A Critical Review of Socrates Stances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Critical Review of Socrates Stances - Essay Example Socrates stance is that the role of a philosopher in the society is parallel to that of a gadfly in stimulating a horse. As gadflies, philosophers have the responsibility of challenging the society to think clearly about things which may otherwise be taken for granted. Philosophers question the inconsistencies and fallacies that are acceptable to the rest of the society (8). Upham (71) supports this view of the Socratic gadfly, stating that philosophy involves uncovering assumptions, asking pertinent and unwelcome questions alongside mocking self seriousness. The analogy is immensely strong, as the gadfly is deemed irritating in a similar fashion by which philosophy in this approach may be quite unwelcome. The gadfly metaphor is of significant value in the academic and intellectual pursuit of philosophy since it spells out philosophers’ roles. This helps in defining practice of philosophy; without it, philosophy may be solely constrained to knowledge seeking and having no role s in society (72). ‘†¦the unexamined life is not worth living.’: In Socrates proposal for his sentence, he ponders the question of whether he should stop practicing philosophy and go into exile. To this, Socrates observes that the greatest good a man can do is to converse about virtues. He highlights the value of philosophy (examining self and others), arguing that an unexamined life is not worth living (Colaiaco 147). The context of this statement involves the issue of silencing Socrates from engaging in philosophy. As he explains in earlier passages, Socrates had been undertaking conversations with the â€Å"wise men† of Athens in a bid to determine their wisdom. Socrates believed in this as a divine calling, and in the process found out that much of the said wisdom was indeed self gratification and absent. The young people of Athens attended Socrates enquiries. Exposing the lack of wisdom among his respondents won Socrates many enemies, who then plotted h is downfall based on unfounded issues.  

Essentials of contemporary communication Assignment

Essentials of contemporary communication - Assignment Example The three skills most in demand are ability for versatile teamwork, problem solving, and communication. People are expected to work well with others and be able to switch easily from team to team, depending on the project. This implies a capacity for quick learning, high adaptability, and composure under pressure. This is an extension of teaming up and versatility a work. People who can recognize problems and implement solutions are esteemed by companies. Not only the management needs them; such people are the darlings of colleagues everywhere, and also of HR managers. Such people are blessed with the traits of thinking creatively, visualizing and suggesting solutions, knowing what to learn and how to do that at the right time. Communication skills are not just for professional advancement. Even as a personal trait it is very essential to be a welcome member of any group in family or society. But it has an added significance in the workplace—from performing the routine work, to securing timely promotions and wage hikes. Today’s communication needs can be classified broadly into three areas—written, oral and technological. Written: lot of documentation, reporting, correspondence and filling up of forms is involved in usual work. Excellence in these areas is necessary to cut one’s way through career goals. Oral: Simple speech communication matters a lot in today’s workplace. Good skills at this is needed for successfully selling your ideas to your manager for project approval, happy appraisal of work done and moving up the career ladder, giving instructions, understanding instructions and implementing things, maintaining rapport with co-workers of different levels and tempe rament, fruitful telephonic deals, interviewing people and gathering information, making presentations and a lot more. Technology: Proficiency with communication channels like telephone, fax, email,

Overview Of Beethoven And Mozart Music Essay

Overview Of Beethoven And Mozart Music Essay According to Mozarts Magic Flute and Beethoven (2004), During the XVIII century in some countries (Italy, Germany, Austria, France) results the formation of new genres and forms of instrumental music, was finally formed and reached its climax in the so-called Viennese classical school. Viennese classical school, organically absorbed the advanced achievements of the national musical culture, was itself deeply national phenomenon, rooted in the democratic culture of the Austrian people.  Representatives of the artistic direction have been V.A.  Mozart and L. van Beethoven.  Each of them was a bright personality.  Mozarts style was more typical lyric-dramatic start.  The style of Beethoven was the embodiment of heroic pathos of struggle.  However, along with the differences which result in unique individuality of each of these composers, their combined realism, life-affirming and democratic beginning. Art of Viennese classics made into world music a powerful jet of realistic and democratic, based on the wealth of folk art, and because it has preserved for us all of its value and artistic significance. Creativity of Mozart occupies a special place in the Viennese Classical School.  In his classic works of rigor and clarity of form united with deep emotion.  Music composer is close to the directions in the culture of the second half of the XVIII century. Also, there were converted to human feelings Storm and Stress, part sentimentalism, and by Mozart was first shown the contradictory inner world of the individual. According to SolomonHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_Solomon HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_SolomonMaynard  (1995), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg (Austria).  With a phenomenal musical ear and memory, he was already in his early childhood, he learned to play the harpsichord, and in five years, wrote the first essay.  First teacher of the future composer was his father, Leopold Mozart Orchestra Musician Archbishop of Salzburg.  Mozart brilliantly mastered not only the harpsichord, but also organ and violin, and was famous as a brilliant improviser.  When he was six years old, he toured Europe.  At eleven, he created the first opera Apollo et Hyacinthus, and fourteen had already conducted in a theater in Milan at the premiere of his own opera Mitridate, King of Pontus. Around the same time, he was elected a member of the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna. Like many musicians of that era, Mozart was on the court service (1769-1781) he was the accompanist and organist for the Archbishop of Salzburg.  However, the independent character of the wizard causes a sharp displeasure with the archbishop, and Mozart chose to leave the service.  Of the outstanding composers of the past he was the first who chose to live as a free artist.  In 178,1  Mozart moved to Vienna, where he had a family.  He earned rare editions of his own, piano lessons and performances. Particular attention is paid to Mozart opera.  His works are an epoch in the development of this kind of music.  Opera has attracted the composer by the opportunity to show the relationship of people, their feelings and aspirations. Mozart did not try to create a new operatic form novel itself was his music.  In the mature works of the composer abandoned the strict demarcation of the opera on a serious and comic there was music and drama performance in which these elements are intertwined.  As a consequence, in the operas of Mozart has not unambiguously positive and negative characters, the characters are vibrant and multifaceted, not bound by the role. Mozart often turned to literary sources.  So the opera Le Nozze di Figaro (1786) was written on the play by French playwright Beaumarchais Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro, which was banned by the censor.  The main theme of the opera is love, which, however, can be said of all the works of Mozart.  However, there is in the product and the social implications: Figaro and his beloved Susanna are smart and energetic, but they are of humble origin. They were only servants in the house of Count Almaviva.  Their opposition to master (stupid and fooled aristocrat) elicits the sympathy of the author it is clear that he was on the side of love. In the opera Don Giovanni (1787), he received his musical incarnation of the medieval story of the seducer.  Energetic, temperamental, capricious and free of all moral norms, the hero confronts in the face of a Commander of a higher power, a symbol of reasonable order.  Philosophical generalization neighbors here with amorous intrigues and genre and household items.  Tragic and the comic form an indissoluble unity.  It would seem that justice prevails in the final sin (Don Giovanni) punished. But the music of the opera is thinner and harder this simplified understanding of the product: it gives the listener sympathy for the hero, remains true to herself even in the face of death. Philosophical tale The Magic Flute (1791) was written in the zingshpil genre.  The main idea of the work the inevitable victory of good over evil, calls for fortitude, to love, to understand its ultimate meaning.  Heroes of the opera are serious tests (silence, fire, water), but worthy of overcoming them and reach a realm of beauty and harmony. As a representative of the Viennese Classical School,  Mozart attached great importance to the genre of the symphony.  Especially popular are the last three symphonies Thirty-ninth, fortieth and forty-first (Jupiter), created in 1788.  Works of this genre finally anchored four-part cycle, and the rules of the sonata form. Symphonies by Mozart include a variety of subtle emotional nuances.  Topics are often uneven in nature, challenging the rhythm, sometimes accompanied by sharp run harmonies, but the music remains honed, clear form. According to SolomonHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_Solomon HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_SolomonMaynard  (1995), Mozart also became one of the founders of the genre of classical concert.  The basis of competition concert soloist and orchestra, and this process is always subject to strict logic.  Composer has written twenty-seven concerts for piano and orchestra, and seven for violin and orchestra.  In some works of listeners struck a masterly skill, festivity, in other dramatic and emotional contrasts. Mozart piano works include nineteen sonatas, in which he continued to develop the sonata form, as well as essays in the genre of fantasy (of music based on improvisation and free form).  The composer refused harpsichord and clavichord, in comparison with the piano softer, but weak sound.  Mozart piano style was a clear, elegant, with well crafted melodies and accompaniment. Mozart composed the music very easily, sometimes without drafts, creating works, unsurpassed in artistic beauty and harmony.  Musicians, contemporaries appreciated talents of Mozart, but most of the aristocratic audience did not understand his work, and in recent years, the composers life did not take at all.  Mozart died in poverty and was buried in Vienna in a common grave. Music should strike a light from the human breast a word of German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, whose works belong to the highest achievements of musical culture. Beethovens worldview evolved under the influence of the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and the French Revolution.  The music of his work on the one hand, continued the tradition of Viennese classicism, on the other depicted features of the new romantic art.  From classicism in the works of Beethoven upland content, excellent possession musical forms, genres appeal to the symphonies and sonatas.  From Romanticism is depicted bold experimentation in the field of these genres, the interest in vocal and piano miniatures. According to Peter J.  Davies (2002), Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn (Germany) in a family court musician.  He began studying music since childhood under the guidance of his father.  However, the present mentor, Beethoven was a composer, conductor and organist.  He taught the young musician of composition, taught to play the clavier and organ.  With eleven years of Beethoven served as assistant organist at the church, then the court organist, accompanist to the opera house in Bonn.  At eighteen he entered the University of Bonn in the Department of Philosophy, but did not finish it. In 1792,  Beethoven moved to Vienna.  He took music lessons from Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Salieri (the biggest musicians of the era). Beethoven soon began giving concerts, became popular.  He wrote a lot: he wrote sonatas, concertos for piano and orchestra, symphonies. For a long time, no one guessed that Beethoven was struck with a serious illness he began losing hearing.  Convinced of the incurable illness, the composer decided to retire from life and in 1802  prepared a will, which explained the reasons for his decision. However, Beethoven was able to overcome despair and found the strength to write music on.  Exit from the crisis was the third (Eroica) Symphony. In 1803-1808  composer also worked on the creation of the sonatas, in particular the Ninth for violin and piano (1803), Twenty-Three for piano, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies (both of 1808). Sixth (Pastoral) Symphony is subtitled Memoirs of rural life.  This work paints a different state of the human soul, suspended for the time of the inner experiences and struggles.  It was symphony of the feelings arising from contact with the natural world and rural life.  Its unusual structure had five parts instead of four.  In the symphony there are elements of fine art, onomatopoeia (birds singing, thunder, etc.).  Beethovens findings were subsequently used by many Romantic composers. Premiere of the symphony took place in 1825  at the Vienna Opera House.  To implement the authors intention theater orchestra was not enough, we had to invite fans: Twenty-four violins, ten violas, twelve cellos and basses.  For the Viennese classical orchestra, such a train, it was unusually powerful.  In addition, each choir parts (bass, tenor, alto and soprano) include twenty four singers, which also exceeded the conventional norm. During the life of Beethovens Ninth Symphony for many remains unclear, she admired only by those who knew him closely the composer and his students and educated in music listeners.  Over time, the symphony began to include in its repertoire the best orchestras of the world, and it has found new life. According to Peter J.  Davies (2002), Works of the late period was characterized by restraint of the senses and the philosophical depth that distinguishes them from the passionate and dramatic early writings.  During his life, Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies, 32 sonatas, 16 string quartets, the opera Fidelio, Missa Solemnis, 5 piano concertos and one for violin and orchestra, the overture, the individual pieces for different instruments. Surprisingly, many works (including the Ninth Symphony), the composer wrote when he was already completely deaf.  However, his recent works sonatas for piano and the quartet are great masterpieces of chamber music. Thus, I would like to say that Beethoven and Mozart affected classical music dramatically. It is difficult to overestimate their contribution and influence on the development of classical music.  Masters of this style sought to clear and strict forms, harmonious patterns, and the embodiment of high moral ideals. Higher, the finest examples of art works they considered an ancient art, so that worked out ancient stories and images. Vertex in the development of musical classicism was the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, who worked mainly in Vienna and formed a line in the musical culture of the second half of XVIII early XIX century the Viennese Classical School. The composers of the Viennese classical school have created a very harmonious and logical system of rules of construction works.  Thanks to this system, the most complex feelings donned in a clear and perfect form.  Suffering and joy have become the subject of reflection for the composer, rather than experience.  The art of the Viennese classics has great value and artistic significance for all mankind.

Emily Dickinsons Faith and Daisy Miller by Henry James Essay -- Henry

American writers and poets of the 19th century created literature to criticize and detail the imperfections of society. Emily Dickinson, who retired from contact with the outside world by the age of twenty-three in favor of a life of isolation, can arguably be considered such a poet. Her untitled poem "Faith" can be interpreted as criticism of the masculine-dominated society of her time and supports themes in Henry James's work Daisy Miller: A Study, which also criticizes societal expectations and practices. The first two lines of Dickinson's poem "Faith" read: "‘Faith' is a fine invention/When Men can see-," the capitalization stressing the words "faith," "when," and "men," suggesting that men can be trusted to believe what is right only when their vision is not blinded by things such as the prejudice and societal expectations. Winterbourne, the main character in Henry James's story Daisy Miller: A Study, is a representative of common 19th century masculine-dominated society of the elite, and a product of all the accompanying prejudices. It is therefore that Winterbourne cannot help but find some fault in Miss Daisy Miller, who he meets for the first time during a visit to Vevey and who "talked to Winterbourne as if she had known him a long time. He found it quite pleasant" (330). Before society forces him to find fault with Daisy, his instincts allow him to take pleasure in her company and to see her for who she truly is, simply "a person much disposed towards conversation" (329). However, it is not long before Winterbourne feels a need to place her within the rigid expectations proper to her class and gender. He begins to find her disposition towards conversation and acknowledgment to having a great deal of gentlemen's... ...some Italian" (363) for Winterbourne to recognize his mistake. Like looking through a microscope, the clues of Daisy's innocence are finally brought to light, into focus, and are undeniably evident. Faith failed Mr. Winterbourne, as he was unable to see past what society expected him to see, and it was only through hard facts and evidence-the testimony of the dying girl and the Italian man with whom she spent most of her time-that Mr. Winterbourne could finally accept Daisy as she was, truly a girl disposed to conversation and nothing else. He tells his aunt that Daisy "sent me a message before her death which I didn't understand at the time. But I have understood it since. She would have appreciated one's esteem" (364), meaning that Daisy would have liked to be thought of kindly and not labeled as someone or something she was not, and never gave evidence to being.

Why do people do what they love doing for their profession

Why do people do what they love doing for their profession, rather than working at a job that will get them more money? Or why did people who get a lot of money from their job not follow their dream careers? Everyday men and women of all ages and aspirations start their paths on their future goals, life careers, and who they plan to be. But at what cost? Every day I see men and women choosing their careers. Careers that pay well.And careers that re the most enjoyable and fulfilling but doses t pay the best. I don't go a day without thinking about my future and what it will have in Store for me. It always seems so easy at first. Just choose a career and off I go. But there remains the temptations, the regrets, that hole in your heart. That last missing puzzle piece that you don't know what it is or where to find it. The opinions and oppressions of others put me down and turn me away from my dream.Then the friends and idols I have met or seen have raised me up in such a way like no oth ers alike them could make me think as positive about my life as I think now. Since the age of 8 I've yearned to be an actor. On stage, in movies, in TV shows, in musicals, you name it. I've always wanted to express my god given emotions and share my talent with the world for all to see. When I was 8, I went with my school on a field trip to see a play. The production was Aladdin. The second saw the sets, the costumes and everything put together, I instantly dreamed to do that for the future.At this same time I had played baseball. I decided to do both musicals and baseball. Then that's when the regrets came. Everyone would tell me, â€Å"Why do musicals? Athletes get paid millions to play baseball, you're not making that much in musicals. Instantly right when had just decided on my career in life, I was already getting told that shouldn't do something that doesn't pay well. I was only 8. Had no real idea of the value of a dollar and still, what they said affected me.

Coraline

Coraline is a horrific children’s book that was produced into a movie in 2009. Written by Neil Gaiman, the book was published in 2003 as juvenile fiction. Gaiman’s twisted ingenious mind has even frightened adult readers. This creepy fairy tale clearly draws much of its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. What started out as a children’s novel became a hit movie in theaters. What is so spectacular about Coraline may be the colorful characters, the unexpected turn of events within the story, or the fact that it is the first stop(Stop? animation movie to be viewed in 3-D. The combination of Gaiman’s story with Selick’s (who is Selick? Producer? ) talent for movie presentation has made Coraline a remarkably entrancing and horrifying fairy tale for both readers and movie watchers as they experience the entrancing adventure of a little girl who learned the price of opening a door that was not meant to be opened. Before Coraline hit the big screen it made an everlasting impression as a children’s horrific fairytale. It turns out that Coraline’s name came about because Neil Gaiman kept messing up spelling Caroline. Reading Coraline makes it easy for the first time readers to relate to her character when they think back to their current or past adolescence. Most people would admit to times in their young lives when they were relentless pessimists and complainers, who acted bored and coughed up attitudes on a daily basis. Everyone could share Coraline’s plight when they had felt that there was nothing to do in a new house and were reluctant to meet new people. Viewers and readers alike have also felt a special connection between her family and their own. Children always think about what the perfect mother would be like, and parents also try to be the best for their children. However, both age groups try to imagine something better. Unlike Coraline, no one had ever found a mysterious small door in the living room that led to an almost perfect alternate reality that catered to your every whim. The movie begins with viewers seeing a doll that resembles an African-American child floating into a dark house greeted by hands made out of needles. Accompanied by the traditional chilling soundtrack that follows all Tim Burton films the doll is refashioned. Two hands disembowel a doll and then reassemble it with needle and thread. While not the most warm and fuzzy scene in any cinematic form, what makes it particularly ghoulish is the feeling that you could run your fingers through the doll’s sawdust innards and touch its button eyes† (Clark). The doll is then dressed in a yellow raincoat and blue jeans. As soon as it is finished the mysterious needle hands sends the doll out the window where it floats out in space. This is where we find out that the doll replicates our heroine Coraline Jones. Coraline, voiced by Dakota Fanning, and her parents, voiced by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman, had just moved into the Pink Palace, it is a pink house spilt into floors as apartments in the woodsy area of Oregon. Coraline finds the house completely droll and far from the home and friends that she knew. While she explores her new home she finds, as Pratt writes: â€Å"A [Russian Gymnast, Mr. Bobinsky, who lives in the attic] tells Coraline that he's training his circus mice to play music, and Coraline finds him vaguely alarming, if only because she can't tell whether he's serious or joking. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two aging former actresses, live downstairs with a coterie of Scottie dogs. The ladies are happy to dispense tea, inedible cookies, and advice, and they read Coraline's tea leaves, which indicate that she's in danger. † She meets Wyborn, voiced by Robert Bailey Jr. , as Ebert describes, a â€Å"young hunchback whose full name is Wyborn, and it doesn’t take Coraline long to wonder why his parents named him that. † Wybie had found the doll that looked just like Coraline in his grandmother’s trunk and gave it to her. Little did Wybie know, he had given her the doll that was created in the beginning of the film, that was made by the feared Beldam, a witch. She also meets a very aloof cat that turns out to be one of her few allies in her greatest times of danger. In the living room she starts to unpack her set of snow globes, looking fondling on a winter scene in Detroit Michigan, her last home. Coraline discovers that her doll who was sitting on a chair had moved behind a box. As she retrieved the doll, it was found resting against a tiny door with a key hole on it. Coraline begged her mother to find the key that would unlock it. Her mother reluctantly obliged and makes Coraline promise that she will stay out of her mom’s way if she did this favor for her. Coraline replies yes, eager to see what was behind the door. Her mother shuffles through keys in a drawer, picking one whose handle end was in the shape of a button. As fast as Coraline’s heart rose, it sank. There was nothing behind the door but brick walls. Later that night Coraline had been awoken by a mouse that lead her to the door, when she open it and found a long tunnel with a light at the end. Excited for the adventure to come she crawled down the tunnel that, to her surprise, opened right into her own living room. Now though it looked like her real living room, everything was brighter and had a more welcoming atmosphere. Coraline was lured by the smell of real home cooking when she discovered her mother in the kitchen. Pullman said, â€Å"When she discovers a sinister woman there, who looks a little like her mother but has eyes that are big black buttons, the matter-of-factness of the woman's response when Coraline says â€Å"Who are you? † is both disarming and terrifying. â€Å"I'm your other mother,† she says. Coraline finds out that she has other version of all the residents including her parents in the Pink Palace. Mr. Bobinsky, is a very entertaining circus ringleader with synchronized mice that are able to perform fantastical acrobats. Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible became active and energetic acrobatic performers on a massive stage where they took Coraline to partake in swinging from high wire swings above the crowd of terrier dogs below. Even Wybie, her newest friend is a double that mysteriously doesn’t talk. The Other Mother told Coraline that she felt she would enjoy him more that way. This perfect world that she finds changes her entire perspective on the life that she knew on the other side of the door. Her real parents were busy working for a plant publishing journal, while her other parents were tentative, caring, expressive, and just plain fun. But Coraline learns eventually that even though her other home seems perfect, there is something very peculiar and dark that lurks beneath the button eyes of all the people she meets. Button eyes are a great symbolism in Coraline. These buttons represents not having a soul. Coraline’s other mother turns out to be this cruel creature, he Beldam, who lures children through the secret door. She creates this perfect world for the child, giving them everything they wanted, promising to love them, and the only way a child could stay in this wonderful world is to have their eyes sewn shut and replaced with buttons. Once Coraline is told of this offer by her other mother, she realizes that her other mother’s intentions are hardly loving or parental. Collins writes, â€Å"Coraline meets the ghosts of several other children who had been kidnapped hundreds of years ago, and she realizes that her both her body and spirit are in danger. Coraline discovers that the black cat that has been lurking around the premises is able to talk to her in the other world. He gives Coraline clues for her to realize that everything is not as it seems. To viewers he would be related to the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. The cat tells Coraline that in order to set her parents free and the souls of the three children that she must challenge her to a game. Vejvoa said, â€Å"She has to muster the strength and courage to confront and defeat her monstrous Other Mother is she’s to rescue her real parents and get back to where she truly belongs. Her Other Mother cannot refuse any game as long as she thinks that she can win. Coraline is clever enough to come up with a game where she must look through the house and garden to find all the souls and eyes of the children before the lunar eclipse or she will give up her soul to the Other Mother. Coraline faces three dangers in three wonders that her other mother had created for her. Each of the children’s eyes were trapped in three different objects. The first soul was found in the garden where her other father had sacrificed himself for her to retrieve the soul. The second soul was found on the stage of the two actresses. The third was found in the dark and eerie mice circus tent. Once every soul was collected, Coraline had only to find her parents, who were trapped in a snow globe.. It came to the final task, defeating the witch. What used to looked so much like her real mother stood, a skeletal, towering, spider like woman that was anything but motherly. Coraline tricked her other mother to open the small door between home and the created world. As fast as she could react, Coraline tossed the cat at the Other Mother and she made a run for the door with all of the souls. The Other Mother broke free from the cat and chased after her through the tunnel. Coming through the door Coraline used all of her strength to shut it completely. But the Other Mother had her hand stuck then torn off from her wrists landing on the floor. The hand had disappeared, and the souls were set free. Although the souls and her parents were free the Other Mother’s needle hand was still at large and wanted the key to the door at all costs because there was only one. Everything seemed normal until Coraline decided to throw the key to the door away. She trekked to the well where she approached the opening of the well. Out of nowhere the Other Mother’s hand leaps out to grab the key, but since it is on a string wrapped around Coraline’s neck, she was being choked until Wybie had crushed the hand with a huge rock. The hand is tied within the blanket with the string holding the key and is thrown down the well. After vanquishing the Other Mother, all of the lost souls of the children were set free. The movie ends with Coraline and her parents hosting a garden party in which they had finally started planting and creating a beautiful atmosphere. Here all of her neighbors, Wybie, and Wybie’s grandmother come to gather. Coraline tells Wybie’s grandmother of what happened in the house and how she saved her twin sister’s soul. Coraline is no longer as pessimistic or as unpleasant when she started her adventure. The movie ends with a chilling song of children voices that makes viewers get the shivers when they recall the scariest moments. This film was hailed by all age groups, and more so towards the adult crowds. According to Ebert, â€Å"this is a movie for people who know and care about drawing, caricature, grotesquerie and the far shores of storytelling. In short, you might care little about a fantasy, little indeed about this story, and still admire the artistry of it all, [it] gets under our psychic fingernails. † Coraline is certainly a darker version of a family film when compared to Disney, but that is what makes it much more intense and rememerable. Cinema reviewer, Kernion said: â€Å"It isn't gory or excessively violent (certainly not as much as Prince Caspian), but there are some pretty frightening threats, and the peril that main characters often face can seem real and intense. It's similar in tone at times to Spirited Away — if you think your kids can handle the Miyazaki film, they should be fine with Coraline. † However, not all viewers and critics were impressed with the big hit movie. Jim Vejvoda, said, â€Å"a story where a mother plucks out kids' eyes and replaces them with buttons or sews their mouths shut might be a wee bit too torture prone for some members of toon-going crowd to stomach. † A movie blogger, Sean, said, â€Å"Coraline really clicked for me. It takes a while to get rolling, but once the twist is revealed and we understand the true extent of Coraline’s predicament, it’s hard not to be completely absorbed. The storytelling is on par with a Pixar film, or even Guillermo Del Toro’s critically-acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth. † When comments were all said and done about the actual story, critics, and movie goers alike were both please and displeased when it came to the 3-D presentation of the film. 3-D films have become very popular in our recent movie viewing trend, however Henry Selick, the movie director, doesn’t want audiences to focus on the 3-D. According to Clark, â€Å"3-D is just a means to end, to showcase the medium he loves to work in: stop-motion animation, in which the hands and every other part of the characters in the movie are manipulated frame by frame to achieve movement and expression and to tell a story. † Selick has previously been honored for directing, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Coraline racked up a total of $60 million dollars for the stop motion animation to come to life via 3-D. Coraline has entranced and horrified both readers and movie watchers through the eyes of a once very unpleasant girl who learned the cost of being careful what she wished for. Neil Gaiman’s way of putting a twist on this story is what makes Coraline so chilling and mesmerizing. Coraline’s story is truly frightening, and Gaiman goes to great lengths to forge an ‘other’ mother world where every aspect of our lives is perverted and twisted into the macabre† (Collins). He teaches us that even though children, even adults, who think that the grass is greener on the other side, don’t know what they have until they lose it.

Origins of the Vietnam War From 1945â€1954

Origins of the Vietnam War From 1945–1954 The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of World War II. A French colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. In 1941, a Vietnamese nationalist movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by Ho Chi Minh to resist the occupiers. A communist, Ho Chi Minh waged a guerrilla war against the Japanese with the support of the United States. Near the end of the war, the Japanese began to promote Vietnamese nationalism and ultimately granted the country nominal independence. On August 14, 1945, Ho Chi Minh launched the August Revolution, which effectively saw the Viet Minh take control of the country. The French Return Following the Japanese defeat, the Allied Powers decided that the region should remain under French control. As France lacked the troops to retake the area, Nationalist Chinese forces occupied the north while the British landed in the south. Disarming the Japanese, the British used the surrendered weapons to rearm French forces that had been interned during the war. Under pressure from the Soviet Union, Ho Chi Minh sought to negotiate with the French, who desired to retake possession of their colony. Their entrance into Vietnam was only permitted by the Viet Minh after assurances had been given that the country would gain independence as part of the French Union. First Indochina War Discussions soon broke down between the two parties and in December 1946, the French shelled the city of Haiphong and forcibly reentered the capital, Hanoi. These actions began a conflict between the French and the Viet Minh, known as the First Indochina War. Fought mainly in North Vietnam, this conflict began as a low level, rural guerrilla war, as Viet Minh forces conducted hit and run attacks on the French. In 1949, fighting escalated as Chinese communist forces reached the northern border of Vietnam and opened a pipeline of military supplies to the Viet Minh.   French paratroopers taking part in Operation Castor, a parachute drop on Dien Bien Phu in the Thai district during the Indo-China war. Hulton Archive/Stringer/Getty Images  Ã‚   Increasingly well-equipped, the Viet Minh began more direct engagement against the enemy and the conflict ended when the French were decisively defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The war was ultimately settled by the Geneva Accords of 1954, which temporarily partitioned the country at the 17th parallel, with the Viet Minh in control of the north and a non-communist state to be formed in the south under Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem. This division was to last until 1956, when national elections would be held to decide the future of the nation. The Politics of American Involvement Initially, the United States had little interest in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, however, as it became clear that the post-World War II world would be dominated by the US and its allies and the Soviet Union and theirs, isolating communist movements took an increased importance. These concerns were ultimately formed into the doctrine of containment and domino theory. First spelled out 1947, containment identified that the goal of Communism was to spread to capitalist states and that the only way to stop it was to â€Å"contain† it within its present borders. Springing from containment was the concept of domino theory, which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well. These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much of the Cold War. In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its efforts against the â€Å"red† Viet Minh. This aid nearly extended to direct intervention in 1954, when the use of American forces to relieve Dien Bien Phu was discussed at length. Indirect efforts continued in 1956, when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) with the goal of creating a force capable of resisting Communist aggression. Despite their best efforts, the quality of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently poor throughout its existence. The Diem Regime South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem (1901 - 1963) watching an agricultural show just minutes after an assassination attempt had been made on his life. Keystone/Stringer/Getty Images  Ã‚   A year after the Geneva Accords, Prime Minister Diem commenced a â€Å"Denounce the Communists† campaign in the south. Throughout the summer of 1955, Communists and other opposition members were jailed and executed. In addition to attacking the communists, the Roman Catholic Diem assaulted Buddhist sects and organized crime, which further alienated the largely Buddhist Vietnamese people and eroded his support. In the course of his purges, it is estimated that Diem had up to 12,000 opponents executed and as many as 40,000 jailed.  To further cement his power, Diem rigged a referendum on the future of the country in October 1955 and declared the formation of the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon. Despite this, the US actively supported the Diem regime as a buttress against Ho Chi Minh’s communist forces in the north. In 1957, a low-level guerrilla movement began to emerge in the south, conducted by Viet Minh units that had not returned north after the accords. Two years later, these groups successfully pressured Ho’s government into issuing a secret resolution calling for an armed struggle in the south. Military supplies began to flow into the south along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the following year the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) was formed to carry out the fight. Failure and Deposing Diem The situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate, with corruption rife throughout the Diem government and the ARVN unable to effectively combat the Viet Cong. In 1961, the newly elected Kennedy Administration promised more aid and additional money, weapons, and supplies were sent with little effect. Discussions then began in Washington regarding the need to force a regime change in Saigon. This was accomplished on November 2, 1963, when the CIA aided a group of ARVN officers to overthrow and kill Diem. His death led to a  period of political instability that saw the rise and fall of a succession of military governments. To help deal with the post-coup chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to 16,000. With Kennedys death later that same month, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to the presidency and reiterated the US commitment to fighting communism in the region.

Coles English Q W1 Essay

Coles English Q W1 Essay Coles English Q W1 Essay On the weekend of January 7-9, more than 30 peaceful protestors from throughout California joined forces in the California desert’s Chuckwalla Valley at the Corn Springs Road exit/overpass along Interstate 10, east of Desert Center, to register their opposition to the 46,000-acres of public desert lands, including a large area of Chuckwalla Valley, approved for construction on public California desert lands under the Obama Administration’s federal â€Å"fast-track† renewable energy program, as well as to the hundreds of thousands of acres pending approval for similar projects. Included among the protestors were representatives from La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle; Citizens for the Chuckwalla Valley; Mojave Desert Watch; the Sierra Club; Desert Survivors; and Basin and Range Watch, which sponsored the protest. The protest featured desert residents and visitors from afar, and offered educational materials to the many people who visited the protest. In addition, a colorful assemblage of Aztec Dancers from Needles, along with Native American singers and drummers from the Chemehuevi Nation performed for several hours atop the Corn Springs Road overpass. Concerns registered by the sponsors and participants in the protest included: the impending destruction of 17,000 known archaeological sites in the California desert; threats to endangered wildlife species, such as the California Desert Tortoise - large numbers of which have been â€Å"re-located† at Ivanpah, where construction has already begun - and widespread disturbance of desert topsoil, a major CO2 generator. Protestors also voiced concerns over threats to air quality, a severe strain on already-limited water supplies, and irreversible threats to the fragile desert ecosystem. â€Å"What the fast-track energy program threatens to do to the remaining pristine areas of the California desert is the equivalent of clear-cutting old-growth redwood trees in the Pacific Nor thwest,† says Ruth Nolan, desert author/scholar and Professor at College of the Desert. â€Å"Those of us at the protest were registering our concerns and hoping to forestall imminent plans to turn the California desert into a massive industrial zone, leading to an inevitable ecological collapse.† Protestors emphasized that they are not opposed to renewable energy, but to the environmentally, culturally, and archaeologically threatening potentials of the massive-scale wind and solar approved or pending approval on the fast-track program. Laura Cunningham, one of the protest organizers, noted that an important focus in the Chuckwalla Valley gathering was to raise awareness of the opportunities for smaller-scale renewable energy programs. â€Å"When people are educated with the facts to the alternatives that are truly green instead of raping the desert, they agree,† she says. â€Å"We reached a lot of people this weekend with our protest, and education is so impor tant in forming an opinion.† Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, founder of La Cuna de Atzlan, which recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government - along with CARE (Californians for Renewable Energy) and six individual Native Americans - was also at the protest. â€Å"We have a MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the BLM for the protection of sacred sites, including geoglyphs that are threatened by Big Solar. We had to sue the government to halt construction of the Blythe proposal.† A separate lawsuit has also been filed by the Quechan Indian Tribe against the U.S. government on behalf of a renewable energy project proposed in the Imperial Valley. Other already-approved renewable energy sites spread across a large area of public California desert lands, primarily in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, include the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Project, the

Gypsies in the Holocaust - Forgotten Victims

Gypsies in the Holocaust - Forgotten Victims The Gypsies of Europe were registered, sterilized, ghettoized, and then deported to concentration and death camps by the Nazis before and during World War II. Approximately 250,000 to 500,000 Gypsies were murdered during the Holocaust- an event they call the Porajmos (the Devouring.) A Short History Approximately a thousand years ago, several groups of people migrated from northern India, dispersing throughout Europe over the next several centuries. Though these people were part of several tribes (the largest of which are the Sinti and Roma), the settled peoples called them by a collective name, Gypsies- which stems from the one-time belief that they had come from Egypt. Nomadic, dark-skinned, non-Christian, speaking a foreign language (Romani), not tied to the land- Gypsies were very different from the settled peoples of Europe. Misunderstandings of Gypsy culture created suspicions and fears, which in turn led to rampant speculation, stereotypes, and biased stories. Many of these stereotypes and stories are still readily believed. Throughout the following centuries, non-Gypsies (Gaje) continually tried to either assimilate Gypsies or kill them. Attempts to assimilate Gypsies involved stealing their children and placing them with other families; giving them cattle and feed, expecting them to become farmers; outlawing their customs, language, and clothing as well as forcing them to attend school and church. Decrees, laws, and mandates often allowed the killing of Gypsies. In 1725 King Frederick William I of Prussia ordered all Gypsies over 18 years old to be hanged. A practice of Gypsy hunting was common- a game hunt similar to fox hunting. Even as late as 1835, a Gypsy hunt in Jutland (Denmark) brought in a bag of over 260 men, women, and children, write Donald Kenrick and Grattan Puxon. Though Gypsies had undergone centuries of such persecution, it remained relatively random and sporadic until the 20th century when the negative stereotypes became intrinsically molded into a racial identity, and the Gypsies were systematically slaughtered. Under the Third Reich The persecution of Gypsies started at the very beginning of the Third Reich. Gypsies were arrested and interned in concentration camps as well as sterilized under the July 1933 Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. In the beginning, Gypsies were not specifically named as a group that threatened the Aryan, German people. This was because, under Nazi racial ideology, Gypsies were Aryans. The Nazis had a problem: How could they persecute a group enveloped in negative stereotypes but supposedly part of the Aryan super race? Nazi racial researchers eventually came upon a so-called scientific reason to persecute most of the Gypsies. They found their answer in Professor Hans F. K. Gà ¼nthers book Rassenkunde Europas (Anthropology of Europe) where he wrote: The Gypsies have indeed retained some elements from their Nordic home, but they are descended from the lowest classes of the population in that region. In the course of their migrations, they have absorbed the blood of the surrounding peoples, and have thus become an Oriental, western-Asiatic racial mixture, with an addition of Indian, mid-Asiatic, and European strains. Their nomadic mode of living is a result of this mixture. The Gypsies will generally affect Europe as aliens. With this belief, the Nazis needed to determine who was pure Gypsy and who was mixed. Thus, in 1936, the Nazis established the Racial Hygiene and Population Biology Research Unit, with Dr. Robert Ritter at its head, to study the Gypsy problem and to make recommendations for Nazi policy. As with the Jews, the Nazis needed to determine who was to be considered a Gypsy. Dr. Ritter decided that someone could be considered a Gypsy if they had one or two Gypsies among his grandparents or if two or more of his grandparents are part-Gypsies. Kenrick and Puxon blame Dr. Ritter for the additional 18,000 German Gypsies who were killed because of this more inclusive designation, rather than if the same rules had been followed as were applied to Jews, who had have three or four Jewish grandparents to be considered Jews. To study Gypsies, Dr. Ritter, his assistant Eva Justin, and his research team visited the Gypsy concentration camps (Zigeunerlagers) and examined thousands of Gypsies- documenting, registering, interviewing, photographing, and finally categorizing them. It was from this research that Dr. Ritter formulated that 90% of Gypsies were of mixed blood, thus dangerous. Having established a scientific reason to persecute 90% of the Gypsies, the Nazis needed to decide what to do with the other 10%- the ones who were nomadic and appeared to have the least number of Aryan qualities. At times Interior Minister Heinrich  Himmler discussed letting the pure Gypsies roam relatively freely and also suggested a special reservation for them. Assumably as part of one of these possibilities, nine Gypsy representatives were selected in October 1942 and told to create lists of Sinti and Lalleri to be saved. There must have been confusion within the Nazi leadership. Many wanted all Gypsies killed, with no exceptions. On December 3, 1942,  Martin Bormann  wrote in a letter to Himmler: ... special treatment would mean a fundamental deviation from the simultaneous measures for fighting the Gypsy menace and would not be understood at all by the population and lower leaders of the party. Also the Fà ¼hrer would not agree to giving one section of the Gypsies their old freedom. Though the Nazis did not discover a scientific reason to kill the 10% of Gypsies categorized as pure, no distinctions made when Gypsies were ordered to  Auschwitz  or deported to the other death camps. By the end of the war, an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 Gypsies were murdered in the Porajmos- killing approximately three-fourths of the German Gypsies and half of the Austrian Gypsies. For an overview of all that happened to the Gypsies during the Third Reich, there is a  timeline  to help outline the process from Aryan to annihilation. Sources Friedman, Philip. The Extermination of the Gypsies: Nazi Genocide of an Aryan People.  Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust, Ed. Ada June Friedman. Jewish Publication Society of America, 1980, New York.ï » ¿Kenrick, Donald and Puxon, Grattan.  The Destiny of Europes Gypsies. Basic Books, 1972, New York.

Introduction to Criminal Law and Legal studies Essay - 1

Introduction to Criminal Law and Legal studies - Essay Example The High Court judges are obligated by rulings of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. On the other hand, inferior courts, such as the magistrates’ court and county courts, do not possess any binding power over the other courts (Robinson, 1997, p. 81). England’s and Wales’s Courts of Justice are the criminal and civil courts accountable to the justice administration in England and Wales (Fletcher, 1998, p. 71). England and Wales have a single legal system. In England and Wales, the Supreme Court holds the highest position in virtually all cases (Fletcher, 1998, p. 71). 2) The Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Communities Act 1972 have particular standing in the United Kingdom. It will be the duty of the higher courts to evaluate conformity to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and the duty of all UK courts to make sure that trials are in agreement with its pledges (Carson, 2009, p. 24). Any circumstance in which the individual comes into contact with the state will be influenced by the Human Rights Act. The domestic law in the UK has been largely influenced by the European Convention on Human Rights (Gardner & Anderson, 2005, p. 112). This has had the consequence that the courts in the UK now bear a responsibility to interpret the statues and the common law in a manner that, where feasible, the UK law is in harmony with the European Convention on Human Rights (Gardner & Anderson, 2005, p. 112).

Motivation, Emotion, and Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Motivation, Emotion, and Learning - Essay Example After the end of the three days, the frequency of each emotion experienced across the total reporting period and on preset times on each day (For example, anger=1, joy=2, sad=1, anxious=3, etc.) was calculated. Thereafter an analysis was made of the physiological (internal and expressive body changes) and cognitive (specific thoughts occurring during an emotion) components of emotions in the experience. Findings are reported below. There are several psychological frameworks that define and operationally emotion (e.g., Izard 1977; Mehrabian and Russell 1974; Plutchik 1980). The present research uses Izard's framework which "assumes that separate and discrete emotions exist and that each has measurable, experiential, and motivational properties" (Izard 1972, p. 85). In his Differential Emotions Theory Izard (1972) conceptualizes ten fundamental emotions: joy, surprise, anger, disgust, contempt, shame, guilt, fear, interest, and sadness. Given the fact that the time period chosen was that of three consecutive days and observation points comprised of preset 7 vantage time periods on each day it was inevitable that the felt emotions would source from out of major events that either preceded these days or occurred during these days. The predominant emotions observed during the period were Anger (15), Contempt (16), Disgust (11) and Interest (12).It was observed that the first three had occurred in tandem as they were basically caused by a single event. The last interest was caused by a separate event. There were two events that had primarily originated the predominant emotions in the observation period. The event causing disgust, anger and contempt in tandem involved a gory media reporting of a riot involving a crowd in a developing country .The graphic images shown over media had immersed in attention span substantially and a lot of time was spent analyzing this event which explains the high frequency of the three emo tions felt in tandem. Interest was evinced by another event which involved receiving a personal bursary from my distantly related uncle who was arriving from UK to assess me for the grant of this bursary. Anger invariably resulted in racing of heart and tightening of arm muscles. A little tightening was felt in thigh muscles as well. The eyes got a little blood shot with bleary affect. However despite all these effects all senses seem to sharpen with anger. Disgust essentially produced tightening of stomach muscles. It was accompanied by eyebrow pull up and screwing of eyes. Contempt produced physical effects quite similar to those produced by anger with the difference that fists formed almost involuntarily and teeth clenched hard, as the contempt emotion traversed from one end to the other. Interest emotion was accompanied by widening of eyes and slight outward popping of eyeballs. A small blush spread from middle of the cheek to the top edge of both ear lobes indicating rush of

Free and Fair Elections - Canadian Politics Essay

Free and Fair Elections - Canadian Politics - Essay Example Though the Canadian electoral system to a large extent affiliates to many democratic imperatives like being a representative democracy where the legislative office is decided through popular competitive elections, a political system that affiliates to a multiparty system of democracy, accrual of a range of political choices to the voters, and a reasonably fair and transparent system of governance, still, it will be unfair to conclude that all is well with the Canadian electoral system. ... First past the post system first and foremost is quiet simple and straightforward. Thereby such an electoral system is easy and economical to execute and in no way bothers the people who cannot understand the more complex electoral systems.5 First past the post system is also economical in terms of time in the sense that it takes only a few hours to count the total number of votes and the results could be declared at the earliest.6 This system of electioneering tends to get a sense of the voters’ views as to which party ought to from the government in the simplest possible way and thereby presents a simple and straightforward view pertaining to the peoples’ will.7 However, it goes without saying that irrespective of being an utterly simplistic way of conducting elections, first past the post electoral system in a way suppresses the will and the views of a large number of voters and is certainly not good for democracy.8 Canada has been a thriving democracy since long and now is the high time that the Canadian electoral system must graduate to more inclusive and complex electoral systems. The biggest flaw with the first past the post system is that it readily facilitates a two party system and tends to favor single party governments who are not required to rely on the support of other parties to pass legislations.9 The first past the post system certainly tends to bypass the opinion and aspirations of a large chunk of voters, as the candidates even securing a marginal excess of votes could actually win.10 It does not matter how much votes the losing candidate accrues as the winning candidate is required to get more votes than the losing candidates. Besides, first past the

Price Elasticity of Demand Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Price Elasticity of Demand - Term Paper Example When elasticity is greater than 1 the quantity demanded changes to a greater degree than the change in price. The demand curve aligns increasingly aligns itself to the x-axis in the case of near infinite elasticity, meaning that the quantity demanded is particularly responsive to changes in price. This case is also known as being perfectly elastic and is shown in the graph below: From this demand curve, it is evident that an extremely minute change in price would lead to an infinitely large change in quantity demanded. This scenario can be applied to perfectly competitive markets or luxury items. When elasticity is less than one the quantity demanded response insignificantly to changes in price. Increase the price would increase revenue, and vice versa. As the elasticity approaches 0, the demand curve becomes parallel to the y-axis. So the quantity demanded becomes more or less independent of price. This is known as being perfectly inelastic demand. Integration is the concept of supp ly chain management that origins from microeconomics. The basic idea is to partner or collaborate with all the stakeholders relevant to the production of goods and services offered by an organization. There are several ways of doing so; we will look at each in detail along with its advantages and disadvantages. In horizontal integration, an organization merges with its competitor(s) that produce similar products. Advantages - The basic advantage of horizontal integration is that it may provide economies of scale. Increased distribution capacity and market access are also possible, leading to greater market share. Disadvantage - the major disadvantage is that since horizontal Integration restricts competition it might lead to the creation of conglomerates or even monopolies. This, in turn, can be harmful to the interests of end-consumers.

Personal consumption journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Personal consumption journal - Essay Example Prior to my entering the mini mart, I knew I wanted a Gatorade. Evidently, neither did I happen to stumble across it inside the store nor did I hear somebody whisper to me on the benefits of drinking Gatorade after a movie trailer. Shopping experience: I really didn’t take much time in the store I just the Gatorade paid for it and left, if you even ask me how many people were in there or the shirt color of the attendant I wouldn’t tell. Reason for purchase: Where I work, I am quite limited to what I can buy to eat depending on the day. On days when I am alone in the office, I cannot leave the office premises to buy food. In this case therefore, I am limited to restaurants that deliver fast foods. This has proven to be extremely expensive; therefore do it regularly. The meal consisted of chow mien, and 2 entrees with soup. I choose this because it was the most appropriate for the money I had at the moment. I could also eat half of the meal then half later. Shopping experience: It happened that I had to pronounce the meal to the waitress who seemed amused and didn’t understand why. She tried to pronounce the name correctly in Chinese accent and understood the reason for her amusement when I said it correctly she smiled and said good, the conversation had turned fun and I was just laughing as she taught me how to pronounce. Not a bad shopping experience. Reason for purchase: I really needed the face wash. I have always loved the Nivea brand for its high quality products. I was more inclined to purchasing the face wash as it was cheaper by 1$ and I thought I would save for other reasons especially buying lunch. I would have selected Olay Essentials Refreshing Face Wash which is cheaper and went at 3.9$, but Nivea fulfills my need. Shopping experience: The attendants were great they were willing to explain about the magic of the different soaps on one’s skin. I happened to spend more

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Africa's First World Essay

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Africa's First World War - Essay Example As explained by Farlex (2012), a sovereign nation is â€Å"one that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit† and that a sovereign nation â€Å"governs territory outside its borders.† This means that nations that are considered to be sovereign are expected to have maximum dominion over their territorial borders such that their borders must not be invaded by other sovereign nations, especially when the nation in question has not offended the intruding nation in any way. Though wars of all kinds are considered inappropriate, it is commonly believed that civil conflicts arise as a means of expressing the freedom and voice of the indigenous people. Most commonly, civil conflicts travel beyond the borders of the conflicting nation in question and this happens through a number of ways. Concepts of Civil Wars and Conventional, International Conflicts Civil wars are commonly propagated, fuelled and fought among civil groups withi n a given country. Smith (2012), therefore, posits that â€Å"a civil war is a war which is fought internally within a nation between differing factions, religious groups, or powers.† The National Intelligence Council (2004), on the other hand, notes that conventional wars are fought among two defined military sides without the use of any nuclear, biological or chemical weapons but strictly by the use of conventional weapons. International wars or conflicts, on the other hand, assume a position where war is embattled between two nations. The kinds of weapons used in international wars are undefined. Invariably, there could be an inference drawn from the definitions above to the fact that civil and international conflicts may be conventional conflicts or not. The difference as to whether or not they are classified as conventional wars depend on the kinds of weapons used. Between civil and international wars also, it could be said that civil wars are highly centered on only one nation and does not involve any second and third parties. When civil wars are fought as conventional wars, it is expected that the harm would not be as devastating as when they are fought with the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. International wars are, however, highly probable not to be conventional wars because of the high exhibition of warship authority by involving nations. Processes through which Internal Conflicts become Internationalised in Africa The first process that often leads to the internationalisation of internal conflicts in Africa is the problem of defence of national interest by intruding nations. This point is made against the backdrop that the world is fast becoming a global village. Coupled with other socio-economic relationships and pacts, the opening of commissions, consulates and embassies in other countries is very high. Once these offices are opened, countries with such offices tend to have an interest in the affairs of the host countries b ecause of the need to protect visiting citizens Noting that Africa is one continent that is generally considered as developing, there are several foreign continents with their citizens in African countries with the aim of helping in the development process. Owing to this, once war breaks up in any African country, there are efforts made by resident countries to protect their citizens and other interests they may have in the host country. Unfortunately, some of their attempts

Personal consumption journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Personal consumption journal - Essay Example Prior to my entering the mini mart, I knew I wanted a Gatorade. Evidently, neither did I happen to stumble across it inside the store nor did I hear somebody whisper to me on the benefits of drinking Gatorade after a movie trailer. Shopping experience: I really didn’t take much time in the store I just the Gatorade paid for it and left, if you even ask me how many people were in there or the shirt color of the attendant I wouldn’t tell. Reason for purchase: Where I work, I am quite limited to what I can buy to eat depending on the day. On days when I am alone in the office, I cannot leave the office premises to buy food. In this case therefore, I am limited to restaurants that deliver fast foods. This has proven to be extremely expensive; therefore do it regularly. The meal consisted of chow mien, and 2 entrees with soup. I choose this because it was the most appropriate for the money I had at the moment. I could also eat half of the meal then half later. Shopping experience: It happened that I had to pronounce the meal to the waitress who seemed amused and didn’t understand why. She tried to pronounce the name correctly in Chinese accent and understood the reason for her amusement when I said it correctly she smiled and said good, the conversation had turned fun and I was just laughing as she taught me how to pronounce. Not a bad shopping experience. Reason for purchase: I really needed the face wash. I have always loved the Nivea brand for its high quality products. I was more inclined to purchasing the face wash as it was cheaper by 1$ and I thought I would save for other reasons especially buying lunch. I would have selected Olay Essentials Refreshing Face Wash which is cheaper and went at 3.9$, but Nivea fulfills my need. Shopping experience: The attendants were great they were willing to explain about the magic of the different soaps on one’s skin. I happened to spend more

The Great Depression Brought Changes to Art in Many Ways Essay Example for Free

The Great Depression Brought Changes to Art in Many Ways Essay Life In America was more open and out going then normal. Jazz clubs opened up at mostly every block, where young vibrant people would go drink and dance the night away. This kind of social activity was looked down upon by older citizens that thought this kind of behavior was inappropriate. This would ultimately lead up to prohibition and the first time ver in American history an amendment was excused making alcohol illegal in the United States. This caused crime rates to skyrocket within American cities causing some of the most notorious gangsters in American history to emerge, such as A1 Capone. So many other things came out of the roaring 20s, such as inventions of the automobile, radio and airplanes, new fashion styles, skyscrapers and movies. With life changing, so did art. Mostly throughout the 1920s there were a variety of art movements and styles that were popular. Such as surrealism, Art Deco, reglonallsm and with new technologies came photography and also film. In 1929 the stock market crashed causing many people jobs and their life savings. Banks were continuing to fail and jobless workers would rely on crime and theft to support their families. With the stock market crash and many people in debt, this paved the way for many artists to express their feelings, through painting, architecture [pic]and photography. One of the most popular art movements during this time was known as American Scene painting. This art movement rejected the earlier European Modernist and abstract styles. It primarily depicted realistic scenes of American life. One of the famous American scene painters was Charles Sheeler and was known as a Precisionist painter. HIS paintings mainly consisted of simplified forms of American factories and buildings and used crisped defined edges with smooth brushwork throughout his paintings. Above is his famous work titled simply mostly found in American architecture, Jewelry, furniture, clothes and handcrafts through out the 1920s. Its geometrical design with parallel lines kept the sleekness style throughout the 1920s. Surrealism was originally formed in Europe and with art students from America they had brought the style over to the United States. Some of the most popular surrealist was Alexander Calder and Joseph Cornell. Calder was a sculptor and an engineer who was inspired by surrealist painters in Europe to sculpt and create moveable pieces of art. One of his famous works was Lobster Trap and Fish Tail. All of the parts moved, not mechanically, but with the wind. People think he was an abstract artist, but he wanted to stimulate the imagination. Regionalism was another art movement that was influenced by the American Scene painting. Grant Wood was a regionalist painter who focused on the everyday living in America. His American Gothic is a realistic painting of what appears to be a husband and wife in front of their farm house. But it is actually supposed to be an older Iowa farmer and his daughter. The Regionalist movement is divided into two groups. One is the social realist and was influenced by the social troubles of the lower class. The other was the Regionalist and they were more focused of the positive side of things (such as Grant Wood), hoping to drive America out of the depression. A Regionalist painter named Thomas Hart Benton, painted his Instruments of Power from the mural America today. Which shows a mural of all sorts of technological improvements during this time period. It consists of a train, plain, electric towers, steam engines and other symbols of industry. The social realists were primarily focused on the American worker and sought to change the hard economic times of the Great Depression. In fact, most of the social realists rejected idealism and focused their attention o n how the artists saw the subjects and depicted how they felt about the subject. Social realist style was associated with hard-edged muscular figures that are distorted and morphed. The movements main goal was to show struggles of the working America. The leading social realist during this time was Aaron Douglas, who was also the leading artists for the Harlem Renaissance. During World War l, million of African Americans moved to the north to look for jobs. In the south there was not much opportunity at all for African Americans. This would be later called the Great Migration. This would cause great racial tension in the north. In Harlem, eager to share their social thoughts with the rest of the world, African Americans would then explore their new surroundings and experiment with usic, writing and art that revolutionize the Harlem Renaissance. Aaron Douglas would be the forefront of the Harlem Renaissance. He would produce great works, such as Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery Through Reconstruction. This piece was meant for African Americans to realize they are part of this world and this country. The painting is a reenactment of the Emancipation Proclamati on, which suggests that Douglas was trying to reinforce their part in history. Douglass style was highly influenced abstract style. He would use a limited color palette in his paintings using a ariety of light and dark contrasts within his works. In contrast to Aaron Douglas, a young Jacob Lawrence would appear, painting a series called The Migration of the station. He used an abstract style and simple shapes that fits the forms of Cubism and African American folk art. In March 1933, newly elected president Franklin D. Roosevelt suggested a plan to revitalize the American economy. The plan was called the new deal and was simply a promise to the American people that this new plan would get America out of the economic depression. Many organizations came out of this new deal plan. For starving artist, this gave them a prime opportunity to make money and also to show their works of art. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was an organization that was going to give artist work. The PWAP did not last long but it gave artists a reviving boost. Then in 1935 a much similar organization established called the Federal Art Project (FAP) employed over 5,000 artists from 1935 to 1943. Artists such as Michael Lensin would benefit from this organization. His mural Mining gives a true understanding of the American worker. Much of the FAP art were murals, sculptures nd frescos that still exist throughout the country. Most of the subject matter in these works of art was mainly about American struggle and American prosperity and achievements. These organizations would not Just produce painters, but would also produce great photographers that would capture real live images of people. This new technology would then revolutionize photography and will inspire future photographe rs throughout history. Photography was the most popular forms of art during the Great Depression. With new technology for cameras it was easy for photographers to capture images everywhere they went. The photographs captured real people with real struggles. It also captured the harsh reality of the Great Depression. Many photographers would go a different course and try to promote more positive images such as young people dancing and having a good time. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) would hire these photographers to capture certain images to promote positive life. The Great Depression was a time period when people needed to see the harsh realities of the Depression and how it effect people, especially the lower class citizens. A photographer such as Walker Evans was known as one of the masters of hotography. He took pictures of many people during the Great Depression and showed the grueling struggles of Americans. Walkers use of lighting, composition and capturing great detail was what made him a pioneer in the photography world. His photos of sharecroppers and immigrants during the Depression show the harsh realities of their situation. He was hired by the Farm Securit y Administration (FSA) to take a series of photographs of families living in run down homes. A photo taken in 1936 shows a family living in poor and dirty conditions posing in front of the camera. They all look run down and defeated. He placed them directly into the center of photograph making sure that they were the focal point of this picture. You can see throughout the picture Just how terrible these living conditions were. He would then carry out more series of photographs of the lower class during the Great Depression. imagery of the Depression to show viewers the impact of the struggling economy. The Farm Security Administration was aware of how photographs impacted public thought. There are Pictures such as mioung Girls Knitting Stockings in Southern Hosiery Mill by Lewis W. Hine, which shows girls in a factory working in a harsh tmosphere. This was an earlier photo taken during World War l. He would then focus more on the progress of America. He took an extraordinary photo called Rivetting on the dome, a quarter mile up. It was a photo taken of workers during the construction of the Empire State building. Some photographers took pictures of the positive, many photographers were more curious about the stru ggles during the Great Depression. One photographer in particular was Dorothea Langes

Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction

Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of different service quality factors as quality of food, music, ambience, waiter service on customer satisfaction in a restaurant and to study how the customer satisfaction ultimately relates to customer loyalty for the restaurant. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was given to MBA students of XLRI Jamshedpur in the age group of 21-30 asking questions to ascertain the different levels of service in the Sonnet restaurant. The results of these questionnaires were analyzed using factor analysis. Findings The factors that are crucial for obtaining customer loyalty are waiter politeness, waiter promptness, space, music and food quality. The waiter promptness, space, food quality are partially mediated by customer satisfaction. Of these factors, music negatively affects customer loyalty and positively affects customer satisfaction. Only waiter promptness, aesthetics, music and food quality affect the customer satisfaction. With customer satisfaction as the mediating factor to obtain customer loyalty, we find waiter politeness, waiter promptness, space, music and food quality are significant factors. Research limitations The study was limited only to the patrons of Sonnet, Jamshedpur. The respondents to the survey consisted of students of XLRI Jamshedpur who have visited Sonnet. Future research may be done on number of restaurants instead of a particular restaurant. Future research may also be conducted such that the respondents reflect a more heterogeneous group in terms of age, income level and location. The solitary effect of servicescape on the overall satisfaction level for the customer may also be explored in future research. Practical Implication Hoteliers and restaurant operators should try to ascertain which aspect of the service quality is perceived as more important by their patrons. They can then focus more to improve on these particular aspects as in future these would lead to more satisfaction for the customer. The customer satisfaction in turn will lead to customer loyalty and thus will increase the overall profit for the organization. Originality/value This paper provides insights into how music affects the satisfaction and loyalty for restaurant patrons. The effect of music on customer loyalty has not been conclusively proved in any research paper so far. The other factors of service quality that affect the satisfaction level and loyalty of a patron of the Sonnet restaurant in Jamshedpur have also been explored to provide a complete picture. Keywords Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty Introduction In todays fast paced world meals are no longer a very well planned event, on most occasions it is an afterthought. The proportion of women in the workforce has increased, As a result women have less time to cook meals at home. Hence there has been an increase in the trend of eating out. This results in a flourishing restaurant industry. Like any lucrative industry which attracts a number of players, the restaurant industry is also highly competitive. It is very important to get a feel of this industry from the viewpoint of the customer. It is the customer who makes the final decision of how much to spend and what, when and most importantly where to eat. Thus in order to offer the right service to the customers, restaurant owners and managers need to have a clear understanding of the factors that influence customer satisfaction. Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is the state of the fulfillment of the customers expectations from the establishment. When the difference facets of the service provided to the customers exceed the expected level, then the customer is positively satisfied. On the contrary if the perceived level is less than the expected level then the customer may develop negative perceptions towards the establishment. Customer Loyalty Customer loyalty basically indicates a repeat patronage of the particular facility whose services have already been experienced by the customer. Loyalty consists of both a behavioral dimension as well as an attitudinal dimension. Once a customer has a strong positive experience with an establishment, he is more likely to be loyal to it which may be exhibited through behavior as repeat patronage and recommendation (generally exhibited through positive word of mouth). Constituents of service quality The different factors of service quality which influence the customer satisfaction level include: Music: The music played at restaurant has a significant impact on the satisfaction level of the customer. Customers are generally more satisfied in an environment playing music they preferred than in an environment of no music. Music may also have an impact on the spending pattern of customers. Food Quality: Although restaurants have gained importance as a place for socializing, food is the primary reason why a customer visits a restaurant. Thus the quality of food and beverages as well as the variety influences the customer satisfaction level. Waiter Service: Waiters serve as the medium of interaction between the restaurant owners and the customers. Thus the service provided by the waiters often forms the image of a restaurant. Careful, pleasant and attentive behavior on the part of the waiter leads to high customer satisfaction. Ambience: Ambience ( dà ©cor and artifact, odor, noise level , temperature, spatial layout) forms the impression of the restaurant. Research background and hypothesis Music and Customer Satisfaction It has been often agreed upon by researchers that different aspects of service like ambience and layout affect the experience quality of a customer and thus influence his satisfaction. Music helps in creating the proper ambience in the restaurant and has important role to play in customer satisfaction. Studies in social psychology often indicate that there is a strong correlation between music and the social context in which the customer hears it. This relationship can also be extended to the setting of a restaurant. In 1996, North and Hargreaves studied the effect of music on atmosphere in a university cafeteria (North and Hargreaves, 1996). Results suggested that customers liking of the cafeteria increased with their liking for the music played within it. In their research conducted in 1996 North and Hargreaves also found that liking the music in a restaurant had a positive relationship with the customer returning to the establishment in future. According to Stephanie Wilson in her article, The effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase intention in a restaurant the music could be used by restaurants to create the proper atmosphere. This can also be used to distinguish itself from the competitors. The research states that the absence of music had the most negative impact on the atmosphere and thus on customer satisfaction. Wilson in her research actually found out that in an environment of no music the respondents were willing to pay the least maximum price. Wilson also found out that the type of music played may also have an important bearing on the customers overall experience as well as his spending habits. Ronald Milliman, in his article The Influence of Background Music on the Behavior of Restaurant Patrons, has proved that background music can significantly influence the behavior of patrons in a restaurant. This view is supplemented by Smith and Curnow (1966), who have proved that inappropriate, loud music creates an avoidance condition and thus can affect the customer perception about a restaurant negatively. In such cases music actually detracts from the service experience. J. Duncan Herrington and Louis M. Capella in their article Effects of music in service environments have stated that often music can be used by service providers in order to a distinctive image in the minds of the customers and thus get a competitive edge. Restaurants can take the aid of music to create an environment which complements their service offerings. Restaurants serving international food can play the music of the particular nation and restaurants serving a particular type of food can also similarly use music. Food and Customer Satisfaction: Variety and presentation of food and beverages and quality of the menu are one of the most important factors influencing the customers feelings towards the restaurant. According to Kincaid and Baloglou, in their article What Really brings them Back (2008), this has tremendous practical significance for restaurant operators. It should be made sure that an interesting variety of food and drinks are presented in unique ways. Food and drink quality is very important to the patrons of a restaurant and restaurant operators should ensure that a strict quality control is in place to make sure that only high quality food is being offered to the customers. Andaleeb and Conway in their article Customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry: an examination of the transaction-specific model(2006) has also opined that food quality is one of the major components which can be improved in order to enhance customer satisfaction. Hong Qin and Victor R. Prybutok in their research, Perceived service quality in fast-food restaurants: empirical evidence from China found that the quality of food was a critical factor in the customers overall level of satisfaction and often influenced the customers decision about selection of a restaurant. Ambience and Customer Satisfaction The ambience and layout of the establishment has an important role to play in the experience quality of the customer. Bitner (1992) coined a new term servicescape which denoted the physical constituents of a service environment. The different tangible constituents of servicescape such as optimum temperature, noise, furnishings and layout combine together to influence the customer satisfaction and repeat patronage level. In comparison to other service industries as banks servicescape plays a more important role in service industries as restaurants where the customer spends a greater period of time. Wakefield and Blodgett(1996) proposed a servicescape framework, the service environment comprised of five important factors: Proper layout and accessibility of the premises (i.e. how furniture, service area and equipments are organized within the establishment) Aesthetics of the establishment ( the interior decoration and architectural design) Seating comfort Electronic equipment ( arrangement of displays and lighting and electronic equipment) Cleanliness All these five factors together had a combined effect on customer satisfaction. As per Grayson and Mc Neill in Using Atmospheric conditions in service retailing, the proper servicescape leads to customer comfort. This comfort has two aspects: Physical comfort and emotional comfort and safety Both these factors together affect the satisfaction level of the customer. Han Ryu in their research The Roles of the Physical Environment, Price Perception, and Customer Satisfaction in Determining Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry had studied the effect of physical environment on customer satisfaction. In the research they categorized the physical environment into dà ©cor and artifacts (which contributed to the attractiveness of the physical environment i.e. floor coverings, wall decorations, pictures, paintings etc), spatial layout (arrangement of objects as furniture and equipment) and ambient conditions (background characteristics as scent, temperature, lighting etc) . The research showed that of all the three dà ©cor and artifacts had the most significant and direct effect on customer satisfaction. The researchers have expressed their opinion that restaurateurs should give paramount importance to physical elements in the restaurant. These can be used as marketing and operational tools to improve the customer experience and resultantly imp rove the customer behavior. Waiter Service and Customer Satisfaction: How a patron is actually treated by the waiter in the course of service is also an important parameter which contributes to his satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Even if there is a service failure, a competent employee can take proper actions which can actually lead to service recovery (Bitner and Booms, 1990). Hence waiter and waitresses who serve as a liaison between the restaurant and the customer play the most important role in the success of the establishment. J.D. Pratten in his article The importance of Waiting Staff discusses that poor waiter service may consist of slow service, serving cold food, spoiling the presentation at the table, causing delay in the carriage of food (as a result of which different dishes at the same table may arrive at different times) failure to have all the accompaniments as sauces at the table, not having the proper cutlery etc. Any of the above occurrences may spoil the experience of a customer thus leading to customer dissatisfaction. A lot of competency and effort is required from the waiting staff to ensure that the experience of the customer is pleasant thus leading to satisfaction. Apart from the basic competencies mentioned above, the personal contact attributes of the waiters and waitresses with the customers including whether the employees were helpful, attentive, prompt, courteous, neat in appearance, and understood customer needs are also very important. Winsted in his study Service Behavior that leads to Satisfied Customers found that the three most important qualities which had a strong correlation with customer satisfaction in a restaurant are careful (.77), attentive (.76) and pleasant (.75). It has been also suggested that managers and owners of restaurants can actually have specialized training programs which will enable as well as encourage the employees to improve their service quality. This, coupled with regular tracking of performance can lead to increase in the customer satisfaction level. Pratten in his article Customer satisfaction and waiting staff (2003) emphasizes that the role of waiting staff in customer satisfaction is paramount and thus if this is not recognized and acted upon there will be a loss of business for firms. Customer satisfaction as a Mediating Variable Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: It seems only logical that satisfied customers of any establishment will turn into loyal customers and will grant their patronage again. Researchers have also found that there exists a strong relationship between the two. As per Szymanski and Henard (2001), there are fifteen significant positive correlations between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Bearden and Teel (1986) have also proved that there is a relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. Thus a satisfied customer turns into a loyal one and brings more revenue to the restaurant. Fornell,Rust Dekimpe, in their research The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Consumer Spending Growth has proved that an increase in customer satisfaction leads to growth in future customer spending. On the other hand, an unsatisfied customer can cause negative word of mouth publicity. He can actually cause other prospective patrons to turn away from a particular restaurant. Smith and Swindyard (1983) found that in case of a service which is consumed by the customer at the spot, the attitude and the satisfaction level of the customer is an excellent predictor of future purchases. Thus extending this if the consumers are satisfied by the service level at a restaurant then it is actually increases the probability of revisit by the customer. Namkung and Young (2007) in their research found out that food quality significantly affects customer satisfaction as well as behavioral intentions and the relationship between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions is mediated by satisfaction. Kivela, Inbakaran and Reece in their research Consumer research in the restaurant environment, Part 1: A conceptual model of dining satisfaction and return patronage (2000) made certain observations related to dining satisfaction and return patronage. The study revealed that satisfaction had a strong positive influence on return patronage .The factors having significant influence on the customer included first and last impressions, service excellence, food excellence and ambience. Hypotheses From the above literature review, the following hypotheses are proposed: H1: Waiter service is positively related to Customer loyalty which is mediated by Customer Satisfaction H2: Ambience is positively related to Customer loyalty which is mediated by Customer Satisfaction H3: Music is positively related to Customer loyalty which is mediated by Customer Satisfaction H4: Food quality is positively related to Customer Loyalty which is mediated by Customer Satisfaction Methods Sample The young men and women of age between 21 to 29 years were identified as the target respondent group for the survey. One of the major reasons for choosing this specific respondent group was its availability and ease in communicating to them the questionnaire and getting the response. Since majority among this population has visited Hotel Sonnet during their stay in Jamshedpur, Sonnet was chosen as the hotel on which the questions would be based. The questionnaire was floated through a website and the respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire online. To encourage participation and increase the number of responses a disclaimer declaring the confidentiality of individual data was assured. A total of 164 respondents filled the questionnaire of which 156 responses were considered for the analysis and hypothesis testing. The reasons for not including the rest of the responses were incomplete data set and falling out of our target respondent group. Measures Based on the discussion in the above sections a theoretical model was developed and the following constructs were measured using different scales. Waiter Service Food Quality Ambience Music Customer Loyalty Customer Satisfaction Waiter Service, Ambience, Music, and Food Quality are considered as factors that determine Customer Satisfaction which in turn leads to Customer Loyalty. Waiter Service: Participants were asked to respond to Likert-type scales of 21 questions. The scale used was adapted from Kivela et al. (1999). The questions framed to assess consumer knowledge are consistent with prior literature. The scoring rule was to assign a numerical value to each of the response ranging from 1= Least Important to 5 = Very Important. Factor analysis has been done on the individual responses to determine the factors that constitute waiter service. The appendix reports the questionnaire items used. The content validity for the used scale has been established in the study and since we have used a very similar questionnaire and the scale, the scale can be considered as content valid. Ambience: The significance of ambience to an individual has been measured through 20 questions asked in the questionnaire. The scale used was adapted from Kivela et al. (1999). The questions framed to assess consumer knowledge are based on the questions used in the study and the literature review done during the research. The responses were recorded using 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from Least Important to Very Important. Questions asked to ascertain the importance of ambience are present in the questionnaire attached in the appendix. The individual responses were run through factor analysis to obtain the factors that determine the importance of ambience. The scale has been adopted from the aforementioned study and content validity has been established in the study. Music: Significance of music has been measured on a five-point Likert-type scale adapted from Kivela et al (1999). The individual responses have been subjected to factor analysis to obtain the factors that determine the significance of music. The content validity for the used scale has been established in the study and since we have used a very similar questionnaire and the scale, the scale can be considered as content valid. The appendix reports the questionnaire items used. Food Quality: 7 Likert-type scales have been used to determine the importance of food quality to an individual. Factor analysis has been done on these individual responses to get the factors that determine the food quality. The questions have been framed in accordance with the scale used by Kivela et al (1999). The questionnaire attached in the appendix. Customer Loyalty: 3 questions of Likert type scales have been used to obtain the responses from the respondents. Factor analysis has been run to obtain the factors comprising the customer satisfaction. Questionnaire used by Kivel et al (1999) has been used and the scale is content validated. The appendix reports the questionnaire items used. Customer Satisfaction: 4 questions have been asked regarding customer satisfaction and factor analysis has been run on this data to obtain the factors affecting customer satisfaction. The questionnaire used is same as one used by Kivela et al (1999). The questionnaire attached in the appendix. Analysis The factors for Ambience were found out by running exploratory factor analysis on the 20 items related to Ambience. It was found to contain 2 factors. Similarly the factor analysis was run on Waiter service (21 items), Music (9 items), Food quality (7 items), Customer satisfaction (4 items) and Customer loyalty (3 items) and they were found to contain 2,1,1,1 and 1 factors respectively. The three-step method developed by Erich B. Bergiel, Vinh Q. Nguyen et all for mediation analysis is used in this study. The first step uses Customer loyalty as the criterion variable in the regression equation and the 6 factors identified as predictors. The second step uses Customer satisfaction as the criterion variable in the regression equation and the 6 factors identified as predictors. The third step uses Customer loyalty as the criterion variable in the regression equation and the 6 factors identified as well as customer satisfaction as the predictors. Initially, multicollinearity was found initially between Customer satisfaction and Customer Loyalty (tolerance of 0.161 and VIF greater than 5 were observed). In order to solve this, a factor analysis with all the items corresponding to the 6 factors, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty were done. The items which were correlated to other factors were eliminated. Thus the items corresponding to the factors were brought down. After this, the three-step method of Erich B. Bergiel was used. Results The following were the factors that were identified and the component scores of items under each factor: Waiter service Waiter politeness Respects me .928 Uses very polite language .944 Is helpful and understanding .925 Makes me feel comfortable .932 Waiter promptness Responds to my comments .882 Is quick to attend and serve .804 Tables were cleaned quickly .780 Aesthetics Pleasant fragrance .816 Floor and carpet that are done with aesthetics .816 Ambience Space Spacious ceiling composition .837 Adequate parking facilities .890 Easily accessible location .854 Music Music I feel relaxed when my favorite music is being played in the restaurant .799 I like it when my friends like the music played in the restaurant .799 Food quality Food quality The food meets the expectations from the description in the menu .787 The food is a good value for money .787 The KMO of all the above factors were above 0.5 suggesting that the factors were sound. The Bartletts test of sphericity was significant for all the factors. The communality of all the items was above 0.4. The total variance explained was above 60% for all the factors. Varimax rotation was used to ensure homogeneity of items within factors and heterogeneity with other factors. The correlations between the factors are as follows: Customer loyalty factor Waiter Service Factor 1 Waiter Service Factor 2 Ambience Factor 1 Ambience Factor 2 Music Factor Food Factor Customer Satisfaction Factor Customer loyalty factor 1.000 Waiter Service Factor 1 .632 1.000 Waiter Service Factor 2 .561 .180 1.000 Ambience Factor 1 .712 .779 .440 1.000 Ambience Factor 2 .431 .287 .452 .410 1.000 Music Factor .349 .489 .455 .614 .414 1.000 Food Factor .670 .596 .551 .673 .456 .542 1.000 Customer Satisfaction Factor .665 .400 .683 .580 .494 .559 .658 1.000 All the above correlations were significant at 0.01 levels. Regression Analysis Regression analysis has been carried out with the following six identified factors on Customer Loyalty with Customer Satisfaction as the mediating variable. Waiter Politeness Waiter Promptness Physical Space Aesthetics Music Food Step 1: Regression of the factors on Customer Loyalty Model 1 Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Beta Tolerance (Constant) 3.731 .000 Waiter Politeness .358 .330 .000 .327 Waiter Promptness .390 .360 .000 .537 Physical Space .359 .331 .000 .269 Aesthetics .092 .084 .118 .708 Music -.341 -.314 .000 .557 Food .200 .184 .010 .411 R Square Adjusted R Square .696 .684 The above table shows the results of regression with the six mentioned factors as independent variables and Customer Loyalty as dependent variable. The value of R square is 0.696 shows positive correlation between the six factors together and Customer Loyalty. The inference from Value of Beta and Significance is as follows: Waiter Politeness on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0.00 and Beta of 0.33 shows that Waiter Politeness affects Customer Loyalty positively. Waiter Promptness on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0.00 and Beta of 0.36 shows that Waiter Promptness affects Customer Loyalty positively. Space on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0.00 and Beta of 0.331 shows that Restaurant Space affects Customer Loyalty positively. Aesthetics on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0.118 is higher than a threshold of 0.05, which indicates that this has insignificant effect on Customer Loyalty. Music on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0 and Beta of -0.314 shows that Music affects Customer Loyalty negatively. Food on Customer Loyalty: Significance of 0.01 and Beta of 0.184 indicates that Food affects Customer Loyalty partially. Step 2: Regression of the factors on Customer Satisfaction Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Beta Tolerance (Constant) .000 1.000 Waiter Politeness -.014 -.014 .872 .327 Waiter Promptness .384 .384 .000 .537 Physical Space .132 .132 .175 .269 Aesthetics .103 .103 .089 .708 Music .134 .134 .050 .557 Food .246 .246 .002 .411 R Square Adjusted R Square .621 .606 The above table shows the results of regression with the six mentioned factors as independent variables and Customer Satisfaction as dependent variable. The value of R square is 0.788 shows positive correlation between the six factors together and Customer Satisfaction. The inference from Value of Beta and Significance is as follows: Waiter Politeness on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0.872 shows that Waiter politeness on Customer Satisfaction is not significant. This indicates that the impact of Waiter Politeness on Customer Satisfaction is insignificant. Waiter Promptness on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0 and Beta of 0.384 shows that Waiter Promptness affects Customer Satisfaction positively. Space on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0.175 is higher than a threshold of 0.05, which means that we cannot comment on the effect of Space on Customer Satisfaction Aesthetics on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0.89 and Beta of 0.103 shows that Aesthetics affects Customer Satisfaction positively. Music on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0.05 and Beta of -0.134 shows that Music affects Customer Satisfaction partially in a positive manner. Food on Customer Satisfaction: Significance of 0.002 and Beta of 0.246 indicates that Food affects Customer Satisfaction partially in a positive manner. Step 3: Regression of the 6 factors and the mediating variable (Customer Satisfaction) on Customer Loyalty Unstandardi