2012 Chrysler 200, Dodge Journey, Dodge Avenger See Prices Drop Article

2012 Chrysler 200, Dodge Journey, Dodge Avenger See Prices Drop - Article Example In case of Dodge Journey, the sales price has been dropped significantly i.e. by $1,450. The primarily reason for such significant prince changes is due to compete with market leaders in midsize automobile manufactures like Suzuki, Ford, Kia etc. Chrysler has given more focus on its Dodge Journey as it is believed that with reduced price ($20,995), it has become one of the most affordable midsize vehicles in comparison to competitors’ products like â€Å"Kia Sorento ($21,250) and Mazda CX-7 ($21,990)† (Bird, 2011). This article mainly addresses Chrysler’s strategy pricing strategy for 2012 in order to combat the intensified the competition from the market leaders in midsize SUV segment. However, the prime focus of this article is on the new price ranges of midsize vehicles with value addition features offered by Chrysler. Chrysler has planned to compete with the key rivals with its three major models including Chrysler 200, Chrysler 200 Convertible, Dodge Avenger and Dodge Journey. Moreover, the article also indirectly addresses the key rivals of Chrysler and the market leaders in midsize vehicles. Considering the major area of this article, the prime objective is to offer the market signal by Chrysler to the market. Marketing signal by Chrysler may be an effective to generate the high demand for its automobile products for the coming year. The article has also offered brief descriptions of products that signify positive market indication for future. Moreover, through this article, competitors of Chrysler also get a market signal regarding the motives and intensions of Chrysler for beating its rivals (Porter, 1998, p.75). The automobile company has turned into a global industry where players from different industries are trying to in capture the prevailing market opportunities. The competition in automobile industry has been constantly changing with time. In the regard, thee major aspects are market structure,

Ethnic literature Essay Example for Free

Ethnic literature Essay The definition of ethnic literature â€Å"is literature like any other, except that it contains ethnic references. † (Reilly p. 2). Another definition of ethnic literature is when there is a literature work that contain religious beliefs, racial issues, linguistics, or cultural heritage. In another word, ethnic literature is the literary work that includes particular culture, beliefs, or linguistics distinction. Postcolonial literary theory draws attention in the issue of cultural difference emerging in the society. One of the issues which may often appear during the class discussion is hybridity. It seems that people who have been faced by the fact that they are living in a ‘hybrid world’ tend to be confused by their real status. They realize for their interest, but they can not avoid the possibility becoming ‘in between’. Although , they are included into one part, the native part, but on the other hand they can not deny the deep feeling to be pleasant considering themselves different with the other. There is a kind of more value they have compared with their surround, and they think it is worthy to be kept. Of course, this feeling comes into their mind by some reasons. There must be an additional value added into their original culture. The additional value may be in the form of a new ideology, belief or view which are brought by the dominating. The dominated rarely conscious with the impact. They usually only feel that it is a natural process which become the impact of daily social interaction they are engaged in. Another issue which emerges in postcolonial discussion is about dominated-dominating one. We can not expect who actually take the role as ‘dominating’ or ‘dominated’. The practice may turn over, the dominated may become the dominating in the same time toward different object, vice versa. We are also introduced by ‘Otherness’ theory. It makes someone consider that she or he are different from the other, and other people is not the same with her or him. Gadis Tangsi tells a story about a girl life, namely Teyi. She is a Javanese girl who grew up in the Javanese tradition. She lives with his parents and sibling in tangsi area. She was taught to become an obedient girl by her mother with many limitations as a girl. She helps her mother to sell fried bananas every day. Teyi finds herself limited by some rules which are considered as the right rules for her mother. She even does not know how ‘love’ or how to be ‘loved’ by a man. She was taught to be a polite woman. She finally finds who she is when she is introduced to Putri Parasi by Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi who has helped her. That is the beginning of her new experience to recognize a new world, the world that she has never imagined before. Putri Parasi teaches her everything to be ‘a good lady’. Putri Parasi likes Teyi for her politeness. She more likes Teyi after being saved when her disease comes immediately. Putri Parasi expects to teach her how to behave well. She even teaches Teyi to speak Dutch. Teyi starts to be able to read and write. Putri Parasi really wants to prepare her to be taken to Surakarta Keraton and introduced her to a man who will be married with her. She plans to make Teyi deserve to have a husband from Keraton families. In the novel Gadis Tangsi written by Suparto Brata, we can see some unexpected phenomenon occur. It makes me realize that actually there are still many things covered even by what Javanese people considered as ‘budaya adiluhung’. The word ‘politeness’, ‘hospitality’ and ‘dignity’ which come into people mind when they heard about Javanese culture become blur after they read this novel. Javanese woman who is considered as an obedient woman and become a mercy for whom takes her as a wife may be surprised by what Suparto tells about Teyi and Dumilah. He brings them in this novel as representative of Javanese woman character, in different point of view. However, the story about them, for me, is far from the stereotype of common Javanese women (may be just a few). The feeling of ‘in between’ seem to be experienced by Teyi. She starts to know about how the way the higher status people behave since she meets Putri Parasi. Teyi realizes that her life style is quite different from her, and she is glad when she knows that Putri Parasi does not mind introducing this new culture to her. From this intentional interaction, after she is taught how to behave like ‘putri bangsawan’, Teyi starts to consider she has a chance to be the same with them. Even she lives with her parents, she starts to consider that she is better than them. She has been raised from the lower part. She has more power than the people in the house. The very obvious impact of this teaching actually appears when Teyi has been left by Putri Parasi. After she passed away, Teyi become independent from the influence of Putri Parasi. Although, there are still some traces of her teaching inside Teyi which reflect in the way she behaves. She seems take the dominating position over her husband, Sapardal. Sapardal feeling about his lower position when they have been married becomes the cause of the divorce. Only two days of marriage, and Teyi considers that she has a right to sue divorce, while Sapardal can only keep silent without any comment. In this relationship, Sapardal as a man who actually considered as ‘the dominating’ take the role as ‘the dominated’. He does not feel on the same level with Teyi. He admits that he has no power compared to Teyi. He even has no courage to touch her in their first night of marriage. Here, we can see the role between man and woman has shifted. Brata seems to show us that the role of people in the society is like running on the moving wheel. The dominating and dominated are only a symbol of someone position, which also can be shifted based on where we are standing. Sapardal may fail in maintaining his position as superior in front of Teyi. The cultural change also appears in this novel. Sexual intercourse is not considered as a sacral any longer for almost all the women in this novel. During my reading, I wonder if I read Indonesian culture literary work, especially belong to Javanese one. However, Brata wrote the novel using the Indonesian condition in the past, in the colonial occupation. In this situation, it is not easy to determine which one who still hold the original value since the influence of other ideology come into the life in that simple way. The force of a new ideology input is not directly felt in this novel. The indigenous people enjoy the acculturation between the dominated and the dominating. It also happens in the shifting of the way they see sexual intercourse actually is. What we call as a taboo becomes commonly conducted by the people. Teyi is defined as a free woman, even she has been married and becomes a wife of Sapardal, and she breaks the rule by having intercourse with Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi. It seems that she wants to take a revenge to Dumilah who is considered had cheated her by having romantic affair with her master. Sapardal can not do anything. He has failed to become a good husband. This thinking is from his own side. When we look at this phenomenon, again, Teyi proves that she has had a power over a man from her own society. She starts to have a right to consider a man like Sapardal is not at the same level with her. However, in my opinion it will not happen if Sapardal never has the way of thinking. Actually, he has thought that she is great and different from the other woman in his environment before they are married. That makes he has no courage to touch her at their first night. It also makes Teyi feels not being regarding or respecting as a wife. She thinks that Sapardal has no desire toward her, and she thinks that it is better to ask divorce. What a short way of thinking! I found that Teyi has put a wrong way of thinking about what Putri Parasi had taught to her. It seems that she does not consider marriage as a sacral relationship any longer. ‘Love’ relationship has been considered as a ‘real’ relationship when we have passion to have sex with our couple. Is that so simple? That is the way Teyi think about love basically. It is shown also when she does not mind to have sex with her ex-master, Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi, and then she starts to love someone else, Ndara Mas Kus. There is no any guilty feeling. Finally, we can conclude that there are three aspect of postcolonial reading for Gadis Tangsi has been discussed above. First, hybridity appears when Teyi finds herself has involved and being a part of Putri Parasi’s society, Keraton environment since she has been able to behave and speak like her, so she considers that she is a part of Putri community. While she has that feeling, she still can not avoid other people consideration about her who is only becoming a servant and will not become like them. Second, dominating feeling toward Sapardal comes into her mind. There is dominating-dominated in shifting model between them. It seems a denial for a man who usually considered as the dominating one, while Teyi proves that it can be shifted. Last, ‘Otherness’ theory also emerges in this novel. After having taught to have attitude and behave like Putri Parasi model, Teyi finally considers herself different with other woman in her society. It appears in the way she treats Dumilah who is her old friend. She thinks that Dumilah has no right to become ‘a munci’ of Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi because she is not at the same level with her or Ndara. Reference Ashcroft, Bill, et. al. 1946. The Empire Writes Back. London : Routledge Barry, Peter. 1824. Beginning Theory. Manchester : Manchester University Press Brata, Suparto. 2004. Gadis Tangsi. Jakarta : Kompas Reilly, John. 1978. Critical Approaches to Ethnic Literature. London : Oxford University Press

Oil and Saudi Arabia Essay -- Essays Papers Oil Saudi Arabia Papers

Exposing the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, U.S. foreign policy, and the poverty currently occurring within Saudi Arabia Preface The current world dependence on oil leaves much to be said about the impact of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East on foreign policy and international politics. Presently the world's largest consumer of oil, the U.S. depends on Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East for the energy to run its businesses, its homes, and most importantly, its automobiles. In the past few months U.S. consumers have felt the pressures of increasing gasoline prices as they struggle to commute and live their daily lives. This leaves the U.S. with important decisions to be made on behalf of its citizens and its position in the international realm. Saudi Arabia, the leader of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies), maintains a powerful position in negotiations with the U.S. and other countries. Its vast supply of oil directly effects per barrel pricing and is a unique bargaining tool in international politics. But Saudi Arabia is no ordinary country in today's world. Its borders are governed by a royal family of nearly 30,000 individuals, all of which share most of the wealth and almost all of the power. Its people, with foreign exceptions, are wholly Islamic and many practice the faith with a frightening sense of devotion. And despite the immense revenue generated by its oil reserves, part of its population still lives in absolute poverty. Although recently it has seen immense change, it is still a country fair behind the progressive world. This report draws from many publications written over the last twenty years exposing the unique situation in Saudi Arabia, while also utilizing recent headl... ... September 2003 (31 May 2004). ?Oil jumps back near $42,? (31 May 2004). ?Plots and bombs,? The Economist, May 1 2004: 47. ?Still at its mercy,? The Economist, May 22 2004: 10 ?The limits of reform,? The Economist, Mar 27 2004: 47. ?US Challenges and Choices Saudi Arabia: A View from the Inside,? The Atlantic Council of the United States, The Middle East Institute, The Middle East Policy Council, and The Stanley Foundation, (May 31, 2004). ?What if The Economist, May 29 2004: 69. William Powell, Saudi Arabia and its Royal Family, (New Jersey: Lyle Stuart Inc., 1982). World Bank Report 2003, ?Saudi Arabia,? Oil and Saudi Arabia Essay -- Essays Papers Oil Saudi Arabia Papers Exposing the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, U.S. foreign policy, and the poverty currently occurring within Saudi Arabia Preface The current world dependence on oil leaves much to be said about the impact of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East on foreign policy and international politics. Presently the world's largest consumer of oil, the U.S. depends on Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East for the energy to run its businesses, its homes, and most importantly, its automobiles. In the past few months U.S. consumers have felt the pressures of increasing gasoline prices as they struggle to commute and live their daily lives. This leaves the U.S. with important decisions to be made on behalf of its citizens and its position in the international realm. Saudi Arabia, the leader of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies), maintains a powerful position in negotiations with the U.S. and other countries. Its vast supply of oil directly effects per barrel pricing and is a unique bargaining tool in international politics. But Saudi Arabia is no ordinary country in today's world. Its borders are governed by a royal family of nearly 30,000 individuals, all of which share most of the wealth and almost all of the power. Its people, with foreign exceptions, are wholly Islamic and many practice the faith with a frightening sense of devotion. And despite the immense revenue generated by its oil reserves, part of its population still lives in absolute poverty. Although recently it has seen immense change, it is still a country fair behind the progressive world. This report draws from many publications written over the last twenty years exposing the unique situation in Saudi Arabia, while also utilizing recent headl... ... September 2003 (31 May 2004). ?Oil jumps back near $42,? (31 May 2004). ?Plots and bombs,? The Economist, May 1 2004: 47. ?Still at its mercy,? The Economist, May 22 2004: 10 ?The limits of reform,? The Economist, Mar 27 2004: 47. ?US Challenges and Choices Saudi Arabia: A View from the Inside,? The Atlantic Council of the United States, The Middle East Institute, The Middle East Policy Council, and The Stanley Foundation, (May 31, 2004). ?What if The Economist, May 29 2004: 69. William Powell, Saudi Arabia and its Royal Family, (New Jersey: Lyle Stuart Inc., 1982). World Bank Report 2003, ?Saudi Arabia,?

Cruise Shipping

This industry can be traced back to around the 1400s when the first transatlantic voyage took place (Destination Yacht Charters). The speed of these cruise ships was very low during these years, but this was changed when the steam engine was invented in 1712 by a scientist named Thomas Newcomen (Briggs, 2009). The evolution of the steam engine led to the formation of the first shipping firm, the Black Ball Line, in 1818, which offered scheduled services to its passengers (Lytyson, 2009).With the steam engine, the cruise shipping continued to flourish in the 1800s and the early 1900s as the number of passengers traveling for business or leisure grew. However, with the arrival of passenger airplane from the Boeing Company in 1960s, the industry started to decline and this was attributed to the speed of these airplanes (Cruise lines, 2009). With the airplanes people could travel to more destinations within a short time in comparison to the cruise ships. This made the shipping companies to change their goals and to focus on tourism instead of passenger services.Furthermore, with the stiff competition from the airplanes, the industry still managed to flourish since they concentrated on improving the voyage itself. These companies concentrated on making their ships more comfortable and even provided extensive entertainment inside the cruise ships for the passengers. In addition, with †The Love Boat† television show in 1977 to 1986, the image of cruise shipping was improved and made better (Boyd, 2008 ). Recently, with the luxurious and superior entertainment provided on-board, the voyage has become the center of attraction and not the geographic destinations (Cruise working, 2009).This has made the cruise shipping industry to become one of the fastest growing industries in the transportation sector. Factors contributing to Cruise industry growth The economy in many countries is stable and growing and this has led to increased wealth amongst the people in those countries. With increased wealth many people can afford to travel for leisure. To a large extent, this is contributing to the continued growth in number of passengers experienced by the industry. For instance, between 1980 and 2003, the North American market grew at a rate of about 8. 4% per annum (Dowling, 2006).Globalisation is stimulating the market of container transport. The increase in the market of container transport is contributing to cruise shipping growth. In the Trans Pacific the number of containers transported in 2004, increased by about 15. 3% to more than 622,000 standard containers (Hapag-Lioyd, 2005). With the increase in the market, more ships are being built with even large capacity in order to tap the profits incurred in this transport industry. The peaceful environment experienced in most parts of the world is contributing to cruise shipping industry growth.For instance, in Iraq when peace was restored, tonnage at Aqaba port increased by about 28% to abou t 6. 5 million tons, in the first four months of 2003 (Stensgaard, 2007). The war in Iraq led to many ports being closed and people could not visit the country. However, when the war ended, materials for reconstructing the country entered the country through port Aqaba and this has led to its growth. With peace in many nations cruise ships can move freely in the waters as the number of safe ports increase leading to more destinations where people can visit.The tourism sector is growing at a fast pace and this can be attributed to many countries especially African countries investing more money in marketing their country's heritage. In many African countries the tourism industry is one of the major sources of income. In a country like Kenya, in 2006, revenue from tourism reached $800 million, thereby making it the largest foreign currency earner followed by horticulture and tea (Wallis, 2007). The fast growth in the tourism industry is facilitating the growth in the cruise industry a s both industries depend on each other mutually.The advancement in technology has enabled cruise ships to communicate with the loading and the off-loading ports and even with other ships. With modern communication, the ships can easily request for assistance when facing problems in the waters such as engine failure, explosions, among others, from other ships or nearby harbours. Furthermore, with the technological advancements, faster ships are being built thereby reducing the time spent in waters. The passengers can therefore reach their destinations in shorter time periods.In 2007, the world fuel price was more than $100 per barrel (Mati, 2008) but in 2009, prices have reduced to about $59 per barrel (Associated Press, 2009). The reduction in the fuel prices is a boost to the cruise shipping industry as it helps in reducing the package prices thereby enticing more passengers to cruising. Some people might find cruising expensive but with the reduction in package prices cruising wil l be made more affordable to them. To some extent, this is contributing to the increase in the number of cruise passengers. Strengths Cruise itinerariesThey provide the cruise passengers with a wide variety of services to choose from. There is a wide variety of cruise ships which offer different services. For instance, there is the Disney Cruise which offers exquisite activities for children and adult flair, the Royal Caribbean which offers magnificent sporting activities, the Costa cruises, which has put more emphasis in providing dining and entertainment in accordance with the Italian heritage, and many others (Lovetoknowcruises, 2007) Capacity The magnitude in size allows the cruise ships to carry a very large number of passengers at a go.The largest cruise ship can carry more than 6000 passengers (Wise, 2007 ), while the largest plane can carry more than 850 passengers at a go (Lewin, 2009). In terms of space, the cruise ships are more comfortable than the airplane and vehicles. Because of the large space in cruise ships, movement is not restricted and people can move around freely while in airplanes, vehicles and trains there is limited space and movement is restricted. Privacy and value In cruise ships privacy is ensured and respected. Because of its large capacity, it is designed like a hotel with rooms for the passengers.In cruise ships, the voyage is package priced and this usually includes food, room, and entertainment, among others. In most cases the passengers would spend more money on a vacation of same quality on land than on voyage (Hillman, 2009). This therefore shows that cruising is cost efficient than land vacation. More relaxation Land tourism is tiring than cruise shipping. In land tourism, the vehicle may encounter problems like engine problems, tire puncture, and many more, but in cruise shipping the problems are almost negligible.Furthermore, the hotel personnel pamper their visitors at a lower level in comparison with the cruise shippi ng personnel (Hillman, 2009). In cruise ships the passengers are treated with much respect and their requests are usually met in time. In addition, food is provided and the passengers do not have to carry their own food, while in land vacation you either carry your own food or look for restaurants that provide quality food and these restaurants are usually hard to come by.The problem of packing and unpacking your belongings is not experienced in cruise shipping (Hillman, 2009). The passengers will only unpack once throughout their cruising as they move from one place to another and will only pack once when they are back to their homes. Weaknesses Diseases infections The passengers in cruise ship are exposed to a high risk of disease infections such norovirus, maladies, among others. In 2004, about 300 passengers of the Carnival cruise line ship were infected with stomach malady while they were on-board (Water quality and health council, 2009).Consequently, in 2007, about 7 crew memb ers of the Majestic America Line cruise ship and 26 passengers were infected with norovirus while on-board (Baldwin, 2007). The norovirus has no cure but is controlled by antibiotics. The closed environment in the cruise ship provides suitable conditions for disease infections to spread swiftly since there is much human contact and food contact. Some of the reasons leading to disease infections include neglecting to disinfect restrooms and kitchens, washing hands among others (Paddock, 2009).The rate of disease infections in the cruise ships is reported to be on the rise and this could affect this industry adversely. Maintaining sanitation in cruise ships is becoming a problem for many shipping companies since it requires more funds and some companies are reluctant. Environmental pollution The cruise ships produce significant amounts of wastes which are mainly disposed with minimum regulation since they are not subjected to the same environmental policies as the industries on land ( Commoy et al, 2005).Researches done have shown that cruise ships produce carbon dioxide three times more than airplanes (Environmental Leader, 2008 ). Furthermore, in cases of accidents as was observed at the coastline of the Antarctic island, the Norwegian ship spilled fuel as it ran aground (Reuters, 2007). Spilling fuel in the waters is harmful to aquatic life as it deprives them oxygen (Smith, 2009). In addition, in many cruise ships there is no energy conservation mechanism, a lot of energy is used in moving, in the restaurants, for laundry and in the movie theaters.There is significant wastage of energy in the cruise ships. Terrorism Historically, terrorist mainly target the transport industry since the security in the maritime borders is lower in comparison to land borders (Loy, 2001) . For instance, in 1985, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Italian cruise ship killing at least one American (Ensor, 2003). The perception by people of a terrorist threat can restrict the crui se industry growth. Some people may not prefer cruise shipping because of increased terrorist activities thereby reducing its market as people fear for their lives.Terrorist activities may instill fear in some people thereby restricting them from traveling as they prefer staying in one place or going for land vacation which is much safer. Speed and price When compared to airplanes the cruise ship are expensive and consume a lot of fuel. In terms of fuel efficiency, studies carried out have shown that cruise ships are the worst in fuel efficiency when compared to airplane (Davison, 2009). Furthermore, in terms of speed cruise ships are very slow.For instance, the world’s fastest ship, Olympic voyager took seven days to visit three continents while an airplane can take only several hours at most (Hammond, 2000). The aviation sector is providing stiff competition as they try to improve the speed, the comfort and even the services provided to its customers. In addition, the aviat ion sector building big planes with larger capacity to cater for the increasing number of passengers. Limited port facilities The modern technology is enabling ports to become more efficient and effective in the services they provide to the shipping industry.However, the rate at which new technology is being adopted by ports is very slow and this can be attributed to high cost as upgrading requires much capital. Majority of the ports have not upgraded into using the modern technology and this has become a hindrance since few cruise ships can dock at that port in a day. It takes a lot of time to clear a cruise ship to dock. In addition, there are ports which have upgraded their facilities into using modern technology, but have limited loading capacity and therefore cannot accommodate large ships.This is negatively affecting the cruise shipping industry as it continues to build larger ships. Availability of the cruise itineraries Cruise itineraries are not available throughout the yea r they are restricted by seasons, some itineraries are available during the summer while others during the winter. This therefore restricts passengers from traveling to some destinations during a particular season. For instance, the Alaska cruise operates during summer only while during winter it is off-season, this restricts people who want to travel amongst the Alaskan glaciers (lovetoknowcruises, 2007).Furthermore, there are some itineraries which are not available in many ports such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean voyages which are usually available throughout the year but are limited by the number of cruise ships that provide them (MacCalla, 1994). Limited exploration time and destinations In cruise shipping there is limited time spent on land, a lot of time is spent on-board. This gives the cruise passengers little time to absorb the cultures of local communities when visiting a place. In addition, the voyage is restricted to the coastal areas, only the airplanes, trains am ong others can go inland.This therefore makes people who want to visit inland places to prefer using airplanes over cruise ships. Future of cruise shipping industry The number of passengers has been increasing annually and this is a big boost to this shipping industry. However, with economic downturn in the world, the cruise shipping industry will be affected adversely. In 2009, the number of passengers in cruise ships is expected to grow by about 3% which is a significant reduction from the growth observed from 2006 to 2007 of about 11% (Berman, 2008).With this significant reduction in passenger growth, the cruise shipping industry is still better placed than most sectors. The passenger number especially that of British cruise passengers is anticipated to grow by 2010 as new cruise ships providing better services will be in the market. From the trend observed in1995 to 2005, whereby the number of European passengers tripled from about 1 million to about 3. 3 million, this growth ra te is anticipated to reach 4 million annually by 2010 and to about 5 million by 2015 ( Seatrade Cruise connection, 2007).The new ships are expected to provide better itineraries thereby attracting more passengers to cruising. Even though, the cruise shipping industry is facing some serious challenges, the future looks bright. Furthermore, with the advancement in technology, the efficiency and effectiveness in ship building will be greatly improved and ships will be build much faster thereby meeting the increasing passenger demands. From the current trends observed, in 10 to 15 years the cruise shipping industry will expand greatly and become one of the largest industries contributing to the world economy. Word Count: 2347.Reference List Associated Press, (2009). Prices at the pump also rise — national average is $2. 311 for a gallon of gas Retrieved May 19 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/12400801/ Baldwin M. (2007). Is â€Å"New† Norovirus to Blame for Cruise Ship Outbreaks? Retrieved May 19 from http://www. cruisecritic. com/news/news. cfm? ID=2028 Berman C. (2008). Cruise growth will slow in 2009, says Passenger shipping association. Retrieved May 19 from http://www. travelweekly. co. uk/Articles/2008/10/07/29073/cruise-growth-will-slow-in-2009-says-passenger-shipping. html Boyd L. (2008). Brief History of the Passenger Ship Industry.Retrieved May 19 from http://library. duke. edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/ship-history. html Briggs J. (2009). How Cruise Ships Work. Retrieved May 19 from http://adventure. howstuffworks. com/cruise-ship1. htm Commoy J. , C. Polytika, R. Nadel and J. Bulkley 2005. The environmental impact of cruise ships. Retrieved May 18 from Cruise lines, (2009). A brief history of the cruise line industry. Retrieved May 19 from Cruise working, (2009). The History Of The Cruise Line Industry. Retrieved May 18 from Davison D. (2009). Comparing the fuel efficiency of planes, trains, automobiles – and cheeseburgers? Retrieved May 19 from Destination Yacht Charters. Cruise ship history. Retrieved May 19 from Dowling R. K. (2006). Cruise ship tourism. Edition: illustrated. CABI: N. Y. p. 363 Ensor D. (2003). U. S.captures mastermind of Achille Lauro hijacking. Retrieved May 19 from Environmental Leader, (2008). cruise ships worse for the environment than planes. Retrieved May 19 from Hammond J. (2000). Cruise Ship Gig Anyone? The World's Fastest Cruise Ship, not necessarily the Smoothest! Retrieved May 19 from Hapag-Lioyd, (2005). Another record performance. Retrieved May 19 from Hillman H. (2009). Cruise pros and cons. Retrieved May 19 from Lewin H. (2009). The world's largest airplane: the airbus A380. Retrieved May 19 from Lovetoknowcruises, (2007). Planning a cruise itinerary. Retrieved May 19 from Loy J. M.. (2001).Seaports, cruise ships vulnerability to terrorism. Retrieved May 19 from Lytyson L. (2009). The History of Cruise Ships. Retrieved May 19 from Mati A. (2008). Managing surging oil prices in the developing world. Retrieved May 19 from McCalla R. J. (1994). Water transportation in Canada. Edition: illustrated. Formac Publishing Company: Halifax. p183 Paddock C. (2009). Norovirus Infects 200 Passengers On Norwegian Cruise Ship.Retrieved May 18 from Reuters, (2007). Antarctic cruise ship spills fuel. Retrieved May 19 from Seatrade Cruise connection, (2007). cruise industry outlook remains positive. Retrieved May 18 from Smith S. E. (2009). How do oil spill affect marine life. Retrieved May 18 from Stensgaard A. (2007). Shipping industry growth to continue for a decade says Oman authorityRetrieved May 19 from Wallis D. (2007). FEATURE-Kenya tourism rides crest of booming demand. Retrieved May 19 from Water quality and health council, (2009). Sea Sick — Infection Outbreaks Challenge the Cruise Ship Experience. Retrieved May 19 from Wise J. (2007). World largest cruise ship pulls 360s with joystick. Retrieved May 19 from

The Secret Guardian of Gotham

The Dark Knight portrays Batman well enough for the audience to easily analyze Batman’s characteristics and personality. Batman is one of the most crucial characters in the movie. Bruce Wayne, or Batman, is portrayed as a billionaire and an owner of a gigantic industry, who actually at night works as a vigilante fighting criminals with his bare hands. Batman’s sense of morality, self-righteousness, and self-sacrificial attitude in his actions allow effortless classification of Batman’s characteristics in True Color’s Personality Test, Myers-Briggs Personality Test, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The way Batman believes the good in people, and the way he spends his nights for the safety of the people in Gotham proves that Batman is most likely the color blue from the True Colors Personality Test. People with blue characteristic hate with fervor, value harmony, give self to others, promotes feelings and warmth among people, and are too generous. Batman falls into all of these descriptions. Even though Batman abhors Joker, he never kills Joker despite all of the chances he is given because he believes in change in human potential, because he wants to inspire others through his actions, and because of his stern self righteousness of always wanting to do what is good for everyone. Also when Harvey Dent died after killing five people â€Å"fairly,† Batman tells Lieutenant Gordon to point the finger at him instead of Harvey Dent. Batman says, â€Å"You will hunt me. You will condemn me. Set the dogs on me, because that is what needs to happen,† (The Dark Knight) in order for people of Gotham to not lose hope by hearing and seeing the downfall of the Gotham’s White Knight, Harvey Dent. This sacrificing attitude is difficult to find in the characteristics of orange, green, and gold, but is the compassionate feature of the color blue. Towards the end of the movie, when Joker sees that the two ships didn’t bomb each other, Batman tells him, â€Å"This city just showed you that it is full of people ready to believe in good,† (The Dark Knight) implying that he, as well, believes in good nature of humans. From what is shown, my hypothesis would be that Bruce Wayne’s dichotomies are ESFJ, or extraverted, sensing, feeling, and judging. Even though Bruce Wayne is surreptitiously living another life as Batman, with only a few close confidants being aware of it, he seems to enjoy social gatherings and occasional dates with many different women. He approaches his criminals through high tech researches and careful observations of facts and proofs. Batman also does not use his sudden insights to act and rather weighs the different possibilities using his tangible sources. Therefore, I assume that Batman is more sensing than intuitive. Bruce Wayne is more feeling in the way he processes data because he considers the points of view of other people and he tries to do whatever establishes harmony within the society. For example, when Bruce Wayne had turned every cell phone in the city into a microphone and a high-frequency generator receiver, knowing that Lucius would not like such dangerous machine, he made it accessible and destructible by only Lucius. Also knowing that citizens of Gotham will lose hope and faith if they learn the truth behind Harvey Dent’s fall and death, Batman says, â€Å"Sometimes the truth is not good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded. † (The Dark Knight) Batman also shows his willingness to do whatever is needed to help Gotham by saying, â€Å"I am whatever Gotham needs me to be. † (The Dark Knight) Maybe because Batman is so engrossed in many different endless jobs he has to finish, he never seems to be having his pleasure and leisure time. He always seems to be task oriented and organized in his plans and well in control with the help of Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox so that the plans never fail. Watching this movie, I could not help but notice the parallel between Jesus from the Bible and Batman. Just like the historical character Jesus, who supposedly had no sin and dedicated to give up his own life for the forgiveness of others, and who eventually gets accused by the same people who used to acclaim him as the â€Å"Savior,† Batman, who did nothing against the morals, gets chased by those who used to praise him as the â€Å"Hero,† by becoming the scapegoat. Therefore, in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, even though I believe that Batman is sometimes on the level of safe and security because he gets injured often while fighting against criminals and Joker, Batman is primarily on the level of self-actualization. He truly dedicates himself for the benefit of others and to satisfy what the citizens of Gotham want. He knows what he is meant to do and does what he does not as a service for himself but as a guidance for the citizens of Gotham. Lieutenant Gordon, watching Batman run away, tells his son, â€Å"Because he is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now, so we will hunt him because he can take it. He is not our hero; he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a dark knight. † (The Dark Knight) Bruce Wayne, Batman, or the Dark Knight’s characteristics summed together support Batman’s famous quote, â€Å"Batman has no limits. † (The Dark Knight) The way he dives into danger every day, cleans up all the violent and illegal mess made in Gotham, and sacrifices himself for people’s mental comfort proves his idealistic characteristics. Because he has no limit, I believe he was able to be the person and the hero portrayed in the movie. Without Batman, his perfect sense of morality, and his boldly courageous deeds, Gotham would not be the same.

review of A Dolls House essays

review of A Doll's House essays My initial impression of the play started when we walked in to the theatre space. The space was small and more intimate than other plays I had recently seen. The furthest seat from the stage was perhaps only 15 feet away. There was no curtain and the set was fixed with a large apron and the stage was not raised but was at floor level with the first row of seats. I immediately got the impression of being in someones living room. This production of Henrik Ibsens groundbreaking play, The Doll House was staged in a black box theatre which was converted from an old warehouse. The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) lends itself well to this type of intimate performance where the audience can get close to the action on stage and make a connection with the characters. The stage and set design used a proscenium arch design combined with a somewhat large apron which extended the acting area out past the proscenium area giving the audience a feeling of more intimate involvement. Ibsen utilizes a writing structure similar to that of classical Greek theatre, and uses psychological insight that reflects his own position in theatre history. The play is considered to be the first in the genre of Realism, which valued real portrayal of life. The staging of this production play was a very naturalistic drama combined with production elements of normal and selective realism. Props and costumes were realistic interpretations of period pieces. Doors and windows are used and sound is used to imitate reality outside of the apartment, such as the sounds of a party upstairs or the sounds of people in the street. Initially the set design worked at creating the expectation of a small towns or villages that were typical during the late 1800s prior to the major impact of industrialization and urbanization. The set was painted to resemble wooden walls and wooden floors, which gave it a warm feel. The wooden floors where painte...

Where to Find the Best SAT Writing Practice Tests

Where to Find the Best SAT Writing Practice Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips As you study for SAT Writing, you’ll need some sample tests to practice your new skills on. Resist the temptation to just start trying random questions, however. It’s vital that you only use practice tests that will actually help you improve, and those can be a bit tricky to find. In this post, I'll explain why you shouldstick to accurate practice tests, what makes for a good practice test, how to use them in your SAT writing prep, and where to find the best practice SATs. Keep in mind that although the general advice in this article applies to every standardized test, it only includes links to materialsfor the current SAT.For more info on how to study for the new SAT, try this full guide. Feature Image: Dennis Skley/Flickr 4 Reasons to Stick to Accurate Practice Tests For the most part, you should focus on practicing with official SAT writing tests.SAT writing questionshave their own logic and style, whichyou'll only become accustomed toby studying the actual test. In a perfect world, you couldalsosupplement the official tests with extrapractice materials designed to help you study specific concepts. Unfortunately, the majority ofunofficial SATpractice materials, including those made bywell-knowncompanies like Kaplan and Princeton Review, aren't true towhat's actually on the test. (Here at PrepScholar, we believe our program is an exception, but you don't need to take my word on that. Read the rest of this guide and then give it a try- for free!- yourself.) Using badpractice materials is awaste of valuable SAT studytime and can evenhurt your progress. Below, I've expanded on keyreasons not to use inaccuratepractice materials. #1: They Don't Coverthe Right Concepts SAT writingquestions only test a handfulof topics, butmost non-official practice tests either ask about concepts that aren't on the real test or skip some of the key ideas that are. Even when unofficial materialsdo stay focusedon the same concepts as the real SAT writing section, they generallydon't do soin the same ways. For example,a bad test might ask you about the difference between "who" and "whom," a concept that isn't covered on the real SAT writing section, or have Identifying Sentence Error questions that count style issues as errors or ask about punctuation, neither of whichwould ever happen on a real test. If you're using inaccurate tests, you're learning to take the test the wrong way- to look for errors you won't see on the real thing- instead of getting accustomed to the styleof question you'll actually see on theSAT writingsection. #2:Big Picture Strategies Won't Apply to Them One of the most important parts of studying for SAT writing is learning how to effectively approach the questions. If a practice test doesn't allow you to practice those big picture strategies, it probably isn't worth your time. Someof the worstpractice materials include questions that usedifferent formatsthan those onSAT writing. This change may not seem important, since you can still practicethe SAT writing grammar concepts. However,SAT writing isn't a regular grammar test, and succeeding on it is just as much about understanding how to attack the test as it is about knowing the rules. Make sure to use differently formatted questions sparingly, if at all. #3: They Don't Employthe SameLogic asSAT WritingQuestions I briefly mentioned this idea above, but it is really, reallyimportant: SAT writing questions follow specific patterns and the best way to learn them is to study official SAT writing tests. As such, even the best unofficial tests can't replacereal SATs in your prep plan. #4: TheyCanConvince You that You're Much Better (or Worse) at SAT Writing than You Actually Are A lot of unofficial tests feature questions that areeither considerablyeasier or markedlyharder than those on the actual SAT writing section. If you practice oneasier tests, you're likelyto end up thinking that you're moreprepared than you are and then panicking when faced with real questions. If you'reusing harder tests, on the other hand, you're likely to become discouraged because the tests feel impossible (sometimes they are!). In neither case do you get a good sense of what the material on the official SATis like, which is one of the main reasons topractice the SAT in the first place. You would never see this question on a real SAT, but you might on a bad practice test. Image: Duncan Hull/Flickr 3 Key Qualities to Look for in SAT Writing Practice Material Now thatwe've established some of the problems with bad study materials, let's go overwhat tolook for in goodSAT writingpractice materials. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the best approach is tostart with real SATs. Luckily, the College Boardhas released a total of 14official tests, which shouldbe enough to cover at least 40 hours ofstudying. (I'll go over where to find these tests, as well as other official SAT writing practice questions,below.) If you do find yourself in need of further study material, however, there arethree questionsyou need to ask yourself as you evaluatepotential practice materials. #1: Do the Questions Havethe SameFormats as Those on SAT Writing? The first step to evaluating practice materials isglancingover them and making sure they look the same as real SAT writing sections. Are the three different types of questions (Improving Sentences, Identifying Sentence Errors, and Improving Paragraphs) all represented? Doeseachtypelook the way it should? You'll likely be amazed by how many practice tests don't pass this basic screening. Make sure not to use materials that don't look right- they'll certainlybe off in other ways as well. #2: Does ItTest the Same Concepts as the Real SATWriting Section? This question can be very difficult to answer because it requires you to fullyunderstand what's actually on the SAT. This is one of the reasons thatyou should only turn to unofficial tests if you've already used up the majority of the materials available from the College Board. However, if you do need to find some more SAT writing practice, I recommend working through 10 of each type of SAT writing question (or just one passage for Improving Paragraphs) and trying tosee if anything jumps out at you as obviously unlike areal SAT writing section. Are there questions on topics you've never seen on the official tests? Or are there topics clearly missing? Do the explanations clearly lay out why the correctanswer is the only one that works? #3: Isthe TestRoughly asDifficult as the SAT? This problem is another issue that can be challengingto resolvewithout investing a lot of time into materials that may or may not be helpful. After testing some of the questions(as I recommendabove),compare how many you missed on the unofficial testswith youraverage from an official test. Is the numbermuch higher? Much lower? If so, think about why- is it fluke or are you doing measurably better or worse on the unofficial questions?If you suspect the unofficial practice materials differ significantly from official ones, don't usethem. The Best Waysto Use SAT WritingPractice Tests toPrep What you're using SAT writing practice for will depend on whatkind of prep program you're doing(independent, with a tutor, throughan online program), but there are three main types of SAT writingpractice: taking full tests, analyzing sections, and drilling withquestions. I've outlined some general advice on how to effectively practice forSAT writingbelow. Take at Least 3 Full Practice Tests One of the most important parts of studying for the SATis building up the endurance to stay focusedfor a three-hour test,andthe only way to do thatis bypracticing. No matter what type ofstudy program you use, you musttake at least three full practice SATswhere you closely simulate testing conditions: timing yourself, sitting in a quiet room, turningoff your phone, and taking only the SAT-allowed breaks. Make sure to use official SATsfor these full practice tests.The point of the exercise is to mimic the experience of test day as closely as possible, which is only possible with a real test. Analyzethe Questions Anotherreason to primarily useofficial SAT practice testsis that theirquestions have a unique style and logic. Therefore, it can be veryuseful to carefully pickapart real SAT writingquestions and think abouthow they work. When analyzing a question, ask yourself the following questions. What ideais the question testing? How are the wrong answers wrong? Are there traps meant to trick you into picking an incorrectanswer,and, if so,how canyou avoid them? The deeperyour understanding of how SAT writingquestions are built, the easier, and quicker,answering them becomes. You can also check outour post on reviewing your mistakesfor more tips on how to effectively analyze questions. Practice Both With and Without a Timer Although moving quickly through the questionsis an important part of succeeding on the SAT, you shouldn't focus only on timed practice- doing so will keepyou from getting the most out of your SAT writing practice. Afteryou’ve taken a full practice test and set a baseline, it’s better to start with untimed practice and work up to doing timed sections. That way ,at the beginning, you canfocus on gaining a deep understanding ofthe structure and style of SAT writing, which will then help you approach the timed questions more confidently. Know when and when not to use a timer. The Best SAT WritingPractice Tests I've said it before and I'll say it again:use official SAT writing practice testswhenever possible. To help with that, I've curated a list of everywhere you can obtainofficial SAT writingpractice materials- for free and for sale- and explainedthe best ways to use them. Free Official Tests There are a number of full-length official tests available online. These are great for taking as complete tests, but can certainly be used for other purposes as well. Most Recent SAT Practice Test On its website, the College Board offers a free practice test (broken) that anyone can download and take.You can even input your answers on the College Board site, and it will grade the test for you. (Otherwise make sure to download them here. [broken]) This test is great to use as your baseline test because there are full answer explanations available on the College Board website, as well as helpful explanation videos for some of the questions on Khan Academy. More Free Official Tests In addition to the most recent free PDF, there are some older officialSATs available through the links below. Official SAT Practice Test 2013-14(answers) Official SAT Practice Test 2007-08(answers) Official SAT Practice Test 2004-05(answers) Extra Free Official Practice In addition to the full length tests, you can find extra SAT writing practice questions in the following places. College Board Website The College Board offers some extra writing practice questions as well as the full tests:Identifying Sentence Errors (broken), Improving Sentences (broken), andImproving Paragraphs (broken).These aren'tas good for simulating the actual test, but they can help you get a general sense of the questions and style, especially since they include explanations. Khan Academy Online education non-profit Khan Academy has partnered with the College Board to create official studymaterials for the redesigned SAT, but they also have some greatpractice questions for the current version of the test. If you sign up for a free account you can access more official Identifying Sentence Erros and Improving Sentences questions (unfortunately there are none for Improving Paragraphs). The questions include explanations. Official SAT Writing Tests for Sale Finally, there are also some realSATs for sale, in the form ofThe Official SAT Study Guide,which includes 10 more official tests. The book is currently available for $11.81 on Amazon, so it's an excellent value. The book itself doesn't include full answer explanations, but they are available on the College Board website. You canlikely check the bookout of the library as well, but if you do so, make sure that it doesn't include other students' notes and keep in mind that you may not be able to access the online explanations. What's Next? If you still want more sources of SAT writing practice, check out our guide to the best SAT writing books (coming soon). Make sure that you know how to study effectively with these key tips(coming soon). Finally, brush up on your big picture strategies for Identifying Sentence Errors, Improving Sentences, and Improving Paragraphs. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Writing and grammar lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: