Crime and Punishment Dreams

Sometimes a dream is much more than simply a dream. Sigmund Freud explains a dream’s ‘latent content’ is heavily derived from the ‘manifest’ dream-thoughts. The manifest being what is evident in the dream, and the latent being the underlying meaning of the dream. In Raskolnikov’s dream, the manifest is that he is a seven year old boy who is fond of horses. He sees a horse being tortured and beat, bringing amusement to the townspeople, as he walks with his father. As the horse dies, he goes to hug the beast and kisses it.When Raskolnikov awakens, he renounces that â€Å"accursed dream of [his]† and wonders if he can actually â€Å"take an axe [and] split her skull open,† referring to the pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna. The latent content to Raskolnikov’s dream highlights his dual personality. Similar to the instance of the drunken girl, Raskolnikov evinces his emotional and compassionate side by showing his love for horses as h e runs to it when it is killed. At the same time, his rational and abstract views are also described as he thinks about committing the crime and believes he has every right to do so.It is not evident who Raskolnikov clearly is in the dream. He is a representation of the horse, the boy himself, or even the gruesome murderer of the horse, Mikolka. He represents the horse because he thinks of himself as a victim in a terrible life, the boy because he can be loving  and have emotions and Mikolka because of his thoughts and plans to kill Alyona. Even though his dream is very blatant in its story, the overall meaning of it signifies something much more than just a flashback.

Social Concerns in the Novel “The Kite Runner”

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are plenty of examples that prove this to be correct, walking through the life as an upper or lower class citizen, dealing with tough situations. As upper class citizens, it is much easier to receive a proper education due to the fact that it isn’t necessary for one to get an occupation to help support their family because no additional support is needed. Since upper class citizens can have the luxury of being able to read and write, they are more likely to become successful, for example,Amir, a young boy who is born into the wealth of his father, Baba, talks about how he is using his education to excel in language arts, â€Å"In school, we used to play a game called Sherjangi, or â€Å"Battle of the Poems. † The Farsi teacher moderated it and it went something like this: You recited a verse from a poem and your opponent had sixty seconds to reply with a verse that began with the same letter that ended with yours. Everyone in my class wanted me on their team, because by the time I was eleven, I could recite dozens of erses†¦One time, I took on the whole class and won† (17). This example shows how Amir has the advantage over most kids, who aren’t as fortunate to receive an education and is able to excel by becoming one of the most prominent students in poetry of his class. It also shows that Amir has a good chance of being a success by using this education to advance him for when he’s older. Rahim Khan, Baba’s best friend, also notices that Amir is becoming more knowledgeable in language arts when he reads Amir’s first story, â€Å"I enjoyed your story very much.Mashallah, God as granted you a special talent. It is now your duty to hone that talent, because a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey. You have written your story with sound grammar and interesting style. But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony. You ma y not even know what that word means. But you will someday. It is something that some writers reach for their entire careers and never attain. You have achieved it in your first story† (28). This again further displays that because Amir is able to receive a good ducation, he is able to write impressively. Not only does this example show that he is a good student, but it also shows that if one is given the chance to be educated and takes advantage of it they can become successful. People in the upper class have the opportunity to gain an education because they have the wealth to be able to do so, however people in the lower class aren’t as fortunate. People who are in the lower class are forced to work hard for what they have because, they haven’t been blessed with the luxury of being born into a wealthy family.This is true for Hassan, Ali’s friend and servant, who must stay with his father and work at Ali’s home to earn a living and isn’t abl e to educate himself by going to school, however Hassan learns to appreciate life and everything that is given to him, for example, Amir describes a normal day for Hassan and himself, â€Å"During the school year, we had a daily routine. By the time I dragged myself out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom, Hassan had already washed up, prayed the morning namaz with Ali, and prepared my breakfast.While I ate and complained about homework, Hassan made my bed, polished my shoes, ironed my outfit for the day, packed my books and pencils. I’d hear him singing to himself in the foyer as he ironed, singing old Hazara songs in his nasal voice. Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang† (23). This excerpt shows very wonderfully, how Hassan is a hard working young boy, in the lower class, who appreciates things and makes the best of his situation, he is awake bright and early, full of energy, singing and enjoying the day he has before him, happy to be alive.It also sh ows the fact that people in the lower class are able to enjoy the little things in life much more than that of the upper class, because they have to work hard and appreciate the things they work hard for. However people in the upper class may become snobby and take for granted the things that they have, for instance, when Amir is reading to Hassan, and Hassan stops him to ask a question, â€Å"what does that word mean? ‘which one? ’ ‘imbecile’ ‘you don’t know what it means’ I said, grinning. ‘Nay, Amir agha. ’ ‘But it’s such a common word! ’ ‘Still, I don’t know it. ‘Well everyone in my school knows what it means’, I said. ‘Let’s see. ‘Imbecile. ’ It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. ‘When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile’(25). This shows that Amir doesn’t appreciate the fact that he is able to be so educated and demeans Hassan for not being able to have an education. However, Hassan shows that he is eager to learn more and appreciates the stories that Amir reads to him and wants to have the full understanding of the story, thus showing that people of the lower class usually show reater appreciation for what they have and earn. Some may like to think that living life prosperously is always a good thing, and to most it is a very positive experience because it represents hard work that one has done in order to earn that rich lifestyle, but to others who come into prosperity without earning it find it hard to deal with the struggles one finds in life. People, such as Baba, know what hard work is and are generous to others who are less fortunate because they know what its like to work hard to become successful, for example, Rahim Khan refers to Baba’s enerosity when speaking with Amir,†I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir Jan† (302). This shows how Baba, although wealthy, is very caring and shows a true commitment to helping others who need it. It also displays the character that Baba has been instilled with through life experiences, such as trials and tribulations, which help him to appreciate what he has earned. However to others, such as Amir, who is born into prosperity, don’t know the meaning of hard ork or how to deal with problems they are faced with, for instance when Baba is discussing his son’s inability to deal with problems, such as bullies, with Rahim Khan he says, â€Å"Self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home I say to him, ‘how did Hassan get that scrape on his face? ’ And he says, †˜he fell down. ’ I’m telling you, Rahim, there is something missing in that boy† (20). This is a good example of how Amir is unable to esolve matters on his own while Hassan is able to deal with situations and predicaments because of his tough upbringing. It also shows that Amir is incapable of working with conflicts because he has always been protected and dependant on others, unlike Hassan who hasn’t had that luxury of having things handed to him and has always fought for everything he has. In closing, the lifestyle of the upper class can be very fulfilling if the hard work that goes into it is understood, however if it isn’t and one becomes spoiled, it can be detrimental to one’s life and personality.

Logistics

Case Study report of DHL Abstract The rapid development of global commerce has drove logistics to reduce products lifecycles, increase response and action efficiency and optimize investments of inventory for current businesses. Therefore, logistics plays a pivotal role in nowadays commerce. The objective of the report is to discuss and evaluate the existing logistics theories. Whereas, DHL will be selected as a case study so as to get a further understanding on logistics according to the analysis result. IntroductionAs with the growing complexity of transporting goods and supplying materials for a business in world’s supply chain, expertise that developed to deal with this kind of problem is imperative so logistics. The concept of logistics is not specific, the world’s formal definition is ‘Logistics is the management science of supply chain and the art of controlling and managing any kinds of resources flow like products, information, petrol and even people betwe en the origin point and the consumption terminal so as to satisfy clients’ demand’.Logistics is in relation to the process of moving the right products and services at the right quality to the right place at the right time with right prices. It is said to be the essential part of any marketing or manufacturing activities. Logistics involves Literature Review Since the value of time becomes more and more important in today’s global commerce, transportation speed and delivery reliability are necessary for companies to compete emulously in business operations which drives logistics industry to improve service standard.In 1996, Kostecki pointed that conscientious in accordance with service determine logistics companies’ emulously advantage and success. To that content, an important part to be integrated into time management for logistics industry is operating business with clients effectively and innovating more efficiency operation skills with clients. This is important because any inefficiencies and irregularities in operating with customers that happened in different regions can affect the commerce environment significantly for logistics companies argued by Ahanori and Nachum in the year 2000.They said that the current development trend in logistics industry is just in time supply, e-commerce and growing globalization management. In 1998, Altabet predicted that logistics theory would be updated into supply chain management. The impact of effective forecast in the process of supply chain management on a company is significant. Kiely states that it will result in inventory investment reduction, customer satisfactory improvement and product distribution efficiency enhancement. Generally speaking, forecasting eliminates companies’ worry about excess inventory investment so as to increase the efficiency when operates with customers.Another important managerial skill for commerce is the cost management theory. Degraeve and Roodhooft point that over half of entire costs is accounted from external goods and services parchment. In order to hold a competitive position in the logistics market, companies should develop a more dependable and lower cost supply chain while assure high service quality for customers. Some suggests that company can increase the cost management reliability via computer technology. With the increasing importance of globalization transaction, contracts act essential role in international trade.On account of companies always being confronted with the situation of accomplishing orders with deadline and quotas, some suggest a management approach of Vendor management inventory to handle the problem (Waller, 1999). The management project help companies distribute the requirement materials more flexible and offer the possibility of cost reduction and efficiency improvement at the same time. Objectives With the purpose of understanding logistics theory in accordance with practical application and t o see how enterprises apply logistics theory to enhance efficiency and reduce cost . tc. DHL, the global leading logistics player is selected for a case study about its logistics operations in this report. Logistics operation of DHL DHL is the leader of global express, international transportation and air freight. It is the world’s NO. 1 shipping contract logistics provider. DHL offers customers a full range of logistics solutions from documents to supply chain management. As the global biggest logistics expert, DHL is a strong logistics partner for its clients that can offer any kind of freight transportation via water, railway, road and air. It can supply either pecial or shared operations of warehousing and distribution to any kind of industry sectors. On account of DHL is entirely service oriented, it involves no material movement itself but that for clients both consigner and consignee and the intermediaries as well. It just includes physical distribution and procurement . While, procurement involves in packaging materials like paper, plastic and boxes etc. the process is as follows. The first step is to weight and check for condition of the products and materials that collected from the consigners and then pack them according to their various characteristics.After that, products or services will be sent along to their destinations. DHL facilitate service performance via effective forecasting. It means the estimation of time required for both collecting wares from the consigner and that arriving to the final client. The crucial point of DHL’s entire business is timely delivery. The delivery documentation and process will be coordinated based on the approachability and distance to the final consignee. DHL can measure the time that it will cost for the goods to arrive to its end-point precisely.DHL provides customers Web Shipping services that allocate a certain user name and password for each client which allows goods sender and receiver to tr ack goods status via online information center. DHL has won the reputation for its continuous development on supply chain solutions innovation that improves control. It supplies for customers reverse logistics management solutions that enable client design, accomplish and conduct materials flow and regulate corresponding information, support of the supply chain to resize values and guarantee safe-handling of products.It involves receiving, ordering, controlling and conducting returned goods. In addition, DHL offers service for manufactures of service and replacement. It enable customer receive and send manufactures’ replacement parts in terms of pre-designed service such as with a certain deadline. What’s more, DHL offers some services other than physical logistics services such as order management, global inventory management, freight solutions, and customs solutions. The following three figures show the flow process of DHL. Figure [ 1 ] Process Map of DHL Figure [ 2 ] internal process map of DHL Figure [ 3 ] external process map of DHLFive objectives analysis of DHL’s operation Quality DHL has a process of performance measurement so as to supervise the daily working process and understand customers’ voice. The company applies DePict project management approach to track every project in order to ensure their service quality. Furthermore, most units in the management system of DHL are in accordance with the system ISO 9000 which is the global quality controlling standard. Hence, DHL always keeps a high level service quality. Speed DHL provides its client’s specialized solutions so as to ensure a faster response speed to the changing marketplace.For its different kind of customers such as automotive, retail and fashion, DHL offers each of them unique logistics solutions so as to enable a lower response time to the market. Dependability DHL is a leading player in many fields of the logistics market; it operates business in abou t 220 countries and employs more than 31000 people. In addition, it has the world’s largest aircraft fleet and a huge number of ships and vehicles. Moreover, it conducts business with advanced management methodologies and performance measurement. All of these resources ensure DHL an unrivalled ability to accomplish any kinds of logistics services perfectly.Flexibility DHL involves in many parts of logistics market and has strong enough ability in each field. It can offer many kinds of logistics service via different routes. Otherwise, DHL can provide customizing logistics or supply chain solutions to meet their specific demand. Cost As a leader in many of logistics market, the bargaining power of DHL is much higher than most of its competitors which therefore will bring some advantages for DHL. However, for there are lots of companies that can provide similar service or products it may lose the price advantage in some egment market. SWOT analysis of DHL’s operation Str ength The biggest strength for DHL is its leader position in logistics field. It is the dominator in the area of freight transportation through air and ocean. DHL’s business covers a larger area of the world; it provides services for over 220 countries. The leading position enable DHL enhance its economy scale and the power of setting price. Secondly, DHL’s diversified business model enable the company to reduce the risks in business activities and discover new opportunities in emerging and existing marketplaces.DHL devotes itself to the division of mail, supply chain, freight transportation and express. In addition, DHL has the highest employee productivity based on the data from Datamonitor. What’s more, the DHL owns a large airplane fleet that can provide great transportation ability and a long-term emission reduction GOGREEN program which makes DHL as the first mover in this area. Weakness According to the data collected by Datamonitor, DHL has encountered a problem of decline in its cash flow which results from low efficient cost management.This will reduce its resources availability when it is in pursuit of growing plans. Another problem is due to its huge airplane fleet. As with the rapid climate changing, enterprises are required to undertake their social responsibility for the environment. Large number of aircraft implies lots of emission. Although DHL is trying to apply approaches to reduce aircraft emission such as using higher quality fuel and optimal flight line, reductions on emissions will be still minimal due to the limitations in nowadays aeromechanics implies that airplane efficiency cannot be improve a lot in this aspect.What’s more, as a forerunner in the area of making effort to reduce emission, DHL will also get the advantage in compliance with new environmental regulations in the future. Opportunities As with the rapid development of e-commerce, online shopping nowadays grows with a steady high speed year by y ear. Most of consumers will move their shopping habitat from retail to online. Thus deliveries will increase significantly with the step of online sales which will promote the growth of DHL’s business.Moreover, consumers nowadays require more environmental friendly products and services which result in a growing demand from enterprises to get greener logistics services, higher efficiency transportation and low carbon offerings. The GOGREEN policy of DHL will meet the demand of such companies and the continuation development of this kind of services will help DHL get a good hand in competence with others. Threats DHL currently is in the situation of facing fierce competition in logistics business. The scattered global logistics market brings intense competition to DHL.These may result in negative effects on the company that potentially will decrease its growth and profits. What’s more, it is said that logistics industry produces a big percent of global emission which le ad to governments from all over world aim to reduce the pollution contribution from this market. As a multi-national enterprise DHL always faces the pressure across from governments and NGOs as well. It may affects DHL’s reputation since people nowadays consider more and more about a company’s social responsibility. Conclusions and Recommendations To conclude, logistics is very important for nowadays global intense competitive marketplace.As is known to all, logistics is an essential part of any companies function. A good logistical operation can enable a company cut the production cost and enhance the efficiency. In this report, DHL was selected as a case study to help analysis logistics theory. DHL owns the biggest logistics network all over the world. It provides any kind of freight transportation via multiple approaches. DHL conducts its great range of logistics activities and solutions for clients across almost 220 countries. It is dedicated to provide customers b etter performance and low-cost service in today’s highly competitively market.In order to get the victory in the competition, DHL should set a reasonable price, provide a faster and larger amount of scheduled service, improve the function of tracking goods, enlarge the business geographic area, enhance its dependability and innovate new service for customers. In addition, DHL should make more efforts on emission reduction. The performance management and GOGREEN program may help DHL to accomplish this target. In a word, the art of logistics is essential to every organization while DHL has shown its great management and operations to enable a leading position in the world’s market.References 1. Ahanori, Y & Nachum, L 2000,  Globalization of Services: Some Implications for Theory and  Routledg: London 2. Degraeve, Z & Roodhooft, F 1999, â€Å"Effectively selecting suppliers using total Cost of Ownership†,  The Journal of Supply Chain Management, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 5-10. 3. Kiely, D 1999, â€Å"Synchronizing supply chain operations with consumer demand Using customer data†,  The Journal of Business Forecasting Methods & Systems, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 3-9. 4. Kostecki, M 1996, â€Å"Waiting Line as a Marketing Issues†,  European Management Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 295-303. Logistics Logistics process Definition of logistics Logistics is a function that is flexible and changes according to the various constraints and demands imposed upon it. Logistics is – Supply + Materials Management + Distribution and logistics is basically the overall management of distributions and supply. There are many different transport methods including- * Air- This is used to deliver goods fast and also internationally. * Water- This can be used to transport goods slower. Sometimes unreliable. * Road- This is to be used nationally, and used by the most ranges of business. This is the most popular way of transportation. Rail- This is the quicker way of transporting goods. Royal Mail use rail to transport goods to their regional offices. * Container- Containers are used to deliver goods simply because they don’t need as much security and also cost less in transport, meaning more profits. When we compare different retailers, we have to take into consideration: * The amount o f stores that the retailer has. * Where the location of the stores are * The supply chain. For example: Tesco has over 7500 stores in the UK, which includes a mixture of high street, out of town and local stores.They have a wide supply chain which stretches globally as they try to source the cheapest products to sell in their supermarkets. Independent stores may have only a few stores at the most (for example Merrie England). The location of the stores are on the high street and in town centres and the supply chain will only reach nationally. Small retailer – Small retailers usually use wagons to transport from manufacturer to retailers, and mostly use wholesalers. These are more likely to have less suppliers to work with then larger retailers because of the size of the stores.Multinational retailer: the retailer buys it direct from the multinational manufacturers and then supplies to the customers, normally using wagons from the distribution centres. Relationship with suppli ers All retailers, whether they are small or large, have to have a relationship with their suppliers. This is so they can get the best products at the best price and can also introduce new products. By having a good relationship with the suppliers, they know if they are getting the best deal and can also have a good payment plan, whilst also having good interactions by using electronics.Product search * Logistics * Electronic data interchange * Supply chain integration * Ordering and payment * Invoice orders The supply chain for a large and small business is more or less the same- especially the logistics and distribution stage. However, larger businesses have to have warehousing to store all of their surplus stock, or to store and to distribute to all of their stores. Examples of this can be supermarket warehouses, which take all of the bulk stock and then separate them into store deliveries, then use their wagons for store deliveries.This not only saves the business time but is al so cost effective as the larger the order, the cheaper the product should be for the supermarket. This means that the stock that supermarkets and other larger businesses take will be cheaper than smaller businesses. Stock Management By having management on how much stock needs distributing to independent stores, they can reduce waste, and overall, saves the business time and money by putting them into the correct stores. It also keeps customers happy, because if the stock is to hand, then customers won’t complain and/or go to other competitors. Warehousing/Stock RoomsLarger Retailers will have lots of different warehouses to meet the customer needs and to also deliver to different stores across the country. By warehousing and storing the products in a safe, cool and dry place, it will keep the products fresh (if they are food/drink items), or safe and without the risk of overheating/getting water damage to the products. By keeping the products in these conditions, they will b e stay in perfect condition until you need them. Internationally Small Independents won’t need to distribute internationally, so won’t need to use rail or air transportation methods to deliver their stocks.Also, because of how small they are, they are also less likely to need to source their items from abroad aswell, unless they are a business that relies on international sourcing. However, larger retailers have to rely on sourcing from other countries, especially supermarkets that have to get their fresh foods (including fruit and vegetables) from other countries. This means that they have to rely on air travel to bring in their items. They also have to rely on fast transport methods, such as containers and wagons to deliver their items to the distribution centres before delivering it to local independent stores.Use of Electronics Smaller Independent shops won’t need to rely on electronics as much as the larger retailers, because of how big their stores are and how they get their stock. Small independent stores will normally get their stock from cash and carry’s so will normally use man power to get their items. However, larger stores will have to constantly source their items from different retailers, and have to rely on electronics to order items from the distribution areas. This means that if any problems occur with the electronics surrounding the business, they could have problems with orders and could therefore run out of products.

Black Friday

Marketing strategies, paired with consumers’ need to locate the best deals on Christmas gifts has led to Black Friday being celebrated as a consumption ritual comparable in importance to Thanksgiving Day. (Thomas and Peters, 2011) How has Black Friday become the largest retail sales day of the year? What is it that drives people to artificially induced hyper consumption, almost like an annual ritual? Many scientist and psychologists have many different theories and conclusions of why Black Friday has become the biggest shopping day of the year. In this paper, I will take your through the research and conclusions that many psychologists have produced and the advantages and disadvantages of Black Friday. Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Ph. D. explored the work of Jane Boyd Thomas and Cara Peters, professors at South Carolina’s Winthrop University, who spent two years in research trying to find common traits in Black Friday shoppers. They conducted thirty-eight extensive interviews with â€Å"experienced† Black Friday shoppers and found four recurring themes: 1. Familial bonding (multiple generations and close friends) 2. Strategic planning . The great race 4. Mission accomplished But how do the four themes they came up with relate to one another? Thomas and Peters figured that all the traits when analyzed together showed one commonality. They wrote, â€Å"the traits are coalesced around a military metaphor, and is a bonding activity Shoppers prepare for the ritual by scanning Black Friday ads, and they map out their stra tegy. † (Sarkis 2011) In essence, the family is a type of team that scans adds, plans their route and potential purchases, executes their plans by buying products, and rejoices in their accomplishments. When all of these traits are analyzed individually, they mean little to main the main outcome, bonding. But when all the traits are looked at collectively, they all contribute to the overall success and goal of bonding. Besides giving us a breakdown of bonding activities, the analysis also shows how the average consumer plan for Black Friday. Just as Sarkis found themes that make up this military metaphor, Byun, professor of consumer affairs at Auburn University came up with her own theory on why people react the way they do on Black Friday. Crowds create a sense of competition — such as when hundreds of shoppers are rushing to collect marked-down goods — they generate a different feeling entirely. Competition creates what’s called hedonic shopping value, or a sense of enjoyment from the mere process of buying goods. At certain levels, consumers enjoy arousal and challenges during the shopping process. † (Khazan 2011) In essence what Byun is saying is consu mers get more enjoyment because the crowds create an obstacle, which hinders the execution of the plans and preparations made. The crowds make getting what they want harder, which creates more value for the goods purchased. Just as Byun noted that crowds contribute to the Black Friday Craze, Kelly McGonigal, Ph. D. describes another factors that plays a big part in the â€Å"Black Friday frenzy†. Retailers, she notes, use innovative designs to lure customers into their stores and keep them there. McGonigal says â€Å"time pressure sales on limited products or scarce resources† triggers a negative physiological affect on the consumer. Scarcity for a certain commodity creates a sense of urgency to act now, a natural instinct to survive. This survival instinct can be related to hunting for some people. Black Friday is â€Å"hunting for women,† said Leisa Reinecke Flynn, professor of marketing and fashion merchandising at the University of Southern Mississippi. â€Å"It’s so much like deer hunting it’s hard to tell the two apart. † (Khazan 2011) Unfortunately, shopping on Black Friday is not motivated by survival instincts or a life in death situation. This paradox stimulates unusual behavior in consumers that creates disadvantages and potential dangers for those that are not necessarily into the hunt. The concept of Black Friday creates a â€Å"perfect storm† for consumer misbehavior. Misbehavior, as defined by Lennon, Johnson, and Lee is, â€Å"acts that violate accepted norms of conduct in consumption contexts. † (Lennon, Johnson, Lee, 2011) This compulsive behavior, or compulsive consumption, feeds off of the idea of scarcity. It induces people to act inappropriately harming others and often themselves. â€Å"For many, if not most compulsive purchasers, buying is a reaction to stress or unpleasant situations. Compulsive consumption is a type of consumer behavior which is inappropriate, typically excessive, and clearly disruptive to the lives of other individuals. (Ronald, Thomas, and Raymond 1987) Both hunting and shopping hinge on long-standing traditions and generally involve pursuing a goal as a group. Whether the group actually hits its target is secondary to the fun of the chase. Hunting and shopping as shown above are very closely linked and motivated by the idea of scarcity. Just like there are limited deer in the forest, there are limited goods in the stores. The result is paradoxical in nature. People are fraudulently deceived into acting compulsively. (Herpen, Pieters and Zeelenberg 2005) Just as Ronald, Thomas, and Raymond concluded that compulsive behavior negatively affects the lives of others, Peter McGraw, Ph. D. drew a similar connection. He focuses more on social trends and pressures being the root of the problem. In The Link between Thanksgiving Gluttony and Black Friday Insanity, McGraw makes a connection between Black Friday shopping and Thanksgiving Dinner. He explores the idea that once a year, people will consume more calories in one meal, than the average person consumes on a normal day. The next day they wake up, or sometimes not sleeping at all, and go shopping for hours on end. (McGraw and Warner 2011) Dr. McGraw’s research shows us that in a short period of forty eights hour there is over consumption of food on Thanksgiving and the hyper consumption or shopping on Black Friday. McGraw believes that the cause of this phenomenon is social influence and pressure. He writes, â€Å"One of the hallmarks of psychological science is that we are influenced by the actions of others—often more so than we’d like to admit. Sometimes we’re impelled to take positive actions, such as switching to reusable bags or cutting down on littering. Other times, social influence can be quite negative. When it comes to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, unfortunately, the influences skew more toward bad than good. † (McGraw and Warner 2011) In other words McGraw places responsibility of hyper consumption on social trends, pressures, and even perhaps familial rituals for the ever-popular Black Friday. Another concept of Black Friday is one of mutual benefit for both consumer and retailer. Consumers’ benefit from large discounts on all sorts of items including clothing, electronics, furniture, and literally any other commodity available on the market. Retailers’ benefit by getting out of the red zone, finally making a profit for the fiscal year. The opportunities available on Black Friday is what drove 212 million shoppers to stores during Black Friday weekend in 2011. (Wilson, 2010) Retailers experience surging sales during Black Friday and the days that follow. This monetary benefit is what drives their extensive promotion and deal offerings, further influencing the consumer’s willingness to partake in the shopping frenzy. In a society where a corporation or business’s main purpose is to grow profits for the benefit of its shareholders, a company’s number one purpose is to increase sales, in order to increase profits. According to a New York Times article written by Adam Davidson, approximately one fifth of retailer’s total annual sales are made during the holiday shopping season. (Davidson, 2011) In conclusion, we can see that shopping on Black Friday brings people together in one way or another. For some, it brings people together in a positive way. Families and friends are able to work as a team who plan, prepare and execute their plans to achieve their goals. For others, Black Friday shoppers experience the negative affects of other people’s behavior. There are also advantages and disadvantages for both the consumer and retailer. Consumers get amazingly cheap prices on products while retailers experience a massive surge in sales. However one may look at Black Friday, it is a day that cannot be ignored. It’s influence and popularity are ever growing and expanding. Reference Page Davidson, Adam. The Black Friday Effect: Let’s Stimulate the Economy with Inflation. † The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Herpen, Erica van, Rik Pieters, and Marcel Zeelenberg (2005) ,†How Product Scarcity Impacts on Choice: Snob and Bandwagon Effects†, in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32, eds. Geeta Menon and Akshay R. Rao, Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32 : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 623-624. Faber, J. Ronald, O’Guinn, C Thomas, and Krych, Raymond. (1987) â€Å"Compulsive Consumption†, in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 14, eds. Melanie Wallendorf and Paul Anderson, Advances in Consumer Research Volume 14: Association for Sonsumer Research, Pages: 132-135. McGonigal, Kelly, Ph. D. â€Å"The Science of Willpower. † Comments on â€Å"Black Friday Shopping: How Stores Use Psychology to Fill Your Cart† N. p. , 19 Nov. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . McGraw, Peter, Ph. D. , and Warner, Joel. â€Å"The Humor Code. † The Link between Thanksgiving Gluttony and Black Friday Insanity. N. p. , 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . Ridgwar, Nicole, â€Å"Black Friday Sales Hit Record. † CNNMoney. Cable News Netwrok, 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Sarkis, Stephanie, Ph. D. â€Å"Here, There, and Everywhere. † Black Friday: A Collective Consumption Ritual. N. p. , 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . Thomas, Jane Boyd, and Peters, Cara. (2011) â€Å"An exploratory investigation of Black Friday consumption rituals†, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 39 Iss: 7, pp. 522 – 537 Wallendorf, M. , Arnould, E. â€Å"We gather together: consumption rituals of Thanksgiving Day†, in Journal of Consumer Research, (1991) Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 13-31. Wilson, April. â€Å"By the Numbers: Black Friday Shoppers and Their Impact on the Economy. † The Luckie ReTink Tank. 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct 2012. . Black Friday Marketing strategies, paired with consumers’ need to locate the best deals on Christmas gifts has led to Black Friday being celebrated as a consumption ritual comparable in importance to Thanksgiving Day. (Thomas and Peters, 2011) How has Black Friday become the largest retail sales day of the year? What is it that drives people to artificially induced hyper consumption, almost like an annual ritual? Many scientist and psychologists have many different theories and conclusions of why Black Friday has become the biggest shopping day of the year. In this paper, I will take your through the research and conclusions that many psychologists have produced and the advantages and disadvantages of Black Friday. Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, Ph. D. explored the work of Jane Boyd Thomas and Cara Peters, professors at South Carolina’s Winthrop University, who spent two years in research trying to find common traits in Black Friday shoppers. They conducted thirty-eight extensive interviews with â€Å"experienced† Black Friday shoppers and found four recurring themes: 1. Familial bonding (multiple generations and close friends) 2. Strategic planning . The great race 4. Mission accomplished But how do the four themes they came up with relate to one another? Thomas and Peters figured that all the traits when analyzed together showed one commonality. They wrote, â€Å"the traits are coalesced around a military metaphor, and is a bonding activity Shoppers prepare for the ritual by scanning Black Friday ads, and they map out their stra tegy. † (Sarkis 2011) In essence, the family is a type of team that scans adds, plans their route and potential purchases, executes their plans by buying products, and rejoices in their accomplishments. When all of these traits are analyzed individually, they mean little to main the main outcome, bonding. But when all the traits are looked at collectively, they all contribute to the overall success and goal of bonding. Besides giving us a breakdown of bonding activities, the analysis also shows how the average consumer plan for Black Friday. Just as Sarkis found themes that make up this military metaphor, Byun, professor of consumer affairs at Auburn University came up with her own theory on why people react the way they do on Black Friday. Crowds create a sense of competition — such as when hundreds of shoppers are rushing to collect marked-down goods — they generate a different feeling entirely. Competition creates what’s called hedonic shopping value, or a sense of enjoyment from the mere process of buying goods. At certain levels, consumers enjoy arousal and challenges during the shopping process. † (Khazan 2011) In essence what Byun is saying is consu mers get more enjoyment because the crowds create an obstacle, which hinders the execution of the plans and preparations made. The crowds make getting what they want harder, which creates more value for the goods purchased. Just as Byun noted that crowds contribute to the Black Friday Craze, Kelly McGonigal, Ph. D. describes another factors that plays a big part in the â€Å"Black Friday frenzy†. Retailers, she notes, use innovative designs to lure customers into their stores and keep them there. McGonigal says â€Å"time pressure sales on limited products or scarce resources† triggers a negative physiological affect on the consumer. Scarcity for a certain commodity creates a sense of urgency to act now, a natural instinct to survive. This survival instinct can be related to hunting for some people. Black Friday is â€Å"hunting for women,† said Leisa Reinecke Flynn, professor of marketing and fashion merchandising at the University of Southern Mississippi. â€Å"It’s so much like deer hunting it’s hard to tell the two apart. † (Khazan 2011) Unfortunately, shopping on Black Friday is not motivated by survival instincts or a life in death situation. This paradox stimulates unusual behavior in consumers that creates disadvantages and potential dangers for those that are not necessarily into the hunt. The concept of Black Friday creates a â€Å"perfect storm† for consumer misbehavior. Misbehavior, as defined by Lennon, Johnson, and Lee is, â€Å"acts that violate accepted norms of conduct in consumption contexts. † (Lennon, Johnson, Lee, 2011) This compulsive behavior, or compulsive consumption, feeds off of the idea of scarcity. It induces people to act inappropriately harming others and often themselves. â€Å"For many, if not most compulsive purchasers, buying is a reaction to stress or unpleasant situations. Compulsive consumption is a type of consumer behavior which is inappropriate, typically excessive, and clearly disruptive to the lives of other individuals. (Ronald, Thomas, and Raymond 1987) Both hunting and shopping hinge on long-standing traditions and generally involve pursuing a goal as a group. Whether the group actually hits its target is secondary to the fun of the chase. Hunting and shopping as shown above are very closely linked and motivated by the idea of scarcity. Just like there are limited deer in the forest, there are limited goods in the stores. The result is paradoxical in nature. People are fraudulently deceived into acting compulsively. (Herpen, Pieters and Zeelenberg 2005) Just as Ronald, Thomas, and Raymond concluded that compulsive behavior negatively affects the lives of others, Peter McGraw, Ph. D. drew a similar connection. He focuses more on social trends and pressures being the root of the problem. In The Link between Thanksgiving Gluttony and Black Friday Insanity, McGraw makes a connection between Black Friday shopping and Thanksgiving Dinner. He explores the idea that once a year, people will consume more calories in one meal, than the average person consumes on a normal day. The next day they wake up, or sometimes not sleeping at all, and go shopping for hours on end. (McGraw and Warner 2011) Dr. McGraw’s research shows us that in a short period of forty eights hour there is over consumption of food on Thanksgiving and the hyper consumption or shopping on Black Friday. McGraw believes that the cause of this phenomenon is social influence and pressure. He writes, â€Å"One of the hallmarks of psychological science is that we are influenced by the actions of others—often more so than we’d like to admit. Sometimes we’re impelled to take positive actions, such as switching to reusable bags or cutting down on littering. Other times, social influence can be quite negative. When it comes to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, unfortunately, the influences skew more toward bad than good. † (McGraw and Warner 2011) In other words McGraw places responsibility of hyper consumption on social trends, pressures, and even perhaps familial rituals for the ever-popular Black Friday. Another concept of Black Friday is one of mutual benefit for both consumer and retailer. Consumers’ benefit from large discounts on all sorts of items including clothing, electronics, furniture, and literally any other commodity available on the market. Retailers’ benefit by getting out of the red zone, finally making a profit for the fiscal year. The opportunities available on Black Friday is what drove 212 million shoppers to stores during Black Friday weekend in 2011. (Wilson, 2010) Retailers experience surging sales during Black Friday and the days that follow. This monetary benefit is what drives their extensive promotion and deal offerings, further influencing the consumer’s willingness to partake in the shopping frenzy. In a society where a corporation or business’s main purpose is to grow profits for the benefit of its shareholders, a company’s number one purpose is to increase sales, in order to increase profits. According to a New York Times article written by Adam Davidson, approximately one fifth of retailer’s total annual sales are made during the holiday shopping season. (Davidson, 2011) In conclusion, we can see that shopping on Black Friday brings people together in one way or another. For some, it brings people together in a positive way. Families and friends are able to work as a team who plan, prepare and execute their plans to achieve their goals. For others, Black Friday shoppers experience the negative affects of other people’s behavior. There are also advantages and disadvantages for both the consumer and retailer. Consumers get amazingly cheap prices on products while retailers experience a massive surge in sales. However one may look at Black Friday, it is a day that cannot be ignored. It’s influence and popularity are ever growing and expanding. Reference Page Davidson, Adam. The Black Friday Effect: Let’s Stimulate the Economy with Inflation. † The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Herpen, Erica van, Rik Pieters, and Marcel Zeelenberg (2005) ,†How Product Scarcity Impacts on Choice: Snob and Bandwagon Effects†, in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32, eds. Geeta Menon and Akshay R. Rao, Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32 : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 623-624. Faber, J. Ronald, O’Guinn, C Thomas, and Krych, Raymond. (1987) â€Å"Compulsive Consumption†, in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 14, eds. Melanie Wallendorf and Paul Anderson, Advances in Consumer Research Volume 14: Association for Sonsumer Research, Pages: 132-135. McGonigal, Kelly, Ph. D. â€Å"The Science of Willpower. † Comments on â€Å"Black Friday Shopping: How Stores Use Psychology to Fill Your Cart† N. p. , 19 Nov. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . McGraw, Peter, Ph. D. , and Warner, Joel. â€Å"The Humor Code. † The Link between Thanksgiving Gluttony and Black Friday Insanity. N. p. , 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . Ridgwar, Nicole, â€Å"Black Friday Sales Hit Record. † CNNMoney. Cable News Netwrok, 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Sarkis, Stephanie, Ph. D. â€Å"Here, There, and Everywhere. † Black Friday: A Collective Consumption Ritual. N. p. , 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . Thomas, Jane Boyd, and Peters, Cara. (2011) â€Å"An exploratory investigation of Black Friday consumption rituals†, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 39 Iss: 7, pp. 522 – 537 Wallendorf, M. , Arnould, E. â€Å"We gather together: consumption rituals of Thanksgiving Day†, in Journal of Consumer Research, (1991) Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 13-31. Wilson, April. â€Å"By the Numbers: Black Friday Shoppers and Their Impact on the Economy. † The Luckie ReTink Tank. 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Oct 2012. . Black Friday

Emerging Political Tensions between Israel and Palestine Research Paper

Emerging Political Tensions between Israel and Palestine - Research Paper Example Palestine is controlled by two governing bodies i.e. Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank. The division of governance has resulted in suspension of peace making attempts between Israel and Palestine. The recent war occurred in 2014, is a result of political tensions between the two states. This research paper focuses on the major political issues due to which peace-making attempts have been failing between the states. The conflicts between Israel and Palestine have become sensitive at present due to several issues. In the year 2006, the Palestinian Authority held elections in Gaza and the West Bank on the request of George W. Bush’s administration and Israeli support. Despite making attempts, Hamas won the majority of seats. The United States responded by cutting off aid to Palestinian Authority, on the other hand the Israelis withheld tax revenues they collected on Palestinian’s behalf. The Bush’s administration encouraged Abbas to go against Hamas with the help of Fatah and its chief Mohammad Dahlan (Brownlee 113). The circumstances were severe during the period and Fatah was defeated by Hamas in the battle. Finally Hamas took charge in Gaza. These situations became even worse when United States did not make any attempt to talk to the new formed government. The Israelis started to block exports from Gaza, which led to drop of per capita income to 17 percent in the year 2011, compared to 2005. The Israelis even banned exports to the West Bank, which made the life of people worse in Gaza. The people of Gaza were suffering from unemployment and malnutrition on a very high scale. The circumstances forced Hamas to attack Israelis, for the benefit of their people and save his government. The attacks disturbed the life of people and most of the citizens were exposed to threat. The occurrence of cold-war was merely due to the political issues that happened in the year 2006.  

Dances of the renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dances of the renaissance - Essay Example The dance music of the Renaissance was written for instruments such as the sackbut, lute, viol, pipe and the tabor. Some of the most popular ones are discussed below. An allemande literally means ‘German’ and it was one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite. The allemande originated in the Renaissance period as a duple meter dance of moderate tempo, derived from dances supposed to be favored in Germany at the time and was performed in 4/4 time. Originally, the allemande formed the first movement of the suite, before the courante. The basse danse literally means ‘low dance’ and it was the most popular court dance in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Basse danse music is always in 6/4 and in performance, 3 or 4 instrumentalists would improvise the polyphony based on this tenor. Basse danse is slow and processional, and is played with a constant speed throughout. It begins with a reverence and so there is usually no need to play any introductory bars before beginning the music, although a drumbeat or two may help. The basse danse later led to the development of the pavane. A branle is a 16th century French dance style which moves mainly from side to side, and is performed by couples in either a line or a circle and was mainly performed by commoners. Branle music is often in 4/4, although can be found in 2/4 and even with variations in timing between the bars. Branles don’t start with a reverence, and so a few introductory bars of music are usually required to get the dancers moving. According to Arbeau, every ball began with the same four branles. The Double Branle has a simple form involving two phrases of two bars each. The Single Branle, however, consists of a phrase of two bars, followed by a phrase of one bar and appears in numerous places. Likewise the Gay Branle consists of two

Week 5 Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Week 5 Journal - Essay Example All these countries have the highest number of Muslims. Almost 70% of the population in the host countries consists of Muslims (Cordesman, 2015). Since ISIL aims at turning the world into an Islamic State, it targets such countries for easy radicalization, religious and political control, and abolishment of democracy. Since it is dominant in Syria and Iraq, it has the ability to control most government operations through its involvement in politics, economical maters; oil issues, and religious issues (Laub & Masters, 2015). This gives an indicator that these two governments in one way or the other support ISIL’s operations. It is known that most governments in the Middle East do not like America’s involvement in its affairs; it appreciates ISIL’s resistance against America and thus quietly funds it. However, while other terrorist organizations solely rely on financial networks from sympathizers, ISIL derives its wealth from oil sales, taxes, and extortion. However, in return, it institutes order, which include punishing those who go against the Islamic religion, and protects the locals from the Assad and Maliki regimes (Tabler, 2014). It is controversial on how ISIL operates in its host countries. This is because it covered by political parties and other governmental organs, which make its operations invisible to whoever tries to fight it. However, it must be known that ISIL is a terrorist organization fought against by most governments. In fact, it has been suggested that the groups can be wiped out by Iran, as a move to help Iraq realize its own path. Cordesman Anthony H. (2015, May 1). The First Inspector General Report on the Fight Against ISIL: A Public Relations Exercise Without Meaningful Transparency. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Retrieved Jun 7, 2015 from: http://csis.org/files/publication/150501_commentary.pdf. Tabler Andrew J. (2014, Aug 11). ISIL Could