New Jerse Essay Example for Free

New Jerse Essay Now this is a story all about me, when my life got twist turn upside down, if you like to take a minute just reading right here, Ill write you how I became a prince of a town called New Jersey could you find a word that rhymes with New Jersey? In East London Im born and raised on a playground is where Ive spent the most of my days chilling out, relaxing all cool and all kicking some football outside of school when a couple of guys, they were up to no good started making trouble in my neighbourhood I got in one little fight and my mum got scared and said youre moving with your aunt and uncle in New Jersey here, have this Hershey that kind of rhymes. If you didnt know Hershey is a chocolate bar that is sold in America. Although I would like to think that I was the fresh prince, my story didnt exactly start out like that. Instead of my parents sending me to my relatives because of academic problems, I went because I have been nagging them for a really long time. Im not saying that my academic level was reaching its fullest potential before I went, but the main reason I went was to have a taste of things to come. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to live in one of those semi-detached American houses with the large front garden, golden retriever, two kids and a large garage. When most people watch American films they are focused on the storyline, but when I watch them not only am I watching the story, but also at the back of my mind I am constantly absorbing the American background. Finally in the summer of 2000 July 3rd, I got the chance to have a taste of my dream. Even though it was just a small taste, it was enough to last me however long it will take to finally move there. When my parents did decide that it was o. k. to send me there, it was there idea of making me have a taste of the real world. There idea of a taste of the real world was my idea of a taste of a dream. At the time I had just finished my GCSEs, and my grades were not that great. My parents had planned that America would change my course; I guess it did in the end but my biggest change was with my personality. When I did return I felt more confident, independent, funny and larger (thanks to those large American portions of food). Everything leading up to the day I left flew by and before I knew it I was in the airport sitting at the waiting room with my dad. I remember my dad being really calm and cool about everything, he never really got sad in front of me especially with good-bys. He told me stories about when he went to New York for the first time: Now this is a story all about your dad, back in the day I also was bad, Your old man also had the American dream, thinking that it would be so cool and supreme, I stayed there for a while to learn the truth, that America was best lived in the movies, what a poof! I never knew my dad could rap, looks as though he has a problem with finishing it as well. To sum up my dads rap; he also had the American dream being brought up on James Dean movies. Throughout his teenage years he had dreamt up an image of what America would be like, unfortunately when he stayed there, it did not match his dream. That is how my dad tells the story, but I think theres something he is not telling me. I also believe that my parents dont want me to live far away from them because they regret moving far away from their parents when they were younger. On the plane, I sat next to an empty seat, which wasnt bad as I wasnt really good with the airplane conversations. I travelled on Virgin Atlantic and the in-flight entertainment was great, they had a video screen in front of each seat with which I could play games, watch films and programmes. Anyway back onto America, I remember as we approached the New York coast I heard a passenger in the seat in front of me, look theres the statue of liberty I looked to my right out of the window and saw her. She was a bit smaller then I had imagined (in Ghostbusters 2 she was huge! ), and she was green. I never actually realised that she was green before; I always thought she was grey. I wasnt disappointed though; looking at the New York skyline for the first time was great. However I still felt as though I was in England, maybe it would change when we land. After I collected my luggage, I went through the inspection terminal where policemen checked your passports. I found this strange but the strangest was to come, when I reached the gate where my aunt would be waiting for me. Oh yeah if I didnt mention it before, I would be staying with my auntie there, like my parents were really going to let me stay there by myself.

Blue Duck Essay Example for Free

Blue Duck Essay This report is made on the objective of executing a strategic analysis and evaluation of Blue Duck Shearling in order to be able to answer the following problem statement: â€Å"How could Blue Duck increase their consumer based brand equity (CBBE) by improving their social media appearance?† In order to answer the question an assessment of Blue Duck’s marketing strategy and implementation of the strategy was carried through. It focused on the Blue Duck’s social media marketing strategy and it led to giving suggestions how to improve their current approach with the aim of improving Blue Duck’s consumer based brand equity. In order to find out the industry leading trends in Social Media Marketing there were examined reports and statistics about the leading tendencies and developments in social media marketing. Blue Duck is a premium high-end shearling outerwear manufacturer. They design, manufacture and distribute high quality shearling and fur-trimmed and fur-lined coats in addition accessories for men and women. All the coats are produced in their New York based showroom in the fashion district. The analysis of the company’s current situation was carried through examination of Blue Duck’s positioning strategy. It included forming a perceptual map about Blue Duck and its competitors as well analyzing the competitors’ online appearances. The evaluation showed that the main advantage of Blue Duck is to carry on improving and implementing their social media strategy, as the competitors seems to lack in terms of social media marketing. As well there was carried out a comparison by analyzing the points of parity and points of difference concerning the competitors. The examination showed that compared with the main competitors Blue Duck lacks trendiness. Nevertheless Blue Duck seemed to have the strongest social media marketing strategy that they could benefit from. In addition, to analyze the company’s strengths and weaknesses, learn the growth possibilities and external threats there was carried out a SWOT analysis. It revealed that the main assets of the company are the quality and long experience in the shearling industry; still their weakness is the limited distribution channels. As they are strongly dependent on the weather, the global warming and climate change might affect their business as an external threat for the company. In order to assess Blue Duck’s current marketing strategy there is examined the Integrated Marketing Communication practices carried out by the company. As well there is analyzed the company’s current social media marketing strategy in particular. According to the findings Blue Duck concentrates on online marketing and in addition to that they do a bit of print advertisement. Lately Blue Duck has been focusing on the social media marketing, as it is one of the fastest developing forms of marketing. The main focus of Blue Duck’s social media activities is to increase brand awareness and the goal is to build online audience and a strong online community. Thus far they have slowly been moving towards their goal and objectives. Still they could benefit from some adjustments in their strategy to get faster results. To evaluate the current customer based brand equity there were carried out interviews with 3 people from the target group. Based on the answers there was formed a CBBE pyramid. It appeared that the overall customer perception matches brand’s own positioning statement, though 2 out of 3 interviewees noted that Blue Duck lacks trendiness. The recommendations for the future to Blue Duck would be to keep on developing their social media strategy and making adjustments to it according to the needs. Still as the brand image is inclined to be outdated and old fashioned they should consider improving their design aesthetics and producing trendier designs as well. Fruthermore Blue Duck should pay more attention to Pinterest as it is a growing platform. In addition Blue Duck should consider inserting a product reviewing and rating to tool to their website as it might appeal for their target group. Following these suggestions Blue Duck will increase their customer based brand equity and will succeed in building a stronger online community. Introduction The aim of this report is to examine an American shearling outerwear manufacturer Blue Duck’s online appearance and give suggestions for their social media marketing strategy. Blue Duck is a small company that serves the needs of United States shearling market. It is one of the main manufacturers of luxury shearling in the US. As their core product is shearling outerwear the active business season for them is from October till March the following year. During the summer season they mainly deal with the product development and design of the next season’s collection. As the winter of 2011 and 2012 was rather warm, the business suffered and the sales volume declined. In the summer of 2012 Blue Duck decided to develop a new marketing plan and they hired branding agency Art Zulu to help building a social media marketing strategy. The main aim of the new approach was to increase brand awareness and build a strong online community. This report will be assessing and analyzing the implementation of the strategy and in the end gives suggestions according to the findings. Problem Statement To assess the possibilities of increased brand awareness following problem was formulated: How could Blue Duck increase their customer based brand equity (CBBE) by improving their social media appearance? To analyze the social media marketing trends in fashion industry the following sub-question was formed. 1.What are the leading social media trends in the USA fashion industry? Secondly to assess the company’s current situation and their strongest assets to rely on while building the social media presence following sub-question came up: 2.What are the key assets of the Blue Duck’s present customer based brand equity that the company should rely on while building social media presence? In addition to propose the strategy and implementation for Blue Duck following sub-question was formed: 3.What strategy should Blue Duck use in order to build a strong on-line presence? Finally, to find out which social media platforms and technologies to use in order to implement the strategy the following sub-question was formed: 4.What technologies and social media platforms should Blue Duck use in order to target their potential customers? Delimitation Market This report will analyze the social media marketing trends and the possibilities for Blue Duck to improve their customer based brand equity on their current target market. As well the report will be focusing on how Blue Duck could expand their target group and appeal to a younger market segment and give suggestions based on the research and analysis of the company’s current brand equity. Due to lack of consumer primary consumer data the CBBE matrix will not be as objective as it could be. Geographical Area As Blue Duck operates locally the report will be based on the United States market, with a special focus on New York area. Time Frame The report will be based on the on going financial year of 2012 as Blue Duck is going through development of new branding and marketing strategies. Finance The report will not be focusing on marketing budget and the financial situation of the company. Methodology This report will be based on primary and secondary research method. The primary data will be based on the information acquired directly from Blue Duck. To find out the latest social media marketing trends the report will be analyzing several marketing industry reports about the current tendencies. To analyze Blue Duck’s current situation and strategies and find the possibilities for improvements there will be used different branding and marketing analyzing methods such as CBBE matrix, PoDs/PoPs, SWOT and perceptual mapping. To evaluate Blue Duck’s customer based brand equity there will be interviewed 2-3 subjects from the company’s target group in order to get a little overview of the consumers’ perspective concerning Blue Duck. Due to the few examinees interviewed the results and consumer perception of the brand is rather subjective, still it gives a little impression about the brand equity. In the end based on the findings of the study the report will give suggestions and recommendations about Blue Duck’s social media strategy by following Bernoff’s four-step social strategy called the POST method. It will start with concluding the targeted PEOPLE’s social activities. Then it will evaluate the OBJECTIVES to decide what Blue Duck wants to accomplish. That will follow to the STRATEGY – the planning of how the relationship with the customer will change. To sum up the report will come up with the TECHNOLOGIES that Blue Duck should use in order to implement its strategy. (Bernoff Li, 2008) Social Media Trends Today companies are confronted with the raising influence of new communication channels. It is completely transforming the marketing field, as it has existed for 100 years now. The traditional ways of marketing are increasingly influenced and integrated with social media. Nevertheless mainstream medias will still be vital, but will be strongly influenced by the newcomers. (Gillin 2008) Top Social Media Marketers note that Social Media Marketing is disappearing in the means of a separate media. That implies that Social Media Marketing is becoming one of the marketing tools and it will not be a separate activity, but an integral part of marketing. (Dreamgrow 2012) In the last decade and in particular the last 4 years there has been radical changes how people consume and search for information. A part from getting the information from the direct source such as traditional institutions like corporations, people have started using technologies to get things they need from each other (Bernoff Li 2008). It is called the Groundswell. This trend can be very beneficial for the companies, if they set their strategies right, or it can be great threat for a company’s image if the Groundswell movement is disregarded. Following will point out the main trends that will affect Blue Duck and the fashion industry in general in the United States. Rise of Social Media Marketing In a survey of 700 marketers, Wildfire App discovered that nearly all marketers find value in Social Media Marketing and over 75% of them were planning to increase their Social Media Marketing budget. The main benefits noted by the marketers were the increased brand awareness and direct interaction with the customers. Furthermore Social Media Marketing efforts seemed to increase sales and reduce marketing spending. More businesses are investing in Social Media. According to Borrell Associates, small- and medium-sized businesses in USA doubled their social media advertising budgets in 2012. State of Social Media Marketing study by Awareness Networks found that 70% of businesses planned to expand their presents on social media platforms. (Mershon, 2012) Social Media as a Customer Service Tool For the past ten years companies have been directing their clients to their websites for supporting information instead of having them call to the expensive support line. As one part of the groundswell, companies can benefit from using their Social Media platforms for offering customer support. By doing that they build loyalty and might cut costs on customer support activities such as support calls. Today customers are able to contact the company in real time through social media networks. When a person can easily interact with the company on Facebook for example, it increases trust. People can rely on the company. Furthermore customers get help from each other as well by commenting each other’s posts and communicating online. This will save a lot on company’s customer support expenses if the customers are able to help themselves. On top it will facilitate the communication for the customers. (Bernoff Li, 2008) Social Sales As users have access to unlimited amounts of information online, consumers identify trust as a key factor for finding valuable solutions. Consumers will not even enter the purchase funnel if certain trust elements are not triggered (About.com, 2012). People are used to getting recommendations from their friends and family, but now social media integration will allow customers to get real user reviews and ratings about products straight on the product pages. People will be more encouraged to purchase a product if it has positive reviews from customers who already purchased it. At the same time brands have to be careful and make the reviewing process as transparent as possible by revealing negative reviews as well to make it trustworthy. In that way people get the most objective overviews. A study has shown that reviews seem to build more trust than â€Å"likes†. 50% of the consumer say that a brand having a lot of good reviews and a few negative ones adds trust, at the same time only 26% of consumers find that having a lot of â€Å"likes† adds trust. Consumers seem to get confused about the origin of â€Å"likes† so they prefer reviews from people who have already purchased the product (About.com, 2012). Social Media ROI While there has been a lot of controversy about Social Media ROI and if it could be measured, marketers seem to start evaluating the importance of measuring the outcome of their social media efforts. However less than half of the businesses measure their results. Lack of monitoring might lead to waste of investment as companies are increasing their spending on social media. This again will be indicated by the poor ROI. By monitoring the results it makes it easier to adjust the strategy and change over to more efficient ways of social media marketing. Pinterest as an Ecommerce Site Lately the new Internet bookmarking site Pinterest has exploded. Based on industry reports, Pinterest is becoming the most significant driver of social traffic to eCommerce sites, even outperforming the more mature social media giants as Twitter and Facebook. Lately many online retailers are integrating Pinterest to their product pages. In that way the consumer is able to pin the things they like on their inspirational boards. Amazon has added pin button to every product. The evidence that Pinterest is skyrocketing is clear considering the reports. In Q2 in 2012, referral traffic from Pinterest rose 2,535 percent year over year while at the same time referral traffic from Facebook is up 2,7 percent. On top of everything the traffic driven on Pinterest is free. Companies ought to pay a lot of attention on Pinterest as it can be a great traffic driver besides email campaigns and search engines. (Duryee, 2012) Tabletizing and Mobilizing Websites In connection with the new technologies and portable devices companies have to start conforming their online present. More than half social networking sites’ usage will be on mobile devices. As more people use smartphones and tablets, the companies have to adapt their websites for mobile use. People are getting used to sharing content on the go, no matter where they are. Brands as Entertainers As companies move on to Social Networks such as Facebook and Twitter they have to learn how to engage and entertain their customer that they will not loose interest in the brand page. On social media networks brands have to be aware that the branding and marketing messages displayed on the page will not get annoying and people will not perceive them as spam. As case studies have shown the most successful social brands have a subtle branding and marketing approach. They offer their audience everyday entertainment and news, while occasionally interposing brand messages to keep the brand on top of the mind. Every message that a brand posts on their Facebook does not have to be related to the brand. This leads to the following social media trend. Online News Will Become More Social It has been forecasted that in the near future applications integrated with social media will gradually replace online news websites. People will get their daily news straight on their Facebook news feed for example. As well the people who are reading/sharing/tweeting the news will decide which news are the most popular and there wise the trending stories appear on their friends newsfeed. It is the consumer who decides what will be read. News Brought to Us by Ourselves For example on many news-broadcast channels the audience can speak up through Twitter and interact with the live news show. Furthermore during live debates there is the possibility for the audience to vote and express their support through Twitter. In some cases of live TV the audience is the main influencer of the course of the show. Twitter has become sort of a live broadcast channel itself. During the Spring-Summer 2013 fashion weeks in the fashion capitals in September the tweets and pictures from people at the shows gave a good overview of what was going on for their followers. People are getting more involved in being distributors of information and news. It is not only the responsibility of the press to be the prime distributors of information any more – it is the consumer. Conclusion Concerning the latest trends mentioned above Blue Duck has to take a lot into consideration while building their online presence. Blue Duck must be sure that their social media profiles interact with the consumer and that the conversation taking place there is not unanswered. Furthermore in connection with new technologies and platforms Blue Duck has to indicate the ones that their target group is the most involved in and take them into focus while developing a social media strategy. For example Pinterest is a great bookmarking tool for women concerning home and lifestyle subjects. It is appealing for them to take inspiration from other people all over the world and make pin-boards with great ideas and products. Finally Blue Duck has to make sure that their social media pages are entertaining and provide interesting content for their customers, so that they will not loose interest in the brand and keep it on top of their mind.

Themes in Metropolis

Themes in Metropolis Channelling a zeitgeist of Totalities, Metropolis explores how dystopic values result in loss of humanity. The reductionism of the workers, debased to mindless cattle through the stark uniformity of costuming and emotionless body language during Shift Change, foreshadows the deteriorating economic situation as Germany approached the Great Depression. The dehumanisation of the proletariats as they move through the Workers City is emphasised by the movement of intertitles down the screen. It suggests that the workers have become part of the functional elevator they are riding in, mirroring their social status as the recurring motif of inferior Hands to the superior Head;ÂÂ   addressing the emerging post-war social stratification experienced by Langs original audience. The workers grim reality sharply contrasted with the gaiety and decadence of the Eternal Gardens, a twisted biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden. The gaudy courtesans and men are ironically dehumanised, as their f rolicking in this utopian, idyllic setting gives them a deified yet carnal quality. Lang thus degrades their humanity until what remains is an animalistic baseness, inflated by their expressionist acting resonant of the style in post-war Weimar nightlife. Consequently, the film reveals Metropolis as a cinematic masterpiece hybridising traditional pastoral Germany and the post-war world one modernist era. In stark contrast, Orwell, holds a deeply pessimistic perspective, specifically positing the weakness of character in response to oppression. 1984 is a clear reaction to the prevailing 1940s social orthodoxy which blindly lauded the totalitarian methods of the USSR, and as such, expounds the inevitable subjugation of humanity under state control. The two minutes hate is seen to easily avert the citizenrys oppressed frustrations to an external inimical target, highlighting the malleability of human passion, while the heretic Goldsteins verbosity evokes that of Soviet dissident Leon Trotsky, thus allowing Orwell to equate the Partys despotic practices with the USSRs. In addition, whilst the use of a third person, limited point of view allows for the comprehension of Winstons stark individuality, the parataxis in He loved Big Brother is jarring, and suggests Orwells firm belief in the inevitable weakness of the human spirit against oppression. It is a bleak coda in contrast to that of M etropolis, thus emphasizing the inevitable overwhelming of the human spirit by oppressive forces. Furthermore, the ultimate dismantling of personal reason is illustrated in OBriens self-reflexive They got me long ago, suggesting his previous individuality, now dismantled, with such nihilism emanating from Orwells own betrayal and persecution by pro-Soviet socialist comrades whilst serving during the Spanish Civil War. Further raised in the Partys mantra He who controls the past controls the future this attitude emphasises the perpetual overwhelming of human expression under oppressive regimes. Metropolis also condemns the degeneration within Langs social zeitgeist by capturing the destructive consequences of revolutions, echoing a period of instability in the rebellions against a fragile democracy. Lang reflects Hitlers futile Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, through the biblical allusion of the construction of the Tower of Babel, foreshadows the destruction of Metropolis to didactically warn against anarchy and revolution. Fredersens frantic repetition of, where is my son?! coupled with theatrical acting in an Expressionist fashion emphasises his profound emotional turmoil, positioning audiences to align with Langs perspective that in the struggle to rise against the present, the future of ensuing generations will be compromised. By extension, the juxtaposition of Marias struggle to stop the flooding against Grots ease in initiating this change affirms Langs perspective that it is far more difficult to wind back revolutionary change, echoing Germanys cataclysmic period of hyperi nflation fuelled by the Ruhr uprising in 1923. Thus, Langs portrayal of revolution to entail destructive consequences clearly stems from contextual influence of the revolts in Weimar Germany. Unlike Metropolis, 1984 draws on the beliefs of the time to present an ideological critique of technology as a propagandist tool for manipulation. In keeping with his obsession with national security and through recurring motifs of surveillance, Orwell portrays technology as a means for the Party to amass unchallenged orthodoxy and fear, evident in Winstons apprehensive tone, no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any moment, representing loss of individual agency. Embodied in the brutal personification, you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face-for ever, and compounded by the fact that Minitrues technology allows the past to be erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth. Relaying contextual fears of a possible Stalinist regime, Orwells polyptoton illustrates that time and truth can be obliterated by technology, reducing them to mere symbols of human fallibility. Furthermore, people can be vaporised, You will be annihilate d in the past as well as in the future. You will never have existed, though the anaphoric use of will is ironic since 1984 operates as Orwells didactic commentary. Orwell aligned with Langs perspective that there is no possibility of a future when the usurpation of natural boundaries through technology as a tool for manipulation results in such a dystopic society.

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine Essay -- essays research papers

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine As with all things we know little about there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding acupuncture. The part people see the most is a person with needles sticking out of their flesh. Understandably being wary of sharp pointed objects being wielded by a complete stranger, this is often an obstacle that needs to be over come. The best way to do this is by becoming educated about how acupuncture is performed, where it came from, what it does, some of the benefits vs. the problems, and the different views about it. Though out the many different texts on acupuncture you find there is room for interpretation on how to perform it, what to use, and even where the pressure is placed. One thing you will find in common among these texts is this, acupuncture works to varying degrees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earliest recordings of the use of acupuncture go back 2,000 years. In China it is widely expressed that it has been in use for 4,000 years. The origins go back as early as the Stone Age where abscesses were punctured by sharp stones or bone fragments. ( History ) When you experience pain it is an instinctive reaction to apply pressure to that location. Such as when you get a toothache. Also the body may experience pain where the infection is not localized. Your body naturally sends you warning signals that something is wrong. The Ancient Chinese utilized these warnings, and developed an intricate system of these points over time through observation. It is easy to infer that applying pressure to relive pain with your hands evolved into the use of needles instead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tortoise shells have been found and dated back to 1500 B.C. – during the Shang Dynasty - recording the use of acupuncture. The first actual written text acclaiming acupuncture is called Nei Ching Su Wen. It is written into two basic sections. The Su Wen, or easy questions and the Lung Shu, or hard questions. This book basically lays out all the different points, but it is mostly a book on concept and theory. The Nei Ching Su Wen lays the basic rules of philosophy and treaties on health. These philosophies branched form two mainstream religions that abounded during the Warring States period in Chinese history. The first is Confucianism. The teachings of this â€Å" religion â€Å" stress that the body is scared and are against dissection or surgery. T... ... You have no nasty side effect of drowsiness, or being groggy. The vomiting and stomach irritation are a thing of the past. This technique is especially being used and experimented with in China.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is also another branch of acupuncture being explored. It involves pressure points specifically I the ear. These points are being found to be connected to all other organs of the body. Although there are arguments that acupuncture is purely suggestion, they can be proven wrong. Suggestion cannot allow for a human being to under surgery with pain. The discovery of endorphins shows that a chemical process is instigated through pressure points. There is a chemical increase of endorphins when acupuncture is performed. Research being funded in China by the United States, and other Western countries, are going to lead us to a great break through some day. The future looks bright, and everyday we learn more and more. Some day we may learn the secret of why acupuncture works for now we will have to accept that it does work and try to combine old and new philosophies to reach a greater understanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

World War II :: World War 2 Two

World War 11 When the World War I broke out in 1914, with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. America’s first reaction was to stay out to conflict. President Wilson, in his speech to the Congress on August 19, 1914 said: "Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality. The United States must be neutral in fact as well as in name during these days that are to try men’s souls. We must be impartial in thought as well as in action." All American leaders favored neutrality. While the entire European continent was divided into two camps: Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey as Central Powers were pitted against the Allied powers: Serbia, Britain, France, Belgium, Italy and Russia. As the war progressed, American public sympathies veered to the Allied side. Under the leadership of J.P. Morgan and Company many banking firms gave huge loans to the Allied powers. By international rules the neutral country could trade with any other neutral nation and also with other ’belligerent’ countries not facing a blockade. The Americans wished to continue trade with both belligerent sides. In the initial stages of the war the British blockade of Germany created problems for the U.S. The British tried to stop all trade between Germany and the rest of the world. They extended their blockade by controlling imports to other neutral countries like Holland, Denmark and Sweden with are geographically close to Germany The Americans protested against the violation of neutral rights though Wilson never put undue pressure on England as no U.S. citizen lost his life due to the blockade. Moreover, all cargo seized was paid for at war. It was the German use of submarines in the war that brought the U.S. in direct confrontation with Germany. The German submarines fired indiscriminately at neutral ships too. The last straw was when the British passenger liner ’Lusitania’ was sunk by German submarines on May 7. It resulted in the loss of 1,200 lives which included 128 Americans. The American public was outraged. President Wilson immediately demanded compensation from Germany in a series of notes to Berlin. The tone of these notes was very crisp and harsh. Ten months after the incident, Germany apologized for the sinking and offered a compensation for the loss. But the U.S. was not satisfied. Wilson wanted to make Germany stop the use of submarines in the war.

First Corinthians Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

First Corinthians In 146 B.C. the Roman general Mummius crushed Greece’s attempt towards independence by completely destroying the city of Corinth. For a hundred years the area of the city laid in ruins. Eventually Julius Caesar sent a colony of veterans and descendants of Freedmen to rebuild the city, and in a short period of time a new Corinth was created from the old ruins (Ancient Corinth p. 20). During the rebuilding of Corinth Caesar was assassinated and reconstruction was continued by Emperor Augustus (Background First Corinthians). Corinth is a Grecian city, located on the isthmus which joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. It is forty-eight miles west of Athens (Ancient Corinth p.16). The Isthmus is a strip of land that connects the lower peninsula of Greece with the mainland which is where the term â€Å"Isthmus† came from, in reference to any strip of land between two seas. The city was situated on a tableland two hundred feet above sea level (Zondervan Encyclopedia p.960-961) The location of Corinth helped to build its character to a great extent. It was a city that was excellently designed for shipping and trade. This fact invited a mixed population. There were two harbors in the city's position of control over the isthmus (Zondervan Encyclopedia p.960). Lechaeum provided for the westward side, facing the Corinthian gulf, and Cenchreae functioned as the harbor on the eastward side, facing the Saronic Gulf (Ancient Corinth p.40-41). In the 5th century B.C., Corinth was one of the three major powers within Greece, and they participated in all of the battles against Persia (Ancient Corinth p. 19) See map for Missionary Journeys. Paul came to Corinth for the first time on his second missionary journey toward the end of the year 51 A.D. (Zondervan Encyclopedia p.962). Paul wrote Romans while he was in Corinth and the list of Latin names found at the end of the letter agrees with historical statement that Corinth was a Roman colony. Jews naturally found a place in Corinth, and the Jewish population rose even higher when the edict of Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. Along with many of the Jews came Paul, to the city of Corinth (History First Corinthians). Paul spent eighteen months in the city of Corinth, (Acts 18:11) and during the time he spent in Corinth, Paul laid down the foundation of the Church of Corinth. The congrega... ...p;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baptism iii.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul’s plans, final greeting, (16:19-24) Works Cited Bright, Hilda â€Å"Servants of Christ† December 2004, 14 March, 2005. Bucke, Emory S.†Corinth† and â€Å"First Corinthians† The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. New York: Abingdon Press, Nashville. 1962. â€Å"Corinth† and â€Å"First Corinthians† The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible Grand Rapids: Michigan, 1975. Guthrie, Donald New Testament Introduction United States, December 1975. Henderson, Charles â€Å"Christianity – General† 2005, 14 March, 2005. â€Å"History of the Book of First Corinthians† 2003, 14 March, 2005. < http://1corinthians.jesusanswers.com/ > Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of I and II Corinthians Minneapolis: Minnesota, 1963. Papahatzis, Nicos Ancient Corinth The Museums of Corinth, Isthmia and Sicyon Athens 1981. â€Å"St Marks Berowra First Corinthians† 2003, 14 March, 2005. < http://www.stmarksberowra.org/sermons/1corinthians1.html> Smith, Gordon â€Å"New Testament Story Outlined in Maps† 14 March, 2005. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Illinois: Wheaton, 1996. Walvoord, John F. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. United States, 1986.

Can We Have Beliefs or Knowledge Which Are Independent of Our Culture Essay

The main aim of the essay is to find out if we have beliefs or rather knowledge which are independent of our culture. To do my investigation, I am going to follow different areas of beliefs and culture that I need. Culture is roughly perhaps a range of activities which are cultivated as a pattern of behaviour in a group of humans over time, and the manifest fruits of that behaviour. This would presumably include manifestations like the arts as well as structural behaviours such as organisational ethics. The next thing to do is to look at the word, independent. These days, it implies separation or lack of relation between two entities. It can also mean that there is no clear relationship and hence we can imagine the two entities in this case to be culture and beliefs/knowledge to have little to do with each other. Belief is faith, trust or theory that doesn’t need corroboration or evidence. Also, a belief is a system of thought that is compromised of the information we have accumulated and stored in our brains. Collectively this provides a worldview and mechanism by which we interpret new information and assess how our experience in the world should be managed. What is important to understand is that such a belief does not have any intrinsic validity beyond the fact that it is the way in which data has been organized within our brains and it appears to provide us, individually, with a model against which we interpret the world around us. Beliefs can be religious or societal. Furthermore, Knowledge according to my definition is the means by which â€Å"facts† can be gathered to reinforce, or refute, different aspects of the information contained within our belief system. Often, it is asserted that something is â€Å"true† or â€Å"factual†, but neither of these are actually relevant since the only consequence of knowledge that we are interested in is accuracy. However, even in the interest of accuracy we are often forced to generalize because a â€Å"fact† simply isn’t accurate as a general statement or description. Asserting that a particular â€Å"fact† is true is simply a mechanism we use to argue that we are presenting it as being free of deception. Factual information is, by definition, true. What should be questioned is its accuracy or applicability to any particular circumstance. As it turns out the fundamental problem is in interpreting the knowledge we possess against the belief system we hold. If we believe that the world is subject to being understood by query, then we will tend to hold a more scientific view of things. If we believe that the world is full of mysteries that can never be understood, then we will tend to be more inclined to accept that external agencies are at work. I want to be clear that I’m not arguing that religion and science are incompatible with one another, because there are clearly many people that can comfortably bridge that gap within their respective belief systems. The difficulty comes from the extrapolation of knowledge into unknown areas. To me the obvious argument is this: culture is a pattern or the results of such a pattern formed from human intellectual activity. Human intellectual activity tends to be based on beliefs or knowledge, which in turn are developed from information constructed out of data. Or you might say human intellectual activity constructs beliefs/knowledge from information constructed from data. This data is obtained from sensory perception and the interactions of various organs such as the brain and various chemical factories like the adrenal glands. My argument on this topic is that we can indeed have beliefs or knowledge which are independent of our culture. Firstly, I am going to justify my argument with some theory of my own knowledge. Some people such as Christians believe in God and that he created everything in the world let alone the world itself. For this reason, those people who believe in God have a belief that, to overcome every obstacle in life one has to pray to God to seek for help so as to overcome the obstacles. For example that person of that kind is Father Desmond Tutu who is a true believer and a Christian from South Africa. So all this is Religion not culture. This is probably not dependent on our culture. Belief deals with different aspects of life. We mostly need belief in areas such as religion, science, law, mathematics, ethics and arts. Over many years technology has improved a lot and this has all been due to discoveries. To acquire the knowledge of improving technology over that many years, culture was not needed or required. This is where I’m heading (indeed we have beliefs or knowledge which are independent of our culture). The fact that ethical belief showed a similar pattern of activation to mathematical belief suggests the physiological difference between belief and culture. In claim, â€Å"1+1=2†; we know this is true because we are accustomed to answer to symbolic language and we are forced to believe in it until we find proof that it’s wrong, or if there is another way to arrive to the same answer. Therefore, we have beliefs that are independent to our culture because of new ways that we can prove things without following the rituals and practices from our culture. Few people are the ones that take the decision of having independent beliefs, since others are either scared or confused if by disobeying the culture? s ideas are not correct. This is an essential reason for why we belief in what we are taught since we were born. Natural Scientists have built up our belief that there is such thing as force of gravity which its work is to attract things towards the Earth and cause them to fall to the ground. From the knowledge that we attained from the natural sciences, we know that when one throws an object (any object) upwards into the air, there is a time when it is going to decelerate and stop at an instant of time then makes its way down back to the ground being pulled down by the force of gravity. All this is from the perspective of the scientists on what makes objects to fall back when thrown into the air but not their knowledge from their culture and this justifies my argument. Moreover, there are some followers of a movement called legio maria in Palestine. These people have a belief that there is a black messiah called Melko Simeo Ondentto who will come back after nearly two decades to collect his followers and go with them to heaven. All this is not from their culture but it is from their knowledge and belief. In conclusion, even though we have beliefs or knowledge which are independent of our culture, there are some beliefs and knowledge which are dependent of our culture. in our culture, children were not allowed to eat certain foods because it was believed that it would make them grow quickly and lead them to adulterous activities. Nowadays, effects of taking in everything are alarming in terms of adultery. Seeing a teenager pregnant nowadays is a norm and it is evident that what our forefathers believed is happening.