International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

International Business - Essay Example Australia has certainly performed quite remarkably from Asia’s rise. The recent decades have witnessed a dramatic economic progress. According to Meredith and Dyster (1999, 319), the economic growth rates of Australia have surpassed the economic performance of almost all highly industrialized countries and it has prevented three financial slumps that have seriously impacted Japan, Europe, and the United States. Australia is currently placing major emphasis on Asia. It has the benefits of highly literate citizens, advanced infrastructure, and growing Asian immigration that carries with it Asian ties. Furthermore, Australia is a destination for a large number of wealthy Asians who are looking for quality education. In addition, Australia is striving to maintain its position as a location for the regional headquarters of multinational companies (MNCs). Also, Australia is a strategic site for value added operations (e.g. services, distribution, marketing), but certainly not for manufacturing (Meredith & Dyster 1999, 319). In the meantime, the costs of its labor are at present competitive with Asia’s advanced economies, making it more and more appealing for non-manual or professional operations demanding well-educated executive, administrative and employee skills. Moreover, Australia provides accessibility and strength to newly developed and technologically sophisticated goods. On the contrary, the attention of Australian firms is drawn to Asia by geographic proximity, the continuously advancing economies, and the massive population. A number of Australian firms have encountered problems due to their inability to understand the diverse cultures and practices of conducting business in Asia (Czinkota, Ronkainen, & Moffett 2008, 114). Thus, more Australian firms are currently building joint enterprises as a favorable entry approach toward Asia. In addition, numerous of Australia’s major firms, like Lend Lease and Brambles, have adopted

Religious Practices of the Masses During the Renaissance Essay

Religious Practices of the Masses During the Renaissance - Essay Example Some significant advances that are famous that time are in the elements of paintings through the introduction of linear perspective painting and the reformation of education which was gradual and widespread. This intellectual revolution period was said to be the connection between Middle Ages and Modern Era. Their influences were seen in science, literature, politics, art, philosophy, religion, and other intellectual inquests. Some of the noblest works of religious art, like the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, Madonnas by Raphael and those of Fra Angelico and Grunewald were products of the Italian renaissance. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient Rome and Greece, and realized that their art and civilization were related to those of the distant past. Their thinking was also persuaded by the importance on human thoughts and worth as an individual or it is simply called humanism; and one's intellectual growth relies on classic education. These said teachings depended on various disciplines including poetry, history, rules on writing, and moral philosophy. The Renaissance is also the age where there are conflicts between the Church and other religious sects such as the Reformists and Humanists, with regards to their beliefs, practices, and dogmas. The English word religion has been used since the 13th century which means "reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety, the res divinae (for the service of God)." (Wikipedia, Religion) It is also said that it is a way of life or signifying the attitude towards life. With that, religion covers the various human behaviors on beliefs, practices, moral codes, values, tradition, institution, and rituals that have the function of addressing the basic questions of human identity, ethics, death and the existence of a Divine being. Religion's definition has an immensely great extent that it is sometimes hard to perceive that medieval people are part of a religion. However, the Church became the "source of education entertainment, most social occasions, and of course, faith." (Louis Dudley 3) Although the southern humanists were preoccupied redefining the relationship between God and humans, the Northern Europeans still took the Church's practices seriously. Ther e transpired various religious practices that the Church performed during the ancient times that were sources of "re-categorization" and reformation to some amount. These are usually in the form of the Sacraments, which are visible to the paintings and architectural designs of artists among them are famous painters Michelangelo, Leonardo. One of the religious practices is the rituals. Rituals are said to be set of actions that are performed either on a regular basis or on certain occasions. These acts, suggested to have symbolic implications, are the performances of which is prescribed by a certain religion or culture. Baptism is one form of practice of the Church, in which a person is briefly submerged in water with the implication of cleansing him of the original sin. Simply stated, this is a purification rite. During the 16th century, while various Reformers challenged most of the Church beliefs, they re-categorized the sacraments except baptism and the Eucharist. This religious rite was portrayed in a fresco painting on the catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter at Via Labicana in Rome, Italy. As time progresses, minor changes of the ritual took place especially on the setting to which the immersion transpired. Before, several adults are immersed together in a Baptismal pool which is usually a pond or a lake, until the said pool was reduced to a smaller basin-like vessel and

Joseph Stalin Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Joseph Stalin Politics - Research Paper Example He became a Marxist revolutionary. For that he was persecuted, arrested, even exiled to Siberia. Yet he always escaped and continued his work underground. He organized strikes, protests, was spreading propaganda, etc. He quickly gained popularity with the Bolsheviks and was personally working together with Lenin. During the Bolshevik’s seize of power in 1917 Stalin’s involvement was not of any significance. (Kuromiya 34) However, he quickly raised ranks in the Communist party and was assigned to the position of general secretary of the Communist Party in 1922. (54) This title was not considered high-ranking, but it gave him the opportunity to build a base of support.   In 1924, after the death of Lenin, Stalin announced himself his official heir. He managed to outmaneuver other party leaders in the fight for the top political seat of the USSR. (Service 3) In effect, by the late 20’s he became the dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin implemented a system of forc ed collectivization and industrialization of agriculture. Millions of people had to pay for it with their very lives. He also created a new program of rapid industrialization and as the result economy reached colossal increases in the productivity, albeit at a great cost. The Great Terror started in the 1930’s when Stalin decided to â€Å"purge the party of enemies of the people†; thousands of suspected citizens were executed and millions exiled to slave labor camps, of which the whole network, known as gulag, was created.

Uc civil engineering transfer student personal statement

Uc civil engineering transfer student - Personal Statement Example As a child I used to stand for hours at a construction site watching in awe as the workers worked in perfect harmony. There was nothing that gave me more joy than seeing a structure grow where none existed before. I therefore knew from an early age that I would like to be part of creating new structures. When I grew up a little and learnt more about different careers, I decided that I would be a civil engineer. Throughout my years in school, physics and mathematics have been my most favorite subjects and my grades in both have always been impressive. I have consistently topped my class in both for many years of my schooling. It was a trend that had continued my elementary school to high school. With time, I got to travel more and see more buildings, canals, bridges and other structures built in various designs that increased my yearning to enter into a career leading to construction. After I got access to the internet, I did comprehensive research on civil engineering and became quite knowledgeable in many topics in the subject. After I finished high school, I applied to join the (NAME COLLEGE). At first I was afraid due to notion that had been propagated into us that the course was difficult. I worked quite hard in my studies since it was a course I had passion in and I had had a good background in since I had been good in mathematics and physics. I realized that for anybody interested in civil engineering, it is not as difficult as we had been made to believe. On the contrary, I found the subjects simple, practical and enjoyable. Over the years I have had a chance to study civil engineering, I have had the opportunity to attend various consultative for a for civil engineers in which I have had the chance to interact with civil engineers and exchange ideas on further developing construction skills. These for a have left me more knowledgeable and have triggered critical thinking in me

John Heartfield Photomontages and Marxism Essay

John Heartfield Photomontages and Marxism - Essay Example To understand this relationship between Marx and Heartfield, this paper will provide some background into Heartfield’s work and the Weimar Republic before analyzing three of Heartfield’s works in light of Karl Marx’s â€Å"The German Ideology.† Within the language of his art, Heartfield created photographic symbols for the various political parties. He included such images as clenched fists, raised arms and open hands to show the strong actions and determined nature of the men in the various parties to do what they felt was important. Rather than going out and working to take his own photographs, Heartfield opted to take recognizable photographs from the mainstream press and reassemble them in such a way as to change the meaning of the image to what he envisioned. Most of his images appeared in the magazine Die Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung (Worker’s Illustrated Magazine or AIZ). To make his meanings as clear as possible, Heartfield stuck to a minimalist style, restricting himself to only a few telling images in each piece, thus becoming a father of the modern and postmodern movements. The Weimar Republic, a convenient name developed by scholars to distinguish the political situation in Germany between the two world wars, was characterized by violent social upheaval. The country had been led for more than 40 years by the military and was suddenly forced, with the loss of World War I, to accept a civilian government. However, the large numbers of soldiers returning from the war, an unstable idea of how civil government should be constructed as well as a general non-acceptance of this type of government led to chaos within Germany. Several councils were put in place by the soldiers and workers of Germany. These councils led to the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II, the establishment of a socialist nation and the creation of a parliamentary-led governmental system that acted more like a dictatorship. The general

Electric Cars by Tesla Essay Example for Free

Electric Cars by Tesla Essay Tesla’s total assets is a total USD 361. 6M, with US sales alone of USD 116. 7M. Tesla boasts of two electric car models: The Tesla Roadster and the Tesla S model. As of January 2011, Tesla has taken about 3,500 reservations for the Model S and expects to begin delivering cars to customers in 2012. Tesla currently employs almost 900 full time employees and is aggressively recruiting employees for positions in its headquarters in Palo Alto, California; at its European headquarters in Maidenhead, UK; and at an increasing number of sales facilities throughout North America and Europe. Tesla plans to build the Model S in 2012 in Fremont, California in an assembly plant formerly operated by NUMMI, a now defunct joint venture of Toyota and General Motors. Tesla purchased a stake in the site in May 2010 for US$42 million, and opened the facility in October 2010 as the Tesla Factory. Tesla Roadster [pic][pic] The Tesla Roadster is a screaming-fast, all-electric two-seater sports car built on the frame of the Lotus Elise. Reduce our dependency on oil, and are cheaper to operate Electric cars are convenient: In one trip to the gas station, you can pump 330 kilowatt-hours of energy into a 10-gallon tank. It would take about 9 days to get the same amount of energy from household electric current. Fortunately, it takes hours and not days to recharge an electric car, because its much more efficient. And you never have to leave home to recharge! Electric cars are extremely simple. There’s no oil to change, no filters, no clutch, no fluids, no crazy mechanical systems. This makes the electric car so much cheaper to operate because there’s hardly any maintenance, like oil changes and emissions checks, that internal combustion cars require. Electric car cuts away our dependency on oil as well and frees us from the unpredictable oil price hikes and spikes that are so common these days. For the car savvy drivers, electric motors develop their highest torque from zero rpms—meaning fast (and silent) zero-to-60 acceleration times. This means they snap to life at the touch of the accelerator. It does 0–60 mph in 3. 7 seconds, making electric cars the fastest cars in the world. Electric cars can be direct drive, so there’s no transmission or complex gearbox. Power is applied smoothly and quietly. Acceleration is effortless. B. Historically, EVs have not been widely adopted because of limited driving range before needing to be recharged, long recharging times, and a lack of commitment by automakers to produce and market electric cars that have all the creature comforts of gas-powered cars. The other limitation beside range is cost. Electric cars have historically suffered from extreme lameness, largely because most attempts at building electric cars were aimed at the mid-price or low-end car market. Media blitz will follow the launch using television and print advertisements. Local glamour and sport magazines will be asked to feature the product. Problem with gray markets will not be an issue because the product will speak for itself and will cost more to copy at the state of our technology. Key cities in the Philippines will be targeted after the Manila debut and continuing media hype. Cebu and Bacolod will be good options to consider the expansion. They are both progressive cities with locals having penchant for European cars and sport cars as evidenced by car sales that are comparable to the Manila data.

Routine Activities Theory (RAT) Analysis

Routine Activities Theory (RAT) Analysis Activity space consists of places people associate with in their daily lives. For instance, your home, work, school, places for entertainment and shopping areas are considered activity space. My activity space is a tri-county area which means that it is a large area that consists of smaller towns instead of a huge metro area. Since I commute to work my activity space consists of major travel nodes and pathways as described by Brantingham and Brantingham. These travel nodes and pathways would be interstate 80 (I-80) that runs West through my town and state route 422 which runs South of I-80 and directly into the city of Youngstown. During my routine I tend to use both I-80 and 422 because they are quicker routes which allow me to avoid passing through a bunch of smaller towns and is a straight shot to the city. Within my activity space the highest potential for the development of a crime hot spot would be toward the eastern portion of route 422 going into the city of Youngstown becaus e it is an area between the city and the suburbs that does not have a strong police presence. This particular area is residential and in close proximity to the high-risk areas (i.e. project/public housing development) and has a wide-range of crime generators and attractors such as businesses, homes, bars, gas stations, convenience stores, and heavy pedestrian traffic due to a nearby bus station. The location of travel routes in conjunction with environmental factors such as impoverished surrounding neighborhoods and the close proximity to major travel routes can be seen as an opportunity for offenders to commit crimes within this area. Brantingham and Brantingham (1999) state that crime generators are particular areas that attract people because of the large number of people that pass through them. this activity space, as described by Brantingham and Brantingham is between the major nodes of transportation and is close to districts in the city that could be seen as an opportunity, to a potential offender who has observed routine activities conducted by pedestrians, members of the neighborhood, and business owners in the area. The routine activities theory draws from Amos Hawleys theory of human ecology. Hawleys theory establishes three key aspects of collective human activities rhythm, tempo and timing which are factors in a life-course as well as the criminal lifestyle. Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson (1979) expanded on the principles of human ecology and introduced routine activities theory as an ecological perspective on criminal behavior. The routine activity theory states that there are three components in order for a crime to occur. The first component is a motivated offender or individual that is not only willing but seeking to commit offenses. The second component would be the presence of suitable targets. Suitable targets could be property or individuals that are seen as available or vulnerable. Lastly, the absence of a capable guardian which would be anything that could deter a potential offender (i.e. police patrolling, neighbor outside, alarm system). Cohen and Felson (1979) emphasize that these three components are conducive to a crime event and especially prevalent in the absence of capable guardians. An example of this would be a potential offender(s) attempting to burglarize a home but changes their mind after seeing a police squad car drive by. This type of guardianship applies to certain areas within the city especially those that are heavily patrolled by police or security (i.e. parking decks and high-risk areas). Furthermore, the capable guardian, whether it be an individual (police officer/witnesses/neighbors) or a device (home/store alarm) will reduce the suitability of a target, which in turn will decrease the likelihood of criminal events. Moreover, Cohen and Felson (1979) imply that a successful crime event doesnt require an offender who is motivated to engage in crimes, or act on their motivation for the criminal event, instead a motivated offender should be capable of carrying out their desires. According to the routine activities theory, crime opportunity emerges in the absence of a capable guardian as well as certain environmental factors. For instance, the offender also goes through a routine of sequential activites just like the law abiding citizen does. The combination of what is considered a crime template (the offenders routine intertwined with their prospective targets) and the decisions made by the offender can determine crime patterns. A crime is committed when a triggering event occurs. This triggering event is usually in place when a potential target or victim fits within the offenders crime template (or routine). Possible targets and victims will usually encounter the offender in some manner within their active location, resulting in sharing the activity space or the awareness space of the offender. The possible targets and victims end up being actual targets or victims once the offenders willingness to break the law is set off. This occurs when the nodes and pathways between these nodes are aligned with the offenders potential targets (at that place and time). When these activities are repeated on a daily basis they provide a rubric or template for the criminal to follow. During a criminals daily activity they make decisions that rarely vary from their routine and as a result, breaking the law would be no different from their normal activity and awareness space. Lifestyles or ones routine activities create criminal opportunity by increasing the frequency and intensity of contacts between potential offenders and suitable targets. When a motivated offender is ready and willing, they will seize the opportunity to engage in criminal activity if it is beneficial to them. A potential offenders suitable target is an individual or object that is attractive or vulnerable, such as, a piece of valuable property or someone who is wealthy might serve as a lucrative suitable target (i.e. ransom or extortion). In other words, factors that make a target vulnerable or attractive are crime specific and situational and may dictate a motivated offender(s) likelihood of criminal activity (i.e. an unattended running car a convenience store). I believe that the most likely hot spot in my activity space and based off of the course material, would be state route 422 east going into the city. I state this because this area is known for drug activity and has access to the highway and is within close proximity to a wide-range of businesses, churches, schools, and residential areas. References Brantingham, P. L., Brantingham, P. J. (1995). Criminality of place: Crime generators and crime attractors. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 3(3), 1-26. Brantingham, P., L., Brantingham, P. J. (1993). Nodes, paths and edges: Considerations on the complexity of crime and the physical environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 3-28. Cohen, L. E., Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588-608. Cullen, F. T., Wilcox, P. (2010). Encyclopedia of criminological theory. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications.