Holt Case Essay

The Holt Case relates to the company’s snapshot, case situation and key management issues pertaining to the Holt Renfrew which was being operated in Canada. Company Snapshot Holt Renfrew was constituted as a hat and fur shop in Quebec City in 1837. The company is recognized as one of the elite high-end retailers of Canada. Almost 10 stores were operated by the company in seven cities of Canada in which cosmetics and designer fashions were being sold such as Oscar de la Renta, Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani. These products were usually imported from Asia, Europe and the United States. The top quality was the base of Holt Renfrew brand which included private-label and branded assortments and designers that were exclusively for men and women. The Holt Renfrew was then owned by Galen Weston who is a Canadian business leader heading The Wittington Group. Case Situation During the observation of case situation, it was revealed that the staff used to spend much of the time in telephonic communication for adjusting and confirming previous orders. The stock of merchandise was quite high due to which staff remains busy on phone lines for orders tracking, delivery status, confirmation and shipment with transportation service providers and suppliers. The goods were delivered to the distribution centre by suppliers without prior intimation which used to cause inconvenience in scheduling routine tasks. Even it was not possible to determine whether right quality and quantity is being received. Warehouses were so much loaded that only in DC; inventory was stored around $40 million worth which created a hindrance in tracking the shipment in a timely manner. Even the complaint was lodged by store managers regarding overstocks of merchandises which prove the worse condition of warehouses. Key Management Issues The key management issues could be the closure of secondary warehouse and the consolidation of operational warehouse into DC. It would be useful for DC if the addition of mezzanine floor up to 20,000 square feet with a cost of $1 million could be practiced. Additionally, the warehouse problems arose due to overloaded stock. The reason behind this fact was the less sales target being accomplished and improper system involving excessive merchandises which was ordered without prior requisition or sanction and the same was too seriously complained by the store managers.

Movie Paper Review

Michelle Jones Green block 3 1/28/13 Movie Paper Review: The Boy in Striped Pajamas The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a book that was made into a movie, set during World War Two and more specifically, the Holocaust. The book was written by John Boyne and when made into a movie was directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman. The Boy in Striped Pajamas was made in 2006 and starred Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, and Vera Farmiga. I read the book, The Boy in Striped Pajamas in 8th grade and watched to movie very soon after.The Boy in Striped Pajamas is based on the horrors of a World War Two Nazi Extermination Camp. This movie is through the eyes of two 8 year old boys; one whose father is a Nazi camp commandant and the other is a Jewish inmate. Bruno, the son of the Nazi commandant and his family just recently moved from Berlin to the countryside; which happens to have a Nazi Extermination Camp right nearby. The adventurous Bruno finds an unguarded fence where he meets and befrien ds Shmuel, a Jewish boy. Bruno soon learns the horrors of the war and so does his mother.When Bruno's father announces that the young boy and his mother will be going to live with their aunt in Heidelberg, Bruno grabs a shovel and makes his way to the camp to meet up with his friend, leading the movie into an awful sequence of events. None of the characters in this movie were real people but they were all accurate depictions of the soldiers and everyone at that time. The movie very accurately showed the differences in living being a Jew and living in the camps compared to everyone else.It also shows a child’s innocence and how children sometimes see the world completely different than adults, sometimes even in a better way. Bruno never saw anything wrong or different about Jewish people but his older sister Gretchen was being influenced by her tutor and a younger soldier to believe things she couldn’t fully understand. The movie showed the terrible things being done to the people in the Nazi camps and how propaganda was used to make uninformed people believe things that weren’t true.The movie accurately shows how live was in that time. The beginning of The Boy in Striped Pajamas was set in Berlin in 1942 during World War Two, Bruno and his family are moving to the countryside because of his father’s work. The setting then is never specified but we know it is near a Nazi Extermination Camp. The props in this movie were all very accurate and the lighting and way the shooting was done portrayed the devastating times that were during the Holocaust.The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a very good movie and a very accurate movie too. The actors playing the young 8 year old boys did an awesome job playing those parts especially at such a young age. The soldiers also did well playing Nazi’s and being very stern people. Overall this movie is a very accurate representation or what life was like during World War Two while adding its own plot a nd I would recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see what it was like for Jewish people and families of the soldier’s during the Holocaust.

Campare Sonnet Essay

Shall I compare you to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:| You are more lovely and more constant:| Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,| Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May| And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: | And summer is far too short:| Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,| At times the sun is too hot,| And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; | Or often goes behind the clouds;| And every fair from fair sometime declines,| And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;| By misfortune or by nature’s planned out course. But thy eternal summer shall not fade | But your youth shall not fade,| Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;| Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess;| Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,| Nor will death claim you for his own,| When in eternal lines to time thou growest:| Because in my eternal verse you will live forever. | So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,| So long as there are people on this earth,| So long lives this and this gives life to thee. So long will this poem live on, making you immortal| My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;| My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun;| Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;| Coral is far more red than her lips;| If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; | If snow is white, then her breasts are a brownish gray;| If hairs be wires, black wi res grow on her head. | If hairs are like wires, hers are black and not golden. I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,| I have seen damask roses, red and white [streaked],| But no such roses see I in her cheeks; | But I do not see such colors in her cheeks;| And in some perfumes is there more delight | And some perfumes give more delight| Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. | Than the horrid breath of my mistress. | I love to hear her speak, yet well I know | I love to hear her speak, but I know| That music hath a far more pleasing sound;| That music has a more pleasing sound. I grant I never saw a goddess go;| I’ve never seen a goddess walk;| My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:| But I know that my mistress walks only on the ground. | And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare | And yet I think my love as rare| As any she belied with false compare. | As any woman who has been misrepresented by | The sonnet 18 is a Shakespeare’s early love poem which is about affection of a young man to his beloved. It starts with the genuine question, â€Å"shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? † The speaker is t hinking about his lover’s beauty rather than putting her poem in a conventional love poem formula. Then, he points out her lover’s beauty was more beautiful and constant than a summer day; her beauty was eternal and would be preserved in the lines of this poem. However, Sonnet 130 is a more convincing love poem because it is more descriptive and realistic in depicting his lover which shows that his love is more sincere and everlasting. Sonnet 18 is about the feeling of perfection of his lover’s beauty while sonnet 130 is about the real appearances of her mistress. In sonnet 18 the speaker says, â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:† Although summer is pleasant season, the speaker never talks about how his lover is like a summer day nor how she was more lovely. He did not give life to his lover because we can use this poem to mostly every woman in the world; he does not specifically describe his lover. In sonnet 130, the speaker explicit states what his mistress looks like. The speaker says, â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;/Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;/If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; /If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. It explicitly describes his lover in an honest way. Although love poems often use sun, snow and beautiful objects to praise the beauty of their subject, realistic love is not about an idealized sense of beauty. A person cannot love another one simply because they are physically beautiful. We think that the women with red lips, white skin and gold hair are beautiful, but does it mean the women that having â€Å"not so† red lips, brownish skin, and black hair are not beautiful? Beauty is subjective. When people love someone, they would define beau ty by his/her standard. By describing in detail of his lover’s appearance, the speaker of sonnet 130 really know his lover. Love is not only about the feeling of a warm sunny summer day, but know a person as a distinguish individual. Sonnet 130 make his lover feel special and superior because the speaker pay quite attention to her actual appearance, and honestly writes it down in a poem. It also gives her the sense of security because she knows he loves her for who she is and she does not need to pretend to be a perfect figure nor be an everlasting summer day. Sonnet 130 ses reality to prove the speakers love while sonnet 18 uses exaggeration. Sonnet 18 illustrates only the speaker’s love for his beloved’s beauty while in sonnet 130 illustrates more sincere love for her mistress even though she is not perfect. In sonnet 18, the speaker claim his lover was eternal by saying, â€Å"By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;/But thy eternal summer shall not fade /Nor l ose possession of that fair thou owest;/ Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,† The speaker praise that her beauty stronger than the nature. Although the speaker values her beauty greatly and even believed her is beauty has the power to overturn the nature, it is only his wish and imagination that her beauty would not change. It will not be convincing to a woman since they consciously know that appearance will change. His lover will feel that the speaker only focuses on her beauty, but not anything else. In sonnet 130, the speaker states, â€Å"I love to hear her speak†. The speaker loves her thinking, her opinions and her intellects. The speaker values her thought which is not very common even in current society. Relationship is about equality and respect. Many men treat women as an object that has nothing inside. Even in sonnet 18, the speaker compares his lover as an eternal summer which also an object. Then, the speaker says, â€Å"I grant I never saw a goddess go;/My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:† . The speaker wants to compare his mistress with a goddess as many sonnets do, but he admits that he never saw one. It mocks that other poets are dishonest which compare their lover to a figure they never see. He emphasized the word â€Å"my mistress† which shows that he takes pride that this woman is his mistress as while as the ways his mistress is like. He shows that this poem is about her mistress but not anybody else, not even goddess can compare with his mistress. He cares only his mistress which makes her even superior to a goddess. He shows that although her mistress is not an immortal figure, but her mistress is special for him. Then, speaker of sonnet 130 transits his understanding of her mistress to his confession of love while in sonnet 18, the speaker transits his lover’s beauty to mortality. The speaker of sonnet 18 uses poetry to eternalize his lover while in sonnet 130, the speaker shows that his love for her is eternal. In the end of sonnet 18, the speaker says, â€Å"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, /So long lives this and this gives life to thee†. The life of the subject will be an endless summer, but only because the speaker has immortalized her in this poem, and only if people continue to read these verses. It makes the readers feel that the poem itself is greater than the subject. The poem builds up this subject with eternal beauty and the subject only lives in the poem. However, this poem is for a living woman, and she is not living by her beauty or by the poem. Every woman knows this poem cannot real give immorality to them because the readers do not even know who the subject is. Not only the woman reading this poem cannot relate herself to this poem, buy she also will feel the speaker’s love is unrealistic and superficial and will not last long. In contract, in sonnet 130, the speaker claims that â€Å"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare†. His claim is convincing because in previous lines, he honestly depict his mistress and we expect he is honest when he says that he loves her. Furthermore, if his love for her is not because she is idealized beautiful since she is not, then he must love her because of her which we define as true love. His love would not fate with changing of appearance or time. His mistress would feel that she has the speaker’s heart forever. Sonnet 130 well proved the speaker’s love for her mistress; his love is about understanding and respect; his love is strong and everlasting. In contrast, sonnet 18 is more about the speaker’s passion to his lover’s beauty than his love for her as a whole individual. Many people say romantic love would last long. It is because that when people know each other well, their flaws would appear, and they are intolerance to these flaws. They would try everything to change each other to the way they want, but they most likely fail. Everyone is difference and not perfect, so when people love someone, they should acceptance their flaws.

Of what value are the four key concepts of Organization & Identity Essay

Of what value are the four key concepts of Organization & Identity (Identity, power, inequality, insecuirty) for understanding p - Essay Example These theories attempt to provide a justification for the theorisation of organisations and businesses as we have today. They provide a basis for describing and analysing the structures and foundations of organisations in the world and how humanity evolved from an unstructured world to a system whereby the concept of work takes the centre-stage and organisations are at the forefront of societies. This paper examines four important concepts related to organisations: identity, power, inequality and insecurity. The paper would answer the research question: what is the value of the four concepts of organisation and identity provides for the conceptualisation and understanding of management practices and systems in organisations. In attaining this end, the following objectives would be examined: 1. An assessment of organisational behaviour and conceptualisation of organisations. 2. An examination of the concept of organisational identity and internal structures. 3. An evaluation of the po sition of power and inequality in organisations. 4. The conceptualisation of the distribution of power, insecurity and corporate justice. Portions of this paper would involve the writer's personal experiences as an importer. The writer has been involved in the importation of products from China into the UK. The writer makes his profits from the cost variations and differences in prices between China and the UK. This profit provides him with a source of livelihood and the potential of recreating this income generation opportunity in the form of an organisation is examined at various points in the essay. Organisational Behaviour & Conceptualisation of Organisations Knights and Morgen (1993) argue that consumptions marks the modern society. This is because in the world today, there is the free economy where people work and the are free to do whatever they want. Things are fixed by the concepts of demand and supply. Hence, there is the need for people to come together to define the syst em through which they can work and provide the best results and optimise resources. Consumerism is in vogue because people are not restricted and governments do not continue to wield the control that they had before the Second World War (Knights and Morgen, 1993). In most nations around the world, there is the freedom to run commercial entities and get things to happen. This has led to a trend where organisations run the affairs of individuals and groups in different parts of the world. Consumption tends to influence the way people come together to do things. Consumption is crucial in the world today and demand and supply define how things must be done and how resources should be allocated. This laissez-faire system has encouraged the creation of groupings for effective work and the attainment of results. Consumption trends provide the roadmap for people to put factors of production together to attain results. This has provided the impetus for the creation of businesses and organisa tions in different parts of the world. The the trends in consumerism has provided the impetus for corporate entities to come together and grow as they pursue their economic ends through the provision of goods and services for consumers to use to satisfy their needs and aspirations. Drawing into my personal experience, I can identify that the importation industry revolves greatly around consumerism. In my sector of operations, most companies involved in the industry provide goods and services

Assessment and Diagnosis of Venous Leg Ulcer Essay - 2

Assessment and Diagnosis of Venous Leg Ulcer - Essay Example It is thus important to adopt a good follow up plan to facilitate such an obligation. In order to attain this, all stakeholders ought to cooperate at length to facilitate a turnaround. The report is based on a scenario where an 80-year-old is infected with a leg ulcer disease at her lower limp; it comes to our attention that this wasn’t the last time she was exposed to such a disease but had on previous occasions had some success stories which spanned within a period of about three years in counting. While addressing her current condition a number of considerations had to be made while aiming at providing accurate treatment. This is as highlighted below; In the event of being infected with a leg ulcer disease, one ought to go to a qualified medical physician for help. This is due to its ability to affect one's health and could as well go out of hand. While carrying out the diagnosis not all physicians qualify; such assessment can only be carried out by those trained in ulcer management. As a result of a regular encounter with similar cases, some are likely to prescribe the best treatment for this disease. The report, however, tends to look at the necessary procedures to be followed while treating a patient with such a disease. Assessment phase helps while checking on how bad the disease could have gone out of hand thus prescribing the best kind of treatment. While the patient could be portraying certain symptoms such features ought to be compared to those already captured pertain the same disease. This is due to it likely to be related thus could as well help in ensuring a good approach is put to task other than employing trial and e rror method (Sussman & Bates-Jensen, 2007). It is at the Doppler stage that the findings are analyzed at length while checking on how critical the condition could have gone. Several questions are likely to be asked as highlighted.

American Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Government - Research Paper Example (US Constitution) When the U.S. Constitution was newly formulated, many of its opponents argued that the federal government had too much authority which could be used illegally. Therefore to avoid this, it was demanded that a bill should be formulated to protect the rights of the general people. As a result, the Bill of Rights was proposed on September 25, 1789 which contained 10 amendments that referred to the protection of rights of individuals. (Archives) The first amendment of the Bill of Rights was related to the free practice of religion and freedom of speech. It says that the Congress is not permitted to make any laws which affect the freedom of practice of any religion and that all the religions in the United States are to be respected. It also states that the existence of freedom of speech and media are to be maintained and that people have the right to protest peacefully. (Cornell University Law School) The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the democratic power of the United Nations is maintained and that people have the basic right to live freely and do whatever they want, given that it does not hurt someone else. People need to have the freedom to express themselves and practice their religion, and only then will the society develop as a whole. It is necessary for all who stand in the religious minority so that their issues are addressed equally to all the religion in the nation and well as all the ethical groups who want to have their voices heard. This amendment gives them a chance to submit a petition and protest peacefully if they think a certain action or law is affecting them unfairly. A person who has been accused of protesting against a policy of government can benefit from this amendment since it gives him/her the legal right to protest given that it is a peaceful one. The law enforcement needs to keep in mind that they do not violate the right given to them by

A report into the Importance of smoking cessations IN patients with Essay

A report into the Importance of smoking cessations IN patients with COPD - Essay Example This paper will now critically evaluate evidence-based practice on the impact and the importance of smoking cessation among COPD patients. This topic is of importance because smoking is a major issue among COPD patients and the importance of smoking cessation has to be supported with evidence in order to provide practitioners as well as patients with logical foundations for their actions or inactions. Evidence-based practice has been considered one of the most crucial improvements in the health practice (Hjorland, 2011). Its application has assisted health professionals in the assessment of the most current evidence in the administration of patient care. The significance and multidisciplinary application of evidence-based practice is based on ideology and method (Hjorland, 2011). The ideology is based on ethical principles of clients deserving to be given the most effective of interventions. The method is the means by which individuals go about discovering and then later implementing the interventions (Duffy, Fisher, and Munroe, 2008). Under these conditions, evidence based practice indicates the commitment of the practitioner to use all the different means by which the strong evidence for any given situation can be applied (Duffy, et.al., 2008). Establishing best knowledge would require computer searches; moreover, it is a major challenge among practitioners since the techniques of finding effective interventions often require rigorous processes (Raines, 2008). Where practitioners applying empirically-based practice would make do with the use of two or three studies as evidence of effectiveness, evidence-based practice often involves the long and protracted search for numerous evidence to support efficacy (Raines, 2008). Evidence-based practice also involves the critical appraisal of evidence, mostly in terms of validity and utility within practice.

The market position of Nivea for men in UK Essay

The market position of Nivea for men in UK - Essay Example (Euromonitor, 2010) Bargaining power of suppliers (Low): Nivea has a high bargaining power with respect to its suppliers because of its diverse portfolio and generating economies of scale (Beiersdorf AG , 2010). Bargaining power of buyers (High): Customers of men grooming products have high bargaining powers due to low switching costs, price sensitivity to grooming products etc (Kay, 2006). Threat of Substitutes (Medium): Nivea for men has a high threat of substitutes from general grooming products, natural products such as olive oil etc. (Heijden, 2005) SWOT Analysis for Nivea For Men In order to fully understand the competitive advantages and vulnerabilities of Nivea, (Beiersdorf AG, 2011)we conduct the following SWOT analysis for Nivea for men: The Boston Group Matrix The overall market growth of the men’s grooming market is 3% (2009-2014 CAGR) (Euromonitor, 2010) and the relative market share of Beiersdorf (Nivea for Men) is low. Market share of Beiersdorf AG is 5.3% (2011 ) as compared to 32% of P&G (Euromonitor, 2010). With a low market growth and low market share, Nivea for Men falls into the Dogs enterprise position, which indicates that Business is a cash trap (BRS Inc). The best thing that Nivea for Men can do is to focus on short term, avoid risky investments and look into niche segments. Where do we want to be? (Strategy Formulation) This stage of marketing strategies planning describes the objectives and aims of Nivea’s marketing plans, the strategy formulation for its brands’ growth and identification of â€Å"the business we’re in†. Before defining the objectives of Nivea’s marketing strategies, we must recollect the competitive advantages that Nivea for men... This research describes the Situation analysis or Market Audit for Nivea in the men’s grooming market in UK considering both External and Internal perspectives. Nivea currently holds the #2 spot in men’s grooming category for the UK market. The ‘Nivea-for-men’ case-study details the challenges that Nivea for men is having in the men’s grooming market in UK. Upon extensive analysis of the market and competition, it is evident that Nivea-for-men even though is a leading and important brand for both Beiersdorf and overall market, it’s sales still lag behind the flagships products of P&G and Unilever. The growth opportunity that is seen for Nivea for Men is the growing skin care segment with a CAGR (2004-2011) of 17.8%. Owing to the iconic branding of Nivea in skin-care products, Beiersdorf possess a competitive advantage in penetrating and increasing the skin-care market for men. In order to do so, they should segment their consumers on attribute s of age and shopping behavior. Target segments identified for Nivea for men are Adult adopters, midlife adopters, senior adopters, and midlife experimenters. The various attack strategies that Nivea for men can use are products bunding, progressive promotions and pricing. The various defence strategies that should be implemented by Beiersdorf are flanking defense and position defence. With proper risk management in place with respect to the implementation and control of marketing plan, it is bound that market share of Nivea for men will increase in the UK market.

Assignment (Microeconomics) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

(Microeconomics) - Assignment Example But since increase in quantity produced raises marginal cost, producer of butter would raise its price to keep up with the increased marginal cost (to maximize profit). Thus, price begins to rise. Now, if the demand for butter drops, producer would cut their production and thus the marginal cost again decreases and they can lessen the price too because now the profit maximizing condition (MR = MC) can be satisfied at the lower price. Question 3 In a perfectly competitive industry, economic profits disappear in the long run because entry and exit of a firm is free of barriers which allows the number of firms to remain up to the level of zero economic profits as opposed to an imperfectly completive industry where entry barriers prevent other firms from entering the industry and thus from exhausting the profits. For a perfectly competitive industry, economic profit attracts the new suppliers in the market as they can freely enter. New entries is continued until ATC = price. This is beca use if ATC > price (positive profit), more firms will enter and thus absorb the profit and if ATC < price, firms will shut down in long run (as exit is also free in perfect competition) to avoid the economic loss and thus price and ATC again becomes equal – zero economic profit. Question 4 Suppose the firm is a profit-maximizing firm.

Investigative Lab Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investigative Lab Proposal - Assignment Example eshwater that has a pH of 6.0–8.0, a 5.0–19.0 dGH water hardness and 4 to 41 Â °C temperature range Despite they they may not survive long enough at higher temperatures. Infact, they are taken to be not suited to living in a tropical fish tank that is heated, as they are employed to the greater oxygen amount in unheated tanks as well heat can burn them. (Copp and Sayer, 2010) Materials: Infrared gas analyzer, Fish tank with a heater, three gold fish, thermometer and two hot water bags. For this experiment, Gold fish 1 will be placed directly into the fish Tank with temperature near to 40c . Gold fish 2 will be placed in fish tank with room temperature. Gold fish 3 will be placed in fish tank with a temperature near to 4o0c.The temperature recording will be done through placing the thermometer in the fish tank. The machine will be expected to match after every five minutes. Alteration will be done at different points. The experiment will be carried out to ascertain if temperature has a significant effect on respiration rates of the Gold fish. It is based on the fact that there is kinetic energy alteration of enzymes involved in respiration with change in temperature thus its rate of reaction can either be faster or slower Copp GH, Sayer CD (2010) Norfolk Biodiversity Action Plan – Local species action plan for crucian carp ( Carassius carassius). Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Reference:LS/3. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, 9

Introduction to Bim Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Bim Essay What Is Bim? Building Information Modeling (BIM): A Gateway for the Future Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a process of creating and managing building data during its development. Is a three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building modeling computer program in which you can increase productivity throughout building design and construction. This process produces the BIM, which then inter-connects the building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties with all the related building components. What Is Bim? BIM Basics BIM makes a reliable digital representation of the building available for design decision making, high-quality construction document production, construction planning, performance predictions, and cost estimates. Having the ability to keep information up-to-date and accessible in an integrated digital environment, gives architects, engineers, builders, and owners a clear overall vision of all their projects, as well as the ability to make informed decisions faster. The building information modeling process covers geometry, space, light, geographic information, quantities and properties of building components. BIM can be used to demonstrate the entire building life cycle, including the processes of construction and facility operation. What Is Bim? Benefits of BIM BIM can be seen as a companion to product life-cycle management as in the product development domain, since it goes beyond geometry and addresses issues such as cost management, project management and provides a way to work concurrently on most aspects of building life cycle process. It requires changes to the definition of traditional architectural phases and more data sharing than most architects and engineers are used to. The representations modeled in the BIM process are integrated to the actual parts and pieces being used to build. This is a substantial shift from the traditional computer aided drafting method of drawing with vector file-based lines that combine to represent objects. This BIM Modeling Video, will provide you with a better understanding of the purpose and uses of the modeling system. It is anticipated by proponents that BIM can be utilized to bridge the information loss associated with handing a project from the design team, to the construction team and to building owner/operator, by  allowing each group to add and reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to the BIM model.

A Synopsis of Christopher Taggi’s Movie 95 Essay Example for Free

A Synopsis of Christopher Taggi’s Movie 95 Essay Renowned American film producer Cecil B. DeMille once said, â€Å"What I have crossed out I didnt like. What I havent crossed out Im dissatisfied with.† (â€Å"Cecil B. DeMille Quotes.† brainyquote.com. Brainy Quote, n.d. Web. 05 Oct.2012.) This persistent feeling of dissatisfaction is suggested in Christopher Taggi’s â€Å"95,† in which the protagonist is discontent with his current life condition and keeps driving on the highway to look for better opportunities. In fact, the author points out that in contemporary society people are dissatisfied because of their insatiable desire for wanting more. This sad reality is illustrated by the protagonist’s parents, who are constantly moving from one place to another to try find opportunies, the protagonist Hank himself, who desires more than what he already has, and the highway that symbolizes people’s everlasting demand. The unfortunate fact of people feeling dissatisfied because of their avaricious desires is demonstrated by the characterization of Hank’s parents. When Hank was young, he and his parents were continually moving from here to there. His parents were never satisfied with what they had and were always looking for opportunities that would give them better jobs and make them wealthier and happier. From Hank’s descriptions of his father† touching things absently† (4) and† his eyes clouded with the nowhere stare,† (4) the author suggests that his father doesn’t enjoy his life. Also, when they stopped for food during car trips, Hank noticed that his father would only have a glass of water. Even if his father explained that: â€Å"No sense in buying something you don’t feel like eating,† (4) Hank knew that his parents were poor. This justifies his parents’ motivation of constantly moving. His father also used to say: â€Å"Opportunity, it makes people rich, makes people famous. All you have to do is go out there and find it.† (4) Contrary to what his parents believed, even after all the years of searching, they never found the right opportunity and obtained what they wanted. This suggests that Hank’s parents, like many people in modern society, will not find happiness because they live with insatiable desires and therefore will not get the feeling of satisfaction in their lives. The characterization of Hank himself also shows how people in the contemporary society always want more. For example, when Hank woke up from his dream about his socks, he realized that† nothing good or special or wonderful has happened to him.† (7) This shows that Frank is idealistic and has superfluous expectations in life. Also, Hank has a nice girlfriend who cares about him and loves him, but he still thinks about how he would leave her even though there are no reasons for him to do so. When his girlfriend asks him if he was happy, he says, â€Å"Sometimes I am. Mostly, I guess I just feel like I can’t be really happy. Just missing something important.† (7) Another passage would be when his girlfriend asked him if he likes her, he answered:†sometimes I like you and maybe I think I even love you a little. And sometimes I hate you.† (7) We can see that Hank is uncertain about his feelings for his girlfriend and if she is the person that he wants to be with. Those are typical examples of a person who is not sure about what he wants and believes that there is always something better waiting for him. The thing that is missing for Hank is simply appreciating what he already possesses. From this reasoning, it is clear that great numbers of people from the twentieth century are just like Hank, they can’t find happiness simply because they are insatiable. The highway is an important symbol used by the author to signify the notion that contemporary people are dissatisfied and always want more. Hank and his parents used to drive on the highway because they wanted more than what they have and the highway offered opportunities. When Hank is driving with his girlfriend on the highway, he sees many billboards that attract him. Especially one billboard on which was written† LUCKY LEO’S FIREWORK EMPORIUM, it boomed in explosive neon colors. LARGEST SUPPLY OF FIREWORKS IN ALL DIXIE! FREE PARKING and DELICIOUS RESTAURANT. 20Ml.† (4) However, when Hank finally gets there, all he finds is the emptiness of an abandoned place. He could see that â€Å"the largest supply of fireworks in all of Dixie must have gone off simultaneously a long time ago. Only the charred, outer brick shell of the building remained.† (5) This suggests that people like Hank, who always wish for more will often get disappointed by the reality and then again return to their initial state of dissatisfaction. The symbolism of the highway proves how people in contemporary society feel dissatisfied because of their everlasting demand. Thus, Christopher Taggi’s â€Å"95† suggests that people in the contemporary society are suffering from dissatisfaction. This is demonstrated by the characterization of Hank’s parents, who always try to find a better life, Hank himself, who is never satisfied with what he already has and the highway that symbolizes how people believe that better things are waiting for them. Work Cited Taggi,Christopher. â€Å"95.† Voices of the Xiled: A Generation Speakers For Itself. Eds. Michael Wexler and John Hulme. New York: Doubleday, 1994. 210-218. Print. â€Å"Cecil B. DeMille Quotes.† brainyquote.com. Brainy Quote, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2012

Quality Management Concept

Quality Management Concept This report mainly discusses quality management. The concept of quality management and its four different quality management schemes adopt in commercial operations. And briefly discuss about quality controls and their benefits to the customers by Adidas Company which engaged in London Olympics 2012 as official partner. Through out the first question discussed about the quality management concept and features which use to identify quality. And quality in terms of business and services perspective and how quality can be define with customer satisfaction. Also how quality management can be measured. As second step briefly discussed about four different quality management schemes adapt to commercial operations and the similarities and differences of each quality management schema. And discuss its importance of communication and record keeping within the organization. Select an organization which engaged in London Olympics 2012 and did quality audit and gave recommendations to do the modifications. I have selected Adidas Company which provides equipments, shoes, clothes and accessories to London Olympics 2012. As third part of the report briefly discussed about the information made available to customers and importance of effective marketing. Importance of user and nonuser surveys when determining customer needs. And what are the consultation methods used by the represented groups to encourage the participation for London Olympics 2012. Finally evaluate the value of complaints procedure and quality improvements. As fourth question of the report analyse the role of self assessment of own quality management system. And discussed about the staff consultation to implement effective quality scheme and I have proposed new modifications and ideas to improve the existing quality management schema. Question One: Concept of Quality Management Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Quality programs include Fitness for use. (Is the product or service capable of being used?) Fitness for purpose. (Does the product or service meet its intended purpose?) Customer satisfaction. (Does the product or service meet the customers expectations?) Conformance to the requirements. (Does the product or service conform to the requirements?) Define quality in terms of business and service provision The business and service organization is profited by selling their products and services. To keep the quality of the products and services these companies must practice the quality management. The quality must be including in all steps of production process of product or service. The best quality is key concept to improve sales as well as marketing tool. The quality is key element of Competition in the market. The organization is manufacturing products. The product must be capable to fit for use, confirm the manufactures requirements. And also meet its intended purpose as planned by the business organization. As same as the organization is service provided one, then the service must be fit to the requirements of the company, it must meet the intended purpose of a particular service of the company and confirm its requirements. Define quality in terms of customer satisfaction The customer is the most important person of the business and service organizations. These organizations manufacturing goods and services to full fill the requirements of the customers. The organizations existence is depends on the customer satisfaction. The products and services must be able to meet the customers expectations by the product and service. The product and the service must be value its price paid by the customer. The customers are attracted to the best quality products and services. After consuming product or service the customer is satisfied and, the customer thinks to buy the same product or service again, then product or service represents best quality. Then the customer has confidents to buy other new arrivals. Due to best quality some trade marks are more popular. These products and services satisfy the customers in higher level. How quality management can be measured Quality management can be measured in different ways. Number of scraped goods, reworks done for produce goods, additional material or inventory which do not use for particular production, warranty repairs or service done for sold goods, customer complaints made for sold goods and services, liability judgement made for goods and services, product recalls and product corrective actions taken to products. The above mentioned measurements are considerably high the products or services are not in a bests quality. Question Two: Four different Quality Management schemes appropriate to commercial operations The Quality Management Systems (QMS) scheme helps organisations to meet customers quality requirements and relevant regulatory requirements, while also enhancing customer satisfaction and achieving continual improvement of its performance. Describe the rationale underpinning four quality schemes commonly adopted by commercial operations Quality Planning Quality planning is the process of identifying the quality standards according to the products and services which produce in the organization and determining how to satisfy the particular quality standards. Identify the particular quality policy, scope statement, product description, quality standards and regulations as products and services. Then use cost benefit analysis, benchmarking, flowcharts and design experiment methods to determine the current quality levels and identify the gap between the identified quality standards and current position. Then determine quality management plan, checklists and input to other processes, as the final stage. The above mentioned quality planning methods represents the quality position of the organization and produce best quality products and services. The quality planning is also carrying out as quality management scheme. Quality Assurance Quality Assurance is the process of evaluating overall production performance on a regular basis and assures the productions satisfaction in terms of quality standards. Evaluate quality management plan, evaluate results of quality control measurements and operational definitions. And use quality planning tools, techniques and quality audits for evaluate overall production performance. Then give confidents of production satisfaction in terms of quality standards. So quality assurance is also a quality management scheme. Quality Control Monitoring products and services to determine if they comply with relevant quality standards and identifying ways to eliminate the poor performance of the production process. Monitoring work results, quality management plan, operational definitions and checklists in the production processes of product or service. Then use quality control methods of inspections, control charts, pareto diagrams, statistical sampling, flowcharting and trend analysis to identify lower performance of the production process. Then do quality improvements, change acceptance decisions, do rework, completed checklists and do process adjustment as quality improve decisions of quality control scheme. Total Quality Management Implementing quality improvement programmes within the organization to maintain the particular quality standards. Maintaining quality programmes in all stages of production process (planning, training and induction, process control, field testing, product design validation, process validation, test and evaluations, quality audits, maintain and calibration) and among the staff(senior manager, production manager and production staff) who are working in the organization. Identify main similarities and differences between quality schemes Similarities All these quality schemes are based on particular quality standards of the product or service. Quality control and quality planning schemes take corrective actions to minimize the poor performance of the production process. Quality assurance and quality control evaluates the current quality levels of the organization and come up to a decision. Total quality management and quality control change the quality practice continuously. Differences In quality planning schema based only on the previously planned quality levels. Quality assurance schema consider only about the level of quality assurance. Quality control schema continually improves the performance of the quality practice. Total quality management implementing quality programmes, if usable or non usable as stage of the production process. Explain importance of communication and record keeping in quality schemes By communicating quality schemas give the new ideas to develop the quality practices within the organization. Communication identifies the purpose for the weak points of the low quality production steps. And also identifies the best schema to carry out in the quality management system. Record keeping compare the past results and identify the weak points within the production process of goods and services. Can be used to draw statistical diagrams and identify the major defects and improve the particular stages of the process and for analysis purposes. Record keeping makes easy, the benchmarking processes with other organizations. Question Three: Quality Controls and their benefits to the customers Adidas Company is one official partner of the London Olympic 2012. That provides shoes, clothes, accessories and equipment for London Olympic 2012. Assess the information made available to customers and the importance given to effective marketing Information is available through internet, television and other media. They are highly use internet to send information to the customers. Because they can take the customer feed back through internet faster than other mediums. Information availability improves higher buyer in, improves market presents through easy access using internet, feed back is high therefore significantly can be improve customer satisfaction, faster transaction times, more efficient order processing and due to less manual work the fewer errors. Can be able to keep existing customers introducing new styles, attract new customers using different prices and styles, can be able to make a trend in the market using marketing and increase market share, taking feedback from customers and improve the quality and new arrivals to the market. Evaluate the benefit of user and non user surveys in determining customer needs User surveys Users are the existing customers. To keep them the new products and style must be introduce for that their customer satisfaction is more important. By doing user surveys can be able to identify their needs, expectations, and the trend in the market. And also can be able to identify limitations. The user surveys can be easily done from the audience of London Olympics 2012. Non user surveys Non users are also customers. They were non users may be due to unaffordable prices or dislike to the products. From these surveys the Adidas can identify the reason and can be able to produce products for their desire while keeping the standards of the company. Olympics is in 2012 from these surveys helps introduce new fashions. Examine the methods of consultation employed to encourage participation by under represented groups Publish the growth undertaken after joining as a partner of London Olympics 2012; Show the sales improvements within that period through media discussion and press conference. The new arrivals can be market through the Olympic 2012 through internet and television. Release newspaper articles about, the benefits gain by participating London Olympics2012. Investigate the value of complaints procedure and analyse how each is used to improve quality Identify weaknesses The customers identify weakness points of the products. That can be size requirements, colour requirements and etc. Then the Adidas can change the products as customer perception. Identify low quality points Some products can be broken only in one place, all the times (must be continuous customer) If they received considerable number of complaints about a particular cloth or shoes or etc. then Adidas can identify this low quality point and will be able to improve quality. Complaints about after sales services Can be complaint about the staff who provided after sales services. Then the Adidas can improve the quality of the employees who are employing in their company. Question Four: Principles of Quality Management Role of self assessment in order to determine an Organizations quality management The quality policy must develop as first step by the Management team. The quality improvement team must establish representing all the departments of the company. Quality must be measures continuously to reduce quality awareness errors. The corrective actions must be taken for quality issues and zero defects planning must be done to the future productions. The identified errors can be removal through daily quality checking and reduces the error making purposes. Then critically recognise the particular point will help to improve the quality. Employees must be educating about the quality standards and issues and the importance of quality work and quality council must work daily basis and planned a zero defects day. Explain the stages of staff consultation necessary for effective implementation of a quality scheme Staffs are responsible for the production. Quality of the product or service is depending on the quality work done by the staff. During the planning stage to after sales services stage, the staff must do the quality work. The surveys can be done through the staff about quality scheme of the company. The documents are also filled according to the quality standards. The workforce planning is also should be change for effective implementation of quality scheme. The time management and material management must be quality for the effective implementation. Train the new staff for the particular positions then the errors will reduce and improve the quality scheme. Propose new systems or modifications to existing systems that could improve service quality The quality standard and policies must be change according to new trends and customer perceptions. Continues improvement is more practical because it is not cost very much.

Joseph Stalin Essay -- essays research papers

Joseph Stalin was a Georgian Marxist revolutionary leader and later dictator of the USSR. He was born in Gori, Georgia. He studied at Tiflis Orthodox where he was expelled from in 1899. After joining a Georgian Social Democratic organization in 1898, he became active in a revolutionary underground, and he was twice sent to Siberia. As a leading Bolshevik he played an active role in the October Revolution. In 1922, he became general secretary of the Party Central Committee, a position that he held until the day of his death. Stalin also occupied other key positions, which enabled him to build up enormous personal power in the government. This is a key point in Stalin’s life where he was enormously confident about himself which led him to do things that were no acceptable in today’s standard life. After the death of Vladimir I. Lenin in 1924 Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union where he made many changes to agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union w as one hundred years behind the West and that they had to catch up as quickly as possible. This is where the idea of his "Five Year Plan," came about. The five-year plan basically got the people involved and motivated them into a modern life. From the 5-year plan, 25 million farms were produced which were only big enough to feed the families that were harvesting them. The more successful peasants were called the Kulaks. Along with the five-year plan, Stalin launched a campaign for the &q...

The Quest of the Holy Grail Essay -- Analysis, Galahad

Galahad was a Knight of the Round Table of Arthurian legend. He is almost always portrayed as the pure knight, and for this he is rewarded with the Holy Grail. He is mentioned in many writings in history including 12th century Cistercian monk writing The Quest of the Holy Grail, Sir Thomas Malory’s Selected Tales of King Arthur and his Knights, and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Sir Galahad. After reading the next several pages, one should begin to understand the similarities and differences portrayed in these writings, along with some others. The reader will explore how Galahad resists temptation, his quests including the Holy Grail, any romantic encounters including God, and how the writings presented may contradict. After completing the reading the reader should be able to note in what ways Galahad is similar or different in early and modern writings. The first writing selected is The Quest of the Holy Grail. An unknown author wrote this selection though believed to be a 12th century Cistercian monk. As the title implies the main story is in fact the spiritual quest for the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail in this case being the platter from which Jesus Christ served bread at the Last Supper. The Grail is full of many rewards to whoever achieves it including eternal life, and the ability to heal some ailments. Galahad is first presented in this novel by three nuns, â€Å"a youth so fair and so well-made that it was hard indeed to find his peer (Quest 33).† Lancelot then knights him unbeknownst of who he is. A few pages later, a quest is presented to Arthur and his Knights. It is a sword inlayed into a stone, with gold writing that reads, â€Å"none shall take me hence but he at whose side I am to hang. And he shall be the best knight in th... ...alahad is portrayed still as a noble knight, however not that of the Lord, instead a Pagan. Galahad is also similar in age to Lancelot and Arthur, therefore making it seem that the reference of Lancelot being Galahad’s father is nonexistent. There is also no Grail quest, and thus eliminates the motive of God that drives Galahad in all other writings presented. In conclusion, Galahad is portrayed in the presented writings as pure, and the knight of God, for whom the Grail is saved. Throughout the selected readings, there are remarkable similarities showing this, however very few differences. As noted, Galahad does endure many tasks, and resists many temptations of sin. The reader should now have a better understanding of how Galahad is presented in early and more modern works, including each author’s depiction, and the qualities, which they entitle to Galahad.

Essay --

Being born into a Indian family, where the cuisine is exquisite makes staying healthy and fit almost impossible. Almost everything we eat is fried and full of oil and butter. Instead of eating small meals with snacks in between we eat three big meals. Although most of the food is cooked at home it is still full of fat. Indians are known for their amazing food and the reason it tastes so heavenly is because of all the oil and butter in it. Who can resist the temptation of such delicious food? Did you know that obesity is part of the top 10 factors of death? Being obese can cause serious problems and can be dangerous for normal life. Obesity is a common problem nowadays, which occurred because of various factors such as, development of human civilization, transport, media and communication devices. The increase in technology makes people lazier, rarely moving and spending their free time sitting in front of the computer. People are giving up quality for speed, is it worth it? Obesity i s a major issue I deal with almost everyday, I have several family members who are obese. My family members who are obese don’t care that they are obese and they just continue living the wrong type of lifestyle. They argue that obesity is a disease when many just say it’s a lifestyle. Being obese isn’t easy, yet half the people in America chose nothing to do about it. If people do not do anything to get rid of obesity then the cycle will continue to go on and I need to figure out how to get obese people to live a healthier lifestyle and influence these people to break the cycle. This semester I will be researching on whether obesity is a disease or a lifestyle. I also want to research why the sudden rise in obesity, and what can be done to reduce it. ... ...healthy and not exercise. Eating vegetables and working out is not easy but it is something that needs to be done to maintain a healthy life. Growing up I was surrounded by obese people and tried to eat as healthy as I can so that I would not become obese. While my family would be eating dessert I would eat vegetables. Instead of watching T.V with the rest of my family, I would go outside and play. I guess you can say I was born to be health conscious and want the rest of the world to be healthy also. Researching on obesity is going to be very interesting and seeing the differences in people’s opinions on whether it is a disease or a lifestyle is going to be another interesting aspect. Writing about this topic will help me help those who need some kind of motivation to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. Obesity is a huge issue that needs special attention.

Child marriage Essay

Throughout the world, marriage is considered to be a happy moment in everyone’s life and is a moment of celebration but sadly, the practice of child marriage gives no such reason for celebration. Many young boys and girls get married before they can reach the age of 18. This shocking act takes place for a number of reasons. In order to get benefitted socially, physically and to decrease financial burdens, many parents and families throughout the world, promote the marriage of their young sons and daughters. Throughout the years, we have seen that child marriage targets more girls than boys. Boys are affected as well but in totality, the number of victims and the intensity of their sufferings are way higher for girls. After their marriage, girls live an exclusive life where they do not receive any kind of education, they are forced for performing huge amounts of household works, are impregnated without their approval and are forced to take the big responsibility of raising and taking care of a child when they themselves are not mature enough and are still kids. What problems can child marriage lead to? Read more:  Child Marriages Essay Child marriage is caused when two young or one young and one adult individuals are forced into the institution of marriage without their consent. According to researches by PBS, â€Å"Although the definition of child marriage includes boys, most children married under the age of 18 years are girls.† The kid or kids getting married are totally unaware of its significance and consequences it can lead to in future years. Usually when a child, commonly girl, is married and brought into the husband’s family in such a young age, they think they can design and built up her personality into anything and everything they want her to be. The girl child is then forced into various activities which harms her both physically and mentally. (PBS, II). Health problems After getting married, the girl child is then pressurized by her new family to do things that she doesn’t want to. She is forced by her husband to get into sexual activities and to have kids soon after. As she is not mentally prepared and physically mature, she faces various complications and health issues in the future and sometimes it also leads to death. The connection  between the maternal death and the age of the mother is very strong as the child bride is highly likely to get pregnant in a little while after her marriage causing their pregnancy to be premature. According to the digest by UNICEF, â€Å"Girls ages 10-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24. Girls ages 15-19 are twice as likely to die.† Such young mothers also face a very high chance of getting into complications such as heavy bleeding, various infections, diseases like anemia etc. which can lead to death. As first time mothers, girls also face a high r isk of a disease called Obstructed Fistula, which is lead by obstructed labor. Obstructed labor is when a it is hard for a mother to give birth to a child and push it out of her body. This causes great pain and ofter results in death of the mother. According to PBS, â€Å"There are approximately 2 million girls living with fistula, and 100,000 new cases every year.† Girls suffering from this disease are usually neglected by their husbands and kept away from the society. There is this myth, according to which a lot of people around the world think that by marrying the child early, they can reduce the chances of their kid getting HIV aids but the opposite is true. Married girls are more likely to get HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases compared to the ones who aren’t married. This is mostly because they are not enough educated about sex, its consequences and the use of contraceptive and if by any chance they are aware about this, they are not able to obtain the sa me as because of limited autonomy or freedom of movement. They are also abused by their family, which is a form of domestic violence, and this makes them mentally ill leading to depression.(UNICEF). Domestic violence There is a very close relation between child marriage and Domestic violence. Most of the cases about domestic violence are of people who were married early ore were married forcefully. According to studies, â€Å"Girl child is usually married by a man who is much more older than her† thus proving that her in laws and husband is much more stronger than her and she possesses less control. Sometimes the young bride thinks that it is justified that she s getting beaten up by her husband as she is too young to differentiate between right and wrong. Studies by UNICEF say that, â€Å"women who marry early are more likely to be beaten or threatened, and more likely to believe that  husbands might sometimes be justified in beating his wife.† Also in Kenya, 36 percent of girls married before 18 believe that a man is sometimes justified in beating his wife, compared to 20 percent of married women .Girls who get proper education and are married later take more mature decisions an d raise their voices against such abuses. According to research by ICRW, â€Å"Girls who were married before 18 were twice as likely to report being beaten, slapped or threatened by their husbands as girls who married later. They were three times as likely to report being forced to have sex without their consent in the previous six months.† This indicates how girls have less power compared to the men in such kind of marriage. Girls who get into the institution of marriage after the age of 18 are much more knowledgeable compared to the young ones and they have a health husband-wife relationship as they use contraceptives and contains the strength to go and talk to their husbands about the future and their likes and dislikes. This creates a better understanding between them making them have a happy life ahead. While on the other hand, the child bride is like a puppet for their husbands as they can use them whenever they want and the child bride is too shy to go and talk to him about her life and her needs. (ICRW). What are the socio-cultural and economic reasons that lead to child marriage? There are a lot of reasons that lead to Child marriage. An integration of various cultural, regional, economical, social and religious causes makes up the roots of this act. Poverty Poverty is considered to be one of the most basic reasons for a girl getting married off in an early age. According to a fact sheet released by UNFPA, â€Å"The practice of child marriage has decreased globally over the last 30 years, it remains common in rural areas and among the poor.† There are a number of poor men who are not able to feed and run their family well. In order to feed their other children, clear debts or in exchange of some money, they decide to marry off their child, usually a girl to a man who is way older than her hoping for a better future. Such a decision just makes the life of the girl child difficult like hell and satisfies the needs of the bride’s family just for a short term but in no way helps anyone have a well settled life. (McGluain). Protection of Family’s honor Some parents and families also think that it is a good way to save their family’s honor by marrying their girl child in an early age. There are various cultures where there is a belief that if a girl loses her virginity before she marries someone, then it is very shameful for the family and thus spoils its reputation and honor. Therefore by marrying a girl in an early age presume the girl’s sexuality and that she is being married as a virgin protecting the family’s honor. This is very discouraging for the girls as by imposing family’s respect and honor on them; there family doubts her nature and this harms her self-respect and dignity. Girls are also expected to marry older man as they are more knowledgeable and sensible and can take care of the girl child as a parent but this is not the truth for almost all the cases in fact the opposite happens breaking the girl’s morals and leading her into depression.(UNFPA). Discrimination based on gender Another main reason for child marriage is discrimination based on gender. In various cultures and society, people regard girls as the week ones or the one who holds less or no power and devaluates and discriminates against them. According to a research by UNICEF, â€Å"often manifests itself in the form of domestic violence, marital rape, and deprivation of food, lack of access to information, education, healthcare, and general impediments to mobility.† In many cases of child marriage, the family gives the child bride less value and restricts her from doing things she want. The child is usually not enough educated to fight for her rights so she stays quiet and takes goes through the troubles her husband and in laws put her through. They are also disrespected by the society if they do a small mistake. They are not able to live a normal life and are forced into various unacceptable activities. They are also beaten up by their husbands and they use the girl the way they want. Thi s way either the girl ends up being destroyed mentally or sometime even dying. (UNICEF). Violation of laws In various countries there are various laws which restrict child marriage and are against them for example Pakistan and India. Even though such laws exist, the constitutions of these countries don’t take any strict actions if people violate them. The legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for girls and 21 for boys. Under the Child Marriage Prevention Act, 1929, any marriage before these ages is banned. Despite in presence of such laws, a huge number of child marriages take place everywhere and no one tries to stop it. According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) â€Å"100 million girls will be married before the age of 18 in the coming decade.†(ICRW). What are the similarities and dissimilarities between present day child marriage and the ones in the past? There is not much difference between present day child marriage and the one that took place years back. People follow the footsteps of their ancestors and blindly believe them. In the past, people were married off early as they were unaware about the fact that it is a harmful practice and causes various problems. Year after year, as the time passed, people followed the same rules without changing or checking whether it is legit or not. In some places, people got educated and they studied about it. They understood about its good and bad points and on based on that they started changing the rules. Still in various parts of the world, there exists a lot of places where people, mainly the girls, are being married at a really young age. This is happening as these places are very backwards and lack education. According to UNFPA, â€Å" more than 100 million young girls will be marrie d off in the next decade†. (UNFPA). How does child marriage differ in different parts of world? Child Marriage is common in various places throughout the globe and is much more common with girls than boys. According to a survey by UNICEF, â€Å"One of every seven girls gets married before they turn fifteen and one of every three girls gets married under age, that is before they turn eighteen. The Highest rate of child marriage is in West Africa. It is followed by southern Asia, the Middle East and then the Latin America. The condition of some countries are so poor that they more than a half of the under aged female population f the country are married or are about to get married. According to UNFPA fact sheet, â€Å"76 percent of girls in Nigeria , 74 per cent of girls in Democratic Republic of Congo, 54 per cent of girls in Afghanistan , 50 per cent of girls in India and 51 per cent of girls in Bangladesh are married under age, that is before turning 18.† These countries lack  education and schools in rural areas so the most of the crowd is illiterate and are also la gging economically. Hence, it is proved that poverty and education is inversely proportional. There are customs in India which allow people to give away the kids on the auspicious day and event of ‘Akha Teej’. Families use this to get money and property. A lot of kids under the age of 10 are involved in it and some are toddlers of age 3 or 4. When it comes to Nigeria, studies by UNICEF shows that â€Å"44 percent of 20-24 year old women in Niger were married under the age of 15†. These people follow the idiosyncratic and traditional laws setup by their ancestors. Even in Bangladesh, girls are married as soon as they hit puberty just to save their family’s honor and to release financial burdens form the parents. As education increases, people get aware of the problems caused by such acts and they emphasize on learning which in return makes them prosperous and ensures a secure life ahead. Studies also shows that countries in East Asia like Taiwan, South Kore a, Japan etc. have almost removed the tradition of child marriage their prosperity is increasing rapidly day by day. These places are characterized by economic growth, opportunities, declines in death and birth rates, Increase in employment and educational options for girls etc. (UNICEF). How can it affect the lives of the future generations? One of the most essential and basic reasons because of which child marriage still exists is education. Studies have shown the important role that education plays in child marriage. Research by UNICEF shows that â€Å"the more education a girl receives, the less likely she is to be married as a child. Improving access to education and eliminating gender gaps in education are therefore important strategies for ending the practice of child marriage.† It is clear that if more and more girls will be educated, the will be more aware about the things going on around them and can have the power to stand for themselves and judge between right and wrong. (UNFPA). To conclude, child marriage is generally seen as one of the easiest ways established by poor to lower middle class families to make their and their child’s future safe but in almost all the cases, it is not true. It only  secures the family from poverty for a short time period but destroys the life of the girl child forever. With the marriage comes various issues and problems which the young brides go through and in most of the cases they end up dying as they are not strong enough mentally or physically to go through such pain. It also affects the future generations. The babies born to girls under 16 years of age are more likely to die during their first year of life and if they survive, they aren’t healthy like a child who is born from a 20 year old woman, and goes through various deformities in future. As the girls are being married in an early age, they are not able to get educated and this makes a big difference. Works Cited â€Å"Childinfo.org: Statistics by Area – Child Marriage – The Challenge.† Childinfo.org: Statistics by Area – Child Marriage – The Challenge. Web. 13 May 2013. â€Å"Child Marriage.† Forward. Web. 13 May 2013. Child Marriage â€Å"Child Marriage Factsheet: State of World Population 2005 – UNFPA.† Child Marriage Factsheet: State of World Population 2005 – UNFPA.Web. 14 May 2013. . â€Å"Child Marriage a Cultural Problem, Educational Access a Race Issue? Deconstructing Uni-Dimensional Understanding of Romani Oppression.† – ERRC.org. Web. 13 May 2013. â€Å"Child Marriage: Facts, Causes and Consequences.†Child Marriage-Facts Causes and consequences.Web. 13 May 2013. â€Å"Early Teen Marriage and Future Poverty.† Early Teen Marriage and Future Poverty. Web. 13 May 2013. â€Å"Early marriage, a harmful traditional practice†Early marriage. 13 May 2013. Web. McLaughlin, John. â€Å"Medieval child marriage:abuse or wardship?†Untitled Document. Web. 13 May 2013. â€Å"Marriage, Child Spouses.† Early marriage, child Spouses. Web. 13 May 2013 â€Å"Preventing Child Marriages: First International Day of the Girl Child â€Å"My Life, My Right, End Child Marriage†.† Reproductive Health. Web. 13 May 2013.

Europeans in Jamaica Essay

When did they come? Jamaica was first colonized by a native group of South American origin who, in the early history of Jamaica, called their home a paradise of wood and water. The Arawak were there to greet Christopher Columbus when he arrived in Jamaica in 1494, beginning a long period of European colonization there. The history of Jamaica as a European outpost saw the island under Spanish rule for 150 years, during which the city now known as Spanish Town was established and flourished as the colony’s economic hub. In the 1650s, Jamaica was captured by the British. Despite turning Jamaica into a profitable colony, continued harassment by a group of ex-slaves – brought over throughout the Spanish period and set free during their retreat – and their descendants dogged the British until they relented and granted emancipation to all remaining plantation laborers in 1838. The Maroons, as this small army was known, are still revered today as some of the most brave and noble figures in the history of Jamaica. Why did they come? On May 10, 1655, an English expedition, commanded by Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables, landed at the present-day coastal town of Passage Fort, in the southeastern parish of Saint Catherine. This expedition, which had failed to capture Hispaniola, proceeded to claim the island of Jamaica for England. At the time of the English conquest, the Spaniards were unable to effectively resist the invasion because only about 500 of them were armed with weapons. The English ordered the Spanish colonists to deliver all of their slaves and goods and leave the island. Some followed these orders, but a group led by Don Cristabal Arnaldo de Isasi remained and put up guerrilla resistance to the English. Isasi freed the slaves, many of whom retreated with the Spanish rebels into the hills. From there, the Spanish and the freed blacks who had joined them frequently raided and waged guerrilla warfare on English settlements. Isasi, finally overwhelmed by English forces, fled to Cuba for reinforcement. Some of the blacks who had fought with Isasi, recognizing that the Spanish case was lost, defected to the English. A black regiment fighting for the English, led by the former slave Juan de Bolas, proved a decisive factor in the final defeat of the Spanish, marked by Isasi’s retreat in 1660. How did they colonize? Jamaica’s English-appointed governor Edward D’Oyley compensated the black regiment by officially recognizing their freedom and granting them landholdings. Other formerly Spanish-owned slaves remained autonomous of the colonial administration, living in their own communities as maroons. Spain officially ceded the island to England under the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. The English established a representative system of government, giving white settlers the power to make their own laws through an elected House of Assembly, which acted as a legislative body. The Legislative Council, whose members were appointed by the governor, served an advisory function and took part in legislative debates. This system lasted until it was replaced in 1866 by the crown colony system of government, which stripped the island elite of most of its political power. What changes did they make? The English encouraged permanent settlement through generous land grants. In 1664 Sir Thomas Modyford, a sugar plantation and slave owner in Barbados (a Caribbean island of the Lesser Antilles chain), was appointed governor of Jamaica. He brought 1,000 English settlers and black slaves with him from Barbados. Modyford immediately encouraged plantation agriculture, especially the cultivation of cacao and sugarcane. By the early 1700s sugar estates worked by black slaves were established throughout the island, and sugar and its by-products dominated the economy. Other economic activities, including livestock rearing and the cultivation of coffee and pimento (allspice), developed as well. With the establishment of the plantation system, the slave trade grew. Slaves of both genders and every age were found in all facets of the island’s economy, in both rural and urban areas. They were laborers on plantations, domestic servants, and skilled artisans (tradesmen, technicians, and itinerant traders). The wealth created in Jamaica by the labor of black slaves has been estimated at ? 18,000,000, more than half of he estimated total of ? 30,000,000 for the entire British West Indies. It has been postulated that the profit generated by the ‘triangular trade’ (involving sugar and tropical produce from the British Caribbean colonies, the trade in manufactured goods for slaves in Africa, and the trade of slaves in the British Caribbean) financed the Industrial Revolution in Britain. More than 1 million slaves are estimated to have bee n transported directly from Africa to Jamaica during the period of slavery; of these, 200,000 were reexported to other places in the Americas. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Akan, Ga, and Adangbe from the northwestern coastal region known as the Gold Coast (around modern Ghana) dominated the slave trade to the island. Not until 1776 did slaves imported from other parts of Africa-Igbos from the Bight of Biafra (southern modern Nigeria) and Kongos from Central Africa-outnumber slaves from the Gold Coast. But slaves from these regions represented 46 percent of the total number of slaves. The demand for slaves required about 10,000 to be imported annually. Thus slaves born in Africa far outnumbered those who were born in Jamaica; on average they constituted more than 80 percent of the slave population until Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807. When Britain abolished the institution of slavery in 1834, Jamaica had a population of more than 311,000 slaves and only about 16,700 whites. By the mid-1700s planters were distributing small plots of marginal land to their slaves, both men and women, as a way to offset the cost of providing food. However, the slaves were expected to tend their own crops only during their limited free time. Although slaves were not allotted much time to work the plots, they were able to produce enough not only for their own subsistence but also for sale. A vibrant marketing network developed among the slaves throughout the island, creating what is referred to as a proto-peasantry. In the British mind, slaves were no more than property and merchandise to be bought and sold. On this premise, the British enacted a whole system of slave laws aimed primarily at policing slaves. In general, the premise that slaves were no more than property allowed slave owners to treat them brutally. The severity of this brutality varied. Slaves on large sugar estates generally suffered the harshest punishments, while those on smaller estates and in towns received somewhat better treatment. Colonialism The history of Jamaica is crucial to understanding the country’s current situation. Many of the problems today are results of neocolonial forces. The roots of such concerns can be found within the country’s long legacy of colonialism extending 300 years in length before reaching independence. Jamaica was the meeting place of two expropriate populations: the Britisher uprooting himself in search of quick wealth through sugar; and the African uprooted by force from his environment to supply slave labor upon which his owner’s dream of wealth depended† (Manley, 1975: 12). In 1494 Christopher Columbus arrived on the island to be followed by his son, Diego, in 1509. Diego Columbus sent a delegation to the island thus supporting Spanish control in Jamaica until 1660. During the reign of the Spanish the colonizers managed to wipe out the entire population of native Arawaks, comprised of 60,000 people. The Spanish had imported some slaves from Africa during this time but developed little of the island. Profound development began in 1660 when, after a five-year struggle against the Spanish crown, the British won power. There was a significant rise in population under British control. Their system allowed the colony to prosper as they gave new European settlers land to cultivate sugar cane and cocoa. â€Å"The European planter has been described as a machine for making money† (Waters, 1985: 22). The purpose of this colonial economic system was to provide raw materials and goods for the Mother Country. In addition, a general consumer market was developed to send wealth to Europe and allow for capital accumulation, all for the benefit of the colonizers. Slavery represents an important part of Jamaican history and the cultivated dominant atmosphere. For one, plantations highly depended on slave labor to maximize profit margins. Between 1655 and 1808 one million slaves were forcefully brought to Jamaica (Waters, 1985: 21-23). Persaud (2001: 72) suggests, â€Å"the plantation system, the totality of institutional arrangements surrounding the production and marketing of plantation crops, has seriously affected society in Jamaica†. In other words, the slave mode of production was a crucial factor in the establishment of Jamaica’s structural society. â€Å"Jamaica’s class structure today reflects its history as a colonial plantation society and its beginnings of industrial development characterized by a high rate of inequality and poverty

Religion and Science Essay

They can actually complement each other. To understand what Einstein meant when he said this, we must first understand his views on religion. When I was first given Einstein’s article â€Å"Religion and Science† in class, I felt like he was very anti-religious. Throughout the first few paragraphs of the article he talked about why people were led to religious thought and belief. According to him, it was fear and the desire for guidance, support, and love – emotions that were considered signs of â€Å"weakness† – that evoked religious notions. It was just this that drove people to look into a higher being as a means of hope. These feelings are what initiated religious beliefs that told people what they can and can’t do to please God. Einstein’s belief that these â€Å"weak† feelings initiated religion, made him seem so opposed to the idea of looking into an unknown being as a sense of security. Later on in his article, Einstein also told us that religion is not necessary for a person’s ethical behavior. You don’t need a God to tell you right from wrong. After reading all of this, I came to the conclusion that Einstein did not believe in religion. However, after further reading on Einstein I realized that I was very much wrong. Einstein did believe in a religion, but his religion was not the typical, traditional, organized religion like most people believe in. Einstein believed in a â€Å"cosmic religious feeling;† he believed in a higher being that controlled the universe, but not one who was interested in the personal affairs of humans. It was his line of work that had become his religion. He was so passionate and devoted to science that it had become his faith. His religious feeling was of â€Å"inklings† and â€Å"wondering. His religion was his thoughts, and it was through this that Einstein studied and came to scientific conclusions. Einstein’s religion was his questions, and science was his means of getting the answers. Einstein once said that you are not a true scientist if you don’t approach science with religious awe. Einstein believed that science and religion were nothing without each o ther. Since religion was Einstein’s â€Å"inklings† and â€Å"wondering,† religion was a sort of motivation for science. After all, what would science be without human questioning? Science would be pointless without religion, and that is what Einstein meant when he said â€Å"Science without religion is lame. † Science is just, as many people see it, a search for answers, and religion gives the questions. Some people choose to follow a religion without any logical thinking of their own; this is what Einstein meant by â€Å"Religion without science is blind. † It doesn’t make sense to believe in something without any logical reasoning. You would have to do some further research and study to give yourself further knowledge and understanding of a certain belief. Many people believe in a certain religion just because their parents believe in it, and that is the faith they grew up in to. They practice this religion because it’s what they were taught to do, not because it’s something they personally believe in. This is an example of a religious belief being â€Å"blind. † The person hasn’t looked into the religion at all on their own to see if there is any truth in it. They believe it just because their family believes it. This is completely illogical. Without proven facts to back up a belief, the belief is simply blind. A belief being blind, meaning that the belief has no evidence to back it up. There is no logical reason to believe in it. Science helps to create an open minded understanding of religion. Without science, religion would be useless and completely illogical. Although religion is not the same to me as it was to Einstein, I completely agree that religion and science are nothing without each other. Religion and science go hand in hand. My religion, Islam, doesn’t only tell me to believe, but it also provokes me to ask questions. Unlike Einstein, my religion is not just a religion of questions, it gives answers as well. However, most of these answers can be scientifically backed up, and the others have not been scientifically disproven either. Religion, or more specifically, Islam, is not primarily scientific; however it does answer some of the same questions as science. I believe that religion is nothing without science because it doesn’t make sense to blindly believe in something without some fact to back it up. Religion is a strong elief, and science may elaborate on that belief. In fact, Islam encourages scientific research. Time and time again, it is mentioned in the Quran (holy book) to reflect, not to just blindly believe. A verse in the Quran states, â€Å"And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who reflect† [13:3] . This verse encourages us to reflect over these â€Å"signs,† to do research and believe with reason. It is only through research that religion is understood and appreciated even more. In Islam, it is believed that the Quran, the holy book was brought down over 1400 years ago, during the 7th century. That was a time when people didn’t know many of the scientific facts we know now. They weren’t advanced enough, and they didn’t have the correct technology. It was a time when people thought that the world was flat. The Quran, however, stated differently, it hinted at the roundness of the Earth. â€Å"He has created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth. He wraps the night up in the day, and wraps the day up in the night† [39:5]. The Arabic word that translates to â€Å"to wrap† in this verse is â€Å"yukawwir,† which comes from the origin â€Å"kurah† meaning sphere. Also, in this verse, wrapping the night up in the day means that the night slowly and gradually turns to day, which could only happen if the Earth was round. Another example is the formation of rain. The three stages of rain formation are the â€Å"raw material† of rain rising up into the air with the wind, clouds forming from the water vapor, and finally raindrops falling. In the Quran, it is stated, â€Å"It is Allah Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His servants He wills, they rejoice† [30:48]. The stages of rain formation weren’t discovered until after the weather radar was invented, but the same stages are discussed in the Quran. These are just two of many scientific signs in the Quran, but it shows that in Islam, absolute religious text and absolute scientific fact never contradict. Many people believe that religion and science can’t coexist because they cancel each other out. It is either one or the other, but this just simply isn’t true. In Islam, there is no conflict between absolute scientific fact and absolute religious text; everyone would be able to see this if they really looked into both of these factors. Religion actually encourages people to expand their knowledge through scientific research and come to a deeper understanding of their religion.

American Latinos: Cubans, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans

Three of the most dominant Latinos present in the American society today are the Mexican (66. 9%), Puerto Ricans (8. 6%) and Cubans (3. 7%) (Ramirez & Cruz, 2003, 20). Aside from the fact that all three groups speak Spanish, all share common cultural backgrounds that differ from the US mainstream society. For one, the Latinos are very family oriented and keep extended families at home (Driscoll et al, 2001, 255; Andersen & Collins). In most Latino families, grandparents live with one of their married children or married children live with their parents. Sometimes relatives also live with the nuclear family.Grandmothers played a significant role in the lives of Latino families, they help in raising their grandchildren and act as advisers. Latino parents also want their children to live with them until they get married. Such culture conflicts with the US mainstream society where independence and self-reliance is largely emphasized (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 263-265). Keeping an extende d family in the home is not popular in US culture; in fact, children are expected to leave their homes when they reach eighteen. Children who still live with their parents at that age are looked upon as dependent.Unlike Latino grandparents, older women in mainstream society exercised less power over their married children and more often than not suffer from depression due to an empty nest syndrome. Moreover, the prevalent individualistic culture of mainstream society in the US do not allow for too much dependence with other people even with their own family. The Americans worked hard in their entire life to support their old age. Unlike the old Latinos that were taken cared of in the home when they are sick, aged Americans are usually cared for in foster homes or hospices.Americans viewed too much dependence on others as a sign of laziness and irresponsibility (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 265). Latinos hold double standard for men and women. The honor of Latino family rest on the sexu al behavior of their women. Women must keep their virginity at all cost until marriage and be differential to men in their sexuality. Although Hispanics in the twentieth century may not hold the same strict sexual values, the tradition of maintaining virginity until marriage continues to be a cultural imperative.However, married women are supposed to accept a double standard for sexual behavior by which their husbands may have sexual affairs with other women. This double standard supports the Latino stereotype of machismo. Many males celebrated their adolescence by visiting prostitutes and their father, uncles or older brothers pays for sexual initiation. Adolescent females on the other hand hold debuts that emphasize their virginity (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 264-266).Unlike in US mainstream society, there is an equal standard on male and female sexual behavior, males and females are expected to give up their virginity at a young age around 15 or 16. Their peers ridiculed them if t hey are still virgins at 18. This difference in sexual behavior had caused tensions especially among American adolescents and female Latinas who were taught to keep their virginity at all cost. At present however, due to American cultural influence, younger Latinas now find themselves challenging traditional sexual mores (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 256).In Latin society, female concept of goodness is connected by their being a martyr or submissive to their husbands and to their family. Male superiority had its roots also in machismo. Adult males, however, gave a higher respect and reverence for their mothers. Moreover, in Latino families, women are traditionally regarded as homemakers, as much as possible they stay in the home to care for the family while the men provide for them. American cultural influence however changed the Latino culture especially as the Latinos become exposed to the independent and liberated behaviors of the Americans (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 265-266).II. Me xicans and Mexican Americans Due to American conquest of Mexico and the granting of US citizenship in 1848 through the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexicans became a part American society. In the years 1880’s and 1940’s, many of them migrated to America as laborers. Due to the proximity of America to Mexico, many entered the country as illegal immigrants (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 249). Like most Latino cultures, Mexican families are patriarchal in nature. Patriarchal families are important instruments of community life and nuclear family units are linked together through an elaborate system of kinship and god parenting.Women are regarded as subordinates to men and are expected to take care of the family while the men work to provide for them. Machismo is also a part of their culture, with men celebrating manhood through the conquest of many women and acting as superior. Mexican families also recognize extended family network, particularly the system of compadrezo or g odparenting. In Mexican society, godparents are an important factor that links family and community. Compadrezos are expected to act as guardians, provide financial assistance in times of need and to substitute in case of death.Because of their devotion to catholic faith and machismo, Chicanos do not approve of homosexuality (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 254; Driscoll et al, 2001, 256) In spite of the influence of American culture, racism, segregation and proximity to Mexico help the Chicanos (Mexican-American) to maintain some traditional family practices although the imposition of American law and custom ignored and ultimately undermined some aspects of the extended family. Wives are now exercising power over their husbands as they entered the workforce.Unfortunately, even though both work, most men do not help in household chores so that chicanas are prone to stress. . New generation Chicanos, on the other hand, demands independence like their US counterparts and most likely engaged in intercourse at a lower age (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 230; Spence, 2003). Since many of the Mexicans entered illegally in the US, many of them were not able o move freely in American mainstream society causing so much stress on their part. Like the rest of the Latinos, Chicanos are at risk for developing asthma, diabetes, and AIDS (Center for Disease Control, 2008).Illegal immigrants however, refuse to see a doctor when they got sick as they are afraid to be deported (Figueroa & Griffin, 2006, 2). II. Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans are the poorest group of all the Latinos and generally are the most dark-skinned. Puerto Ricans first entered the country in 1898 when the United States take possession of Puerto Rico during the Spanish- American War (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 229). The family is patriarchal in nature, with men acting as providers and protectors and women as homemakers.Men do not take part actively in domestic chores and caring for their children although they are expect ed to be affectionate to them. Machismo is also a part of thier culture, subordinating women to men and men perceived as having a higher sexual drive. Men enjoy more freedom in public than women do and it is expected that they have many female conquest. Male dominance is met with a woman’s submissiveness and in the belief that a woman’s virtue is further enhanced by being patient and forbearing toward their men although generally women mistrust their men.Puerto Rican women however, in spite of the demands of being patient and forbearing, do not see themselves as resigned females but as dynamic homemakers. Although conscious of their subordinate status to their husbands, wives are also aware of their power and the demands they can make. They can choose to live with the man or leave him when he turns out to be abusive. Furthermore, Puerto Rican women regarded motherhood as a woman’s greatest satisfaction in life based on their concept of marianismo. Virgin Mary is seen as a woman’s role model (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 255-260).Ideal family relations are based on two interrelated themes, family unity and family interdependence. Family unity refers to the desirability of close and intimate kin ties, with members getting along well and keeping in frequent contact despite dispersal and getting together during holidays or celebrations. Family unity is viewed as contributing to the strengthening of family interdependence. They believe that the greater the unity in the family, the greater the emphasis family members will place on interdependence and familial obligation.Despite the adaptation to American life, Puerto Rican families are still defined by reciprocity among family members, especially those in the immediate family kinship group. Individuals in Puerto Rican families will expect and ask for assistance from certain people in their social networks without any derogatory implications of self-esteem. The older women expect to be taken cared of during old age by their adult children (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 255-260). Although emotional and physical closeness among women is encouraged by the culture, over acknowledgment of lesbianism is even more restricted than in mainstream American society.In fact, rejection of homosexuals appears to be the dominant attitude in the Puerto Rican community forcing homosexuals to lead a double life although the American concept of equality and individual rights threatens this belief (Andersen & Collins, 1995, 260). Concerning their health, Puerto Ricans have higher risk for AIDS since they least likely get married. They also have the highest rate of developing diabetes among the Latinos (Center for Disease Control, 2008). In recent times, the culture of male dominance is being challenged in Puerto Rican families especially that women also now work.Daughters however are expected to care for the home while their brothers work. New generation Puerto Ricans also engages in sex at an earlier age as compared to their island counterparts. Children also demands more independence from parental control (Shaefer, 2006, 239; Andersen & Collins, 1995, 255). IV. Cubans The Cubans first entered America as political refugees during the Cuban revolution in 1959. They are the most successful of all the Latinos since most of them are professionals and the US government assisted them (Schaefer, 2006, 247; Andersen & Collins, 1995, 229).The Cuban family is also patriarchal in nature and the concept of machismo is very much entrenched in their nature perhaps largely because they had been the last Latin nation to be liberated from Spanish control and their lives had been dominated by military struggles. The ingrained machismo concept had caused much regression and assimilation conflict in Cuban males in America. Cubans in America are permitted to have sexual relations with American women as long as they do not forget to marry a Cuban girl.Men do not do household chores because it decreases their machismo. Women are regarded as subordinates although women are now asserting more authority in the Cuban American home as they entered the workforce. However, women still respect male superiority and ask for their approval when joining clubs or engaging in social activities. The importance of extended families also diminished; god parenting-role is lessened. Cuban Americans do not accept homosexuality and were repulsed by the fact that some men chose to discard their male power to act as women.However, unlike the Americans who regarded both persons of the same sex who engages in intercourse as homosexuals, the Cubans only regarded homosexual the person who assumes the position of a woman in intercourse (Schaefer, 2006, 250; Andersen & Collins, 1995, 229). Many Cubans however publicly proclaimed that they would like to return to Cuba someday when Castro’s government is overturned and so they desired not to be all too adaptive to American culture (Schaefer, 20 06, 250). V. ConclusionThe Latino culture of family dependence through extended families, male superiority, women chastity and homosexual repugnance is being challenged in the American mainstream society. As they live in America, Latino family structure suffer changes in gender roles wherein women now asserts some form of authority , independence and sexual freedom. Parents and extended families also exert lesser power over the new generation. With regard to health issues, the Mexican illegal immigrants are at a disadvantage in accessing health care while the Puerto Ricans are at a higher risk for contracting AIDS and diabetes.References Andersen, Margaret and Patricia Collins. (1995). Race, Class and Gender, 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworh Publishing Company. Center for Disease Control. (2008). Health Disparities Affecting Minorities. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/hispanicamericanhealth. html Driscoll, Anne K. , M. Antonia Biggs, Claire D. Brindis, a nd Ekua Yankah. 2001. â€Å"Adolescent Latino Reproductive Health: A Review of the Literature. † Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 23 (5): 255-326. Figueroa, Evelyn and Griffin Deborah.Understanding Cultural Influence On Health Behaviors of Latino Adolescent Parents. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, 12(2006):pp. 1-4. Ramirez, Roberto O. and G. Patricia de la Cruz. (2003). â€Å"The Hispanic Population in the United States: March 2002. † Population Characteristics. US Census Bureau. P20-545. Schaefer, Richard T. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups, tenth ed. New York: Prentice-Hall. Spence, Naomi J. 2003. â€Å"Transition to First Sexual Intercourse: The Interaction between Immigrant Generational Status and Race/Ethnicity. † Paper presented at the Southern Sociological Society.