Movie “Himala” by Ishmael Bernal Essay

The movie â€Å"Himala† by Filipino National Artist Ishmael Bernal deals with the social issues of poverty, religion and fanaticism. It is a commentary to the living conditions of the Filipino people and their faith and beliefs. The greatness of the film is reflected by the fact that it is now considered a Filipino classic, with Elsa’s (Nora Aunor) speech being quoted until today. The different characters in the movie represent a variety of sectors in society. Elsa, the protagonist of the movie, is an image of a false prophet. Apparently she can heal the sick and perform miracles but no proof of it can be seen throughout the movie. Nimia (Gigi Duenas) portrays the people who do not believe in miracles. She may be considered a sinner because she was a prostitute in Manila, not to mention she also set up a cabaret in the town of Cupang, but she only does this just so she can put food in her stomach. She strives hard to keep herself alive. Chayong (Laura Centeno) is Elsa’s confidante, and she fully believes in Elsa’s healing powers. She personifies an innocent and gullible person. Because of this blind faith, she gets assaulted and causes her to resort to suicide. Mrs. Alba (Veronica Palileo) used Elsa’s supposed healing power to profit from the people, selling merchandise and other paraphernalia. She is the epitome of an exploitative person, taking advantage of the people’s gullibility and innocence and making money out of it. The filmmaker Orly (Spanky Manikan) shows a person who is an outsider. He uses the opportunity to make a name for himself by producing a movie centering on Elsa’s life. He shows a change of heart when he felt guilty for not helping Chayong and Elsa when they were assaulted. Lastly, Sepa (Ama Quiambao) and the fans of Elsa represent a sector of the Filipino people who are willing to sacrifice their livelihoods just to be saved by a false prophet, all for the belief that God will help those who do not help themselves. They are so blinded in their faith that they don’t even see the truth, Elsa’s confession, even when it is presented right in their face. The whole film is focused on faith. It depicts the ease of Filipinos to believe religious claims without evidence and thinking logically. Poverty is also visible in the film, showing kids eating stale meat and enacting a cholera outbreak. Miracles are a controversial issue, and talking about its truthfulness will more likely spark a debate. I personally do not believe in miracles because I believe that what you put out in the world comes back at you. I think miracles are not miracles per se, but they are the good that you did before which is coming back to you. The film shows Filipino spirituality’s different sides. Of course, there are believers and non-believers, and none of which is considered right or wrong since they have the freedom which to believe. As I have said, it shows that people are willing to sacrifice their whole lives work just to secure their spot in heaven without acknowledging the facts. There is also a good side to Filipino spirituality, as showcased by the priest (Joel Lamangan), who believes in God but still is a rational thinker. People should believe the real meaning of religion and not some false prophet’s views on the matter. The message of the film is that to do not believe everything you see, for we may see a slightly skewed image of the truth. In the film, it was said that Elsa had healing powers, but not once did a person actually thank her for healing her or a cured person appeared. This may tell us that Elsa never had healing powers or that the people she was healing were in on the lie. We can also take away from the film that if we are to believe in God, we should believe in God himself, not on any person claiming to be a prophet because it can lead to deadly consequences, like the death of Sepa’s two sons and Elsa’s death. The film is now considered timeless, classic even because it can withstand time. It is a universal struggle. Not only the Filipinos adhere to this problem but the rest of the world does too. Religion scopes a huge population; many of them may face the same problems discussed in Himala. Overall, the film was great and I am glad I had the chance to watch a Filipino film classic known around the world because of its greatness and permanence.

Rene Descartes Essay

It is a well-established fact in various literatures in philosophy that Rene Descartes pioneered the modern philosophy tradition. He was the first one who veered away from philosophic tradition that uses Christian faith as the backbone of philosophizing such that of the minds of the medieval philosophers. Rene Descartes’ main philosophical thesis is derived from his famous approach of methodological skepticism or metaphysical doubt. In this regard, he seeks to arrive at a set of principles that will then lead him to prove the truth without generating any doubt. According to his thesis, those things that can be doubted should not be considered as genuine knowledge. Consequently those that cannot be doubted in any respect can be the foundation of genuine knowledge. There is a single principle that he uses as the foundation of his philosophy namely the thought exists. Given that a thought cannot be separated from a any person who thinks, then, the thinking person exists. It is in this simplistic manner that we can come to know and, hence, verify our existence. If a person doubts his existence and, since, nobody can deny the fact that doubting is just another act of thinking, then (by so doing the doubting), the person is in a way asserting his own existence. The very act of doubting your own existence is a proof that you exist. The nature of mind in his writings can be seen to have a distinct function which is to think. It is an indivisible, non-extended thing. But to better understand his propositions in reference to the mind, we must take into account his proposed mind and body problem. The non-thinking thing, he states, is the body. It is a divisible, extended thing and a material substance that suggests spatial extendedness. The mind and body can so exist independently of each other and while any person can doubt of his own body, he can never doubt his own mind – the thinking thing. It is through apprehension of the necessary existence which is embodied in the clear and distinct idea of the supremely perfect being that we can so acquire knowledge of God. He holds his view that the necessary existence cannot be disconnected to the essence of the supremely perfect being (God) without any form of contradiction. Moreover, the existence of God is indeed conspicuous and self-evident according to his thesis. The cause that contains much of a reality that the object of the idea has is God. The God put the idea of something that exists clearly and distinctly in our minds. The idea of something draws its reality from the cause. God’s existence is, for Descartes, the most basic mathematical truth. For any person to arrive at genuine knowledge, one has to know the distinction between impulses that lead one to believe and insights to necessary truths. The former implies that it cannot be doubted whereas the latter cannot be doubted at all. The latter are the principles in our minds by which we acquire knowledge. We must also consider where the errors are coming from in our epistemological pursuit. God, according to him, can never lead people to deception and if only people will use their abilities that they received from God, there will be no chance for any faults. But since people do not easily stay in the narrow realm of truth because of the clashing interests of the will and intellect, people fail to recognize sound judgments. Senses should not be relied upon (in searching for a genuine knowledge); for they only serve confused notions of matter. Sense perceptions are the results of the body’s influence in the mind not from the mind’s apprehension of the necessary characteristics of matters. Rene Descartes believes that people obtain knowledge through the apprehension of the necessary attributes of beings. The physical world, for Descartes, should be visualized as a complicated machine but not in the manner of using our bodily perceptions; rather by the way it is cognized in mathematical terms. The idea that philosophy should have an exact method like that of the natural science of first came from Franz Brentano. Franz Brentano is known because of his works in philosophy of psychology and his reintroduction of the concept of intentionality. Unlike Rene Descartes, Brentano does not use the idea of God in his philosophy and his explanations concerning his theses. Intentionality, according to his writings, can be summed up into the relationship of mental phenomena (consciousness) and the physical phenomena, that is, every single mental phenomena or any psychological act has content and is directed towards an object (intentional object). To signify the status of the object of thoughts in the mind, Franz Brentano uses the term â€Å"intentional inexistence†. The mental phenomenon has the capacity to be intentional, thus it can have an intentional object that the physical phenomenon does not have the ability of generating of. Physical phenomenon is deficit of the ability of generating original intentions but can assist in the progress of intentional relationship in a second-hand manner called derived intentionality. On the other hand, Franz Brentano states that a mental phenomenon is not dependent on the actual existence of an object to be able to form a quasi-relation to it. It should be noted that a thing that does not exist literally in the physical world can be an intentional object of a mental phenomenon. There are criteria to differentiate mental phenomena from physical phenomena. The three most important among those are (1) the exclusive object of inner perception is the mental phenomena, (2) mental phenomena appear as unity and (3) they are directed to an object with a certain degree of intentionality. Mental acts do not necessary have duration. When we are directed towards an object, the object does not vanish from our consciousness for it remains present but just in an altered state. On the contrary, this is not about the act of remembering per se but rather a kind of memory that keeps â€Å"what had been experienced† lively. In the epistemological sense, Franz Brentano states that all knowledge should be from direct experiences that entails the use of first person pronoun, â€Å"I†. However, this should not be confused in the idea that Brentano is upholding the standard of empirical science nowadays. He is introducing here another of approach of performing psychology from an empirical standpoint. This means that those things that one directly experiences in inner perception must be described using the first-person point of view. This then inaugurates another brand of empiricism. Resembling the idea of Descartes, Brentano maintains the idea that perception is erroneous and it could not lead us to de facto existence of the perceived world which could be just an illusion. Moreover, he believes that we can find absolute certainty in our inner perception. Just like the problem that we can see in Descartes disapproval of the use of bodily senses in approaching knowledge, we cannot deem Brentano’s ideas compatible to the tenets of natural science and its course of experimentations. Reality for Franz Brentano does not reside on the perceived world. As what has been mentioned above, the perceived world can only be an illusion and to properly combat this possible error in our judgment (if we only rely on our senses), we must put in higher regard our introspection of our inner perception. Following Franz Brentano’s concept of intentionality, Edmund Husserl has formulated another version of the study of the structure of consciousness and its corresponding acts. There is a remarkably similar ideas perpetuating from Brentano’s ideas to that of Husserl notion of the consciousness or the mind. The consciousness acts intentionally toward an intentional object. Consciousness then is always directed toward something, whatever that something is. But then again, the concepts that these two philosophers individually present do not resemble each others in all aspects. Edmund Husserl proposes that there is a need in pointing out the differences between the act of consciousness and the phenomena at which the act is intentionally directed. We must know the object-in-itself, transcendent to consciousness. Phenomenology does not displace the notion that objects are indeed real but it puts these objects under the method of â€Å"bracketing† just so to regard the object as it is and not merely that of the object’s features. It also seeks to pinpoint the constant features that define how objects are perceived. In a phenomenological standpoint, the object is not regarded based on its external features, it is not its â€Å"aboutness† that is being scrutinized, it is the object-in-itself. It is not, therefore, in the business of phenomenology to assume the existence of anything. It is a discipline that means to describe the things in themselves. Edmund Husserl gives a little significance to the perennial metaphysical problem of setting up the whole foundation of material reality of what we constantly perceive. The task of a philosopher, for him, is to look at essences of things. The knowledge of essences can only be attained by not letting the assumptions of an external world interfere in epistemological pursuit. This is â€Å"bracketing† that is entailed in the procedure called epoche. It is through constant act of varying the object in our imagination that we can then arrive at the essences of that object. Husserl’s notion of natural standpoint is marked by a certain belief that there are objects that materially exist and that their properties and characteristics are exhibited by them that we then perceive. He declares that mental and spiritual (mind) realities are not the same. These two different concepts are independent of any kind of physical evidences. The above paragraph implies that the natural science, in Husserl’s philosophy, is also in a problematic seat just like the problem we see in Descartes and Brentano’s philosophy. The true knowledge is not attainable in the realm of empirical observation however there is rationality involved. The â€Å"brand† of reality that these three philosophers advertise is the reality that we cannot grasp in the physical world. Reality does not have a place in the realm of the senses.

Kudler Fine Foods Computer Information System Essay

Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) is a California-based provider of a variety of high end foods, both local and from around the world, founded by Kathy Kudler in 1998. Since the opening of the first location, Kudler has opened two more locations in the San Diego area; Del Mar in 2000 and Encinitas in 2003 (About, 2011). As a growing business, Kudler’s needs are constantly changing, especially in terms of the company’s information technology and information systems. This paper will discuss the needs of the company in regards to business operations and accounting, as well as discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the systems currently in place. Based on the current technological opportunities, suggestions will be made to further improve these systems, and evaluate any threats that may affect these systems. Primary Findings Business and Accounting Needs Business Needs As a retail company, Kudler Fine Foods needs to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Kathy Kudler budgeted over $50,000 for Smith Systems to select and install the existing finance and accounting system, called Retail Enterprise Management System (REMS). REMS provides an Point-of-Sale module, or POS module, to automate all retails sales made, in detail. This system automatically reports this data to the accounting modules, as well as manages all credit/debit card transactions made in the stores. This helps to eliminate data entry errors by limiting the amount of data requiring manual input by employees (Accounting System Overview, 2011). Accounting Needs REMS also addresses the accounting needs of KFF, by providing applications for the general ledger, accounts payable, bank reconciliation, asset management and accounting modules. Each of these modules is interconnected with the POS, which allows for direct transfer of data between modules (Accounting System Overview, 2011). General Ledger Module. The General Ledger module includes the chart of accounts, and transaction details transferred y the POS system. This data is used to create the company’s budget and financial reporting. Due to the electronic transfer of data from the POS to the general ledger, this module requires minimal manual data entry (Accounting System Overview, 2011). Accounts Payable Module. The AP module allows for the check disbursement portion of the business to be done electronically. This module holds vendor data, tax and freight data, and accepts data from other modules that directly affect purchasing (Accounting System Overview, 2011). Bank Reconciliation Module. Data from the accounts payable, accounts receivable and purchase order modules are compiled automatically by the bank reconciliation module. This data is used in cash flow analysis for financial reporting (Accounting System Overview, 2011). Asset Management and Accounting: There was no module created for this portion of the business. Kudler needs to develop an efficient and economical way to track inventory and other assets, other than relying on the leasing company and spreadsheets (Accounting System Overview, 2011). Strengths and Weaknesses in the Current System Strengths The strength in the existing information system is that the modules that are installed reduce the manual data entry, thus eliminating unnecessary errors to the information, by allowing the modules to share information provided by the point-of sale machines. The POS system itself is a major benefit to the IT system as a whole, due to the number of transactions it is able to detail, catalog and parse to the interconnected modules. Secondly, the network set up at each location supports 3-4 POS terminals, an inventory terminal and a server terminal. Each individual network, for each store is providing enough storage power for the needs of each location (Information Technology, 2011). Weaknesses As previously discussed, the network setup has benefits on an individual store basis. However, the system as a whole is not sufficient in running a cohesive, multi location business. Kudler’s inventory systems are completely separate from one another, which could cause a serious issue in asset management within the company. A second weakness is the lack of policy regarding security within the system. This could lead to vulnerability to an internet attack for customer personal information and identity theft. Also, without back up procedures, there is no way for Kudler to prevent data loss, should the network(s) fail. Recommendations Based on the information above, the recommendation for Kudler and KFF would be to first, establish a set of security policies and back up procedures, in order to prevent hacking and data loss, respectively. In order to do so, Kudler would best benefit by reestablishing a working relationship with Smith Systems. Smith would then set up and maintain an offsite server that will service all three KFF locations, and allow the company to consolidate the three separate inventory systems. The offsite server would then serve as a repository for all accounting, inventory and human resources related items. Doing so will cut down the potential staffing and duplication in the inventory system. Additionally this would reduce the number of servers required, and thus reduce the potential of IT related hardware issues. Conclusion To conclude, Kudler Fine Foods uses and information system established by Smith Systems that sufficiently handles point-of-service retail sales receipts, and disburses the information to the appropriate accounting software modules. The modules receive the financial data from the sales to create financial reports, budgeting reports, and analyze accounts receivable and accounts payable. The system also maintains ordering and purchase order data, however, it does not maintain a single inventory module, which could track the sales of these items after the goods are received in the individual stores. In order for this to occur, Kudler needs to establish a solid set of security measures and procedures in the case of data loss. To address this, Smith Systems can be contracted to maintain an offsite server with security maintenance. This will help to prevent internet attacks by hackers searching for customer identification and credit card information. Once these changes are in effect KFF should see an increase in efficiency in the current systems in use.

Goods market data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Goods market data - Essay Example The economy suffered from a sharp increase in energy prices in the second half of 2004. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. (See appendix 1) Industrial production increased 0.9 percent in October after a drop of 1.5 percent in September. Hurricane-related recoveries in many industries and the resolution of a strike at a major aircraft producer contributed significantly to the increase in output. At 107.9 percent of its 2002 average, output in October was 1.9 percent above its year-earlier level. Manufacturing production increased 1.4 percent, a rise that more than reversed its September decline of 0.7 percent. Output also moved down in the industries for machinery and for furniture and related products. Production increased slightly in the industries for textiles and products, for paper, and for printing and support, while output was unchanged in the food, beverage, and tobacco products industry. (See appendix 2) Real personal consumption expenditure increased by 3.4% in Q2 2005, compared with an increase of 3.5% in Q1. Durable goods purchases increased by 7.9% (2.6% in Q1), while nondurable goods purchases increased by 3.6% (5.3% in Q1). Notably, domestic investment dropped by 3.7%. (See appendix 3) Real Private Fixed Investment (1 decimal) (See appendix 4) 2: Labor market data that includes: Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate has ranged from 4.9 to 5.1 percent since May. The unemployment rates for adult women (4.6 percent), teenagers (15.9 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and blacks (9.1 percent) showed little or no change over the month. The jobless rates for adult men (4.3 percent) and Hispanics or Latinos (5.8 percent) both declined from September. Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (+56,000) in October, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents over the month. For major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted refer to the Appendix 5 and 6, where numbers are in thousands. 3: Price data includes: Goods and Services GDP Deflator The GDP deflator has been averaging in the low 2% range for much of this decade. As the table below indicates, everything from housing prices, food, utilities, medical costs, gasoline, and retail goods have been rising at much higher rates. By understating inflation, government statisticians have been overstating GDP growth. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 forecast 2005 forecast 2006 GDP, deflator Index 100 102.4 104.09 106 109.7 108.23 112.96 CPI The consumer price index (CPI) during the month of May decreased by .1 percent (one-half of one percent). The rate of increase in the consumer price index over the past twelve months has been 2.8 percent. In May, the core consumer price index, which excludes energy and food prices, increased by .1 from April. The core index has increased by 2.2 percent over the last twelve months. (Appendix 7) PPI The

Observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Observation - Essay Example He is one of those people who have the talent for making a person feel really welcome. Though the shop is located in the suburbs, in a sparse neighborhood, yet all sorts of people prefer to visit this place owing to its rustic appeal, the social variety it offers, the jovial nature of old Joe and to have a cup of good coffee and a hearty cheese sandwich at a warm and friendly place. It is early morning and I am here to have breakfast after working long hours on a particularly difficult English assignment. As usual old Joe is sitting behind the counter, placing his chubby hands gently over his generous belly, passing a broad smile to every new visitor. I am rubbing my sleepy eyes, trying to get rid of the fatigue that has overtaken me. Going by the early hours most of the tables are still unoccupied. An aged couple is occupying the table to the left of me. They must be in their seventies. The husband is slowly munching a cheese sandwich while the wife is looking at him with tender eyes. Both of them are quiet, focusing more on the breakfast. The table in front of me has three young people sitting there, one boy and two girls, all the three in their early twenties, loudly laughing and chuckling as they talk over the breakfast. The table in the ill lit corner is occupied by a tall man with grizzled hair who looks really handsome. He is accompanied by a lady who seems to be a bit over weight, but otherwise cute. Both seem to be engaged in some intimate conversation, totally oblivious of other people in the shop. The place is gradually warming up with more people walking in. Here come a group of college students, five of them, three gents and two girls, all of them really loud. Being lost in my reveries I am not able to grab much of their conversation except for the bits and pieces like â€Å"History†, â€Å"Kills’, â€Å"missed the class†, â€Å"What a bore!†. Perhaps they are talking about the history

Equity and Trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Equity and Trust - Essay Example Whether the person involved is a trustee or an executor depends on the manner in which the decedent held his/her property. A trustee is an individual or a firm that holds responsibility, authority and position over a property on behalf of or/and for the benefit of another (Free willWriting.com, 2013). In a broader term, a trustee could also refer to a person who sits on the Board of Trustees for a firm that works in the interest of and for the benefit of the general public. Although often set up for charitable reasons, a trust could also be set up for the benefit of individuals. Thus, the key types of trust are a will trust for the testators family and children, a pension trust, and a charitable trust (Free willWriting.com, 2013). The executor on the other hand is the person or the trust company mandated to settle the estate of a testator according to the provisions of the will. This paper advises Trevor and Tony, an executor and a trustee regarding the distribution of Sam’s (the decedent) wealth and the settling of his/her business affairs and debts according to the provisions of the will left. In his will, Sam outlines how his assets are to be distributed to the beneficiaries. First, Sam leaves his 20,000 shares in BT plc to his trustees on trust. He directs the trustees to hold the bulk of these shares for his sister Margaret and the remainder for his four grandchildren in whatever shares the trustees deem appropriate. Second, Sam directs that his bronze statue of a musician to be given to his daughter Fiona, who should keep it safely for her grandchildren. Third, he directs that his trustees distribute  £50,000 amongst the inhabitants of Greater London as the trustees deem appropriate. Finally, he directs that his executors distribute  £300,000 amongst his friends. Further, in case the executors doubt who Sam’s friends were, his wife should help in identifying his

The End of the Ottoman Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The End of the Ottoman Empire - Essay Example The Ottoman Empire had been established by the mid of the fifteenth century in the wake of the conquest of Constantinople at the hands of Sultan Mehmet II in 1453 A.D., which lasted for over five and half centuries till the armed forces of the empire had to surrender before the Allies in the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918 (19). The critics pertinently blame the Ottoman caliphs and their inefficiency and unruliness to be one of the most significant reasons behind the empire’s growing weaker and unstable, leading to its ultimate fall eventually. The theorists also view the caliph’s irrational decision to participate in WWI on the German side to be the most effective cause of the empire ruination. Somehow, vested political and economic interests established by Great Britain, Russia and France, and the difference of the religious ideology emulated by the Christian Allies and the Muslim Empire, respectively, could be stated to be the turning point behind the abolishment of the caliphate and the partition of its territories into several sovereign states ultimately in the aftermath of the First World War. There is no doubt in the bitter reality that the empire had turned out to be the sick man of Europe by the end of the nineteenth century; therefore, the four small states appeared on the horizon to inflict a humiliating defeat on the empire during the Balkan War of 1911. However, the sympathetic inclinations demonstrated by the Christian nations, including England, France, Italy and Russia, towards Greece and against the Ottomans in Asia Minor also added their share in the rise of the Greeks and destruction of the Muslim empire (20). The British-led alliance appeared to be determined to exert its influence in different parts of the Ottoman Empire, which could only be possible through launching a formidable attack on the unity of the Muslim community. As a result, the ethnic and racial sentiments were projected and promoted in the hearts and minds o f the Arabs belonging to the Middle East and North Africa, who raised a decisive revolt against the Turkish supremacy and made demands for the separate and independent states to be established on the foundations of absolute sovereignty, where there would be no chances of any interference from the Turkish political domination altogether. Consequently, the sentiments of ethno-racial and regional hatred and prejudice were harboured with the aim of adding fuel to the fire of the Arab nationalism that could lead to the eventual disintegration of the Ottoman Empire (23). Kedourie (22) seems to be justified in making his argument that the caliph ruling over the Ottoman Empire was thought to be the religious and political leader of the entire Muslim community. Consequently, all the Muslim states not only revered him as their religious patron, but also traditionally used to seek spiritual and political guidance from him. Therefore, the certificate issued by the caliph in favour of a ruler wa s considered to be the final

Chose an ecosystem, analyze the impact of human activity on the Essay

Chose an ecosystem, analyze the impact of human activity on the ecosystem, and provides guidelines to help preserve your chosen - Essay Example Saving these rainforest ecosystems and rehabilitating forest lands is critical to ensure clean air and a healthy environment for all. Tropical Rainforest Ecosystems An ecosystem is a community of living organisms, as well as the non living components in their environment, on whom they depend for their needs. Nutrients and energy that are obtained from the environment are used so as to maintain an ecosystem. An ecosystem consists of various species and each of them has a relationship with other species that cohabit the ecosystem. Ecosystems are of various types and are determined by the prevailing climatic conditions which in turn define the vegetation and the variety of life forms found there. Examples of ecosystems are rainforests, grasslands, deserts, and water ecosystems like marine or freshwater ecosystems. Ecosystems can be divided into their biotic or living components like primary producers that are green plants, herbivores, carnivores etc; and the abiotic or non living compon ents like sunlight, temperature, moisture and so on. ... The Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia is the largest rainforest in the world. It is sometimes referred to as the lungs of the planet, due to its capacity to recycle large quantities of carbon dioxide into oxygen. Situated in South America, the Amazon rainforest covers more than half of Brazil and is the drainage basin for the Amazon river and its tributaries. Its proximity to the equator ensures plenty of heat and sunlight, which in turn generates rain that provides the moisture. High temperatures, and abundant rainfall throughout the year, results in a climate that is warm and humid. These are ideal conditions for the growth of all types of vegetation including a wide variety of trees, plants shrubs and other vegetation, which attracts innumerable birds, insects and animals. Hence rainforests are rich in their biological diversity and home to myriads of animal, bird and insect species. Biodiversity is important to the environment because it increases productivity in an ecosy stem, where every species, no matter how tiny, contributes to the health and well being of the ecosystem. As Ban Ki Moon (2010) rightly points out â€Å"Biodiversity underpins the functioning of the ecosystems on which we depend for food and fresh water, health and recreation, and protection from natural disasters.† (Ban Ki Moon, 2010) The Amazon rainforest consists of four layers, the emergent layer, the canopy, the shrub layer and the forest floor. The emergent layer consists of the tallest trees, some that are over 50 meters in height. The leaves of these trees are smooth and waxy and taper to what is known as a drip tip to allow water to drip off it to the layer below. The canopy is below the emergent layer and is a sea of leaves. Since the tallest trees and the canopy of

What is a Sports Fan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is a Sports Fan - Essay Example   One of the fundamental levels of being a sports fan is having a dedication to a sports team. In these regards, people have a number of reasons for choosing one franchise over another. In collegiate sports, many people follow the teams of the universities that they are personally affiliated. For professional athletic franchises, traditionally fans follow the sports team with which they are geographically closest. It seems these fans believe that the sports team represents their city or state, and in rooting for them they are rooting for their own region. Of course, these tendencies are oftentimes not followed for a number of reasons. Many times individuals will follow teams from entirely different geographic regions for the sole reason that they are winning. This leads many individuals to claim they are front-runners and not true fans. It follows that most sports fans are described as such because of their dedication to a specific team. Another important element that makes one a sports fan is their dedication to the sport they are a fan. In these regards, people have many reasons they are passionate about sports. As discussed above, many individuals are passionate about sports out of a dedication to their home town or college team. There exists a number type of sports fan that is interested in sports out of hobby interest. In recent years, fantasy leagues have become increasingly popular. These are leagues wherein people join and draft a team of players. If a player on the individuals' team has a high statistical showing, then the individual scores point for their fantasy team. People then avidly follow sports to keep track of their team.  

Two Successful Designers Jonathan lve and Verner Panton Essay Example for Free

Two Successful Designers Jonathan lve and Verner Panton Essay In this essay I am going to write about Jonathan lve, who succeeded his imagination which made him design and produced products that is used regularly by his costumers. I will demonstrate all his products and his latest design, how he was influenced and who did he influence with his great creations. Jonathan Jony ive, born in February 1967. Jonathan Ive was born in Chingford, London. He is English designer and the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Inc. He is the chief designer of the iMac, aluminium and titanium PowerBook G4, MacBook, unibody MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He is now a successful vice president of the worldwide company, apple. He has been leading the worlds most respected technology designing teams, since 1996. STUDY He was raised by his teacher father and attended Chingford Foundation School then he went on to attend Walton High School in Stafford, Staffordshire, next he studied Industrial Design at Northumbria University. Jonathan Ive moved to the United States in 1992 to pursue his career at Apple Inc. since a young age, Jonathan had developed a passion for finding and discovering out how and what things were made out of, and how they were designed. REWARDS Ive was the winner of the Design Museums first Designer of the Year award in 2002, and won again in 2003. In 2004, he was a juror for the award. Also in 2005, he upgraded to the job of being the vice president and top leading designing for apple. PRODUCTS He was the designer and producer of the most famous pieces of technology used today. Many of his designs have been produced and sold worldwide and used as a daily technology. The most important factor he has considered is that all of his products are targeted at a wider range of costumers which increase profit e.g. iPods for teenagers and kids also iPads for working women and men. His products contain iPod, iPod shuffle, mac apple laptop, iPhone. The best sold product is i-pod. In September alone he sold 12. 010, 27 million I-pod worldwide. The latest design that Jonathan has come up with is the small, portable i-pod shuffle touch. INFUENCES Jonathan lve was inspired by the work of Dieter rams and was a big influence in Jonathan lve designs. Dieter rams the 1960s German designer legend whose shapes and forms of Brauns home electronics line are noticeable in todays Apple products. Some of his designs include Braun shavers, radios and washing machine. In this essay I am going to write about Verner Panton, who succeeded his imagination which made him design and produced products that is used regularly by his costumers. I will demonstrate all his products and his latest design, how he was influenced and who did he influence with his great creations. Verner was born on 13 February 1926, in the hamlet of Gentofte on the island of Funen and died aged 82 on 5september 1998.verner Panton attended the polytechnic in Odense between 1944 and 1947 before going on to study architecture until 1951 at the royal Danish art academy in Copenhagen. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant colours. DESIGNS He is considered one of Denmarks most dominant 20th- century furniture and interior designer. His works contain Cone Chair, Peacock, The Panton chair, Verner Panton S-chair model 275 Thanet. These are still sold widely today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Verner Panton experimented with designing full environments; radical and psychedelic interiors that were an ensemble of his curved furniture, wall upholstering, textiles and lighting. He is best known for the design of German boats interior, now in a famous museum. INFLUENCES He was one of which never stops learning as he is influenced by many. One Poul Henningsen, who was the lighting designer and had taught him at Copenhagens Royal Academy of Art,. Second he worked for Denmarks architectural grandee, Arne Jacobsen. Third he had a close friendship with the designer- craftsman Hans Wegner. He also had close links with many of the most important Danish designer. He influenced with his designs show his skills as he influence on his time and future. The hallmarks of Danish furniture designer Verner Panton are the sculptural grace, the unusual forms, and most important, the colour.

Consumer Buying Decision Process Marketing Essay

Consumer Buying Decision Process Marketing Essay Behavior is defined as any activity, physical or mental, performed by an individual. Studying consumer behavior can help enterprises understand what consumers need, so they can create, develop, and improve their products and marketing strategy. The basic questions that the marketers have to understand about the consumers are what products they want to buy, where they buy, when they buy, and how much they want to buy. Moreover, they would understand what factors that impact to consumer behavior and their buying decision (). Purchasing goods and services depends on the consumers needs, preferences and purchasing power (Kahn, 2007). According to Solomon (2004), the consumers also buy products as an experience (emotive or aesthetic reaction), as an instrument of integration, as a classification scale (how we are ranged in the society), or as a game. Voice of the customers is very important because businesses do not know all what consumers want to get from their products and services, and it can lead products fail. So product research would help businesses improve existing product and to identify gaps in current products (). However, the businesses need to concern in the long term, because the opportunity of today for a trend is not necessarily than tomorrows (). 2.5 Consumer buying decision process The decision-making process starts from the mind of consumers. This process includes the consumer first understanding what they need. Then, they will search for information while considering internal and external factors. Next, they will have an evaluation and make a selection, and eventually make a purchase (see figure 1). The post purchase behavior can give companies information about whether or not their products are successful. Sales and after sale services can also have an effect on consumer satisfaction and lead to repeat purchases (see figure 2). It shows that the purchasing process starts from the consumers needs and finishes with their satisfaction. The marketing strategies will be successful if they have the best solutions to solve the consumers problems (Kahn, 2007). Companys total product Competitors total product Consumer decision process Superior value expected Sales Perceived value delivered Consumer satisfaction Fig. 2 Creating Satisfied Customers (Source: Kahn 2007) Problem recognition Information search External and internal Evaluation and selection Store choice and purchases Post-purchase Behavior Fig. 1 Decision Process (Source: Kahn 2007) Consumers have different shopping behaviors. There are many stores and many goods and services that consumers can choose from while they are shopping. The places to buy products are different, and consumers choose where they want to buy based upon what kind of products they want to buy. Some consumers are loyal to certain stores, while others are considered store switchers because they are willing to buy similar products in more than one type of store. There are many factors that can affect the consumers decision to select where to buy products. Price is one of the main factors that influences buying decisions with some consumers preferring to shop in stores that have everyday low prices (EDLP), and others that like promotion prices (HILO) (Bell, Bucklin Sismeiro, 2000). Stavkova, Stejskal, and Toufarova (2008) studied about the factors that influence consumer decision to buy various products. From their study, they found the most important factors that influence consumer behavior for 10 different types of products. Each of the product types showed different factors. For example, for food and non-alcoholic drinks, the most important factors are necessity of need, quality, and former experience. For clothing and footwear, the factors include quality, products characteristics and parameters, and design of product. For transport, the important factors are necessity of need, price, and quality. Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009) studied about factors that influences consumer decision on carbonated soft drinks consumption, and the result of their study showed that, flavor is the most important factor that influences consumer decision. Trademark and price are also important factors, but health and speed of purchase are not really important for them. Basically, food and drink are related to what is important to the consumers such as their survival, health, life expectancy, personality, lifestyle, and family (European Commissions, 2009). According to the (), there are 3 factors that influence the consumer food choice decision making-process; Properties of the food, person-related factors and purchasing environmental factors, while communication is related with all these factors. It is highly influence by social factors and increasingly motivated by necessity (European Commissions, 2009) However, we can still assume that consumer food choice is influenced by prices, quality, and income, but quality of consumers perception today are impacted from sensory, heath, process and convenience (Grunert). Sensory are taste, appearance and smell. However, the consumers would know taste of products only after purchase, so they use signals from brand, price, and quality to predict the taste experience. Health is related to information communication, signals, and learning history of the consumer. The consumers are interested more in process of making products such as GMO-free and Organic. And convenience is related to saving time and energy of consumers. 2.6 Factors influence consumer behaviors Consumer behaviors influence by socio-demographic characteristics of the individual consumer or marketing activities (). According to Kotler Armstrong (2009), there are external factors and internal factors that influence consumer behaviors. External factors are cultural and social, while internal factors are personal and psychological (see figure) Cultural Culture Sub-culture Social class Social Reference Groups Family Roles Status Personal Age life cycle stage Occupation Income Life style Personality Psychological Motivation Perception Learning Beliefs Attitudes Buyer behaviors Source: Kotler Armstrong (2009) 2.6.1 Social and Cultural Factors Each market may be unique in term of social norms and tradition. Culture is a key determinant of the consumer behaviors (Wallance, 1965; Jung Kau, 2004). Culture provides us with what we know to be true and knowledge of how things are (p.25). They are usually support by learning from generation to generation, changing only slowly over time. According to Jung Kau (2004), brand loyalty and decision making are found difference in consumers across sub-cultures. Food products are particularly sensitive to sub-cultural influences, it cans differences between nations or groups of nations. Difference cultural and countries might influence difference in knowledge, information, and attitudes on acceptance of foods (14). A group is defined as two or more individuals who share a set of norms, values, or beliefs (p.199). Reference groups influence consumer behavior by their information of knowledge, experience, recommendation, communication, and word-of-mouth. According to Riedl et al. (2002), word of mouth promotion leads to successful and high margin of consumer products. Primary group are friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family (e.g. family size and age of children) while secondary groups are more formal such as social and sports clubs (p. 199). According to (p.299), the family is a major influence in the learning process for young people. It also can be comparative influence such as teenagers want to accept to peer groups and to be a part of their groups (). For teenagers, it is also comparative influence that they want to accept from their peer groups or wish to be a part of them. Stead et al. (2011) found that young people used foods and drinks choices for judging others, accepting friendship and peering norms. According to Sylow Holm (2009), more than its nutritional and calorific content, food also can be a socio-cultural product. In many groups and cultures, choosing or rejecting foods and drinks depends on their individual, status, society, and image (eg Fox Ward, 2008; Tivadar Luthar, 2005). Society influences healthy eating (Stead et al, 2011). The respondents of their research cared about their image and peer groups. One group of respondents who play sport said that healthy eating can increase their sporting ability. Most of groups know that if they become obese it would damage their image. So it lead some of them have unhealthy behavior like skipping meals. However, some of respondents showed that healthy eating did not important for their image, because they prefer junk and other unhealthy foods. They also found that some respondents think that people who selected healthy foods such as fruits, yoghurt, and water in their meal are untrendy. 2.6.2 Personal factors According to Kotler Armstrong (2009), personal factors which influence consumer behaviors are age and life cycle stage, occupation, income, lifestyle, and personality of the consumers. In this study we will focus on the consumer lifestyles. Lifestyle is the way an individual choose and uses possessions (p.23) (Engle, Kollat Blackwell, 1973) or also means personals pattern of living as show in their opinions, interests, needs, activities, and value which can show who they are, and also can show their self image and their culture (Reynolds Wells, 1977). Lifestyle is closely related to consumer behavior. It is as motivator of consumer behavior and basic source of the information (p.23). The consumers consume products which can respond their needs and it also can change to their lifestyles. Socio-demographic impacts to consumer behaviors ( ), According to (), age is related to buy of different kinds of functional foods and difference in consumer views(6,7,8). For gender, men and women tend to buy different types of products and use different criteria when choosing want to buy. They found that women are willing to pay a higher premium of products with health benefits. Also they found that age, gender, education, occupation, and income, can show purchasing pattern. For example, young-single spend more on clothing entertainment, fast food than other groups, while couples, families paying for food. According to research of Safe food (2009), they found that smoothies were more popular among women, younger age group and higher social classes. 2.6.3 Situational influences Situation is defined as set of factors outside of and removed from individual consumer as well as removed form the characteristics or attributes of the product (p.58). Managers and marketers should beware about consumer situation also. There are many kinds of situations that can influence consumer behaviors. According to (), situation variable are physical surrounding, social surrounding, temporal perspective, task definition, and antecedent states (p.58). For example, generally consumers prefer low price of products but sometime they want what is more convenient and willing to pay in higher price. The table below shows the sample of situations in nonalcoholic beverage consumption, they show that in different situations they might consume different kinds of drinks. For example, during the summer, they would prefer water-based waters which sour and can quench their thirst. Situations Context-specific ideal beverage clusters Desired Attributes During the summer Water-based drinks Not relaxing Sour Thirst quenching During the winter Hot adult drinks Served very hot Good for my health Energy giving For breakfast Juices Primarily for children Good for my health Energy giving For lunch Hot adult drinks Served very hot Best with food Not thirst quenching When friends com for dinner Hot adult drinks Primarily for adults Sour Light When you are thirsty Water-based drinks Not relaxing Sour Thirst quenching When you wish to relax Water-based drinks Relaxing Sweet Not thirst quenching When you need a pick-me-up Milk-based drinks Served very hot Good for my health Energy giving Source: Hustad, Mayer, Whipple (1975); Hawkins, Coney, Best (1980) 2.6.4 Psychological Factors Psychological factors that influence consumer behaviors are motivation, perception, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. (See figure). Studying about consumers helps businesses improve their marketing strategies by understand consumer psychological that how the consumers think and feel. Consumer knowledge and information influence decisions. Knowledge and interested about health and nutrition is very important. () show that level of consumer knowledge about food ingredients and consumer understanding of relationship between nutrition and health are important to consumers attitude towards of functional foods. Studied of () showed that tendency to read the nutrition information on food products was found to be important factor affecting the purchase of omega-3 products (9). Learned in their lives, personal experience, experience of others, this opinions lead to beliefs can lead positive or negative attitude which can be difficult to change. Beliefs and attitudes believe in benefits of functional foods was found to be the main positive determinant of acceptance of functional foods (15). Moreover, Perception of healthiness products and health and nutrition claims found in positively influence purchasing choice (). Perception of information consists of facts estimates predictions and generalized relationships that are used by consumers to recognize and solve problem (p. 264). 2.7 Consumer Motivations Motivation is viewed as an inner force and refers to wish, feeling, and need (p. 305). Consumer motivation is known as a driver of behavior that brings consumers to purchase the products (Kim Jin 2001). Consumers are motivated to buy products when they believe that those products will satisfy their most immediate (). Consumers start to look for more than just basic functions from their product differentiate by adding value. They can add value to their products by changing or transforming their products from their original to more valuable state (Coltrain, Barton Boland, 2000) to reach more consumer satisfaction. They also can increase the products value by services. Consumer motivation and decision making process are influenced by products and services, level of importance or interest ().Motivation is an important factor that impact to consumer buying decision of certain types of products especially healthy food (). According to Hoo Munusamy (2008), there are four factors that can influence consumer motives: social factors, situational factors, psychological factors, and marketing mix. (see figure) However, this research the researcher will only study about marketing mix factors. 2.8 Factors influence consumer motivations Social Culture Sub-culture Social class Reference groups Families Situation Physical features Social features Time Task features Current conditions Psychological Product knowledge Product involvement Marketing mix Products Price Place Promotion People Consumer Motives Figure: Factors influences Consumer Motives 2.8.1 Marketing Mix The marketing mix in this study is defined as 5 Ps which are products, prices, places, promotions, and people. Each element of the marketing mix can affect to consumers in many ways (Peter Donnelly, 2007). Marketing mix uses in company to deliver marketing purpose and control variables in a market target (Kolter, 2000). The businesses need to create a successful mix of the right products, sell in right place, right price, and the most suitable promotion. Product Product is defined as everything that the businesses offer to the consumers in an exchange process can be in a form of physical good, service or both ().According to Borden (1984), product is about quality, design, features, brand name, and size. Service are closely relates and will both contribute to consumers satisfaction, for example, buy food in super markets quality of service provide by super market will also affect their level of satisfaction and purchasing decisions. Health and nutrition claims become important factors that influence consumer buying behaviors of foods and beverages (16). Branding does not necessarily mean food products would taste better to those not used to the brand but the brains of those who recognize a brand tell them other wise. However, taste is very important for them also. According to Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009), they found that if the consumers like the flavor of products such as carbonated soft drinks, they do not care about health, even they aware that it is unhealthy, and aware of its potential and negative physiological impact. Safe food research (2009) agreed that most of people drink smoothies because they like the taste more than healthy and increase their fruit intake (Safe food, 2009). The businesses need to concern what product means to the consumer. Physical appearance, packaging and labeling information of product also can motive consumer buying decision. Moreover, Peter Donnally (2007) show that differentiate their products from competition and create consumer perception that product is worth purchasing. In term of specific products, consumer motivations seem highly dependent on the situation (p.325). Adding value to products can enhance famers businesses (). The consumers concern more about nutrition of products and convenience, so it is an opportunity for businesses to create or improve their goods and services. One of the samples of adding value from fresh fruits and vegetables is transform them to other kind of products such as jams, jellies, and other preserves, cut and frozen vegetables, including dried herbs which made for medicinal. The businesses need to concern about consumers needs in quality, packaging, and variety of products which are more important than price (Connor et al.; Benny, 2005). Branding and packaging also can increase value and market development for businesses. Benny (2005) agreed that value added goods provide better handling and results, he studied about value added products from green tea extracts and found that the standardized extract of green tea can reduce obesity and prevent the disease and it can change in a form of capsules, but it has a bitter taste and can consume not much. However, they can expand the green tea extracts by transform it to a component of cosmetics, ice-creams, and others and can add some vitamins and herbal to have more value and nutrients. Value-added also can be production methods such as organic, grass-fed, hormone free and others. It showed that creative, knowledge, and differentiate can motive consumer interest and buying decision. However, value-added products can fail if the products can not respond to consumer needs and consumer satisfaction. Price Price is related to satisfaction, brand loyalty purchase frequency of the consumers (Kalyanaram Little, 1994). The consumer become more knowledgeable as to its quality and value (Zeithaml, 1988), consequently when the consumers better understands the value of the product, they are more sensitive to changes in value (e.g. if the price were to increase) which may affect the intention to purchase (Chang Wildt, 1994; Lodorfos, Mulvana, Temperley, 2006). According to Lin, Li, You (2011), a profitable price made by businesses to match segmentation target, create enough attraction and competition. Effect of price can increase on consumer behavior (Klaus et al., 2009; Lin, Li, You, 2011). The higher price is, the less we want to buy it in case of normal goods (Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009). Perception of the price determines what the consumers are willing to buy (Lin, Li, You, 2011). However, consumer Place Place or distribution channel is a set of interdependent institutions , for delivery of good and services to the consumers. Promotion Marketing and advertising managers should strategically place their product prominently in promotion in order to guarantee the desire impact (Van Der Waldt et al., 2007; Lin, Li You, 2011). According to Pedraja Yague (2011), the consumer use information from advertising, and information provided at the restaurant when searching for external source of information, used information and advertising as a source to reduce perceived risk and uncertainty. Kasikorn Bank (1997) studied about consumer behavior of supplement foods. They found that, the factor which influence in choosing supplementary food consumption is advertisement. At first the consumers might consume supplement foods just because they want to try. But after they concern that it is good for them, they would retain to purchase. However, the respondents of this study comment that most of the businesses advertise the products more than their properties. Sale promotion such as discount, special offer, can act as short term to motive consumers to choose (Mill, 2007). According to Jackson, Titz DeFrance (2004), high price restaurant, benefited from coupon promotions to a greater extent than low price restaurant (Sriwongrat, 2008). According to European Commissions (2009), free trial and price promotions can help the businesses promote their food products, and trying to take up healthier food is likely to be more effective than trying to convince them to give up unhealthy food. Sometimes a persons awareness and preference for product can result from repetitive brand advertising (European Commissions, 2009). People