Supply and Demand of Gasoline Essay Example

Supply and Demand of Gasoline Essay The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces about 40% of the world’s crude oil. This huge share allows OPEC to influence the world’s oil prices by limiting its members’ supplies to the marketplace through the imposition of quota. However, despite this large share of reserves, the continuous fluctuation of prices of the world’s crude oil shows that OPEC’s control over world prices is limited by the other forces affecting the global supply and demand of oil and gasoline (Grant, et. Al.).The supply and demand of gasoline is affected by price controls and in the same way, price changes affect the supply and demand of gasoline. But other than the gasoline’s relationship with its price per se, there are underlying factors that affect the supply and demand of gasoline. The price of crude and the perceptions on the future conditions of the market, which are then dependent on geopolitical changes, growing demand, seasonal changes , lack of spare production capacity and low Alaskan production capacity, are two of the major factors (Gasoline, 2006).Since the supply of gasoline is dependent on the supply of crude, it is indirectly dependent on the factors which affect the supply and demand of crude. And these factors are interrelated in a manner which is not as simple as it is not linear. Crude is an international commodity and is affected by the interrelationship of many international supply and demand factors. Consequently, since the supply of gasoline is largely dependent on the supply of crude, the supply and demand of gasoline are also largely affected the interrelated factors affecting the supply and demand of crude.The supply of gasoline is also dependent on the processes involved in its production and marketing. The production of gasoline involves the finding, extracting and the transportation of crude oil which is further refined to produce gasoline. This is then distributed and marketed to the retaile rs and then to the consumers. This continuum of processes is called the chain of production and it connects an international network of producers, refiners, traders and consumers of petroleum products. Meaning, the market is composed of lots of participants, all involved in the facilitation of the movement of oil from production to marketing. And any unnatural movement in these processes could greatly affect gasoline’s supply and demand (Grant, et. Al., 2006). Any event that could cause sudden disruption in the refining process of gasoline, for example, could lower the supply and increase its price. Such event could best be exemplified by the hurricane Katrina. This calamity caused an immediate hike in gasoline prices with the threat of reduced supply caused by the destruction of many refineries (Supply and Demand in Gasoline, n.d.), and with the increased demand as a result of the community’s â€Å"panic-buying† (Schwartz, 2005).With the increased global econom ic growth, plus increase in the number of commodities demanding petroleum, it is said that gasoline prices started rising in 2003 when the demand for gasoline suddenly increased (Grant, et. Al., 2006). This event has also been equated to the sudden unforeseen growth in some countries’, particularly, China’s economy, increasing the global demand for gasoline. This, in itself, has the power to increase the global price for gasoline. If the simple economic law of supply and demand would be applied, the increase in the price of gasoline would balance the market by decreasing the demand which would in turn, decrease the price. But as it is said, there are other factors that are at play. The unanticipated increase in the world’s demand on gasoline affected the world’s spare oil reserves resulting in an unanticipated substantial decrease in the world’s spare production capacity from 5.6 million barrels in 2002 to about 2 million barrels in 2003 and threat ening the future global supply (Grant, et. Al., 2006). The estimated future global supply also in itself is a significant factor that could move the market for gasoline.Spots and futures contracts are included in the market for gasoline to permit the consumers and traders to insure themselves against the risks of fluctuating prices. The futures market provides the traders with information on the future conditions regarding the gasoline’s supply and demand, that is, an estimate of the future price of the commodity. The current price of gasoline could increase or decrease just based on this information this information is a tool, used by the traders to strategically position themselves in the market, that is, whether they would buy or sell their spots and futures contracts. Their decisions, as affected by the futures information could affect the actual conditions of the current and future supply and demand of gasoline and thus, determine the price of gasoline (Grant, et. Al., 2 006).The supply and demand for gasoline involve the interrelationship of many different factors and in determining the movement of such market; no variable should be left unconsidered. The economics of gasoline works not as a simple linear cause and effect reaction but a more dynamic and sometimes circular system where all effects, however simple it may appear are greatly dependent on its minute initial conditions.

Theories On Personalities

Theories On Personalities Personality is defined as "the qualities and characteristics that make us, as individuals, unique"‚ . However, the task of defining how one develops a personality is much harder. There are many different people with countless theories on how a human being develops their own characteristics and unique selves. I agree with many parts of different people's theories.One that I agree with is Erikson's Stages of Development. In this are eight stages of human development, from childhood to adulthood, in which people's lives can be influenced in ways that play into what type of person they turn out to be. The majority of these stages are during childhood, which I believe almost solely shapes a person. Childhood is the stage during life when we are most innocent and influential. An example of one of the stages, is the third stage, "Initiative v.s. Guilt"‚  during 4 and 5 years of age. This says that children who play with their peers and use their imaginations, learn to lead, fo llow, and think creatively, verses kids who feel guilty at playing make believe and using their imaginations and tend to cling to adults.Sigmund Freud QuoteThis stage, in particular I can relate to, because when I was just at home for the weekend, I usually just played by myself because my brothers were 10 years older than me, and not really up to playing Barbies. It wasn't a bad thing at all. I had friends and I did spend a lot of time with my family, but I always had such an active imagination, and I was just always carefree and having fun. I learned to do my own thing, and not always have to follow everyone else's lead. The rest of the theory states 7 other stages in life in which humans either go one way,

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Ethics - Essay Example Nearly every citizen in the developed world is a customer to a bank or two. Banks are used in nearly every aspect of human lives, some apply for bank’s mortgages, while others apply for assets financing from the banks, and the payment of salaries through bank accounts heightened the need for everyone to operate a bank account in the country. The crisis therefore directly affected nearly every citizen. Whenever a bank makes losses, it does so with other people’s money in it, most banks used their clients money top run business and make profit, in a crisis such as the one experienced in 2009, most of these money therefore get absorbed up in the crisis resulting in direct losses to the very unsuspecting customers. The final major stakeholder in the financial sector is the government, who acts as the moderator in every crisis. The populace, in an attempt to coordinate the operation of activities especially in a democratic society, forms governments; some of the activities c oordinated by a typical government include the financial stability of a country. The country must have enough currency floating within its economy to enhance governance. However, when banks make losses most of the citizens lose faith in the banking sector, which results in the closure of bank accounts as, was experienced in the United Kingdom. This results in governance crisis since the economy fails to have enough money circulating at any one time, the lack of money circulating results in a series of negatively implicating activities most of which would eventually ground the operations of the government. Given this understanding, the British government bailed out a number of banks that has made enough loses resulting in their clients lining up to close their bank accounts. Such occurrences could have stalled the English economy, the government therefore bailed out banks in the country by offering them a seventy billion pounds financial aid. 1.2 The occurrence of the financial crisi s especially in the United Kingdom was purely a managerial issue. The number of banks has increased in the country, this followed the effective and substantial growth in the economy, when the economy becomes liberal, a majority of players comes on board to try the new business opportunities. The resulting competition made the business environment marked with a lot of uncertainty. Every business venture needed customer; they needed business to stay relevant to the market. Banks thus began the packaging of different products key among which was loans. Mortgages, asset financing and basic loans became very easy to access as most of the financial institutions relaxed their terms of borrowing. As more citizens and clients thronged tge banks for loans among other financial services, it was eminent that very soon the country would hit a financial snag. The banks had greatly relaxed their terms and conditions, getting a loan from any bank thus became a child’s play. The English marke t is one of the most aggressive in the world. They thus applied for loans from the banks sighting different reasons most of which the banks never ascertained their credibility. Most of the loaned customers had poor loan payment histories, which unfortunately the banks did not bother to look into. Most of the loaned customers began defaulting; some became unreachable resulting in a definite loss for most of the banks. This was a financial crisis in waiting, the economy plunged into bankruptcy which it

Contract terms as conditions or warranties Term Paper

Contract terms as conditions or warranties - Term Paper Example Therefore, the court conclude that the defendants had a right to end the contract because the plaintiff breached a condition of the contract Poussard v. Spiers & Poland, 1876).However, in a similar case, Bettin v. Gye (1876); a singer was contracted to perform and sing for 3 whole months with six rehearsal days. The singer, however, fell ill and thus missed the six days of rehearsals, which resulted in the defendant replacing him with another singer. However, in this case the court held that the termination of the contract was uncalled for because the failure to attend the rehearsals only amounted to a breach of warranty and not a condition and thus the singer was entitled to the contract because the breach did not go to the contract’s very root (Bettin v. Gye, 1876). Thus, based on this case contracts can be categorised as conditions if the breach of the terms of the contract significantly or materially affects the performance of a contract and, therefore, becomes unenforceab le to the innocent party’s favour (Smith and Atiyah, 2006).  Ã‚     Another example of categorizing contracts terms as conditions or warranties was best articulated in the case of British Crane vs. Ipswich Plant Hire (1974) in which both companies were engaged in contracting out earth-moving equipment. In this case the plaintiffs provided the defendants with the equipment over the phone contract promptly without articulating the contract terms. However, the claimants later sent their conditions to the defendants but before signing them.

Sustainability Contents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sustainability Contents - Essay Example The fast rate at which business dynamics are changing, given the emergence of new opportunities at every turn should ensure that this field remains in high demand. The rate of growth being witnessed in many new fields as clean energy technology, among others, should ensure the growth security of this sector. The discussion we had after your school career day gave us an insight on your interest in the business world, especially your affinity for piloting projects and providing solutions for roadblocks faced in the completion of these projects. This is a rare yearning, which should see you aim to make your enthusiasm available to corporations and other organizations. After making us aware that you were pursuing a bachelors of Arts degree in Management of technology, in business, we agreed that the best options this gave you were either project consultancy, or project management. Project management involves the planning and facilitation of projects with a goal of completing the job with in the budget within a stipulated time (Schmidt, 2009). As a project consultant, you would be required to provide information to project teams of cross-functional nature on how to implement company directives, while also offering management and leadership services during this implementation (Wysocki, 2011). Purpose, Scope and Limitations of the Report This report aims to delve into the striking divergence and convergence of responsibilities and duties associated with project management and consultancy. It also aims to provide you with recommendations as pertains to your career choice. In order for you to make the most favorable career choice that suits your talents and desires, this report will focus on offering you detailed information on the various dynamics involved in both career choices. Our focus will be on the academic requirements, duties and responsibilities of both careers, remuneration packages associated with the same careers, job outlook in the future, and prevalent wor king conditions. Our research also revealed that academic qualifications and hard-earned experience are, but only a part of the requirements needed in today’s cutthroat business world, especially in your preferred field of project management and project consultancy (Ferraro, 2012). There are factors that are weightier on the minds of corporations and organizations when hiring in these fields. Over the years, with experience and understanding of the industry, other certifications not covered in the bachelor’s degree curriculum are becoming vital and almost staple in the qualifications for consideration when hiring in this industry (Firm, 2004). This report aims to furnish you with some distinct qualifications that will bring you on a level field with the rest of the field, while also maintaining your competitive edge in the field. We will also aim at providing clients with ideas on how to maintain your competitiveness once established in industry circles. When concludin g this report, we will also give clients our pieces of advice based on our advice, and the information that you gave us during our discussion. This report, however, might not be adequate if you are interested in finding more information about how these fields’ of project management and project consultant relate to other sections, and departmental divisions in the various companies. This is because it will derail us from the topic of discussion, and we might spend more time focusing on inter-departmental relations rather than the dynamics of your career of choice. Since

Characteristics of Chinese Culture in Online Games

Characteristics of Chinese Culture in Online Games Abstract Game industry is a kind of globalizing market. This research is investigating the relationship between game art and culture. Due to each culture has an original root which influences particular cultural forms. Therefore, cultural barriers play a crucial role in the game design. In some ways, cultural barriers prevent games from globalization market. The society of online games is formed by players who come from various culture backgrounds. Additionally, the online game which involves more interactive elements is affected by culture significantly. Players are not playing with computer but human beings. This new way of game play gives more freedom to players and designers. Meanwhile, online game has close connection with culture. When we talk about online game industry we cannot ignore the Chinese online game industry, because China is one of the biggest online game industries in the world. The paper focuses on Chinese online game industry because of its accomplishments, highest speed of development and huge online game market. And how this ancient culture influences the new media form is crucial area to investigate. Firstly, brief original Chinese culture will be presented for clearing an archetypal culture value. Based on Chinese online game industry, a local game named Westward Journey Online ? is examined for getting valuable methods which are how to use the archetypal cultural values into game art. From the examination on Chinese culture, value methods possible are getting for widen audiences all over the world. However, there is limitation existing in this paper which ignores other distinguishing culture contents. Further research might go more detailed on various culture forms for this particular research area.   1 Introduction The main purpose of this research is to examine the archetypal/universal characteristics that are expressed in Chinese culture within Multiple Massive Online Games in order to explain to a western the shared human values that are expressed in a uniquely Chinese expression of archetypal human values. The study examines the impact of archetypal cultural characteristics on game aesthetics that is important for corporations that are desirous to explore business throughout worldwide. Due to globalization might be a kind of megatrend in modern society as cultural forms, cultural barriers might exist to prevent the global distributions of games to some extent in the process of game development. There was a hot discussion about a female character in different cultural styles online (Liuduanyinsu 2008). This female character named Faith who was the heroine in Mirrors Edge which was developed by D.I.C.E studio in Sweden (2009). Her appearance caused controversy about what kind of female charac ter could reach the expectation from each side of culture backgrounds. When Mirrors edge came to Japan, the Japanese players were not satisfied in the design of this character. Therefore, some of Japanese players adopted the female character depending on their own expectations. We could see the clear distinguishing features of different tastes on female beauty from figure 1 and 2. After the adaptation of the character, each side of players expressed their opinions. Both sides were not satiated to the other sides design. The discussion presented the cultural barriers on female beauty. Exploring the question that is how the features of culture influences game aesthetics could clarify the future direction of both single Game Corporation and the whole game industry. Therefore, a high level of culture understanding is necessary for meeting players expectations. As a result, the cultural barriers influence game aesthetics in certain ways. The platform of the study is set in China which is a long history country and has various mythologies which could reflect traditional culture and the process of development of each culture in some way. The culture studies could give us the solid basis of understanding of the Chinese cultural root and human values. The newest form studies of combing game art and culture open the door to explore new opportunities for fresh knowledge in this area. At the same time, the examination of Chinese culture could give a brief impression to western readers for understanding the distinct cultural form which has very different philosophy of life, attitudes, lifestyle, ideology and values from westerners. Meanwhile, it is aware that the myths influence game design and aesthetics significantly. Many myths are widely applied into game design and art, for example the characters in myths become main adopted features into game design like priest, Druid, Dragons etc both in western culture and eastern cu lture. Why is this situation happening? Are there same features between mythology and games so that the two things could be concordantly combined? In the research, the Journey to the West and games that were adapted from it is employed as a successful case to investigate for finding the acceptable answers. Moreover, the fast speed of development online game industry gives the research an additional benefit to unfold the examination. According to the trend of globalization, bigger game marketplace could be opened by applying different cultural contexts into game aesthetics after the research. Moreover, the game industry gains much more attention from modern society which includes academic field and marketplace. People desire to obtain benefits from the fresh and cutting edge game industry such as entertainment and education. The major research question is: how archetypal/universal characteristics are reflecting in online games based on Chinese culture? Afterwards, two further questions are: what is the archetypal characteristic of Chinese culture? And what kinds of archetypal could be translated into universal for more audiences in online games? For answering these questions, multidiscipline study will be involved. There are culture studies, art, marketing and the newest one- computer games study. Depends on aims and research questions, the objectives have been listed below: To establish understanding of culture for game aesthetics using creative methods in culture studies To explore the relation of mythology and game aesthetics across several subjects To explore the functions of culture in game aesthetics and seek possibility of combining two different cultures into game art for widen players. 2 The background information of Chinese online game industry 2.1 Localization of Chinese online game industry Chinese online game industry has a fastest speed of development and gives a great influence on the globalization game marketplace. From the research of the three nations that are American, Korea and China, it could be discovered that the income of American online game came from games exporting, and Korea is developing the exporting outside and locally operating, the income of China online game mainly came from locally operating. Therefore, a part of income in American and Korea online games came from Chinese online game marketplace (iResearch 2009). The report from iResearch (2009) evinced that the revenue of Chinese online game market occupied about 27 percentages of global game market and it is ranked the second position, American online game industry is 29 percentages to take the lead and Korea is the third position as 21 percentages. Due to the fact about the data sources of game exporting, it is aware that Chinese online games industry is localization because of the lower export level. The reasons might be the strategy of government, cultural barriers or limitation of development. However, the Chinese online game industry is the biggest game marketplace in the world that is gradually getting more and more important status in international game industry by reason that the Chinese market size is 30.4 million dollars which occupies 27.1 percentages of the gross income of global online game marketing in 2008 according to the iResearch China Online Game Research Report (2009). In addition, China online game industry has the fastest developing speed. The report also predicted that the occupancy of Chinese online game market will continually increase at the speed of 5 percentages based on the research. Additionally, it is expected that the occupancy of Chinese online game market will be close to 50 percentages, and reach to 45.9 percentages (iResearch 2009). So it will become a big importing point of international online game industry. 2.2 The reasons of localization of online games boom in China The localization of Chinese online game industry is possibly caused by multiple reasons. Are the Chinese players easily accepting the games which are set in other cultural contexts? The answer is negative. Local games with strong cultural contexts could get sympathetic attentions by players who live in the cultural environments. The cultural barriers caused game marketplace in certain ways. Based on the research about the developing areas of online games which are paid great attention in Chinese online game industry by Baidu (2009), the highest attention rate of place of online games developers is China, the 49.65 percentages, following the second place is Korea which is 43.82 percentages, then there are American and Europe occupied 5.36 percentages and Japan is the lowest attention rate which is 1.18 percentages. So we can see the major online games are developed by local Chinese developers and Chinese neighbour-Korea which has similar culture with China. The similar cultures shared common online game market. And online game industry meet the situation in China, it is getting more and more advanced support from government and other objective supports. Since the operating of Chinese governments strategy named reform and opening-up, the political climate became enlightened and loosened so that peoples concepts are diversity and more easily accepting new things and globalization environment is established as a result of that popular culture could gain opportunity of booming (Xiaolin 2008). Moreover, why could the online games get improvement in China rather than console games? One main reason is the pirate. In China, players could spend just few money to get the illegal copies from peddlers. This becomes a bad habit in Chinese players. And the pirate brings a negative influence to the console and computer games. Therefore, Chinese developers cannot get deserved profits from developing videogames and console games. The intellectual property of game developers is not protected. The failure sales of videogames and computer games give more space to online games development in China. Finally, huge population forms the largest marketplace in China. It is reported that there are more than three hundreds millions cyber citizens in China until 17 July 2009 depending on the update database of China Internet Network Information Centre (2009). Thanks to the development of hardware and cyber technology, the disseminate internet is continually growing. More and more people use internet in China, and there are more potential players on internet. Based on the investigation of Niko Partners, there are forty six million online game players who spent seventeen million dollars on online games in China (Sina 2008). This great circumstance for online games creates more and more opportunities for online game development. Following on the fast developing speed of Chinese online game industry, the further potentials need to be explored by the industry insiders. 3 The background of Chinese culture 3.1 The collective and discriminative culture In different situation, the definition of culture has different explanation. The research mainly discussed art and culture for the latter investigation of game art and culture. Therefore, the definition of culture related to art or aesthetics is the focal point; it does not mean we ignore other important comprehension of culture studies, all the necessary study also is considered through the whole process of investigation. For the later research, which definition of culture is properly suitable for investigating the relation of culture and game aesthetics might be sorted out. Firstly the definition of culture in dictionary must be considered. The culture in English involves several meanings as a noun. The one of major definitions in Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (1990, p.284) of culture described that all the arts, beliefs, social institutions, etc characteristic of a community, race, etc. In Collins COBUILD Advanced Learners English Dictionary (2004), there are similar explanations of the term culture that are culture consists of activities such as the arts and philosophy, which are considered to be important for the development of civilization and of peoples mind, a culture is a particular society or civilization, especially considered in relation to its beliefs, way of life, or art and the culture of a particular organization or group consists of the habits of the people in it and the way they generally behave. From there definition in dictionary, the main feature of culture is collective, a certain subject of peoples common min d. The common ground includes arts, beliefs, habits, lifestyle, customs, institutions and philosophy. So sometimes, the culture means peoples shared mind in one nation, one race even bigger in one group which has common benefits. Simply speaking, culture could be understood as a group of people who has a similar taste on game aesthetics in this field of research. This might be the reason why cultural barriers influence selling of games which involve strong cultural features. Excepting the property of collective of culture, another crucial nature of culture is discriminative. Culture is regarded as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another by Geert (2001). If a culture loses its own distinguishing feature, it will vanish in the world. In other word, culture involves another important function which is identifying humans origins. Therefore, different cultures exist by their identification and discrimination with other cultural forms. Applying the feature of culture into this research, the different areas in game industry could be distinguished by analysing cultural characteristics. There is another English word civilisation which is treated as a synonym of the word culture. It has similar definition with culture; however this word civilisation emphasizes on the differentiation of culture. People always say ancient Egyptian civilisation, American Indian civilisation and Arab civilisation etc. When we say Chinese civilisation, the name externalizes the particular cultural form. A culture is archetypal and distinguishing. Therefore, the different culture gives distinguishing art styles to various games. 3.2 Chinese culture The Chinese culture exists for thousands of years; it has great influences to the East area and other parts of the world. Due to the complex culture forms, it is hard to present a very clear and details of this particular culture. This paper is investigating the major root of Chinese culture which possibly affects modern new media the games. These contents of Chinese cultural root include Confucianism, Taoism and very crucial concepts of harmony between man and nature. These foundational concepts of Chinese culture give a great influence to very aspects of modern society. Meanwhile, games reflect or being reflected these traditional cultural concepts more or less. It needs to understand the cultural root for further studies of games and culture. 3.2.1 Brief introduction of Confucianism The Confucianism is a complexity. Some people consider it is a cult, others think it is a form of learning (Xinzhong 2000). However, the research regards Confucianism is a form of culture. The content of Confucianism involves several disciplines such as moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious which reflect cultural contexts in China. Due to the Confucianism involves different explanations in different historical periods; there is no specific definition for it. From different aspects, we could get different comprehensions from Confucianism. However, the central thought still exists and has positive impacts on modern Chinese people. Generally speaking, there are three cores themes and a crucial core concept in Confucianism. Those are Li ritual in English, De virtue, Ren humanity and the doctrine of mean. It is said that China is a state of ceremony because of the strict ritual from Confucianism. Some of the rituals were used into Chinese online games in order to give the local people familiar things in a virtual and realistic ancient world. In terms of original concept, Li is an important behavioural norm in Confucianism, and it includes traditional rituals. In Confucianism, it states that grades of peoples relationship which includes the monarch and his subjects, parents and children, older sisters (brothers) and young sisters (brothers) should be clearly distinguished, and upper position of person have superior rights than lowers (Baidu 2009). For example, in ancient Chinese imperial family the emperor could talk several wives, and the first wifes child is the son and heir who have greatest prerogatives than other wives children, such as acceding to the throne as the first person selected. And in modern China, the norm involves less power, but in Chinese family there are still some shadows of the Li existing. For instance, children should respect seniorities. When a Chinese family have an important dinner together, the oldest family member takes a seat in the best positions around a big table. The senior people usually have a greater power in the society, others always respect them. So the Li developed the strict hierarchy system in ancient Chinese society. The virtue named De in Chinese is a tool to measure humans behaviours. Filial piety and Loyalty are two main contents in Confucianism (Kai-wing 1994, p.36). Filial piety means children should respect their parents. Simply speaking, offspring should give supports to their seniorities that cannot take care of themselves. These supports include mental supports and material supports. There are many legends and tales talking about filial piety in China to instruct peoples behaviours. One of the famous stories about filial piety is that the person named Dongyong sold himself for money in order to bury his fathers body, the city named Xiaogan which means the miracle of filial piety inspires god came from the ancient story (Wilt 2009). Ancient Chinese emperor applies De into ruling. The virtue in Confucianism requests governors using benevolent politics and self virtue to rule civilians. It presents using virtue to educate people for peaceful and steady society. Humanity is a core content of Confucianism. It claims loving human, people should love each other, support each other and existing with each other. Therefore, the basic meaning of Ren is homage and friendship. In ancient Chinese governments always employed Ren into their ruling strategy, so it was developed to a kind of political strategy called policy of benevolence which advocated using the proactive and ethical human being to rule the country. It is different with western jural strategy. However, it involves some limit from contemporary viewpoints. The doctrine of mean is another crucial concept of Confucianism. Zhangxin who is a professor researching Sinology introduced his opinion about the doctrine of mean. The spirit of medium way is doing something using appropriate methods to keep the things in a reasonable and fair expectation for people. He also claimed culture does not need to meet the international standards and the archetypal culture is the universal. Medium way is a root of Confucianism and Chinese culture, it affects peoples behaviours at present. Peoples characteristics might be determined by the origin of their cultures. So the characteristics of Chinese people are introverted poise and defensive just reflect the medium way in Confucianism. 3.2.2 Brief introduction of Taoism In the research, the characteristics of China are going to discuss from the native religion of Taoism rather than investigation on religion itself. Taoism is a native philosophical and religious of China and it focus on the moral code. It came from China and has influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries (James 2003). On one hand, Taoism is one of main original inspirations for Chinese games. On the other hand, it is a core of human value in Chinese society. Taoisms concepts could be applied into computer game design. The original religion involves several worships. Those include nature worship, totem worship, spirits worship and ancestor worship. Moreover, there is a complex system of Daoism, different branches have different leaders. These features of Daoism give great inspirations to game designers. The features have already employed into several Chinese games which used traditional themes and backgrounds. The Jianxia3 online employed many Daoisms elements into the game play (Kingsoft 2009). Players could choose Chunyang branch which is a real branch of Daoism as their clans. There are many rooms of Daoism could be employed into game design such as celestial beings, making pills of immortality and Fengshui theory in Daoism. Taoism affects human beings behaviours and thoughts; from this point the conducts in Taoism could reveal the core human value in China. The noun Taoism involves different elements with Daoism, at the first place we should distinguishing the two nouns for latter discussion. Taoism is a type of thought or doctrine; it was developed by Lao Tzu who is a thinker and ideologist in ancient China. The book named Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text which is considered as a basic origin in Taoism like Bible in Christianity. However, the first official classic of Daoism is named Taiping Ching. Tao Te Ching and Taiping Ching plus Zhouyicantongqi are considered as the origin of Daoisms religion and theory by current academic area. Simply speaking, Taoism is a kind of theory and Daoism is a religion. There are the jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation and humility (Ray 1989, p.133). These conducts reflect to Taoist become a crucial belief named Wu wei which is action without bureaucratic, competitive, aggressive, or self-serving effort. Wu wei is a way of being that comes from an internal sensitivity to the natural rhythms of the universe, similar to water flowing over or around rocks, logs, or islands in a stream, (R. Paul 2002, p.152). Wu wei is a basic cognition of Taoism to the development of nature and human society. The general meaning of Wu wei action through inaction does not mean doing nothing but revealing things with soft and invisible power (Richard 2004). In Taoism, it is considered humans behaviours and the way of act should obey the law of nature. The all things in the world develop by themselves, human beings cannot intervene the development of nature and all other things. This thought forces Chinese people like to stick to old ways and make Chinese characteri stic becoming mediocrity. This is reflected in the characteristics is defensive and moderate temperament. 3.2.3 The relationship between man and nature in Chinese culture This concept of relationship between man and nature reflects into game design is that the characters in games usually involve appearances of natural things like animal monsters. The situation is very different from western games which seldom apply monsters came from nature. This might be caused by Chinese original root which is called harmony between man and nature which is widely considered as the main principal part of Chinese traditional culture. In the traditional Chinese culture, the world is separated into three parts that are heaven, manpower and earth. For each part there are specific classic texts for guiding peoples behaviours. I Ching is used to guide for explaining relation between heaven and manpower. It presents how to obey law of nature to make human ideal and healthy. The analects of Confucius expound relation between manpower and heaven for instructing people making right choices. And the Sunzi Art of War is a book to be used in war it presents relations of human bei ngs themselves. The Dao Te Ching which was mentioned in previous paragraph is employed to coordinate human and earth making the harmony between man and nature. The last one named Huang di nei Ching interprets earth and human beings for guide people to get the benefits from earth. The ancient classic traditional Chinese philosophy teaches Chinese people the major behaviours. It affects peoples choices more or less in modern society. Understanding Chinese culture, these principles have to be clarified, because when the character involves archetypal characteristics it must follows some elements from these concepts from ancient China. 3.3 The original mythology in Chinese culture Mythology should not to be neglected because it reflects culture in some ways. William considers myth is culturally important, and myths are this kind of story which are created by individuals interpretations in discriminating special societies (William 2000). Myths demonstrate certain culture contents such as religious, rituals, customs, and peoples behaviours. Therefore, it might bring us to an articulate culture form by examining the particular mythology. In terms of game design, there are many games applying mythic elements into character designs, background stories, environment designs and requests designs. There might have common senses between games and myths. Why could the mythic contents be widely employed into games? This chapter will discuss myth and find out the bonding point between myths and games. 3.3.1 The definition of mythology At the first place, it needs to clarify that what are mythology and what kind of characteristics is involved in mythology. Williams suggested that myths are fictional but not unreal and non-empirical, however they are not incomprehensible and formed by values of fundamental mythical orientations of cultures (Williams 2000). And a common contestation of mythology is that myths are stories about gods or remote ancestors, myths are sacred stories, myths are stories that explain how the world and humans came to be in their present forms, and myths encapsulate important information about human thought, feeling, history, and social life (Yang, Deming and Jessica 2005). However, particular myths could be understood by people who live in the particular culture environment, it is hard to be comprehended by other person who has different culture background if he has not established understanding of the particular culture. Because each culturally mythology has distinguishing features. But myths still have universal features like the statement was presented by Stith Thompson in 1955 that myths are connecting with gods and their behaviours, creation, and the general nature of the universe and of the earth (Yang, Deming and Jessica 2005). Therefore, myths are universal and archetypal in every cultural form by using dialectic method of analysis. Games as a creative industry need creation and imagination, however the design of games should not be incredible. The attributes of games are very similar with mythologys which discussed above. This is not a coincidence; this is why there are so many designers employed mythological elements into the game design. There are two reasons that games should be imaginative and believable. The first one is the purpose of playing for imaginative feature of games. Players are anxious for getting entrainment from games; they usually want to get different experiences from playing games. If the environment and characters in games are same with real life, the game will be boring. Even a simulating game like series of Sims also involves other virtual elements for giving different experiences to players. Another reason is for believable; a game should be attractive to players, when players play the game they are immersing into the games. Unreal and incredible characters and environment cannot be acc eptable by players. So most of successful games were adopted from real stories, the Non-players character, the monsters and the avatars for players were altered from fictional characters in mythology. Generally speaking, games and mythology have same attributes. That the reason mythologies are widely used into game design both in environment setting, background stories and character designs. 3.3.2 The origin of mythology The origin of mythology is various. Some myths are adopted from the narratives of scripture by adding several imaginative elements and altered contents of the original scripture. And historical events are another source of mythology; the real historical case was rewritten by later people using the forms of legends and fabulous traditions which are widely disseminated. Additionally, there are other two features could describe myths which are allegorical and physical, nearly all the ancient myths are symbolical and involved some educational contents in aspects of moral, religious or philosophical truth etc (Thomas 2004). In terms of the origin of Chinese mythology, it is generally believed that the Chinese mythology originated from the totemism of remote Chinese ancestors and legends of ancient tribes. Some Chinese myths are another form of historical records, for instance it is confirmed that the myth of Nà ¼wa is partly true after discovering the historical remains belongs to the period of maternal tribes in China (need evidences). Moreover, the Chinese myths mirrored contents of religions; the concept of three worlds that are heaven, earth and human being in Chinese mythology is coming from Buddha. Many online games which were set in ancient Chinese environment were applied the concept of three worlds into game design. The characters in these games are generally separated into three groups which are celestial beings, devils and human beings. The Chinese cultural concept of the harmony between human and heaven is also reflecting in the local mythology. The Chinese myths usually concentrate on explain rationalize, embellish, humanize, or historicize the mythical beings (Williams 2000 1993: 387). The Chinese myths usually involve the characters who came from nature, like various devils are transformed from animals or plants of the nature. And they involve historical events such as Yan Di who is a mythic figure that invented agriculture in Chinese history, and many devils in mythology are transformed from animals and plants so that their appearances embody the shape of original animals or plants. This phenomenon might be a kind of culture barriers existing in the form of mythology. From the statement above, we could see the origin of mythology causes a kind of culture barrier. Mythologies of one culture are formed with local nuances. For example, the Chinese mythologies are influenced by local religions which are Buddha, Taoism and cultural ideology which is the harmony between human and nature. The local culture might determine major contents of mythologies. And mythologies were spreading by people in the different periods, during the different historical periods peoples thoughts are different and in some way reflect the certain society cognition. Therefore, the mythology is a mixture of local culture and peoples ideology of that time. Depends on distinguishing history of every culture, the local mythology is hardly understanding by other people who came from different cultural background. 3.3.3 The Chinese mythology in online games Due to the similar points between mythology and games, they naturally combine together. Moreover, the

The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 and Ca

The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 and California The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 was established by the California Legislature, is directed by the Department of Fish and Game, and is being implemented by the state, and public and private partnerships to protect habitat in California1. As opposed to the single species interpretation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), this act aims at protecting many species using a regional approach to habitat preservation. Douglas Wheeler has written a nice synopsis of the NCCP within the context of the history of conservation of habitat. The NCCP is a program that is meant to have voluntary multi-stakeholder cooperation in planning, management and funding. In Southern California the target habitat is Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS), home to the federally "threatened" California Gnatcatcher. Conservation is needed, particularly in Orange County, because of the large-scale development of homes, businesses, and roads. The listing of the California Gnatcatcher as a "threatened" species and the dwindling numbers of other CSS dependent species are a testament to the need for whole-habitat preservation. For instance, CSS habitat includes other birds and organisms in need of protection, including the Coastal Cactus Wren and the Orange-throated Whiptail Lizard. The single species approach moves very slowly and often species go extinct before any listing is allowed. In the meantime, other species require protection and are placed as a last priority. The ESA, many conservationists argue, was always meant to be an act aimed at supporting multi-species preservation. With the leisurely pace at which legislation moves and with the single-species ... ...s Wheeler Link: http://www.ceres.ca.gov/CRA/PressReleases/nccp_wheeler_fall9 5.html Coastal Sage Scrub Links: http://envirolink.org/FSCR/Watershed103/ws3014.html http://www.calpoly.edu/~dchippin/zonecoast.html Artemesia californica graphic: http://rain.org/~mkummel/flora/artcal.html Other Coastal Plants Link: http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/coastal/plants/scrub.html California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) Link: http://www.fws.gov/~r9endspp/i/b6w.html California Gnatcatcher and other CSS species Link: http://www.epa.gov/EPA-SPECIES/1995/June/Day-21/pr-304.html San Diego County NCCP Link: http://resources.ca.gov/CRA/NCCP/nccp_san_diego.html Interim Management Link: http://www.ceres.ca.gov/CRA/NCCP/nccp_coastal_sage_scrub.htm l Biological Corridors Link: http://www.safnet.org/policy/psst/psst24.html

Women are better parents than men Essay

Today , with the development of society, people’s living styles have changed a lot. A common phenomenon is that more and more men play a fundamental part in our daily life, they stay at home doing housework and taking care of children. However, women work outside the home. Although this trend becomes more and more popular, the importance of women dealing with educating and taking care of children can’t be replaced. That is to say: women are better parents than men. Supporters of men are better parents argue that men have enough energy to do many things such as sending children to school or keeping track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments, etc. But are these enough for bringing up a child? Of course ,the answer is No. In traditional belief: women who are not good at domestic duties will have difficulty in their family life sooner or later, so they have to get accustomed to cooking and taking care of children. Since they are teenage girls, they start to learn household tasks and raise children, so that they can become a good mother in the future. Besides, when the man are young, their mothers do everything for them, they do not need to do any housework if they don’t like. Generally, most men are not good at cooking and they are careless, which results in their children’s unwilling to be along with them. Also, women are more circumspective than men, this is women’s nature that counts as an advantage in being better parents. Women have a sharp insight, they can know what their children are thinking through careful observation. Are they happy or sad, hungry or thirsty, want to sleep or want to listen to music? And then women will try to meet their demands by appropriate methods. Mother is the person who understand her child best. Contrarily, there is always an unbridgeable gap between the father and children in a family, for father is a strict and serious men that children dare not to express their emotions, even sometimes the kid behave abnormal, the father can’t find out anything wrong. Last but not least, women are gentler and more tolerant than men, this contributes to women have more chances to contact with their kids. From very first day of pregnancy, there is a close and sacred relationship between mothers and their little babies. The belief that women’s sole responsibility is to raise their children has been deeply tooted in our society for a long time, hence, children may have a tendency to listen and confide their personal problems to them. And mothers will give them  suggestions on how to solve these problems correctly. And men are sole financial providers and have to work very hard to support family, which makes them have little chance to talk to their children and know them better. In consequence, women are considered not only better mothers but also close friends by their kids. Having said these, although men are trying their best to be a good househusband, women still outweigh them in terms of taking on child rearing.

Free Essays on That We Have a Dream

. He is the oldest, and the only one mature enough to feel them in the way that I do. I’ve stared into his longing eyes long now. They have been tortured, and they have been hated. Yet they are still human. And they are still forgiving. I am again reminded of the hope to come of our people. That Lincoln fought for our well-being, so that one day there will never be a black man with countless scars across his back. We may be ‘indentured’ to the white men for life, but one day we will have our health. I open my mouth dryly to speak to my son. But in that moment, I am sad. I am a man who cannot protect my dearest obligation. My son Martin will never escape the unconditional hate. He will never escape his fear of being forced to war. I know and feel it. He will forever be separated from any respect, only because the color of his skin. Even when the nation we have been forced into was changing, we blacks have had a constant reputation: as slaves, unworthy of any respect. I had been born into a world of constant change. The faces of my family were forever changing, for family was composed of the others like me. They were ‘the others on the farm.’ I do not remember a first home. For since I had been born, I was traded, sold, or run to a new farm. I never knew peace and relaxation. There had been no law to protect my rights, my body, or my possessions. Even where I lay to sleep, I was fearful. Scared of the next day. Scared of the greedy, hungry family that lay beside me. Scared of life. Scared to wake up to the same hopeless li... Free Essays on That We Have a Dream Free Essays on That We Have a Dream I open my eyes. The first things I see are my sons. They have a strange look in their eye. Almost like they never expected to see my eyes again. Maybe they’re right. Maybe this is my last time to see. Maybe this is my last chance to speak. Maybe this is my last moment to live. Having just realized this, I ask all but one of my sons to leave. Martin will pass my words. He is the oldest, and the only one mature enough to feel them in the way that I do. I’ve stared into his longing eyes long now. They have been tortured, and they have been hated. Yet they are still human. And they are still forgiving. I am again reminded of the hope to come of our people. That Lincoln fought for our well-being, so that one day there will never be a black man with countless scars across his back. We may be ‘indentured’ to the white men for life, but one day we will have our health. I open my mouth dryly to speak to my son. But in that moment, I am sad. I am a man who cannot protect my dearest obligation. My son Martin will never escape the unconditional hate. He will never escape his fear of being forced to war. I know and feel it. He will forever be separated from any respect, only because the color of his skin. Even when the nation we have been forced into was changing, we blacks have had a constant reputation: as slaves, unworthy of any respect. I had been born into a world of constant change. The faces of my family were forever changing, for family was composed of the others like me. They were ‘the others on the farm.’ I do not remember a first home. For since I had been born, I was traded, sold, or run to a new farm. I never knew peace and relaxation. There had been no law to protect my rights, my body, or my possessions. Even where I lay to sleep, I was fearful. Scared of the next day. Scared of the greedy, hungry family that lay beside me. Scared of life. Scared to wake up to the same hopeless li...

Chinese English and Chinglish - Definition and Examples

Chinese English and Chinglish s Speech or writing in English that shows the influence of Chinese language and culture. The terms Chinese English and China English  are often used interchangeably, though some scholars draw distinctions between them. The related term Chinglish, a blend of the words Chinese and English, tends to be used in a humorous or derogatory fashion to characterize English texts such as road signs and menus that have been translated literally and often imprecisely from the Chinese. Chinglish may also refer to the use of Chinese words in an English  conversation  or vice versa. Chinglish is sometimes characterized as an interlanguage. In Global English (2015), Jennifer Jenkins concludes that there are probably more Chinese speakers of English in the world than speakers of any other kind of English. Chinese English and China English With some 250 million Chinese people currently learning to speak English or already fluent, there will soon be more English speakers in China than in the entire British Commonwealth. . . .Since each Chinese ideogram can have many meanings and interpretations, translating Chinese ideas into English is, indeed, extremely difficult. Because of this, Chinese-English hybrid words [such as No noising for Quiet, please, and slippercrafty for treacherously icy road] are often viewed with amusement by the rest of the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, this abundance of new words and phrases, unlikely as it may seem, is one of the prime drivers of the globalization of the English language.(Paul J. J. Payack, A Million Words and Counting: How Global English Is Rewriting the World. Citadel, 2008)On a theoretical level, China English is distinguished systematically from Chinese English, Chinglish, Pidgin English, etc. China English is understood as a standardizing or standardized variety in us e in China, which reflects Chinese cultural norms and concepts. Chinese English refers to varieties of English used by Chinese learners (see Kirkpatrick and Xu 2002). Hu (2004: 27) puts China English at one end of a continuum where lowly Pidgin English or Chinglish is at the other. China English is a language which is as good a communicative tool as standard English, but one which has important Chinese characteristics.(Hans-Georg Wolf, Focus on English. Leipziger Universittsverlag, 2008) Examples of Chinglish Speaking both English and Chinese in ones sentences.Example of a sentence in chinglish: At K-mart, I buy hen duo clothes.(A. Peckham, Mo Urban Dictionary. Andrews McMeel, 2007)Fortified by an army of 600 volunteers and a politburo of adroit English speakers, the [Shanghai Commission for the Management of Language Use] has fixed more than 10,000 public signs (farewell Teliot and urine district), rewritten English-language historical placards and helped hundreds of restaurants recast offerings. . . .But while the war on mangled English may be considered a signature achievement of government officials, aficionados of what is known as Chinglish are wringing their hands in despair. . . .Oliver Lutz Radtke, a former German radio reporter who may well be the world’s foremost authority on Chinglish, said he believed that China should embrace the fanciful melding of English and Chinese as the hallmark of a dynamic, living language. As he sees it, Chinglish is an endangered species that deserves preservation.(Andrew Jacobs, Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish. The New York Times, May 2, 2010)

Regarding a Vision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Regarding a Vision - Assignment Example Support for the creation of a vision and strategy recommendation of Kotter, 1996, can be seen in the needs analysis component of the needs assessment life cycle stage of Haddad, 2006. Haddad, 2006 starts off with calling for the identification of urgent business and organizational objectives, which is not so different from the creation of a vision advice of Kotter, 1996. The remaining five components of the need analysis component in essence provide the means for developing a strategy for managing the change process (Haddad, 2006). According to Kim and Mauborgne, 2003, p. 4, â€Å"in any organization, once beliefs and energies of a critical mass of people are engaged, conversion to a new idea will spread like an epidemic†. What are the beliefs that the authors are talking about. In essence it is the new vision for the organization. In addition, their tipping point leadership concept of cognitive hurdle, resource hurdle, motivational hurdle, and political hurdle are guiding posts for the development the appropriate strategy for the change management process (Kim & Mauborgne, 2003). My ideas are rather more simplistic. I am in tune with what Kotter recommends. The change process involves a group of people heading off in a new direction. Therefore the first essential is where the group is headed to and that is the vision. Now there is the question on how to get there in the easiest way, without losing some of the group. The strategy is the answer to this

Diversity Dimension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diversity Dimension - Essay Example Affirmative action refers to the various policies that are used to ensure inclusiveness in areas of business, education and employment in terms of race, religion, sex or age. Diversity in the workforce refers to the policies and practices that aim at including people with certain qualities in the workforce, which the current staff does not have. This could either be on the basis of age, disability, experience, gender or special talents. Achieving Equal Opportunity in Employment through Affirmative Action Legislation, Anti Discrimination Legislation and Managing Diversity Approaches Managing diversity in employment has become one of the most fundamental principals in human resource management in recent years. Diversity in employment is based on the principals of equal employment opportunities to everybody irrespective of inherent differences such as gender, race, religion, age, ethnicity as well as physical disabilities (Sappey et al, 2006). Businesses and companies are being encourag ed to adopt more inclusive approaches in their employment strategies so as to accommodate everybody and help do away with the negative effects of discrimination and marginalization of certain groups and individuals. In order to fully achieve inclusiveness, most companies have been encouraged to adopt policies that reflect affirmative action and those that are in line with anti discrimination laws and regulations. ... In some jurisdictions, the issue of workforce diversity has been backed with a legal foundation. Companies are expected to comply with set out legislations concerning employment procedures so as to avoid discrimination. In some cases, it’s mandatory for organizations to have guidelines and policies to ensure inclusiveness in terms of gender, race and disability (Dickens, 2000). In order to fully achieve equal opportunity in employment, organizations have to rely on affirmative action legislation and policies, anti-discrimination legislation as well as other various approached to workforce diversity management. All these three approaches (Anti-discrimination legislation, affirmative action and diversity management approaches) are the fundamental guidelines in achieving equality in the workforce. In Australia, the idea of workforce diversity has been welcomed by organizations both in the public and private sector (Strachan et al, 2010). The Department of Immigration and Citizens hip has been at the forefront at ensuring diversity at all levels of the department. This has enabled the department to be one of the best performing in the public sector (Strachan et al, 2010). Workforce diversity management can be done using various ways. The two main approaches that organizations can use to ensure inclusiveness in employment are the radical approach and the liberal approach. The liberal approach assumes that there is equal opportunity only when all individuals are able to compete for the rewards freely. According to this approach, employment should only focus on merit of individuals rather than factors such as gender, age disability or race. The radical approach o the other hand states that organizations should however strive to ensure that they not only create