Company case: Southwest Airlines †Waging War in Philly

1. How do Southwest’s marketing objectives and its marketing mix strategy affect its pricing decisions? Answer : Operating under an intensely competitive environment , Southwest Airlines carefully projects its image so customers can differentiate its product form its competitors .. To successfully secure its market position , Southwest needs to be extremely Cost-efficient ,Southwest has a well defined business model that uses single aircraft type ,short hauls ,secondary airports , point-to-point versus hub-and-spoke to keep its cost down . Southwest tries hard to differentiate itself by doing seemingly wired things. For example, not assigning seats in its flights helps to reinforce its image that it gets passengers to their destinations when they want to get there ,on time , at the lowest possible fares . By not assigning seats ,Southwest can turn the airplanes quicker at the gate. If an airplane can be turned quicker, more routes can be flown each day . That generates more revenue , so that Southwest can offer lower fares . The marketing objective of Southwest Airlines is to attract long term customers who will be loyal to Southwest Airlines and consistently fly their airline. To draw in repeat customers Southwest focuses on customer service and providing a positive experience while flying . The goal is to continually fill flights and bring the maximum revenue on every flight. Marketing Mix: For Southwest Airlines, promotions starts with the insightful understanding of customer benefits and how to translate those benefits into meaningful products and services . If we look upon the customer’s services of the southwest we will come to know that southwest is providing excellent customer services, baggage handling, easier ticketing, flexible flight schedules, easier check in and check outs on the airport. In the success of southwest airline one of the greatest contributions is of the employees. (In 2004) Little Southwest served a total of 58 cities and 59 airports in 30 states and was offering 14 flights a day from Philly out of only two gates. Two short of year s after Southwest had boosted daily nonstop flights from 14 to 53. It had added service to 11 new cities and quadrupled it numbers of gates 2 to 8, with its eye on 4 more. Promotional Advertisement for Southwest come in a variety of forms. They advertise on TV commercial, in print ads ,on the radio and through word of mouth . We can see that the core strength of the southwest airline is in its low fair. It is very important to know how southwest can afford such a low fair. The answer lies in control over operating costs. Southwest do not offers meals during flights but they do offer snacks to their customers and southwest also save money by not offering training to their employees, Southwest Airlines tries to use maximum seat capacity, though their fairs are low but their plan never flew empty. In addition, Southwest introduced innovated measures to limit overhead costs by introducing ticket-less travel, and this strategy save them more than 20 billion. Southwest also save the cost by lowering the turnover ratio of the employees, southwest introduces highly innovative programs for employees to keep them motivated and satisfied.

India Luxury Market Essay

Market Trend There was a slow-down in the growth in sales of premium and luxury watches in India in 2008-’09. It prompted the market leader Titan industries to enter the economy market. Following the footsteps, luxury watch brands like Tag Heuer and Rolex introduced low-price models. But in recent years, mobile phones may also have dampened growth in the penetration of watches in India, as they provide a time read-out as well as alarm and other time-related functions. Watch industry experts believe that their product’s original function is increasingly losing importance, and that wristwatches are now being bought as fashion accessories. Owning more than one watch is like owning different pieces of jewellery. Competitive landscape The economy watch demand is being met for the most part by the unorganised sector and by direct imports. The premium segment is increasingly being peppered by fashion brands such as Esprit, Swatch, Fossil and Tommy Hilfiger. There has also been strong value growth for these brands, with growing demand from middle- and upper-income groups in urban India. Titan, HMT and Maxima are the leading Indian players and Timex, Casio and Swatch are now the strong multinational players in the market. More multinationals are entering the retail market, but no new domestic companies have done so, and the multinationals’ share of value sales has increased over the review period. Premium Brand & Product Perception With the watches market in India now becoming fashion and style driven, especially at the premium end, companies now launch models and designs every six months. International brands such as Fossil launch spring/summer and winter ranges. Titan, on the other hand, times its launches to fit in with the Indian festive season – Deepavali and weddings. Companies like Casio and Swatch and luxury brands like Rolex are exploring a niche market for chronographs, but this is currently negligible. Companies also need to respond to product innovations. The Citizen eco-friendly watch has been well received in India and is reportedly selling well in its price bracket, eliminating the trouble of replacing batteries and encouraging the use of multiple watches. Apparel brands such as Esprit, Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton and Levi’s have all gained familiarity among India’s urban youth, who may become more willing to try these brands’ premium watches. Affluent, urban Indians may feel more comfortable about buying premium watches, while continuing to regard luxury watches as examples of overindulgent or insensitive spending. ‘New’ Rich India : The ‘New’ rich India is now indulging into the experience of owning Luxury Brands. India’s rapidly growing high-end retail market is expected to increase from the around $3. 5 billion in 2008 to $30 billion by 2015. Luxury clothing, fragrances, premium wine, high-end watches have achieved good penetration among male Indian consumers. Among women, jewellery and cosmetics can already boast high levels of awareness, followed by categories such as handbags and mobile phones. These items, while not necessarily being better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with the main purpose of displaying wealth or income or status symbol of their owners. There is a distinct shift from ‘Old luxury’ to ‘New luxury’. Old luxury is defined by the attributes, qualities and features of the product, whilst ‘New luxury’ is defined by the consumer’s point of focus on the experience that their purchase stimulates and not in ownership or possession of the product itself. † The customers Redefined luxury as they believe it to be a sign of self worth – â€Å"They are worth it;† it authenticates the buyer’s success and status; it is a signal to others that the owner is a member of an exclusive group; They require flawless performance in this application, the cost of product malfunction is too high to buy anything but the best. Motivation of Study: The matter of wearing and enjoying fine timepieces is a passion that these days must be justified. We like nice expensive watches even though cheap watches exist to do the same thing. Hence like any other luxury good , today modern shoppers buy luxury goods to reward themselves, to satisfy psychological needs or to make themselves feel good to show off their personality or to boost their self-esteem. Contribution of the research: This study aims to understand the above said consumer buying behaviour which will help the present marketing Managers to better reposition their branding and advertising strategy to capture the correct target market for luxury products to boost the sales in times where economy are at a challenge. Literature Review: Research Objective: This study intends to find out if consumer buying behaviour of young purchasers are influenced by factors such as premium price of luxury watches, perceived quality of luxury watches, societal status and brand loyalty associated with the consumption of luxury brand. This study also intends to evaluate whether perceived qualities of the luxury branded watch have influence on the buying decision of consumer. It is also intended to determine whether the high quality standards of luxury watches are the reasoning consumers opt for the luxury watches. Affiliations of social status of acquiring certain luxury branded goods will also be studied to understand whether consumer buying luxury branded goods just for the matter of being affiliate with certain quarters of people having the same luxury brand of goods. This study also will also evaluate whether brand loyalty of luxury brand will influence the buying decision of consumer. This study also aims to uncover whether a person who has been abroad is a reason for the consumer purchasing a luxury watch Research Question: The purpose of this study is to evaluate what motivational factors encourage consumers into purchasing luxury brand watches . In evaluating this statement , this study aims to answer the following questions : †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Is it the price or the type of users of the brand that drives the buying behaviour of the consumer for luxury branded goods? Is it the strong emotion of discriminating themselves with the lower class consumers that drives higher class consumers to turn to luxury brands? Is it the tag name of a mega brand that drives the long term demand for that luxury brand? Is gender a deterministic factor in deciding the purchase of a luxury brand? If yes then what factors are important gender wise ? Is it the product utility or the brand perception that is key for luxury watch brands? Will a person’s visit abroad influence his decision to purchase a luxury watch? Previous Research contribution : Findings of overall previous research indicate that individual’s preferences plays a key role in purchasing luxury goods. Individual’s preferences may be based on desire and non-desires, which are based on experience in purchasing luxury items from their satisfaction, or nondesire such as bias towards brand products. Leibenstein (1950, p. 188) classified demand of goods and services consumption in relevant to motivation into two main aspects: functional and non-functional. Functional demand is â€Å"demand for a commodity which is due to the qualities inherent in the commodity itself†. On the contrary, demand of goods consumption that comes from other factors, which is not the product quality, is defined non-functional demand. The outcome from Leibenstein’s (1950) study especially stresses the role of interpersonal effects towards luxury brands consumption, and derived three main effects; Veblen, Snob, and Bandwagon INTERPERSONAL EFFECTS Perceived Conspicuous Value Perceived unique Value Perceived Social Value Ostentation Non-Conformity Conformity VEBLENIAN SNOB BANDWAGON Interpersonal effects (Vigenron & Johnson) (1999 p. 7) Veblen Effect: The Veblen effect can be explained through conspicuous consumption in which people feel that it is necessary to purchase luxury products because they have a high price tag (Leibenstein, 1950). Conspicuous consumption is use by people to show wealth, power and status (Veblen, 1899). Prices of product have a significant aspect in consumers’ opinion of quality (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). Studies by Erickson & Johansson (1995) have shown that price is used to judge quality of luxury products between a range of brands. Usually people would associate high prices with better quality. Additionally, those who do associate high prices with better quality would also suggest that high prices show a considerable amount of prestige (Lichtenstein et al. , 1993). Snob Effect: The snob effect takes into account personal and emotional desires (personal effects), and the influence of other people’s behaviour (interpersonal effects) towards the purchasing of luxury brand products (see Figure 1). The snob effect can be further explained through two circumstances. Firstly, the launch on new products which creates exclusivity in which the snob would purchase the product immediately because a minor amount of consumers at that particular time would have acquired it. Snob consumers only purchase â€Å"limited items that have a high value, whereas those readily available are less desirable. Rare items demand respect and prestige† (Solomon, 1994,p. 570). Products that are viewed as unique, popular, and expensive causes a higher demand for consumers (Verhallen & Robben, 1994), especially snob consumers. Snyder and Fromkin (1977) support the statement by Verhallen and Robben (1994) suggesting that people have the desire to be unique. India:The Affluent Masses: Luxury volumes have been spurred by a significant growth in the rich in recent past. The new rich come in varied shapes, sizes and style quotients. Exporters, multinational bankers, college kids earning plum salaries at call centers or BPO operations, well-heeled corporate wives, and successful entrepreneurs. What they have in common is that they have very high purchasing power Bandwagon Effect : The bandwagon effect represents consumers who purchase luxury products because they wish to fit in with a particular group. For example, people would consume products that are fashionable and stylish to associate themselves to similar people (Berry, 1994). Dubois & Duquesne (1993) explains that the snob and bandwagon effect are not alike. Although the similarity between the bandwagon and the snob effect is that people wish to enhance their self-concepts, the differentiation is that they purchase luxury items for different reasons. Bandwagon consumers purchase items to be fit in with others, whereas snob consumers purchase items to be unique and stand out. Individuals who fit in with groups that purchase luxury brand products and/ or wish to differentiate themselves from people who do not purchase luxury brands are influenced by the bandwagon effect (Vigneron & Johnson,1999) Luxury is reward :First time/New Purchasers :They use luxury goods as a status symbol to say â€Å"I’ve made it! †. They are motivated by their desire to be successful and demonstrate this to others. Luxury brands that have widespread recognition are popular; however they don’t wish to appear lavish or hedonistic in their appearance. They want to purchase â€Å"smart† luxury that exhibit importance while not leaving them open to criticism. Personal Effects : Consuming luxury products can also be from personal desires and taste. PERSONAL EFFECTS Perceived Emotional Value Perceived Quality Value Self-Actualization Reassurance HEDONIST PERFECTIONIST Personal effects (Vigenron & Johnson) (1999 p. 8) Hedonic Effect The hedonic effect occurs when consumers purchase luxury products and value the item. People who purchase items for self-fulfillment (e. g.inner direct consumers, Riesman, et al. , 1950, or role relaxed consumers, Kahle, 1995), and those who are not affected by interpersonal influences (e. g. conforming to group norms,Bearden, et al. , 1989) represent the hedonic effect. Dichter (1960) explains that motivation of noncognitive and unconscious is able to persuade consumer preference of products. Products that are consumed are known to have an emotional value that is added to their character (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). When consumers purchase luxury products they expect that the item will offer benefits such as exclusiveness. Dubois & Laurent, (1994) stated that if products create an emotional value for consumers, it represents that the product is beneficial and holds an important characteristic. Perfectionist Effect The perfectionist effect exists when consumers purchase luxury items and expects superior products and performance as well as quality (Vigneron & Johnson,1999). People who represent the perfectionist effect are those who are associated to personal values and judge a product according to their value of a luxury band product. An example of the perfectionist effect is when consumers are purchasing a luxury watch they expect it to be accurate. According to Groth and McDaniel, (1993, p. 10) stated that â€Å"high prices may even make certain products or service more desirable†, because people view products with high prices with great quality (Rao & Monroe, 1989). Additionally, consumers may assess the level of how luxury a product is by its quality (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Methodology Research Method: Quantitative data consists of closed end information that includes numerical figures. The study has collected quantitative data by applying closed-end questions towards a questionnaire. Focus Group Discussion to understand attributes both physical and emotional that influence the purchase of a luxury watch. The group comprised of 7 individuals , 3 female and 4 male participants who have been users of luxury watches. Data Collection: Primary Data collection: Gathering information from consumers of luxury watches through online questionnaire survey Secondary Data Collection: Research insights and hypothesis design with the help of previously published research work on luxury goods buying behaviour. Sampling: Non-probability sampling method is adopted. Since the target audience or respondents of interest are consumers of premium or luxury watches, the sampling method adopted here is convenience sampling and snow-ball sampling. Measurement & Scaling: Measurement Techniques used ? Perception map : ? Utility of features in the watch : Chronograph, Double dial, Indicator light etc. ? Stylish Designs that make the watch a fashion statement Respondents were asked to rate the 10 different brands in order to obtain their perception of these brands on the above defined dimensions Based on two predefined dimensions i. e ? ? ? Exploratory Factor Analysis : To understand the underlying factors influencing the purchase behaviour of luxury watch for men & women and overall Regression: To understand which interpersonal & personal effect is critical when consumers make a luxury watch purchase decision Discriminant Analysis: To understand the group behaviours based on the following discriminating variable ? Gender ? Trip abroad ? Work Experience:Purchasing power ? AMOS : Confirmatory Factor analysis to ascertain the Exploratory Factor Analysis RESULT AND ANALYSIS 1. Discriminant Analysis: Work-Ex & Fresher Inference: Wilk’s lambda (0.627) is more than 0. 4 which is not significant; Box M test is also insignificant However based on analysis top 5 attributes discriminating work ex & fresher are Attributes Q5_7_attribute_analog Q5_2_attribute_alarm Q5_12_attribute_torch Q5_9__attribute_calculator Q4_8_attribute_celebrity_endorsement Variable weight of discriminating function -. 366 . 361 . 331 . 271 . 262 2. Discriminant Analysis: Gender Inference: Wilk’s lambda (0. 578) is more than 0. 4 which is not significant; based on analysis top 5 attributes discriminating males & females Attributes Variable weight of discriminating function. Q4_3_attrifashion_statement Q5_3_attribute_dualclock Q5_13_attribute_barometer Q5_8_attribute_motionsensor Q9_2_buy_in_store .329 -. 285 -. 269 -. 259 -. 255 3. Discriminant Analysis: Abroad Visit Inference: Wilk’s lambda (0. 573) is more than 0. 4 which is not significant; however based on analysis top 5 attributes discriminating foreign visited and not visited people Attributes Q5_9__attribute_calculator Q5_6_attribute_color Q5_16_attribute_warranty Q5_11_attribute_straptype Q4_9_attribute_brand_image Variable weight of discriminating function . 228 . 225 . 221 -. 207 -. 205 3) Exploratory Factor Analysis-(Male & Female) Research Question:- Is gender a deterministic factor in deciding the purchase of the luxury watch. If yes what factors are important gender wise? Hypothesis:- Women while making luxury goods purchase give more importance to emotional factors whereas Men go for Physical Utility features Factor analysis for male respndents(58 males) Results:? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Fac1(Ostentation): o o o o o o o o ? ? ? ? ? ? Sth to remmeber, hand gesture, to be unique Fac2(value added feature) Calculator,digital,compass. Fac3(Generic requirements) Shape, water resistance Fac4(Economic requirements) Discounts Fac 5(Tech savvy) Compass, Motion sensor Fac 6(basic) Analog,water resistance Fac 7(Wrist suitability) Strap type Fac 8(extra feautres):Date and day display, brand image Exploratory factor analysis female Respondents (23 females):Fac1(Economical): o o o o o o Warranty, after sales, analog, emotional satisfaction Fac2(Style) Social status, to be unique, fashion statement Fac3(Special requirements) Alarm,altimeter, digital,dual clock Fac4(value added feature) Calculator,compass,barometer, torch. Fac 5(Tech savvy) Hand gesture,discount Fac 6(Exclusivity) Motion sensor,alarm,brand image Result Analysis:? Men:o Attach importance to Ostentaion, value added feaures and style(veblenian effect and perfectionist effect are dominating) ? Women:o Style, Economic attributes an generic requirements ( Hedonist and snob effects dominate 4. Checking the Interpersonal and personal effects shown by males and female while purchase of luxury watch in Store Research Question:o Is it the price or the type of users of the brand that drives the buying behaviour of the consumer for luxury branded goods? o Is it the strong emotion of discriminating themselves with the lower class consumers that drives higher class consumers to turn to luxury brands? o Is it the product utility or the brand perception that is key for luxury watch brands? Hypothesis:-Luxury watch purchase is primarily to show off and as an indicator of status symbol: veneblian effect. Users also buy luxury watches due to perceived emotional value or for hedonist reasons Veneblian Effect:- Snob Effect Bandwagon Effect Hedonistic effect Type of effect Veneblian snob Bandwagon Hedonistic Coefficient 0. 517 0. 499 0. 274 0. 305. Inference:- As we can clearly observe from the above table that the veneblian effect is very prominent in all cases of interpersonal or personal effects. That means People tend to buy Luxury watches to show off of their Public and Social Status. Snob and Bandwagon effect follows Veneblian effect. 5. Regression Analysis to check whether long term demand for luxury watches is driven by brand image Research Question : Is it the brand image that drives the long term demand for that luxury brand? Hypothesis : Brand Image for lucury brands is responsible for the long term demand of these watches. Inference : Regression is insignificant with respect to the variables that drive brand image. Even the R^square value is 0. 071. Hence we can infer that brand image is not a good factor to explain the long term demand for luxury watches. 6. AMOS The default model is created based on exploratory factor analysis and taking research literature into account. Model Fit Summary Check: Cmin/DF 2-5 OK GFI > 0. 9 Not OK PGFI>0. 5 OK NFI,TLI,CFI>0. 9 Not OK RMSEA max 0. 1 Not OK Model is comparatively fit as such But Goodness of fit index is not holding well. Validity & Construct Reliability S No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Attributes Q4_1_attribute_social_status Q4_3_attribute_fashion_statement Q4_2_attribute_to_be_unique Q4_6_attribute_emotional_satisfaction Q4_9_attribute_brand_image Q5_9__attribute_calculator Q5_10_attribute_compass Q5_12_attribute_torch Q5_13_attribute_barometer Q5_3_attribute_dualclock Q5_4_attribute_altimeter Q5_2_attribute_alarm Q5_5_attribute_digital Q5_7_attribute_analog Q5_8_attribute_motionsensor Q5_16_attribute_warranty Q4_10_attribute_secon_time_brandpurchase Q4_4_attribute_premiumwatch_collection Q4_8_attribute_celebrity_endorsements. Constructs Error e1 e2 Delta 1. 028 1. 079 0. 608 0. 635 1. 282 1. 323 1. 687 1. 473 1. 793 1. 816 1. 032 2. 133 1. 407 1. 074 2. 078 0. 179 1. 402 1. 367 2. 019 Lambda 1 0. 67 0. 922 0. 884 0. 997 1 0. 912 0. 971 0. 774 1 1. 135 1. 005 1. 258 1 0. 876 0. 84 0. 403 1. 231 1 AVE CR Exclusivity e3 e4 e5 e6 e7 0. 81 0. 81 Tech_Savvy e8 e9 e14 0. 84 0. 68 Value_Added _Feature e15 e16 e17 e21 1. 22 0. 75 Reliability e22 e23 e26 0. 82 0. 69 Brand_Perce ption.

The most significant trends and issues in guiding children's behavior Essay

The most significant trends and issues in guiding children's behavior - Essay Example Self discipline needs an understanding of an individual’s self and at the same time, an understanding of the couple of ways in which one can cope with the existing difficulties, disappointments, and frustrations. Self discipline gives an individual the ability to concentrate on an event so long as it is deemed necessary to enable the child learn, perfect or complete it. Guiding young kids involve a number of tasks. Parents are solely responsible for identifying and at the same time, enforcing reasonable and clear limits, while slowly giving freedom to children by trying to encourage them to be solely responsible for their self and all their actions. A positive approach is significant when teaching young children how to cope with skills and also, self-control while trying to discourage inappropriate and destructive behavior (Coloroso, 2000).Even though, children seek their freedom from the set rules and regulations that limits them at an early age, they still require constant g uidance and structure. Children upbringing as individuals depends majorly on making their own choices and facing the consequences of their actions and decisions directly (Nelson, 2002). Parents do not possess many skills for guiding their children. Preventing a child’s misbehavior takes a lot of planning and preparation. Effective and corrective discipline measures focus on the child’s development and maintains the kid's dignity and also self-esteem.In guiding children’s behavior, the kids should have choices.... Effective and corrective discipline measures focus on the child’s development and maintains the kid's dignity and also self-esteem. In guiding children’s behavior, the kids should have choices. This is an effective way in guiding a child to build decision making skills, and mould a kid’s self discipline. Nevertheless, a parent should give choices he or she is willing to allow. Parents should use more dos than don’ts in guiding a child’s behavior. They can consider giving the kid a go ahead light instead of a stop light. Guardians should set only the necessary limits. Only the principal ones and the ones viewed as necessary for a child to be safe. The set limits should also be reasonable. Is the kid capable? At times, the parent’s exceptions are too high and should be moved to fit the kid’s capabilities. The set limits should be comprehensible and clear. The parent should give information that is sufficient as well as understandable to the children and other member of the family (Nelson & Lott, 2004). The set limits should be consistent that is, they should never change at all. They should not change as the kid grows and becomes more self disciplined. Consider how past trends and societal approaches contribute to the current thoughts. In the past traditional era, physical punishment was common as a form of punishing wayward behaviors by the children. Nevertheless as, times changed, dialogue has become introduced among parents and their children preventing further instances of the physical punishment. According to Coloroso (2000), parents nowadays sit down with their kids and even discuss the punishments they deem appropriately. What are the best approaches and strategies in the early

Happiness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Happiness - Research Paper Example In addition, the modern world fills our heads full of numerous distractions, many of which claim happiness can only be achieved after one has accomplished this material good or that status in life. In America, for example, people learn that happiness is what occurs when we have finally managed to claim ownership of a luxury car, a fine house and a stunning wardrobe to show off the tremendous body we’ve maintained, perhaps with the help of a personal trainer or skilled plastic surgeon. â€Å"To fulfill their dreams, Americans claim they need an annual income of $102,000† (Myers, 2000). According to Bolt (2004) and others, almost three-quarters of college freshmen feel being ‘very well-off financially’ to be a ‘very important’ or ‘essential’ goal in life (Bolt, 2004: 124). Other studies seem to indicate that our concept of happiness continues to change through life, so that what might have made us happy in the past will likely lose i ts ability to make us happy in the future (Diener & Diener, 2009). Although definitions of happiness and how to attain it may shift over time, research seems to link gaining happiness very strongly with the concept of adhering to a strongly identified sense of moral behavior. Within this discussion, it is important to understand that the concept of moral behavior as it is considered by philosophers does not merely constitute a choice between right and wrong behavior. The term â€Å"morality† is defined as a â€Å"moral quality or character; rightness or wrongness, as of an action† (Neufeldt & Goralnik, 1994: 882) and it is closely associated with the term â€Å"ethics† which is â€Å"the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment.† Even this much of an explanation is unclear, though, as terms such as â€Å"standards of conduct,† â€Å"moral judgment† and â€Å"moral character† have yet to be defined on a concrete level. These terms are potentially defined differently depending upon

Family health Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family health Assessment - Essay Example The family is financially sound and qualifies to be a middle-income family. The children are students in high school and college. The health patterns are based on Gordon’s list of functional health patterns (2008). The following is the summary of their responses to the assessment questions. The family is conscious about health. The family engages in several activities aimed at boosting their health. The parents and children understand the importance of healthy living and regard each other dearly. There is a very strong bond holding the family together. In addition, the family belongs to the catholic faith that advocates better family values and morals. However, they do not follow the religious tenets fully. The family considers diet as the most influential aspect of their health. The mother is a major decision maker on the type of food the household eats. She expressed her confidence that her meals are well balanced and were the basis of the good health of family members. The family members also participate in sports and other activities with the neighbors to boost their health and maintain relations in the neighborhood. On average, the family sleeps around 7 hours a night. Mostly, the father, who is a professor at a local college, wakes up around 5am to prepare for his lectures. The family admitted that the hours they dedicate to sleep are enough to rejuvenate their body and mind. However, the father is compelled by work to sleep fewer hours, thus is unsatisfied and has to take a nap sometime within the day. The children often slept around 11 pm and wake up for school at 6 am. Due to the busy nature of the parents, exercising is a rare phenomenon. The only notable exercise is when participating in the community games. The daughters are also busy with their education and thus find little or no time for exercises. However, the daughter’s activity level is a bit higher due to schools games and activities that call for their

Abuse of prescription of narcotics in primary care and its prevention Dissertation

Abuse of prescription of narcotics in primary care and its prevention - Dissertation Example Journal Issue, Pages: Journal of General Internal Medicine Vol. 21 No. 6 Pages 652-655. Year published Years data collected: Published in 2006. Purpose: To determine in community health care environments the level of satisfaction with regard to training received on current practices in the management of pain among the care providers. Methodology, Variables Design, Sample, Instruments: Qualitative study. Variables Design: Issues involving reaching optimal control of pain in patients and approaches that would assist in improving prescribing of opioids in managing chronic pain. Sample: 67 attending physicians, 19 nurse practitioners, 3 physician assistants, and 22 family practice residents, making a total of 111 participants from 178 selected. Instruments: Survey questionnaire relating to satisfaction with training and care delivery with regards to chronic pain, issues concerning chronic pain management, possibility of prescribing opioids, and estimation of the probability of psycho-soc ial co-morbidities Findings: From a wide perspective there was low satisfaction among primary care providers in satisfaction of the treatment of chronic pain. For most of the attending physicians the training received in chronic pain treatment during their medical education and residency training was insufficient. For most of the care providers the major barriers to optimal pain treatment were patient self-management, patient, psychological factors, and patient compliance. There was a low rate of willingness to prescribe opioids, with the factor of the patients selling the opioids being the main barrier. Moe frequent visits raised the likelihood of willingness to prescribe opioids. Comments, Implications, Limitations: Primary care providers hold the view that the patients are the biggest barrier to optimal chronic care in primary care settings. Implications: The findings of the study suggest that education and training of primary care providers in chronic pain treatment should have a greater focus on patient oriented approaches in the management of chronic pain, and how to deal with substance abuse and addiction. Strengths: Survey questionnaire grounded in earlier studies, with assistance from a group consisting of primary care providers, researchers, and a pain specialist. Limitation: Small sample size limits the generalization of the findings of the study. Theme – 1: Lack of education of primary care providers about pain management. Unique Identifier: Sullivan 2 Authors: Sullivan, M. D., Edlund, M. J., Zhang, L., Unutzer, J. & Wells, K. B. Title: Association Between Mental Health Disorders, Problem Drug Use, and Regular Prescription Opioid Use. Journal Issue, Pages: Archives of Internal Medicine Vol. 166 Pages 2087-2093. Year published Years data collected: Published in 2006. 1998 and 2001. Purpose: To investigate whether mental disorders enhance the risk of opioid use or whether opioid enhances the risk for mental disorders from a large cross section of the population. Methodology, Variables Design, Sample, Instruments: Cross-sectional Qualitative study. Variables: Dependent Variables – Regular prescription opioid use. Independent Variables – Mental health and problem drug use. Sample: 6439 individuals matching the inclusion criteria from the 1998 and 2001 waves of the population-base survey Health-care for Communities (HCC). Instruments: Data from the 1998 and 2001 waves of the population-base survey Health-care for Communities (HCC). Findings: Patients on regular prescription opioids had the higher risk probability by two to three times to seek mental health assistance. Continued use of opioids by patients from 1998-2001 was associated with a higher risk for common mental

Bob Dylan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bob Dylan - Essay Example Kennedy in 1963. It was the January of 1961 when 19-year-old Bob Dylan set off towards New York City to perform and to visit his music idol Woody Guthrie. The trip was to change the course of his life. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941), Dylan spent much of his youth listening to the radio, first to the powerful blues and country music stations and, later, early rock and roll. By the time he was seventeen, he started getting more interested in the subtler, Gaelic-inflected American folk music. The traditional ballads of the common folk, which were mostly vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar. "Folk song (was) usually seen as the authentic expression of a way of life now, past or about to disappear (or in some cases, to be preserved or somehow revived). " (Middleton 1990, p.127). Folksongs fascinated the young Bob Dylan. His early influences included Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor activist who protested through his political songs, satirical poems and speeches. Joe, executed for murder after a controversial trial, became the subject of a folksong, and an inspiration to Dylan. His other hero was folksinger Woody Guthrie, of the 'This Land is Your Land', fame. Fired up by Guthrie's passion, Dylan was in total, awestruck emulation of him. John Steinbeck commented on Guthrie, writer, poet and philosopher, "there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit." (quoted in Klein 1981) Once in New York, Dylan was swept into the maelstrom of Greenwich Village's thriving folk scene. According to Dylan, "New York was a dream.... It was a dream of the cosmopolitan riches of the mind. It was a great place for me to learn and to meet others who were on similar journeys." (Westwood One Radio, 1985). Dylan started singing in the small 'basket' clubs, where performers were paid the proceeds of a passed around basket., and soon caught the attention of critics and the public. Not long after, he signed up for his first album, which consisted mainly of familiar folk, blues and gospel material, peppered with a few of his own songs. In the meantime, the political scenario all around him was changing. Youth rebellion mainly originated on college campuses, with many emerging directly from the American Civil Rights Movement. People were questioning America's materialistic attitude, and its cultural and political norms. They were protesting racial

Tribal gaming Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tribal gaming - Assignment Example In the absence of tribal gaming, reservations can still be effective in terms of reducing the rate of poverty, decreasing the rate of unemployment, and increasing the tribal’s income. However, reservations economies are systematically underdeveloped because most of them are located in poor regions of a country. Due to their limited resources, income and ready access to nearby markets, most of the reservations economies remain underdeveloped. Tribal gaming strategies are commonly used to gradually improve their overall socio-economic conditions of each tribe (i.e. improved literacy rate, better access to education, higher employment rates and higher income, etc.). To ensure that tribal communities are able to maintain their cultural values and practices despite the process of economic modernization, most of the tribal governments are creating a framework that aims to strengthen the cultural background, education, and identity of the tribal nations. Through the use of cultural revitalization strategies, it is possible to preserve or maintain the cultural values and practices of the all tribal communities without the need to adversely affect their economic growth. The tribal gaming investments reflected the underlying cultural values of the tribal people because of its â€Å"spillover effects†. Since people living in tribal lands are socially and economically benefiting from tribal gaming investments, there is a strong possibility wherein cultural values and beliefs of tribal people on gaming can be altered accordingly. It means that some people from the tribes could accept gambling as something that is normal.

Behavioural Finance Essay Example for Free

Behavioural Finance Essay Hypothesis and the extent to which they can be explained by behavioural finance theories Finance that is based on rational and logical theories, such as the  capital asset pricing model  (CAPM) and the efficient market hypothesis (EMH). These theories assume that people, for the most part, behave rationally and predictably. The Efficient market hypothesis assumes that financial markets incorporate all public information and assets that share prices reflect all relevant to the firm information (Fama, 1970). Relevant information includes past information, publicly available information and private information. Efficient market is divided into three categories. Weak form efficiency is when stock prices reflect only the past information, semi-strong form is when past information and all publicly available information is reflected and strong form is when all the past, publicly available and information only available to company insiders is reflected on the stock prices. However, there are some anomalies and behaviors that couldnt be explained by EMH. Market participants often behaved very unpredictably. However there is a new study called behavioral finance that is trying to explain all these anomalies. Behavioral finance studies the irrational behavior of the investors. Weber (1999) makes the following observation: ‘Behavioral Finance closely combines individual behavior and market phenomena and uses the knowledge taken from both the psychological field and financial theory’. Behavioral finance attempts to identify the behavioral biases commonly exhibited by investors and also provides strategies to overcome them. Some of the main problems with EMH may be cause by heuristic responses to new information, psychological anchors, overconfidence, social fads, framing and regret avoidance and herd behavior. Overconfidence: According to Nevins (2004), overconfidence suggests that investors overestimate their ability to predict market events, and because of their overconfidence they often take risks without receiving commensurate returns. Odean (1998) finds that investors tend to overestimate their ability, unrealistically optimistic about future events, too positive on self-evaluations, over-weight attention getting information that is consistent with their existing beliefs, and over-estimate the precision of their own private information. Overconfidence about private signals causes overreaction and hence phenomena like the book/market effect and long-run reversals whereas self-attribution maintains overconfidence and allows prices to continue to overreact, creating momentum. In the longer-run there is reversal as prices revert to fundamentals. Psychological Anchors, Overreaction: Good news should raise a business share price accordingly, and that gain in share price should not decline if no new information has been released since. Reality, however, tends to contradict this theory. Oftentimes, participants in the stock market predictably overreact to new information, creating a larger-than-appropriate effect on a securitys price. Furthermore, it also appears that this price surge is not a permanent trend although the price change is usually sudden and sizable, the surge erodes over time. Heuristic responses to new information: Availability heuristic is used to evaluate the frequency or likelihood of an event on the basis of how quickly instances or associations come to mind. When examples or associations are easily brought to mind, this fact leads to an overestimation of the frequency or likelihood of this event. Example: People are overestimating the divorce rate if they can quickly find examples of divorced friends. People tend to be biased by information that is easier to recall. They are swayed by information that is vivid, well-publicized, or recent. People also tend to be biased by examples that they can easily retrieve. ( Tversky and Kahneman, 1974) Confirmation bias  is a cognitive bias whereby one tends to notice and look for information that confirms ones existing beliefs, whilst ignoring anything that contradicts those beliefs. It is a type of selective thinking. The reason for overconfidence may also have to do with hindsight bias, a tendency to think that one would have known actual events were coming before they happened, had one been present then or had reason to pay attention. Hindsight bias encourages a view of the world as more predictable than it really is (Shiller, 2000). This is the characteristic of investors, when looking back, seeing events that took place in the past as having been more predictable than they seemed before they happened. Likewise, things that didn’t happen seem, with hindsight, much less likely to have happened than they did beforehand. Self-attribution bias occurs when people attribute successful outcomes to their own skill but blame unsuccessful outcomes on bad luck (Shefrin, 1999). Availability bias is the availability deviation is a general rule or a mental shortcut which lets people guess the probability of a result and to what percent it may appear in their daily life. Those who commit such a deviation consider the easily recalled events more probable than those they can hardly imagine or perceive. Availability bias declares the persons tendency toward deciding and judging based on available and easily accessible data (Tversky and Kahneman, 1982). Herd behavior which is the tendency for individuals to mimic the actions (rational or irrational) of a larger group. Blackmore (1991) states ‘Within an hour of birth , humans engage in imitation’. There are a couple of reasons why herd behavior happens. Its unlikely that a large group could be wrong. After all, even if you are convinced that a particular idea or course or action is irrational or incorrect, you might still follow the herd, believing they know something that you dont. Recency bias is the tendency for people to place greater importance on more recent data or experience. This is the problem of putting too much weight on current events or data and not enough weight on past, historic trends. Many investors expect the market to continue rising in a current bull market; likewise, these same investors often expect a current bear market to get worse. Recency is shown in momentum investing when investors buy â€Å"hot† stocks simply on the basis of their recent strong performance. Kahneman and Tversky (1973) find that people usually forecast future uncertain events by focusing on recent history and pay less attention to the possibility that such short history could be generated by chance. It is believed the net effect of the gains and losses involved with each choice are combined to present an overall evaluation of whether a choice is desirable. However, research has found that we dont actually process information in such a rational way. In 1979, Kahneman and Tversky presented an idea called  prospect theory, which contends that people value gains and losses differently, and, as such, will base decisions on perceived gains rather than perceived losses. Thus, if a person were given two equal choices, one expressed in terms of possible gains and the other in possible losses, people would choose the former even when they achieve the same economic end result. Regret avoidance is the tendency to avoid actions that could create discomfort over prior decisions, even though those actions may be in the individual’s best interest. Researchers have argued that one of the reasons that investors are reluctant to sell losing positions is because to do so is to admit a bad decision. This reluctance can be linked to both regret avoidance and belief perseverance. To avoid the stress associated with admitting a mistake, the investor holds onto the losing position and hopes for a recovery. According to prospect theory, losses have more emotional impact than an equivalent amount of gains. Prospect theory also explains the occurrence of the disposition effect, which is the tendency for investors to hold on to losing stocks for too long and sell winning stocks too soon. The most logical course of action would be to hold on to winning stocks in order to further gains and to sell losing stocks in order to prevent escalating losses. The flip side of the coin is investors that hold on to losing stocks for too long. Investors are willing to assume a higher level of risk in order to avoid the negative utility of a prospective loss. Unfortunately, many of the losing stocks never recover, and the losses incurred continued to mount, with often disastrous results. The January-Effect is where the average monthly return for small firms is consistently higher in January than any other month of the year; in the UK this is observed in April. This contradicts with EMH, as EMH predicts that stocks should move at a random walk. January returns are greatest due to yearend tax loss selling of shares disproportionally (Branch 1977). Another anomaly of this type is the Weekend-Effect, where Fama (1980) found that returns on Mondays tend to be negative if compared to any other week day, but this has disappeared in the UK by the 1990s. Some theories that explain the effect attribute the tendency for companies to release bad news on Friday after the markets close to depressed stock prices on Monday. Others state that the  weekend effect might be linked to short selling, which would affect stocks with high short interest positions. Alternatively, the effect could simply be a result of traders fading optimism between Friday and Monday. Index effect is a phenomenon where the addition to, or deletion from, a stock index causes a change in the price, trading volume, volatility or operating performance of the stock concerned. A stock entering an index will automatically receive increased demand from institutional investors principally index tracker funds and exchange trade funds (ETFs) while a deleted stock will experience reduced demand. The fact that a stock jumps in value upon inclusion is once again clear evidence of mispricing: the price of the share changes even though its fundamental value does not. Another anomaly is P/E effect from CAPM model; portfolios with low P/E ratios outperform those with high. The low price-earnings ratio effect occurs because stocks with low price-earnings ratios are often  undervalued and their prices eventually rise because investors become pessimistic about their returns after a bad series of earning or bad news. A company with high price to earning tends to overvalued (De Bondt and Thaler, 1985). Winner-Loser anomaly De Bondt and Thaler (1985) found that shares which initially earn extreme positive return (winners) or extreme negative returns (losers) experience extended reversals in their performance over long horizons. De Bondt and Thaler (1985) suggested the overreaction hypothesis as an explanation of their result. This hypothesis claims that the market overreacts to information. That is, the market overweights the most recent information and underweights earlier information. However, this phenomenon is reversed when it is recognized that the market’s expectations were indeed an overreaction to the information released. This hypothesis also offers an explanation of the P/E effect. Fama and French (1992) showed that a powerful predictor of returns across securities is the ratio of the book value of the firm’s equity to the market value of equity. After controlling for the size and book-to-market effects, beta seemed to have no power to explain average security returns. One explanation is that investors overreact to growth aspects for growth stocks, and value stocks are therefore undervalued. According to some academics, the ratio of market value to book value itself is a risk measure, and therefore the larger returns generated by low MV/BV stocks are simply a compensation for risk. Low MV/BV stocks are often those in some financial distress. All of these anomalies may be explained by behavioral finance. Behavioural finance is the study of the influence of psychology on the behavior of financial practitioners and the subsequent effect on markets. Behavioural finance is of interest because it helps explain why and how markets might be inefficient. There are series of  behavioural biases  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ strange twists in human nature that cause us to act irrationally and against our own interests. On the other hand all of these anomalies may instead be an artifact of data mining. After all, if one reruns the computer database of past returns over and over and examines stock returns along enough dimensions, simple chance will cause some criteria to appear to predict returns. May be this is why some anomalies appear to be lost at some point of time e. g. the weekend effect during the 90s.

Major Parties Platforms Essay Example for Free

Major Parties Platforms Essay Party platform is a list of the principles which a political party has set in order to convince the general public to vote in the political party into the office. It gives the party the objectives and goals that it will follow if it is voted in the office. In the United States they are two major political parties that is the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The democratic party historically has supported the following platforms: ethnic minorities ,organized labor where it has emphasized on labor unions which provide a voting base that support the party and progressive reforms i. e. democratic party in it platform has always supported a more progressive tax structure that is able offer proper services and rule justly to its people. The Party has always favored greater government intervention in the U . S economy and opposed government intervention in the private sector since private sector are effective in helping the poor than the ruling government. On the other hand there is Republican party which historically has supported the following platforms: low taxation to the people due to the increases in the growth domestic product growth and also generate more income to the government, environmental standards , reduction in environment regulation, development of conservative policies in order to promote prosperity in the economy and also government protection. The party also advocates for a strong national defense for its people until recently when interventionist action ended. Republican has also stood up for corporation and individual decision making in promoting economic prosperity whereby one is economically responsible for the action and decision that he decide to incorporate. . Describe the Role of Third Parties in The Past Presidential Elections. The third parties have been of crucial importance in the US electoral process for a very long time. Third parties have sprung up from ideological spectrum although none of them has managed to win the election since the time of Abraham Lincoln. Third parties have much contributed in by pushing issues into light which would have been ignored by majority parties. For example if the issue looked at by third party finds resonance with the voters the major parties are likely to adapt the issue into their platform. Third parties have also helped in increasing voters turnout by bringing more people to the polls therefore impacting the chances major party candidate winning by gathering enough votes, for example in 2004 it was estimated that 33% registered republicans ,43%democrats and other parties contributing for 25%. Third parties also play a major role in the US policy and the political debates despite their minor presence in the congress. Therefore they end up contributing to the changing of the political debate and also the policy making process. Though this contribution the role of the third party depends on seriousness of the candidacy because he or she helps in Making the debate of issues more substantive and less vitriolic for example in 1992 when reform party nominated Ross Perot as the candidate for president. Ross Perot advocated for the reduction of budget federal deficit an issue that was not seriously looked upon in previous elections. By so this was where Perot Ross received a 19% of the total votes. REFERENCES George C. E, Martin P. W and Robert L. (2002). Government in America: People, Politics and Policy. Longman publishers: Texas http://www. wikipedia. com

Concepts of Time Travel: Wormholes, Gravity and Blackholes

Concepts of Time Travel: Wormholes, Gravity and Blackholes Any sort of time travel to the past through wormholes or any viable strategy is presumably incomprehensible, generally mysteries might happen. So unfortunately, it seems that time travel to the past will never happen; a bafflement for dinosaur seekers and an easing for antiquarians. How to travel in future? Through wormholes: We should enjoy a little science fiction for a minute. Time travel motion pictures regularly offer an immense, vitality hungry machine. The machine makes a way through the fourth measurement, a tunnel through time. A time traveler, youthful hearted, a fearless, maybe reckless individual, ready for who realizes what, steps into the time tunnel and rises who knows when. The idea may be outlandish, and the actuality may be altogether different from this, yet the thought itself is not so insane. As should be obvious these films from a century ago are continually providing for some mind boggling and exceptional plans to individuals. In this way, much the same as those motion pictures physicists have been contemplating tunnels in time, dark gaps and going at the rate of light, However they take a stab at it from an alternate edge. They think about whether gateways to the past or whats to come could ever be conceivable inside according to laws of nature. So, they think they seem to be. Additionally, they have even provided for them a name: WORMHOLES. The reality of the situation is that wormholes are surrounding us, just theyre so little there is no option see. Wormholes are extremely minor. They happen in niches and crevices in space and time. A wormhole is a hypothetical tunnel or alternate route, anticipated by Einsteins hypothesis of relativity, that connections two spots in space-time envisioned above, where negative vitality pulls space-time into the hole of a tunnel, rising in an alternate universe. This have been utilized as a part of movies as conductors for time travel in Star-door, for instance, including gated tunnels between two different universes, and in two different Time times. Its much the same as a tunnel/connect between two structures; think about 2 persons need to go from first buildings top carpet to the others, individual a picked the tunnel and he arrived at rapidly as contrasted with the second individual who first went down and after that entered in second building and took a lift for top floor. Much the same as those tunnels wormholes are tunnels between two separate periods of space-time fabric. Nothing is level or strong. In the event that you gaze nearly enough toward anything youll discover openings and wrinkles in it. Its an essential physical rule, and it even applies to time. Actually something as smooth as nails has small openings, wrinkles and voids. Notwithstanding its not difficult to show that this is correct in the initial three sizes. Anyhow as stated by Einstein, its likewise valid for the fourth extent. There are little openings, wrinkles and voids in time. They are more diminutive even than sand, littler than particles. Small tunnels or easy routes through space and time always structure, vanish, and change inside this smaller than usual micro world. Furthermore they really interface two separate spots and two separate times, as should be obvious above in. Whats more if by one means or another through enough power and propelled innovation, a goliath wormhole will have been built in space so that our spaceship (time machine) could go through it. It might be a sincerely astonishing gadget. One end could be here close Earth, and the other far, far away, close to some removed planet. Hypothetically, a period tunnel or wormhole could do significantly more than take us to different planets. In the event that both finishes were in the same place, and differentiated by time rather than separation, a boat could fly in and turn out still close Earth, yet in the inaccessible past. Possibly Mughal Emperors might witness the boat coming in for an arriving or in future where we might meet our amazing grand grand kids. HOW THEY ARE USELESS? They remain just theoretical, as clearly no one has ever seen one, lamentably, these genuine time tunnels are simply a billion-trillion-trillionths of a centimeter (10^-33cm) over. Much excessively little for a human to pass through, yet heres the place the thought of wormhole time machines is heading. A few researchers think it may be conceivable to catch a wormhole and extend it numerous trillions of times to become showbiz royalty enough for a man or even any travelling object to enter. At the same time, to do so they require extremely enormous measure of vitality, for a wormhole something like 1 meter over, huge enough to fit an individual, youd require a Jupiters value of mass changed over into vitality, and beyond any doubt its unimaginable and almost incomprehensible. We should think about on the off chance that it is conceivable to do it, yet according to Stephen Hawking: Wormhole like this much big cant exist. Whats more the explanation behind that is reaction. If you ever went to any concert, youll presumably distinguish this shrieking clamor. Its reaction. What causes it is basic. Sound enters the amplifier. Its transmitted along the wires, made louder by the enhancer, and turns out at the speakers. However in the event that excessively of the sound from the speakers about-faces into the mic it goes around and around in a circle getting louder each one time. In the event that nobody stops it, criticism can wreck the sound framework. The same problem will occur with a wormhole, just with radiation rather than sound. When the wormhole stretches, characteristic radiation will enter it, and wind up in a circle. The reaction will get to be so solid it obliterates the wormhole. So despite the fact that little wormholes do exist, and it may be conceivable to blow up one sometime, it wont keep going long enough to be useful as a time machine. So time travel through wormhole is not conceivable. Be that as it may the storys not over yet. This doesnt set aside a few minutes travel incomprehensible. TIME TRAVEL THROUGH GRAVITY and BLACK HOLES: Time streams like a stream and it appears to be as though each of us is conveyed persistently along by times current. Anyhow time is similar to a waterway in an alternate way. It streams at distinctive speeds in better places and that is the way to going into whats to come. This thought was initially proposed by Albert Einstein in excess of 100 years prior. He understood that there ought to be places where time backs off, and others where time accelerates. He was completely right. GPS, A system of satellites is in circle around Earth. The satellites make satellite route conceivable. Be that as it may they likewise uncover that time runs speedier in space than it does down here on Earth. Inside every rocket is an extremely exact clock. At the same time in spite of being so precise, they all increase around a minor of a second consistently. The framework need to right for the float, generally that modest contrast might steamed the entire framework, bringing about every GPS gadget on Earth to go out by something like six miles a day. You can simply envision the pandemonium that that might bring about. The issue doesnt lie with the timekeepers. They run quick on the grounds that time itself runs speedier in space than it does down beneath. Furthermore the explanation behind this uncommon impact is the mass of the Earth. Einstein understood that matter delays time and eases it off like the moderate some piece of a waterway. The heavier the item, the more it delays time. Also this startling actuality is the thing that opens the avenue to the likelihood of time travel to whats to come. Planets dont impact excessively on time, we need something truly colossal and enormous body to make the range more curvy so time pass more gradually. The gravity which must be thousand times more amazing than sun. Right in the focal point of the Milky Way, 26 thousands light years from us, lies the most heaviest protest in the system. It is a super-enormous dark gap holding the mass of four million suns smashed down into a solitary point by its gravity. The closer you get to the dark gap, the stronger the gravity. Get truly close and not even light can find a way to get escape. A dark opening like this one has an emotional impact on time, easing it off significantly more than whatever else might be available in the universe. That sets aside a few minutes machine. Presently simply envision how a spaceship/time machine could have the capacity to exploit this wonder, by circling it. On the off chance that a space office were controlling the mission from Earth theyd watch that each one full circle took 16 minutes. At the same time for the fearless individuals ready for, to this gigantic item, time might be backed off. Furthermore here the impact might be significantly more great than the gravitational force of Earth. The teams opportunity might be backed off significantly. For like clockwork circle, theyd just encounter eight minutes of time. Around and around theyd set out for some, encountering simply a fraction of the time of everybody far from the dark gap. The boat and its group might be going through time. Envision they surrounded the dark gap for five of their years. Ten years might pass somewhere else. When they returned home, everybody on Earth might have matured five years more than they had. So as stated by researcher super-huge dark gap is a time machine. How is it impossible? At the same time obviously, its not precisely commonsense. It has favorable circumstances over wormholes in that it doesnt incite mysteries. Also it wont annihilate itself in a blaze of criticism. At the same time its really risky. Its far away and it doesnt even take us far into whats to come. We have to go at the pace of light for 26,000 years to get close to them. Whats more again to do so we dont have enough vitality and life compass. The other point is that on the off chance that we go close to the dark opening, we will fall in it as it has extraordinary gravity that not even light can escape from it. The given focuses demonstrate that time travel through dark gaps is additionally outlandish. Luckily there is an alternate approach to go in time. Whats more this speaks to researchers last and best any expectation of building a time machine. TIME TRAVEL And speed of light: You simply need to travel, quick; much quicker even than the rate needed to abstain from being sucked into a dark opening. This is because of an alternate weird reality about the universe. Theres an inestimable rate confine, 186,000 miles for every second or 299,792,458 meter for every second, otherwise called the velocity of light. Nothing can surpass that speed. Its their one of the best settled standards in science. Accept it or not, as stated by researchers going at close to the pace of light transports you to whats to come. To demonstrate why, how about we think up a science-fiction transportation framework. Envision a track that goes all around Earth, a track for a fastest train. Were going to utilize this nonexistent train to get as close as could be allowed to the pace of light and perceive how it turns into a time machine. Ready for travelers with a restricted ticket to whats to come. The train starts to quicken, quicker and speedier. Before long its circumnavigating the Earth again and again. To approach the rate of light means surrounding the Earth really quick. Seven times each second. Be that as it may regardless of what amount of force the train has, it can never fully achieve the rate of light, since the laws of physical science deny it. Rather, we should say it draws near, only a tiny bit short of that extreme rate. Notwithstanding something phenomenal happens. Time begins streaming gradually ready for to whatever remains of the world, much the same as close to the dark opening, just all the more so. Everything on the train is in moderate movement. This happens to ensure as far as possible, and its not tricky to see why. Envision a kid running advances up the train. Her send pace is added to the velocity of the prepare, so would she be able to break as far as possible basically by mishap? The response is no. The laws of nature keep the likelihood by backing off time locally available. Notwithstanding she cant run quick enough to break the utmost. Time will constantly ease off only enough to ensure as far as possible. Also from that certainty comes the likelihood of voyaging numerous years into whats to come. Envision that the train left the station on February 1, 2020. It rings Earth again and again for 100 prior years at long last stopping on New Years Day, 2120. The travelers will have just existed one week in light of the fact that time is backed off that much inside the train. When they got out theyd discover an altogether different world from the one theyd cleared out. In one week theyd have voyage 100 years into whats to come. Last hope also DIED: Again we require a lot of vitality to move at velocity of light, vitality at any rate equivalents to the half vitality of universe. Besides, as stated by Einstein the quicker you go the heavier you get and additionally, on the off chance that we see the equation of motor vitality K.e=(1/2)mv^2, where m is the mass of anyone and v is its speed. Also this recipe says that our dynamic vitality is specifically relative to the square of our speed, which implies that motor vitality of an item builds because of the movement of that question. Also I believe that moving at any pace does not have any effect. Implies it doesnt make a difference from what speed you are moving, there will be no impact on time, of course, that is one mans feeling. In this way, obviously, fabricating a prepare that could arrive at such a velocity is truly outlandish. Anyway we have manufactured something exceptionally like the train at the worlds biggest atom smasher at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Profound underground, in a roundabout tunnel 16 miles in length, is a stream of trillions of small particles. At the point when the force is turned on the quicken from zero to 60,000mph in a small amount of a second. Increment the force and the particles go speedier and quicker, until theyre zooming around the tunnel 11,000 times each second, which is just about the velocity of light. At the same time much the same as the train, they never entirely achieve that extreme rate. They can just get to 99.99 for every penny of the farthest point. At the point when that happens, they excessively begin to go in time. We know this in view of some to a great degree fleeting particles, called pi-mesons. Customarily, they deteriorate after only 25 billionths of a second. However when they are quickened to close light speed they keep going 30 times longer. Well they have demonstrate about it, yet as they are moving those particles almost at velocity of light so there is a huge impact on their vitality level, and most presumably because of progress in vitality those particles change their properties. Henceforth, they keep going 30 times longer because of this reason. It truly is that basic. In the event that we need to go into whats to come, we only need to go quick. Truly quick. Whats more I think the main way were liable to do that is by going into space. The speediest manned vehicle in history was Apollo 10. It arrived at 25,000mph. Be that as it may to go in time well need to go more than 2,000 times speedier. Also to do that wed require a much greater ship, a sincerely huge machine. The boat might need to be huge enough to convey a gigantic measure of fuel, enough to quicken it to about the pace of light. Getting to simply underneath the grandiose pace cutoff might oblige six entire years at full power. The introductory increasing speed might be tender in light of the fact that the boat might be so huge and substantial. In any case step by step it might get velocity and soon might be blanket gigantic separations. In one week it might have arrived at the external planets. Following two years it might achieve half-light speed and be far outside our earths planetary group. Two years after the fact it might be going at 90 for every penny of the rate of light. Around 30 trillion miles far from Earth, and 4 or 4.5 years after launch, the boat might start to go in time. For each hour of time on the boat, two might pass on Earth,a comparative circumstance to the spaceship that circled the monstrous dark gap. After an additional two years of full push the boat might achieve its top speed, 99 percent of the velocity of light. At this velocity, and as stated by the figuring of researchers, a solitary day ready for an entire year of Earth time. Our boat might be sincerely flying into whats to come. Impact of Globalization on Culture | Essay Impact of Globalization on Culture | Essay In todays world of interconnectedness, the conception of independent, coherent, and stable cultures are becoming increasingly rare. Processes of globalization are drawing people from different cultural origins into close relationships as can be seen in the unprecedented expansion of tourism, the flourishing of multinational corporations, the emergence of new geographical unities like the European Community, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the dissemination of pop culture, the increasing flow of migrations, the growth of diasporas, the emergence of Internet communities, and the establishment of global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. Nevertheless even though cultures are seen as unstable and changing, this shift is generally viewed from a macro perspective, of the bigger affecting the smaller, the process of global affecting the local. The alternative i.e. the local effecting the global is not paid much attention to in globalization literature. This feature of the emerging world has been grasped and theorized by what we call glocalization theory today. The essence of the emerging worldwide phenomenon where globalization and localization are simultaneously transforming the development landscape is captured by Glocalization. The term Glocalization is very similar to the term Globalization and in fact has its roots in it. To understand the essence of glocalization we need to first look at what globalization denotes and the problems with it which gave rise to the glocal as opposed to the global or simply the local. Globalization can be seen as a compression of the world as a whole. But in terms of culture what has become almost commonplace is to think of globalization as a large scale phenomenon that involves the triumph of culturally homogenizing forces over all others. The bigger, is increasingly seen as better. This view has been criticized as having a lack of concern with micro sociological or local issues. So ciologist Ronald Robertson who is instrumental in popularizing the term shows that there have been attempts to propose a global sociology with ventures to incorporate indigenous sociologies into this wider imperative. The process of globalization was being increasingly seen as a tendency which overrides the locality. Thus the concept of Glocalization as Robertson puts it is was needed, as according to him universalism was being countrerposed to particularism. Glocalization essentially encapsulates the simultaneous processes of globalization and localization that are taking place in the world today. The global expressed in the local and the local as the particularization of the global. Globalization The term has its roots in the Japanese term dochakuka which first appeared in the late 1980s in articles by Japanese economists in the Harvard Business Review. The term originally meant adapting farming technique to ones own local condition. The idea was later adopted to refer to global-localization. According to the dictionary meaning, the term glocal and the process noun glocalization are formed by telescoping global and local to make a blend  [1]. Glocalization seems to be a problematic term as it is seen as meaning different things to different people. Roland Robertson, conceptualized glocalization as, the universalization of particularization and the particularization of universalism  [2]. Khondker expressed it as a process combining the twin processes of macro-localization and micro-globalization. For others globalization provokes revival of local cultural identities. Thus in his view local is the provider of the response to the forces that are global. Nevertheless what we adhere to in this paper is the Robertsonian view of glocalization which argues that any focus on the global must have a focus on the local for the two are mutually constitutive of each other; it is not as simple as the global being proactive and the local being reactive. He attributes this to the debates centering on the relationship between the global and the local. The global was scripted as being homogenizing because of the economic and cultural flows associated with it (proactive) and the local being a site of heterogeneity fighting to keep out globalization (reactive). Rethinking globalization in this way leads to the recognition that it is not a process that operates exclusively at a planetary scale, but is constantly being localized in various ways and with different intensities. Forces from above periodically emerge to interrupt local serenity. With local cultural stasis upset by outside forces, a re-stabilization process sets in to enable the emergence o f a new culture more able to cope with the disorder brought on by, in this case, globalization Robertson refers to glocalization as the interpenetration  of the  global  and local  resulting  in unique  outcomes  in different  geographical  areas. At a 1997 conference on Globalization and Indigenous Culture, Robertson said that glocalization means the simultaneity the co-presence of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies. The process also denotes the commonly interconnected processes of homogenization and heterogenization. Theorists of glocalization typically challenge the assumption that globalization processes always endanger the local. Rather, glocalization both highlights how local cultures may critically adapt or resist global phenomena, and reveals the way in which the very creation of localities is a standard component of globalization. There is now a universal normalization of locality, in the sense that local cultures are assumed to arise constantly and particularize themselves vis-a-vis other specific cultures. Some have also termed th is process as internal globalization i.e. globalization is seen as not only a macro structure but to highlight the reality of micro globalization. Internal globalization means that large numbers of people around the globe are now exposed to other cultures on a daily basis without crossing borders on a regular basis, simply through the variety of communication media. Furthermore, they might encounter immigrants, refugees, or tourists in their own locality. They might also encounter cultural artefacts and commercial establishments that bring other cultures into close proximity to their own. The increasing presence of McDonalds restaurants worldwide is an example of globalization, while the restaurant chains menu changes in an attempt to appeal to local palates are an example of glocalization. Perhaps even more illustrative of glocalization: For promotions in France, the restaurant chain recently chose to replace its familiar Ronald McDonald mascot with Asterix the Gaul, a popular Fren ch cartoon character. Products are embedded and then promoted within the local culture. Dannie Kjeldgaard and Soren Askegaard analyze the whole glocalization discourse with respect to youth culture and view them mainly as consumers. According to them youth culture is an institutionalized facet of the market, emerging predominantly from Western cultural currents and diffusing globally. Early youth cultural styles diffused primarily in the West but also to other parts of the modernizing world. Youth culture, like other spheres of social life due to the process of glocalization, is increasingly shaped by and constitutes global cultural flows. They put forth Appadurais analysis who analyzes the global cultural economy by using the landscape metaphor to illustrate such flows within five scapes: ethnoscapes (the flow of people), technoscapes (the flow of technology), finanscapes (the flow of finance and capital), mediascapes (the flow of mediated images), and ideoscapes (the flow of ideas and ideologies). These flows increase the availability of symbols and meanings in consum ers everyday lives in such a way that much of what is available in one place is also available in any other place. The glocalization processes constituted by these flows shape socio-cultural reality in dialectical processes between the local and the global. Through these processes, the styles characteristic of youth culture spread globally, instigating the development of local versions of youth culture through appropriation and creolization. They are mainly of the opinion that members of the youth market interpret and rework global cultural practices and meanings to fit into their local contexts. Consumption practices are inscribed in local historically constituted cultural discourses and in particular consumers are reliant on their predominantly class-based, socio-cultural resources for negotiating global meanings and practices in their daily lives. Their study addresses several knowledge gaps by showing that the often noted homogeneity of global youth consumption practices overloo ks their deeper structural differences and diverse localized meanings. These deeper differences flow from the manifestations of a transnational market ideology in glocalized forms. Identities are rearticulated in local versions, although these appropriative reworkings are never totally free of ideological influence. The ideological models carry with them preferred readings, which consumers have to negotiate. Culture To understand the impact the process of glocalization has on culture we first need to understand what the term culture denotes. It is in the domain of culture that we think, express ourselves articulate our aspirations and decide our mode of life. In general culture can be said to refer to the social construction, articulation and reception of meaning. Culture can be seen as a lived and creative experience for individuals as well as a body of artifacts texts and objects. It embraces the specialized and professionalized discourses of the arts, the commodified output of the cultural industries the spontaneous and unorganized cultural expressions of everyday life and the complex interactions between all these.  [3]  The essence of a culture is defined by its responses to the ultimate questions of human existence: death, hope, tragedy, love, loyalty, power, the meaning and purpose of life, and the place of the transcendental in human existence. But the responses to these questions ar e different and vary from region to region thus producing different values to the different elements relating to culture. The responses to these questions are affected by different socio-cultural-political even technological criteria thus having a whole different outlook to the way life is lived and perceived. Again Jan Nederveen Pieterse gives us a different classification of culture. According to him in the context of the global there can be two concepts of culture.  [4]  One is culture as essentially territorial i.e. localized culture of societies and groups. The other he classifies as culture as a general human software which refers to it as a trans-local learning process. Culture in the first sense of the term has an inward looking sense of a place while the second is essentially in the sense of outward looking. According to Pieterse the second finds expression in the first. Culture is the medium through which individuals and collectivities organize and conceptualize their identities in time and space. Thus different views of or different ways of looking at culture can have a huge impact on the influences cultural flows will have on different societies. Impact of Glocalization on Culture The whole process of the global effecting the local and the local the global has ramifications in a number of spheres and in a number of ways. There are basically two contestants in the globalization debate as Featherstone and Lash note, the homogenizer for whom globalization is to be seen as a consequence of modernity and heterogenizers who consider globalization as characterizing post modernity.  [5]  Homogenizers tend to think in terms of a world system that leads them to look primarily at the presence of universals. Heterogenizers, on the other hand, tend to dispute that a world system exists and disclaim the validity of universals. They see the dominance of the West over the Rest as simply one particular system over another system. The glocalization debate does not adhere strictly to any of these extremes but shows that the whole process is a two-way dialogue having both homogenizing and heterogenizing tendencies and tries to address the contradiction between the two. The g lobal infrastructures of culture and communication have also contributed to increasingly dense transnational elite and professional cultures. Others have argued how this process of glocalization provides for sharper cultural consciousness. There are certain impacts that Roland Robertson and Richard Giulianotti point out in their article dealing with glocallization. In the article they develop a four-fold typology of glocalization projects, with reference to how they affect culture  [6]. The glocalization projects are: Relativization: here, social actors seek to preserve their prior cultural institutions, practices and meanings within a new environment, thereby reflecting a commitment to differentiation from the host culture. Accommodation: here, social actors absorb pragmatically the practices, institutions and meanings associated with other societies, in order to maintain key elements of the prior local culture. Hybridization: here, social actors synthesize local and other cultural phenomena to produce distinctive, hybrid cultural practices, institutions and meanings. Transformation: here, social actors come to favour the practices, institutions or meanings associated with other cultures. Transformation may procure fresh cultural forms or, more extremely, the abandonment of the local culture in favour of alternative and/or hegemonic cultural forms. This fourfold typology enumerates how the process of glocalization has impacts other than merely homogenizing. Further Robertson in his essay Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity negates the discourse on Cultural imperialism specially by the USA and instead advocates a line of thought which recognizes the alternatives. Some of these arguments are as follows: The cultural messages from the west are also differentially received and interpreted by the different locals. They absorb the communications transmitted in different ways The major alleged producers of global culture (CNN,Hollywood) etc increasingly are seen to tailor products to differentiated global markets National symbolic resources are increasingly available for differentiated global interpretation and consumption, for example plays of Shakespeare are variously interpreted today and is not only viewed from the British angle Flow of ideas and practices from the third world to dominant societies should not be underestimated Jan Nederveen Pieterse on the other hand views the whole process of globalization itself as a process of hybridization giving rise to a global mà ©lange.  [7]  He defines hybridization as ways in which forms become separated from existing practices and recombine with new forms in new practices. The phenomenon of hybridization basically undermines the idea of cultures as internally homogenous and externally distinct. He views identity patterns as becoming more complex as people want to assert local loyalties but want to share global values and lifestyles. All this ultimately point to the fact that cultural experiences are not moving in a direction of cultural uniformity and standardization. If this was the case there would be no space for cross-over cultures or third cultures for example music today. He gives examples to show what the process of hybridization creates multiple identities such as Mexican schoolgirls dressed in Greek togas dancing in the style of Isadora Duncan, a L ondon boy of Asian origin playing for a local Bengali cricket team and at the same time supporting the Arsenal football club, Thai boxing by Moroccan girls in Amsterdam, and Native Americans celebrating Mardi Gras in the United States. He further points out that the cultures exported by the west are themselves mixed cultures when the lineage of the cultures is examined. Thus the whole process of glocalization has made possible what we know as creolization of global culture or even orientalization of the world today which all point in the opposite direction to that of homogenization. The glocally-mediated, normalized cultural hybrid is here to stay till other new forces emerge which can dislodge them and maybe steer the course towards homogenization again or its extreme opposite heterogeneity. Sociological glocalizations focus on how local cultures are modified along global lines indicates the need to take more seriously how actors redefine themselves when frameworks become dislodged from their social foundations. Hubert J. M. Hermans and Harry J. G. Kempen on the other hand analyze the impact by challenging the academic mainstream conceptions which continues to work in a tradition of cultural dichotomies (e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic, independent vs. interdependent) formulated as contrasts between western and non-western cultures. Three developments are presented that challenge this approach: the increasing cultural connections with the phenomenon of hybridization as a consequence the emergence of a world system that implies an interpenetration of the global and the local the enlarged cultural complexity as a result of large-scale distribution of cultural meanings and practices Thus we see how through the processes of intermixing and hybridization the process of glocalization is at work whereby not only the global is seen to effect the local but there exists a reciprocity by which local cultures have an influence on the global giving rise to what is known as global mass culture  [8]  impregnated with ideas, styles and genres concerning religion, music, art, cooking and so on. Nevertheless a discussion on the whole process of globalization vis-à  -vis glocalization remains unfinished without a discussion on the actors promoting globalization. These actors have a huge role to play in the process of interconnecting the world. They also realize the limits of homogenizing and are seen to adapt to local conditions as put forth by the glocalists. Enumerating the role of the actors also brings in the issue of power dynamics in the process of glocalization. Actors Another very important aspect when we talk of the transmission of culture is the role played by the various actors who play a part in the transmission whether from the global to the local or from the local to the global. Among them is a group of 20-30 very large Multi National Corporations who dominate global markets for entertainment, news, television etc. and these have acquired a very significant cultural presence in almost every continent. They are Time-Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corporation, Sony, Universal, TCI, Philips etc to name a few. More important is that all these have their home base in OECD countries and the majority being in the USA. Three particular cultural markets are music cinema and television. It has created transnational corporations producing and marketing records, specially import and export of musical products and the penetration of national markets by foreign artists and music. Further this is based on a broader transfer of styles that are ro oted largely in American youth culture. Under the auspices of the global music industry local musical traditions too have an audience outside their homeland under the banner of so called world music. Due to globalization there is also a diffusion of film-making capacities and organizations around the world. Also co-production has been very prevalent that is the development of the film is funded by organizations in more than one nation. Again television too has become an industry as well as a medium of globalization. Tourism is also an important method of promoting culture, but again the majority of travel movements have been within North America and Western Europe. Apart from these a number of organizations and international agencies such as the UNESCO, WTO etc have become involved in the global communications and culture or the issue of cultural protectionism etc. The notion of glocality is meant to transcend the binary opposition between the global and the local and to provide an accurate linguistic representation of their  blending in real life. But in reality when cultures meet there is also a politics. Cultures may have assymetrical information emanating from the unequal distribution of wealth and political power. The global imperialism of the western countries from 16th -20th century provided the infrastructure for imposition and diffusion of western ideas, values and cultural institutions and practices across the world. Since the advent of European modernity cultural flows have been primarily from the west to the east following lines of imperial control. Flows are reversed mainly through migration but also through other cultural forms such as music, food, idea beliefs etc. But the cultural politics of colonialism still prevails to a large extent. Due to the presence of the historical and economic contexts prevailing in the world the de gree to which the local, mainly of the peripheries, affect the dominant societies, mainly the west, is far less than the influence of westernization and Americanization. All the modes of cultural globalization the stretching and deepening of relationships, the movement of signs, objects and people, cultural diffusion and emulation and the establishment of infrastructure and institutions involve distinct patterns of stratification, of hierarchy and unevenness. This is mainly because of the way people have learned history, that there exists an entity called the West and that one can think of this West as a society independent of and in opposition to other. This independence though has been challenged, and is correct to a large extent, by the glocalist, the greater influence still is directed from the west to the east a fact that cannot be denied. This can be clearly shown when we see the role of the actors involved in the process of dissemination of information and thus changing cult ures. The American film industry is fairly independent and does not depend on co-sponsors thus avoiding any dictates regarding the substance and character of the film. Also the major MNCs have their home bases in the western nations mainly the USA and promote their own cultures through their communication channels. Even the international institutions are majorly dominated by the western powers. Thus, though glocalization is taking place, the influence of the global on the local still remains far greater than the influence of the local on the global. Conclusion Therefore we end on a note where we accept the glocalist position of the process of global-localization. The presumed internal homogeneity of cultures and their conception as externally distinctive are called into question. Different localities today are interpreting the global cultural flows differentially as has been enumerated in the paper so far. It is not merely a process of arbitrary adoption but is synthesized according to the beliefs and customs prevailing in the local cultures. For example though modern man in western society now seems to be increasingly unwilling to live permanently in a totally secularised world (an example of east effecting the west), it is rather unlikely that in parts of the Third World where the traditional social systems have been largely shaped by religion, we will see the same degree of secularisation which has characterised Western modernization. Thus the process of filtering of inflows is very crucial. But glocalization theory also emphasizes the influence of the local on the global i.e. the global as receivers of cultures too from the local and not merely vise versa. Though this is true to some extent from the evidence available from the promotion of global mass culture etc the degree of influence of the local on the global can be challenged to a large extent. The whole process of colonialism has played a very crucial role in this unequal distribution of resources and power. Indigenous peoples though have a sense of their traditional cultures and customs, the impact of a colonial past has left its mark in their cultural behaviour whether it be the dressing sense, the food habits or even the language spoken. In these areas the western influence becomes very vivid and stark. Thus though glocalization as a theory has its merits it is not excluded from criticisms. Overall it is a useful theory to bring out the drawbacks of the globalization process as homogenizing and overarching and it also brings out the importance of contex ts and analysis at the micro-level.

Im Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti Essay -- Niccolò Ammaniti Im Not Sc

â€Å"I’m not scared explores the notion that only the strong will thrive.† Discuss. Thrive v.i. grow well; flourish, prosper. The characters in ‘I’m not scared’ are living, not thriving. They’re all weak in different ways and their strength is dying slowly. All of the characters have an individual battle with weakness. Many of the characters appear to be strong but are really just helpless beings, existing in a place where the strength comes from violence and abuse. Often the truly strong characters are the innocent children, who are forced to grow up because of the adult irresponsibility that surrounds them and the burdens placed upon them by the people they trust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michele Amitrano is a young Italian boy, who is taken advantage of, mentally and emotionally, by the people he loves and trusts. He is bullied by the local children, especially Skull, a troubled boy that follows in the footsteps of his misfit brother Felice. Michele is betrayed by his father and faced with one of the hardest decisions he would ever have to make. Although Michele deals with his situation well, he is the most vulnerable character in the novel because his family’s shame is placed upon him. When Michele’s father Pino, tells Michele that he must stand by his family and remain silent about their involvement in a kidnapping, Michele is plagued by guilt, especially since he developed a friendship with the kidnapped Prince Filippo. It is inevitable that Michele will burst inside because of the burd...