Brief Summary of French History

Brief Summary of French History France is a country in Western Europe that is roughly hexagonal in shape. It has existed as a country for a little over a thousand years  and has managed to fill those with some of the most important events in European history. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Luxembourg and Belgium to the northeast, Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy to the southeast, the Mediterranean to the south, southwest by Andorra and Spain and west by the Atlantic Ocean. It currently has a president at the top of government. Historical Summary of France The country of France emerged from the fragmentation of the larger Carolingian empire, when Hugh Capet became King of West Francia in 987. This kingdom consolidated power and expanded territorially, becoming known as â€Å"France†. Early wars were fought over land with English monarchs, including the Hundred Years War, then against the Habsburgs, especially after the latter inherited Spain and appeared to surround France. At one point France was closely associated with the Avignon Papacy, and experienced wars of religion after the Reformation between a twisting combination of Catholic and Protestant. French royal power reached its peak with the reign of Louis XIV (1642 – 1715), known as the Sun King, and French culture dominated Europe. Royal power collapsed fairly quickly after Louis XIV and within a century France experienced the French Revolution, which began in 1789, overthrew Louis XVI and established a republic. France now found itself fighting wars and exporting its world-changing events across Europe. The French Revolution was soon usurped by a general called Napoleon, and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars saw France first militarily dominate Europe, then be defeated. The monarchy was restored, but instability followed and a second republic, second empire and third republic followed in the nineteenth century. The early twentieth century was marked by two German invasions, in 1914 and 1940, and a return to a democratic republic after liberation. France is currently in its Fifth Republic, established in 1959 during upheavals in society.   Key People from the History of France King Louis XIV (1638 - 1715): Louis XIV succeeded to the French throne as a minor in 1642 and ruled until 1715; for many contemporaries, he was the only monarch they ever knew. Louis was the apogee of French absolutist rule and the pageantry and success of his reign earned him the epithet ‘The Sun King’. He has been criticised for letting other European nations grow in strength.Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821): A Corsican by birth, Napoleon trained in the French army and success gained him a reputation, enabling him to get close to the political leaders of late-revolutionary France. Such was Napoleon’s prestige that he was able to seize power and transform the country into an Empire with himself at its head. He was initially successful in European wars, but was beaten and twice forced into exile by a coalition of European nations.Charles de Gaulle (1890 - 1970): A military commander who argued for mobile warfare when France turned instead to the Maginot Line, de G aulle became the leader of the Free French forces during the Second World War and then Prime Minister of the liberated country. After retiring he came back to politics in the late 50s to found the French Fifth Republic and create its constitution, ruling until 1969

Roman Numeral Origins and List from I to CI

Roman Numeral Origins and List from I to CI Manual Origin of the Roman for 5 [If youve forgotten what Roman Numerals look like, theyre listed below.] J. E. Sandys describes the origins of Roman numerals, in Latin Epigraphy. He says the original numeral was a line to stand for 1 and a representation of a hand that looks like a V to stand for 5. The X (10) is two hands joined or one v atop a second v turned upside down. However plausible that sounds considering the human tendency to use our digits and hands for counting, there is an alternative explanation. Etruscan and Greek Origin for Roman Numbers The X was similar to the Etruscan symbol for 10, the top half of which was adopted for 5. Ancient Chalcidic (Greek) symbols were added: one came to look like an L for 50 and the other was the Greek phi (ÃŽ ¦) that became the curved M (1000) symbol that was sometimes written like our symbol for infinity. Gradual Changes in the Roman Numerals To make the number 10,000 the phi was surrounded by an outside circle. A third circle made it 100,000. The right half of these symbols meant half, so half of the phi, a D meant 500, as used by Cicero. But towards the end of the Republic a horizontal bar above a numeral meant that number in the thousands, so a V with a bar on top meant 5,000, and a D with a bar on top meant 500,000. More on the Higher Roman Numerals Somewhat surprisingly, Sandys says that M was not used for 1000 before the second century A.D., except before p for mile milia passuum. Sandys says the original symbol for 100 was probably a Chalcidic theta (ÃŽËœ) and became a C. The fact that the word in Latin for 100, centum, began with a C made the symbol especially appropriate. Sources on Roman Numerals In addition to J. E. Sandys Latin Epigraphy, Mommsen is another source on the topic of Roman Numerals. For more recent work on Roman numerals, see The Origin of the Latin Numerals 1 to 1000, by Paul Keyser. American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 92, No. 4 (Oct., 1988), pp. 529-546. Also, see: Roman NumerationThe numbers, how to decline them, and the hours of the day. List of Roman Numerals from I to CI 1 I2 II3 III4 IV​5 V6 VI7 VII8 VIII9 IX10 X11 XI12 XII13 XIII14 XIV15 XV16 XVI17 XVII18 XVIII19 XIX20 XX21 XXI22 XXII23 XXIII24 XXIV25 XXV26 XXVI27 XXVII28 XXVIII29 XXIX30 XXX31 XXXI32 XXXII33 XXXIII34 XXXIV35 XXXV36 XXXVI37 XXXVII39 XXXIX38 XXXVIII40 XL41 XLI29 XXIX43 XLIII44 LIV45 XLV46 XLVI47 XLVII48 XLVIII49 XLIX50 L51 LI52 LII53 LIII54 LIV55 LV56 LVI57 LVII58 LVIII59 LIX60 LX61 LXI62 LXII63 LXIII64 LXIV65 LXV66 LXVI67 LXVII68 LXVIII69 LXIX70 LXX71 LXXI72 LXXII73 LXXIII74 LXXIV75 LXXV76 LXXVI77 LXXVII78 LXXVIII79 LXXIX80 LXXX81 LXXXI82 LXXXII83 LXXXIII84 LXXXIV85 LXXXV86 LXXXVI87 LXXXVII88 LXXXVIII89 LXXXIX90 XC91 XCI92 XCII93 XCIII94 XCIV95 XCV96 XCVI97 XCVII98 XCVIII99 XCIX100 C101 CI

Portfolio of evidence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolio of evidence - Research Paper Example In this scenario, the participative arrangements that require action in health and safety are induction and training, communication arrangements and issue resolution. Enhancing environmental health and safety requires the use of induction and training. Using this method, then health and safety should be integrated into the overall training program. There are training programs that are normally conducted in the workplace. Integrating health and safety therefore, is not a hard exercise (Plunkett & Fournier, 1991). These actions are done by the employees in the workplace because they are the ones who need to be trained in the various aspects of health and safety. It is the responsibility of every employee in a particular organization to undertake the training. Adequate training in health and safety will ensure that the employees at the workplace are aware of the various safety measures that should be followed as well as the precautions to be taken so as to ensure that their health and s afety is not compromised. Another group of responsible people would be the committee for health and safety that is stationed in the workplace. This committee may include managers and directors. The training exercise would take place twice in a year. The first session would be conducted through the months of February and March while the second session would be conducted through the months of October and November. The training program is not a strenuous exercise therefore making it easy to be conducted at least twice in a year. This will help in increasing the efficiency of the training program. Furthermore, by conducting it twice a year, it will increase the number of employees who go through the training program thereby making it even more efficient. This will ensure that a large number of people go through the program thereby increasing the safety of everyone. Just like any other program that is conducted in the work place, there is a progress monitoring aspect that must be added t o it. The purpose of the progress monitor is so as to ensure that the program is actually achieving its desired objectives and is not just utilizing the organization’s resources. The progress monitors can be the creators of the program. They are the people who came up with the program and therefore know very well the objectives that the program is supposed to achieve because they set the objectives themselves. In the event that the program is not achieving the desired goals, then recommendations would be made on whether to terminate the program or make changes to the original plan. Another group of program monitors would be the management team and directors of the company. This is mainly due to the fact that they are the people who have funded the project, they would therefore want to make sure that their investments are not going to waste. It is a way of making sure that everything is working according to plan (Burke, Clarke & Cooper, 2012). However, there are instances wher eby, things may not go according to plan. The program may go off course or an error may occur. In such a scenario, then there needs to be a form of mechanism whereby a corrective action can take place thereby ensuring that everything is brought back on track. In addition to this, recommendations also need to be made so as to ensure that such an occurrence is avoided in future. These recommendations w

Privatization in UK Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Privatization in UK - Assignment Example This essay stresses that the privatized firms only seek to impress the shareholders and so their priorities are not to help the citizens but to help advance the interests of the public. This then goes against the theory that are there about how privatization helps the economy to do better to the advantage of the public. With public firms, the public can hold them accountable because they have the right to use democratic processes to determine how managers manage these firms. With the privatized firms however, this is not possible and their mangers run them the way their shareholders want. This paper makes a conclusion that the benefits of privatization are not easy to achieve. Despite there being so many potential benefits for privatization in theory, these benefits do not materialize. This means either that the privatization process is not being benefiting from the right way of doing it or that the theoretical benefits of privatization do not have the possibility of materializing into real benefits that the public can feel at the macroeconomic level. This is especially when the public does not gain the benefits that are supposed to come from the privatization. It is clear that the supporters of the privatization of UK public organizations did not think the process well enough to have it implemented din a successful way. This means that it is necessary for the government to rethink the strategy and have a way to evaluate the current strategy and find if it is possible to make it even better.

Performance Art Essay Example for Free

Performance Art Essay Performance art is an essentially contested concept: any single definition of it implies the recognition of rival uses. As concepts like democracy or art, it implies productive disagreement with itself. [1] The meaning of the term in the narrower sense is related to postmodernist traditions in Western culture. From about the mid-1960s into the 1970s, often derived from concepts of visual art, with respect to Antonin Artaud, Dada, the Situationists, Fluxus, Installation art, and Conceptual Art, performance art tended to be defined as an antithesis to theatre, challenging orthodox art forms and cultural norms. The ideal had been an ephemeral and authentic experience for performer and audience in an event that could not be repeated, captured or purchased. [2] The in this time widely discussed difference, how concepts of visual arts and concepts of performing arts are utilized, can determine the meanings of a performance art presentation (compare Performance: A Critical Introduction by Marvin Carlson, P. 103,2-105,1). Performance art is a term usually reserved to refer to a conceptual art which conveys a content-based meaning in a more drama-related sense, rather than being simple performance for its own sake for entertainment purposes. It largely refers to a performance presented to an audience, but which does not seek to present a conventional theatrical play or a formal linear narrative, or which alternately does not seek to depict a set of fictitious characters in formal scripted interactions. It therefore can include action or spoken word as a communication between the artist and audience, or even ignore expectations of an audience, rather than following a script written beforehand. Some kinds of performance art nevertheless can be close to performing arts. Such performance may utilize a script or create a fictitious dramatic setting, but still constitute performance art in that it does not seek to follow the usual dramatic norm of creating a fictitious setting with a linear script which follows conventional real-world dynamics; rather, it would intentionally seek to satirize or to transcend the usual real-world dynamics which are used in conventional theatrical plays. Performance artists often challenge the audience to think in new and unconventional ways, break conventions of traditional arts, and break down conventional ideas about what art is. As long as the performer does not become a player who repeats a role, performance art can include satirical elements (compare Blue Man Group); utilize robots and machines as performers, as in pieces of the Survival Research Laboratories; involve ritualised elements (e. . Shaun Caton); or borrow elements of any performing arts such as dance, music, and circus. Some artists, e. g. the Viennese Actionists and neo-Dadaists, prefer to use the terms live art, action art, actions, intervention (see art intervention) or manoeuvre to describe their performing activities. As genres of performance art appear body art, fluxus-performance, happening, action poetry, and intermedia.

The Graduate Essay example -- essays research papers

Shot by Shot Assignment Ben enters his room and is at ease finally. The music stops and the focus is on him. The room is well lit and his head is leaned against the white door, which gives the audience a sense of escape. As he makes his way toward the window, we see a dartboard next to his bedroom door that has not one of the darts on the correct target. One has even found itself on the wall. Over his bed we see pictures of planes and toy planes pointed in every direction as maybe parallel to his life. The camera holds a medium close-up as Ben looks down through his window after he takes a hesitant walk over to that position. Interpretation: He feels that himself in his room with nobody else around ensures him isolation that he is yearning for. However, the un-aimed darts contradicts the room’s solidity and assurance. Just as his life as we later see the dart board is just as disorganized as Ben. Shot 2 Observation Duration: 3 seconds Ben looks down through the window. The camera shows the back of his head in the right foreground and the guests at the poolside in the left background. We see the shot in high angle. The guests are laughing, having drinks and seem to be enjoying themselves. Ben looks on as if the party was not in his favor. Interpretation: The close-up of Ben looking out the window shows the viewer that he is searching for an escape out of the situation that is current in his house. He wants to be elsewhere but has no idea at the moment where exactly that elsewhere should be. He looks very disappointed and even hopeful at the same time to disappear to another location as if by magic. Shot 3 Observation Duration: 7seconds Ben walks from his window to the bed. His journey there is slow and seldom. His bed is gray and black as he showcases not only the toy airplanes above his bed but also pictures of airplanes pointed in different locations. There is not really a burst of color in his room beside those protruding inside of the fish tank. The view is very blatant and not at all flamboyant. Interpretation: He has no sense of direction or happiness in his room. Even though he originally wanted to be alone, he finds himself now too lonely. He attempts to find some form of movement within his confinement when he is drawn to sit near the fish tank. Shot 4 Observation Duration: 12 seconds Ben... ...nly significance in the overall story, but they refine Ben’s expressed statements. Women are constantly surrounding Ben. The kiss from the older woman anticipates the affair with Mrs. Robinson. The entire social class portrays a wealthy medium classed people in society coming together in an attempt to draft a new member, (Ben). They have high expectations and aspirations for him. The family friends refer to Ben other than his name as a method of showcasing somehow unintentionally his accomplishments more than his personality. He as a person is not highlighted in any way, shape or form. This introduces Ben’s desire to explore himself eventually find himself outside of the track. The cutting paces are roughly the same length probably because it symbolizes uniformity and even stable day-to-day sequences of a day in the life of Ben. The husband-wife exchanges are very opinionated as far as what is best for the child. Ben’s attempt to escape to escape leads to lef t-right tracking shots to convey his confused direction movement throughout the film. He wants to do something that is his idea and not those of his parents, which he succeeds at doing throughout the film with Mrs. Robinson.

Labelling Processes Essay

The labelling theory is a micro interactionist approach, this is because it focuses on how individuals construct the social world through face-face interactions. It recognises the concept of the ‘procedural self’ where ones identity is continuously constructed and recognised in interaction with significant others, this results in the individual’s behaviour, including that related to crime and deviance. Significant others are those who are in high social power and thus able to dictate influence and actively determine an individual’s life. Such individuals may include police officers, prison officers, politicians, parents and teachers. Feminists would argue however that these are all the males in society, determining and controlling the lives of females, keeping society patriarchal. The influence that significant others place on individuals lives is through the use of labels, the labels aren’t usually based on individual characteristics, more so stereotypes, working assumptions and professional knowledge. For example Cicaurel found that police patrolled working class areas more intensively, resulting in more arrests, this is due to the police’s stereotypical view that delinquent individuals are part of the working class. Lemert distinguishes between primary and secondary deviance in society. Primary deviance involves minor offences such as vandalism or smoking underage and these acts are usually uncaught or insignificant. However an individual may be caught for such acts and inturn be labelled as delinquent or deviant, the social reaction of this label results in the development of secondary deviance: more serious crimes such as assault or drugs. This therefore illustrates that it is not the act itself but the hostile societal reaction by significant others that creates serious deviance, thus crime and deviance being products of the labelling process. Support for this idea is research conducted by Jock Young on hippy marijuana users. Drugs were associated with hippies which demonstrate primary deviance. Police then labelled and persecuted hippies for their behaviour, excluding them from normal society. AS a result a deviant subculture emerged where hippies retreated into closed groups, grew hair out long, wore eccentric clothes and drug use became a central activity. Gove argued that there are two consequences of labelling: creation of sigma, modification of self images. Stigma is the negative branding of an individual and refers to the public condemnation and exclusion of the criminal. The media tend to exaggerate the behaviour of such people, causing increased fear and moral panic in society, resulting in avoidance and constantly being treated with suspicion. Becker refers to a ‘master status’ where once a person is labelled all of their actions are interpreted in light of the label and only negative aspects of that individual’s behaviour are focussed on. Because of the stigma created from the label a modification of self image occurs in the individual. The individual essentially lives up to their deviant label, becoming the person described in the label. The process of deviancy amplification whereby any punishments or treatment therefore reinforce the individual perception of the criminal, thus more crimes fitting to the label are carried out. This theory can however by criticised because it is determinist, where individuals have n control over the process and once they have been labelled they will inevitably turn deviant or criminal. Social action theorists believe in free will and individual’s choice to reject their label. In addition the label may cause the opposite result where an individual seeks to actively prove their label wrong by thriving and succeeding in their work/ life. Furthermore the labelling theory claims that deviant and criminal behaviour only occurs when a label is given, it does not account for crimes committed by those who have no labels placed upon them. Marxists, for example, would argue the theory fails to explain middle class, white collar or corporate crime, since the offenders have high social power and would be significant others rather than the individuals labelled. In conclusion although the labelling theory offers some explanation as to the crime and deviance in today’s society there are many gaps. Other explanation such as subcultural crime and deviance would argue that it is not the interaction of individuals but the illegitimate opportunity structures within society that results in crime and deviance.

Air Asia Strategic Report Essay

Introduction Definition A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge for extras like food, priority boarding, seat allocating, and baggage etc. The term originated within the airline industry referring to airlines with a lower operating cost structure than their competitors. While the term is often applied to any carrier with low ticket prices and limited services, regardless of their operating models, low-cost carriers should not be confused with regional airlines that operate short flights without service, or with full-service airlines offering some reduced fares. In due course, some airlines have actively sought to market and advertise themselves as low-cost, budget, or discount airlines while maintaining products usually associated with traditional mainline carrier’s services which often result in increased operational complexity. Among these products which tend to increase complexity to reduce efficiency are preferred or assigned seating, catering other items rather than basic beverages, differentiated premium cabins, satellite or ground based wi-fi internet, and in-flight audio video entertainment. As such by advertising themselves as low-cost, this branch and category of airlines seek to gain a competitive marketing advantage over other similarly priced air transportation carrier’s products; even though in actuality fare prices for the passenger may be parallel to that of other airlines. History While tour and package operators have been offering lower-priced, lower frilled traveling for a large part of modern airline history, not until during the post Vietnam War era did this business model really escalate and take off. Through various ticket consolidators, charter airlines and innovators in low frills airline business such as Channel Airways and Court Line, the traveling public had been conditioned to want to travel to new and increasingly further away and exotic locations on vacation, rather than short-haul trips to nearby beach resorts or resorts. The first low-cost airline was Southwest Airlines which started flying in 1971.[8] The first airline offering no-frills transatlantic service was Freddie Laker’s Laker Airways, which operated its famous â€Å"Skytrain† service between London and New York City during the late 1970s. The service was suspended after Laker’s competitors, British Airways and Pan Am, were able to price Skytrain out of the market. In the United States, airline carriers such as America West Airlines which commenced operations after 1978, soon realized a cost of available seat mile advantage in relation to the traditional and established, legacy airlines such as Trans World Airlines and American Airlines. Often this CASM advantage has been attributed, solely to the lower labor costs of the newly hired and lower pay grade workers of new start up carriers, such as People Express Airlines, ValuJet, Midway Airlines, and their like. However, these lower costs, can also be attributed to the less complex aircraft fleets, and less complex route networks these new carriers began operations with, as well as the vastly less costly and freshly trained labor force. To combat the new round of low cost and start up entrants into the very competitive and deregulated United States airline industry, the mainline major carriers and network legacy carriers strategically developed no frills divisions within the main airlines brand and corporate structures. Among these were Metro Jet and Continental Lite. These so-called airlines within an airline however, proved to be very short lived, for the most part and a financial burden which were quickly disposed off when economic rationalization or competitive pressures subsided. Story of Air Asia Air Asia, as the second Malaysian National Airline, provides a totally different type of service in line with the nation’s aspirations to benefit all citizens and worldwide travellers. Such service takes the form of a no frills – low airfares flight offering, 40%-60% lower than what is currently offered in this part of Asia. Their vision is â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly† and their mission is to provide ‘Affordable Airfares’ without any compromise to Flight Safety Standards. Air Asia is Asia’s largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. Air Asia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Its affiliate airlines Thai Air Asia, Indonesia Air Asia, Air Asia Philippines and Air Asia Japan have hubs in Suvarnabhumi Airport, Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Clark International Airport and Narita International Airport respectively. AirAsia’s registered office is in Petaling Jaya, Selangor while its head office is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Air Asia was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom. On 2 December 2001 the heavily-indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about USD 0.26 at the time) with USD 11 million (MYR 40 million) worth of debts. Fernandes turned the company around, producing a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as MYR 1 (USD 0.27). AirAsia operates with the world’s lowest unit cost of USD 0.023/ASK and a passenger break-even load factor of 52%. It has hedged 100% of its fuel requirements for the next three years, achieves an aircraft turnaround time of 25 minutes, has a crew productivity level that is triple that of Malaysia Airlines, and achieves an average aircraft utilization rate of 13 hours a day.[10] All scheduled Air Asia departures from Kuala Lumpur use the Low cost carrier terminal. AirAsia had abolished its fuel surcharges on November 2008, but, due to rising oil prices, the fuel surcharge was re-introduced in May 2011. Tony Fernandes Fernandes was born on 30th April 1964 into a family that had no prior knowledge or experience of business; his father was a physician from Goa (India) and his mother was a music teacher of Malaccan-Portuguese descent. In other words, Fernandes came from an Indian-Malaysian family of professionals; the new middle class that emerged in Malaysia from the 1960s. Like many other middle class families, the Fernandes had sufficient wealth to send Fernandes to study in England. Fernandes, at the age of 12, went to London in 1976 to study at Epsom College and attended the London School of Economics in which he graduated in 1987 with a degree in accounting. In total, he spent some 11 years in London, a painful separation from his parents who could not afford to pay for his flights back to Malaysia. It was this experience, according to Brown that gave him an insight into the benefits of perhaps developing cheap international carriers. However, at this stage his career path did not take him into the airline business. Upon graduation from the London School of Economics Fernandes took the normal route of working in accounting jobs. Fernandes worked briefly at Virgin Communications, a television division of the Virgin Group of companies. What did Fernandes learn from Virgin? The main benefit was the experience of working in a global company, acquiring insights into the running of an international business, and developing an impressive resume which worked in his favour in being appointed to the position of Senior Financial Analyst at Warner Music International. in London. At Warner, Fernandes showed strong business acumen. He started in 1989 as Senior Financial Analyst, and by 2001, when he resigned from Warner, he was the Vice President, ASEAN region. Within 12 years at Warner he was promoted four times that is on average he was promoted every three years. Fernandes’ time at Warner Music was significant because it was during this period that Fernandes matured and transformed himself from being a mere accountant into a strategist with an analytical mind. Fernandes’ ability to think strategically, and understand his environment from a macro perspective, was the reason why Fernandes felt compelled not to be part of Warner’s ill-fated merger with America Online Inc. in 2001. This incident was said to be the catalyst for Fernandes’ decision to switch careers after 12 years with Warner and begin his journey with Air Asia. It was through Datuk Pahamin A. Rejab, the former secretary-general of the Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes came to meet with then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001. Instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline instead. Air Asia, the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was quickly losing money. Fernandes mortgaged his home and used his personal savings to acquire the company, comprising two ageing Boeing 737-300 jets and US$11 million (RM40 million) worth of debts, for one ringgit (about 26 US cents), and transformed it into an industry player. Coming just after the September 11 attacks of 2001, everyone thought that Fernandes had gone â€Å"crazy†, predicting that the company would fail miserably. Yet, just one year after his takeover, Air Asia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent. Fernandes says his timing was in fact perfect after 11 September 2001, aircraft leasing costs fell 40%. Also, airline lay-offs meant experienced staffs were readily available. He believed Malaysian travelers would embrace a cut-rate air service that would save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. That was why he copied one of the world’s most successful no-frills carriers, Ireland’s Ryanair (which is in turn modeled after Southwest Airlines in the United States). Fernandes estimates about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers. Before AirAsia, he estimated that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled in a plane. Strategies Adopted to Compete with Rivals 1. Single Class No Frills Service As with most low-cost airlines, Air Asia operated a single class-service, without frills and at substantially lower prices: passengers are not allocated seats, do not receive meals, entertainment, amenities (i.e. pillows or blanks), loyalty program points, or access to airport lounges. Air Asia’s aircraft are designed to minimize wear and tear, cleaning time and cost. This reduced cleaning and maintenance expenses, loading and unloading times and costs, and allowed quicker turnarounds between flights, improving process efficiencies and resulted in lower costs all around. 2. High Aircraft Utilization & Efficient Operations Compared with other airlines, Air Asia’s usage of its aircraft and staff is more efficient. Such (high) efficiency and utilization means that the overhead and fixed costs associated with an aircraft are lower on a per flight basis. For example, seating configurations to Air Asia’s Boeing 737-300 aircraft were maximized, having 16 more seats than the standard configuration adopted by full-service competitors. In addition, Air Asia’s aircraft (i.e. point-to-point services kept flights to no more than 4 hours, minimizing turnaround time), and employees (i.e. encouraged to perform multiple roles), were used more effectively and intensively than competitors. Its point-to-point services enabled Air Asia to operate its aircraft an average of approximately 13 hours/day. It was 2.5 hours more efficient then full-services airlines, which only managed to use their aircraft for an average 10.5 hours/day. Furthermore, the average turnaround time for Air Asia’s aircraft is lesser (e.g. 25 minutes), as compared to full-service airlines (e.g. 45-120 minutes). 3. Single Aircraft Type Operating a single aircraft type enabled Air Asia to have substantial cost savings: maintenance was simplified and cheaper, the spare parts inventory was minimized, infrastructure and equipment needs were reduced, staff and training needs were lowered (i.e. easy for pilot dispatch), and better purchase terms could be negotiated. For instance, its large purchase of A-320s would make Air Asia one of the relatively few low cost airlines operating this aircraft. With fuel accounting for almost 50% of the total operating costs for the airline, the A-320s would provide an important cost saving of lower fuel usage by about 12%; increasing the airline’s profitability. 4. Low Fixed Cost Air Asia achieved low fixed costs through successful negotiations for low lease rates for its aircraft, low rates for its long-term maintenance contracts, and low airport fees. This enabled Air Asia to reduce its overheads and investments in equipments substantially in the absence of fringe services. As a result of its successful negotiations, Air Asia’s contractual lease charges per aircraft decreased by more than 60% over the years. Aircraft maintenance contract costs were also reported to be substantially lower than other airlines, giving Air Asia a competitive advantage, which was further compounded by its young fleet. Furthermore, the airline’s high safety and maintenance standards allowed Air Asia to procure rates that were favorable on its insurance policies. 5. Low Distribution Costs By utilizing information technology (i.e. being the first airline in Southeast Asia to utilize e-ticketing, bypassing traditional travel agents), Air Asia achieved low distribution costs by eliminating the need for large and expensive booking/reservation systems, and agents’ commissions. This saved the airline the cost of issuing physical ticket (i.e. estimated at US$10 per ticket). 6. Minimizing Personnel Expenses As a high portion of costs was the salaries and benefits for its employees, Air Asia implemented flexible work rules, streamlining administrative functions, which allowed employees to perform multiple roles within a simple and flat organizational structure. Having employees perform multiple roles enabled Air Asia to deploy fewer employees per aircraft (i.e. ratio of 106 per aircraft versus 110 employees or more for competitors), saving on overhead costs and maximizing employees’ productivity, as process efficiencies are improved. Air Asia’s employees were not unionized, hence its rumination policy focused on maximizing efficiency and productivity, whilst keeping staff costs at levels consistent with low-cost carrier industry standards. Although salaries offered to employees were below that of rivals, all employees were offered a wide range of incentives (i.e. productivity and performance-based bonuses, share offers, and stock options). In addition, rather than an hourly pay scale for its pilots, Air Asia adopted a sector pay policy: pilots were provided incentives to enhance flight operation efficacies by keeping flight and operating times to a minimum, and to cover as many flight sectors as possible within a day. The absence of in-flight services made it possible for the airline to reduce the number of cabin crew per light, saving on employee cost. 7. Maximizing Media Coverage Being a leader among budget airlines in Southeast Asia, Air Asia received regular coverage from media outlets. Air Asia managed to promote brand awareness without incurring high sales and marketing expenses. In all of his media appearances, Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes always appeared wearing a red Air Asia baseball cap and his statements reinforcing Air Asia’s positioning to offer low prices generating media attention for the airline. However, Air Asia also invested heavily where required Air Asia’s major sponsorship for Manchester United, involved global sponsorship and advertising, and promoted the brand beyond its traditional regions. This exposed to the airline to eyeballs around the world. The sponsorship generated awareness for the airline amongst foreign travelers. This is especially important as a lot of tourists frequent south east Asia at different parts of the year whether it be for business or pleasure. 8. Use of Secondary Airports Air Asia, as with most low-cost airlines, usually operated out of secondary airports which allowed Air Asia to charge lower fares, as operation costs were lower. Landing, parking, and ground handling fees were lower, with more slots for landings and takeoffs. 9. Low fare of Indonesia-Malaysia trip The fare for a Jakarta-Johor Baru trip costs Rp 100,000 whereas the fare is Rp 150,000 for a Bandung-Kuala Lumpur flight, and Rp 300,000 for a Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur trip. But this is nothing when compared to the airfare of a Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur air ticket from Malaysia Airlines available at travel agents for as much as Rp 1.4 million. Meanwhile, Lion Air on the same route, charged Rp 1.05 million. The low fare provided by Air Asia helps it open the Indonesia market. Due to this huge difference in the priced we can see how Air Asia has opened and monopolised the Indonesian market for itself. 10. Low fare of Singapore-Bangkok service Air Asia will increase its services between Singapore & Bangkok by introducing a 2nd daily flight to its existing schedule. This recent development came barely a month after Thai Air Asia operations started its first international flight to Singapore in early February this year. Air Asia is offering its guests promotional fares to/from Singapore- Bangkok from SGD$23.99 (Rs.1055). It is much lower than the lowest fare SGD$56 (Rs.2461) offered by full-service carrier. This difference is crucial for Air Asia as Singapore is the Asia Pacific headquarters for many multinational corporations and therefore business travel would be inevitable. 11. Political connections Air Asia holds 49% of Thai Air Asia with 1% being held by a Thai individual. The remaining 50% is held by Shin Corp. which is owned by the family of Thailand’s Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. Shin Corp. with its dominance of the Thai information and technology sector supports Air Asia’s Internet and mobile phone bookings facilities. Shin Corp. allows subscribers of the Shin mobile phone flagship, Advanced Information Service, to reserve tickets through its short-messaging service (SMS). This is a huge competitive boost to the airline in this part of the world. Not only does Shin Corp have the financial muscle to aid Air Asia if need be but also help them from a strategic point of view. Overall it’s a win win situation for Air Asia. This allows Air Asia to dominate the Thai market. 12. Malaysian government support The Malaysian government supported the establishment of Air Asia in 2001 to help boost the under-used Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Air Asia’s flights from Senai are meant to develop Johor into a transport hub to rival Singapore. Air Asia, therefore, can provide an alternative route to travel to Bangkok, by using Senai Airport in Johor Bahru, in southern Malaysia. Although this is strategically advantageous to the Malaysian government in terms of revenue generated from the use of the airport, Air Asia stands to benefit as well due to its dominance of the low cost market. Visitors coming from the west may one day prefer Kuala Lumpur to Singapore as a transit hub. The opportunity is huge as the ultimate destination i.e. Bangkok attracts tourists and business travelers all year round. 13. Political Connections Thai AirAsia is a join venture established by AirAsia with Shin Corp. Shin Corp. is owned by the family of Thailand’s Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and about 900 million baht will be invested in Thai Air Asia over a five-year period. Shin Corp. oversees the finance and administration of Thai Air Asia while Air Asia shoulders the responsibility for marketing and operations. Shin Corp. has financial strength and supports AirAsia to grow. 14. Low cost Philosophy To reinforce its low-cost structure, Air Asia instilled a low-cost culture, emphasizing on cost avoidance. For example, emphasis was placed on the elimination of avoidable expanses such as tag costing (despite reach tag costing less than US$0.05), turning off cabin lights at appropriate times, and not overheating in-flight ovens. Such cost saving measures enabled Air Asia to achieve costs per average seat kilometer of US$0.0213 (the lowest for any airline in the world), with its margins of 38% (before taxes, interests, depreciation, and amortization) being the highest in the world in 2004. Therefore, in conclusion, by eliminating the provision of costly in-flight services, flying a standard fleet, selling tickets to passengers, and minimizing labour, facilities and overhead costs, Air Asia has managed to achieve a successful low-cost structure, which enables it to charge lower prices to achieve high passenger loads, market share, and profitability. Overcoming Challenges to Survive 1. Indonesian Habit Preferences of Indonesian passengers are quite different from the concept of cheap air travel without extra service for the passengers (free snacks and drinks), and also their reluctance to bring light baggage. Air Asia prefers passengers with very light and minimum baggage. If this is the case, it may not before long face difficulties. Indonesian domestic airline companies are able to provide value-added extras like food and beverages as part of their service to the passengers, although at a relatively higher cost. Air Asia will have to overcome this challenge if it wishes to maintain its position in the Indonesian market. Air Asia must be flexible with its strategy and possibly tailor it to the needs of the concerned market in order to gain an advantage. 2. Singapore government rejection Initially, AirAsia wanted to start flights from the southern state of Johor, near Singapore. It was hoping to attract passengers by running a convenient bus service to the city-state. However, Singapore quickly quashed that idea. The Singapore government said it would not approve a bus link for Air Asia because it was not ‘in her national interest’, reflecting fears that Singapore’s Changi airport would lose business to Johor’s new Senai airport. This means Air Asia cannot abandon the use of Changi airport, and therefore has to incur a higher cost. This is because Air Asia suffers due to delays faced at Changi airport. AirAsia finds it stuck between big planes, circling to wait for a slot to open up, which means extra fuel costs. Moreover, the SGD$21 (Rs.923) departure and security tax of Changi is too high for Air Asia’s low-cost operation. Air Asia had asked the Singapore government to waive the fees, however, a request that was not only rejected but also criticized. Besides Singapore – Bangkok, Air Asia now provides an alternative route to travel to Bangkok, by using Senai Airport in Johor Bahru, in southern Malaysia. Seeking to cater to the different markets, fares for Johor Bahru- Bangkok are generally 20 % lower in comparison to Singapore – Bangkok. AirAsia currently operate daily flights to Bangkok from Johor Bahru. However, the choice proved unpopular, as the route failed to attract Singaporeans because of the additional cost and inconvenience of having to travel in and out of Malaysia by road. All these affect Air Asia external growth. If it is to flourish in this lucrative part of the world Air Asia has to face the competition and adapt to the ground realities of the South East Asian countries. 3. Minimum air-fare rates Air Asia faces challenges finding open takeoff and landing slots at opportune times, and Thailand’s regulation that sets minimum air-fare rates. Although Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the current minimum air-fare regulations will be scrapped to open up the market, he couldn’t name a date when this will be done. This seems to be favoritism toward Thai Airways International’s domestic operations, and affects Thai Air Asia to compete in the Thailand market. 4. Asia’s middle class growth Low cost airlines are anticipated to have greater potential in Asia as there are many Asian cities with a population above one million people each as well as a rising middle class population. This growth of middle class in Asia provides a huge market potential for Air Asia to grow. However, as the market is becoming larger, more airlines or new comers would like to get a piece of the action. For example, budget airlines, it is estimated, will capture at least 25% of Asia’s air travel market within next 10 years and a lot of that will be new, not diverted, traffic. Therefore, AirAsia will face more competitions at the same time. Besides the low cost airlines, Air Asia still needs to compete with the conventional carriers. Although extra passengers of the low cost airlines will be coming from the new demand to be created by the low fares, the growth may not be entirely ‘stolen’ from big flag carriers. 5. Actions of Changi International Airport(Singapore) and others The growth of low cost airlines in south-east Asia has a significant effect on which airports will dominate the regional aviation market. Low cost airlines are seen as helping funnel more passengers to airport hubs. Therefore, there is a realization among regional governments that they need smashing airports and feisty carriers or they are going to miss out big time. Therefore, these governments are more willing to support low cost airlines. For example, the Malaysian government supported the establishment of Air Asia in 2001 to help boost the under-used Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and Thai premier’s Shin Corp. forms a join venture with AirAsia that would benefit Bangkok’s new airport and create a new hub at Chiang Mai. Therefore, under this situation, it helps AirAsia grow in Asia. Moreover, as there is a growth of several south-east Asian airports, this poses a challenge to the status of Singapore’s Changi airport as a regional aviation hub. These airports include Johor’s new Senai airport in southern Malaysia and Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi airport. To maintain Changi’s position as the air hub in the region, Singapore is proposing a budget airline terminal at Changi and lower passenger taxes to attract low cost airlines. This helps AirAsia grow and lower the cost. 6. Actions of existing airlines The existing airlines in south-east Asia have several actions to compete with AirAsia, for example, some have launched a low cost airline to fight with Air Asia. Singapore Airlines launched a low cost airline subsidiary, Tiger Airways, in the second half of 2003, only months after the scheduled launch of ValuAir set up by one of its former executives. Orient Thai Airlines launched a new low cost airline subsidiary, One-To-Go. One-To-Go operates with a fleet of six Boeing 757-200s and match any fares that Thai Air Asia offers. They also have the frequency and capacity to offer to their 13 domestic destinations. They also have, during the past two years, worked to improve operational efficiency, slashing unprofitable domestic routes, increasing flights on busy routes, strengthening yield management and controlling costs. All these make Air Asia face a huge competition. Conclusion Air Asia Low cost airlines are anticipated to have greater potential in Asia as there are many Asian cities with a population above one million people each as well as a rising middle class population. It is time for AirAsia to exploit the potentials of affordable air travel by Asia’s growing middle class. Besides starting services to the Pearl River Delta in south China Air Asia can expand its services to the coastal cities in China. Besides the growth of Asian middle class, the liberalization of aviation sector of India is another reason for Air Asia to open more Asian market. The Indian government has liberalized the aviation sector long dominated by the national carriers. Now, only a few low cost airlines, e.g. Indigo, Go Air and Spice Jet have launched their services there. Moreover, the national carriers, Indian Airlines or Air India, despite their domination of the Indian skies, do not seem to be much interested in operating low-cost services. Air Asia has recently announced its arrival in India by tying with industrial giants Tata Group who incidentally pioneered aviation in the country. Air Asia should put more effort to set up a pan-Asian low cost airline with Virgin Blue, which is a low cost carrier of Virgin Group serving Australia and New Zealand mainly. Virgin Blue has suggested it may extend services to south-east Asia. Therefore, setting up a join venture with Virgin Blue can help AirAsia to grow in Asia even further, and help Virgin Blue to extend services to south-east Asia. This partnership could bring synergy between the two airlines and carry the same advantages for Air Asia as with its partnership with Shin Corp. in Thailand. A study by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation confirms that Asia continues to offer attractive conditions for the air transportation industry. With thirteen out of world’s top twenty-five major urban centres located in the Asia Pacific region and a rapidly increasing urbanization trends, the Asian air travel market is bound to continue to grow. Urbanization is highlighted as one of the key drivers for the growth in air travel. It is estimated that Asia would account for 30% of the world market by 2019, or one third of growth between now and then. Low Cost Carriers in Asia Over the last few years, lost cost carriers in Asia have been rapidly expanding and steadily eating into the market share of full service carriers. This trend shows no signs of abating as the region’s LCCs (low cost carriers) continue to order new aircraft at ferocious rates. By global standards, Asian LCCs are relatively small, but their growth profile is more extreme. For example, Air Asia has nearly 300 aircraft on order and India’s Indigo has more than 200, Lion Air (a low-cost, but full service airline not listed in this ranking) has well over 100 in the pipeline, each with international intentions, including plans for cross-border joint ventures. As the definition of LCC becomes more blurred, data in this area need to be looked at with some care – thus for example, Virgin Blue/Virgin Australia would no longer describe itself as a low-cost carrier, having evolved its product, while Lion Air displays many of the low-cost characteristics. Low-cost operations still account for only a small proportion of the region’s aviation activity relative to other regions. But this lower quantum should be viewed against the fact that most of the international LCC operations are confronted by bilateral constraints, in fact making the near-20% level impressive. [pic] The overall market in Asia is also growing much faster than other regions. The total Asian passenger market is expected to grow at a rate of about 10% per annum, reaching about 900 million passengers (excluding China) by 2020. As LCCs continue to increase their share of this market, by about two percentage points per annum, they are poised to grow at rate of about 20% per annum. The 20% figure is feasible based on current order books and fleet plans. The LCC growth rate in Asia could even accelerate in the latter portion of this decade and early portion of next decade based on orders recently placed for new narrow body aircraft. Asian LCCs account for a remarkable 65% (488 of 753) of the Airbus A320neos acquired by airline customers worldwide since Airbus launched the A320neo programme late last year (this figure includes MOUs and orders and is of the end of Jun-2011). Leasing companies have also so far committed to 276 A320neos, a large portion of which are expected to be placed with fast growing Asian LCCs. Not a single Asian full service carrier has yet ordered the A320neo (Garuda’s A320neo order is for its low-cost carrier unit Citilink). As Airbus has already sold all delivery slots for the A320neo until late 2018, the growth gap between Asia’s low-cost and full-service carriers on short/ medium-haul routes is likely to accelerate. The A320neo is scheduled to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2015, giving its operators a 15% improvement in fuel burn compared with the current-generation A320. As a result, Asia’s low-cost carriers which have acquired the A320neo will be able to further reduce their already world-leading unit costs. This will widen the competitive advantage LCCs already enjoy and push down fares within Asia further, allowing LCCs to potentially capture all the growth in short-haul markets. Asian full service carriers continue to place orders but these are predominantly for wide body aircraft which will be used on intercontinental routes. Within Asia, full service carriers are stuck in a position where ceding more market share to low-cost carriers is inevitable. It is possible that low-cost carriers could even control 50% of capacity within Asia sometime in the next decade. [pic] At the same time Asia could overtake Europe and North America as the largest LCC market. This would not surprise Asia’s largest low-cost carrier group, Air Asia. The group already expects to grow its fleet to about 500 A320 equivalent aircraft, which would make it the second largest low-cost carrier group in the world after Southwest. Even the 200 A320neos ordered in Jun-2011 may be insufficient to meet Air Asia’s growth requirements. The company is now committed to adding aircraft at a fairly conservative rate of 13 to 20 per year during 2012-2020. Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes has said the group will be able to support 36 deliveries per year once the pending IPOs at its Indonesian and Thai affiliates are completed. The region’s appetite for low fares remains largely unsatisfied. This is evident in the widening load factor gap between LCCs and full service carriers. Load factors at several Asian flag carriers have slipped in recent months into the 70% range, while most low-cost carriers are experiencing loads well above 80% and in some cases even above 90%. All three of the big Asian low-cost carrier groups – Air Asia, Jetstar and Tiger – are currently expanding at rates exceeding 20% per annum. Some low-cost carriers have seen their profits slip this year as it can be difficult for LCCs to pass on rising fuel costs through fare increases. But LCCs have focused on improving ancillary revenues and load factors, allowing them to offset most of the increase in fuel costs. As long as fuel remains at or below its current level, Asia’s low-cost carriers should have a very profitable 2011 and outperform many of the region’s larger full service carriers, in the process again expanding market share. While it is hard to predict profits over the long term, the outlook for low-cost carriers in Asia is generally rosy and their rapid growth is expected to generally be profitable. Bibliography The information for this project has been obtained from the following sources: 1) Airline Leader 2) Wikipedia 3) Linkedin 4) Mayasian Journal of Media Studies 5) IBS Center for Management Research 6) Berg Consulting

American Foreign policy 1897-1939 essays

American Foreign policy 1897-1939 essays What Were the Prime Motivations in the Conduct of US Foreign Policy From 1898-1941? Primarily the United States entered the world political spectrum following its comprehensive victory over Spain in the Spanish-American War (1895-1898) and it was to prove the forbearer of American foreign policy for the foreseeable future. An aggressive imperialistic dictum immediately followed the victory as America sought control of Latin America and the Caribbean. This successful annexation of her own backyard was followed by a more subdued economic imperialism using a Dollar diplomacy instead of a big stick ethos, extending her influence across the Pacific and towards Asia. America turned inwards upon herself with a trend of isolationism whilst she continued to build the infrastructure, which would eventually propel her to major world power classification. America continued a predominate isolationist policy, with exception towards beneficial economic ventures, until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, where once again matters were forced upon her. A new form of imperialism can be accredited to America during the earlier years of the century. A capitalistically driven imperialism focussed primarily on Latin America, taking the positive parts from old-style European imperialism and rejecting the elements that could prove troublesome or expensive, yet proving isolationist in nature towards Europe. The victory over Spain expelled European influence from the Americas and saw America herself take over the mantel of the white mans burden in its own backyard. The huge benefit afforded to America was its newness, the very fact that America was fabricated and not slowly developed over centuries like the established European countries, that it was a teenager when compared to Europes old man, enabled America to see where Europe had erred. America then vigorously promoted, by force w...

Interesting Facts and Data About American Indians

Interesting Facts and Data About American Indians Due to longstanding cultural mythology and the fact that Native Americans constitute one of the smallest racial groups in the United States, misinformation about indigenous peoples abounds. Many Americans simply regard Native Americans as caricatures that only come to mind when Pilgrims, cowboys or Columbus are the topics at hand. Yet American Indians are three-dimensional people who exist in the here and now. In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, the U.S. Census Bureau has collected data about American Indians that reveal noteworthy trends taking place among this diverse racial group. Get the facts about what makes Native Americans unique. Almost Half of Native Americans Are Mixed-Race More than five million Native Americans live in the United States, making up 1.7 percent of the population. While 2.9 million U.S. indigenous peoples identify as solely American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.3 million identified as multiracial, the Census Bureau reported. Thats nearly half of the indigenous population. Why do so many Natives identify as biracial or multiracial? The reasons for the trend vary. Some of these Native Americans may be the product of interracial couples- one indigenous parent and one of another race. They may also have non-Native ancestry that dates back to generations past. On the flip side, many whites and blacks claim to have Native American ancestry because race mixing has taken place in the U.S. for centuries. There’s even a nickname for this phenomenon, â€Å"Cherokee Grandmother Syndrome.† It refers to people who claim that a distant ancestor such as their great-great-grandmother was Native American. This isn’t to say that the whites and blacks in question are always lying about having indigenous ancestry. When talk show host Oprah Winfrey had her DNA analyzed on the television show â€Å"African American Lives,† she was found to have a significant amount of Native American lineage. Many people who claim American Indian origin don’t know much, if anything, about their Native ancestor and are ignorant about Native cultures and customs. Yet they may be responsible for a boost in the indigenous population if they claim Native ancestry on the census. â€Å"Reclaimers are perceived as preying upon the current trendiness of Nativeness as well as perhaps embracing this heritage for economic, or perceived economic, gain,† Kathleen J. Fitzgerald writes in the book Beyond White Ethnicity. Margaret Seltzer (aka Margaret B. Jones) and Timothy Patrick Barrus (aka Nasdijj) are just a couple of the white writers who profited from writing memoirs in which they pretended to be Native American. Another reason for the high number of multiracial Native Americans is the spike in the number of Latin American immigrants in the U.S. with indigenous ancestry. The Census Bureau found that Latinos are increasingly choosing to identify as Native American. Many Latinos have European, indigenous and African ancestry. Those who are intimately connected to their indigenous roots want such ancestry to be acknowledged. The Native American Population Is Growing â€Å"When Indians go away, they don’t come back. Last of the Mohicans, last of the Winnebago, last of the Couer d’Alene people†¦,† says a character in the Native American film â€Å"Smoke Signals.† He alludes to the widely spread notion in U.S. society that indigenous peoples are extinct. Contrary to popular belief, Native Americans did not all disappear when Europeans settled in the New World. Although the warfare and disease that Europeans spread upon arriving in the Americas did decimate entire communities of American Indians, U.S. indigenous groups are actually growing today. The Native American population rose by 1.1 million, or 26.7 percent, between the 2000 and 2010 census. That’s much faster than the general population growth of 9.7 percent. By 2050, the Native population is expected to increase by more than three million. The Native American population is concentrated in 15 states, all of which have indigenous populations of 100,000 or more: California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New York, New Mexico, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and Illinois. While California has the largest number of Native Americans, Alaska has the highest percentage of them. Given that the median age of the Native American population is 29, eight years younger than the general population, the indigenous population is in a prime position to expand. Eight Native American Tribes Have at Least 100,000 Members Many Americans would draw a blank if asked to list a handful of the nation’s largest indigenous tribes. The country is home to 565 federally-recognized Indian tribes and 334 American Indian reservations. The largest eight tribes range in size from 819,105 to 105,304, with the Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Mexican-American Indians, Chippewa, Sioux, Apache, and Blackfeet topping the list. A Significant Portion of Native Americans Are Bilingual Unless you live in Indian Country, it may be a surprise for you to learn that many Native Americans speak more than one language. The Census Bureau has found that 28 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives speak a language other than English at home. That’s higher than the U.S. average of 21 percent. Among the Navajo Nation, a whopping 73 percent of members are bilingual. The fact that many Native Americans today speak both English and a tribal language is, in part, due to the work of activists who have striven to keep indigenous dialects alive. As recently as the 1900s, the U.S. government actively worked to stop Native peoples from speaking in tribal languages. Government officials even sent indigenous children to boarding schools where they were punished for speaking tribal languages. As elders in some indigenous communities died, fewer and fewer tribal members could speak the tribal language and pass it on. According to the National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices Project, a language dies every two weeks. More than half of the world’s 7,000 languages will vanish by 2100, and many such languages have never been written down. To help preserve indigenous languages and interests worldwide, the United Nations created a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Native American Businesses Are Booming Native American businesses are on the rise. From 2002 to 2007, receipts for such businesses jumped by 28 percent. To boot, the number of Native American businesses increased by 17.7 percent during the same time period. With 45,629 Native-owned businesses, California leads the nation in indigenous enterprises, followed by Oklahoma and Texas. More than half of indigenous businesses fall into the construction, repair, maintenance, personal and laundry services categories.

Prcis from Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione II.9 (335b8) Assignment

Prcis from Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione II.9 (335b8) - Assignment Example Knowledge is seen as an essential component in one’s life. In addition, Aristotle believes that there are some things that exist in the sensible world and have essential natures. He continues to add that there are things which exist in the sensible world that cannot be otherwise plus acquiring knowledge of the things is possible. Aristotle simple brings the essence of acquiring knowledge of the unknown which exist in the sensible world. A good example of this could be the knowledge of the soul which is discussed in his Phaedo. Concerning Aristotle’s Phaedo, its sole purpose was to talk about the human soul. According to Aristotle, the soul is regarded as immortal. He argues that the soul before it started to live in a human body at birth, meant it came from somewhere, and after death, will also have to go somewhere. This correlation brought to him coming up with the possibilities of two worlds existing separate from each other. He refers one of the worlds as a world of sensible particulars and the other, the world of form. The world of sensible particulars as discussed by Aristotle contains objects that can be touched and have sense. He adds that they include living things with souls like plants, animals and man. In addition, the world of form contains aspects that exist in objects. Aristotle also refers to forms as universal aspects. He adds that the soul is in between these two worlds since he argues that the soul existed before birth and would return to where it came from after death. He continues by saying that when one is alive, the soul is trapped in one’s body and by so living in the sensible world. Souls according to Aristotle are regarded as sensible things by being particular in contrast to forms which are universal. Aristotle depicts the souls as the first actuality of any natural body and got the potential of having life. The catch will be that the soul has to occupy a body with organs in order for life to exist. In addition, th e soul cannot exist without immorality. Aristotle insists that the soul may leave a body when dead and remains in the world, wonders until when it gets another body to live. In the world of forms, Aristotle rejected Plato’s theory of forms that stated that properties like beauty are generally abstract universal entities which exist totally independent of the objects. Instead, Aristotle argues that forms cannot exist apart from objects since they are intrinsic to them. However, when he discusses art, Aristotle rejects this theory. He instead adds that artists try to capture idealized universal forms. The nature of universals in Aristotle's philosophy therefore hinges on his view of natural kinds. Aristotle basically transformed Plato's forms to "formal causes", the essence or blueprints of individual things. Concerning the â€Å"formal† causes, Aristotle argues forms are powerless in explaining why things change or die since they cannot alter or move physical objects of sensation. He adds that forms may not be of importance in explaining how we get knowledge of particular things. This he supports by arguing that one cannot get knowledge of a substance before getting knowledge of the substance in it. Aristotle also argues forms could not explain the existence of particular objects. Aristotle basically refutes his teacher’s teachings and comes with his own perspective of what cause are. Therefore according to Aris