and coral reefs are usually among the most affected ones. Most of these physical structures are damaged by the huge force, which the waves produce as shown in the following picture. Caption: Damages to the Physical structures in coastal region by the Tsunami in Chennai Physical removal of flora and fauna and increased sediment load kill sediment sensitive corals and sea grasses by smothering. The extent of this damage considerably varies on the basis of local topography and hydrology of the surrounding environment. Some of the general impacts of tsunami can be as follows: Saltwater intrusion is a chemical change that occurs in the Pacific Ocea n, which is now also being happening in the Indian Ocean. All these occur due to heavy run off from the sewage, even the decomposition formed by the flora as well as the fauna of that place. These also include un-recovered bodies as well. Exotic species which are used for aquaculture escape badly. The structure of the ecosystem biologically gets disrupted. Since the structure of the ecosystem alters due to tsunami, the whole ecosystem gets affected Since coral reefs are considered as the natural defense of the ecosystem and it is generally seen that the ecosystems of these areas are largely intact even after the hit by tsunamis. For example, the Surin Island, chain off Thailand’s west coast, may have survived better than areas where the coast has been modified by urban development, aquaculture and to the new formed ecosystem during the tsunami of 2005. Mangroves are generally considered to be very significant natural barricade as well as a source of high quality profitable ti mber. Tsunamis produce significant adverse effects on mangroves. For example, in the Tsunami of 2005 that hit the coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc., areas with highly dense mangroves areas suffered fewer human casualties and relatively less harm to physical properties compared to those areas that did not covered with mangroves. Tsunamis

How does globalisation impact on the management of Chinese firms Essay

How does globalisation impact on the management of Chinese firms - Essay Example The role of globalization in the competitive economic scenario and the environment cannot be underestimated. The firms have to advance themselves with the ever rising challenges in the market and accordingly build up their strategies. It is here the role of globalization plays the prime effect. The foreign policies practiced by China as well as the economic situation across the globe are all factors for a firm to sustain in the market. The focus of the paper will lay upon the needful to be done by the management to be in line with the impacts of globalization. In fact this is the reason behind inclusion of both and negative aspects of globalization. Introduction Globalization and its impact on the management of firms have attracted an effective attention of the international business’ scholars in the past decades. Small family run private owned business organizations have been at the middle of various international discussions on the how the globalization impacts the managemen t of the organizations. Liberalisation of markets, services, standardization and integration of economies are considered as the hallmark of the globalization. Opening of economy and increased interdependence on global market has contributed effectively to the economies of both developing and developed countries. China is considered as one of the emerging economies around the globe. The small family run private owned hospitality firms are achieving significant growth rate due to China’s open economy policy and globalization. On the other hand, it is quite challenging for an organization within this sector to manage the workforce and business performance inside or outside of the country. Recently china achieved potential economic growth rate due to globalization, open door policy and economic reformation. It is true that the business environment in China is becoming highly potential as well as competitive. Several organizations within the small family run private owned hospital ity organizations are adopting different strategies in global market place in order to develop potential client base and gain significant competitive advantages. Despite the financial advantages, the management of these Chinese firms faces several issues in foreign market places due to globalization. Several Chinese small family run private owned hospitality firms are trying to aiming on global expansion strategy. However, globalization has several advantages and disadvantages on the management of these firms that will be discussed in the discussion part. This essay will determine the impact of globalization on the management of small family run private owned hospitality firms outside China. Discussion It s true that globalization and open door policy of China is motivating several small family run private owned hospitality firms to adopt and implement global expansion strategy. These organizations are considered as one of the important contributor of the economic growth of China. C hina is highly focusing on the growth of these business firms due to high potentiality and strong market demand. Therefore, the government of China is supporting these organizations to adopt and implement global expansion strategy. There are several negative and positive consequences of globalization on the management of these firms that are discusses below. Positive Impacts of Globalization Several leading organizations are trying to capitalize on the opportunities that are developed due to

Ethical issues of teenage abortion (social abortion) Essay

Ethical issues of teenage abortion (social abortion) - Essay Example Considering the dual goals of protecting society and the best interests of the teenager, facilitating access to safe abortion and providing support to the teenager who chooses this option appears to be the best approach. When teenage abortion is debated on the basis of biomedical ethics, it is found that the ethical applications in this context are completely different from those applied in the case of adults. Autonomy denotes the right of â€Å"a reasonable and competent person, who has been given appropriate and complete information --- to make his or her own decisions† (Klugman and Dudding, 2004). In the case of teenagers, a troubling question regarding autonomy is whether the pregnant girl is capable of understanding all the relevant medical information and weighing the risks involved in opting for an abortion. It is generally accepted that the teenager may be short-sighted and give undue importance to physical appearance, has not yet developed a permanent set of values, is more rooted in the present with no clear-cut perception of the future and lacks the cumulative experience which facilitates making correct choices (Dubler, Special Decision Making Concerns of Minors). Autonomy is linke d with respect for the confidentiality of the teenager. The U.K. Department of Health issued a revised guidance to doctors and health care professionals in July 2004, emphasizing the teenagers’ right to confidential sexual guidance and abortion. In the case of abortion, if the teenager â€Å"cannot be persuaded to involve a parent, every effort should be made to help them find another adult to provide support,† but her refusal to involve anyone else must be respected. While its’ detractors claim that teenagers are emotionally and physically ill-equipped to deal with the situation, supporters welcome the recognition of the health professionals’

Hospitality Industry Swott Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hospitality Industry Swott - Essay Example One of the ways is having a reflection at the SWOT analysis of individual hospitality destinations and basing on the analysis for make informed and forecasting decisions for the future. I. Future As noted in the introduction, the agenda for which a lot of people travelled has now changed (Hotel Managers Group, 2011). Today, people travel for business purposes more than for leisure and holiday. As a way of meeting the future challenge and this new changing trend, hospitality agencies has to open itself up more to target major companies who would need their facility for business meetings. If this should happen, the implication to hospitality agencies for the future is that their traditional role of accommodating visitors overnight would have to change. Though the giving out of conference rooms and other facilities for meetings was originally part of the traditional role of hospitality companies, the latter would now have to take the fore front in commanding income and revenue. In order to utilize this changing trend well, managers are admonished to focus more attention on making their meeting outlets, receptions and services more improved and advanced. Even though people travel less for tourism purposes of late, patronage of leisure activities such as the use of casinos keep rising (McCain, 2008). Because of this, hotel managers are advised to consider as future innovation, the need to incorporate the operation of casinos into their services. This is because once casinos are added there will not be the need to attract only foreign visitors but domestic users as well. It would also make the overall functionality of the hospitality facilities expanded (Knowles, 2009). Knowing what the future would hold for their company if they invested more in casinos, it was reported that â€Å"Asia’s third largest casino company is paying $236 million for the 14 acres of waterfront land surrounding The Miami Herald† (Miami Herald, 2011). Other hospitality companies are admonished to make such moves for the future of their businesses. II. SWOT Strength A major strength for the hospitality industry is that it represents a very large portion of the American labor force. For instance there are figures like 12.7 employed workers in restaurants, 50,000 operating hotels, over 4.6 million hotel rooms and 1.8 millions employees in lodging industry (NDSU Fact sheet index, 2011). The implication of these statistics to insiders of the hospitality industry is that they can always have readily available human resources to take up duties. It is recommended that as rapidly as possible, the human resources be given needed training and upgrading that will make advanced human capital for the merging markets of tomorrow. Weakness Ironically, the weakness of the hospitality industry is directly associated with its strength. Unfortunately, even though the industry employs a lot of human resource, the pay for the industry is relatively low. This situation creates e mployee turnover, which eventually affects the successful management of businesses. There is however a way out to this. It is

Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism - Essay Example The essay "Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism" presents the analysis of the paper "Nothing Distant About It: Women's liberation and Sixties Radicalism" written by Alice Echols which revolves around the liberation of women in the 1960s and the reasons behind it. It begins with the boycott on the Miss America Pageant and the different ways used by the female demonstrators to interrupt the on-goings of the show. It then speaks of the adversity that met these women as they continue to show their aggravated sentiment. Not only are they taunted and jeered at by men but their popularity is also compared to the â€Å"anti-war† movement. The latter bit of the essay goes on to talk about the cultivating factors behind the movement. This included the women’s taste of social and economic freedom. The new labor force shifted the need from labor to services, which could be easily accommodated by the new college-educated females. Also, the financial needs of the house had incre ased with the introduction of technology and one earner could no longer fulfill the needs of the entire family. Echols then gives the main reason behind the success of the feminist movement: the presence of other oppositional movements. Along with this was the women’s ability to incorporate Marxist and other ideologies to better understand their own oppression. A brief tussle with NOW (National Organization for Women) over the introduction of personal life into the public sphere separated the feminists from the liberationists of NOW.

EYMP3 3.2 welfare and welbeing Essay Example for Free

EYMP3 3.2 welfare and welbeing Essay EYMP3 – 3.2 Health visitor – works with the family will visit a child at home as well as see them at the clinic, they will record the child’s weight and height and carry out age milestone checks on the child. If the health visitor has any concerns they would then refer to the GP They would also give advice to the parent/carer or any information that they have. GP – would normally be the first port of call, they will monitor and keep all records of the health of a child, also give advice to the parents/carer and or make referrals if required. Speech therapist –They help child with speech, language and communication difficulties, they also give advice to parents/carer, pre-school and schools 2 Examples of professional advice for promoting the wellbeing of children and families Dentist – Regular check-ups and gives advice on how to keep teeth and gums healthy, cut down on sugary food and drinks, clean teeth every day morning and night and after every meal. Change 4 life – (www.NHS.uk/change 4lifechildren earlyyearsprovider For early years providers you can sign up as a local supporter, get regular news letters about campaigns and materials, as a childcare professional you can link up with the local community which puts you in a great position to spread the word â€Å"Change4life. Good habits are picked up early and a child will became used to eating healthy and nutritious snacks between meals every day as well as being active and have a great chance of becoming a healthy youngster enjoying a healthy life. To reap the rewards you can down load free posters and booklets that help you to help the children aged 2 – 5 years including games and activities that they can play on line to become more active and eat healthy food.

George Bush Essay Example for Free

George Bush Essay Leadership is a quality that Americans always look for in a president. United States Presidents have an extreme amount of responsibility. Americans look for someone that can help our country grow. We look for someone who has charisma, strength and intelligence. George W. Bush had a very interesting presidency. It was filled with joy, turmoil and disaster, all which were times where a leader could either succeed or fail. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. He had all of the qualification of a great president. He came from a political family. He was the son of former President George H.W. Bush. He had a great educational and military background. He graduated from Yale University and then Harvard Business School. He was a pilot for the Air National Guard for six years. He worked in the oil industry after college where he was known for his smart business decisions. He served in Texas’ House of Representatives and then Governor of Texas. Most American’s would probably believe that all of these qualifications would make him a great candidate for President and in 2000 he was elected President, defeating Al Gore by only small margin. (Bush 3) Choosing George W. Bush I chose to research and analyze President Bush because he was president during the biggest attack on American’s during my lifetime. He had to step up and become the great leader that our nation needed during and after the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. President Bush is still being blamed for some of the problems that America is having now. President Obama blames him for the economy and many American’s have blamed him for our continued presence in the Middle East. I wanted to research his leadership abilities and understand why he went from being a so-so President to a great president to a president that is being blamed for everything. I also see President Bush as a normal person with strengths and weaknesses. I see him as someone similar to myself. I want to better understand him and learn from his achievements and his mistakes. President Bush was not a born leader. Even though President Bush had the resume that American’s thought would make him a great leader, at the beginning of his presidency, he was lacking some of the key qualities of a  good leader. He did not show confidence in his decisions and he lacked the understanding of international affairs. (Domin 3) After the tragedy of September 11th, he really stepped up and took on his leadership role. He was able to show America that he was the leader that they thought that they would be getting in an American President. President Bush was able to bring his followers together in a time of tragedy, uniting them for a common goal. He was able to leave all of the criticism that he had gotten behind him and become a new leader that everyone respected. In addition, I wanted to research President Bush because many of the international problems that America faced during President Bush’s terms are still lingering today. American lives are still at risk because of terrorist groups. It was only a couple of months ago that the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was attacked by terrorist killing the US Ambassador and three others. I question the effectiveness of our current administration and their ability to keep America safe. (Kirkpatrick, and Myers) Abilities and Skills Even though President Bush was not a great leader from the beginning, I believe that he was able to step up and become the great leader that we needed him to be. He embraced the necessary abilities and skills that America needed in a leader after a crisis. The first and most important characteristic that he possessed after September 11th was emotional intelligence. He understood the severity of the situation and was able to address the public in a way that helped us come together as a country. Woodward made this comment about how President Bush addressed the public in front of Ground Zero. â€Å"Bush’s spontaneity allowed him to connect at a visceral level with his audience: acting simultaneously as their leader and expressing their feelings in the highly charged atmosphere of the time.† (Roper 5) I believe that President Bush also encompasses the four characteristics that describe a creative leader. President Bush faced one of the biggest obstacles of any President and he had the self-confidence to lead. (Nahavandi 115) Thousands of innocent Americans had been killed through a terrorist attack. He knew that America was entering a time of war. Even though many of his advisors were unsure of the decisions to attack Afghanistan, he was strong about his beliefs and he gave reassurance to his advisors. A reporter who was present during the National Security Council meeting before the initial attacks in Afghanistan noticed the tension in the room before President Bush was present but said that, â€Å"the tension suddenly drained from the room.† (Roper 5)

Importance of Petroleum to the Economy

Importance of Petroleum to the Economy Petroleum became important during the mid -1800s with the increased use of petroleum products such as kerosene for light. The industry soon started growing and the market was introduced with automobile and the internal combustion engine. Petroleum Exporting Countries Organisation (OPEC), a multinational organization has been established to co-ordinate the petroleum policies of its member and to provide the member states with technical and economic aid. [2] The price of petroleum as quoted in news generally refers to the spot price per barrel (159 liters) of either WTI/light crude as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, or of Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, into which the International Petroleum Exchange has been incorporated) for delivery at SullomVoe. [3] The price of a barrel of oil is highly dependent on both its grade, determined by factors such as its specific gravity or API and its sulphur content, and its location. Other important benchmarks include Dubai, Tapis, and the OPEC basket. The Energy Information Administration(EIA) uses the imported refiner acquisition cost, the weighted average cost of all oil imported into the US, as its world oil price. Petroleum products demand has changed drastically in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Each and every second, prices for oil change as they are very volatile. Consumption of petroleum products depends a lot on global macroeconomic conditions and has a positive relationship with economic growth. Higher economic growth implies higher demand for petroleum products. High oil prices generally have a large negative impact on the global economic growth, according to the International Energy Agency. [4] In Mauritius, it is the State Trading Corporation (STC) that imports all of our requirements and hands them over to Oil companies, namely, Shell, Total, Chevron and Indian Oil, for storage and distribution. STC pays for the imports and gets paid when it sells the products to the Oil companies. [5] STC shall operate a Price Stabilization Account for each product in order to shield the market from price fluctuations.Monthly price shocks on commodities crucial to the conduct of economic and social activities ought to be avoided if at all possible. They come in the way of longer-term planning of all economic activities as well as the family budget and therefore affect the country and all its citizens directly. [5] Since 2004, it was the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM) which decided the prices in Mauritius. However, numerous weaknesses of this mechanism were seen, creating conflicts between the public and the APM committee. Prices were increasing when it was not necessary, especially when the world market prices were going down and the trend was always price increase after price decrease and so on. Price decreases were falling by a very small percentage and were very rare. [5] To correct this imperfection and the doubts of the public about an unfair pricing mechanism, the APM was replaced by the Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPC) whereby the committee will meet once every 4 months to monitor oil purchase and sale, to examine price trends around the world and then decide if prices need to be reviewed or not. [5] Market forces determine the price of petroleum products on the world market. The price at the pump is calculated by STC based on the purchase price, taxes and levies and the profit margins for distributors and retailers. The Petroleum Pricing Committee verifies and approves the processes in a very transparent manner and finally recommends to the Minister for the fixing of the new retail price. Gasoline and Gasoil are expensive even in oil producing countries because of the growing demand in emerging economies such as India and China. When compared to most countries in the world, Mauritius is said not to be that expensive despite the geographical remoteness and the small size of the market. Problem Statement The concept of pricing mechanism of oil and petroleum has often been surrounded with confusion. It is important to understand what different prices really mean. It is necessary to analyse the process of convergence and understand what the spot price really means in the context of oil market, although the futures price often converges to the spot price. The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Showkutally Soodhun specifies that the committee will have full opportunity to check all the documents and the truthfulness of the figures and thus ensure that all parameters were taken into account by the previous committee of the APM, that the PPC will work in full transparency while publishing everything on the website of the State Trading Corporation. There will be full details of all elements that come into play in accounting for the fuel prices. However, most people in the country either do not have the required knowledge to use a computer, some do not have a computer at all, and others do not have access to the internet. Many people do not know how the pricing mechanism works. Even if the PPC is said to work in transparency no detailed is made public about the formulae considered in pricing the petroleum products, no cashflows or financial statements are known, the public is not reassured about whether their money are rightly used. The middle class people cannot afford to pay high prices especially when their income is low with most of it going into the basic food necessities. This may create social problems like disputes in the family, domestic violence, increases in social vices like thefts. One important aspect is that other countries may have high taxes on their oil, but this is compensated by their high income and the high value of their currency. Our currency has a really low value, which is why we pay higher prices for petrol, during financial crisis and in periods of inflation. This may lead to economic problems in the near future with lower investments and hence slowing economic growth. Aims and Objectives The aim of this research paper is to decrease the difficulties faced by the population because of the rising prices of petrol and to understand the mismatch of supply and demand situation. A clearer pricing system is required and this study can also help in enhancing the performance of petroleum market in the country. Objective: To make the whole population aware of the petroleum and oil pricing mechanism To change the working principle of the petroleum pricing mechanism To provide alternatives to help decrease the effect of the high petrol price Methodology The target population for the study is the population at large, though higher emphasis is laid on the population owning a vehicle. Every Research Report requires information as the basis for analysis. Information sources can be categorised as either primary or secondary data. Primary data is original data that has been collected by a researcher by whatever means appropriate in the answer of a specific research question. Secondary data is data that has been collected by others for their own purposes, but which may be used by a researcher for his or her different purposes. There are two different types of data that are likely to be collected: qualitative data, such as opinions, and quantitative data such as measurements. Qualitative data include verbal narrative pieces of data; quantitative data are anything that can be measured and expressed in numbers. Quantitative data analysis often contains descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics include measures of central tendency (averages mean, median and mode) and measures of variability about the average (range and standard deviation). These give the reader a picture of the data collected and used in the research project. Inferential statistics are the outcomes of statistical tests, helping deductions to be made from the data collected, to test hypotheses set and relating findings to the sample or population. [6] Questionnaire is usually designed specifically for the study in question. Unlike a test, which yields only a total score, or an inventory, in which each item is interpreted as a part of a scale or group of items, a questionnaire yields many separate pieces of information. Analysis usually consists of tabulation or cross-tabulation of responses to individual itemsrarely are more elaborate procedures used. Questionnaires are most often used direct (person-to-person) contact with respondents is not possible or necessary. It is probably the single most widely-used data source. Some experts have estimated that as many as half the research studies conducted use a questionnaire as a part of the data collection process. Voluntary and informed participation of individuals or communities is necessary for research. Their participation should be based on informed consent; the greater the risk to participants, the greater is the need for it. Informed consent is essential to protect the participants, not the researchers and institutions. The sample size will consist of 50 of working and non-working people and the aim is to pick a representative sample free from bias. A Nonprobability (Convenience) sampling will be chosen. It involves the selection of elements based on assumptions regarding the population of interest, which forms the criteria for selection. Hence, because the selection of elements is nonrandom, nonprobability sampling does not allow the estimation of sampling errors. [7] Convenience sampling is often used for a case study. Convenience sampling (sometimes known as grab or opportunity sampling) is a type of nonprobability sampling which involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population which is close to hand. That is, a sample population selected because it is readily available and convenient. Also, snowballing method would be used to carry out the survey. Scientifically, it is impossible to have ideal samples; the best compromise is to include a sample with widest possible range of variation in the phenomena, settings, or people under study. [8] Data Collection A particular observation technique will be designed for the research topic, describing and discussing the aims of the survey, the nature of the survey (what/who/how/when will be questioned?) and the method of recording (e.g. field notes or using a structured observation schedule). A draft ethics protocol will also be provided (getting informed consent, being honest, not forcing anyone to take part, giving participants the right to withdraw, protecting them from harm, feeding back the results, maintaining confidentiality). The ethics protocol approval should take the form of the document that will be issued to potential participants in order to obtain informed consent, which would cover issues such as confidentiality, right to withdraw, feedback, etc as appropriate. For a QUESTIONNAIRE survey it is often preferable to incorporate the ethical provisions in the introduction to the questionnaire form itself, i.e. telling informants what the project is about (informed consent), giving them the choice not to respond to individual items or the form as a whole (right to withdraw), setting out how feedback may be obtained (debriefing), describing the provisions for confidentiality (particularly if the form is not anonymous), etc. This section of the questionnaire is in effect the ethics protocol and can be submitted for approval. Questionnaire Analysis Each completed form will be numbered after having them back. Then the easy stuff will be sorted out first, i.e. the answers to closed-ended questions which you can simply count in order to give you frequencies According to the design of the questionnaire, the respondents will have to the code by ticking the appropriate number which can then be entered into the spreadsheet. Its not difficult to find out how many respondents gave each sort of answer. These numbers can easily be turned into percentages (showing what percentage of the respondents gave each sort of response). These figures are already very useful as analytical tools. It helps to make sure when designing questionnaire that it is amenable to computer analysis. For quantifiable data, MS Works and Excel spreadsheets will all produce a wide range of computations and forms of presentation such as graphs and charts as well as carrying out some statistical operations. Benefits of Research This research will be useful and helpful to many stakeholders in the country. First of all, the society at large would get to know and understand the procedure behind pricing petroleum and oil. The society benefits in the way that they will get value for money and would not be exploited into paying higher prices for the oil and petrol, in the end, they would have fairness and would know where, why and how their money are being spent. The government as well would benefit from this research since it would help the government officials to have a better idea about how to price the petroleum and oil so as to maximize the benefit of the public. Another benefit would be is that both parties (the government and the public) would know about the expectations of each other and hence would know how to better satisfy those expectations. Also, transport cost forms part of a large percentage in the budget for companies. Investors (both local and foreigners) would be more attracted to invest in the country when the pricing mechanism is clear with lower prices. As a result, there would be more economic growth in the country, standard of living of the population would increase, and unemployment level may fall. The indirect benefits of this research would be decrease in prices of the commodities that the people consume since the reduced transportation cost would lead to lower cost of production. The society would benefit as they would have more income left, their savings in bank may increase, hence the bank would have more loans to give to investors. As a whole investment would increase leading to economic booms. Time plan A Gantt chart is a representation through graphs of the duration of tasks against the progression of time. It is a useful tool when planning and scheduling projects and helpful when monitoring a projects progress. There is a variety of Gantt charts namely the Basic Gantt, Multiple milestones, daily Gantt, Baseline Gantt, Timeline Gantt, Summary Gantt, Stoplight Gantt among others. [9] Summary Introduction Problem statement Aims and objective Methodology Benefits of research Budget analysis 25/03/11 27/03/11 28/03/11 30/03/11 31/03/11 01/04/11 Budget Analysis List of items Estimated cost (Rs) Printing 200 Travelling 325 Internet 600 Telephone bill 150 TOTAL 1275

Dolce and Gabbana Perfume Advertisement Essay examples -- Papers

Dolce and Gabbana Perfume Advertisement I will be looking at the advert for the Dolce & Gabbana perfume. This particular advert is trying to persuade the audience to buy both the male and female version of the perfume. To analyse this advert I will be using the key concepts. The advert has 3 main colours in it. The first is a light brown colour that is the background to the advert and also the same colour as the skins of the models. This brown is a warm positive colour, which portrays a warm positive image to the perfume when you first set eyes on the image. The other two colours in the picture are black and white. The white is worn by the male and the black by the female. The white on the male model could connote purity and goodness, whereas the black on the female could connote an evil, mischievous side to her. The fact that they are both hugging passionately could connote to the audience that the D&G perfume brings the good and the mischievous together which will appeal to some readers. Black and white may also be used in this advert to provide a classy sophisticated look. The layout of the advert is very typical of a perfume advert in a magazine. The main body of the image is taken up by the 2 models entwined with only a small image of the actual perfumes at the bottom of the page. The reason for doing this is so that as the reader inspects the advert they will be drawn down the image and the final thing they will see and remember is the image of the perfumes with the brand name beneath it. This will then lock in the audiences memory rather than the actual larger images of the models themselves which are more there just... ...t that they should go buy it to aspire to be like the models featured in it. It is likely that this advert would be in a magazine aimed at this age group so the conditions they receive the advert should not affect its impact unless its put in a magazine or place which would receive the wrong audience who may be opposition or aberrant. In conclusion, the advert has a very sexy feel to it, which is created by the colours, mise en scene, and the characters involved. There is a definite target audience of younger adults, and the whole advert has a positive feel for the Dolce and Gabbana branding. The small amount of text produces more focus on the images which means the audience will connote its own meaning more than if they had to read reams of text. This should definitely help sell the product to its specific audience.

The Group-Oriented Japanese :: Essays Papers

The Group-Oriented Japanese In contrast to American individualism, Japanese are group-oriented. Japanese do not like to be alone or to do things differently from others. They stick together: eating, working, or traveling in a group. Following others and being part of a group gives them a kind of carefreeness and joy. Why are Japanese group-oriented? The reasons originate from their geography, history, and culture. Geographical location and climate play a key role in promoting this group-orientedness. Japan is isolated from other countries. Japan is composed of four main islands which are surrounded by sea and located far from America, Europe, or Australia. Thus, Japan is isolated from other countries. In the past, this geographical location make it difficult to communicate with other countries, so this isolation reinforced their tendency to stick together. Furthermore, the climate of Japan has created a rice-producing country based on collective work. Japan is located in a part of the monsoon area which stretches from Siberia in the north to Indonesia in the south. In summer, seasonal winds blow from the tropical south seas and bring heavy rainfall to Japan. With the temperate climate and plenty of rainfall, Japan has become one of the most favorable countries for rice farming. Rice-farming involves rice-planting, cultivation, and irrigation works in large fields, so it requires a lot of workers. Rice-farming is collective labor or group work, and this collective labor encourages group rather than individual. In Japanese geography, the isolationism and the favorable climate for rice-farming have created their group-orientedness. In Japanese history, homogeneousness and the SAKOKU policy also helped to create the group-orientedness. Japan is a homogeneous country. The islands of Japan were first inhabited 5,000 years ago by some people from China. For 2,000 years since the founding of the country, Japan has been a racially homogeneous nation. No major invasion by other racial or cultural groups has occurred. In addition, the SAKOKU or "closed country" policy contributed to the formation of group-orientedness. In the beginning of the 17th century, many foreign Catholic missionaries began to visit Japan and were considered harmful to Japanese Buddhism. In 1639, a series of measures called the SOKOKU were enacted to prohibit Christianity in Japan. The SAKOKU prohibited Japanese from leaving the country, Catholic groups from entering the country, and all foreign trade and diplomacy. Due to this police, Japan was closed to the world for over two hundred years.

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment :: essays research papers

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment Circadian Rhythms are the times of day that you get either hungry, tired, or energetic. This paper is to describe an experiment that I have thought up that will test to see if circadian rhythms differ from people who perceive themselves as night-time people and people who perceive themselves as morning people. What is your hypothesis?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My hypothesis is that night-time people's circadian rhythms are extremely different than morning people's circadian rhythms. What population are you going to study? How will you sample this population?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Participants for my experiment will be ninety-nine undergraduate female students from Iowa State University. Prior to the experiment all participants will have to fill out a questionnaire. This questionnaire will primarily determine if they feel themselves as being either morning or night types of people. Subjects for my experiment will be randomly chosen from these questionnaires. I will select three night-time people and three morning-time people. I will then give each of them a journal. In this journal each subject will write in it the time that they become hungry, or the time that they became tired. They will do this for three days. At the end of the three days they will come back to my laboratory. They will then be put in an isolation booths. In one of the booths there will be a clock that doesn't have the right time on it. In another one there will be a window so that they can see where the sun is. In the third one there will be no windows and no clocks. All they would have is a light bulb in the ceiling. All the booths will have a bed and a bright red button on the far wall. The button will be for ringing. They will ring when they are tired, hungry, or need to use the facilities. My assistants and I will record when they become hungry and when they become tired. They will be in this room for three days. At the end of the three days my assistants and I will make sure that they are all right and can return to the world unharmed. What is your independent variable(s)? What is your dependent variable? How will you measure the dependent variable?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My independent variable will be one of the three that I give a clock and another one that I give a view of where the sun is. The dependent variable will be the one that will be completely isolated. Without sunlight they will not know what time it is and therefore not know when to become tired or hungry.

Facebook vs Twitter Case Study Analysis Essay

Facebook (originally â€Å"The facebook†) is a social networking website launched in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, then 23, while studying psychology at Harvard University. Membership was initially limited to students of Harvard College, but soon the social site was subsequently extended to other Boston universities, the Ivy League and eventually all US universities (Yadav, 2006). It became Facebook. com in August 2005 after the site’s address was obtained for a relatively meager $200,000. By the end of the following year it was also open to high schools. As of September 2006, Facebook was extended beyond educational associations to anybody with a registered email address. They have over 175 million active users worldwide currently and are growing every day. Facebook’s mission statement seems simple: â€Å"Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (Reagan, 2009). Twitter still no business model but it has a new mission statement: â€Å"To instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most important to them. †(Evans, 2011). Who is better than who? Or one could say who is going to be the king of the hill? Facebook has tried to purchase Twitter with no success. It is hard to say who will come out on top or who will be the ultimate winner of the social war. There are some key differences between the sites (Lacy, 2009). It’s far easier to find people on Facebook and most of the time you can tell if it’s actually them. Facebook and Twitter are both free sites and are both popular. Facebook and Twitter are both time conversations, but Twitter is a little faster. They both seem to have their good and bad qualities. Twitter has a character restriction and has no popups. Twitter users can also post to their Facebook page. Facebook does not have a character limit. They both can post pictures and videos, but Facebook has more capacity for sharing videos and photos without forcing you to link out to another window (Lacy, 2009). Facebook has a better privacy blocking system, if you can find it with the ever changing improvements. A lot of users are not aware of this option. Facebook allows businesses to advertise and reach more people faster. Facebook makes there revenue off the ads on their site, witch keeps it free for their users. Facebook has games for their users to play as well. These games also generate some of their revenue. Twitter has no games and the only source of revenue is its investors. Facebook is threatened with losing users to a less familiar, social networking website. The major problem that exists is the fact that Twitter has a controlled level of social networking. Facebook does not allow one way interaction options meaning that if I want to follow someone’s posts then they themselves would have to accept my friend request, and Facebook also does not allow someone to track real time information is always adding improvements that the client base does not like. With this happening it may mean that many Facebook members may leave and start using twitter because of some of the restrictions that are placed on the members of Facebook. The first alternative solution is for Facebook to purchase stellar star technology and offer the capability to track real-time information. This solution will help to eliminate Twitter’s current advantage of having the capability to track real-time information. Another alternative solution is to develop a way for one-way relationships to be possible on Facebook, while maintaining its’ security. Many users want to broadcast their status information, but not actually follow all of their status viewers and get somewhat irritated with the flow of game postings that clog up their pages. I know I do to the point that I log off and sometimes go and check out Twitter. In conclusion, there will never be a happy medium here. Technology is constantly evolving and there will probably be another social network that will be created and pose threats to both of these networks. In my opinion, Facebook is more personal, whereas Twitter is more Hollywood. Facebook deals with contacting old friends and family members and Twitter is about following an entertainer. Myspace is simply out of space as there aren’t really too many users out there anymore. LinkedIn is a way to network via business and doesn’t contain the content that any of these sites do, as it wouldn’t be professional. Facebook will definitely be around for a long time, as will Twitter. Most can’t have one without the other, I know I can’t.

Children and Screen Time Essay

all parent wants nothing more consequently their shaver to succeed. They want their babe to go bad and memorise with out struggle. In this twenty-four hour period in age we have advance to so many winds that can tending contribute to a childs success. Many go out argue that a device such as a I-pad or mobile device allow for hinder ones learning. I feel the pick out opposite provideing occur, and the child will gain knowledge. Children develop and learn so much at a truly young age.They absorb everything they turn back and hear. They scoop learn through touch, sight, and sound. Using a device such as a touch I-pad, or I-phone a child can interact on their level. in that respect are so many Apps procurable for children of all ages. They will help a child develop at their potency and speed, while learning. I feel they will absorb more knowledge with a educational hand on device rather then TV. Children have to interact and use their brains in order for the App to work.Placing a child in front of a TV to just sit and learn, they do not get the same hands on experience. There will be those arguing that placing a phone or tablet in a childs arms will stir harm. I do not see that being true, in this day in age we use Apps for everything. kind of at the grocery store, banking, or nevertheless schools, most teach with touch devices. I feel that helping your child learn with a hands free device, will only help them in the future.