Access to Higher Education Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Access to Higher Education - Article Example In other words, the report underscores the important role played by the private sector in attainment of the Australian’s government to improve access to higher education. The government has set targets to drastically increase the number individuals with at least bachelor level credentials. For example, the government aims to increase the number of adults with a university degree to 40 percent by the year 2025. This calls for an increase from 32 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2015 (Access Economics, 2010:6). Under previous targets, the attainment rate was expected to be 34 percent. The report points out that skilled migration is expected to give rise to over 240, 000 graduates and this mounts pressure on the government to train more graduates (Access Economics). The Australian government invests heavily in bachelor education. For instance, the government spent $ 8 407 095 000 towards bachelor level education in 2009 (Access Economics, 2010:7). However, this funding is directed towards public universities. Private universities on the other hand do not receive constant funding from the government and largely rely on fee revenue (Access Economics, 2010: 3).... e it plays to help the government achieve the set targets with regards to increase the number of individuals with higher education qualifications to match the labour market requirements. Birrell, B. & Edwards, D. (2009) The Bradley review and access to higher education in Australia, viewed 28 Jul 2013 from . The Bradley Review has recommended expansion of domestic level training universities in a move to increase competence in the job market. This report is an important milestone in the higher education arena. It recommends for a considerable increase in the number of adult students pursuing higher education from 29 percent to 40 percent by the year 2020 (Birrell and Edwards, 2009:7). It can be noted that domestic higher education was overlooked at the end of the 20th century had negative effects on the young generation. The recent times have presented numerous job opportunities requiring minimum university qualifications. Conversely, the growth of domestic undergraduate course compl etion has been minimal. The review asserts that demand for Vocational Education Training (VET) has decreased considerably owing to the changing trend in the economy where employers tend to favour those with higher education qualifications. In order for the government to achieve the 40 percent target enrolment rate in 2020, participate rate and demographic factors must be taken into account (Birrell and Edwards, 2009:4). If there is an increase in population, there will be a corresponding increase in the university enrolment rate. The participation rate is dependent on the number of young people who are attending universities. Recent censuses have revealed that the rate of young people attending college was

A Role Of A Citizen Of Earth Essay Example for Free

A Role Of A Citizen Of Earth Essay â€Å"Let peace there be peace on earth and let it began with me†. Once there was an old man by he saw a lady picking up starfish and gently throwing it into the sea he asked â€Å"young lady why are you throwing starfish into sea?† she answered â€Å"the sun is up if I don’t throw them they will die† he asked† but lady don’t you realize that there are many miles of beach and thousands of star fish you cannot probably make a difference† The young lady bent down and threw another fish in sea then se politely said â€Å"It made a difference for that one†. Actually what is citizen? A citizen is one whose behavior is consistent with the canons of self-respect and social justice. So in today’s world does our behavior prove as the definition of citizen? No no-one can prove because a good citizen has genuine and love for his home land. Earth is our homeland but we are not genuine to it. There are many human activities which has harmed our mother earth. First human activity that damages the earth is deforestation. It destroys huge area environment and our planet.

Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India Tourism Essay

Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India Tourism Essay CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction to Travel and Tourism Tourism is travel for leisure, recreational and business purpose. Tourists can be defined as people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual surroundings for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes by the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is a known affair in human life. It has been an industry of vast dimensions and eventually supports economic and social growth. Tourism worldwide has experienced phenomenal growth. With more than 600 million people travelling annually, tourism is the worlds largest industry, with revenues of about half a trillion dollars a year, and averaging five percent annual growth. India, being a vast and diverse country has always something to offer, and its glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage are linked with the development of tourism. Its magnificent monuments attract large numbers of visitors from all over the world. Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 5.68% of the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 13.72 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 650 million domestic tourist visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$ 100 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to US$ 275.5 billion 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. Booming IT industry and outsourcing industry has led to growing number of business trips made by foreigners to India, who often add a weekend break or longer holiday to their trip. Foreign tourist spends more in India than almost any other country worldwide. Tourist arrivals are projected to increase by over 22% per year through till 2010. Tourism minister has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the Incredible India campaign, which promoted Indias culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and memorable way. This campaign helped create a colourful image of India in the minds of tourists all over the world and directly led to an increase in the interest among tourists. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicraft, agriculture, construction and even poultry. Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. Almost 20 million people are now working in the Indias tourism industry. Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. One of the major reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the overall economy and high growth in sectors like information technology, telecom, retail and real estate. Rising stock market and new business opportunities are also attracting hordes of foreign investors and international corporate travellers to look for business opportunities in the country. The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. The industry has a capacity of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at the current rate, the demand will soar to 10 million by 2010 to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. The hotels of India have a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India. With tremendous pull of opportunity, India has become a destination for hotel chains looking for growth. Due to such a huge potential available in this segment, several global hotel chains like the Hilton, Accor, Marriott International, Berggruen Hotels, Cabana Hotels, Premier Travel Inn (PTI), InterContinental Hotels group and Hampshire among others have all announced major investment plans for the country. The Governments move to declare hotel and tourism industry as a high priority sector with a provision for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) has also provided a further impetus in attracting investments in to this industry. It is estimated that the hospitality sector is likely to see US$ 11.41 billion rise in the next two years, with around 40 international hotel brands making their presence known in the country by 2011. Simultaneously, international hotel asset management companies are also likely to enter India. Already, US-based HVS International has firmed up plans to enter India, and industry players believe others like Ashford Hospitality Trust and IFA Hotels Resorts among others are likely to follow suit. Niche Tourism The concept of niche tourism has emerged in recent years in counter-point to what is commonly referred as mass tourism. In a globalising world of increasing sameness, niche tourism represents diversity and ways of making difference. It plays on the pejorative connections that have accompanied the evolution of mass and package tourism and their, often cited, negative impacts in relation to environmental degradation and socio-cultural disturbance. For destination managers and planners seeking to utilise tourism as a mechanism for economic development, the niche tourism approach appears to often greater opportunities and a tourism that is more sustainable, less damaging and more capable of delivering high spending tourists. The term niche tourism is largely borrowed from the term niche marketing, which in turn has appropriated the niche concept from the language of the relatively recent discipline of ecology. Tourists, as consumers have developed increasing levels of expertise and experience of being tourists. Whilst this developmental pattern of tourists may not always be linear or simplistic. Figure 2: Niche Tourism Components Types of Niche Tourisms Niche tourism has broadly been divided into following components: Cultural Tourism: Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or regions culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religions, and other elements that helped shape their way of life. Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. It can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle. Environmental Tourism: Environmental tourism, ecotourism, or nature tourism provides an opportunity to visit undisturbed natural areas, scenic vistas, and observe plants and wildlife. Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and often small scale as an alternative to mass tourism. Its purpose is to educate the traveller and provide funds for ecological conservation, directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities and foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Generally, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and environmental responsibility. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. Responsibl e ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Rural Tourism: Any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Rural tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the rural areas. The term rural tourism was adopted by the European Community to refer to all tourism activities in rural areas or as an economic activity, which depends on and exploits the countryside. Figure 1: Rural Tourism Approach Forms of Rural Tourism Agritourism: Agritourism or farm tourism refers to an organization working on farm or agricultural plant made for entertainment of tourists or visitors, thereby generating income for farm owners. This may help the farmers to interact with the visitors, thereby benefiting the visitors to enrich their knowledge regarding agritourism. Sports Tourism: It involves tourists to participate or observe rural sports. It teaches the local rural people how to get scope/chance in international game and to compete with opponents. It enables the people of different cultural background to mix with other people and exchange cultural activities between the parties and thereby they are culturally rich. Pro-Poor Tourism: Pro Poor tourism is set up in developing countries as a means to improve the local economy for local people. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that poverty is reduced and poor people are able to participate more effectively in tourism development. The aims of pro-poor ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process. Introduction to Rural Tourism in India Majority of India is among the rural category with the sanctity and subtleness intact in the very essence of the village soil. This pious environment of the rural India attracts lot of interest among the tourists in India and thus rural tourism is a fast emerging category. A national tourism policy was introduced in 2002, with rural tourism identified as a focus area to generate employment and promote sustainable livelihoods. The government in its 10th five year plan has focused on the subject of rural tourism. With a rich diversity in culture, heritage, food, crafts, and tradition, India has immense potential and opportunity. It has identified certain areas across the country, which can immediately be developed as the rural destinations. The government partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for an Endogenous Tourism Project. Some 30 rural sites were selected in 20 states to develop as destinations for rural tourists. The UNDP pumped in an initial US$2.5 million. Those proposals that were selected by the government were entitled to assistance up to US$100,000. Divining Forces in Rural Tourism Industry stakeholders define the rural tourism experience by what they offer as product. But they are simply responding to what they perceive as an increasing demand for experience of rural communities, and interpreting it via their own world views. This demand is driven by a range of forces that combine to create tourist interest in rural experiences. These forces have been identified by many authors and can be summarised as: Tourist generating regions for rural tourism are highly developed and urbanised. The stresses of urban living and the remoteness from the natural environment has created a desire for escape from the monoculture of city living. Baby boomers are driven to tourism experiences that yield increased self-awareness in their drive for longed for perfection that compensates for lives destabilised by uncertainty and insecurity (Mackay, 1997) Demand fuelled by media, over-familiarity and congestion with traditional tourist resorts and increased interest in alternative attractions with its voracious appetite for content and the resultant over exposure of many traditional tourist destinations. Increasing environmental awareness and interest in the relationship between humans and the environment. Green issues have raised the attractiveness of rural experiences as ecologically sustainable tourism. Transport, communication, and the removal of political and economic barriers to travel have facilitated accessibility of rural areas. Increase in number of free independent travellers due to the increased capacity, especially in long-haul transport modes. When combined with increasing discretionary incomes, greater awareness of the range experiences on offer, the accessibility and attractiveness of rural destinations has been dramatically improved. Changing work patterns have increased the popularity of shorter breaks that minimise the absence from work and the effect of absences on work flow and involvement. An increased interest in heritage can be satisfied through rural tourism as rural areas are often the repositories of remnant heritage. Rural areas are perceived as healthier, offering fresher air, cleaner water and the opportunity for outdoor recreation. Rural areas offer fresh and speciality food. (Bartmann and Baum, 1998) Issues with Rural Tourism The lack of statistical base: It is difficult to establish volume and value of rural tourism as a specific market sector in nations, even harder on an international scale. Many countries have different definitions of rural and will therefore collect different data. Data on rural tourism are not easily obtainable. Rural communities: These tend to be non-uniform for example remove versus accessible rural areas contain very different types of settlement, employment opportunities, socio-demographic characteristics. Different community structures with diverse responses to tourism exist. Tourism development strategies may not benefit all rural areas: Where there is an inadequate supply of attractions or accommodation, tourism may not flourish. However marketing strategies must be good to attract tourists. Likewise, development of tourism provision by local people may not be feasible in a depressed rural economy. Impact of Rural Tourism The aim of tourism development in rural areas is, in general terms, to provide opportunities for economic and social development. In some areas, tourism provides the main source of income and employment, as well as providing social and economic benefits. Inevitably, negative aspects of rural tourism are evident as well. (Gannon 1994) IMPACT POSITIVE IMPACT NEGATIVE IMPACT Economic Assists viability of existing tourism and non-tourism business. Encourages dependence on industry prone to uncontrollable change Creates new employment Creates part time, seasonal employment Attracts inward investment Incurs development costs and public service cost Socio-cultural Assists in viability of local service Creates feeling of invasion by tourists Creates sense of pride Increases crime Revitalises local culture, traditions, events and crafts Reduction in local services Environmental Leads in environmental improvements in settlements Increases wear and tear on landscape features Provides income for conservation of buildings and natural environment Creates need for new developments which may not be in keeping with local area. Fosters awareness of conservation as worthwhile activity Increases pollution and affects local biodiversity Table 1: Positive and negative impacts of rural tourism Niche Market: A Place in Rural Tourism If the importance of the products one buys lies largely in their potential as social markers, tourism marketers must focus both on tourisms social signification and on meanings attached to spaces in which these occur. Explanations of tourism consumption cannot be derived in isolation from the social relations in which they are embedded. New users of the countryside are redefining what constitutes rurality, and there is a need to take postmodernism and the construction of the rural much more seriously. Contemporary social construction often transcends the countrysides tangible characteristics and qualities of open space or fresh air by representing it as the setting for the achievement of a range of personal goals. The need for a wider sociological approach to tourism studies has been emphasised by Sharpley, who argues for the recognition of broader social and cultural influences that shape consumer behaviour as a whole and influence consumption patterns. In the interests of the rural environment, therefore, and of the small businesses trying to meet the needs of emerging markets, it is necessary to look beyond classical marketing theory to gain a useful understanding of rural tourism consumption and to evaluate the existence of niches for marketing purposes. The increasing need for analysts to focus on consumption as an improved means of understanding contemporary forms of rural tourism demand requires a dynamic framework within which the analysis can be conducted. A continuum to measure the relative importance of the countryside to the consumption of tourism in rural areas is proposed to indicate the importance of the countryside to the purpose of the trip and to tourist satisfaction. The significance of the model lies in its recognition of the primacy of neither tourism nor tourist types but the ways in which the countryside is consumed as a recreational resource. Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Tourism The major problem in rural areas is that there is not much scope for working. Most of the People are engaged in agricultural activities, some of them in forestry and others are artisans. Villages are struggling with large families with one or two earning members in the family and high consumption expenditure. Due to less scope in villages most of them started migrating to cities. There are 638,691 villages in India as per the Census Report 2001 and the rural population is 741,660,293 with average population of 1,161 per village. Many of these rural communities have the potential have the potential resources, ability to attract the growing tourism industry. The scenic beauty, historical importance may appeal the urbanites, caught up in todays fast pace of lifestyle. Challenges in Rural Tourism The major challenges are the need to preserve the environment and natural resources and the need for proper education. Legislation Problems Respondents have pointed out that there can be legal problems. Tourism is a part of entertainment industry. All hotels, motels and cottages having license pay taxes to government. Rural tourism should have a tax holiday or it should be tax free. The government should encourage rural tourism to grow. Lack Of Trained Man Power The ruler people require to be trained for discharging their duties, decorating the cottages and maintaining them, serving food to the visitors and to understand the taste of the costumers, either the local cuisine or different type of Indian cuisine. The success of rural tourism totally depends on the quality of service provided to the tourists. To develop the manpower government has to take initiative to open various short training courses for imparting knowledge and skills. Insufficient Financial Support To start rural tourism, sufficient fund is required to promote it in introductory phase. Rural tourism is still uncommon to many tourists. This is because the government has just started promoting rural tourism. Central and state government should encourage rural tourism by providing financial support to start the project. As it will create employment in rural areas and will help the inflow of funds from rural areas to urban areas. Lack of Local Involvement Since rural people do not have knowledge and skills to involve hem in different activities. They may get the job of unskilled workers. The rural people need to develop the knowledge and skills to have a higher involvement in rural tourism. The basic concept behind the rural tourism is the participation of rural people. But in practice local people are seldom involved in decision making, planning and implementing policies. Most of rural people do not have much knowledge of tourism, and are misled by outside investors who hope to take most of the economic benefits from rural area. Language Problem There are 16 recognized languages and 850 dialects in India. Although Hindi is an official language, in many parts of India people do not understand it. The rural people have to upgrade themselves to communicate with the urbanites. The villagers not only have to educate themselves but they have to understand hindi to interact with the Indian costumers and English to communicate with the foreign costumers. Opportunities in Rural Tourism The tourists look for quality environment and meaningful experience. Marketing of rural is a specialist job. For rural tourism, rural people have to surrender themselves to professional marketers who understand the complexity of their task. The business depends on the development of networks, creation of trust and loyalty and information system, all of which takes money and time to develop, which is beyond the resources of most individual. Tourists have become more educated, more aware of facilities available and more experienced, their expectation has also increased. People are interested in exploring new places. Rural tourism in India has great future, since it not only provides natural elements of beauty but also the indigenous local traditions, customs and foods. Direct experience with local people can be a unique selling proposition to attract tourists. Every state in India has unique handicraft, traditions and foods. The rural tourism not go for mass marketing, rather different strategies should be under taken for different segment to make it successful. Introduction To Laksh Farms, Mangar Village Situated in Village Mangar, off the Gurgaon-Faridabad Highway, Laksh Farms is just a 30 minutes drive from Chattarpur Mandir, Surajkund, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Spread over 15 acres, Laksh is located in a picturesque valley nestled in the Aravalli Hills, on the once-famous Dhauj Jheel. A unique example of the restoration of a degraded ecosystem, it offers a fulfilling experience in rural eco-tourism. With more than a few thousand indigenous and ornamental fruit trees and shrubs, Laksh is a naturalists delight, propagating organic farming using vermi-compost and bio waste. For animal lovers there are dogs, dairy cattle, goats, ducks, and geese, as well as an abundance of peacocks and deer throughout the area and also in the sacred forest around the Gudariya Baba Shrine. All in all, Laksh offers a magnificent rural experience with activities such as rock climbing, camping, organic farming, trekking, and nature walks, bird watching and cycling in the ancient and awe-inspiring Aravallis Khandavprastha of the Mahabharata.

Juan Gris :: essays research papers

Juan Gris was born in 1887. He was a Spanish born French painter who went to the cubist school. Originally his name was Jose Vittoriano Gonzalez, he was born in Madrid and educated there. He left Madrid in 1906 and went to Paris, making the acquaintance of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and of the French painter Georges Braque. Gris's first cubist paintings, generally more calculated than those of Picasso and Braque, appeared in 1912. He spent the next summer in Cà ©ret, France, with Picasso, and while there adopted the use of papier collà ©, shapes cut from paper and glued to the canvas. During World War I (1914-1918) he worked in Paris he had his first one-man exhibition in Paris in 1919. From 1922 to 1924 he designed settings for two ballets of the Russian producer Sergey Diaghilev, Les tentations de la bergà ¨re (The Temptations of the Shepherdess) and La colombe (The Dove), as well as continuing work on his own paintings. After 1925 he worked mainly on gouaches, watercolors, and illustrations for books. Some of his famous works include Portait of Josee, The Table and The Open window.Portrait of Josette was created in 1916 and is now in the Musea del in Prado, Madrid. This was deffinetly one of Gris's greatest achievements. The portrait of Josette is based on his studies after Corot and Cezanne. To perfection he seemed to create a stunning mixture of the foreground and the background. This beauty is accomplished through color patterns that ensemble different spatial planes. The blacks which are used around the bosom, butox and leg are used to enhance this women's shapely figure. The transparency does not result in an illusion of depth instead it acts as something to join the planes together. The table was created in Spring of 1914. Today it is located in Philadelphia in the Museum of Art. The surfaces of collages such as The Table are nearly entirely covered with a wide variety of overlapping papers. These fragments, moreover, are now deployed in increasingly complex ways: the shape of a piece of paper may correspond to the shape of the depicted object or it may itself provide a ground for figuration, whether drawn, painted, or in the form of additional, superimposed collage elements. And Gris continued to appropriate materials for their literal representational function as mere images, as he had in his earliest collages.

Unemployment and Zara

Value Creation in the Global Apparel Industry Case Analysis #3 By Deborah Bennett Julie Bryan Wynette Gayle Vivian Pankey Neisha Vitello Executive Summary Zara is the flagship fashion retail company under the parent corporation Inditex. First opened in Spain, Zara currently has a network of 1,292 stores spread across 72 countries. The infrastructure Zara has built is a core competency. Their innovations to bring new fashion designs to market faster than competitors differentiates Zara from their rivals.Managers believe the allure of Zara is the freshness of its offerings, the creation of a sense of exclusiveness, an attractive in-store ambience, and positive word of mouth (Daniels, Radenbaugh, Sullivan, 2011). The strategic innovations in design, production, logistics, distribution, and retailing activities have made Zara a global leader that is now moving into the United States. This paper will examine five of the external influences that will shape the response and ultimately the s uccess Zara will have adapting to the physical, social and competitive factors in the United States clothing retail industry.The external influences examined will be; competitive dynamics, economic conditions, technology standards and trends, cultural orientation, and customer expectations. Zara continues expansion in the Untied States, currently with 49 stores coast to coast. Their differentiation strategy has been successful (Maiellaro, 2010). Zara’s strategy and business design leave rivals with less time to figure out how to better configure and coordinate operations. As U. S. competitors attempt to follow Zara’s lead, Zara continues to set the pace and increase the distance between them and the competition.Issue Identification Zara came to the United States, first in New York City in 1989. With more than ten years in the states and 49 locations Zara is making their mark in the fashion industry. With the external influences impacting Zara’s management vision , strategy, value creation and firm performance, how does Zara continue to create value with their differentiation strategy in the U. S. fashion market? External Influence #1: Competitive Dynamics Zara has taken the industry standard of a six-month time frame to create and produce new clothing lines to only two weeks (Daniels, et al 2011).Breaking the industry standard in getting fashion to the public is the competitive advantage Zara is best known for. Zara’s other strength’s include logistics, marketing, store operations and firm infrastructure. Zara spends less than 1 percent of its revenue on advertising (Daniels, et al 2011). Zara is dependent on word of mouth advertising from its shoppers who tend to be loyal to the brand. Marketing is another key advantage Zara has over the competition, which can spend up to 3 to 4 percent of their revenue on advertising.External Influence #2: Economic Conditions Current Economic Conditions in the U. S. appear to show that it is in a â€Å"disappointingly sluggish† (June 2010) recovery. While the U. S. does not appear to be in the downward trend that everyone was concerned with in, growth will remain stagnant or slow. Consumer confidence appears to be at the highest level in two years (Dennis, 2010), but the unemployment rate does not fall below 9 percent (Isidore, 2010) for the next year, and it is unknown if we will ever see the unemployment rate low of 4. percent in 2007 (Isidore, 2010). The good news is that inflation does not appear to be an issue, as it remains steady for the next three years (Isidore, 2010). The economic conditions in the United States for Zara’s do not appear to be at the best point for rapid growth, although with Zara’s unique way of doing business growth is possible. The economic slowdown, high unemployment, and other economic factors pointing in the wrong direction, Zara’s growth in the U. S. Market will need to be carefully monitored. External Influe nce #3: Technology Standards and TrendsA cultural aspect of the American Shopper is her expectation of value or reasonableness. This direction is in line with Zara’s aim to democratize fashion by offering the latest fashion in medium quality at affordable prices. In the USA, the GAP has already been identified as tapping into this market. One of the ways that Zara? s business model is differentiated from that of its competitors is the turnaround time and the store as a source of information. The store acts not only as a point of sale but also influences the design and speed of production. It is the end and starting point of the business system. Zara? managers get feedback from the customers at the point of sales and in turn these managers report the demands of customers and the sales trends to the headquarters on a daily basis. This business model augurs well in America today with the technological advancements of the Hi-tech age with computer and cell phones, 24-7 news circu s and talk show now becoming the new norm. External Influence #4: Cultural Orientations Zara’s secret, according to CEO Jose Castellano, is its reliance on communication, and the way it uses existing technology to take control of almost every aspect of design, production and distribution. This ‘fast fashion’ system depends on a constant exchange of information throughout every part of Zara's supply chain—from customers to store managers, from store managers to market specialists and designers, from designers to production staff, from buyers to subcontractors, from warehouse managers to distributors, and so on. † Zara has made enormous efforts to ensure that operational procedures, performance measures, and even store and office layouts are designed to make information transfer easy.It can therefore be concluded that information management is one of core activities for Zara to leverage its ‘fast fashion’ system. This model is in direct re lations to the cultural orientation of the American Shopper who likes to be fashionable and that right after the red carpet event. External Influence #5: Customer Expectations Americans have many choices in fashion styles and price range, from boutique to large chain to discount fashion warehouses. Zara meets customer expectations with fashions superior to or different from alternatives that are available from rivals.With their grassroots marketing research performed by agents on the store floors, Zara has perfected technology to be able to incorporate customer comments into designs through wireless, handheld organizers carried around the store (Daniels et al. , 2011). On the Zara website is the following: ‘What do you think of the collection? Are these looks that you would like to recreate? I love to hear your opinions every week – and I always take suggestions into consideration! If you have any looks you’d like recreated here, let me know!Be sure to leave a co mment’ (Rachel, 2010). This channel of customer/company interaction ensures Zara continues to deliver what customers want in fashion. The Internet feedback will especially serve the U. S. market as Americans are very accustomed to writing product reviews on retail web sites. Zara instills a sense of urgency in the shoppers’ mind because the style they see in the store today may not be there next week. This dynamic plays well in the urban Americans shopping style that has ready access to the store front windows in malls or the city’s fashion districts.The average Zara customer visits the chain seventeen times per year versus three to four visits per year at competitors. Anyone with the shopping style of â€Å"let me look around first and then come back†, will lose out on the Zara design. Exposure to current fashion trends are in every medium in the U. S. Zara’s ability to deliver almost immediately on what is hot will bode well in meeting customer e xpectations in the U. S. market. Recommendations and Conclusion Zara has taken advantage of its core competencies: competitive advantage, economic condition, technology standards and trends, cultural orientation, and customer expectation.This well organized firm uses logistical design in all areas of its operations. Getting high fashion clothing to the public much quicker than the competition and at a reasonable price has led the organization to the top. While this â€Å"fast track† clothing idea is new and still in vogue, Zara needs to constantly be looking at ways to improve their product line and business model as the competition moves in on their competitive advantage. Staying ahead of other retailers by continuing to evaluate their design, sourcing, production, logistics, marketing, store operations, and firm infrastructure is key.While Zara is spreading worldwide, they may need to adjust their distribution centers a bit, in order to keep their speed maintain their pace, particularly in the US market. As they get larger the firm grows , they may not be able to keep up with demand unless they adjust their logistics chain accordingly.References 2010, November 22. http://www. modernights. com/shop/zaraclothing/zara_stores_usa/ Daniels, Radebaugh, ; Sullivan. (2011). International Business, Environments ; Operations 13th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Education, Inc. Dutta, Devangshu. (2002). retail @ the speed of fashion. Retrieved from http://www. 3isite. com/articles/ImagesFashion_Zara_Part_I. pdf Galaugher, John, Information Systems, A Zara Case Study: Fast Fashion from Savvy Systems, accessed November 24, 2010, http://www. flatworldknowledge. com/node/41223 Gattorna, Dr. John. (2009, Jan. /Feb. ) Supply Chain Organisation Design-The Secret Sauce of Peak Performance. Retrieved from http://www. slideshare. net/ The Supply chainniche/supply-chain-organisation-design-the-secret-sauce-of-peak Jacobe, Dennis, November 2010, U. S. Econo mic Confidence Improves to Match 2010 High,, Gallup, accessed November 24, 2010, http://www. gallup. com/poll/144344/economic-confidence-improves-match-2010-high. aspx June 2010, Current Economic Conditions, Econbrowser, Accessed November 24, 2010 http://www. econbrowser. com/archives/2010/06/current_economi_4. html Lopez, Carmen, Fan, Ying, Internationalisation of Spanish Fashion Brand Zara , Brunel Business School Brunel University Uxbridge UB8 3PH England Maiellaro, Bridget. (2010, January 5). Zara Opens Two Chicago Stores. Retrieved from http://www. chicagomag. om/Radar/Sales-Check/January-2010/Zara-Opens-Two-Chicago-Stores/ Rachel-Northeastern. (2010, May 10). Runway for Under $25: Zara Spring 2010. Retrieved from http://www. collegefashion. net/fashion-tips/runway-for-under-25-zara-may-2010/ Towers, Steve. (2010). Zen and the Art of Process Management. http://www. towers associates. com/Towers_Associates_Zen_And_the_Art_of_Process_Management. Html â€Å"Zara’s Business Model, Information and Communication Technologies, and Competitive Analysis. † 123HelpMe. com. 26 Nov 2010 http://www. 123HelpMe. com/view. asp? id=97642

The Merchant of Venice Act One Scenes 1 2 Essays

The Merchant of Venice Act One Scenes 1 2 Essays The Merchant of Venice Act One Scenes 1 2 Paper The Merchant of Venice Act One Scenes 1 2 Paper Essay Topic: Merchant Of Venice Play The Lottery and Other Stories 1) The phrase a want-wit means he who wants knowledge. This would come back to the earlier phrase said by Antonio In sooth I know not why I am so sad. He then says that what makes him sad he is to learn and in that says that sadness makes him he who wants knowledge. b) When answering the question above, I made sure that I found out what the original meaning of wit was, as I happened to read this question, giving me a good suspicion that wit did have a different meaning in the time of Shakepeare. c) In the light of point (b), I looked through the meanings of wit in an old dictionary, which lists the meanings of words in the order of the time that they had that particular meaning (oldest first). I would rather have done that than let myself succumb to guesswork and get the answer wrong. d) The quotation starts in elipses () because they mean that text precedes the text shown if looked at in its original source. e) That starts a new line because the preceding line has run out of its ten-syllable limit. Because the text is written in verse, each line is restricted to ten syllables, (as the play could then be rendered truly false in the eyes of the church), and because the bit of text before contains ten syllables, that must appear on a new line. f) That receives a capital T, even though it is not the start of a new sentence, because the start of a new line when it is in verse means that the first word receives a capital first letter as it is seen as a different segment of text. g) You have put the quotation in the middle of the page and surrounded it with a blank line above and below because it saves loosing the important quote in the midst of the text. Consequently, it also makes the reader want to read it and absorb it more because they can see it better. h) The meaning of the stuff in the brackets at the end of the quotation is that the quotation is lines 6 through to 7 in act one, scene one (although it doesnt directly state the act and the scene as it is aforementioned at the top of the page). 2) I believe that Shakespeare has begun the play with the lament of Antonio because it gives the audience a way to know about the fact that Antonio has argosies bound for various destinations, which becomes important later in the play. It puts the audience in a direct position with the characters as the conversation starts in the middle, but it is also a good way to get the audience initially intrigued. It keeps the audience watching, a bit like those crazy Midsommer Murders sub-plots. 3) Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea, Do overpeer the petty traffickers, That curtsy to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their woven wings. (l.i.11-14) b) I think that the purpose in Salarino using such an over-the-top image is to cheer Antonio up. He also says that the ships have portly sails, or as you so eloquently put it fat bastard sails, giving Antonio something to laugh about. (He has, after all, already stated that he is sad.) c) When quoting the lines asked in (a) I purposely looked at how you had quoted the lines at the top of the page as imitation is a good way of learning. I wanted to be sure of getting the way of quoting right, I automatically presumed that you were right because you are the teacher, and so copied your way of doing things in hope to please. In terms of moral beliefs, I do not believe that morality exists, and that everything is based on the views of life. Morality is an elaboration on the ways to prevent a species from going extinct (in basic terms). 4) Antonio reacts to Salanios comment, Why then, you are in love, by saying Fie, fie! as in Good Lord No! He seems to try and change the subject in his saying. Maybe he is, but it is more likely a what a silly statement statement. 5) In lines 82-83, Gratiano begins his speech, Let me play the fool: With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come From this, you can see that he is about to burst into useless speech when he has no need. His first statement would have, in reality, been plenty. He then goes on to say, There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle like a standing pond, And do a wilful stillness entertain, With purpose to be dressd in an opinion Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit, As who should say I am Sir Oracle, And when I ope my lips let no dog bark! This has no direct link to what he started off with, but in this Gratiano states that there are pompous arses, and starts to get philosophical, thus turning his original statement around. Maybe he isnt as full of an infinite deal of nothing as he seems. However, in saying all of that, he goes on and on, turning himself into a pompous arse. Afterwards he says, Ill tell thee more of this another time: But fish not, with this melancholy bait, For this fool gudgeon He has now totally changed subject, not refer ring to anything he had previously. He has also changed the mood of the conversation by referring to melancholy bait. The subject at the start was happiness! 6) a) In scene 1, Antonios objectives are to play on his sadness, find out what ails him and to try and cheer himself up. He also must play on his deeds to Bassanio. He does not appear in scene 2. b) In scene 1, Bassanios objective is to try and squeeze money out of Antonio. I think it should be important that Bassanio should always seem to be trying to squeeze money out of people as it is part of his character. Bassanio does not appear in scene 2. c) In scene 2, Portias objective should be to try and find a suitor, even though she knows it is hopeless to find a decent one. She should always have a feeling of necessity about her when playing the scene, but also a clear sense of hopefulness. She does not appear in scene 1. 7) You can tell that Bassanio is a sleaze by this section when he is trying to get money out of Antonio: In my school-days, when I had lost one shaft, I shot his fellow of the self-same flight The self-same way with more advised watch, To find the other forth, and by adventuring both I oft found both: He tries to use elaborate stories to get his money, which he calls a proof. He also, when speaking of her to Antonio, veers off the path of compliment towards her beauty and goes towards her financial state, saying that she is richly left, and then having to cover up for it by saying to Antonio that she is fair, but even that word is ambiguous, showing us Antonios two-faced nature. His last comparison, that Portia is like the golden fleece, compares her to treasure, and further implies that he only wants her for her money. 8) The important plot point established at lines 176-179 is that Antonio does not have the money to pay Bassanio as all his money is invested in his ships, and hints that he will have to go somewhere else for it. Thou knowst that all my fortunes are at sea; Neither have I money nor commodity To raise a present sum: therefore go forth; Try what my credit can in Venice do: Hmmm 9) Scene 2 is written, for the first part, in prose, which means that it is written in speech form, which is how someone from this time period would construct a play script normally. Scene 1 is written in verse, which is how play scripts had to be written to prove that they were false to the church, although it doesnt rhyme. 10) The marriage conditions laid down in Portias fathers will were that she must get a husband or lose the inheritance, and that she cannot chose her husband herself she must rely on three caskets of gold, silver, and lead as a form of lottery. Whoever picks the right casket gets to marry Portia. 11) Portia has a friendly relationship with Nerissa, even though Portia is of a grater status than her. Their friendship and trust is clearly noticeable when Portia asks Nerissa to put a deep glass of rhenish wine on the contrary casket, to make sure that the German suitor choses the wrong one and does not marry her. This also gives Nerissa tremendous power that clearly contradicts her status. The way the two characters talk to each other, Portia does not look down upon Nerissa, they are very realistic, and the fact that the text is written in prose further emphasizes the realism, yet at the very end, to switch status/society back to its original place, Nerissa comments that her eyes are foolish. The use of this word sets the truth that she is a servant and Nerissa is the mistress. 12) In terms of stereotypes, there is the Frenchman who has all the good stuff but has too many characteristics (and is too noble for his own good), an Englishman who is ignorant to foreign languages and who is a slave of fashion, picking up designs from around the world, a Scotsman who does nothing but fight, and a drunk German. This shows that the characteristics of people from different countries have changed very little, if at all, from Shakespeares time, and shows that Shakespeare has much relevance in the modern world. As for the fact that it is a long question, I think that it is not. It only appears long as the individual statements are not separated by punctuation, making the eye group them, making it seem longer. 13) 14) In terms of separating Jaffa Cakes and Hob-Nobs as races of biscuits and cakes, and asking me to judge which one is better, I am certainly not above being racist, but so I dont offend any do-gooders I do not think I should judge. However, in terms of biscuits, I certainly think that Jaffa Cakes should win as they are much more refreshing. Also, If they were struck, only the chocolate coating would crack as they are in themselves quite spongy. A Hob-Nob would just crumble. (But in a war, could they throw dead Hob-Nob at the enemy?)