Do Childrens Feet Grow with Age Essay Example for Free

Do Childrens Feet Grow with Age Essay Newman (2011:35) states ‘older kids have bigger feet’. This experiment will explore through an investigation whether childrens shoe sizes do get bigger as they get older. In order for this to be proven, data needs to be collencted, this will be done so by going into a local school and verbally asking pupils and their parents what shoe size they take. The main objective of this experiment if to find out if the hypothesis is correct or incorrect. Aim The aim of this experiment is to determine whether childrens shoe sizes get bigger as they get older. The hypothesis will be tested by completing an experiment, then by examining the results it will be seen whether the hypothesis was right or wrong. Hypothesis – As children get older their shoe size increases Null Hypothesis – As children get older their shoe size does not increase. Method It was decided to collect the data in form of a simple table. This was decided because only certain information was needed about an age and shoe size, therefore a questionnaire would not be suitable. Also, considering the investigation was mainly aimed at children, the table was the simplest way to collect the data. It was decided to ask the parents of the younger children what their shoe size was as it was assumed most younger children would not know their shoe size. Design and Materials The type of study completed is one which gives an outcome of qualitative data. Furthermore, this can then be shown to be ‘continuous data’, where the data can fall anywhere over a certain range and the scale is only restricted by the accuracy of measuring, in this circumstance, measuring children’s shoe sizes (Mathematics Enhancement programme 2000).

External Environment: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

External Environment: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Globalisation refers to the growing economic integration of the world, as trade, investment and money increasingly cross international borders (which may or may not have political or cultural implications) (Schifferes, 2007). Over the past years, there has been a great increase in globalisation. The aim of this study is to analyse the international business environment of an organisation and the impact of globalisation on business organisations. The organisation chosen for this study is PwC. PricewaterhouseCoopers (trading as PwC) is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the worlds largest professional services firm and the largest of the Big Four accountancy firms measured by 2012 revenues (Wikipedia, 2012). The Big Four firms are PwC, Deloitte, Ernst Young and KPMG. 1 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The business environment can be divided mainly into two groups: internal and external. The external environment can be either micro or macro. There are several tools that can be used to analyse these environments. Internal Environment: Consists of the strengths, weaknesses and core competencies of an organisation. It can be analysed using SWOT analysis, Value Chain analysis and Three Circles analysis. SWOT analysis is the main tool used in analysing the internal environment. It is an acronym for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Value Chain analysis attempts to understand how a business creates customer value by examining the contributions of different activities within the business to that value. Three Circles analysis involves examining customers needs, company offerings, and competitors offerings in order to clearly articulate what the companys competitive advantage is and how it differs from those of its competitors. External Environment: It refers to the business environment that an organisation has little or no control over but directly affects its operations. The following tools can be used to analyse the external environment: PEST Analysis. This tool used in analysing the forces affecting the macro environment of an organisation. It is an acronym for the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal forces. Porters Five Forces Analysis. It is used to analyse the attractiveness of an industry by considering five forces within the market. Stakeholder Mapping. It is used to identify stakeholders and their level of power and interest in an organisation. This enables the company relate with each stakeholder. 1.1 ANALYSIS OF THE MICRO-ENVIRONMENT (PwC) Threat of new entrants: To succeed in the professional services industry, some requirements include: Huge capital investment Years of experience Brand loyalty The industry is already dominated by strong firms with these qualities doing well both locally and internationally; new entrants are not a threat. Bargaining power of suppliers is high. They are big, rich and their alumni are  everywhere, throughout institutes, regulatory bodies, government, their clients boards and even within almost every other accountancy firm (Prizeman, 2011). Bargaining power of buyers is low. To obtain the best in professional services, there are very few options to choose from. Threat of substitute products No substitute; professional services (especially auditing) are required by law. Except when smaller firms offer the same services at cheaper prices, which is not a major threat. Rivalry The industry is highly competitive especially among the Big Four accountancy firms. 1.2 ANALYSIS OF THE MACRO-ENVIRONMENT The PEST analysis of PWC is given below: Political There are several laws that govern the firms activities. PwC offers services such as tax advisory and assurance services which are a very sensitive part of business. They should be treated with utmost care else face severe penalties. For example, they were recently fined  £1.4 million for failures concerning reports on client-money accounts at JPMorgan Chase Co. (JPM)s London securities unit (Moshinsky, 2012). Also, these regulations are changed or updated from time to time; therefore, PwC has to ensure they are always in compliance with the law. Furthermore, regulations on payment of taxes, financial statements and auditing make PwC continuously relevant in the market. Economic The recession in UK and other countries has affected the sales, profit and growth of several companies, including PwC. Therefore, some companies hire other firms which provide the same services as PwC but charge less, so as to reduce costs. This has also affected PwCs profits. Socio-Cultural Due to the highly professional services the organisation offers, it requires several highly skilled employees. Finding such individuals and retaining them is not an easy task, especially when other companies keep trying to win them over; offering them better employment packages. Technological This could act as a threat or opportunity to the organisation. New inventions, changes and advancement in technology provide an avenue for PwC to improve its operations and stay ahead of the competition. Computers, software, phones, internet, intranet etc are important resources to the firm. But keeping up with the rapid changes in technology is almost impossible. 1.3 IMPACTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Political Regulations governing PwCs activities differ from country to country and these are updated from time to time. These include employment laws, tax policies and competition laws. As an international organisation, this affects the firms operations because PwC has to ensure that all its operations including strategies and values are in line with the laws in the several countries it operates in. For examples, in most countries, the law requires that accounting firms to be locally owned and independent. This has affected how PwC is structured. Economic The global recession cuts across the several countries PwC operates in; this has generally affected the firms operations and flow of income. The industry, professional services, is a highly competitive one with other members of the Big Four (top four countries offering professional services) striving to be the market leader and several other firms seeking growth in the same industry. Also, the rise in unemployment as a result of the global recession has made it difficult to obtain employees with the necessary skills and experience required in the firm. Lastly, the increase in free trade among nations of the world makes it possible for PwC to continue to expand and increase in several foreign countries. Socio-Cultural There are several ethics that govern how people and organisations operate. These ethics differ from country to country. PwC believes in excellence and integrity. This could be difficult to uphold because in certain countries. For example, bribery has become generally accepted in some African countries even though they know it is wrong. PwC employees could get involved in this, which would affect their ability to judge fairly, be excellent and uphold integrity. Technological Some countries are not as technologically advanced as others. This can slow down PwCs operations in some of these countries. For example, internet connection is not as stable and fast in Nigeria as it is in the UK. Fluctuations and temporary breakdown of internet service can have adverse effects on the companys activities. A team in Nigeria might not be able to meet up the deadline of making a certain presentation, if there is no internet service needed to carry out research and development on that topic. 2 IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON ORGANISATIONS 2.1 EXTENT OF GLOBALISATION The Industrial Revolution led to the globalisation of today. It started in UK and spread to other parts of the world. Changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology had great effects on the world economy. Globalisation began to grow as a result of the increase in world trade in the 1940s. When it became evident that the Great Depression in the early 1930s was due to the restrictions and barriers to free trade in the world, countries began to lift and/or reduce restrictions to trade. This led to the development of several trade agreements among countries. Furthermore, the continuous advancement in technology has also led to the constant increase in globalisation. PwC is one of the many firms that has benefitted from the increase in globalisation. It has a network of firms that spread across 771 cities in 158 countries. Free trade between UK and these other countries has made it possible for PwC to move its resources (especially capital and manpower) to these countries, blend in with diverse cultures and set up a network of firms that has made PwC become the global market leader in professional services. 2.2 EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION The benefits and opportunities that globalisation brings to organisations especially PwC are: Larger markets: Globalisation has made it possible for PwC to expand not only within UK but to other countries as well, enabling the organisation to emerge as the worlds market leader in its industry. Foreign investments: Globalisation provides an avenue for PwC to increase its investments by investing internationally, which also leads to increase in returns. Increase in profits: Access to larger markets and increase in investments has lead and will continue to lead to increase in returns, revenue and profits for PwC. Movement of labour: Globalisation allows for free movement of human resources among countries. This provides an opportunity for PwC to hire professionals from one country to work in another country. Thereby enabling firms to have access to skilled workers regardless of where they are located. Exchange in culture: The world is full of diverse cultures. An international firm like PwC has access to inputs from people of different cultures, beliefs, customs and backgrounds. This enables the firm to learn more and be versatile. Competitive advantage: Operating in the international market gives PwC an advantage over other similar companies operating locally. Larger markets, increased investment, increase Employment opportunities: Globalisation enables PwC to provide employment opportunities in several countries especially the underdeveloped and developing countries it operates in. This is a great way to be socially responsible and impact the communities. Globalisation also has a number of challenges that affect organisations. Some have been explained in 1.2 and 1.3, others include: Less developed countries: Operating in countries that are underdeveloped or developing can be difficult sometimes. This is because they might not always have the resources available to make the business as productive as it should be. Exposure to the international market: Globalisation means the firm would be exposed not only to local forces but international ones as well. The firm has to deal with competitors, markets, trends, political, economical, socio-cultural, environmental and legal issues at the international level. Cultural differences: Operating internationally exposes the firm to diverse cultures. To be effective in these countries, PwC would have to adapt to their cultures, rather than impose its own, yet without losing its unique touch. This is quite tasking. Criticisms: Critics have pointed out negative effects of globalisation; PwC has to avoid being part of the problem. Criticisms include: loss of culture to stronger ones, exploitation of less developed countries and increase in unemployment in developed countries. 2.3 STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS Organisational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organisational aims (Pugh, 1990). It could be functional, divisional or matrix depending on the type that best suits a companys operations. An organisation that operates internationally must carefully select a structure that would accommodate its operations both at home and abroad. Structures of some international organisations include: Walmart Stores: Walmart is a multinational retailer corporation headquartered in the US. It has a divisional structure with three main divisions; Walmart Stores (U.S.) Sams Club (U.S.) and International stores (Hitt, 2008). This structure helps Walmart to focus better on each division. Narrowing the focus really allows the company to perform more effectively because they are allowed to pinpoint specific areas needing change and adjust appropriately (George and Jones, 2005). Starbucks: It is a coffee company headquartered in the US. It has a matrix structure combining divisional and functional structures. Divisions are based on the regions the company operates in; China and Asia Pacific, Americas and EMEA (Europe, U.K., Middle East, Russia and Africa) (Starbucks, 2011). The functions are designed to consolidate functional activities into teams that have a shared vision and goals to support the business (Shultz, 2008). An advantage of having this kind of organisational structure is maximized communication channels (George and Jones, 2005). Unilever: It is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company. It has a matrix structure, divided based on product segments (2), functions and the regions it operates in. Unilever developed and implemented this organisational structure for their company to improve communication and to take advantage of resources that are available to them (Hitt, 2008). PwC: PwC runs as a network of firms rather than a multinational company due to laws in different countries requiring accounting firms are to be locally owned and independent. Each firm runs its own structure but all report to PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL) that coordinates the activities of all partner firms. 2.4 INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS OF PWC Networking: All PwC firms operate as a separate legal entity; thereby allowing them to operate independently. Although not to be referred to as a multinational company, its operations are not different from multinationals except that, PwC firms have autonomy to operate and do not send money to the Global Headquarters. Support from other members: All firms in the network count on each other when they lack necessary information or expertise for a project. Internet: Free access to information to all members via PwCs global portal network; employees in different countries can relate with and gain from each other. Same methodology: PwC firms all over the globe have the same approach to work from pre-project planning to post-project assessment. Charges: Whenever someone from a firm helps another firm in a different country, the person is per hour spent. Quality Assurance: To ensure that member firms are committed to quality and strictly abide by standards /policies, PwCIL quality assurance team constantly conducts a PwC-wide quality control check. CONCLUSION Globalisation is here to stay. As the world continues to encourage free trade, organisations will continue to expand internationally. Therefore, in order to thrive in the international market, organisations have to make the most of the international business environment. Environmental analysis enables the organisation to understand its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats to the company. This enables the firm to understand the impact the international environment has on its operations and adjust accordingly. Criticisms to globalisation should not prevent free trade, but educate organisations on the better ways to operate internationally. Important to note is the organisational structures of a number of multinationals: matrix and divisional structures. TASK 2 CLASS PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the companys actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders (Wood, 1991). IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY According to Von Tunzelmann (1996), corporate social responsibility is important in business because: It is a way of motivating and building pride in employees and managers. It contributes to the development of a healthier community (e.g. through a better qualified workforce or a reduction in the level of crime), thus creating a more favourable business environment. It assists in identifying new markets and anticipating societal and consumer preferences. It allows differentiation from competitors. It leads to an enhanced reputation helping the company to be well-liked in the community. It encourages a climate of trust and goodwill, facilitative of business. It helps in overcoming problems associated with the implementation of operational plans. It helps in maintaining public confidence in the legitimacy of business operations. It minimises the prospects of future regulation. MORAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES Ethics refer to the moral principles that guide or influence peoples actions and behaviours. The most important resources in any organisation are the people in it; therefore, it is necessary pay attention to the principles that guide peoples conducts. Organisations that operate internationally are faced with several moral and ethical issues, described by Mehalu (2011): Utilitarianism in this view you approach an ethical problem using the question, Which course of action will do the most good and the least harm? This view is based on the ideas of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (18th and 19th Century). Actions are considered good or bad depending on the extent to which they make the greatest number of people happy. So suffering of a few is okay as long as it maximises the overall good. Rights view in this view you ask the question, Which alternative best serves others rights? This view is based on the ideas of Thomas Jeffersons Declaration of Independence (USA) and John Locke and Immanuel Kant. Actions here are judged according to whether peoples rights have been served and may be seen in terms of keeping within the Law. (E.g. shareholders rights are written in Law). Theory of justice view in this view you ask the question, What plan can I live with which is consistent with the basic values and commitments of the community in which I live? This view is based on the ideas of John Rawls and Alasdair MacIntyre (late 20th century). Actions are judged according to the enforcement of widely-held views of justice and virtue. (E.g. protecting the needy; looking after the community). Integrative social contracts theory in this view you would ask the question, What course of action is possible in the world as it is now? This view is based on the ideas of Machiavelli in which actions are judged according to pragmatic consideration and practicalities. Decisions are made according to the current situation and with reference to what ought to be done. So you would be both pragmatic and idealistic as the need arose. CORPORATE STRATEGY AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES Although corporate social responsibility is important and beneficial to organisations, sometimes there are conflicts between corporate strategy and ethic and social responsibilities: Profit Sharing: The aim of most organisations is to maximise profit; shareholders want maximum returns on their investment. But focusing on moral and ethical activities can reduce the extent to which profits can be maximised. This can create a conflict when deciding how to draw a line between profit sharing and contributing towards CSR. Corruption: Sometimes, managers or employees are faced with unethical issues that could help in achieving corporate strategy. For example, falsifying or hiding sensitive parts of a financial report to make company records look good. Or giving bribes to get vital information about competitors. Being morally or ethical may seem to have negative impact on a firm in the short-run, but in the long-run, it is still the best option. Competition: PwC is the market leader in the professional services industry; the company strives to maintain that position for as long as forever. The industry has a very high level of rivalry; therefore, in order to maintain that position, PwC has to constantly be ahead of the competition. In implementing this strategy, PwC has to ensure that ethical, moral and legal steps are taken. This is not always easy because it yields slower results. For example, PwC could decide to directly or indirectly bad-mouth other firms to their clients so as to win them over. Or release private information regarding its clients to prospective ones in order to win them over. Recruitment: Finding a balance between the organisations commitment to improving the society by reducing unemployment and achieving corporate strategy by employing high quality staff is not always easy. PwCs has a rigorous recruitment process which does not leave room for private interest as everything is done right. But it also seeks to improve the society by hiring and training. LEGISLATION AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is guided by a number of laws, regulations, standards and principles: The Global Compact: The Ten Principles: CSR in PwC is based on a set of principles listed by USB (2012): Human Rights Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their sphere of influence; and Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. Labour Standards Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and Principle 6: eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Environment Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies Anti-Corruption Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery. CSR in PwC is also governed by a number of national and international norms and standards. Four pre-dominant ones explained by Stanislavska et al (2010) are: SA 8000 SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY Social Responsibility: It is a certification norm which sets requirements in the area of child labour, forced labour, BOZP, discrimination, work hours, right to congregation and evaluation. It was created by Social Accountability International (SAI), a non beneficial non-governmental organisation in the US. The SA8000 specifies the requirements for corporate social responsibility in 9 areas: Child Labour, Forced and Compulsory Labour, Health and Safety, Freedom of Association Right to Collective Bargaining, Discrimination, Disciplinary Practices, Working Hours, Remuneration and Management Systems (SA 8000, 2012). AA 1000 ASSURANCE STANDARD: AccountAbilitys AA1000 series are principles based standards to help organisations become more accountable, responsible and sustainable. They address issues affecting governance, business models and organisational strategy, as well as providing operational guidance on sustainability assurance and stakeholder engagement (AA1000, 2008). It also includes: constructing socially responsible strategies; methods of communication with involved parties; ethical audit; choice of indicators and CSR reporting etc. ISO 26000: International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) is an independent organisation concerned with the creation of international standards for industry. ISO standards are voluntary mechanisms managed by market and as such they can be realized by private economic organisations. ISO 26000 aims to assist organisations and their network in addressing their social responsibilities and providing practical guidance related to SR, identifying and engaging with stakeholders and enhancing credibility of reports and claims made about SR. Furthermore, the standard aims to: emphasize performance results and improvements; increase customer satisfaction and confidence; promote common terminology in the SR field; be consistent, and not in conflict, with existing documents; treaties, conventions and other ISO standards (Castka and Balzarova, 2008). Some PwC firms have been accredited with a number of other ISOs including ISO 14001 environmental management systems and ISO 27001 information security management system. OECD GUIDELINES FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES: The Guidelines are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises. They provide voluntary principles and standards for responsible business conduct consistent with applicable laws. The Guidelines aim to ensure that the operations of these enterprises are in harmony with government policies, to strengthen the basis of mutual confidence between enterprises and the societies in which they operate, to help improve the foreign investment climate and to enhance the contribution to sustainable development made by multinational enterprises (OECD, 2011). Code of Conduct (PwC, 2011): PwC also has a code of conduct based on its core values (excellence, teamwork and leadership) that govern corporate social responsibilities in all its firms around the world. It covers topics such as behaving professionally, respecting others and corporate citizenship. It also includes a summary of ethical questions that should guide employees: Is it against PwC or professional standards? Does it feel right? Is it legal? Will it reflect negatively on you or PwC? Who else could be affected by this (others in PwC, clients, you, etc.)? Would you be embarrassed if others knew you took this course of action? Is there an alternative action that does not pose an ethical conflict? How would it look in the newspapers? What would a reasonable person think? Can you sleep at night? CONCLUSION No firm operating either locally or internationally should ignore the importance of corporate social responsibility. Although sometimes it may seem to be in conflict with corporate strategy, in the long run, it is of great benefit to any firm. Proper attention should be paid to the laws and regulations that govern CSR. There are many of them; as much as possible, organisations should seek to abide by all of them. Also, companies can develop their own code of conduct based on these laws and its mission, vision and values. This would make it much easier to abide by.

A Study On The European Identity

A Study On The European Identity Although the concept of collective identity is a post-colonial phenomenon, a few nations would describe themselves under a collective identity before the modern times of the 19th Century. In fact, Europe is historically unique in terms that it has been the people living in the continent of Europe who have persistently described themselves as Europeans since the 17th Century (Pagden, 2002). Indeed, European Union emerged as the most important attempt for creating a supranational entity in the Continent and the best example of a Pan-European common identity as even the words Europe and the European Union are being used as synonyms by millions of people every day. Nevertheless, an uncertainty of a common identity has always been the case for Europeans throughout history and the physical as well as social borders of Europe has never been distinctly known for centuries which are full of wars, tensions, competition and blood. Today, the same problem continues to exist and many believe that it is the major factor blocking the efforts for achieving a fully integrated Europe, as the definition and frontiers of a common European identity is still unknown. Indeed, one of the most important issues of the European integration from a socio-political perspective is the vague concept of a common European identity including prospects of European Union Citizenship. Although a common European identity had been long around for centuries, these are fairly new issues in relevance to the half a century long history of todays European Union. However, I believe how the common European identity is defined is very important for the future steps of the integration process, as nowadays the EU is undergoing transformation towards a political union with an aim to become a global actor in the international political arena. What shall be the elements of a common European identity, how shall it be formulized if it is to become a suc cessful construct which would define Europe correctly to end the efforts that lasted for such a long time? I believe a triumphant common European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities and it must be rooted to the diversity of cultures which had been created by the long history of Europe (DAppollonia, 2002). Otherwise, if it remains as a form of thin identity suggested by Habermas (2006), the problems and uncertainties of European identity as well as the poorly functioning European Union citizenship is most likely to exist in the Unions foreseeable future. In fact, a common European identity can only be successfully constructed by taking into account all the ambiguities, contradictions and developments in form of a unity in diversity principle which can be applied to the reality of Europe rather than building a shallow and artificial construct as it seems to be today. Theoretically, a united Europe in political terms is made possible if a united Europe in cultural terms is established through formulating a collective common identity which may only be conceived as a coll ection of multiple and complex values created by complicated dynamics of Europes long history. Nevertheless, a united Europe in cultural terms shall not mean a homogenous and strictly ordered European society; rather the European identity shall celebrate Europes long tradition of diversity. Another important question is how should European Union citizenship be defined and what should be the frontiers of cultural implications of such a political formulation. Considering the wide cultural diversity and long history that the individual members of the European Union had share in the European continent, a collective identity may prove to be far too complex to construct, so one may argue that a common European identity is still an illusion. Although Europeans have a successfully formed a common economic and increasingly political union, they are still far away from the desired level of cultural unity and a common identity which seems to be an alarming factor for the next stages of the European integration. Nonetheless, European Union citizenship is an area open to developments and it might be used as a critically important tool by the European Union leaders to accumulate a common European identity, only if it is formulized correctly. The critical point on the debate of Europe an Union citizenship is that the dominant Classical Model of Citizenship is based on the structures of nation-state and that is why this model cannot be applied to the European Union, as it is a whole different level of organization. On the other hand, Post-National citizenship is a modern approach to the issue of European identity and it is suitable to Europe in order to reach its goals of unification and deepening through building a stronger common identity in the 21st Century. This paper is organized in several sections. European identity from a historical perspective is analyzed in the first part; the current status of European identity and the issue of national identities in contrast to the common European identity is discussed in the following part; a new European identity and suggestions for a new formulation is given in the third part; a brief history of European Union efforts and progress on building a common identity is examined in the fourth part; and finally the aspects of European Union Citizenship is discussed in the fifth part of this paper. After all, this paper argues that a common identity in form of a collective European identity is clearly necessary for the Union at this stage of integration, and it is a crucial element for the future of the European integration project especially as our world is getting smaller as well as more fragmented simultaneously due to the complex dynamics of international relations every day at the age of globalization. European Citizenship is very much connected to the issue of European identity and it is the key to achieving such a strong common European identity when it is formulized as a Post-National phenomenon. The Europeans must derive their power from the diversity of their cultures by building a thick identity for Europe rather than a thin identity which consists of merely political rights; yet the Europeans shall not overlook the uniqueness of the Continent and the similarities they share in comparison to the rest of the world emphasized by the Unity in Diversity principle. Today, it is time for the Europeans to unite under one roof in socio-political terms, complete the long standing task of defining the boundaries of the European civilization by establishing a common and collective European identity in order to carry on the progress of the European integration project in a globalized world. Nonetheless, the question of possibilities of the Europeans to achieve such a high level of cultural as well as political unity remains a question and it is subject to a whole different level of research. However, often seen as a regional product of globalization itself, I believe the European integration project cannot progress any further without achieving a common European identity which is more critical than ever today in order to overcome the challenges of globalization in the 21st Century. Identity has always been a problematic concept because it is uncertain, fluid and highly flexible. Identity is the way to define ones self and to differentiate from the others. If taken literally, identity means equal, identical. Identity is not static but dynamic, and it can be defined in different ways in different circumstances. Identity is construct, which cannot be constructed immediately but only in time. It is not a fixed, constant and pre-given entity; while identity formation is heavily dependent on how one is perceived by the others. Identification implies belonging or membership, in turn which implies the exclusion of non-members (Bretherton Vogler,1999: 236).In other words, the sole purpose of identity is to separate self from the others in a sense. Moreover, identities are multiple in nature, or even kaleidoscopic. A person may have a single identity, but it will be made up of many levels of loyalty and identification (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 18). Meanwhile , identities change, because they are based on perceptions, which themselves change over time and environment; as it is possible to identify ones self with more than one thing at a time such as class and gender, or religion and age. Therefore there are various elements of ones identity and these various elements in an identity may well be contradictory (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 12). On the other hand, a collective identity means the attitudes, which all members of that group have in common in their thoughts and behavior; which differentiates them from the other (Munch, 2001: 137). Collective identities can provide existential meaning for people, thus they are primary means of unity in a society which give additional stability especially during periods of upheaval. Collective identities can generate a degree of continuity between individuals and their social environment, and can confer social recognition and approval (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 24). Therefore, collective identities are defined mainly by culture from a historical point of view rather than biological genes, ethnicity, nationalism or simple political rights. Finally, It they are used to construct community and feelings of cohesion and holism, a concept to give the impression that all individuals are equal in the imagined community (Strath, 2002: 387). From the perspective of political scie nce; there are two types of political identities: a civic identity and a cultural identity. The cultural definition of political identity entails a sense of belonging of an individual towards a particular group which can mostly defined by its uniform cultural or ethnic values. On the other hand, the civic definition of political identity involves with the identification of an individual mostly in form of citizenry with a political structure, which includes political institutions, rights, duties and rules (Bruter, 2004: 26). Therefore, a cultural European identity implies a reference to Europe as a continent, a civilization and a cultural entity whereas a civic European identity implies a reference to the political and institutional aspects of European Union identity largely in the form of EU citizenship. Europe has always been more of a mental construct than a geographical or social entity (Lowenthal, 2000: 314). Europe has no natural frontiers both in geographic and sociological terms. Therefore it had never been easy to acquire a singular definition of European identity because the borders of Europe had always been dynamic, and no one knew where Europe started and Europe ended (Pagden, 2002). A European identity is an abstraction and a fiction without essential proportions (Strath, 2002: 387). The concept of a European identity is an idea expressing artificial notions of unity rather than an identity of equality. In this sense, the concept of European identity is inscribed in a long history of political reflection on the concept of Europe. From the perspective of history, Europe has been united as a singular entity in various settings for a number of times in its past such as the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Napoleonic Empire, and arguably the Nazi Third Reich. Identity was only conceptualized as a macro-level collective phenomenon by the intellectual elites of Europe; on the other hand, for the rural masses of Europe, identity was a local term associated with the micro-level, rarely the nation and never an incident as large as the continent of Europe (Pagden, 2002). In different period of history, a common European identity had been defined on different basis. In the Middle Ages, Christianity was the main defining characteristic of European identity, whereas in modern times, the emergence of the nation state, periods of nationalism and afterwards democracy and secularism has been the common characteristic of the Europeans. Meanwhile, Christianity lost its dominance yet it arguably remained as one of the important components of European identity. Today, the European Union similar to the continent of Europe can be characterized by overlapping and unclear boundaries. From a geographical perspective, the EU has fuzzy boundaries due to the ongoing enlargement processes since the 1970s (Risse, 2003: 490). Although the geographical borders of Europe are not objectively defined particularly in the east, a state without a geographical relevance to the European continent cannot become a part of the European Union, even if it shares the EUs collective values and norms. Moreover what adds to the uncertainty of Europes borders is that boundaries of the EU may change according to different policy fields such as the Schengen includes the non EU member Norway but at the same time it does not include the EU member state the United Kingdom. Therefore, first of all the lack of solid geographical boundaries weakens efforts of the EU to be seen as a singular entity by its own people (Castano, 2004). On the contrary, diversity shall be the main c haracteristic of European identity from a cultural point of view. Religious and cultural heritages including Roman law, political democracy, parliamentary institutions, Renaissance humanism, rationalism, romanticism characterize the common identity of the Europeans (Smith, 1992). On the other hand, there are undeniable socioeconomic, cultural, national and ethnic differences among the member states of the European Union. Nevertheless, this reality is reflected in the motto of the Union which is unity in diversity from a positive point of view. A collective political culture is an important feature of the common European identity. The Greeks gave Europe the science and philosophy and the Romans gave it the idea of single continent and unity which created Europes strong cultural and political origins. The diverse and multiple cultures of the ancient Europe shared a single identity as they were brought together under a common system of Roman law. The people of Europe also shared a common language, Latin, and after Europe slowly converted to Christianity they acquired a common religion. Christianity has been a crucial part of the European identity and it played a key role to create its internal cohesion and to designate its relationship with the rest of the world. Further references are made to Europes identity besides its heritage of classical Graeco-Roman civilization and Christianity; such as the ideas of the Enlightenment, Science, Reason, Progress, Industrialization, Democracy and Individualization as the core elements of this claimed European legacy (Wintle, 1996: 13-16). Hellenism, Romanticism, welfare society and cross-fertilization of diversity can be added to this list (Garcias, 1993: 7-9), while one may argue that Europes core values include its commitments to an undivided continent, to individual freedom, and to the universalism of humanity (Havel, 1996). However, this unity never reached to the point of sharing a common European culture. A single body of citizenry or a common cultural identity could not be reached even in the peak of Europes history of unity. When the differences within Europe are emphasized, they are often in the form of unity in diversity; religious differences such as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christianity, and linguistic differences including Romance, Germanic and Slavic languages are obvious; yet they are seen as correlated, Catholic-Romance, Protestant-Germanic, Orthodox-Slavic, and essentially are underlying the major ethnic cleavages and conflicts in the history of Europe. Anthony Smith is among the scholars who are skeptical of the possibility of a common European identity because they could not find a common culture across the European continent, and even more critically they claim that Europe lacks of a shared set of myths, experience and symbols; these elements which they find crucial to create po st-national identity (Smith, 1992: 72-73). Furthermore, Europe lacks of a shared historical and cultural content as which is the largest source of division among Europeans. Other obstacles to a common European identity include linguistic diversity and its tripartite religious division. In fact, a major difference among EU countries is the persistence of linguistic diversity, even though in practical level English has become the dominant language in Europe. Language does not only have an instrumental but also an emotional dimension and peoples sense of nationality is often tied up with their mother tongue (Guibernau, 2001: 192). On the other side of the debate, scholars such as Michael Wintle are more optimistic on the possibility of creating a European identity. Indeed, the existence of the EU identity in the form of converging education standards, educational exchanges, and the organization of a European civil society is already established in most parts of Europe. Wintle argues that a European identity was previously already created during the high Middle Age (Wintle, 1996: 19-22), and it can be easily established today considering the forces of globalization. For now, the major success of the EU in fostering its identity has been limited with the increasing free movement of people across European borders, which has accelerated since the 1985 and formalized in 1990 Schengen accords parallelly correlated with the rising impact of globalization. Increased interaction among peoples of Europe would also encourage cultural exchanges and this could foster a stronger sense of a shared community. Education and hi gh culture shall play a key role in European Unions cultural policy, because these two factors have an important effect on the creation of the EU identity. Education is obviously one of the crucial dimensions in any attempt to develop the future identity of the EU or at least more understanding and convergence among Europeans; high culture unites Europeans against the low culture which separates them. After all, the development of the EU identity will be the outcome of a long process in which bottom-up as well as top-down initiatives are likely to be employed (Guibernau, 2001: 183-184). The idea of Europe as well as the identity of Europeans are constructed over time with processes of contention and bargaining. Gerard Delanty argues that a European Culture is not an entity with cohesion and fixed boundaries, but a floppy concept, with no clear borders and with internal opposition and contradictions, discursively shaped in contentious social bargaining processes (Delanty, 1995; 1999). In other words, the images of Europe do not exist as a natural phenomenon but are discursively shaped by internal as well as external forces (Strath, 2002). A basic step in the process of creating a collective identity is to defining itself in relation to the other. Central to ones identifications are images of others. Likewise any identity, European identity necessarily contains a demarcation from the non-European. This is natural to all distinctions, and they are both inclusive and exclusive. The boundaries of Europe can only be drawn and the identity of Europe can only be realized in the mirror of others. Indeed, Europe does not exist without non-Europe and that non-Europe does not exist without Europe. Many centuries ago, the Europeans defined people living in the north as uncivilized and people living in the south as oriental (Pagden, 2002). Furthermore, the Greeks labeled the non-Greek speaking people as barbarians, even if that word would surely have a different meaning by that time. In nearer times, although the Russians shared many features with a European society including the same religion, it could not reach the formal limits of a Romanized civilization thus perceived as a barbaric empire or the orient, depending on the time. Moreover, European belief of its superiority relied on the common features of European societies such as science and liberal arts. Thus the rest of the world could only be portrayed as actors in relation to Europe, in other words always remained as the other. According to Delanty, Europe has been always invented and reinvented on the basis of division and strategy for the construction of difference from the other starting from Christian identity against Islam in the Middle-Ages, after that in the colonial politics to the New World, and to the ethnic minorities in the contemporary European Union (Delanty, 1995). Therefore, historical experience suggests that the new European identity may be constructed on the other which may be the United States, the East, Islam or the European past itself. Samuel Huntington has argued that religion provides the best common means of historically distinguishing between Europeans and the other, especially in terms of the confrontation between the Judeo-Christian tradition and Islam (Huntington, 1996). However, at the same time, the separation between Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Western variations of Christianity has, for a long time, been crucial in establishing a division between Western and Eastern E urope; partially reinforced in the Cold War, divisions between Catholicism and Protestantism and separation between North and South (Guibernau, 2001). Today, the European Union is frequently argued to be a fortress for the other and the EU is often referred to as a Christian Club, because historically all states on the continent of Europe had Christian societies. The Ottoman Empire was the greatest enemy of European states as well as Christianity in the Middle Ages; which made Islam the primary charactersitic of the other for Europeans from the perspective of history. Today, the accession dialogues of Turkey into the European Union raise wide public opposition in Europe while the European Union officials make constant efforts to prove their allegiance to non-religious, non-ethnic but solely liberal and non discriminatory Copenhagen Criteria independent from historical aspects of the other which has actually been extensively used to define the European identity. Finally, Europe is unique because it has possessed an identity as a cultural space which gave birth to political unions throughout its history. However, it has never succeed ed to constitute a single nation-state or a unified ethnic group. Although the European Union with its single currency and supranational political and legal institutions changed these historical facts to an extent, it is only possible with the means of a common European identity which will carry Europe to the next stage of integration which it always aimed but failed to achieve during its long history. Nevertheless, history has already proved that it will surely be hard to overcome uncertainties of a common European identity at the level of the masses. Over the past millennium, the advancements of European civilization gave rise to the elites living on the continent of Europe who feel increasingly attached to Europe as a whole and shared dreams of a united continent. However, Europe as a realm sharing a common history as well as a common destiny has been largely abandoned by fixed prejudices on often nationalistic and ethnic grounds. National interests and biases at local, national, and global levels have prevented the masses of European people from viewing themselves collectively (Lowenthal, 2000: 315). However, today, forces of globalization, advancements in communications technologies and media transmission of everyday popular culture now promotes the sense of being European among larger segments of society other than the European elites. Although a truly trans-European society is still in its infancy, many of its essential elements are already in place this time largely due to the forces of globalization. Most European states a re increasingly democratic in reality; their economies are for the most part market driven; their popular culture grows more homogeneous as communication technologies expand under the forces of globalization in the 21st Century (Waterman, 1999: 23). Therefore, Europe is at the stage of defining its identity today; however which criteria are being deployed to define Europe, Europeans, Europeanness and their respective boundaries is critically important. A common European identity must be constructed by defining and understanding the historical roots of outstanding features of the European society in relation to the notion of citizenship, which will be discussed in depth in the following parts; developed in the past over the land of Europe. For sure, Europe is being redefined as a result of a complex set of processes, but an important question is what sort of Europe is emerging from them? There is certainly a structured symmetry in the perception of the European Union as the coincidence of a homogenized socio-political space, a unified regulatory space of an EU super-state, a singular European civil society surpassing existing national and regional differences in culture and identity (Hudson, 2000). In some respects there has been progress towards such an ideal of European civil society. For example, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights have had an important role in defining acceptable standards across Europe. The issue of European identity and the criteria used to denote Europeans is clearly a critical one for the political and social integrity for the European Union. Europe will exist as an unquestionable political community only when European identity permeates peoples lives and daily existence (Demos 1998). Identity is a key issue which is continuously changing and thats the reason why it is so hard to define especially in a world of f ast changes in the 21st Centurys globalization. The member states of todays enlarged EU have become multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies with various structural phenomenon ranging from the immigrant community of France to Post-Communist yet ethnic communities of the Central and Eastern European states. As the EU expanded eastwards in the last two rounds of enlargements, the issue of defining a European identity became even more critical for sake of integrity and stability of the Union. One conception of a singular European identity would see it constructed through a process similar to that involved in the creation of national identities in the 19th and the 20th Centuries. Ironically, while the aim was to create those national identities in the past, the challenge that Europeans face today would be to transcend them for the creation of Europeannes. However, the current trends at local European level are quite different from the interests of Europeanists at the supranational level. There are pressures from nation states and their citizens to resist any further transfer of national sovereignty as well as erosion of national identity (Hudson, 2000). In fact, the success of extreme right wing political parties in important European countries such as Austria and France may be seen as a sign of the reappearance of dangerous nationalist and racist ambitions which the peoples of Europe have most probably experienced more than any other continent in the world history. Eric Hobsbawm has proclaimed that nationalism is dead (Hobsbawm, 1990). On the contrary, Llobera argues that national identities are certainly not eternal, but the time of their demise has not yet arrived (Llobera, 2003). In fact, national identities are still dominant in Europe. Recent surveys show that, people in Europe prefer maintaining their national identity and sovereignty, but increasing number of people have accepted European identity in addition to their national identities. Therefore, European nationalism is another important component of a common European identity and it has been a major ideological tool for unifying nation states as well as the Europeans as a whole throughout Europes history. To start with, the European Union, with its both intergovernmental and supranational characteristics represents a far different type of state-organization than a classical nation state. The main distinguishing characteristics of the EU from the nation-state are the absence of a shar ed language, a uniform media, common education system and a central state structure (Shore, 2000: 64). Furthermore, the powers of the EU rely on the sharing of sovereignty of its member states. European unification is a progressive method of limiting individual nation states to practice any kind of harmful nationalism and this is makes up an important part of the European identity. At this point, nationalist Euroskeptics may argue that building a common Europe and an identity for it means destroying nations. However, a general feeling of Europeanness and loyalty to Europe in a cultural sense, does not need to conflict with national identities (Andreani, 1999). A successful construct of European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities created within time. The European states have not always been nationalist through Europes long history. The definition of nationalism counts on the idea of nation and territory; while the definition of a European nationalism depends on the historical and ideological evolution of the European nation states and aspirations for a post-national Europe. In fact, the aspirations that underlie in the roots of the foundation of the European Union are parallel to European cosmopolitanism in the 18th and the 19th centuries. From the Enlightenment to the beginning of the ECSC after the Second World War; European nationalism found two separate meanings: one as an antinational Pan-European idea of a new united Europe that limits the sovereignty of the nation states, and the other as a pro-national ideology to create or legitimate new nation states (DAppollonia, 2002). Historically, cosmopolitanism reflected intentions for a European unity, and gave rise to anti-national European nationalism. European nationalism was characterized by the will to protect the European interests and its supremacy from non-Europeans as well as protecting Europe from itself by creating a federation. It can be argued that economic development, commercial prosperity, intellectual-supremacy and military power were the factors making Europe homogeneous and created a united European identity beyond national borders to an extent. Some intellectuals as well as economists believe that the nation state is an outdated political and economic entity, and nationalism is merely an expression of old prejudiced and narrow-minded ideas. European nationalism defined itself similar to the nation state through common identity and culture, territory, historical memory building, and economic and political objectives to defend self-interests. The defensive conception of European nationalism o n the other hand had always been a driving factor, yet the pro-nationalist ideologies had been the major cause underlying the wars of modern times. As Europe was divided into aggressive nation states, the idea of Europe had increasingly converged. Although the wars were dividing factors themselves, their interpretations by the Europeanists became powerful unifying factors for Europe. The irony of European nationalism is that it depends on the memory of events that divided rather than united the continent (DAppollonia, 2002). Although it used the same definitions of nation and Europe with the anti-national European nationalism from time to time, it remained limited to the strict logic of the national framework. Transnational solidarities were necessity to establish European unity under either a supranational or an intergovernmental structure. For some intellectuals, European nationalism was the only way to protect the autonomy of nations and the liberty of the individuals. Conceptualizing of the European Union citizenship and creation of the Committee of the Regions in the EU were seen as efforts of the Pro-national European nationalists. These forms of European nationalism rejected the form of narrow nationalism while it showed ambitions to reinforce the intermediary actions between state and individual, between th

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Essay -- Stand by Me Ste

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Movies are becoming more and more popular with new special effects and stories that are intriguing and gripping. Movies now have lasting effects on viewers, since the stories are becoming more involved and more in depth. Screenwriters are constantly trying to create better screenplays to have made into motion pictures, yet there are thousands, if not millions, of screenwriters out there trying to earn a wage. The Writer’s Guild of America reports that in one year an average of 40,000 screenplays will be submitted and out of those only 120 will be made into motion pictures. (Field 5) Stephen King, who has no affiliation to being a screenwriter, has written numerous novels that almost everyone knows without them having ever read one word. Stephen King has a way of writing that appeals to both readers and film lovers. King who is an author of books has beaten out millions of screenwriters in the movie business. What is funny is that King himself does not expect a movie adaptation when he writes his stories. Stephen King’s writing style is the main reason why King’s novels are almost always found on the big screen. King purposely uses images in his novels that tell stories themselves. These images help enhance the story as the reader reads King’s work. These images are ones made by the reader and are limited to just the images we see on screen. Of course some of the better King movies do have wonderful imagery that can be associated with the same image the reader would have made in his mind. One popular movie that was based on King’s work is Stand by Me, which has terrific examples of this imagery. Stand by Me is based on King’s novella â€Å"The Body† which can be found in Different Seasons. â€Å"The Body† is a coming of age story about a boy named Gordie Lachance. Gordie is faced with the death of his brother, but is confused about his feelings. He knows he should be mourning for him, but he does not seem to have any remorseful feelings towards his brother. The story is about Gordie and 3 of his close friends on a journey through the woods to find a dead body. Throughout their journey they face all types of obstacles and go through a series of ups and downs. In the end they find the body and face a climatic altercation with the neighborhood gang. The four boys end up scaring the gang away and go home wi... ...y of King’s stories it is good to stop and actually take in the image that King is describing to us. The image that he gives us isn’t just for graphic purposes but actually to enlighten the story. A lot of symbolism can be found in the images King chooses, as explained above. King has a director’s mindset and uses images that a good director would use. It’s up to the reader to take these images and learn and analyze them to fill gaps in the story. A story can become much more complete when looking at a picture rather than reading in between the lines. Works Cited Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King, ed. Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller (New York, NY: Carroll & Graff Publishers, 1992) 282. Bergmooser, Mark. â€Å"The Outsider’s guide to selling to Hollywood.† Writer’s Digest Vol. 78 (1998): 34. Field, Syd. Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Hollywood. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1989. King, Stephen. â€Å"The Body.† Different Seasons. New York: Penguin Books USA, 1982. 293-436. Mayer, Geoff. â€Å"Stand By Me,† Metro (9/1/1992): 56-59. Wukovits, John F. Stephen King. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, Inc., 1999.

My Brother Sam Is Dead :: essays research papers

In the novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, the author demonstrates the effects of war on families, on towns, and even on the children. The author makes it clear that war tears up families more than anything else. As a result of families getting ruined, it affects the children of the family, in this case, by making Tim grow up in a short amount of time. War affects towns, too. Soldiers, some from both sides, raid houses and kill people therefore splitting up towns and communities. War has many bad effects, just like Tim’s father said: â€Å"In war the dead pay the debts of the living.†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War affects families more than anything else. An example of this is when Tim’s mother drinks rum a lot when she finds out that her husband and son are dead or are going to get killed. Once she starts to drink, she does not care about Tim or Sam. So in this case, war caused her to drink and it killed half of her family, both of which ruined the Meeker family. One of war’s worst by-products is ruining families. Even though war affects families the most, there are still other bad effects on children and on towns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second bad by-product of war is the effect on children. First, war sometimes kills children’s parents or older siblings, throwing their responsibility on to the younger children’s shoulders. The children will never have a normal life of playing with others because they are too busy taking care of things. In the novel, MBSID, Tim had to grow up fast. The reason for this is that his father got killed and his brother, Sam, got killed. So Tim had to do all of the man work around the tavern.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is one last main effect from war. It is the effect on towns and communities. It ruins towns and communities by ruining families and children. You can think of it as a link chain: the families and children are the links of the chain, and the town is the whole chain. If one family gets ruined, the link is gone, making it an incomplete chain or town.

Clothes Make a Man

It is said that we can judge a man’s character from his dress; But it’s not always so. Dress can only help us to a certain extent in knowing the broad facts of a man’s character. A man who wears a costly dress is necessarily a man of lavish habits. On the other hand, a man who wears tattered clothes is not necessarily a man of miserly habits. He may be do so only due to his financial limitations. Yet it is true that in some cases dressserves as a useful index to the character of a man. Some common examples, from which we can get some idea of a man’s character from his dress, are given below. We daily come across such persons as put on clothes of loud colours. We find them dressed in gaudy colours. They wear bushshirts printed withThe faces factors and actresses. So, is the case with their shoes. Shoes withdifferent designs on them are liked by them. We can easily know thecharacter of such people by looking at the way in which they dress. Suchpeople, if we carefully observe them, are very fond of show and ostentation. They lack the maturity of taste. They do not have sober habits. We can know this by their dress. Many people even if they are given costly and decent clothes, will maketheir appearance shabby and ineffective. They will put on the shirt or thecoat, but will not button it up. The laces of their shoes will remain untied. If they use the tie they will not put the knot properly. They never botherwhether their clothes are pressed or not. As these people are with theirclothes, so they are with their habits. They behave carelessly in other matters also. They are slovenly in their dress, living, reading and other ways also. So in this way, dress reflects their character. Besides this, we find people wearing very simple dress. A white ‘kurta’,‘dhoti’, and a white cap on the head and simple ‘chappals’ are all that they dress themselves in. But their clothes are always very neat and clean. Though they do not waste much of their valuable time in dressing, yet they do not use their dress carelessly. Such people show that they are thefollowers of the principle, â€Å"Simple living and high thinking†. They do notbelieve in ostentation. Mostly such people are intellectual. Broadly speaking, the dress of a man helps us to know his character. But atthe same time it may also be added that the dress should not be regarded as the sole index to the character of a man. Many saints and Sadhuscompletely neglect their dress. But it does not mean that they are very low either in their mental or emotional standard. On the contrary, they raise themselves so high from the level of such worldly considerations that dress becomes quite meaningless to them. In the present age, Mahatma Gandhiused to wear only a loin cloth. But he was the man before whom the entire world bowed its head. So in judging the character of a man dress can kelp us only to a certain extent. It can never be the sole guide. We should alsotake other factors into consideration in judging a man.

Ang Paghihintay

Elasticity- The measure of sensitivity of quantity supplied to changes in price. Demand Elasticity- The measure of responsiveness of the consumers to the changes in price. Classification of Demand Elasticity 1. Elastic Demand- when the quantity demanded is greatly affected by the changes in price. 2. Inelastic Demand- the quantity demanded increase in price creates a lesser change in the percentage in quantity demanded. 3. Unitary Demand- when there is an equal change in quantity demanded and the price. 4.Perfectly Elastic Demand- the demand continues to increase without the change in price. 5. Perfectly Inelastic Demand- when there is a constant demand while the price is continuously increasing. Table Ellustration of Classification of Demand Elasticity PP Q elastic demandinelastic demand P unirtary demandperfectly elastic demand perfectly inelastic demand Determinants of Demand Elasticity 1. The price of the consumers budget. The quantity demanded depends on the budget or the income of the consumer. it is usually on the elastic type of demand.One example of this is the things that are not necessary in our lives like cars,appliances. When their price increase, the consumers can easily take away from their list those unecessary things. 2. Availability of the substitutes. It is when the price of the primary goods gets higher, the closer the consumer will transfer to the substitutes. But, it is considered as an inelastic demand. 3. Types of Good. It depends on the type of good that the consumers intended to buy, it is what we called the semi-necessary goods for the consumers. 4. The time under consideration.When the price of the product continously increasing, the consumers will learn to adopt the substitutes over a period of time. Some example is rice, when the price of the rice is continously increasing, the consumers will transfer to its substitutes like bread, corn, and cereals. Supply Elasticity- refers to the reaction or response of the sellers or producers to price change of goods. Types of Supply Elasticity 1. elastic supply- a change in price results to a greater change in quantity supplied. 2. inelastic supply- a change in price results to a lesser change in quantity supplied. . unitary supply- a change in price results to an equal change in quantity supplied. 4. perfectly elastic supply- without change in price, there is an infinite or unlimited change in quantity supplied. 5. perfectly inelastic supply- a change in price has no effect in quantity supplied. Table Illustration of Supply Elasticity elastic supply inelastic supply unitary supply perfectly elastic supplyperfectly inelastic supply Determinants of Supply Elasticity 1. Time- a period of time the products produced either short time or long time. 2.Technology- because of technology, the products can be produced efficiently. Theory of Consumer Behavior 1. Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Marginal utility refers to the additional satisfaction of a consumer whenever he con sumes one more unitof the same goods. Quantity of Goods consumedTotal UtilityMarginal Utility 1 5 2 9 4 3 123 4 142 5 151 6 150 *When your consumerism increases, your marginal utility will decrease. 2. Indifference Curve The word indifference curve means â€Å"showing no bias or neutral†.Combination Kl. Of meat Kl. Of fish A51 B42 C33 D24 E15 *The table shows that any combination you choose the satisfaction you can get is the same level. 3. Budget Line It is the combination of two products which can be purchased by consumer with his income. Product A Product B Total Cost 51p 125+25=150 42 100+50=150 33 75+75=150 24 50+100=150 15 25+125=150 *Each unit costs p25. 00. and the fixed budget is p150. 4. Equilibrium of the Consumer It is the combination of indifference curve and budget line. P Q Written report in Eco 1