Playing games teaches us about life Essay

People find themselves playing games throughout their entire lives. Games are essential to both children and adults since they teach people about life in a variety of ways. By playing games we can set our future dreams, reflect on our personal traits, and learn life-long morals. First, children can determine their future goals through playing games. For instance, a girl with childhood memories of dressing up her dolls or designing doll clothes with paper may choose to become a fashion designer. Likewise, a soldier can state his reason for joining the army as the shooting games he played as a young child. In both cases, the role of games extends from mere entertainment to a major contributing factor of one’s future dreams. Second, while playing games, people are given the chance to reflect on their characteristics. To be more specific, one can evaluate their sportsmanship and teamwork while playing a soccer game, both of which play an important role in succeeding later in life. Moreover, games make it possible for others to comment on your personal traits, which can promote healthy and good behavior in your relationships with people. Last, games teach people life long morals. A simple board game can teach someone to gracefully accept defeat, learn that cheating should be avoided, and enjoy the taste of victory when won fair and square. All of these morals end up playing a significant role in how we think and act in society. In conclusion, playing games teaches us about life in various ways. Playing games provides guidance in setting our future goals, allows people to reflect on personal characteristics, and teach life long morals that contribute to a person’s success in society.

The Contributions of Abigail Adams

Though quiet, sickly, and shy, Abigail Adams, the wife of second president John Adams, helped plant the seeds that eventually led to the concept of women ¹s rights and women ¹s equality with men. For a country which had been founded on the idea of independence for all, these concepts were still considered radical and even ridiculous. Abigail believed that a good education was just as necessary for girls as for boys. This was a departure from the prevailing feeling of teaching girls only the skills necessary for keeping a household running smoothly. She had a passion for reading history, theology, and political theory which she passed on to her children. For Abigail to have taken such a strong interest in her education was a brave stance for her time. Education was often viewed as a corrupting influence on a woman. She requested her husband John, who was a delegate to Congress and later a U.S. president, to draft into law a commitment to supporting education for women. John was in full agreement with Abigail ¹s views on this subject. Abigail made her strongest appeal for women ¹s rights in 1776, when John was in Philadelphia serving in Congress. As members drafted laws to guarantee the independence for which the colonist were fighting, Abigail wrote to John begging him to remember that women also needed to be given the right of independence. She sensed the struggles that were to come and understood the unfairness of making one group subject to the will of another. She supported her husband through every phase of his rise to power and fame. His dependency and reliance on her as his partner was apparent. He considered her advice and assistance as critical to his success as a president. Ultimately, Abigail brought about no immediate changes in the way women were treated. However, it would not be long before others followed her lead.

The Roaring 20s

Change is an inevitable part of life. With new ideas, opinions, and morals came a new way of life. No time period in American history felt a more drastic change than the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties embraced a new culture that focused on enjoyment, art and innovations. The style of clothing, especially for women, went completely against that of the previous generation. Many people were offended by and opposed to the new style of the ‘20s which was epitomized by the flapper. 4 Women’s clothing, which was loose fitting, complimented their efforts to make their chests appear flatter. Cloche style hats were very popular and were tight around the head before flipping out at the base of the neck. 6 Year by year, the length of skirts and dresses grew noticeable shorter until it reached halfway up the knee. 7 Short, flowing skirts made dancing to the new forms of music easier. Music and dance became an important aspect in the lives of Americans. The Harlem Renaissance embraced th e new American music, Jazz. Harlem came with a culture all its own. 8 Dances such as the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Charleston, and Lindy Hop were performed to jazz, blues, and ragtime music. These quick, energetic dances were seen as scandalous to older generations because of the physical contact they involved. From school to church, dance was involved in every part of life. 10 Entertainment fostered a sense of happiness in Americans after World War I. Movies and sports were two of the most popular pastimes during the 1920s. Silent films could be understood by all and brought happiness and laughter to their viewers. In 1923 the first â€Å"talkie† was created which eventually replaced the silent film. 14 Sportswere enjoyed not only by those who played them but also by those who watched. Among the popular sports of football, boxing, tennis, and golf, baseball remained the fan favorite. In 1927 Babe Ruth hit his record 60 home runs. Thanks to him and others like him, such as Lou Gehrig, baseball became America’s sport. 15 Interestin activities created a sense of unity in Americans. Many fads became the obsession of many Americans. Crossword puzzles became very popular. People would work on them whenever they had a free moment, and soon, contests were being held to see who could complete the puzzles the fastest. Mah-Jongg, and ancient Chinese game, became a national obsession. It replaced the game of bridge, and clubs, even, were opened for players. Many Americans participated in stunts. Flagpole sitters literally sat on flag poles to gain money or attention. Barnstormers performed stunts in airplanes while wing-walkers performed their own tricks on the plane’s wings. 16 Thesecrazes swept across the nation during the 1920s. Many innovations came about during the Roaring Twenties. Henry Ford’s affordable automobile redefined Americans’ way of life. 17 Peoplecould travel farther and faster with a car than with a horse. Vacationing became popular which caused motels and service stations to be established along popular routes. 18 In1927 Ford introduced the Model A which quickly became the most popular car in America. The new innovations of the 1920s were accompanied by new ways of thinking. New medical and scientific discoveries were made during this time. In 1920, Frederick Banting created insulin to treat diabetes. It was the first hope patients with diabetes had of living a normal life, and it even help some of those near deathmake miraculous recoveries. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered the possibilities of penicillin in fighting bacteria. It wouldn’t be until several years later, however, that it would be used to save lives. 19 Theconflict between evolution and creation caused much tension. In 1925, John Scopes taught the theory of evolution to his class and was arrested. Eventually, evolution was taught in most science classes. 20 These new ways of thinking changed life in American. The Roaring Twenties is characterized as a positive and optimistic time,however, it did have its negatives. With the manufacture of alcohol made illegal by Prohibition, many people turned to speakeasies and bootlegging to get their alcohol. 21 Prohibition was supposed to lower the crime rate, but more corruption and organized crime emerged. 22 The murder rate in 118 cities was higher that one in every 100,000 in 1927. 23 Despite this problem, the positives of the Roaring Twenties outweigh the negatives. The Roaring Twenties was characterized by a lifestyle of enjoyment, art, and innovations. The 1920s focused on optimism. After World War I, Americans sought happiness in music, dancing, movies, and sports. New inventions made life easier, and all appeared well. But every up has its down, and the Roaring Twenties was no exception. Notes Feinstein, Stephen. The 1920s. (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. , 2001), 26 Scott, Robert. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties: A Historical Snapshot of Life in the 1920s†. available from http://www. 1920-1930. com; Internet; accessed 15 April 2009. Feinstein, The_ 1920s, _25. Langley, Susan. Roaring ‘20s Fashion: Jazz. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2005), 95. Laubner, Fashions of the Roaring ‘20s, 47. Kallen, Stuart A. The Harlem Jazz Era. (Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books. 2004), 24. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s_, 7. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _ 32. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _21. F einstein, The_ 1920s. _9. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _11. Frederick Hoffman, â€Å"The Spectator,† The Literary Digest, (2 July 1927). Bibliography Feinstein, Stephen. The 1920s. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. , 2001. Kallen, Stuart A. The Harlem Jazz Era. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books. 2004. Langley, Susan. Roaring ‘20s Fashion: Jazz. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2005. Laubner, Ellie. Fashions of the Roaring ‘20s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 1996. Scott, Robert. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties: A Historical Snapshot of Life in the 1920s,† Available from http://www. 1920-1930. com. Internet; accessed 15 April 2009.

Futures, forwards and options are used for risk reduction, speculation Essay

Futures, forwards and options are used for risk reduction, speculation and arbitrage purposes - Essay Example will, however focus on three derivatives only; futures, forwards, and options contracts and evaluate their roles in risk reduction, arbitrage purposes, and speculation. Futures are also known as futures contracts in finance. By definition, a futures contract is one that is standardized and features two different parties who agree to buy and/or sell a specific asset with a standard quality and quantity for a price that is agreed on before the actual delivery and payment occurs. However, the delivery and payment day, which occurs on a future date is specified and fixed, and is referred to as the â€Å"delivery date† (Suitcliffe 2006, p. 19). For instance, one may need to buy a specific make of an asset, such as a Smartphone that happens to be out of stock at a certain shop. Owing to the fact that he needs that one make of the phone, they can come to terms with the proprietor that he imports the phone from elsewhere, then sells it to the buyer later for a price that they agree on at that current time. This contract’s negotiation takes place at a futures exchange. A futures exchange or market is itself a neutral financial exchange in whic h trades of standardized futures occur. In short, a futures market acts as an intermediary between the buyer and seller and sees to it that they come to an agreement regarding the exchange of commodities or financial instruments at a certain time with a specific future delivery time (The Telegraph 2014). The party willing to acquire an underlying asset in a later time (future) is called the buyer of the futures contract, whereas the party willing to sell the same is called the seller of the contract. Since the buyer of the contract has the permission to make a deal and await delivery without any variations to the price, he is referred to as â€Å"long†. The seller on his part who has the mandate to deliver the asset on the specified date without altering the price to the buyer is referred to as â€Å"short†. A futures contract, with

Lit 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lit 11 - Essay Example It gives numerous descriptions about significant personalities. Each piece of biography leads to a world of new information and helps the reader to understand the vital aspects, events in social and political life and the major contribution of a famous person. Supplementary notes and video clips helps the reader to arrive at a more reliable and specific conclusion about the person. Biography.com includes the biographies of great people in different areas such as art, literature, sports, film, music, politics, science and other branches of knowledge. Today’s top searches, video clippings etc are increasing the accuracy and the relevance of information. Christopher Columbus has caught the attention of the historians as a man who introduced America to the world. He was an Italian Spanish navigator born on 1451 (Christopher Columbus Biography, (Christopher Columbus Bibliography). On searching of a rout to Asia, Columbus reached America and it paved the way for great geographical explorations and inventions. The online article titled Christopher Columbus Biography, gives valuable an reliable e information about the relevance of his invention and its social, political and geographical impacts on the world. The article says; â€Å"They led directly to the opening of the western hemisphere to European colonization; to large-scale exchanges of plants, animals, cultures, and ideas between the two worlds; and, on a darker note, to the deaths of millions of indigenous American peoples from war, forced labor, and disease.† Christopher Columbus Biography, (Christopher Columbus Bibliography). Columbus and his invention have caused both negative and positive consequences to the world. The discovery led the formation of European colonies and other social evils such as racial discrimination, slavery and the resultant independence struggles which all led to death and destruction on a mass scale. As a small boy Columbus helped his father in wool processing and selling.

Land Desertification in China ( only climatic factor) Essay

Land Desertification in China ( only climatic factor) - Essay Example So China’s arid climate through its consequences of overflows and droughts constitutes a menace to the full-fledged life support of the Chinese and their future generations. In this regard one of the primary concerns is the functioning of the appropriate technologies aiming at recovery of the degraded soils. In the point of the discussed theme there are two key terms, namely: degradation and desertification. Degradation is the steady deterioration of soil characteristics as a habitat of biota, and reduction of its fertility as a result of the influence of natural or anthropogenic factors. Desertification is a process of irreversible changes in soil and vegetation, and reduction of biological productivity, which in extreme cases can lead to the complete destruction of the biospheric potential and turning of the territory into desert. The primary concern of desertification in China is a food crisis, as the issue is the main cause of aggrieving the country’s stores of wheat and rice, which form the basis of China’s agriculture. â€Å"According to a general survey of the country, the total area of †¦ regions vulnerable to desertification has reached †¦ 34.6 percent of the entire territory† (Longjun). In the context of the most grounds intended for sowing of the seeds, the percentage of the lands under desertification is critical. Moreover, it rises with the demographic problem of China or the top-priority challenge for survival of the Chinese. Overpopulation of the country is a well-known issue, and desertification in this respect is extremely hazardous for the great number of people whose needs don’t decrease with the degradation of soils. As for the secondary concern of the issue, it deals with the dwindling water supply as well as groundwater decrement. It goes without question that the consumption of water for China’s agricultural needs, human wants, and for the artificial irrigation of the arid lands substantially wreaks havoc on the

Development Program for BMW & NETFLIX Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Development Program for BMW & NETFLIX - Essay Example One environmental concern the firm is trying to address is the environment. The employment of BMW Efficient Dynamics seeks to achieve compliance with the Kyoto protocol targets by designing the automobiles so that they consume less energy. The steps are as follows: production of highly efficient engines, active aerodynamics, and the use of lightweight materials and intelligent energy management within the vehicle. Also, in the medium term, it will seek to increase electrification of the drivetrain and hybridization. In the long term, it will be the use of hydrogen on a larger scale in combustion engines which generate no carbon emissions. Â  The BMW Groups method of achieving innovation in Global Research is called lateral thinking. There is also a constant dialog with scientists so that solutions can be achieved through the fusion of knowledge across all scientific disciplines. Â  One technique that may be cited is networked information systems. Instead of completing tasks sequentially, new development processes involve seeing to it that as many individual tasks as possible are accomplished simultaneously, and integrated into an end result according to a multi-layered plan. Â  Aside from its internal research efforts, and interaction with scientific organizations worldwide, it is continuously looking for and inviting ideas and innovative concepts from outside the organization. "We are not only interested in our own research and development departments, but also in the creative minds outside the BMW Group." (BMW website). Â  

Eight steps of decision making process in management Research Paper

Eight steps of decision making process in management - Research Paper Example Under this process, policy makers must identify the problem under consideration, and clearly state it out, in a sentence that describes the causes of the problem and its consequences. This process also involves an identification of what an organization wants to achieve in case the problem under consideration is eradicated. This stage needs a consensus amongst everybody involved within the decision making process. The second step is the identification of the criteria (Robbins and Coulter, 2012). This involves identifying the various requirement needed for purposes of solving the problem under consideration. Under this stage, policy maker identify what the solution to the problem must accomplish. For example, if an organization is making losses, then the solution that the organization seeks is on how to increase the profitability of the business organization. On this basis, the solutions to be identified are methods of increasing the profits of an organization. The criterion therefore is that the solution must have the capability of increasing the profitability of the business organization. The third step in the decision making process is allocating weights to the criteria identified (Robbins and Coulter, 2012). This involves setting up of goals for the purpose of achieving a desirable outcome. For example if the problem under consideration is loss making in an organization. Allocation of weights will involve; how or at what percentage a criterion identified can increase the profitability of an organization. At this stage, terms such as high profit, low profit, or even 100% profit can be used. The fourth step is the identification of the various alternatives to the solution. It is important to denote that there are various solutions to a problem identified. For example in our case above, if a company is making losses, the organization can come up with a variety of solutions. These solutions include reducing operational costs, injecting more capital into the organ ization, or even diversifying its business operations. Under this fourth stage, policy makers only identify the various solutions available for purposes of solving the problem under consideration. They do not carry out an analysis of the problems. The fifth stage involves analyzing the alternatives presented. This stage involves an analysis of the various alternative solution to the problem identified. The method to use in analyzing these alternatives will emanate from the criteria identified at the second stage (Lynch, 2012). For instance, in a loss making organization, the criteria of identifying a solution is based on how a method will increase the profitability of a business organization. On this note, policy makers will analyze the various alternative solutions to the problem. At this stage, policy makers must rank the various alternatives to the solution from the most effective, to the least effective. Under this stage, policy makers can analyze the alternatives by using eithe r qualitative or quantitative methods, or a combination of both. The intention here is to find the most effective solution to the problem identified. For example, the solutions identified to increase the profitability of a company are, reduction of operational costs, injecting capital into the organization, or even diversifying the operations of the business. Policy makers will analyze all these options, and grade them from the most eff

Magic of Language in the Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Magic of Language in the Starbucks - Essay Example The iconic cultural status quo of the Starbucks manifests through its modern dà ©cor, expressive and bold latte lingo and its corporate ambiance. Global structures of the mutual divergence organize and uphold cultural diversity along particular scopes. Such diversity that Starbucks emanates corresponds to the prototypical qualities of middle-level outlets. Such middle-level outlets such as the taverns, coffee shops, and pubs exist in the middle of two spheres. These spheres include the work scenario mainly characterized by seriousness and formality and the domestic sphere that tends to elicit intimacy and privacy. These outlets tend to be best suitable for casual and informal conversations between friends and other association within the society. However, Starbucks provides the entire middle-level ambiance with a touch of the global aspect. Starbucks offers hundreds of conceivable drink blends. One can get any drink from a plain black coffee to more specialized and custom-made bever ages, for instance, a hot grande decaf mocha latte with foam to go. Starbucks believes that its consumers need. Despite being a global brand, the formal language in all the Starbucks outlets is English. Above the sugars, cinnamon shakers and milk, brochures written in English elaborate on social responsibilities done. A drink at the Starbucks sends various notions to the consumers and the community at large. Owing to the prices of beverages provide, more individuals tend to believe that consumption supersedes the necessity of making savings.

Electronic and Mobile commerce Slp Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Electronic and Mobile commerce Slp - Assignment Example This paper describes the main types of electronic and mobile commerce applications available in the current market that change everyday consumer-experience. There are a number of dynamics that steering m-commerce. These dynamics include the extensive accessibility and popularity of wireless devices such as smart phones, the decreasing cost of wireless technology, the accessibility of instant connectivity from any location, and bandwidth enhancements that increase the speed of data broadcast. M-commerce has experienced developing admiration in financial services, telecommunications services, retail, and information services. Consumers in the current market, bank online, purchase goods and services, adjust their smart phone schedules, pay bills, obtain direction, navigate through GPS and look up traffic from wireless devices (Canada.ca, 2010). Mobile commerce (m-commerce) education and training is rather harder to find than other fields of commerce, since this field is new and regularly changing. Therefore, continuing education in many fields has been moving online at a faster rate as compared to normal classes’ studies. Companies are still exploring how to monetize their business in this field. The Mobile Commerce segment assists students to easily access learning materials about different fields. M-commerce creates network, systems and consumer behaviors that integrate to make up the m-commerce ecosystem. This means the field is extensive, accessible to consumers with ideas that takes off. Since there are a reasonably extensive percentage of consumers who own smart phones and other electronic devices, most industries are likely to be prosperous in mobile commerce (Canada.ca, 2010). Mobile commerce continues to grow, but will not be fully established until it becomes actual mobile information accessible everywhere, anytime and to consumers globally. Applying mobile commerce to computing fields generates both tremendous marketable

Crisis and conflict are inevitable in capitalist economies Essay Example for Free

Crisis and conflict are inevitable in capitalist economies Essay Marx believed that capitalism was doomed, and he developed an intricate analysis of the law of motion of capitalist society to prove it (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). At one level his argument had a moral basis. He argued that the inherent injustices of capitalism lead ultimately to social and economic conditions, which cannot be maintained (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). On another level his argument is sociological: class conflict- between a decreasing number of increasingly wealthy capitalists and a growing and increasingly miserable working class- will lead ultimately to a social revolution (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). To conclude his Final argument is economic, that the accumulation of capital in private hands makes possible economic abundance; yet accumulation also leads to depressions, chronic unemployment and the economic breakdown of capitalism (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). At each level the idea of conflict is emphasized: conflict between ideal reality, between capital and labor, and between stagnation (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Out of conflict comes change, and in this respect according to Marx, capitalism must give way to another society in which conflict is replaced by ethical, social, and economic harmony. Furthermore, Marx argued that the crisis would become deeper and severe longer as capitalism developed. Student no. Z3220293 However Marxs analysis of conflict within capitalist societies was limited by his theory of the laws of motion. He argued that conflict between classes created by an unequal distribution of wealth, and would ultimately lead to an unsustainable social situation prompting the demise of the world capitalist system. Thus, he perceived class conflict as the fatal flaw of capitalism. However his detractors would argue that conflict of some form exists in all human interactions and thus has existed in all political and economic systems, concluding that capitalism addresses this inherently human conflict in order to avoid crisis. In a capitalist society according to Marx, the two great economic interests are those of a capitalist and worker. These two classes stand opposition to each other, since the capitalist can prosper only if the worker is exploited. In this respect capitalism is only the latest in series of social organizations in which one class exists at the expense of another, stated in the communist manifesto. Marxists would further argue that peoples dominated politically or economically by great capitalist nations now bear the burden of exploitation, poverty and unemployment However as a proof of Marxs errors, his detractors point to the rising living standards of modern nations. The working class has not been subjected to growing misery, and labor unions have gained economic and political power in all major industrialized countries (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Moreover, the working class Student no. Z3220293 has shared the increased wealth, income, and economic benefits that have been spread widely throughout all social classes. In spite of all the concessions that have been made to the working class, such as social welfare legislation, union organization and higher living standards Marxists contend that the basic defects of capitalism remain, holding back economic growth and postponing the emergence of the abundant society (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Nevertheless Marxs prediction of the triumph of socialism and the creation of democratic, egalitarian, and nonexplotive society has not proved accurate. Capitalism was placed on the defensive by the rise of communist regimes in Russia and China, and by the spread of socialism through many of the less-developed countries (Fusfeld 2002, p 60). But in most instances, these non-capitalist economies developed authoritarian political regimes, new forms of economic and social inequality, and new aspects of exploitation. Ultimately Marx argued, as Fusfeld states ( 2002) the economy could achieve widespread abundance and produce enough for all, and at that point in human history all people could be completely free, both politically and economically. Further more Marxist economics suggested that capitalism could not achieve this Student no. Z3220293 goal, as it prevented the full development of modern technology and resulted in periodic stoppage of capital accumulation. However, it is evident that under capitalism technology has flourished. More so capitalism has provided the push for new productive industries, as it is a continued to growing and change. Thus such an economy offers more opportunities then a stagnant one. For example China is the manufacturing hub of the globe. Even though China has its roots in communism it is still regarded as an extremely influential capitalist society. Its cities are booming. There are more building cranes in china than in all the United States. Chinas super-highways are filled with modern cars. Its research and development centers are state of the art. At the rate its growing, China will soon be the largest economy in the world. In these respects it is evident to conclude that under capitalism economies have grown and benefited, due to its productive nature. Further more, in a Marx perspective, labor under capitalism is exploited as it is not paid the full value of the products and services it produces. The capitalist employs workers at the current wage rate and works them for as many hours each day as possible, making sure that the value of the workers output is greater than the wage paid (Fusfeld 2002, p 61). This difference between the wage and the value added by the worker, which Marx refers to as surplus value, becomes the capitalist profit. Exploitation of the worker can be intensified, and the surplus Student no. Z3220293 value appropriated by the capitalist can be increased, by an employers efforts to achieve lower wages, longer hours and an employment of greater number of women and children. Marx was correct in some respects, for example developing countries at present are experiencing high rates of exploitation. Women and children whom work in such exploitive environments in china for example for less then a few dollars a day are the truth in Marxs theory. More so, Marx critique of capitalism included a forecast of its inevitable break down. In some instances capitalism has served as an unstable society, which has been suffocated with conflict and crisis. For example the great depression and the 1987 recession. In both instances the economy had if not almost hit bottom. In a Marxist view this could be concluded as the demise of capitalism. However his detractors would argue that conflict of some form exists in all political and economic systems, concluding that capitalism addresses this inherently human conflict in order to avoid crisis. Which in some respects is true. For example on black Monday of the October 1987 when a stock collapse of unprecedented size lopped twenty-five percent off the Dow Jones industrial average. The collapse, larger than that of 1929, was handled well by the economy and the stock market began to quickly recover. More so during the great depression certain strategies were adopted to deal with the crisis. The new deal was the name given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of programs between 1933-1938 with the goal relief, recovery and reform of the United States Student no. Z3220293 economy during the great depression. The new deal had three components, direct relief, economic recovery and financial reform. In these respects one can observe the recovery of capitalist economies and their ability to continue to grow. To conclude it is evident that crisis and conflict is inevitable in capitalism however such an economic system is able to adapt and recover from such conflict. References student no. Z322093 Campbell, D 1996, the failure of Marxism-the concept of inversion in Marxs critique, Dartmouth Press, London Cohen, G A 1978, Karl Marx theory of history, Oxford University Press, London Culter, A, Hindess, B, Hirst, P Hussain, A 1977, marxs capital and capitalism today, Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd, London Fusfeld, D 2002, the age of the economist, 9edn, Addison Wesley Press, Harman, C 1995, how Marxism works, 5edn, Bookmarks Press, Sydney. Worsley, P 2002, Marx and Marxism, revised edn, Routledge Press, London

Values And Ethics Essay Example for Free

Values And Ethics Essay Values and ethics are two different things that go hand in hand. Values simply refer to our view points, beliefs and thoughts that we hold in regard to important aspects of our lives. They are the cultures and beliefs that we hold close to our hearts in regard to what is important to us. Ethics on the other hand is our personal code of conduct as stipulated and acceptable to the society. The personal values that we hold impact greatly on our ethics, they can also be in conflict. I have a number of personal values that I hold close to my Herat. Core to this is work, people and family. These remain a guiding point and an inspiration to my life. They are a source of strength and consolation. It is popularly said that charity begins at home and in this I have come to believe. Michael Rosenberg notes that â€Å"the family is probably the most important agent of socialization†. He goes on to expound on this adding that from the first days a child’s life, the individual is molded; significant others impact a wide range of meanings about norms and values that are related to the kinds of behavior which that individual will experience during the counts of his or her life. (1983, p. 163). Indeed most of what we know and put into practice emanates from our initial socialization. I feel I owe a lot to my family for the way it has molded me. A look at my childhood reveals a series of ups and down; struggles to remain in the right even when temptation to do wrong is overwhelming. Whether or not I was able to do right and sometimes falter in my steps, one thing remained constant; the support I received from my family. Family is an important institution not only for love and constant care, but also for the unconditional support no matter the challenges ahead. Taking a look back in my life, I can see the important hurdles I have been able to overcome in life due to the support that I have secured from my parents, support that has shaped and imparted important values in my life. Work is another core personal value that continues to inspire me in my current life. A glance at the world today reveals that work remains a central value to majority of people, a centrality almost equaling that of the family. Work is not only an occupation and a source of livelihood but it is also a way of continually molding individuals when they are not within the precincts of the family. Work has continued to imbue a sense of discipline and is an avenue through which to put into practice values instilled in me by the family. It is in the working environment that values such as punctuality, accuracy and professionalism are fully put into practice. Work has become a core value not only in the financial aspect but also the opportunity it has given me to pursue an interest that is close to my heart. It gives me a chance to interact with others and contribute positively towards the alleviation of their sufferings. Although charity begins at home, it is important to note that values instilled at this stage are meant to act as guidelines to future interaction with the rest of the society. It is how effectively that an individual interacts with the society that determines ones destiny and success in life. This brings another core value; people. Right from my childhood, I was taught the essence of being able to interact effectively with people from various backgrounds; I was taught the importance of possessing excellent communication skills to foster effective interaction with the rest of the society. In today’s age, although academic qualifications are key to an upward career progression, social networking is a key ingredient. As a social worker, my work revolves around assisting people; they are the source of my livelihood as well as fulfillment. A positive interaction with people is a must if I am to advance in career and earn my livelihood. According to Kim Strong Gottfried et al, NASW Code of Ethics refers to a set of values, principles and standards to guide decision making and conduct when ethical issues arise. A look at these values and ethics reveals a number of differences and similarities to my core personal values. One of these values according to NASW is the â€Å"importance of human relationships† (2002, p28) Social workers have been molded to appreciate the importance of maintaining positive interactions with the people. According to the code of ethics, they are supposed to â€Å"strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain and enhance the well being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations and communities (Kim Strong G. et al ,2002) As afore mentioned, one or my core is the people. As social workers recognize the importance of human relationships, I have also appreciated the benefits to be reaped by a close interaction with people and the need to help where necessary. The NASW code of ethics propagates for the dignity and worth of every individual. I have with time discovered the importance of working with people from various backgrounds and learnt to address their problems no matter their culture, ethnicity, color or creed. This emanates from the need to uphold the dignity and worth of every individual. A social worker serves others and helps them cope with the challenges in life. As mentioned, another core personal value is work. My work provides fulfillment when I aptly mobilize all the resources at my disposal to assist others. I believe in the need and the ability to help others as the greatest gift in life. NASW code of ethics also espouses this emphasizing on the need to overcome personal interests to better the lives of others. One major difference that exists between my core personal values and the NASW code of ethics is the role of the family. My family has played a big role towards molding me and its still plays influential role. Family interests in social work may bring a conflict of interest. Though it may go a long way in helping me to understand the society, it may be detrimental where the first duty is to the family other than to the clients as professionalism insists. Vignette #3 Vignette number three is about a 68 year old lady contemplating death to ease the immense pain she is undergoing as a cancer patient. The main reason why I have chosen this vignette is because it brings into a sharp focus a topic that has been dominating the public debate for long and continues to evoke emotions each moment it is mentioned. The issue of whether it is ethically wrong for a terminally ill patent to undergo euthanasia is still controversial in the medical profession circles. As I go through the vignette, I have strong feeling against what the client is proposing. Despite the immense pain that she is in, I am convinced that taking an overdose is the wrong approach. Due to limited interaction with people of advanced age in the society, I have an ill convinced notion that they have little respect for the set laws and guidelines and will tend to make decisions arbitrarily with little regard of the consequences. I have had a preconceived belief that due to their advanced age, they assume that laws can be bent to accommodate their whims. . My interaction with the client though compounded by the preconceived assumptions about old people was uneasy; it became uneasy the moment she told me of what she had thought of doing. I had made it known to her clearly that my moral and ethical stand could not allow me to empathize with her. Though I shared in her pain, I was getting increasingly uneasy with her and made sure her medicine was kept out of her reach. I was employing each and every effort to make her comfortable but she had other plans with her life. The fact that she made it clear she would end her life as she could not bear the pain gave me an uneasy feeling. I am aware of the debilitating impact that my preconceived assumptions in regard to the old client had on my objectivity and my interaction with the client. I was already convinced that the old lady would try to circumvent the system in order to accomplish her objectives. These perceptions clouded my judgment and the fair view of the client’s situation. To overcome these cases and be able to make a decision that is within the precincts of professionalism, I would request the help of colleagues who have far much experience in dealing with such cases. He would guide me towards gaining objectivity in my judgment. I have also decided to spend more time with the client to be able to understand her better and see how well I can help her. Should this not work, I would consult with my mentor or a higher authority to have the clients allocated to another medical social worker in the knowledge that our first commitment is to the client. Dilemma #4 I have chosen this ethical dilemma for one main reason, I had handled familiar cases during my internship although then mostly I was helping battered men and women cope with their problems. I was also assisting newly divorced individuals overcome their frustrations in life. I am confident that tackling this ethical dilemma will add to my wealth of experience. This ethical dilemma is compounded by the fact that the male client is contemplating killing his wife should she decided to leave him. This is a crime and should be reported to the relevant authorities. On the other hand, as a professional I am bound by work ethics and confidentiality. Whatever the client confides in me is supposed to remain confidential and should not be revealed to a third party. According to the NASW Code of Ethics social workers â€Å"should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service. † (1999) Following the same NASW Code of Ethics, as a social worker, I should use my intuition and competence to choose the appropriate course of action whenever such a case arises. In this case, I would either choose to report the client to the police of the planned murder or dedicate my time towards assisting the client to manage his anger and outline the inappropriateness and the consequence of his planned actions. Should I opt to report the matter to the police, I should inform the client before hand of the impending disclosure. Both of these courses of action have their pros and Cons. If I decide to report the case to the police, I will have violated the clients trust and confidence, not only in me but also in social workers. The client might refuse to disclose any other information or share his problems with me. If I choose this course of action, I should be prepared, according to the NASW code of ethics, to â€Å"protect the confidentiality of the client during legal proceedings to the extent permitted by law. † On the other hand I will have prevented a crime. (1999) If I decide to assist the client cope with his anger without involving a third party there is a risk that the client will go ahead and carry out his threat. In such a case, I will be liable legally for failing to disclose information that turns out to be harmful to a third party. I shall have earned the clients trust and might be able to see him through his problems. The NASW code of ethics is an appropriate resource to guide me on the appropriate decision to make. I would also consult with colleagues or with the supervisors in the field. In such a case though, it is important that I withhold any information that could lead to his identification. Faced with such a dilemma, I would opt to report the matter to the police to avoid any harm coming to third parties . The clients has had a history of violence and would probably go ahead and execute the attacks even with my counseling. To avoid the occurrence of such an incident and to protect the wife and also the client from himself, it would be appropriate that I took up the matter with the police. References NASW code of ethics. 1999 NASW Delegate Assembly. Retrieved on June 20th 2008 from http://ncss. aua. edu/docs/naswcodeofethics. pdf Michael Rosenberg, 1983. Introduction to sociology. Routledge. Phyllis N. Black, Elaine Piller, Kimstrong Gottfried, 2002. Teaching social work values and ethics: A curriculum resource. Council on Social Work education. University of Michigan.

Explain Intra Industry Trade Economics Essay

Explain Intra Industry Trade Economics Essay The basic definition of international trade is the exchange of items or commodities between countries without considering the nation boundary. The country is able to export a product when the product industry has grown completely and the production is far more than the demand of the home country. Import activity is done by purchasing certain product from other country to meet the demand of the nation about certain product. Economies of scale determine the import and export activity. Trading is the cause for organizations to focus on cost efficiency. Another point of view for organizations to think about trade is it expands the industry boundary without any limit. The industry can expand its business activity and the output to export. If an organization is producing a product in large quantity, there is a phenomenon that its cost will reduce and it is call economies of scale. Example: if the fixed cost to produce product A is 5000/-, the variable cost is 4/ unit. The lesser the company will produce the higher will be the cost. And the higher the quantity is produced the fixed cost will be divided more on the large number of units produced. Figure Import Export mechanism Economies of scale are of two types, one is external and one is internal economies of scale. Internal economies of scale are due to the technological advancement in the firm. The firm is cost efficient due to technological change at a certain level of output. The external economies of scale are achieved by the help of third party. In this case the manufacturing companies took help for its business activities as it will increase the cost of the product if the company is doing it by its way. After outsourcing the activity to third party, the firm has managed to be cost efficient. The external economies of scale mean the cost efficiency due to the involvement of third party in term of technical or commercial support. In this case, the firm takes the services like training of the labour, technological help and all factors which can reduce the cost. In this case the economies of scale are internal for the industry and external for the firm. The important thing about economies of scale is that the countries with little differences in term of resources and technology are gaining the efficiency and becoming the part of intra-trade industry. As, world is a global village, the economies of scale explain the phenomenon of intra- industry trade in which countries are trading almost similar products with minor differentiation with each other. Economies of scale mean production in large quantity. If a country produces a certain product in large quantity it can lower the cost as the cost of the product is divided into two parts, variable and fixed cost. The greater the firms production capability, the larger the economies of scale and intra-industry trade. International trade theory explains the pattern for international trading between the countries around the globe. Intra-industry trade is more suitable for monopolistic competition than oligopoly. In monopolistic competition there is only one major player of the industry who holds the share of the market and price of the product. In monopolistic competition the firm produces in a large quantity which reduces the cost of the product. And in oligopoly many players have the share of the industry and price control power. According to Ohlin theory of trade, the trading between the countries is due to the lack of resources. The countries trade to utilize the resources and fulfil the need of the resources, because none of the country has enormous resources. The countries have to fulfil the demand of the resources and for that they need to import it from another country. The modern trade theory revolves around three factors which are technology, competitive structure, and scale of production (Robert, 2010). Competitive structure is related to the competitive advantage over the competitors in term of resources. These resources can be technical, cost efficiency or the product differentiation. The drivers of the economy are technology and economies of scale. Now days technology is playing the most important role in the economy as the cost efficient and effective of the factors of production depends on it. Technology is the factor which can either make the unit cost so high or the unit cost can be a minimum. Heckscher-Ohlin model of trade revolve around the economies of scale as the as it is the most important factor considered for trading. As, international trade theory explains the benefits of trading activities in any shape of resources (Robert, 2010). The basic benefit for internationally trading is to provide the nations a better living standard with lower price. Ohlin theory focused more on the economies of scale as trading, competitive edge depends on the cost of the product. Technology can be helpful in lowering the cost but economies of scale helps the firms not only expand their resources and capacity but also produce in large quantity which will lower the fixed cost of the production. In the nut shell economies of scale tends to increase the chance of the trading, as the purpose of trading is to provide better living standards to nations. Ohlin theory of trade focused on the 3 factors technology, competitive structure, and scale of production. Economies of scale are the most effective tool in term of lowering the cost of the product. Explain how intra- industry trade might be expanded via formation of regional trading agreements and custom unions. Are these international trading arrangements always trade creating? Trading is considered to be the most effective way to share the resources in term of commodities among countries. Economists have given a new concept to the world, as a global village. Economist believes that with this concept the world will utilize the resources in a standard way, and the living standard of the people will be same as there will be no hurdle for trading. The term intra-industry trade is used for international trading in which the countries import and export similar commodities with each other. This trading is done on the basis of cost efficiency, and the expertise of the resources. According to the new concept of trade, every country should focus on the resources it has and should get an edge over its competitors in the utilization of that resource. In intra- industry trade, regional trading agreements and custom unions are playing a vital role. There are two types of countries in the world, developed countries and under developed countries. In the new concept of the world trading, the developed countries will share the resources and their expertise with under develop countries to provide the same kind of living standards to the whole world. The trade agreements is been done in between different countries in order to expand the import and export. These agreements mainly focused on the conditions of trading between the countries. As, the trading should be balanced in between the countries, none of the country can only import goods or none of the country can only export goods. The trading should be in equilibrium. The trading agreements are reducing the national and political boundaries among countries. There are various types of regional agreements which have different kind of commitments from the participating countries. The Free Trade Areas (FTA) in which the members countries reduce the trade barriers among themselves in order to protect specific sector from the competition from the non members countries. In Custom Unions (CU) the participating countries agree on a common trade regime and also trading with non member countries on external tariff. European Union (EU) is the most committed trade agreement. These agreements have bigger advantages on the economies of the countries. In the nut shell these agreements and unions are helping the firms with the legal obligations and tax systems. While governments do these agreements, new policy of trade between the participants is been made to increase the trade and remove the barriers. With reference to the theory of optimum currency area, critically examine the  conditions for successful adaptation of a single currency by a custom union to enhance trade. Combine monitoring policy has become an important factor in the global economic era. Economists have made the world a global village and want to have single currency in the globe. In economics, optimum currency area theory focused on the sharing of currency among several countries in order to maximize the economic efficiency. It is also known as the optimal currency region without considering geographical boundaries. This theory explains the optimal features for combining several currencies or creating a new currency for performing economic activities. In optimum currency area theory the sovereign countries adopt a single currency for permanently combining their exchange rates. The single currency can fluctuate only in the union for performing economic activities and the trading with the participant countries can only be done with the merged currency. There are four main levels of the optimum currency area theory. In the first, Pioneering Phase the properties of OCA theory is been debated. The mainly discussions was on the exchange rates, financial markets, inflation and factors of production. The initial debate was to initiate the boarder of the currency and the resulting cost and benefits. In the second phase, reconciliation phase the properties of OCA is been analysed and it result in the drawbacks of some of the properties and new insight properties of OCA theory. These two phases result in analyzing the problem and inconsistency of exchange rates. However, theoretical and empirical evidences lead the concept from monitory union to cost and benefits which result in currency union. The new policies is been started to generate and many OCA properties were uniformed. These problems been coped up the in the third phase which is reassessment phase, which bought a new concept of one currency, one market. In the last phase empirical evidence in which the theoretical and empirical evidences is been examined. All OCA properties are re-evaluated to discover how their interpretation has transformed. European Union initiated Euro as one median of exchange in European countries. The trading with EU can only be done in Euro which has increased the usefulness of currency as one medium of exchange. The price discrimination, market segmentation will also decrease and it will increase the competition due to one currency and one market. OCA helps in the reduction of nominal exchange rate. EU depends on one currency which means if any of the country suffers a budget deficit it will impact the whole EU. This impact will not only strain on the interest rate but also the world confidence on one currency. In the nut shell, OCA theory applies on the world new concept of one global village. In which geographical boundaries have no importance. EU manages to trade through Euro as one currency and once market. Use recent EuroStat data to examine the extent and the pattern of intra-industry trade within the Eurozone trading area. What are the implications of your analysis for trade creation within this trading zone? Trade statistics helps both public and private users in shape of basic instrument for trade. The statistics helps the authorities to change their trade policy and improve competition as Eurostat data is the source of information about trade. After the new concept of world as a global village and sever as one market, Eurostat becomes the main source for data collection from the non EU member and EU members and a new system for data collection been introduced as INTRASTAT. Statistics on external trade and intra-EU trade are compiled on the basis of Community regulations. The tables used below are all taken from Eurostat. Trading has two ways, one is import and one is export. The definition of Import in terms of EU is the commodity or good which enters in to the statistical territory of EU from third world country. Export is defining as the good or commodity leave the statistical territory of EU. According to the Eurostat data the EU trading share to the world in term of exports is higher than any other union or country in 2010. The share of EU is 16 % in terms of export and 17.3% in shape of imports which means EU plays a vital role in the world inta-industry trade. The trade balance of Eurozone trading area is negative as the imports are higher than exports. The calculation of IIT indices can be done by several ways. It can be done by country to country and it can also be done by regions and unions. The formula is based facts and figure about the import and export of the country. The data is available on the official website of Eurostat. All the participant countries and non participant countries have to submit their trading data on Eurostat website on the basis of standard provided by UN. The data is available to the public for external trade and Intra-European Union trade statistics, as the private and public sectors analyse the opportunities thorough it. The information provided on EU on Eurostat in enough to calculate indices. The indices are determined as the price indicator. Indices can be calculated product wise, country wife and region wise. Here are some examples of Indices. import Export Y X Y X X-Y X+Y EU 1,509.10 1,349.20 0.173183 0.159873 -0.01331 0.333056 US 1456.5 944 0.167147 0.111859 -0.05529 0.279006 China 964.2 1168.3 0.110651 0.138437 0.027786 0.249088 Japan 506.1 541.1 0.05808 0.064117 0.006038 0.122197 South Korea 310.5 340.6 0.035633 0.040359 0.004727 0.075992 Canada 321.4 291.1 0.036884 0.034494 -0.00239 0.071377 Hong kong 305.2 287.8 0.035025 0.034103 -0.00092 0.069127 Singapore 220.5 256.1 0.025304 0.030346 0.005042 0.055651 Mexico 245.5 224.9 0.028173 0.026649 -0.00152 0.054823 Russia 162.8 280.5 0.018683 0.033238 0.014555 0.051921 India 245.4 166.6 0.028162 0.019741 -0.00842 0.047903 Australia 157.5 153.8 0.018075 0.018224 0.00015 0.036299 -0.02356 1.44644 world 8,713.90 8,439.20 World INDEX -0.01629 The table of indices shows that the above mentioned countries are importing more items than they are exporting. If the export and import are equal the index value is 1. If it`s less than zero it means that the imports of the country is exceeding over the exports. The trade balance is compulsory as it the country is focused on importing the commodities than the country is destroying its economy. And its the same as in case of exports. The table below shows the indices per month and year for EU countries. In the same way Indices can be calculated on the basis of product, consumption and even buying manners. 2011M11   2011M12   2012M01   2012M02   2012M03   2012M04   2012M05   2012M06   2012M07   2012M08   2012M09   2012M10   One year Euro area (17 countries) -0.00891 0.00118 -0.00569 -0.01575 -0.00609033 -0.00452 0.000926 0.009519 0.002299 0.006505 0.015043 0.005026 -0.00047 Euro area (16 countries) -0.05322 -0.04283 -0.04994 -0.06064 -0.04955932 -0.04896 -0.04316 -0.03445 -0.04153 -0.03844 -0.02882 #DIV/0! -0.49156 EU (27 countries) -0.05288 -0.03875 -0.05201 -0.06928 -0.05291319 -0.05992 -0.04488 -0.04039 -0.04436 -0.0481 -0.04665 -0.05649 -0.60664 The calculations show that the EU countries are importing more items and exporting less. In this analysis many internal factors involve like factors of production in EU countries are much higher than other countries of the world. However, if in the case that even all of the exports are increasing in different sectors than increase in imports, it is possible than IIT will increase. Is Eurozone an optimal currency area? Provide a critical assessment of this issue using   key theoretical and empirical indicators including your analysis of the extent and the pattern of intra-industry trade within the Eurozone trading area in part (b), and an analysis of the extent of labour mobility in the Euro-zone trading area. Eurozone is optimal currency area as EU has initiated Euro as one medium o exchange. The concept of OCA theory is to share the currency or create a new combine currency which will be used by the participant countries as medium of exchange. European Union initiated Euro as one median of exchange in European countries. The trading with EU can only be done in Euro which has increased the usefulness of currency as one medium of exchange. It will bring the equality in term of paper money and markets. Competition will be more intense as the firms are not only competing with local manufacturers but also with international players. EU is been made for the purpose of intra-industry trade, as to combine the benefits of several countries and drivers of the economies. Regional trading agreements and custom unions are playing a vital role in international trade. There are two types of countries in the world, developed countries and under developed countries. In the new concept of the world tradin g, the developed countries will share the resources and their expertise with under develop countries to provide the same kind of living standards to the whole world. The trade agreements is been done in between different countries in order to expand the import and export. These agreements mainly focused on the conditions of trading between the countries. The competitive advantage theory of trade suggests the countries that every single country should focused on the competitive edge they can get from other competitors. They should only focused on their resources and their expertise rather than working in several industries without expertise. EU agreements help the participants in term of resources as well. There are no restrictions for the labour of EU countries to limits their services to home country. As, the new concept one currency, one market means the sharing of resources as well. The nominal unit of labour cost is the ratio total reimbursement of workforce with the number of persons employed. When there is a decrease in the Nominal unit it means that the unemployed number of labour is increasing. To control on EU participant countries nominal unit labour cost, it was decided to share the labour skills with all participant countries in order to get an advantage over non participant countries. There will be exchange programs on the government levels and training programs for the labour to train them well. The NULC is calculated by the formula: (total D1 in national currency / total employees in persons) / (GDP in market prices in CLV05 in national currency / total employment in persons) The nominal Unit labour cost of EU countries is given below: 2009   2010   2011   2012   2013   Belgium 8.8   10.8   8.0   6.3   5.8f   7.3f   Bulgaria 26.7   38.5   33.9   20.3   9.6f   6.9f   Czech Republic 6.5   8.4   5.7   3.3   1.3f   2.8f   Denmark 13.6   17.7   11.0   4.7   0.2f   1.6f   Germany -0.6   7.2   6.8   5.9   3.3f   6.0f   Estonia 46.7   36.2   9.1   -6.2   -2.0f   6.6f   Ireland 14.8   6.7   -4.1   -12.8   -9.5f   -3.9f   Greece 6.6p   14.5p   11.5p   4.1p   -12.3f   -12.1f   Spain 13.4   11.4   4.9   -2.1   -6.1f   -4.7f   France 6.8   8.8   7.7   6.0   4.4f   4.9f   Italy 8.3   10.5   8.1   4.4   2.3f   3.7f   Cyprus 4.0   7.0   7.2   8.8   -0.8f   0.4f   Latvia 79.4b   42.0b   -0.3b   -15.0b   -7.7f   2.2f   Lithuania 29.6   15.9   1.2   -8.4   -7.2f   0.4f   Luxembourg 12.5   19.3   19.2   12.5   9.3f   10.1f   Hungary 13.1   14.0   6.4   3.7   5.5f   12.6f   Malta 8.3   11.0   9.4   7.8   1.5f   3.6f   Netherlands 5.4   10.2   7.6   5.8   2.7f   4.4f   Austria 6.1   10.2   8.9   5.9   4.1f   5.1f   Poland 9.2   12.8   11.3   4.3   5.3f   7.0f   Portugal 5.6   8.0   5.1p   1.3p   -5.3f   -4.4f   Romania 48.6   45.7   36.5   12.7   12.2f   6.5f   Slovenia 10.3   18.4   15.9   8.3   1.0f   0.0f   Slovakia 6.7   10.9   9.4   4.4   -0.9f   0.7f   Finland 7.7   16.9   14.4   9.1   2.5f   5.8f   Sweden 6.9   12.1   5.1   1.4   -0.1f   3.3f   United Kingdom 8.5   11.1   10.0   8.1   5.3f   5.5f  

Battle of Breitenfeld Essay -- essays research papers fc

It is said that the Romans owed the conquest of the world to no other cause than continual military training, exact observance of discipline in their camps and unwearied cultivation of the arts of war. The historical references of their battles will prove time and again that this statement has validity. How could such an Army rise to the power that was Rome in all its glory while being outnumbered on almost every battlefield? In an attempt to explore this question, one must delve into the foundation of the early Roman army and follow it through the five hundred year reign of power as the city-state rose to an empire (Preston.pg.29) The process by which Rome developed from a small military outpost on a river-crossing to become the dominant power of the Italian Peninsula was by no means swift or continuous. It took the better part of five centuries and during that time Rome itself was twice occupied by foreign powers (Warry. Pg.108). As the strength of Etrurua diminished, Rome asserted its authority over both the Etruscans and the Latins, but at the beginning of the fourth century B.C. the city was overwhelmed, after the disastrous battle of the Allia, by a vast horde of Gallic raiders (Contamine. pg.9). The Romans retreated into their citadel on the Capitoline Mount where they eventually fought off the Gauls, whose immediate interest was in pillaging for anything of worth and not in the land (Dersin.pg.8). Roman history records that the great Camillus, Rome’s exiled war leader, was recalled to speed the parting Gauls with military action, but this tries to hide the fact that the Gauls departed of their ow n accord, having obtained what they wanted. Roman military history is checkered by catastrophes that few great empires could have sustained during the period of their growth. Nobody would deny that the Romans were a formidable military nation; yet the genius which enabled them eventually to dominate the ancient world was as much political as military. Their great political instrument of choice was the concept of citizenship. Citizenship was not simply a status which one did or did not possess. It was and aggregate of right, duties, and honors, which could be acquired separately and conferred by installments (Boatwright.pg.25). Such were the rights of making legal contracts and marriages. From both of these the right to a political vote was not separable; no... ...rise to power, no single people dominated all or even most of that world. Military force and tactics that adapted over time and between enemies were large factors in Rome’s eventual dominance over the entire region, and credit must be given to the resiliency of the Romans in the face of victories and defeats along the way. Works Cited Preston, Richard; Roland, Alex; Wise Sydney. Men In Arms. (Ohio: Thompson Wadsworth, 2005) Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. (London: Oklahoma University and Salamander Books Ltd, 1995) Boatwright, Mary; Gargola, Daniel; Talbert, Richard. The Romans From Village to Empire. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) Grant, Michael. The Fall Of The Roman Empire. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990) Nardo, Don. The Rise Of the Roman Empire. (California: Greenhaven Press, 2002) Contamine, Phillip. War in the Middle Ages. (Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 1999) Dersin, Denise. What Life Was Like When Rome Ruled the World. (Virginia: Time Life Books, 1997) Harris, Nathaniel. History of Ancient Rome. (London: Octopus Publishing, 2000) Roberts, Timothy. Ancient Rome. (New York: Friedman/Fairfax

Against Gender Norms in Sports :: Exploratory Essays

Against Gender Norms in Sports Against Gender Norms A controversial topic that is prevalent in the sport world today is the gender division of acceptable sports for males and females. American culture places stereotypes on athletes who choose to participate in sports that are deemed as nontraditional for their particular gender. At the same time American culture is being broadened by these courageous athletes. These athletes are enduring criticism based on cultural norms as well as the social affects on their own personal lives. Female body builders, boxers, and football players to male cheerleaders are just a few examples of athletes who have decided to go against society's gender norm. The movie "Pumping Iron II" shows the hardships and sacrifices made by a female bodybuilder. All of the women portrayed in the movie worked hard to become defined and muscular. However the one female who pushed the boundaries of cultural norms the furthest and was clearly the strongest and most muscular did not win the contest. Be v had worked to become as muscular as a male bodybuilder of similar size, but she did not win because of criticism she received for not being feminine-looking, Female athletes are frequently stereotyped as being gay, and, when a female athlete decides to enter a sport that is non-traditional for their gender, they have to deal with a consent battle of declaring their femininity. Just because Bev did not look delicate or have a "Barbie Doll" figure, she was unable to win. It was a body building contest, not a beauty contest. Females should not have their femininity questioned just because they want to do something that is out of their gender norm. Nor should a male cheerleader have to declare their masculinity because society views male cheerleaders as effeminate or gay. Female athletes playing sports that are non-traditional for their gender also pay a price in their personal lives. A female boxer is built a lot differently than the average female. As seen in the movie "Girl Fight", the main character has a very muscular body, which she attained through hard work and dedication. However, she looks nothing like the "ideal American woman," which in turn can cause her to suffer isolation and assumptions to be made about her sexual identity. Culturally there are other costs associated with females participating in traditional male team sports. For example, at the high school level where girls have participated on football teams, physical and equipment modifications have to be made for the female athlete to participate in the sport. Against Gender Norms in Sports :: Exploratory Essays Against Gender Norms in Sports Against Gender Norms A controversial topic that is prevalent in the sport world today is the gender division of acceptable sports for males and females. American culture places stereotypes on athletes who choose to participate in sports that are deemed as nontraditional for their particular gender. At the same time American culture is being broadened by these courageous athletes. These athletes are enduring criticism based on cultural norms as well as the social affects on their own personal lives. Female body builders, boxers, and football players to male cheerleaders are just a few examples of athletes who have decided to go against society's gender norm. The movie "Pumping Iron II" shows the hardships and sacrifices made by a female bodybuilder. All of the women portrayed in the movie worked hard to become defined and muscular. However the one female who pushed the boundaries of cultural norms the furthest and was clearly the strongest and most muscular did not win the contest. Be v had worked to become as muscular as a male bodybuilder of similar size, but she did not win because of criticism she received for not being feminine-looking, Female athletes are frequently stereotyped as being gay, and, when a female athlete decides to enter a sport that is non-traditional for their gender, they have to deal with a consent battle of declaring their femininity. Just because Bev did not look delicate or have a "Barbie Doll" figure, she was unable to win. It was a body building contest, not a beauty contest. Females should not have their femininity questioned just because they want to do something that is out of their gender norm. Nor should a male cheerleader have to declare their masculinity because society views male cheerleaders as effeminate or gay. Female athletes playing sports that are non-traditional for their gender also pay a price in their personal lives. A female boxer is built a lot differently than the average female. As seen in the movie "Girl Fight", the main character has a very muscular body, which she attained through hard work and dedication. However, she looks nothing like the "ideal American woman," which in turn can cause her to suffer isolation and assumptions to be made about her sexual identity. Culturally there are other costs associated with females participating in traditional male team sports. For example, at the high school level where girls have participated on football teams, physical and equipment modifications have to be made for the female athlete to participate in the sport.

Barn Burning Essay -- essays research papers

Use of Blood in â€Å"Barn Burning†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Barn Burning† is about the struggle of a boy to do what is right during the Post Civil War era. The main character, Sartoris Snopes, is a poor son of a migrant tenant farmer. In the opening scene he is being asked by a circuit judge about the burning of a farmer’s barn by his father. The boy does not tell on his father and is not forced to do so, but he thinks that he would have done so had he been asked. The father, Abner Snopes, served in the Civil War for both sides and has difficulty venting his anger. Usually he does so through the burning of other people’s barns when they wrong him. The symbol of blood is used by Faulkner to contribute to the theme of loyalty to the family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One use of blood is shown when the boy is called to testify and is pressured by his father to lie. When the boy is on stand he is stressed by the fear that his father will do something crazy if he tells on him. Also, his father tells him that some things are more important than the truth, that family is the most important thing. â€Å"You were fixing to tell them. You would have told them†(484). This statement made by Abner shows how the boy truly feels about his blood father’s actions and where he stands when it comes to telling a lie or the truth regarding those actions. Also, the scene where that statement takes place depicts how the father feels about family. He thinks that a lie is justified if you are doing ...

Ninety-Five Theses Paper

During the earlier years of Christianity, at a time when most Catholic leaders were focused on political values rather than spiritual values, people would pay money for indulgences in order to remove the temporal punishments attached to their sins. Michael Mullet's non-fiction work Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses studies the roots of the Protestant Reformation by giving detailed background information on Martin Luther and how Luther contributed to a religious revolution which would change the way of Christian life.Martin Luther's work allowed people to question their faith and gave people the courage to open their own churches even in the face of powerful Catholic leaders. By looking at how Luther interpreted ancient religious scriptures in order to understand God, we are able to see how he transformed into one of the greatest theologians in history and â€Å"broke the hold of the Catholic Church over Europe† (Mullet, 2003, p. 46) One of Luther's first major steps into foll owing his beliefs was defying his father's ishes for his son to become a lawyer and instead Luther became an augustinian monk.Luther was not Just simply being rebellious, but rather was driven by spiritual turmoil when comprehending God and his teachings which led Luther to immerse himself in his studies regarding the sacred texts. Through years of internal conflict and searching for religious purpose Luther was able to reach enlightenment by interpreting God's Judgment as something that should not be feared when faith alone is what brought you salvation.So when he witnessed papal indulgences he ungracefully nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church arguing against the sales of indulgences which intimidated the church with bold statements that questioned their and God's power. Martin Luther's 95 Theses quickly grew into something more than Just a debate between powers and spread throughout Europe with the help of the printing press. The church was incapable of ignoring Luther's s harp statements and it seemed Luther made no hesitation to push back against authority if he was given the chance.The papal authority could not allow Luther to continue threatening their standing in power and ultimately branded Luther as a heretic and banished him from the Holy Roman Empire. Luther was able to hide in a castle with the help of his friends and once in solitude he was able to translate the New Testament into German for the public to read and interpret on their own. Martin Luther's courage to stand up against the Catholic church gave others the strength to choose and question religion, but peace among the new churches and the Catholic churches would not exist ithout the shed of blood and powerful claims.Martin Luther's concept of God arose from his deep anxiety and is described by Michael Mullet in his book Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses as â€Å"sinners won acceptance from the God the Father – were ‘Justified' – not actively, through their goo d deeds, but passively and simply by taitn r st na died on the Cross to save them† (p. 47). Luther gave us the power to break the holy chains binding people to their faith and explore a world without limitations. Dr. David Powlison – On MartinLuther's first of the 95 Theses says that Martin Luther's teachings can help us not only understand god but ourselves and others as well. The moment when a person truly reaches enlightenment is when he/she is able to grasp the realization that every single person in your life is real and alive as you are. That these people are not Just wondering faces but actual people like yourself with families and futures of their own. This sonder is what Martin Luther was trying to accomplish in his work along with sharing his interpretation of God's sacred texts.

Weak People in the Bible

Regard For Those Who Are Weaker In Society Written in Torah are lessons and stories about how God created Earth, animals, plants, day and night, the sun, and also how God created man to dominate over all living things. Within Torah is a story of Abram and his relationship with God. Abram or Abraham had a covenant with God. God promised to bless the nation and Abraham. Abraham had no rules or law to follow he simply had to have faith in God and believe in him. God said to Abraham â€Å"†¦ You shall be the ancestor of nations.No longer shall your name be Abram but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, all t he land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God† (Genesis 17:4-8).The covenant between Abraham and God said that Abraham was blessed and so his descendants shall be blessed, so they were. Moses, one of Abraham’s descendants, was spoken to by God and he was told to go into Egypt and rescue the Israelites from slavery. Moses did what God had asked of him and rescued the Israelites; they were weak, poor and in bad shape. God had mercy on them and he heard their cries and helped. He made another covenant and this time it was a bit different. He promised to make the Israelite his treasured people if they would agree to follow and keep his commandments.This was good for the Israelites because they came from a place where times were hard and God saved them and made them his people. Torah instructs the Israelites to follow the laws given to them through the covenant between themselves and God. Morally the Israelites are to treat others as they would like to be treated. They were once slaves to the Egyptians and treated very poorly. The Israelites should have mercy on others less privileged because God had mercy on them. When Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt they were not completely grateful.They complained to Moses. The Israelites said â€Å"If only we had died by the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger† (Exodus 16:3). With the complaints and cries from the Israelites, God sent them bread to eat and gave them only one rule. They were not to take more than a day’s worth of bread at a time. Even though God gave the Israelites laws he still had mercy on them and helped them when they cried out.The laws were a test of faith and trueness between God and the Israelites. God helps those in need, when they are really in need of help. Since the Torah is written to the Israelites it should be read as a lesson and the lessons should be taken into consideration to the readers. There are many commandments that the Israelites are instructed to follow. A lot of them have to do with regard for those who are weaker in society. Just like God had mercy on the Israelites, the Israelites should have mercy on others because they once were the weaker persons in society.

Coffee in the Philippines Essay

This Euromonitor market report provides market trend and market growth analysis of the Coffee industry in Philippines. With this market report, you’ll be able to explore in detail the changing shape and potential of the industry. You will now be able to plan and build strategy on real industry data and projections. The Coffee in Philippines market research report includes: Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends Detailed segmentation of international and local products Historic volumes and values, company and brand market shares Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth. Robust and transparent market research methodology, conducted in-country Our market research reports answer questions such as: What is the market size of Coffee in Philippines? What are the major brands in Philippines? How significant is vending in coffee distribution? How does the increasing nuber of speciality coffee shops impact retail sales of coffee? What are the future prospects for instant 2-in-1 coffee, 3-in-1 coffee and 4-in-1 coffee? How are coffee pods performing in Philippines? Why buy this report? Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions This industry report originates from Passport, our Hot Drinks market research database. Each report is delivered with the following components: Report: PDF and Word Market statistics: Excel workbook SAMPLE ANALYSIS TRENDS Instant coffee mixes continued to gain popularity in both off-trade and on-trade channels in 2010. Rising demand for these products was due to the ease in preparation with minimal time involved, which is highly valued by Filipinos with busy lifestyles and busy consumer foodservice operators as brewing fresh coffee makes it difficult to meet demand. Nevertheless, the type of instant coffee used in on-trade establishments is usually different from off-trade brands as food establishments with high volume consumption commonly work with coffee manufacturers to produce customised mixes made from freshly-ground coffee beans and with added flavours, but come in instant powder format. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE In 2010, Nestle Philippines continued to dominate coffee with an 81% share of off-trade volume sales and an 89% share of off-trade value sales. This was mainly due to the strong brand recognition of Nescafe, as its name is synonymous with coffee in the Philippines, and the extensive distribution network in both modern and traditional retail channels. The well-diversified product portfolio of Nescafe in instant coffee has also enabled the company to capture a broader range of consumers – from low-income Filipinos to health conscious coffee drinkers. PROSPECTS Longer working hours and busier lifestyles for Filipinos, along with the desire to streamline operations amongst foodservice establishments, are all expected to increase the demand for instant coffee mixes over the forecast period. Nevertheless, consumption of fresh coffee is expected to improve over the same period. Higher demand should be driven by a niche group of affluent consumers who are willing to pay more and focus on quality rather than convenience.

Our Nightlife: Difference Between Europe and Hong Kong Essay

Introduction Student life is considered as one of the major steps in life. It is the time when young people start enjoying their autonomy and experience a lot a various activities. In Europe, going out at night is seen as a must do, an actual part of the whole student life and a sign of being a grown-up also. When I came to Hong Kong, a very dynamic, western-rooted city, I would have thought I would find the same spirit and same drinking culture. I was wrong. In the streets surrounding the â€Å"party areas† I almost only got to meet some exchange students or young expats staying here for a short period of time and basically taking the most of Hong Kong nightlife. What about the local crowd? Is it just invisible? Not interested in going to these areas? What about bars and cafà ©s? In Europe, in every corner of a street you can find a cafà © or bar where you can chill easily with your friends until 1 am and more. Here I could not find such places and I don’t see much group of friends hanging out together at night. Furthermore, some historians think that cafà ©s and â€Å"public sphere† were places where men could escape their role as the Church’s or a sovereign’s subjects, and exercise and exchange their own opinions and ideas. They say that nocturnal sociability and volubility accelerated Enlightenment thinking. So even though it might have a bad image sometimes, nightlife is still an important moment of social interaction and can also contribute to major evolutions in our societies. Thus, when the time came to define our topic for Contemporary Europe and Asia, I was really curious to talk about this particularity with the members of our group. During our discussion we found out that Europeans and Locals really did not have the same way of spending time with their friends and that the rules of social interactions were completely different. That is why we decided to focus on how the nightlife is organized among the youth in Europe and in Hong Kong and what are the implications behind these two different ways of life. [By Claire Couturier] What we do at night Partying as a majority in Europe In Europe, most of the students and youngsters go out at night in order to spend some time with their friends. We can list three different places where the European youth likes to go during the night time. Alcoholic Activities A. Bars In Europe bars and cafà ©s are very common places Craig Koslofsky, author of Evenings Empire: a History of the night in early Modern Europe, says, the elite shifted their bed time between 1500 to 1700, starting to go to bed at early hours in the morning. Cafà ©s and bars changed their opening hours till late at that time. Thus, going out to a cafà © or a bar is something very traditional in Europe. The main purpose of this kind of gathering is to share a nice moment with some people in a neural but casual atmosphere. Usually students would get a beer at the end of their day of class or later. It is a time for the participant to share their thoughts and lives around a drink. These kinds of talks are usually facilitated by subdued lighting and comfortable seats. Bars are also a gathering point for sport teams who are usually really eager to share beers in a pub for the â€Å"third half† after a match or simply after training. Sitting in a cafà © or a bar should be then seen as the extension of the daily social interactions: people would go to a bar with their acquaintances and usually stick with them. It is not really a time to meet a lot of different people. The accent is set on the sharing of a moment of joy between a somewhat close small group of people that is why bars and cafà © usually close down before 2 in the morning. Thus, consumers in bars are not seeking drunkenness in the first place. However this tend to change a bit with the appearance of themed bars, to be found mostly in big cities: the whole place is decorated with a common theme and the names of the cocktails served would also be related a specific universe. In these places, people will be more attracted by the ludic side of the bars rather than just the idea of spending time with the people they cherish. With the ludic background such as drinking in baby’s bottle, for example, consumers will be more disposed to get drunk. These themed bars would usually close down later, by 3 or sometimes 4 in the morning. B. Clubs Clubbing is an important side of the European nightlife. Dancing has always been, throughout the centuries a way to express oneself and to carry social conventions and values into one’s move. Clubs in Europe have a very wide range of music styles, reflect of a wide range of lifestyles. The main purpose of going clubbing is obviously to go dancing but it provides also one of the best opportunities to meet some new people. Clubbing is also the main field of seduction, while girls would rather go to clubs to dance, most boys go there intending to meet some girls. Alcohol is everywhere in clubs, it is the main drive to des-inhibition and clubs do not hesitate to make profit with it. Indeed, several hundreds of people confined in one room dancing leads to a need of hydration. The prices are usually extremely high and that’s the reason why most of people do not go clubbing so often, in order to save some money. Another the solution which tends to become common is the practice of pre drinks. People gather in other places like houses or bars before going to a club. They drink for cheap and reach the clubs at an advanced state of inebriation so they will not have to drink once inside to enjoy the effects of alcohol. Going to a club is one of the most tiring kind of nightlife since, in Europe, most of the clubs remain empty until half past midnight or one in the morning. Then, we would spend at least 2 or 3 hours dancing, (some also stay till the closing, usually around 5 in the morning) which requires a long time for the body to recover the day after. C. House parties One of the cheapest ways to go out in Europe is to set a party in a house. In the early stages of childhood, starting from primary schools, parents use to celebrate their children birthday while organizing small parties with music, drinks and candies in the late afternoon. These parties would not last for more than two of three hours but it can definitely be seen as the entry in social nightlife. This tradition of house parties would then continue throughout the years and then start and finish later. In high school, parents will sometimes spend one night at some friends’ houses and give their children carte blanche to set the party. It can somehow be seen as the heritage of the receptions held by the high society some centuries ago as they are entertaining and social events. Guests at parties are different from the people you go to bars or clubs with because they are many risks of material damages caused to belongings. The closest friends would be invited in the first place and will be allowed to bring some other guests, it is some kind of transmitted trust towards the respect of the host of the event. The average number of guest depends of the available space but would usually be around 20 to 30 people. The purpose of the house parties is to create a mix between going to a bar and going to club. Indeed, in the house, it is possible to divide the space. Thus, some people might be more interested in dancing while some other would rather go to more friendly rooms where they can chat all together. There is also no closing hour, the party will die by itself when people get tired or when the host kindly ask people to leave. The main advantage of this kind of party is that it is a big, safe and free space but the disadvantage is the possible nuisances for the neighborhood and, regarding the host, the need to clean the place afterwards. Thus, hosts and houses tend to change regularly. [By Claire Couturier] Local Style: Partying as a Minority In Hong Kong, there is a saying about this city – it never sleeps. The nightlife seems to be attractive, but how about to us, as the youngsters in this society, who are just qualified to be called as adults, just can yell at the parents â€Å"I am not a kid anymore†? In fact, for youngsters in Hong Kong, the night-time activities would still be non-alcoholic oriented. When choosing the kind of activities we hope to spend our night, the factors affecting our choices would be the cost of it and how much fun can we have from it, also we would be influenced by the social values, how other perceive it Non-alcoholic Activities For Hong Kong young people, drinking alcohol is not a norm. Therefore, comparing to European style of Nightlife, there are much more varieties of non-alcoholic nightlife. A. Hall Activities Young people in Hong Kong like to feel the sense of belonging. University students devote ourselves into group activities like becoming the committee of the interest clubs or academic societies. For nightlife, we would dedicate to collective activities at hall, such as small gathering in common room or evening out with â€Å"floor-mates†. The bonding with â€Å"hall-mates† or â€Å"floor-mates† is precious and built from the start of the hall life. When we first moved into hall, the hall tutor will take everyone out to have a dinner together, giving an opportunity for everyone to meet each other. Then we would have a floor meeting, deciding the name of the floor, even a name for each room. As the member of the hall, we are told that we should enjoy being a part of it by participating hall activities actively, so as to enjoy hall life to its fullest. With this environment, the bonding between hall-mates is strong, and generally many students living in the hall are willing to take part in the collective activities. This willingness can be best illustrated in their priority. There are lots of hall activities every year in HKBU, such as the floor decoration contest, where every floor will choose a theme of decoration and judges will examine the decoration with its appearance, embodiment of hall spirit and the â€Å"warmness† the decoration constructs. Usually, the students will spend whole night help decorating, even sacrifice their sleeping time and study time. The time devoted show their passion with group activities. Apart from contests, their hall life is about group activities. The boys love to gather a big group of people to play video games till morning, then they will call for take-out from McDonalds’ and have breakfast together. For girls, it would be more about late night chats and cooking late night snack together in the common room. All in all, for most of their time in hall, they will not spend time in their own room but hang out with others in the common room, unless they have to rush their homework. Some might think that living in the hall means the independency and seek of freedom of the youngsters, yet, the local hall life shows that local youngsters prefer group activities, they basically shifted their dependence from their own families to the â€Å"hall family†. B. Karaoke Another night activity would be singing karaoke. This activity in fact is not very expensive. The owl period, meaning about 12am to 5am, costs around $100 to $200 per person, is avoidable to the youngsters. Besides, it is not about singing, but more about having fun with friends. Most scenarios would be dancing and jumping on the couch singing the old-school songs, or the big hits with rhythm. With close friends in a private room, we would not mind to shake our bodies off and sing to the lame songs. After all, it is about having fun with friends. In the past, karaoke is related to alcohol, drugs and prostitutes. The older generations would regard karaoke sites as forbidden places, youngsters who go there were often treated as bad boys and girls. Nowadays karaoke sites are irrelevant to criminal activities, youngsters go there purely want to sing and have fun with friends. C. Mahjong Although Mahjong is not so common among youngsters, it is still a popular late night activities. For young people, they usually play it after examinations or just a Friday. It aims to celebrate and play until use up all their strength. As it requires four people to play Mahjong, it is more a socializing tool. Because the players have to take turns to play, they can chat while playing. Sometimes, they will play it with small-amount gambling, added it with excitement. Some will count marks upon the rounds, the one losing the most might need to pay for the breakfast. For them, playing is not just about relax, but also about bonding and having fun together. For non-alcoholic nightlife, there are still various ways of having fun with friends in Hong Kong. To young people in Hong Kong, there is no more fun than sharing fun with a large group of people. Hall activities can best illustrate the collective fun that the young people treasure. Alcohol is not a must in facilitating the discussion among friends or driving the good mood. Without alcohol, they can seek more fun by playing games like Mahjong. [By Rem Man Hou Sum] Hong Kong: Alcoholic Activities Hong Kong has a fabulous scene of nightlife, which is frequently used to depict the modern and international image of Hong Kong. However, in fact, unlike what we see in Europe, people who adopt an alcoholic lifestyle frequently are not the majority. And people who go partying is even a small minority. For those who would fancy alcoholic drinks late night, they would usually go to the following areas where the bars are usually located. They include: Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Lan Kwai Fong and Causeway Bay. A. Bars in Hong Kong There are quite a variety of bars in Hong Kong. Some are operated like the European style, and charge customers according to the drinks they order. The price is comparable to that in Europe, and people can get a drink, relax and spend time chatting with friends. Some are operated in a local style, where drinks are relatively cheaper and customers can drink relatively more. Instead of just chatting or listening to live lounge music (as in some jazz lounge bars), people can play dices and drinking games, and getting drunk is relatively easier this way. Karaoke is an activity close to the hearts of many Hong Kong people. Karaoke bars are venues for people looking for a combination of good drinks deals, some casual singing, playing dices and darts. The idea that getting at least slightly drunk is a must for one to get up and sing in a high mood is seen among Asian Karaoke culture like Taiwan and Hong Kong. Drinks in karaoke come in a big lot at a rather cheap price (compared with the same amount one orders in a bar or club) of around $120 – $150 per set, each set carrying half a dozen bottles. That’s why karaoke bars offer a good alternative for people who want to drink the night away. Recently, shisha bars are popping up here and there in Hong Kong. Shisha is a kind of water pipe to smoke flavoured tobacco. The smoke would go through the water in the basin before you inhale. It is a new trend followed by quite a number of young people because of a few reasons. First, the perception that smoking shisha is better than smoking cigarettes. Because shisha inhalation does not have the harshness as cigarettes, many think that it is â€Å"healthier† than the latter though in fact in an hour of shisha session one would actually have consumed more than 100 times the volume of cigarette smoke. Second, the fruity flavours of shisha (for example, grapes, watermelon and apple) also make it easily accepted by people. Third, like many other trendy behaviours and culture, the motivation of smoking shisha is the desire to be seen and to see, especially for young people – while it makes others perceive you as hip and cool, it also opens the young to brand-new things that they have never seen, which would broaden their horizons. There is also something interesting to note regarding these newly popular shisha bars in Hong Kong – the spending is not cheap. A shisha pipe can be consumed alone, or shared by up to three to four people, and each pipe costs from $150 (Sahara Bar in Central) to $280 (Beirut Bar in Central), depending on where the shisha bar is located. B. Clubs Similar to bars, there are different kinds of clubs in Hong Kong. They can be categorized into three types: clubs with a foreign crowd as opposed to clubs with a local crowd, and clubs with a celebrities or tycoons crowd. For the first, visitors are mostly foreigners (including expatriates and tourists) or local people with their foreign friends. They attract foreign tourists the most. Examples would be Fly in Central. For the second, visitors are, obviously, mostly local people, and they always charge entrance fee for men, and ladies also have to pay a lot during festivals or special events. Examples would be Beijing Club or Billion Club. For the third, it has a strict code of entrance and people there all dress up to impress others. Examples would be the Dragon-I. There are something similar among these types of clubs though – for example, they all play electronic dance music which has an American origin and western pop music are remixed by disc jockeys, both of them are the key elements in nightclubs. Also, they are mostly located in the heart of Hong Kong nightlife area – Lan Kwai Fong. C. Exploring the Nightlife Spot – Lan Kwai Fong Lan Kwai Fong is a small square of streets filled with expatriates who go visit there for drinking, clubbing and dining. It is also the beating centre of nightlife in Hong Kong. Food and drinks in Lan Kwai Fong are generally considered more upmarket both in their price and quality. All in all, it is a spot where you cannot distinguish the East from the West. First, westerners are seen everywhere in the area – not only the visitors, but the people who serve there. Second, many of the local people who visit there dress up and behave like western people – speaking in English in a group of local friends is a good example of such behavior; and look at the ladies who go clubbing, they do not wear a cheongsam, they wear party dresses that look very similar to those one can get in Europe. We might as well look at the history and development of Lan Kwai Fong briefly to understand how it has become the most renowned spots for nightlife. In 1980s, Allan Zeman, the current Chairman of the Hong Kong Ocean Park Corporation, contributed a lot in developing Lan Kwai Fong, and thus later has been known as the Father of Lan Kwai Fong. He bought numerous properties in that area, founded the Lan Kwai Fong Group, and aspired to develop it into a world-class entertainment destination (Lan Kwai Fong Group, 2012). These two years, massive constructions and reconstructions are seen in Lan Kwai Fong. Interestingly, the Father of Lan Kwai Fong, is a Canadian who was born in Germany. Instead of developing it to become an area which carries Hong Kong cultural elements, he strived to make it an area full of foreign bars, clubs, and restaurants. These places employ waiters, waitresses, bar tenders and bouncers who are required to speak English most of the time. [By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] Chapter 2 Implications and Analysis Why would the choices of two sides be so different? What background factors influence our choices? What values do we reflect upon our choices? In the following chapter, these questions will be answered under the aspects of cultural difference, income difference and soft power. Cultural Difference From the difference of nightlife mentioned before, it is clearly that sense of collectivism and individualism ruling the two places respectively. And more obvious is that the perception toward alcohol is different between Europe and Hong Kong. At the same time, stereotypes in Hong Kong did define what is good and wrong, limiting the youngsters from entering the clubs or bars. Due to the patriarchy in traditional Chinese society, the parental control is still strong in Hong Kong. Asides from these, the motto of Europeans and Hong Kong people would be distinct from each other. A. Collectivism versus Individualism European societies are based upon the model of individualism. The History has always set the example of powerful men and European people struggled for their own liberations. In the European minds, still nowadays highly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and then confirmed in their beliefs by the attachment to the so-called â€Å"Free-world†, it is always a good thing to escape from pre-constructed ideologies and mentalities, to step out from the social background pre-established before our birth. European peoples tend to live in constant revolutionary process. One of the latest revolutions could be the sexual revolution during the late 60s when women gained more autonomy and the youth claimed the right to enjoy themselves away from the diktats of the society. These values still have a powerful influence among the youngsters nowadays who have been raised by the children of the sexual revolution generation. Thus, individualism and claimed differences are the symbols of a healthy youth, the driving forces of a constant questioning of society that can then be transformed but not perish. European teenagers are consequently completely fed by this spirit and act in consequence. And going out is all about taking care of one self in an environment that can be sometime hostile, to fight against their fears : The darkness has always evoked danger to mankind, evolving into it is then a sign of bravery and independence. Thus, individualism is one of the reasons that explain why European youngsters like to go out at night. It matches the vales incorporated in their early education. If it is individualism behind European societies, then Hong Kong society is based upon the model of collectivism. Local young people are more group oriented. They would love to do things together. From the example of hall activities, it is obvious that they love the sense of belonging and they are willing to sacrifice their time and strength just to have fun with others. They know better with the concept of â€Å"the more the merrier†, especially with their private time where Europeans would rather hang out with friends, while local students prefer to hang out with hall-mates. The truth behind the passion toward group activities is that the importance of family is deeply rooted in Hong Kong people’s mind. With the influence of traditional Chinese thinking, they are taught that they should keep a good relationship with family members and family interest is always the top priority, even higher than your own. Also, independency is not a criterion when raising a child. Hong Kong families build trust between parents and kids by dependency, while European families would build trust upon mutual respect. Consequently, Hong Kong youngsters are relatively more dependent, and this can be reflected upon their passion toward hall life. When they leave home for hall life, they swift their dependency from the families to the hall-mates. If they praise the hall life, their comments are often associated with resemblance of â€Å"living at home†. Hong Kong youngsters feel more secure in the groups, they are afraid of being special. They act with herb behavior that they will follow what the majority of the group wants. The contradiction here is that they would want to be a bit different from the others, but all in all they are following the same trend. This can be seen in the field of fashion. They would want to be the first group of people who wear a different style of clothes, however, not the very first one as it would seem awkward. This kind of mentality shows that they lack of individualism in their spirit and they are sensitive to others’ perception and judgment. As a result, they follow the trend and feel secure. Two different kinds of mentalities shape different choices. Individualism leads the Europeans to act on their own, while Collectivism leads Hong Kong people to rely on their group. B. Image of Alcohol As we have said in earlier parts of our work, the European nightlife is mainly organized around alcohol. Alcohol in western societies is a long lasting tradition in society. From the Kings to the peasants, since the early ages of the civilization and throughout history, every single human being had access to alcohol. It is a social legacy and the drinking culture is deeply rooted in our contemporary societies. This means that alcohol actually punctuates every step of life. Young children will be accustomed to alcohol in the early stages of their life, in every social event they will attend. Alcohol is a symbol of celebration, it is then related to joy and happiness and reminds of pleasant moments. This is usually embodied by champagne which is always taken out in case of a big celebration such as birthdays, new year or weddings. Alcohol then carries a lot of positive values does not set off aversion. For example, as young children, teenagers will often be offered a sip in the glass of their parents so they can actually be part of the celebration. That is why, youngsters start drinking pretty early, by the age of 17, 80% of the French teenagers have already drunk alcohol and 49.3% admit they have been drunk in the past year. Moreover, alcohol is known for its dis-inhibition effect, students seek alcohol in order to get rid of their reserve and be able to act differently from how they would have acted while being sober. This â€Å"enhanced† behavior can be valued by the peers and could also explain why alcohol is so important in European nightlife. It is also important to note that in most European countries, alcohol is really easy to reach, we can find it easily and for quite cheap in supermarkets and even though there are some restrictive laws, sellers are usually compliant and do not hesitate to let the underage buy alcohol. There is a general irresponsibility about alcohol. For Hong Kong, the image of alcohol is not related to joy and happiness, but rather dangerous and negative. While Europeans focus on the joy they have during drinking, we think about the consequences of being drunk. This mindset in fact is constituted by the society, where government propaganda may stress on its problem and the social perception on alcohol is always bad on youngsters. There is a survey which is done by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in 2009, asking the students aged 13 to 18 whether they regard drinking alcohol under festive atmosphere as acceptable. The results show that more than half of the respondents disagree that behavior is acceptable. This shows the value of the society – alcohol is bad. Drinking alcohol is a right to men, excluding youngsters and women. Girls who are good drinkers may be treated as bad girls in the past. As the society has promoted equality between male and female, we would not regard good female drinkers as bad, but we would still refer their behavior as manly. As the attitude towards alcohol is so different in Hong Kong and Europe, no wonder why Europeans have various night time activities with alcohol, while Hong Kong people have those without alcohol. C. Image on party girls/ boys Being a party boy or a party girl is usually assimilated with being cool. Party people usually carry the image of being nonchalant and careless. They seem to be set free. Party people also go out with many other party people that they meet in different places. That is why they appear to be always surrounded by fancy people and never left behind. The image they reflect is that of social accomplishment and carefreeness. As mentioned before, alcohol and going out are also symbols of celebration: they convey all these positive values of joy and shared happiness. However, in Hong Kong, where traditional value still matters, the older generations would regard partying as a bad thing. As in line with the image of karaoke sites, clubs and bars are associated with sex, drugs and criminal activities in the conservative thinking. This concept influences youngsters, especially with the girls. They would call the partying girls as â€Å"wet-mui† in the past, imposing a negative label on them. Due to such a negative impression on partying, young people seldom go to bars or clubs. D. Parental Control As mentioned before, parent’s control over their children tend to loosen years after years. Teenagers can enjoy a more and more early emancipation. Parents also have to face the pressure of their children. Indeed, as mentioned before, teenagers in Europe are raised to constantly experience by themselves because they can enjoy a wide freedom. But in school, they always need to compare to their peers and the latter will not hesitate to chime in. Parents would then be tempted to loosen the strings that attach them to their children in order to promote and realize the self-expression of their offspring. The hurdle is definitely passed when young Europeans enter University. This usually comes along with the majority and thus the official right to drink any kind of alcohol. Parents then think that their children reached a stage of maturity. For example, a French proverb says â€Å"maintenant tu es majeur et vaccinà ©Ã¢â‚¬ , it would be literally translated as â€Å"now you reached majority and you are also vaccinated†. This means that they completed their duty as parents: to bring up a healthy kid to give him or her all options for the future. It is now up to the teenager to decide for him or herself. Moreover, large parts of student also leave their parent’s house to live in private housing or in student residences. There, they can experience their own autonomy and decide for themselves what they want to do at night. This comes together with the idea that we should learn from our mistakes. For young people in Hong Kong, it is not usual for them to decide for themselves. As mentioned in the part of collectivism, â€Å"family interest is always the top priority†, our own pleasure is neglected in such sense. Our decisions are always made by our parents, what we feel is just not important, as they will decide for our own good. We have to fulfill parents’ expectation in life, therefore, they will decide a path for us to fulfill. Apart from fulfilling family expectation, the parents would think that they are wise enough to help you decide on things. There is a saying that is frequently spoke by parents, â€Å"What do you know, you child!† It reveals the hierarchic style of parent-child relationship. In the family, father has the utmost power to decide on everything, and they are unquestionable. While we might think that this kind of concept should be dropped with the influence of gender equality, the traditional thinking is still affecting the older generations. Parental control in Hong Kong may be severe from European point of view, but it may be lighter from traditional Chinese point of view. Parental control involves no alcohol, and for girls, there would be a curfew before 18. Girls are vulnerable and therefore they should be restrained, which is from parents’ perspective. Although the public security in Hong Kong is satisfying, the citizens normally are well protected by Hong Kong police, parents would still worry about girls’ going out. And when girls want to hang out with friends at one’s home, parents will drop down the address, phone number, what people will appear in that house, etc. Also, they usually have to return home before 12. That is the situation for girls under 18. After 18, the limit would be much reduced, depending on the family. Under strict parent control, there is almost no nightlife before 18 among Hong Kong young people. It is largely different from Europe, where parents’ attitude toward youngsters is to let go, let them try and experience. This also results in different choices we made for night time activities, as Hong Kong youngsters would go for non-alcoholic ones, and Europeans would go for alcoholic ones because they have no restriction on alcohol in their families. E. Motto According to the Swiss Bank UBS’ 2012 Global Prices and Earnings Survey, people in Europe tend to have less annual working hours, with an average of 1829 or 1757 hours, which is less than people in Asia, with an average of 2154 hours. Asian countries are leading in the field. Moreover, the survey also recommends people move their workplace to Europe, â€Å"if you like going on holiday, you should perhaps move your workplace to Europe, where workers enjoy around five weeks of paid relaxation.† In Europe, the motto seems to be â€Å"work hard, play hard†, however, the motto of Europeans may be half right in Hong Kong, the work hard part. According to the Global Prices and Earnings Survey, Hong Kong has average 2296 working hours per year, while vacation days per year are 12 only, meaning one paid day off each month. The intense, fast-paced lifestyle in Hong Kong makes everyone stressful about it. And youngsters could not escape from it. The tension begins once we are born. When we are small, the concept of â€Å"only hard-working people can succeed† is implanted in our mind. The social value regarding success is only defied by one factor, money. More money you possess, more successful you are. In order to become â€Å"successful†, we should stud hard to get good results in public examination, then get into the top universities in Hong Kong, and find a good job. This one-way road constructs a competitive and stressful atmosphere in Hong Kong. For young people, there is a saying among university students about five must-dos in university life, which one of them is doing part-time jobs. In fact, the main purpose of doing part-time jobs is to make their resumes look good. It is all about the future, all about getting a good job, about success. This atmosphere undoubtedly builds up the motto of Hong Kong people, â€Å"work hard to succeed†. In Europe and in France in particular, the notion of success covers a larger definition. Success is not all about money but also about self-fulfillment and overall happiness. Just like states the famous proverb, â€Å"money cannot buy happiness†, we tend to think that material happiness cannot be considered as a true success. Instead of working more, we would give priority to improve our standards of living. Indeed, overt the past decades trade unions struggled to reduce the legal working hours and extend the duration of paid leaves. In compensation, European workers are among the most competitive in the world which legitimate their wages and gives an explanation and a justification to the need of relaxing after work or study. And this attitude in fact contributes to high productivity per head rate as the graph below: Furthermore, our society values youth and freedom and the study years seem to be the only time slot when we can really experience both. It is important not to miss out on this precious moment. In addition, with the generalization of studies, student’s curriculums are converging to an identical level and subject of study. Recruiting consultant and society then attach more importance to life experiences than to degrees in order to distinguish the profiles of their future employees. The motto of life guides us to different choices and attitudes. â€Å"Work hard, play hard† sets a balanced life between work, study and entertainment among Europeans. â€Å"Work hard to succeed† drives Hong Kong people to an extreme that we have no life other than work. These values are reflected by the choices of nightlife, many Hong Kong young people stick to the norms, afraid of judgment from the others, while Europeans enjoy themselves with dancing and drinking. [Claire Couturier on descriptions and Rem Man Hou Sum on cross-cultural analysis] Income difference The cost of nightlife in Europe is almost the same as in Hong Kong. However, European students are more likely to spend their money in leisure and alcohol. The main difference between Hong Kong and Europe is that usually, the admission fee to clubs is cheaper and even sometimes it can be free. Social life is one of the most important components of life among young people and thus, as a result of a cultural practice, students and youngsters in Europe save a part of their budget which is then directly devoted to nights out and leisure. This share can be more or less significant depending on every individual. For example, in average, a French Student lives with about 6000 HKD per month without aids like scholarships and government subsidies and an average student would devote about 1000 to 1500 HKD per month for his nights out. This represents then 16% to 25% percent of his monthly income. The most costly budget item is definitely the drinks and alcohol while the share of admission fees is less significant. Indeed, bars do not require any entrance fee and clubs do not have a policy of high prices, the shortfall should be compensated by margin realized while selling drinks. We also need to point out the importance of house partying which is actually one of the cheapest way to party. No entrance fee is needed and everyone brings his own alcohol. While usually drinks and snacks are all gathered and everyone picks in the table(s) of food, in some European countries, it is a custom that everyone provides for his own needs. This means that no one gets to drink or eat what someone else brings unless it is offered by the owner. This tradition allows then every single person to control exactly the amount of money that he or she wants to put in one night out.[By Claire Couturier] Although cultural differences are of paramount importance in explaining the reasons why the locals adopt a different nightlife style than Europeans, the income differences are worth noting as well. On one hand, even if the cost of alcohol is comparable, the local income level is lower than that in Europe; and on the other, partying is generally more expensive in Hong Kong because of two reasons. First, partying in Hong Kong is costly because of the high entrance fee, especially for men. It can cost up to around $500, of which drinks are excluded. It explains why not many young men are attracted to this nightlife activity. Second, we do not have house parties as Europeans do, and it has to do with the housing of Hong Kong – we have a land mass of 1,104 km2 and a population of more than seven million people, according to Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, making us one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Consequently only very few people are privileged to live in a house. Many people just live in a flat, and given the small size and restrictions on noise which would affect one’s close neighbors next-door, a house party is unlikely. We suggest that future studies can look more deeply into the correlation between income levels and patterns of nightlife for Hong Kong young people, or Hong Kong people in general. Since the income discrepancies are large among different social classes, it might also explain the larger variety of nightlife in Hong Kong than in Europe. Moreover, the minority of people who go partying and fancy a more vibrant nightlife may also suggest the uneven distribution of income in Hong Kong.[By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] The Manifestation of Soft Power A. Soft Power of the West and its influence of Local Nightlife According to Joseph Nye, soft power in political sense is all about the ability to shape the preferences of others so that they want what you want. To make others want to follow you not by means of command or force, it is understandable that the behavior or action have to attract others in the first place. And once others are attracted, their values will gradually change. Nightlife is primarily a western idea. Other than Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Macau, late nights in the streets remain quiet. And in particular, local people do not have a fond heart of partying as Europeans do. Think of how exchange students in HKBU head out to Lan Kwai Fong in groups while many of the local ones have never been to a club before. On the other hand, this situation is gradually changing because more people are willing to try and there is a younger clubbing crowd than before. The slowly growing popularity of partying is a manifestation of soft power. We might find it natural that western culture can be seen and mixed with local culture in these world-class international cities, but are we aware of the fact that our nation is under the influence of other’s soft power? Below are some more examples that exemplify the influence of European or Western soft power on local nightlife culture. Previously in this paper, we have talked about local people speaking in English even though they are just hanging out with their local friends, and also how we dress like foreigners. This is almost the norms of clubbing or partying in Hong Kong. During the research for this topic, we have done a real-life experiment in six clubs. Three are those we categorize as local clubs, and the other three are those more foreign. In two of three for both, we try to speak in English to local men and western men; and in one among three for both types, we speak in our mother tongue, Cantonese and act like we have a rather low command of spoken English to both local and western men, and we wanted to see how would they respond differently. Results are not surprisingly – the most significant result is that when we spoke in English, both local and western men asked either where we came from or were we studying abroad in all the cases. However, when we spoke in Cantonese or rather bad English, western men were less interested and tended to walk away sooner than the other way and local men were less impressed. This simple experiment shows the superiority of the English language in social context in Hong Kong. What is striking in the findings and our observations is that, even in the less restricted social context, local people tend to act like westerners to impress others, and this way of impressing others is actually effective. We suggest that future studies might conduct a more detailed experiment, employing both men and women as experimenters to see if it is similar for men.[By Priscilla Yuen] B. The Help of Popular Culture and Mass Media Western soft power on local nightlife is also facilitated by the spread of western popular culture and mass media. With globalization and greater free flow of information nowadays, young people in Hong Kong are largely exposed to western popular culture. Even though not many young ones spend their nightlife in clubs, many would have heard of the club music (before being remixed) on YouTube, radio, television, and in many different places that would play such music. [By Priscilla Yuen] One of the most powerful vectors of soft power is the cinema. Like in every other developed country, American cinema is the most influential cinema over the world and in Hong Kong also. According to a survey commissioned by MasterCard, â€Å"watching movies at the cinema is the most popular leisure activity in Hong Kong with three quarters (74%) of respondents having been to a movie in the past six months. These respondents had on average gone to a cinema 3 times a month.† Many works have revealed how Hollywood influenced and managed to impose a cultural standardization over societies all around the world. Hong Kong did not escape from that spell either. Depicting the life of young Americans enjoying crazy student life, movies like Project X or Television shows such as Gossip Girl or 90210 provoked a phenomenon of imitation among the Hong Kong youth, a desire to live these fancy lives and enjoy the feeling of carefreeness showed through the stories of the characters. Hong Kong cinema industry seems also to start dealing with the night life. As an example,in September 2011, a movie called Lan Kwai Fong (Ã¥â€"Å"çˆ ±Ã¥ ¤Å"è’ ²)was released. It relates the life a group of young Hong Kong people who spend their nights partying hard in Lan Kwai Fong. The weekend after its release, the movie was ranked number one in the local box office. Even though it did not receive many good reviews, it at least shed light on the phenomenon and on this fringe of local youth who goes clubbing. Besides, the producers decided to release a sequel in 2012, focusing on another group of Lan Kwai Fong night birds. As a former British colony, Hong Kong has been deeply influenced and driven by western culture over the past century. Even after the retrocession to China, Hong Kong kept maintaining privileged relationships with the United Kingdom and the rest of Western world as the city is seen as a western enclave in China. This heritage of western tradition has made of Hong Kong one of the favorite destination for the expats as has shown a recent study realized for HSBC. The local Government issued last year 30,557 visas under the General Employment Scheme. This constant closeness to western culture and cultural exchanges can be seen as the main reason of the spread of the nightlife in Hong Kong. Regarding the students, many exchange programs are set between local Universities and Universities abroad which contribute to the implementation of the nightlife as a norm. Indeed, as we have said before, students in local universities are constantly brought face to face with Western students and even though they might not always talk and share with them, seeing them going out at night might arouse their curiosity. For those who are friends with exchange students, it can be a mentorship to get into nightlife. Finally, local student who go to study abroad experience overseas the student life and, as long as they have adopted it, might just want to reproduce the same when they are back. [By Claire Couterier] C. The Influence of the Membership to International Organizations Hong Kong has been a member of the World trade Organization since 1995, right after its creation. About ten years after and after the retrocession of Hong Kong, in turn China entered the Organization. This membership creates an improvement in trade with the rest of the world but also somehow create a cultural transfer from western countries to developing countries. Some works have shown that international organizations, even though they pretend to serve the whole world and be an open tribune which provide a chance for every country to speak up, are actually driven by Western principles and serve western interests. Regarding the WTO, negotiation rounds over trade go along with a tendency to reach a standardization of the social conditions: The European Union and the US implement some new restrictive norms regarding the working conditions in which are produced manufactured goods. These countries also spread their conceptions of work as they seem to set the example of powerful Nations. These elements are the main explanation of the standardization and improvement of working conditions. Hence, we can observe a decrease of overall working hours and the recognition of several rights for workers such as paid leaves. This modifies the place of work in daily life and can then make more room for leisure in local society. Nightly outings fit then more easily in people’s schedules but this new amount of time can also be used in many different ways such as going to the movies, listening to some music or having gatherings with friends in public places; many of these activities that are at the same time hugely influenced and by Western society and transmitter of its culture as we have seen above.[By Claire Couterier] D. The Repercussions and Overarching Effects of Colonialism Colonialism, in particular European colonialism, has profound influence in both trade and culture in Asia. It is interesting how although European colonialism ended after Second World War, its impact still exists up till now. Looking at Hong Kong, the share of British influence on trade has diminished; but its influences on our culture and the social system are very deep-rooted and evident. The aspect of changes that can be related to our topic here would be on the English language and the education system which stresses importance on bilingualism. Nowadays, there are still a large number of parents who would send their children to the United Kingdom to study, if they can afford the large amount of tuition, boarding and living expenses. The Chinese Societies of different top British universities are famous for co-organizing numerous parties in nightclubs when students are back to Hong Kong for vacation. Like what we have suggested, even though they are a whole bunch of local young people, it is not uncommon that they hold conversations mixed with English and Cantonese, if they are not entirely in English. We have to note that, while trade and economic influences were intended and deliberately brought about, cultural and social influences are not. They are unintended. However, their impacts are not necessarily smaller – because they are deeply embedded in our daily life, we might not be aware of it. There seems to be nothing bad about such a mixture of local and European cultures, but as soft power gets stronger, our local culture may diminish and may eventually be annihilated. Look again at the local nightlife scene, it is not only a mixture of West and the East – it is in fact a separation of our society: Although the expatriate crowd in the hottest nightlife spot, Lan Kwai Fong, are diversified in both their nationalities and walks of life, but in a general post-colonial context, expatriates might think that they are more superior over the locals. And this might be disliked by many local people. E. Increasing Hong Kong’s Soft Power, and Decreasing the West’s As previous studies have suggested, the core of a city’s soft power is the soft power, hence ability to attract, of its city culture (Lin, Li & Hong, 2012). It interacts with its economic and technological advancement to create the competitiveness of the city. More importantly, city culture should be coherent, appealing, innovative, as well as having integration. Looking at Hong Kong, our local culture as manifested by nightlife is not especially charming and focused. When talking about nightlife, the immediate examples we give in Hong Kong’s context are bars and clubs like what Europe or the West have – but strangely, neither is it the norms of the society, nor is it â€Å"Hong Kong† in itself, while other options like karaoke bars are actually evident and more popular among young people in Hong Kong. The problem is, feelings toward these are not largely positive nor are Hong Kong people proud of them – and it also cannot attract people from other cities to feel our city’s special appeal. Is Hong Kong’s world-famous nightlife culture innovative? Certainly it is not. The fact that Lan Kwai Fong, which is not much different from nightlife spots in Europe, pops up as the most popular nightlife spot in Hong Kong, might appear strange to exchange students or tourists. To enhance Hong Kong’s soft power through its city culture, it should increase its capacity to draw different cultural factors and to broaden the market. In the case of nightlife, the government might try to think of sponsoring the start-up and operation of bars playing local music, to start with, or for example, to promote karaoke lounges for foreigners. At the moment, karaoke lounges only target at local customers, this can be seen at the fact that the promotion leaflets, publication materials, and the like, are mostly in Chinese only and do not have an English translation. Also, the repertoire in karaoke lounges is narrow and has only a few foreign songs. [By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] Conclusion We would have expected nightlife to be different in such poles apart cultures, but by talking and investigating into the subject we realized that they were many cultural, historical and values implications behind this topic that could have been considered as frivolous in the first place. And even though Hong Kong is always seen from, a Western point of view, as a modern, dynamic and westernized city, the local culture is still deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition. One century of English protectorate did not modify much the structure of beliefs and traditions and way of thinking. The profound gap that separates both our nightlife culture appears to be the drinking tradition and the relationships and moral values towards alcohol. Whereas alcohol is a daily beverage on the western side, in the east it is frowned up to drink for the possible repercussions and bad behavior caused by alcohol. It is then a completely adverse thinking pattern between two sides of the world. The same goes for the notion of success. While in Hong Kong success is only related to money, in Europe, success embraces a wider definition. We live in a leisure society that considers, to a certain extent, work as an alienation of freedom. Thus, there is no point in working so hard if we cannot enjoy some time to spend the hard-won money. It seems like the difference in nightlife can then be explained by this completely opposed system of values. However, Hong Kong is at the core of the process of westernization and going out late at night becomes more and more common for the local youth. We can think that the process started under the British domination and keeps on going even after the retrocession thanks to a large range of cultural conveyers like cultural goods such as cinema, film, music, social medias but also the development of economic and social exchanges between Hong Kong and the Western world. At the end of the day, we might observe a convergence in the nightlife activities. After all, as mentioned earlier, nightlife appeared and developed in Europe between 1500 and 1700. The social nightlife nowadays is the result of a long lasting process. That is why, with the globalization, we can expect to see the next generation of local youth to fill up the numerous bars and clubs in Hong Kong soon. [By Claire Couterier] Bibliography Chaouachi, Kamal and Sajid, Khan Mohammad (2010) â€Å"A Critique of Recent Hypotheses on Oral (and Lung) Cancer Induced by Water Pipe (Hookah, Shisha, Narghile) Tobacco Smoking,† Medical Hypotheses 74, no. 5. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Information Services Department. (2012) â€Å"Hong Kong: The Facts.† Accessed at December 07, 2012. http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/population.pdf. Lin, Dan, Li, Wenjuan and Hong, Xiaonan (2012) â€Å"The Research on the Soft Power of City Culture,† Studies in Sociology of Science 3, no. 2. Nye, Joseph (2004) Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs). Observatoire de la jeunesse (2011) jeunesse et alcool. (Paris: Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire). UBS (2012) Global Prices and Earnings Survey. http://www.static-ubs.com/global/en/wealth_management/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings/_jcr_content/par/columncontrol/col1/linklist/link_0.1393999310.file/bGluay9wYXRoPS9jb250ZW50L2RhbS91YnMvZ2xvYmFsL3dlYWx0aF9tYW5hZ2VtZW50L3dlYWx0aF9tYW5hZ2VtZW50X3Jlc2VhcmNoL1BfTF8yMDEyX2VuLnBkZg==/P_L_2012_en.pdf. 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