...The No-Baby Boom [ This summer, 28-year-old Anthony Shepherd and his wife of seven years, Cynthia, will fly from China, where they've been teaching English since 2009, to Wisconsin for a vacation. In addition to relaxing, catching up with friends, and attending her brother's wedding, they plan on stopping by a vasectomy clinic. The People's Republic may be notorious for its one-child policy, but the Shepherds' attitude toward reproduction is even more stringent. Call it the zero-child policy. Even before the Shepherds left Asheville, North Carolina, for Sichuan province, they'd made their life decision based on the experiences of their "childed" friends. "We watched them struggle to pay bills, find suitable apartments or houses to fit their families, and work at jobs they didn't like because they needed the insurance," Cynthia says. So she and Anthony enthusiastically took a pass on parenthood, an increasingly common decision for America's couples. Related: Should Men Wear Engagement Rings? Considering the state of the economy, it should come as no surprise that the ranks of the child-free are exploding. The Department of Agriculture reports that the average cost for a middle-income two-parent family to support a kid through high school is $286,050 (it's nearly half a million dollars for couples in higher tax brackets). Want him or her to get a college education? The number jumps to nearly $350,000 for a public university, and more than $400,000 for private. Though...
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...Is Knowledge A Double Edge Sword? The Greek philosopher Socrates once stated “the only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.” Individuals seek knowledge and/or the truth to understand why they are in a situation, to make better decisions, etc., without being aware that knowledge has a limited ability to present happiness for those who attempt to obtain it. Yet, it can fill the void created by the unknown. In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s quest for knowledge leads to his own downfall. In both life and literature, a driving force behind setting out on a journey is to find a response to an unanswered question that has impacted their lives. Within Oedipus the King, the tragic hero, Oedipus sets out to find the solution...
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...MICHELLE LU - 011810966 CAFF 321 CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS (1-4) Chapter 1 1. Why does Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, say that experiences might bring more satisfaction than durable goods? Do you agree or disagree? Although happiness is not easily defined and it really depends on who you ask and what their degree of happiness is in their life, Gilbert the author of Stumbling on Happiness, explains that experiences might bring more satisfaction than that of durable goods. With this he is simply stating the fact that happiness is dependent the things you do in life and not the objects. It is the time that you share with friends and family what makes life meaningful and that creates happiness. All the objects in the world that money can buy is meaningless when you don't have anyone to share it with. 2. Harvard economists Alberto Alesina and Paolo Giuliano say that strong family ties imply more reliance on the family as an economic unit that provides goods and services and less on outside institutions such as those found in the market place and government. Why does household production (doing things together or making things within the home) activity have such an impact on family ties? Can you give an example from your own family? Not completely sure if I am answering this question correctly but basically the way I see things, I must say I agree with both economists who say that strong family ties imply more reliance on the family as an economic unit and...
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...REVISITING THE ”TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS” University Sciences Po Paris Semester: Fall 2011/2012 Student: Sönke-Timo Kisker Student – ID: 100033186 Course: Thinking and Acting the Environment Course-ID: 23811 Course Coordinaton: Florence Faucher-King; Thomas Léon Assignment: Mid-term paper Word-count: 2746 Date: 18.10.2011 | Agenda I. Introduction 2 II. Specifying a framework 2 a. Defining ‘global public good’ 2 b. Defining the “Tragedy,”within Game theory 3 III. Revisiting Hardin's main assumptions and argumentations 4 c. Variables influencing rational choices of Individuals 4 d. The concept value and ethics in decisionmaking 5 IV. Practical examples of dealing with the commons 6 e. Mc Evoy's findings of assigning responsibility 6 f. Co-Management 6 ...
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...Biographical Films Jenna Nelson December 12, 2014 JASS 248 Professor Erik Marshall Analysis Essay-The Five Heartbeats; The Film Genre of Biopics The Five Heartbeats (1991), directed by Robert Townsend, is a movie that I know all too well. This film effectively portrays the highs and the lows of the music industry and how it affects the members of a group. In this essay, I will analyze the cinematography, mis-en-scéne and the importance of music in films such as this one. I will also expound upon the genre of biographical films and how they contribute to society. Biographical films, or “biopics” represents the life history of an actual person or group. Unlike documentary film, biopics employ actors to play the roles of these individuals: they are dramatized, fictional films. Biopics are often marketed as being “inspired by” or “based on” the lives of famous people including entertainers, royalty, scientists and even criminals. Dennis Bingham conducted a study on biographical films and discusses and history of the biography. He also looks at the various forms of the biopic, including theatrical releases, made-for-television movies and short films. Bingham argues that biopics of women are structured so differently from male biopics as to constitute their own genre. The conventions of the female biopic have proven much more intractable than the male biopic. This is due to society’s difficulty with the very issue of women in the public sphere. The difficulty kept...
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...1.) Analysis of all characters Belle: A bookish young woman who falls in love with the Beast and finds the kind-hearted human inside him. She is beautiful, deep, intelligent and loves to read. Belle at times can also be stubborn but she is not afraid to speak her mind. She usually wears a blue outfit along with a blue ribbon in her hair. She is"unaware" of her own beauty and made her "a little odd”. Beast: A cold-hearted prince transformed into a beast as punishment for his selfishness, but later warms, with the help of Belle, and ends up being transformed back into a handsome prince as a reward. He was once a selfish, greedy prince because a poor young beggar asked him for shelter for the night, and he refused. The beggar was actually an enchantress and turning him into a monster. After, Beast fell in love with belle and became a good man for he refused to kill Gaston and didn't want to stoop to his level. Gaston: A highly egotistical hunter who vies for Belle's hand in marriage and is determined not to let anyone else win her heart, even if it means killing her true love. He is a big line-ups of good-looking men with deep voices". Gaston is the main villain in the “Beauty and the Beast” movie. He is a sexist, chauvinistic hunter who wants to marry Belle just so he can brag about it and to give him sons that he can mold at his will. Belle sees him as nothing more than a rude, selfish, chauvinist, barbarian-brained lunkhead and sexist man who is unworthy of her time. Lumiere:...
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...way we can think about that in a complete way. Those decisions take place in the subconscious part of the brain” (2008). The drive behind neuromarketing is to discover how consumers are actually responding to marketing messages, not how they report they are responding, or will respond. Neuromarketing studies consumers' response to marketing stimuli and matches that response to different areas of the brain. This research will explore neuromarketing history, levels of the brain, neuroimaging techniques used, advertising effectiveness of neuromarketing and some challenges facing this new field. History In 1991, Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, Minilab chairman and director of research, began Neuromarketing research in the United States, after stumbling upon it when he was researching treatments for phobic anxiety and stress (Lewis, 2010). Shortly after, marketers from large companies such as Coca-Cola, Levi-Strauss, Ford and Delta Airlines became interested in these findings and created research labs specialized in neuroscience. These companies were very interested in how the brain was affected by media stimuli. In 2001, Bright House Neurostrategies Group was among the first to market commercial studies fundamentally on neuromarketing. However, the actual term, “neuromarketing”, was not...
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...------------------------------------------------- The End of the Party – By Graham Greene Peter Morton woke with a start to face the first light. Rain tapped against the glass. It was January the fifth. He looked across a table on which a night-light had guttered into a pool of water, at the other bed. Francis Morton was still asleep, and Peter lay down again with his eyes on his brother. It amused him to imagine it was himself whom he watched, the same hair, the same eyes, the same lips and line of cheek. But the thought palled, and the mind went back to the fact which lent the day importance. It was the fifth of January. He could hardly believe a year had passed since Mrs Henne-Falcon had given her last children’s party. Francis turned suddenly upon his back and threw an arm across his face, blocking his mouth. Peter’s heart began to beat fast, not with pleasure now but with uneasiness. He sat up and called across the table, “Wake up.” Francis’s shoulders shook and he waved a clenched fist in the air, but his eyes remained closed. To Peter Morton the whole room seemed to darken, and he had the impression of a great bird swooping. He cried again, “Wake up,” and once more there was silver light and the touch of rain on the windows. Francis rubbed his eyes. “Did you call out?”‘ he asked. “You are having a bad dream,” Peter said. Already experience had taught him how far their minds reflected each other. But he was the elder, by a matter of minutes, and that brief extra interval of light...
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...discipline and excellence, and everything is done to ensure that each student attending that school will walk in the footsteps of their parents and become bankers, doctors and lawyers. Mr Keating attempts to help them ‘seize the day’ by persuading them to make their own decisions and to rely on themselves. In addition, contrast is used in the scene where Mr. Keating has an outside school lesson with his English class. Mr. Keating wanted a change in atmosphere and did this effectively. The purpose of this scene is to convey the negative atmosphere inside the school and the positive scenery in the real world. Inside the school, the students at Welton Academy are restricted and prohibited from doing certain things due to the disciplined rules posed upon the students. They are trapped and must obey very single rule and adhere to them. They are not given the opportunity to voice their opinion nor follow their dreams. However, when Mr. Keating takes his class outside, he is trying to give them freedom. The freedom to do whatever they want and to maintain their own beliefs. He wants them to construct their own path in life and to choose the road that best suits them. In this scene, he also asks his students to walk around, to prove to them that conformity does not exist. Everyone walks in a different direction conveying that each and every person has a different perspective and outlook towards life. Moreover, towards the end of the movie, symbolism is used in the scene where Neil commits suicide...
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...The End of the Party by Graham Greene (1904-1991) Word Count: 3549 Peter Morton woke with a start to face the first light. Rain tapped against the glass. It was January the fifth. He looked across a table on which a night-light had guttered into a pool of water, at the other bed. Francis Morton was still asleep, and Peter lay down again with his eyes on his brother. It amused him to imagine it was himself whom he watched, the same hair, the same eyes, the same lips and line of cheek. But the thought palled, and the mind went back to the fact which lent the day importance. It was the fifth of January. He could hardly believe a year had passed since Mrs Henne-Falcon had given her last children's party. Francis turned suddenly upon his back and threw an arm across his face, blocking his mouth. Peter's heart began to beat fast, not with pleasure now but with uneasiness. He sat up and called across the table, "Wake up." Francis's shoulders shook and he waved a clenched fist in the air, but his eyes remained closed. To Peter Morton the whole room seemed to darken, and he had the impression of a great bird swooping. He cried again, "Wake up," and once more there was silver light and the touch of rain on the windows. Francis rubbed his eyes. "Did you call out?"' he asked. "You are having a bad dream," Peter said. Already experience had taught him how far their minds reflected each other. But he was the elder, by a matter of minutes, and that brief extra interval of...
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...Elizabeth Cady Stanton Biography: Where did Elizabeth Cady Stanton grow up? Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815. She had 10 brothers and sisters, however, many of them died during childhood. Only Elizabeth and four of her sisters lived well into adulthood. Her last brother, Eleazar, died when he was 20 years old leaving her mother depressed and her father wishing that Elizabeth was a boy. Elizabeth (sitting) with Susan B. Anthony Not Fair for Women Growing up Elizabeth was exposed to the law through her father Daniel. He was a lawyer who also served as a judge and a U.S. Congressman. She learned that the law was not the same for men and women. She learned that only men could vote and that women had few rights under the law. She didn't think this was fair. She thought she was as good as any boy and should be given the same opportunities. Going to School When Elizabeth reached school age she wanted to go to school to learn. Not many women went to school in those days, but her father agreed to send her to school. At school Elizabeth was an excellent student. She won awards and proved that she could do as well or better than most of the boys. After high school, Elizabeth wanted to go to college. She quickly learned that girls were not allowed into the major universities. She ended up going to a college for girls where she was able to continue her studies. Abolitionist and Human Rights Elizabeth began to believe...
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...War of Independence or a Revolution? It should be understood that without understanding the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution, one cannot grasp the history of the United State. The American Revolution was the political commotion during the end of the eighteenth century. The thirteen North American colonies united to break free of the British Empire and become a new nation; The United State of America. A revolution can be defined as, the change in power or the constitution stirring in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described revolution as complete change from one constitution to another (Sinclair 190). And this is precisely what happened two centuries ago in the United State. But the question needed to be answered is, was the American War of Independence really a war for independence or a revolution? The American War of Independence (1775–1783) was a climax in the political American Revolution rather than just a war for independence, ideologically influenced by the Enlightenment philosophers and writers of the Great Britain. Benjamin Rush remarked in 1787, "The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed." 2 This drama staged in the Pennsylvania State House in summer of 1776 remains the only most important chapter in the archives of American Revolution. Although, the political atmosphere in France...
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...failures are actually growth lessons in wolf's clothing. And just maybe the person who experiences the most, wins. 2. A world-class company puts systems in place to ensure consistency of results. If you want to get something done and if you want to see consistent results, build a system around it. Celebrate the previous days wins and then rededicate to work for the mission. Systems‛ thinking builds structures into your life so that your best practices actually get integrated into your life. Systems allow you to live in a proactive rather than in a reactive way. And having a bunch of systems in place to keep you at your best doesn't mean that your life will be overly structured and full of stress Because nothing deprives a human being of happiness as much as seeing a life being wasted. 3. ABC. Always Be Connecting with everybody, everything around you. The best leaders build strong, strikingly well, social networks and rich communities of teammates, suppliers and customers that will help them get to where they're going (while they, in turn, reciprocate). Find ways to connect. With the people you work with. With the loved ones you live with. And with the strangers you share this journey called a life with. One should guess that you've had an elegant sufficiency of enough...
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...ABSTRACT Doing business on a global basis requires a good understanding of different cultures. What works in one country might not work well in another, and could even be interpreted as an insult! Therefore, understanding cultural differences is crucial for the success of an organization venturing in foreign countries. This assignment aims at trying to explain the different aspects of Culture by using the “Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner's Seven Dimensions” Model; to elaborate on the importance of Culture in a business environment; and how an International manager manage people with different Culture. BACKGROUND The number of workers employed by foreign-owned companies has grown significantly over the past 20 years as a result of the expanding activities of foreign affiliates of MNEs around the world. For many people, both employers and employees, this has brought home the realities of globalization. In 2007, an estimated 73 million people globally (including 24 million in China) worked for foreign companies, nearly three times the number in 1990. Companies such as Motorola, General Motors, British Petroleum, and General Electric are among the largest private-sector employers in economies such as Malaysia and Singapore. This growing multicultural workforce makes it more and more important to understand how people’s preferences, beliefs, and values differ. Understanding international cultural differences will allow international managers to be aware of and adapt to the...
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...| VODAFONE | A Strategic Brand Management Project | | Submitted to : Dr Lubna Nafees | Submitted by:Ram Narayan 11HR-023Shilpi Pachauri 11HR-027Shravani Kosana 11HR-028Indraneal Balasubramanian 11FN-043Aparna Vyas 11FN-019Prashant Garg 11FN-134 | | | TABLE OF CONTENTS Section one: Brand Campaign Descriptors…………………………………………………..03 1. Brief Description of the campaign……………………………………......................04 2. Communication………………………………………………………………………05 3. Advertising Agency…………………………………………………………………..05 4. Frequency of the campaign and the media used………………………………….......06 Section Two: Campaign Analysis……………………………………………………………07 1. Video………………………………………………………………………………....07 2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..07 3. Striking features of the campaign…………………………………………………….08 4. Execution of the campaign…………………………………………………………...09 5. Target Audience……………………………………………………………………...09 6. Critique/Recommendations…………………………………………………………..09 Section Three: Brand analysis………………………………………………………………11 1. Value Proposition…………………………………………………………………….11 2. Brand Essence………………………………………………………………………..11 3. Brand Elements………………………………………………………………………11 4. Vodafone Brand Equity………………………………………………………………12 5. Segmentation……………………………………………............................................13 6. Brand Positioning…………………………………………………………………...
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