Construction of femininity Essay

The very titles of both plays, Gertrude, The Cry and Ophelia Thinks Harder offer the grounds for the presumption that the central theme is related to a woman. Furthermore, in the light of postmodernism one may presuppose to read the revisionary approach on the woman’s question. Now when Gertrude and Ophelia have become the archetypes, their reading in the postmodernist works gives the possibility to understand the principles of the latest tendencies of the literature. The play expresses the modern understanding of Hamlet by throwing the light upon the subjects that were left enigmatic by Shakespeare. Reading the archetypes in the modern adaptations allow a better understanding of postmodernism. The study’s focus is the representations of Shakespearean Hamlet women in the modern plays. Despite a series of transgressive forms of language in both literary pieces (in particular in Barker’s), the plain-spoken parody on the original play, the focus on the problem and the atmosphere of femininity appear close to original Shakespeare. The atmosphere around femininity in both plays seem more authentic to the heroes of original Hamlet that for example in the representations of 19th [1] century when the femininity was a cult and the femininity of Ophelia was the idyllic example. Is it the genius of Shakespeare to create a play that seems to have constantly the necessity to be unveiled? Is it the work of poststructuralist philosophers that influenced the postmodern authors to re-understand the women in Shakespeare’s literature? Has the urgency of rethinking of the female role through rethinking the femininity finally found its proper reflection in the fiction? Of course, Gertrude and Ophelia represent different and sometimes quite the opposite female types. Gertrude is in her maturity while Ophelia is in her puberty. This difference gives the opportunity to study the whole picture of femininity on different levels. To make the picture complete, both authors introduce new feminine characters. In order not to eclipse Gertrude, Barker omits Ophelia in his adaptation; however he introduces Isola, Claudius mother and Ragusa, somewhere at Ophelia’s place. As for Betts, there are Maid and Virgin Mary; however the plot is formed in a way that to the end of the play there are more female characters than male. Gertrude and Ophelia characters symbolize the eternal problems that women are facing. Different as they are, they always converge. And the study of both of them is necessary for this course of effort to bring the answers to the questions raised above. The philosophical debates over essentialism and femininity, the problems of gender, the rethinking of its ontological construction, the post-structuralism and the deconstruction have been largely introduced in the course of the 20th century [2]. Although, they have some differences in approach, commonly they agree that the femininity is to be socially constructed. It is rather clear that both postmodern writings of Barker and Betts could possibly not disregard these approaches when writing on women. Moreover they are industriously participating in the debates. For example, the plot Ophelia Thinks Harder is explicitly under-wound on gender construction. Barker is focusing more on the relation of femininity and the power. Bett’s claim on Queen: â€Å"We have to work at being women†¦ † (Queen,3,17) highlights the coercive nature of femininity and can recall one the Beauvoir’s famous claim that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman[3]. Femininity construction in the conventional understanding is regarded as the â€Å"the art that [all the heterosexual women] must master†(Queen, Scene 3, p. 16). It is quite natural that all the compulsory is to be criticized in the western democratic society. However the femininity is compelled so slight and subtle that one can possibly not be aware of it. But the outcome of this compelled femininity can be more dangerous to the point that one can believe and can touch all the levels of human being. This is what this study will attempt to highlight in this work. It is sad to mark that this is the prevailing philosophy as for gender problems finds its supporters mainly in the homosexual ranges. [4] With all my respect for the diversity, in some cases it is like Barker’s Hamlet who â€Å"will write the Book of Love whilst having never oh not ever loved† (Hamlet, Scene 13, p. 55). While the heterosexual women suffer of so many not less urgent problems of no solution. What is the role for example of the philosophy on gender, treating the problems of femininity in the issue of domestic violence. A 1992 Council of Europe study on domestic violence against women found that one in four women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes, 400 hundred women die because of their partner’s violence every year [5]. Generally speaking, the contemporary philosophical orientation is hardly finding something constructive to propose at least for heterosexual women leaving the contradiction unresolved. Efrat Tseelon criticizes the modern authors regarding the woman’s question in â€Å"The Masque of Femininity†: â€Å"My claim is that this tradition covers very different theoretical explanations. It ranges from mythological and theological descriptions which define the essence of a woman as dissimulation, to psychoanalytic accounts and contemporary social theory which define the essence of femininity as an inessential social construction†[6]. Majority of the postmodern writers and philosophers, who are focusing on femininity, give the answers principally on the deconstruction of gender. Some tendencies for internationalized feminism take into consideration the women of the third world situations as highly appreciable [7]. However, similar problems in the western society do not have the sufficient treat. Even if theories exist, they are too difficult to adopt in real life for the heterosexual majority of women as it is proved in Ophelia Thinks Harder. In this context literary works treating questions concerning women again become more important. They are indispensable in understanding femininity in modern terms. Inasmuch as studying them contributes to the working on the consciousness. And it is due to the quality of the literature independent of the conventional construction or philosophical trends and largely contributing into both, to intersect the theory and the real life. Whereas Howard Barker’s intentions are rather cryptic, Jean Betts provides the both in her work: her work is full of incomparable imagination, she provides the historical and philosophical data from Aristotle to Queen Elizabeth and the outline of Christian thought over femininity and she evokes for the representations of women in all the dimensions. Of course such approach helps her preliminarily to put some light on the original character of Shakespearean Ophelia by the introduction of the thought on femininity in the period when Shakespeare created Ophelia, the post-Elizabethan period, the beginning of the 17th century. This information in the guise of fiction makes apparent the true reason of Shakespearean Ophelia’s collapse. Women were regarded as physiologically â€Å"failed men† – as a product of incomplete development caused by insufficient generative heat in the womb. They were seen as the effeminate man, the aberrations of effeminacy. Woman’s sexuality was thought of almost a separate organism within the woman, with a will – womb[8]. Calling back to these perversions in the postmodernist frame allows the reader to question the hegemonic cultural discourse of nowadays. Whereas Betts is trying in her own words to help to â€Å"dismantle some of the foundations of this deeply buried prejudice against women†, (Writer’s Notes, Ophelia Thinks Harder), Barker is focusing more on the sexuality of the femininity as the power and the tragic outcome of the excess of the femininity and feminine sexuality. He questions the verity of the sexual feminine liberation and if it really liberates the woman. Undoubtedly a certain sexual feminine liberation has become a part of the conventional construction of femininity. However, there is no seamless category of conventional femininity, no for femininity as there is no seamless category for the woman. â€Å"The very subject of women is no longer understood in stable or abiding terms†[9]. The best possible definition for the conventional femininity gives Betts’s Gertrude: â€Å"†¦ display her wares†¦ you’ll dazzle them all†¦ a fantastical cosmetic and corset fitting process; e. g. Eyebrow plucking, leg waxing, arm oiling, nails, garish face mask, fierce corsetry, grossly padded bra, chastity belt, etc†¦ You will delight, but not over-excite. †¦ a pure sweet, submissive little virgin†¦ † The conventional femininity is double-faced. Having Chaste Mary as an ideal, the feminine best culmination is â€Å"to play the cards right†. What Ragusa has actually performed. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ marriage is the greatest moment in a woman’s life to be a bride the day of all days†¦ † (Ragusa, Scene 15, p. 63). Trying her best to construct the feminine self, she married Hamlet and inherited the throne after his death. Ophelia’s Mother suggests: â€Å"women are treacherous, sly, scheming, deceitful†¦ †. Even making children in the conventional understanding of the femininity is corresponded to please or manipulate man: â€Å"They want kids, do it. They don’t – well come to me and I’ll help you when the time comes. â€Å"; â€Å"A woman with a son is powerful. † (Queen, Scene 3, p. 17; 19) However, in the original version Gertrude had nothing but sufferance and the collapse of her life because of her son, who did not accept her mode of life. The response is paradoxically given by the same all feminine Betts Gertrude: â€Å"-and we are inconsiderate enough not to give a shit what driveling adolescents like you think. † (Queen, Scene 7, p. 54). Of course, Barker’s power of Gertrude is certainly far from her bearing a son. Unmasking the masquerade Insomuch as the woman’s question is to be read the titles of both plays, the unthought-of before or rethought (thinks harder) and a sore utterance of the extreme feelings (the cry) are manifesting. Shakespearean women thus have a chance to cry out their repressed truths. It is absolutely normal when taking in consideration the historic-cultural context of the role of gender in the Shakespearean period that women like Gertrude and Ophelia, were shown and identified by their relation to men. It is of the great achievements of Shakespeare to draw the remarried widow as the tragic hero when â€Å"for playwrights of the early modern period, a remarrying widow was a subject for comedy†[10]. Today, in the light of deconstruction, what was identified as the feminine can turn to be masculine and vice-versa theoretically [11]. Practically, the process of choosing the gender is not without the desperate torments. The femininity as the obstruction to the knowledge in Betts version and the extreme feminine sexuality of as the pseudo pluck of the apple of forbidden knowledge in Barkers are the central themes in the plays. Betts’ Ophelia hence thinks harder than the original Shakespearean one. What does this possibility to think or to rethink presents for the female? Shakespearean Ophelia’s life was predicated by what men around her thought. Her father and brother decided how she should behave herself. Hamlet’s refusal of her was fatal. Betts offers Ophelia the choice to think herself for her life, what will it turn to? As for Gertrude, will her cry hush the desperate attempts of Hamlet to de-sexualize her? Is the cry the horror and sexual pleasure of her femininity or does it stand over female and masculine categories? Modern Shakespeare suggests that Gertrude’s flagrancy, her over sexualized femininity cost the life of another feminine innocent Ophelia [12]. Indeed desire and death go traditionally together as proved above, but what is the place of the femininity in desire? Even if it is true, why should the feminine sexual desire be identified with femininity? And why should the masculine desire excuse itself by femininity? In Betts rewriting, Ophelia is in the same cultural context, the oppressed woman, the same â€Å"mad fool† (Queen, 7, 52) boyfriend Hamlet. It should therefore come as no surprise, that her desperate attempts of thinking meet the terrible attacks from all the members of the society. To condemn these attempts on failure, they take an argument that thinking is not feminine, accusing Ophelia of not being feminine. Throughout the play Betts is proving that the imposed conventional femininity is an instrument to prevent the woman to think. She focuses in particular on why thinking for a woman is so dangerous in the conventional understanding. The power stands for the explanation and certainly not a â€Å"psychotic clown† who sets the rules. The power serves as the relationship between individuals. The one who possesses the knowledge possesses the power. Isn’t after overcoming the conventional femininity and get educated that: â€Å"we dress up to learn, to write, to get published†¦ be lawyers, doctors, lead armies, run countries†¦ † (R&G, Scene 8) that the gender war is foreseen to happen: â€Å"I see strife; I see gender war; I see the initial X†(First Woman 4, 26). At first glance, Barker’s Gertrude possesses the power. She is evidently more delighted with her sexual power than the political one that she posses with her statute of the queen. From her comes out the cry, the extreme point of ever possible desire and pleasure and of horror. The extreme desire is always conventionally associated with sin as well as with feminine. This is evident in the story of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. The first sin has become sexualized with Eve’s violation of God’s specific instruction [13] The Cry is like the reproduction of the first sentiment that the new sinful world lived: the desire and the horror. Gertrude possesses this cry. Is the extreme femininity the way to posses the cry or does it come out of the brain that has no binary category? â€Å"MY BRAIN IS WHERE DESIRE IS† (Hamlet 5, 28) Where is the place of the intellect in the conventional construction of the femininity? Knowledge and desire go together. As mentioned above was it not for the desire of knowledge that the first sin occurred? Therefore, knowledge is interpreted as unnatural to female. As the epigraph to Ophelia Thinks Harder proposes: â€Å"Laborious learning or painful pondering, even if woman should greatly succeed in it, destroy the merits that are proper to her sex† (Kant). In the course of all these tormenting moments of thinking, Betts’ Ophelia is read as what is in the psychoanalytic terms called bisexual: not feminine, not masculine. At least she is resisting to become feminine. Before getting down on why she is refusing the conventional femininity, one should clearly make the difference between the biological sex and the socially constructed femininity or masculinity. Freud claims that the child is born bisexual and femininity or masculinity is constructed [14]. Following the psychological steps related to his parents the child develops his/her masculinity/femininity. Then as it is developing it is influenced by the socio cultural frames. Together with the theory of deconstruction they would consider us to read Ophelia bisexual. Indeed she claims that she does not want to be the man, nor the woman (Scene 3, 17). However her bisexuality is also determined by the social frames. She does not want not to be the man, nor the woman because she does not want to be seen like conventional feminine or masculine. The conventional understanding of the femininity does not correspond to her individuality. Hence, she is refusing the conventional notion of being feminine: â€Å"Behavior as instinctive as a cat’s with a bird†¦ † (Hamlet, Scene 1, p. 3); â€Å"†¦ viper†¦ like Eve would arouse in him evil and lust (Hamlet, Scene 4, p. 29) or â€Å"The lady doth protest too much†(III,ii,225) She is refusing to be tough and try to corrupt the man she is not. She is refusing to be tough to be overwhelmed with her sexuality as something shameful. â€Å" Hormones, cycles of blood, reproductive turmoil-you are flushed with your female destiny-you are adulated, euphoric-yes-you are clearly in love†¦ † (Hamlet, Scene 1, p. 3). If choosing gender in the natural way is as impossible as it was in the original version and if we know that the femininity is rooted in the social construction is it left to the society to decide if she becomes a normal woman [feminine]? Is there a solution to stand out the opinion of the society? On one hand Barker’s Gertrude is independent from the society’s opinion, on the other she is strongly dependent on others, as she needs to astonish. The conflict in Ophelia Thinks Harder lies in Ophelia’s resistance to the psychic subordination of the conventional. Being female, according to the social conventions her body must be superior to her mind, while the masculinity would be gifted with mind and femininity with body. Ophelia is forced to be separated from her mind and to delight and be delighted by her feminine body. She is not abnormal or exceptional. â€Å"The thousands of us† (Scene 8, p. 66) had to disguise as men to be disjoined from their minds. Judith Butler is decisive upon Beauvoir proposal that the female body ought to be the situation and the instrumentality of the woman’s freedom, not a defining and limiting essence [15]. She writes: â€Å"In the philosophical tradition that begins with Plato and continues through Descartes, Husserl, and Sartre, the ontological distinction between soul (consciousness, mind) and body invariably supports relations of political and psychic subordination and hierarchy†. While Betts uncovers the diverse and dissimilar states of female’s self-construction, Barker is focusing on the exploration of the body. Helen Cixous is speaking about the writing of the female body [16]. Quite in a similar way, Barker is studying the possibility of â€Å"learning to approach their [women’s] own forbidden bodies†. Indeed one can mark the parallel even in the titles with The Laughter of Medusa and Gertrude The Cry. Barker’s Gertrude claim â€Å"I’ve made an instrument out of my body† (Scene 14, p. 62). Gertrude explores and perceives the knowledge through the possibilities of her body. Of course Barker has not invented that Gertrude is exploring her sexuality. Shakespearean theme is also read in Betts: â€Å"it may come as a shock, little boy, but quite a lot a lot of people over 30 fondle each other. Oh yes; Claudius and I†¦ HAVE SEX. † (Queen, Scene 7, p. 54).

Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay

â€Å"Masquerading! A lewd custom to debauch our youth. There’s something more in this than I imagine.† – Don Pedro Aphra Behn, the first female playwright to earn a living through her writing, was also one of the wittiest and entertaining as evidenced through her most well known play, The Rover. Set in 17th century Italy while under the colonial reign of Spain, a large cast of characters becomes embroiled in scenes of infidelity, seduction, misrepresentation, and elaborate swordplay, which create tension and confusion in addition to many comedic episodes. The setting is Carnival time in Venice, which is important to the plot for several reasons: the wearing of masks (as was customary) allows a freedom from normal constraints, there is often in the play a mistake made in identities, circumstances can (and do) occur which could never otherwise happen, it allows for a fast pace to be maintained which keeps the spectators involved, and ultimately, â€Å"confusion captures the spirit of the carnival† (1). During carnival times class barriers came down with the rich mingling with the poor. The tradition of wearing masks at carnival time became necessary in order to protect the identities of the rich (2). This also gave opportunities to act out in a manner far removed from their habitual one. By having her female characters hidden behind masks, Behn is able to remove them from their traditional roles as women and give them empowerment. In effect, they can assume new personalities and remove their inhibitions or the otherwise usual yokes that have been cast on them by a male-dominated society. Hellena is the perfect example of one throwing off inhibitions and revealing her inner self behind the guise of a mask. Slated for the convent in an effort by her father to consolidate the family finances, she decides that this carnival will be the time she finds a man – and she sets her sights on one as daring and quick-witted as herself. She is able to track him in different disguises and at one point sets out to â€Å"vex† him for his keeping with Angellica. She shows herself to be a strong, independent-thinking woman in an age when women had few personal rights. The carnival setting is the  vehicle that gives her the freedom to behave in the manner she does. The carnival setting is also the cause of mistaken identities. Because of this confusion Behn is able to further the comedic and suspense elements. For example, Don Pedro is denied his opportunity with the lovely Angellica when his friend (and his intended brother-in-law) Don Antonio pays his offering to be with her. Don Pedro is further incensed by the fact that this is a slight against his sister, Florinda, which ultimately leads to the setting of a time and place for a duel. Of course, Don Antonio believes he is confronting Belvile from his verbal exchange with Don Pedro. Ironically, when Belvile comes to the aid of Don Antonio later, he is charged with actually doing the crime of injuring him. Unwittingly, Don Antonio presses Belvile into fighting for him against Don Pedro for the honor of Florinda, Belvile’s love! This is one of many instances when the characters end up in entertaining situations due to mistaken identity. The mistakes made by the characters often misidentifying each other has an added effect of the audience having to pay especially close attention themselves to how the plot develops. Since all of the action occurs during Carnival (especially Venetian), the audience naturally expects some kind of confusion and mayhem to occur. This chaotic environment keeps the pace quickened making the carnival setting a natural choice for a swift paced play. Traditionally, carnivals of this kind â€Å"would take place in the various Venetian piazzas and would involve meals of imported delicacies, dancing and entertainment by jugglers, acrobats, etc. as well a feats of strength or daring, performed by young men, and usually resulting in being plunged into the freezing waters of the canal.†(2). With the goings-on throughout the city during Carnival, the play (as the spectators expect) would naturally exhibit the same impulsive atmosphere of gaiety and rapidity of movement that occur during carnivals. The play is also making a forward statement for its time and can because of the particular nature of the carnival. Through Hellena, Behn is speaking for women’s equality. Hellena while disguised is as courageous and outspoken as any man of the period. She is able to act as men do – choosing a mate as one  would livestock. Another unspoken assertion Behn makes is of the treatment of women who were not privileged. Repeated attempts at raping Florinda because the men thought she was of a lower station don’t put men in a good light. The attitudes of these men are that this is accepted practice and tolerated in 17th century society. Undeniably, it would seem as if they saw it as their right. Finally, while most men would look at Willmore’s cavalier attitude and behavior with what one might call reverence (who wouldn’t want to be a swashbuckler?), his lying, deceitfulness, and womanizing ways are not qualities that cause one to shine. These things along with the women’s sexual audaciousness would cause this play to be denigrated in the next era. In conclusion, Behn’s choice to place the action of the play in Venice during a carnival was appropriate to the theme. Indeed, one could argue that without the carnival as a backdrop, Behn could not have as effectively pulled off the character’s relationships and the myriad encounters nearly as well. The characters actions speak as much if not more than their words do and the speed of the play is determined by these actions. This could only have been achieved by the confusion and spontaneity inherent in the nature of carnivals. Thus, the importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover was paramount to the success of the play.

Project and marking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Project and marking - Research Paper Example It will be crucial to mention that decision making process is one of the major parts of Human Resource Management (HRM) in any organization. As often explained theoretically and witnessed in real life cases, HRM is a multifaceted doctrine, which is responsible for many functions performed within any organization being subjected to proper decision making that can ensure maximum success. Some of those functions commonly include recruitment and selection, training and development and employee motivation among others. The aspect of decision making is often regarded as one of the most frequently executed tasks in every section of the HRM functions. Correspondingly, HR managers have the need to decide for themselves as well as superiors with regard to the development of HRM functions within the organization on a regular basis (Armstrong 3-28). All these aspects together ensure success for the overall business, which again differ from one organization to another in accordance with their ind ustrial structure and business performance needs. THESIS STATEMENT This report will primarily present a detailed comparison on the decision making process of recruitment and selection HRM functions of two separate organizations operating in similar industry sector, i.e. Qatar Airways and US Airways will be considered in this report. Contextually, the report will present a comparison between the recruitment and selection

To What Extent Does a Director's Duty Under Section 175 Companies Act Essay

To What Extent Does a Director's Duty Under Section 175 Companies Act 2006 Continue Post-Resignation - Essay Example The Company Act 2006 brought up a statutory code of general duties of directors; this introduction was appearing in the UK’s Company law for the first time. The main purpose of this legislation was to enhance the general understanding of the legal duties of directors. The duties of the directors established in the Act are based on certain equitable principles and common law rules. The interpretation of the statutory duties in the future is required to be according to the development of those principles of case law.2 The director’s duties are not owed to the shareholders but rather to the company. The Act stipulates the duty of each director to include: a duty to foster company’s success as the director deems it in good faith; a duty for the director to avoid any conflicts of interest; a duty of non-acceptance of benefits such as secret commissions and bribes; a duty to act within the terms of powers granted under the constitution of the company; a duty to exercis e reasonable diligence, skill, and care; a duty to declare any interests in the company’s transactions; and a duty to effect independent judgment.3 . In addition, the Act incorporates expressly long-standing equitable doctrines in order to provide remedies for director’s breach of duties, as noted for example in the case of Boardman v Phipps.4 Of most interest in this discussion is section 175 of Companies Act 2006. In reference to section 175 Companies Act 2006, this discussion will consider the extent to which a director’s duty will continue post-resignation. In particular, section 175 of the Companies Act 2006 deals with the director’s duties concerning conflict of interest (actual and potential). The main rationale of this provision is to codify the subsisting principles of case law and to develop parallel principles to the existing ones. Section 175 (1) state that a company director must avoid situations in which he has, or can have, conflicts of int erest either directly or indirectly, or this interest and that of the company may conflict. Section 175 (2) provides that the duty to avoid conflicts of interest applies particularly to the exploitation of any opportunity, information, or property.5 However, section 175(3) provides that this duty shall not apply to conflicts of interest arising from an arrangement or transaction with the company. Additionally, section 175(4) states that this duty will not be considered infringed if: the directors have authorised the matter or the circumstances cannot be reasonable considered as giving rise to conflicts of interest. In section 175(5), the Act provides that the directors may give the authorisation in the following situations: where the company is a public constitution and the provision enabling authorisation by the directors is contained in its constitution, or where the company is a private company and its constitution does not validate authorisation of matter. Besides, section 175(6 ) states that authorisation can be effective if: agreement to the matter was made without voting or its agreement could have

Education - Cultural Awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education - Cultural Awareness - Essay Example The graphic organizer How to enhance the cultural respect and avoid cultural bias in the classroom Instructors should acknowledge the students’ cultural differences along with their commonalities Next, it is necessary to validate the student’s identity through the utilization of reading materials that reflect such diversities. This allows students to see the importance of their cultures. It is also significant to educate the students that the world is becoming diverse each day. This would help them gain appreciation for each other thus the reduced conflicts in the classroom. Teachers also need to advocate for some behaviors, as well as communication styles in the classroom, which are devoid of discrimination thus the increased respect. It would also be appropriate if the relationship existing among the students, teachers, families, as well as the community should be fostered thus the respect. The current literature has defined culture as a universal programming of an in dividual’s way of thinking. Culture is stalwartly important as it aids in the process of distinguishing the diverse human categories. The core factor distinguishing the diverse cultural groups is values, which such groups holds close in their daily lives. Sources further designate that these cultures have different norms, as well as institutions resulting from such norms (Wagner, 2009). A number of different authentic and current sources have provided several definitions for multicultural education. Although authors of such sources have utilized dissimilar wording in providing the definition of this phrase, they portray a common understanding of it. Therefore, regarding multicultural education as an inclusive reforming procedure in the education sector championing the existence of equal treatment for students from dissimilar cultures would be the most appropriate definition (Grant, 2011). The 21st century has been coupled by a myriad challenges as students from dissimilar cul tural and social groups populate the same schools. However, the adoption of multicultural education concept has highly facilitated the process of addressing such cultural differences, as well as the biases. Foremost, it is evident that multicultural education promotes the application of a culturally receptive pedagogy. This concept is vastly imperative since it aims at enhancing a successful learning process. This concept works by identifying the strong points brought by such a diversity thus utilizing it to enhance education (Nwachukwu, 2010). Moreover, the pedagogy is a combination of three diverse dimensions. These dimensions are the instructional, institutional, as well as the personal dimensions. The institutional dimension has helped design a learning environment that enhances efficacy, when dealing with culturally diverse students. Therefore, multicultural education could address cultural differences by ensuring that school’s policies, as well as their procedures addre ss with efficiency, all the tribulations resulting from the diversity. The personal dimension part of the cultural pedagogy addresses some of the essential activities for teachers to be involved in thus the cultural bias diminution. Through the application of this concept, teachers could fully acquaint themselves with all the available useful knowledge. Multicultural education persuades teachers to nurture values that disfavor negative feelings towards an individual from a different cultural setting.

Southern Distinctiveness.James C. Cobbs Away Down South Essay

Southern Distinctiveness.James C. Cobbs Away Down South - Essay Example In this book, Cobb argues that the southerners did not achieve distinctive identity with respect to politics, culture, and religion. However, he points out that the history of the Southern is the only distinctive feature of the South. He asserts that the quest for southern distinctiveness should be abandoned since it is both intellectually stultifying and politically dangerous. Indeed, I agree with Cobb’s statement that the search for southern distinctiveness should be thwarted since most of the debates, about this topic, usually trigger dangerous political arguments. Cobb identifies that the quest for southern distinctiveness is not an issue that originated in Southern regions of America, but it is the northerners, during the revolutionary era through the Civil War period, who begun stressing on the distinctiveness of the south (Cobb 222). It is until sectional crises of 1950s, originating from the remonstration of the southern region between 1860 and 1865, that the white sou therners realized the need to create their own identity (Cobb 222). After southerners lost in Confederacy, they became obsessed with the results of Civil War and Reconstruction, which dominated their imagination of forming the New South. In the quest for southern identity, New South propagandists, by 1900, had won a contest for defining post-war southern identity. They also created a remarkably comprehensive version of defining post Civil War South identity (Cobb 226). The new identity embraced the causes of the loss including a modern industrial future for the southern in alias with the northern capital. However, the New South identity failed to recognize the plights of African American, and embraced a regime of white supremacy. It is within the context of white supremacy that people begun questioning the significance of New South identity. During the second Reconstruction after World War II, the southern region was initially perceived as a confident and militant Africa-American co mmunity (Cobb 231). However, during the second Reconstruction, many southern scholars turned their feelings about their region to shame and guilt. This led to their defeat in the Civil War; something Cobb believes was as a result of disagreements and conflicts in white identity. Ironically, instead of conceding the defeat, some of the southern governors, still had the confidence to boost that the loss was as a result of their own mistakes, but not as a result of the entire nation. While the northern America was struggling to achieve a global image, the south was struggling to become Americanized. Cobb further indicates that both the white and black Americans were struggling to claim the southern identity (Cobb 229). However, African Americans, born and bred in the southern, have embraced the New South identity in a different perspective from the white southerners. Their definition of the southern identity does not include anything that relates to Lost Cause or Confederacy, but rathe r with community, place, family and culture (Cobb 234). In this case, they are trying to reclaim the identity of a region that was initially owned by white Americans. This implies that the initial definition of New South identity, which was structured by white intellectuals, was not valid enough to prove the southern distinctiveness south because it failed to recognize their presence, as members of the community, yet they participated in the Civil War and Reconstruction process (Cobb 234). This also indicates that people have mixed reactions and definitions when it comes to southern distinctiveness. Therefore, the quest for southern identity should be abolished as it creates unnecessary conflicts and dangerous politics among authors and other

Agency visit project. the international center in the University of Essay

Agency visit project. the international center in the University of Missouri, columbia - Essay Example Similarly, I noticed that the center facilitates and supports students, as well as faculties outside the United States who are engaged in building relationship and international research. I was really moved by the efforts the center has made to ensure that the incoming international students get enough orientation to settle quickly in the United States. The organization of agencies is critical in the quest to offer quality service. The International Center in the University of Missouri is well-organized to offer quality service to the international students. I was able to note that the organization shares information regarding where the students can seek health care service after their arrival in the United States. In fact, the center gives the students the information before they even arrive in the United States. After the students arrive in the United States, the center has an orientation program in which it brings key speakers from students’ health center and counseling center to discuss issues pertinent to students’ health. Similarly, the center has ensured that the students overcome cultural shock within the shortest time possible. Culture shock can hinder the students’ pleasant stay in the United States (Williams, 2005).). In this regard, the center has ensured that the students do not face any challenges seeking the health services while studying in the United States. I believe that this is important because it can be challenging for the international students if they do not know where to find services central to their welfare. The mission statement guides agencies to achieve their goals. I recognized that the delivery of quality service, especially to the immigrants is enshrined in the center’s mission. Notably, the center is committed to ensuring it provides up-to-date information and support to the immigrants. The center uses a variety of communication channels

Evaluate an area of business by using Porter's Five Forces Model Essay

Evaluate an area of business by using Porter's Five Forces Model. Select an industry from the list below and describe the relative attractiveness of entering that industry - Essay Example university text books, religious literature, fictitious novels on all subjects, cooking stuff, books on international relations and current affairs etc. However, the industry has observed a sharp decline in growth after advent of electronic commerce coupled with recent economic turmoil that further hampered its growth. This will be discussed in detail in the following section when author will present real world scenario. (Foner Books Report, 2010) The author would now provide an analysis on Book Selling Industry across USA by using Porter’s Five Forces model. Each force will be discussed in detail so that a reader could have a clear insight about the scope and business potential in this industry. It should be pointed out that book buyers in USA could be divided into two major groups such as core students (the educational text books market) and book lovers (that tend to buy books on various subjects). The bargaining power of core students has increased considerably in last 2 years because of decline in demand of school, college and university education. Indeed, the reasons behind that include lack of short - term unemployment opportunities followed by surge in inflation, which compelled the students to take semester or yearly breaks. In this way, decline in demand of students sharply reduced the demand of course or text books, thereby leading to decline in book selling activities. As far as demand from book lovers are concerned, it should be emphasized that bleak employment prospects and decrease in consumer purchasing power also forced potential buyers to tighten their belts and reduce spending on books. For instance, today book lovers also demand higher value for the money they spend in the market. Hence, it is worthwhile to point out the fact that increase in bargaining power of consumers has resulted in downward pressure in pricing. Leading book retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BN.com and Borders were forced to reduce their prices by announcing

Boston is an excellent destination for history and culture( art, food, Research Paper

Boston is an excellent destination for history and culture( art, food, sports, music,etc.) - Research Paper Example Boston owing to its historical, art and cultural diversity of the people inhabiting the region as well other aspects; stands out as a unique tourists’ destination from other states. Historical cites and the city’s topography The early city’s contribution to the American history prompted historians to nickname it â€Å"Cradle of Liberty† (Vorhees 54). Primarily, this is apparent from numerous sites characterizing the small city, whereby tourists can both view and learn much as they follow the 2.5-mile walk Freedom Trail, which starts from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument (Vorhees 117 & 118). The foot trail avails tourists with adequate information regarding American Revolution besides how the colonialists engaged physically their masters with intention of attaining independence. The trail also enables visitors to have an ideal view of Boston’s scenery besides other numerous sites that physically tell the American history (â€Å"Fox News†). Mainly, these sites usually from their inception exemplify various historical phases, which yielded to the attainment of American independence besides other early remarkable events (Vorhees 118). Some of the sixteen historical sites and architectural designs characterizing this trail include Boston common, Old South Meeting house, Old State House, Old state house, USS constitution & Museum and Bunker Hill Monument (Vorhees 117). Besides, Boston’s authorities have ensured effective strategies meant to provide services to tourists in each site apart alongside availing rangers. These act as guides or ensuring the security where possible for the visitors. Other remarkable sites include Charles River Ride; reputed with recreational activities, for illustration, in-line skating, bicycling and jogging for the visitors (Vorhees 118). The site besides its recreational activities also provides relaxing and fascinating scenery for the visitors, whereby after touring they usually feel relaxed not only physically, but also mentally. Hence, noticing the difference, which the sites offer, compared to their native regions. The city’s topography owing to nice planning and placement of diverse attraction sites is incre dibly easy and manageable by foot to navigate. Hence, providing an enjoyable walking and bicycling experience for visitors. Additionally, Boston’s attractions sites and their placement contrary to numerous regions globally an individual is capable of touring without a guide. Since, many the places have avail information regarding direction for tourists as they walk or rid to visit. Boston’s art and Museum It is irrefutable Boston besides other varied tourists’ attractions, boasts of varied artworks. These encompass numerous works by the native artists esteemed internationally due to their proficiency in the field, for illustration, Gaspar Miguel de Barrio and Melchor Perez Holguin (Laura 90). These exhibitions offer ample environment for visitors to buy and mingle with diverse visual artists as they promote their merchandises. Therefore, one can arrange for individualized artworks that suit their tastes like bearing certain information or having their names (â⠂¬Å"City of Boston†). In addition, the city is a home of the US’

The Extension of Man by Marshall McLuhan Essay Example for Free

The Extension of Man by Marshall McLuhan Essay In this monumental work, Marshall Mcluhan rigorously examined mass media, a term which he coined how it affects pop culture and in turn how it affects human beings and their relations. According to McLuhan, there is no single factor in human life more important than technology and yet most users have little or no idea of how most technologies work or even that their own bodies are sophisticated collections of technological systems. McLuhan rejected Marxs view of production as a primarily determinant in social change and replaces it with technological inventions. The most important aspect of media is the technical medium of communication. In this book, he provided insights on how technological innovations influence mans perception. It provided insights not only on what people communicate but on how the message is being communicated. One factor to consider into understanding the book is the milieu when it was written. McLuhan developed his theory when television was still is at its infancy and the personal computer was still being developed. However his book in a way predicted what is to come. McLuhan established himself as the patriarch of media criticism and the high priest of pop culture after this book. He made a lot of revelations in this book; things which are imperceptible to most but have great impact. For instance, the existence of global village (another term he is credited of coining); the exploitation, manipulation and control of the individual; the medium is the message; and technology as extensions of human body. McLuhan’s global village is where media penetrates the whole of society and culture. Today few would dispute that mass media have indeed decentralized modern living and turned the world into a global village. It is something that universalizes culture and existence where everyone shares something in common. The mass media have created a world of instant awareness to which the categories of perspective space and sequential time were irrelevant and in which a sense of private identity was untenable. He noted the fact that there are more people watching TV than attending church is something of no great consequence but McLuhan warns â€Å"we become what we behold†. Constant television exposure has its drastic effects. Notice how plastic surgery and other artificial beauty enhancements have become highly popular. In this line, he provided an insightful view on how advertising manipulates the unsuspecting audience. He believed that the available media shapes human activity, more so than what media are used for. Content analysis misses the point and is not as effective because it is the medium that affects the body and the psyche in unconscious ways. Early on the book he differentiated hot and cold medium and points that the medium is more powerful than the message. He touched on how women were turn into objects of desire and how they are in turn made to buy the products that will help them achieve desirability. He also discussed how man highlights the technological extensions but ignores the amputations. McLuhan said that technology is the extension of Man meaning for every technology that is invented, there is a corresponding internal technology (performing similar functions) within the physical bodies of people. For example clothing is the man-made extension of the skins role in keeping us warm inside. He called media the extension of man he based his theory on the fact that content follows form, and the insurgent technologies give rise to new structures of feeling and thought, new manners of perception. He saw media as make happen agents rather than make-aware agents. Highly anecdotal and riddled with wordplay and notorious firing quips, McLuhan made a breakthrough in this book by breaking down how media and technology is conventionally perceived.

Effect of Height on Velocity | Experiment

Effect of Height on Velocity | Experiment Extended Experimental Investigation MOTION ON AN INCLINE DUONG, Phong (Nathan) Contents 1.0 Introduction: 1.1 Research Question and Aim 1.2 Theory Review 1.2.1 Gravity 1.2.2 Forces 1.2.3 Ramp physics 1.2.4 Newtons law 1.3 Hypothesis 2.0 Methods 2.1 Safety 2.2 Equipment 2.3 Procedures 3.0 Results and Analysis 3.1 Results 3.1.1 The inclined angle of the ramp 3.1.2 3.2 Analysis 3.3 Error Analysis 4.0 Discussion 5.0 Conclusion 6.0 Appendices Appendix 1: Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: 7.0 References 1.0 Introduction: 1.1 Research Question and Aim The aim of this extended experimental investigation is to find how gravitational energy and kinetic energy apply on the toy car rolling down the steep ramp. How does the ramp height affect the velocity of the car? 1.2 Theory Review Basically, when a ramp has a small angle of incline, the force of friction between the car and the ramp has greater potential to prevent the car from moving. When an object rests on a surface like the ramp, the ramp exerts a force called normal force on the object, and this force is greater when the angle of incline is smaller. The reason for this is that the force of gravity on the car has to be split between horizontal and vertical components. If the ramp is steep, the force of gravity can more easily overcome the force of friction. Obviously gravity will cause an object on an incline to move down the slope faster than a flat slope. 1.2.1 Gravity Gravity acts vertically downwards, and the body during its free fall is accelerated due to the force of gravity. A body moving upward is undergoing negative acceleration, or deceleration, as its speed decreases and it momentarily comes to rest at the highest point of its ascent where its velocity becomes zero due to retardation obtained by the opposing force of gravity. As the gravity increases the motion of an object during its free fall and decreases the motion of an object as it travels in an upward direction. 1.2.2 Forces All moving objects have a type of energy called kinetic energy (Ek) as well as the potential energy (PE) which stored in an object. These two forces have the potential to do work and gravity gives potential energy to object whereas kinetic energy of an object depends only upon its mass and its speed. The formula for potential energy due to gravity isPE=mgh. As the object gets closer to the ground, its potential energy decreases while its kinetic energy increases. The difference in potential energy is equal to the difference in kinetic energy. 1.2.3 Ramp physics A ramp works like this inclined plane, the steeper the ramp the larger the amount of the sliding force. , when the ramp is (vertically) only the sliding component is left and equals the weight force. On the other extreme (the ramp is horizontal) the sliding force vanishes and only the component of the normal force is left. 1.3 Hypothesis It is hypothesised that as the angle of the ramp increases the speed of the car travels will also increase which results in shorter time for the car to travel down the ramp. This is predicted according to the theory of gravitational potential energy converting to kinetic energy. 2.0 Methods 2.1 Safety Must handle the retort stand with care as it could cause injuries if it drops on the lower bodies (legs, knees, footsetc.) as well as the ramp because they are quite heavy. 2.2 Equipment Retort stand For the ramp to rest on, to increase the height of theramp summit to any height Ramp- for the toy car to roll down Stop watch- to time the toy car (starts and finishes) Note book- to record the results on Measurements tape-to measure out 1 metre on the ramp Chalk- To mark the starting points and finish lines 2.3 Procedures 1. Set out equipment as shown in the diagram. 2. Ensure the height at the start line (the summit of the ramp) is 30 cm using the metre stick. 3. Ensure there are no extra weights attached to thetoy car. 4. Hold the toy car with its front touching the start line. 5. Simultaneously start the stop clock and release the toy car (becareful not to push it or exert any extra force on it). 6. Stop the clock when the front of the toy car reaches the finish line. 7. Record the time taken for the toy car to reach the finish, next to the relevant height, in a table. 8. Repeat from step 4 four times so you end up with five results for the same height then continue onto step 9. 9. Add all these results together and divide the answer by five to obtain the average time. 10. Record this average in the table. 11. By placing more books underneath the raised end of the ramp, increase the height at the summit by 10cm. Use the metre stick to check 12. Repeat from step 4 until you have obtained results for height from 30cm through to 50cm 3.0 Results and Analysis 3.1 Results The average time for different heights and distance Ramp Length (cm) Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average time (seconds) Speed (m/s) Acceleration (m/s) Velocity(m/s) 100 30 0.79 0.87 0.81 0.85 0.84 0.832 1.2 3 2.5 40 0.68 0.84 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.706 1.42 3.97 50 0.65 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.62 0.636 1.57 4.87 95 30 0.79 0.78 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.776 1.21 3.22 2.8 40 0.67 0.66 0.72 0.65 0.65 0.67 1.41 4.18 50 0.6 0.65 0.58 0.64 0.61 0.616 1.54 5.03 90 30 0.72 0.75 0.71 0.74 0.72 0.728 1.23 3.43 3.1 40 0.71 0.67 0.72 0.73 0.68 0.702 1.28 3.99 50 0.64 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.58 0.602 1.5 5.15 3.1.1 The inclined angle of the ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Angle of inclination (degrees) 30 16.7 40 21.8 50 26.6 3.1.2 Figure 1 3.2 Analysis The results show that when the ramp is higher (50cm) the car went fasterdown the slope at (3.1m/s). This is because gravity is pulling the car straight down andfriction is pulling the car back up the ramp, opposite to direction ofmotion. The ramp is pushing the car straight up in the oppositedirection of gravity. The ramp is also pushing it horizontally awayfrom the ramp. The net force (the sum of the weight and normal force)acting on the car is large enough to make the car to accelerate downthe ramp. If the ramp were horizontal the net force would be zerotherefore the car would not move. So the higher an object goes the more gravitational potential energyit gains. When it falls, its potential energy is converted intokinetic energy and; since energy can neither be created or destroyed,only converted then it will move at a faster speed. 3.3 Error Analysis There are many gaps of errors when conducted this experiment such as careless error, random error, human error (reaction time) and systematic errors. These are due to mistakes in reading scales or careless setting markers; they can be eliminated by repetition of readings by one or two observers. Whereas the random error could be the observer’s position when recording the data and it could spread the results further away to the true value which will increase in anomalies. The results weren’t really accurate because air resistance and friction energy wasn’t taken in to the account, with these taken in to the calculation then it would be more accurate for the speed of the car. 4.0 Discussion The experiment worked well after the preliminary experiment, the experiment indicates that if the height of the ramp is too high it would not produce very goodresults. Assume the results were accurate and the methodworked. Due to human error and reaction time, these results could notbe relied on completely, but did give a rough idea of how the experiment would have worked. If the conduction of the experiment was to be done again, it would be more accurate by producingresults using the computer system with light gate. The air resistance was neglected because if the resistance to be present, the results would be decrease but not very much throughout the experiment. The car was suffering from the friction of a ramp, something that would seriously affect the car due to it having a small mass. There were certainly some places where the experiment was lacking in some accuracy and it could have improved. The first area to highlight is the car, where most of the accuracies were caused. The car certainly had friction occurring in the wheels of the car, and with the surface it was going down. This is one of the major problem to solve because a frictionless car is impossible, to encounter this problem is to find a better car with better bearings is the wheels and more therefore less friction, causing less wasted energy through sound and heat. There was also some accuracy lacking areas which couldn’t improve either without better equipment. If the conduction of the experiment were to happen again, experimenting withdifferent surfaces of ramp would be a changed. The main problem established in the experiment wasthat the toy car kept swaying to the side, creating a longer journeyand hitting the edge majority of the time. This also could have been caused dueto uneven flooring of the ramp. If the right equipment could be accessed to calculatingthe speed using light gates and determining if it produces theoreticallyperfect results, also eliminating any other opposingforces, such as friction, polishing surfaces etc. (no air resistance) and noticing ifthis changes the results.To take the potential/kinetic energy element even further,looking into elastic potential energy and identify if it works on the sameprinciple as gravitational potential energy. 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, the experiment demonstrated that the ramp set on (50cm) height at the distance of (90cm) had a greater velocity (speed) and acceleration than other heights. This suggests that the car had a greater velocity and lowest time was because of the steepness of the ramp that was set on. The longer of the ramp, along with gravity had a huge impact on the car movement from the top of the ramp to the bottom. The hypothesis is supported by scientific theory of motion on an incline. 6.0 Appendices Appendix 1: 1 metre (100cm) long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.79 0.87 0.81 0.85 0.84 40cm 0.68 0.84 0.66 0.67 0.68 50cm 0.65 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.62 95 cm long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.79 0.78 0.76 0.77 0.78 40cm 0.67 0.66 0.72 0.65 0.65 50cm 0.6 0.65 0.58 0.64 0.61 90 cm long ramp Heights of the ramp (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 30cm 0.72 0.75 0.71 0.74 0.72 40cm 0.71 0.67 0.72 0.73 0.68 50cm 0.64 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.58 Appendix 2: Example 1: Given height = 30 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Example 2: Given height = 40 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Example 3: Given height = 50 cm and the length or the ramp = 100 cm Appendix 3: Velocity of (30 cm=0.3m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Velocity of (40 cm=0.4m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Velocity of (50 cm=0.5m) height ramp, g=9.8 m/s (constant) Appendix 4: Appendix 5: When the height at 30 (cm), velocity=2.5m/s 7.0 References Silverman, Buffy (2009).Simple Machines: Forces in Action, 4th Ed.. USA: Heinemann-Raintree Classroom. p.7.ISBN978-1-4329-2317-4 Reilly, Travis (November 24, 2011).Lesson 04:Slide Right on By Using an Inclined Plane.Teach Engineering. College of Engineering, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder. Retrieved September 8, 2012 Smith, Crosbie (1998).The Science of Energy a Cultural History of Energy Physics in Victorian Britain. The University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-76420-6. Feynman, Richard P. (2011).Work and potential energy.The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I. Basic Books. p.13.ISBN978-0-465-02493-3. Is Elasticity Coefficient Elastic Or Inelastic? Is Elasticity Coefficient Elastic Or Inelastic? Inelastic The price elasticity of demand for a downward sloping straight line demand curve varies as we move along the curve. If we look at the demand curve for Zesty Health Clubs, as we move down the upper segment of the demand curve, price elasticity of demand falls and total revenue rises. For example, measured over the price range of $1030 to $960, if price falls from $1030 to $960 the price elasticity of demand is 1.92 and therefore this segment of demand is elastic (Ed >1). Between these two price changes, total revenue increases from $9,936,000 to $11,088,000. This shows that a small reduction in price in the top part of the demand curve will bring about a larger proportionate increase in the quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs thereby increasing its revenue. Between the price range of $720 to $840, price elasticity is unitary elastic. (Ed = 1) and thereby total revenue is maximized. In the above relevant price level the elasticity coefficient is UNIT ELASTIC is exactly the same as the percentage in price everywhere along the demand curve. As we move down the lower segment of the demand curve price elasticity of demand falls below a value of 1.0 and total revenue declines. Over the price range of $480 to $600, for example, the price elasticity of demand is 0.47 respectively and therefore this segment of demand is inelastic (Ed < 1). Between these prices, total revenue declines from $10,800,000 to $9,600,000. This shows that a reduction in price in the bottom part of the demand curve will bring about a small proportionate change in quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs, thereby decreasing its revenue. In conclusion on a straight line demand curve the price elasticity of demand is different at every point along the curve (c) Four factors affecting the price elasticity of demand for gym memberships at Zesty Health Clubs; Availability of substitutes The most important determinant of price elasticity of demand is the availability of substitutes. Demand is more elastic for a good or service with close substitutes. If we look at Zesty Health Clubs, the alternatives or substitutes that consumers can switch to is relatively low. Of course there are few alternatives they could consider such as considering buying used gym equipment, renting exercise tapes, or even outdoor exercising such as swimming, cycling, running etc. Many consumers would prefer getting a membership simply just to avoid the trouble of physical stress in order to buy this stuff and also would prefer a better reliable health club when coming to health issues. Therefore the demand for Zesty health clubs is more inelastic in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than the percentage change in price, leading to an increase in total revenue. It is also experienced that a high price charged has made the demand to be ore elastic for Zesty health clubs. A price of $1,080 has made a condition in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than the percentage change is price. This may be due to the fact that considering the current recession, peoples disposable income is relatively low as a result consumers have no other choice than switching to the close substitutes such as personal health training, outdoor physical activities etc. Short run and long run effect Most goods or services tend to be inelastic in the short run and elastic in the long run. If we take the case of Zesty health clubs we can assume that even if they uplift there price by small margin customers will still want to continue or even obtain memberships since nowadays people are more health conscious. They may be loyal to the service provided by Zesty Health clubs and may not consider shifting to the alternatives available. But in the long run consumers may be more price conscious and tend to shift to its substitutes not necessary been price as the main factor but also due to new competitors entering the market, state of the art gym products available that could be used at home at ease, or even health tip news available daily that is sent to a customers mobile phone provided by the network provider for a small charge. These different ranges of choices available make consumers demand shift from inelastic in the short run to elastic in the long run. Share of budget spent on the product Customers may devote only a certain amount rather a less proportion of income spent on membership fees. For e.g. if we consider a price change in sugar which is an convenience product consumers may pay little attention, likewise since people are more health conscious these days a change in price of membership fees may not be felt largely by consumers. However, high membership prices such as $1080 may force price conscious customers to switch to the alternate substitutes. Even circumstances apply where price is not the main factor, customer may prefer home training, or other physical activities which reduce the quantity demanded for Zesty Health Clubs. Necessity or Luxury These days consumers are more concerned about their health, therefore the demand for Zesty health clubs remain inelastic. Consumers understand that they need to be fit in order to maintain good health. As a result if Zesty health clubs peruse to increase prices the burden may not be felt heavily on consumers, as a result the elasticity coefficient remains inelastic in which the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than the percentage change in price. (Ed < 1). However if Zesty health clubs have really high membership fees this may force the members to switch to alternatives as I discussed above such as personal health training, outdoor physical activities etc. Consumers may not have any other choice but to switch to other alternatives to suit their needs. Assuming that the price per gym membership is $840, Zesty Health Club will be able to generate total profit of $9,323,200. If Zesty health club decides to reduce its membership price from $840 to $720, they would be able to obtain a profit of $8,622,300. If, in case they pursue to go ahead with their business decision they would experience a 7.5% loss on the total profit. Another aspect that should be considered is that fact that at the price of $840 Zesty health clubs are facing with a total cost of $2,168,000, whereas if Zesty health clubs per sue to lower their price from $840 $720, total cost increases to $2,876,100 which is an increase of approximately 33%, which is quite a huge sum. Looking at this business decision in a financial perspective it seems to that the decision is not profitable. This business decision should not be solely made on financial aspects other relating aspects should be considered as well. If we examine the table, we could identify that elasticity changes from been unit elastic to inelastic. Zesty health clubs may wish to remain been unit elastic because price elasticity is unitary elastic. (Ed = 1) and thereby total revenue is maximized. This is a situation where Percentage change in quantity demanded is equal to the percentage change in price. Therefore, it will be advantages for Zesty health clubs to remain at price $840 since elasticity is unit elastic. However if Zesty health clubs go ahead with their business decision that is reduce the price from $840 to $720 they will be to attract 2290 more customers that is an increase of 16.7%, which makes then obtain a higher market share, however even if Zesty health clubs loses 2290 customers, they still have been able to maximize profits by large charging $840. Therefore the burden is well set off by the maximizing profits. Looking at the above evaluation of Zesty health clubs business decision, I would recommend them NOT to go ahead with the business decision as it is financially non-profitable and since they would want to remain being unit elastic rather than inelastic as total revenue is maximized been unit elastic. Looking at the above graph, we could see that at price $860 Zesty health clubs gets revenue of $11,491,200 which contributes to the highest profit of $9,323,200. At this price level profits are maximized bringing the highest profit level to them, therefore according to these statistics Zesty health clubs should charge its customers at this price since it is getting the highest benefit. Income elasticity of demand is the ratio of the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good or service to the percentage change in income that has bought about this change in quantity demanded, (Economics for today, Allan Layton et al, 2nd edition, 2005). In this context it is the change in quantity demanded in memberships for Zesty health clubs to the change in income due to economic downturn which reduced average income. Percentage change in income EY is income elasticity of demand, Q1 and Q2 represent quantities demanded before and after the income change, and Y1 and Y2 represent income before and after the income change. (Economics for today, Allan Layton et al, 2nd edition, 2005). NORMAL SERVICE From the arrived answer we can assume that Zesty health club memberships is a normal service because the income elasticity of demand is positive Ey>0, the demand and income move in the same direction. Thus, the variables change in the numerator and denominator move in the same direction. Income elasticity of demand is necessary to calculate because during a downturn when the consumers income falls, if the membership is a normal good then the no. of memberships falls. As a result income elasticity of demand helps us to identify whether the impact brings a favorable change of a negative change and also help us identify whether Zesty health clubs membership is a normal service or an inferior service. If we look at the relationship between average income of Australians and gym memberships we could see that there is a direct relationship. If assuming the current economic downturn is not experienced, the average income of Australians would have been stable and also disposable income may be high. This gives the chance for Zesty health clubs to increase memberships or even quantity demanded because since consumers are nowadays more concerned with their health and with high disposable income they may decide to obtain a membership. Now assuming that the Australians are facing with a current economic downturn, which leaves peoples disposable income low, we could see that due to a reduction in average income from $65000 to $55000 p.a. is has resulted in a reduction in memberships form 11,500 to 10, 600. As a result it is clearly identifiable that there is a direct relationship between income and memberships. SECTION B Article 1: Chile strike sends copper prices soaring SUMMARY The price of copper rose to 7500 US dollars per ton, the highest since August 2008, on trading on the London Metal Exchange. The major cause was attributed to industrial action in the form of strikes in Chiles two largest copper mines. The miners wanted higher pay and better benefits. Many of them failed to show up and prices rose further after the likelihood of a strike increased fears that market supply will become tighter. The miners wage registrations came as prices of copper rose after increases in demand from China-the worlds largest consumer of copper. Prices rose over 140% aided by mounting signs of economic recovery, after the recession which reduced the demand of copper. Chile produces one third of all copper, therefore these factors, mentioned above, played a major part in the rise of copper prices (a) Three factors that are expected to contribute to a rise in the market equilibrium price of copper Industrial Action About a third of the unionized miners failed to show up when their shifts began at 2 a.m. on Monday. As a result, Chiles Codelco Company, the largest copper mining company, chuquicata mine faced with a problem of less supply of copper, as not enough workers were at work mining for copper. According to the case study Weinberg added This increases fears that market supply will become tighter. As a result of limited supply, there will be a leftward shift in the supply curve causing copper prices to rise. Therefore a new equilibrium price is formed and Chiles Codelco Company will charge a higher price at the new equilibrium. Demand from China The case study explains there is increased demand from china, which is the worlds largest copper consumer. As a result of increased demand this makes the demand curve shift to the right, as China is willing to buy more copper (thus increased demand), which increases the price level, which forms a new equilibrium price. Signs of economic recovery The state of the economy can have a significant effect on the demand for copper. This is particularly true for industrial and to a lesser extent, commercial customers. When economic growth is strong, output from the industrial sectors generally increases. Conversely, when economic growth slows down, output from industrial sectors drops. The case study explains prices of copper were propelled by mounting signs of economic recovery. As there are signs of economic recovery the demand for copper is likely to increase as a result Chiles Codelco company demand curve is likely to shift to the right. This increase in demand will result in a new equilibrium price, which is higher than before. Considering the above demand and supply diagram (Figure 1) we could see that as a result of unionized workers failing to show up when their shifts begin, has limited the supply of copper. As a result there is a leftward movement of the supply curve from S1 to S2, and due to reduced supply of copper, copper prices is lifted causing the price to rise from P1 to P2. This reduction in supply and increase in price has forced the equilibrium price to change. Equilibrium price refers to the point where at any price for which the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied is equal. This new equilibrium point is E2 which was formerly E1. If we consider the above diagram figure 2, since there is increase in demand for copper from China, the demand curve in the demand and supply diagram shifts outward(rightward) to form a new demand curve from D1 to D2. This increase is demand has prompted Chiles Codelco Company to increase prices from Q1 to Q2 in order to balance demand and supply, which leads to increase in quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. As a result of an increase in price and increase in quantity there is a new equilibrium point formed (E2) which was formerly E1. If we look at the above diagram Figure 3, we could see that as mounting signs of economic recovery, the demand for copper are likely to increase. As a result the Demand curve (D1) shifts rightward to form a new demand curve D2. This will cause the price to increase as well from P1 to P2, since there will be a high demand for copper, this increase in price will cause the quantity demanded to increase from Q1 to Q2. The increase in price which caused an increase in quantity demanded leads to a new Equilibrium price, this is where at any price for which the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied are equal. The new equilibrium point is E2, which was formerly E1, resulted as there was increase in demand and an increase in price. (c) Four factors which could affect world demand for copper; Price of Copper The law of demand, states that there is an inverse relationship between the price of a good or service and the quantity buyers are willing to purchase in a defined time period, ceteris paribus. If we look at this case, if copper prices increase, the demand for copper would fall and vice versa. Therefore the price determinant may affect demand for copper If we look at the above 2 diagrams above, (A) shows if there is an increase in the price of copper from P1 to P2, there will be an decrease in quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. However since copper has closer substitutes and is sort of a necessity, the impact may not be large. If we look at (B), it shows that a reduction in price from P1 to P2 has increased quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. However thinking even though the price if copper is reduced the consumption of copper by consumers may be the same, therefore, they will not demand more than what they consume at one point. Number of Buyers If there are many buyers of copper, copper demand may increase, which will also cause prices to increase. In this case, Codelco produces almost 1.6 million tons of copper per year to meet its demand. If in near future companies that use copper as their raw material comes up, the demand for copper will increase. Also, if the number of buyers drops the vice versa can happen which is the demand for copper may drop causing prices to subsequently dropping as well. If we look at the above two demand and supply diagrams, we could see that in (A) there is increased demand for copper from D1 to D2 this may be due to increased number of companies which use copper as their raw material, for e.g. the automobile industry which produces at large quantities may prefer to buy copper at large. This causes the price level to drop, which leads to higher quantity supplied. If we look at diagram (B), we could see that demand for copper has reduced, for e.g. if we consider the current economic recession, one of the major affected industries where supposed to be the automobile industry, as a result the production of vehicles were reduced to a certain extent, this causes the demand for copper to drop as well from D1 to D2. Prices increase and quantity supplied drops from Q1 to Q2. Expectations of Buyers What is the effect in the demand when consumers anticipate future changes in prices, incomes or other factors? If e.g. if we assume the government is going to impose a tax on copper which would raise prices to a higher level, it could lead to an increase in copper demand since they may want to get the benefit of buying it at a cheaper price before the tax was imposed. NOTE: This scenario affects demand if only the consumers are aware of FUTURE price increase in copper. If we consider the above diagram we could see that if in future consumers anticipate a price increase in copper as a result of a tax which is going to be imposed, this will tempt them to purchase copper at large quantity now, rather than later when copper prices are high. This results in increased demand which causes the demand curve to shift to the right and price increase from P1 to P2; this leads to an increased quantity demanded from Q1 to Q2. Prices of related goods If we look at the substitutes for copper, which is a good that competes with another good for consumer purchase, therefore there is a direct relationship between a price change for one good and the demand for its competitor good. Substitutes for copper include, aluminum, zinc etc. If incase the price of the substitutes shot up, the demand for copper may increase since consumers/companies may shift to purchasing copper, also there are circumstances where if prices of copper is too high they may lose it customers, causing demand for copper to drop. (A) (B) Four other factors which could affect the world market supply for copper are as follows; Weather Weather plays a huge part in market supply of copper. Bad weather that includes, heavy rain, hurricanes etc may make mining of copper not possible, as a result the supply of copper is reduced. During periods of heavy rain the supply of copper is often limited, whereas periods of great sunshine enables them to increase quantity of supply. If we look at the above diagram (A), the exact result of a bad weather is illustrated. As a result of bad weather, the supply of copper is reduced from S1 to S2, as a result the price increases from P1 to P2, which causes the quantity supplied to reduce from Q1 to Q2 If we move our attention to diagram B we could see that as a result of good weather the quantity of copper extracted is more which means that price drops from P1 to P2 and supply increases from S1 to S2 plus the quantity supplied also increases from Q1 to Q2. Technology Many state of the art technology has made mining of copper much more easier, comparing to paying wages for 5600 workers, purchasing machinery to get the work done is not only cheap but also the quantity of copper extracted could be more, which means there is increased supply If we look at the above diagram we could see that as a result of improved technology the extracted of copper could be increased, as a result the price of copper will be dropped from P1 to P2 thus increasing supply from S1 to S2 causing quantity supplied increase from Q1 to Q2 Price Exceptions If Codelco anticipates a substantial rise in future copper prices, this would cause them to decrease their current supply of copper, because they may want to gain the most of this benefit, where as if they anticipate future copper price to decrease they would want to produce more copper and sell it at a much higher price than the anticipated low price. If we look at the above diagram, if we consider (A) we could see that if Codelco anticipates the price of copper to increase in near future, supply is restricted or reduced from S1 to S2 causing the price level to increase from P1 to P2, as a result the quantity supplied drops from Q1 to Q2. If we look at diagram (B) if Codelco anticipates a price reduction in near future, they make want to accelerate the production copper, causing price to increase from P1 to P2 which makes the supply curve shift rightward from S1 to S2, this makes quantity supplied increase from Q1 to Q2 a swell. Economies of scale/Input Costs This is a situation in which average cost curve declines as the firm increases output. If so happens the demand curve will shift rightwards. There are circumstances where changes of diseconomies of scale could causing the completely opposite effect .According to the case Codelco company produces around 1.6 million tons of copper per year. Another factor that we could consider is the input prices, if input prices are low Codelco can experience economies of scale. The case study shows shoes evidence that workers at two mines, Chuicata and Mina Sur, demanded a 7.5% pay hike. This shows that the cost of production of copper is high. If incase cheap labour is found and cheap machinery, cost of input is less which makes Codelco supply more copper at cheap prices. Looking at the above two demand and supply diagram, considering (A), we could see that, if codelco experiences economies of scale which means their average cost declines as output increases, they will be able to produce more copper as lesser costs, also aspect which could add to lower costs is due to the fact of less input costs as a result this benefit can be passed onto the consumers as well through low prices which is from P1 to P2. Supply is increased from S1 to S2, causing quantity supplied to increase from Q1 to Q2. Moving our attention to diagram (B) we could see that if Codelco has high input costs, this may make extraction of copper expensive, since they cant bare all the entire costs, they may wish to pass on some of it to the consumers through high costs, as a result supply is reduced from S1 to S2, causing quantity supplied to reduce from Q1 to Q2

Critical Review of Undaunted Courage Essay -- essays research papers

Critical Review of Undaunted Courage Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage is a remarkable piece of nonfiction literature. His work is so thorough that one wonders how he has time to do much more. Yet he has created time in his life to go west and go camping and hiking and canoeing in the summers with his family. Which possibly shows that anything can be raw material to the open mind, for it was on those trips that he developed a great fascination with the Lewis and Clark expedition that explored the West when the country was twenty-five years old. Ambrose creates a precise and true story of the expedition in witch most readers would be enthralled. His style is smooth, readable and enjoyable, unlike many historical nonfiction of the day. Undaunted courage has succeeded and conveying the meaning of the book and the significance of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. Ambrose’s attraction to the west resulted in Undaunted Courage, a splendidly thorough, exciting description of a happening that has achieved infamous status. Very much like the expedition itself, the book is slow in the beginning, being worried with topics like family sayings and "begats" but after 40 to 50 pages o it takes off. The expedition started chiefly through the labors of President Thomas Jefferson. Amongst his chief objectives were to find an all-water route to the Pacific and to keep the West from seceding away under Aaron Burr. Being Jefferson, there was also the pure intellectual joy of discovery...

Divorce and the Decline of Morality Essay -- Giving up on Marriage

As America's divorce rate continues to skyrocket, it seems that morality continues to plummet. Approximately sixty-five percent of all marriages in America end in divorce, and this number does not seem to be declining any time soon. Are we creating a new generation "Y" of single parents? Is a broken home the wave of the future? If Americans don't get a grip on morality, this will surely be the case. It is not possible to pinpoint exactly why America's divorce rate is so high, much higher than that of previous decades. There are so many issues today that contribute to divorce than had existed in the past. Take teen pregnancy, for instance. It is alarming that so many of our children are having children themselves. They feel they must get married at fifteen and sixteen because it is what's right for the baby. Needless to say, most teen marriages under these circumstances usually end in divorce. What kind of life is this for a child? What kind of values will they learn from their parents example? According to Stuart Shepard, staff writer for Focus on the Family, "divorce tears down our moral and social responsibility to our children. They see marriages as if things don't work out, you can just leave and not work it out" (Shepard np). Adult children of divorced families are three times more likely to get divorced than adult children raised with both parents in the home (Markman 128). This negative pattern of divorce is one that could go on for generations if Americans are not willing to slow down their rate of divorce. Another contributing factor is the fact that divorce is much more accepted by society as a whole. Even though a lot of American... ...hildren." 1997, November 20. 2000, June 25. Markman, H.J. and S. Stanley. Fighting for Your Marriage: Positive Steps For A Loving and Lasting Relationship. San Francisco: Josey Bass, Inc, 1994. Shepard, S. "Study Examined Effects of Divorce". Focus on Family 2000, June 5: np. Stanley, S. Marriage in the 90's: A Nationwide Random Phone Survey. Denver, Colorado: PREP, Inc. 1997. Treas, J. and D. Giesen "Sexual Infidelity Among Married and Cohabiting Americans". Journal of Marriage and the Family Vol 62 (2000) : 48-60. U.S. Bureau of the Census. "Marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the 1990's." Washington, D.C.: Us. Government Printing Office, 1998. Zachary, G.P. "America: Straight-Laced Public Yawns at Scandal". The Wall Street Journal 1998, Feb 9: section B, p.1

12 Hours Without Technology Essay

Those who identify themselves as technological determinists believe we as humans have remarkably little control over technology and the effect it has on the world. Just two months ago, I passionately denied this point of view and identified myself as a social constructivist. Perhaps it is the idea of not being in complete control of my decisions that I did not want to accept. However, after completing the challenge of going twelve hours without technology, I quickly learned that my thoughts on technological determinism were not in line with my experiences. The fact is technology has become an integral part of day-to-day life. Truly understanding the effects and dare I say, control, that technology has on life, twelve hours without it will certainly enlighten each one of us. In the following pages, I will attempt to describe the challenges of my day without technology. Furthermore, I will attempt to interpret how my experiences relate to my relationship with technology and society. Ultimately, my purpose is to identify events which support or defy the view of technological determinism and understand the driving factors behind them. See more:  First Poem for You Essay With a career that heavily relies on technology, I reasonably challenged myself to refrain from using technology on a Sunday. What I learned was quite surprising and honestly, quite stressful. First, to appreciate the challenges I endured on this Sunday, it is crucial to know a little bit about my professional background. As a licensed mortgage loan originator, I have a fiduciary duty to all of my clients that are purchasing a home. While my career requires a large set of professional requirements, the most valuable aspect to being successful is to be available nearly 24 hours a day every day of the week. Going into this project, I knew that refraining from using technology, specifically my phone and the computer, would prove to be challenging but at the same time I figured everyone deserves a day off every now and then†¦I soon learned that this would come with a cost. My Sunday morning started off much the same as any other. I woke up early to tend to my e-mails that had made their way to my inbox from potential homeowners throughout the evening. Responsibly, I made sure to reply to every e-mail, voicemail and, text message prior to 9:00AM. Completely disconnecting from the internet and shutting down my phone was just as nerve racking as I had anticipated it to be. Knowing that this day would be a challenge for me, I had previously arranged a few things to do to keep my mind and attention away from my business. Depending on how one would define technology, someone could argue that I instantly failed to avoid the use of technology within just an hour of starting my project. My wife and I left the house in the technological wonder of a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid around 9:30AM to attend regular church services. I recognized right away that avoiding technology entirely for twelve hours would be impossible for me to accomplish. Instead, I switched my focus to avoiding my phone, internet or computer use for the remainder of the day. My wife and I proceeded to attend church and then went to lunch. When we returned home, I decided to take each of the three dogs for a run. Normally, I opt to take one of them each day on a rotation, but it was a beautiful day and the small blinking light on my phone begging me to check my text messages, e-mails and voicemails were not within reach. This was my first insight into a day without technology. Almost immediately I was able to find more time to do things that are more valuable to me. While I was enjoying the extra time with my beloved pets, I also recognized that as the day progressed, I was growing more and more anxious from not being able to use my phone. Little did I know that by the time I had finished taking the last four-legged child for a run, I was not the only anxious person affected by vacation from technology. There was a storm brewing that would hinder my goal. When I returned home, my wife frantically met me at the door with her phone in hand. My managing sales supervisor had called her because he had received a few phone calls from upset potential clients. Notably, this was just five hours into my twelve hour challenge on a Sunday afternoon. Reluctantly, I took the phone from my wife and proceeded to field the onslaught of exploratory questions as to my whereabouts and reasoning for not answering my phone or promptly replying to my e-mails. It is crucial to remember that I’m essentially self-employed, so I had no obligation to answer to a supervisor for an issue such as this but the fact that I had chosen not to use an ordinary technology such as my phone, I found myself in an awkward and rather challenging position. After taking some time to put out some proverbial fires with my sales manager and a few clients, I put my phone down and resumed my challenge of avoiding technology. Before doing so, I noticed that I had received several text messages throughout the day from friends and family. Reflecting upon the nature of the texts as I read through them, I noticed one general recurring theme. Many of the initial text conversations had begun with an unassuming â€Å"hello† and â€Å"how are you. † Just five or six hours after not receiving a response from me, many of the one-sided conversations had progressed to worry about my safety. At this point, I dismissed the idea that I had control when it came to technology. As I reflected on these events, I could not help but be reminded of Neil Postman. We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we may use technology rather than be used by it (Postman, 1998, p. 6). Suddenly, I realized that I have been interacting with technological development in a way where technology was using me more than I was using it. By definition, social constructivism â€Å"presumes that social and cultural forces determine technical change† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 143). On the flip side, technological determinism â€Å"is the claim that the introduction of new technologies produces direct and unalterable social changes† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 93). I acknowledge that refraining from technological use for twelve hours was an extremely small scale task in terms of the technology available at hand. Despite that, it was surprising how disturbed my friends, family, co-workers and clients alike had become by my avoidance of a phone. â€Å"Technological change creates winners and losers† (Harris, 2012). These disturbances certainly support this idea, and I would argue that this is at the foundation of the technological determinism theory. The introduction of the smartphone into my personal and professional life has set an expectation which has had a direct and unalterable affect. While this reliance on the phone may put me on the loser side of this equation, my clients are certainly on the winning side. My choice of career has brought new technology into my life that may have not been necessary with different decisions on my part. In closing, I should repeat that the main point of this paper and this experiment was to describe the challenges of a day without technology while interpreting my experiences in terms of the relationship between technology and society at a personal level. My experience with this project may have been more extreme than others given the expectations of my profession. However, by the end of my unsuccessful day without technology, it was clear that the technologies I have brought into my own life on a personal and professional level unmistakably dictates how I interact with the world and more importantly, how the outside world expects me to interact with it.

Education Insurance Awareness Essay

An Overview In 1965, Yarri proposed the use of life insurance to insure against lifetime uncertainty resulting for the mortality risk of individuals. Premature death of a family head can bring serious financial consequences for the surviving family members because the family head’s earnings are lost forever leaving unfulfilled financial obligations, such as dependents to support, children to educate, and a mortgage to repay. Life insurance allows individuals and families to share the risk of premature death with many others and to alleviate the financial loss from the premature death of the rimary wage earner (Garman & Forgue, 2006). The purchase of life insurance is one of the most important purchasing decisions for individuals and families (Anderson & Nevin, 1975) and it is a critical component of a long-term financial plan (Devaney & Keaton, 1994). 2). Introduction to Child Education Insurance Policy A child education policy is a life insurance product specially designed as a savings tool to provide an amount of money when a child reaches the age for entry into college normally 18 years old and above. The funds can be utilised to partly meet a child’s higher education expenses. Also, if purchaser opts for a payor benefit rider, an education policy provides the assurance that, in the event of an untimely demise of the parents or legal guardian, the child will have access to funds to help finance his or her education expenses. Under a child education policy, the child is the life assured, while the parent or legal guardian is the policy owner. 3). Types of child education policies available in life insurance market. There are two main types, i. . an endowment or investment-linked policy. The difference between the two lies in the structure as well as the nature of investments. 3. 1) Endowment policy is an endowment policy combines a savings component with protection coverage. Endowment policy may be either participating or non-participating. As the name implies, non-participating policy do not participate in the life insurance fund’s profits but all insurance benefits are fully guaranteed. On the other hand, for participating policy, a portion of insurance benefits are guaranteed. However, the ultimate amount of benefits at maturity is not guaranteed as these depend on the performance of the insurance company’s participating life insurance fund. 3. 2) Investment-linked policy is an investment-linked policy combines the elements of investment and protection based on your requirement as the policy owner. It offers flexibility as you are able to increase or top-up your monthly premium contribution as your income improves. If you wish to be more aggressive with the instruments of investment, an investment-linked policy will also allow you to choose the types of funds your money will be invested in. However, like any other similar investment, there are higher risks involved and there are no guarantees on the returns, which may be higher or lower than projected. 4). Research Background An increasing trend of education expenses to enter college or university nowadays, a lot of parents using financial sources such as Employee Providence Fund or rely on borrowing from Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara to afford the study expenses of their son after leaving secondary school for a higher level of study. As an alternative source of financial protection against high education expenses, parents can purchase an education insurance starting from their children young age. Compare with withdrawal of lump sum of money from EPF (Employee Providence Fund) or make borrowing from PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara), a parents just need to pay for a small amount of premium and parents as a payer can be covered by insurance in case death or total permanent disablement occurred by paying for an extra insurance rider in the particular education insurance policy. Therefore, this research carried out to examine the level of awareness among parents in Sibu Region towards education insurance provide by insurance companies in Malaysia. This thesis aims to examine both the type and amount of life insurance purchased by households. To this end, comprehensive models of households’ demand for life insurance were developed, which included demographic variables (age, education, employment status, health status, number of children, marital status, and race), economic and assets variables (income, homeownership, debts, as well as portfolio elements such as liquid assets, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, individual retirement accounts, annuities, other miscellaneous financial assets, and nonfinancial assets), and psychographic variables (attitude toward risk, attitude toward leaving a bequest, and one’s expected life expectancy). The effects of these factors on either term or cash value life insurance purchased by households were examined separately. Research Objective General objective To examine the parent’s awareness towards education insurance. Specific Objective 1). To investigate whether parents had purchase education insurance or not for their children at their young age. 2). To identify from which channel of information that made parents aware of education insurance. 3). To identify whether insurance industry playing an effective role in promoting education insurance in life insurance market. ). To examine parents interest towards education insurance products administered by insurance company in insurance market. 5). The main purpose of this study is to examine whether demographic factors influence the purchase of education insurance among parents in Sibu Region. Research question 1). Do you know there is education insurance product in insurance market? 2). Had you purchased any education insur ance from any insurance company for your children? 3). Had any insurance agent approach or introduce and give explanation to you regarding education insurance? 4). Are you willing to purchase any education insurance for your children? 5). what type sources of information you needed to enhance the knowledge regarding education insurance? Problem statement Financing child’s education is one of the major investments that any wise parent is prepared to undertake. A sound university education is not only among the basic requirements to establish a good career; it can also form the foundation of your child’s intellectual maturity for life. We all start learning since birth and the brief period of academic education in our lives represents another landmark in a life-long learning process. But given the high cost of education and the competition to enter well-known universities, it is necessary to have an investment plan to fund our children’s brief sting of three to four years in university. With the limited places available in local universities, many Malaysian students have wisely invested in university education abroad. Faced with the rising costs of overseas university education, how can parents save and invest to finance the tuition fees, let alone the living costs. The depegging of the ringgit from the U. S. dollar last year is a welcome move for many Malaysian parents because under the flexible exchange rate system, the ringgit is likely to appreciate over the long term. This will help Malaysians reduce the cost of overseas education in popular countries such as the U. K. , U. S. and Australia (Charles Goh, www. fimm. com. my/pdf/investor/articles/09). One of the biggest worries for parents nowadays is how to fund their children’s education, which does not come cheap. In addition, as with everything else, education expenses, is it in foreign and local colleges/universities, private primary and secondary schools are expected to trend upwards in future (Elaine Ang, http://thestar. com. my/ September 18, 2010). The trend is upwards as far as education costs are concerned. In predicting the future, we can only use assumptions such as cost and inflation factors in child education planning. The general increase for local studies is about 3% per year and foreign about 5% and this applies to a general business degree of three years (Mike Lee, CTLA Financial Planners Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). An average increase of between 5% to 7% annually in education costs for studies locally and in countries such as Britain, United States, Australia, Canada and Singapore excluding foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Moreover, there are certain years where the increase can be in a lump sum instead of percentage depending on the circumstances. (Matthew Gan, E. T. Education Services Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Some of the common mistakes parents make when saving for their child’s education fund are starting too late, saving without investing and not considering foreign exchange fluctuations for those who aim to send their children overseas. It is important to determine what the education costs are in current value and identify a suitable savings and investment vehicle. Some parents don’t even have a clue how much education costs (Yap Ming Hui, Whitman Independent Advisors Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Save and invest your money as early as possible. Let your money grow with your child, school fees for primary and secondary education range from RM15,000 to RM17,000 per annum with an average 10% increase in fees every two years (Rina Thiagu-Kler, Marketing manager Sri KDU, 2010). Because of less study and difficulties to obtain data regarding education insurance demand in Sibu Region. A brief interview conducted with Mr. Ten Kim Loong, Unit Manager of Kumpulan Elite Ten from Etiqa insurance agency on 2nd December 2011 where he indicated that most of the insurance product demanded by household within Sibu region is medical card and personal accident policy, it is because the premium affordable by policyholder, moreover among the clients approached did not know what policy to purchase and how much sum insured should be enough for protection need†. A discussion session also conducted with Mohamad Faizuli Bin Abd Karim, a financial planner from Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd reveal that among the prospects that approached by him saying that they are not interested in any of insurance products and they worried the premium payment can become an extra expenses as per we noticed the living standard and price of basic necessity good are very high nowadays. The Breakdown of Schooling Expenditure As shown in Table 2, the average cost of schooling overall was found to be RM1,782 per student per year. The cost in rural areas which averaged RM1,590 was about 22 per cent lower than urban areas.