History of English Language Essay

English language, like many elements in the history, has gone many transformations for nothing is permanent in this world. There are many contributing factors that played in its development as what it is now including different influences brought to it by merging of cultures and sometimes war. English language also differs depending on the culture of one’s country, since not only one country is using this as their official language but many of them; and, each has gone some modification that represents their culture. In this global period, English language is considered as the world’s official language through which, all countries are united heading towards future economic progress and common understanding of all people in the whole world. Through this also, war is avoided, common goals are set for the good of all, and poor countries are taken into account by international organization. English language then as widely accepted fact, is the lingua franca of the world and the language of economics. English language, since it is replacing other previously dominant languages of the world such as French and Spanish, is taught in almost schools in all countries from Pre-elementary courses to college courses. Through this emerging trend, many students from affluent countries avail themselves of western education which they consider as an advantage in their career. Some would even take English lessons in other countries to acquire fluency and competency. The reason behind is that, English is the only means to communicate with all the people of the world wherever you are or what ever country you may be. Thus, international communication is now possible regardless of which country you come from as long as you know even just the basic and as their languages unite their understanding of their culture is strengthened. Development of Old English Language Old English language had been developed through many components with its origin from the history. Although, many historians believed and developed the hypothesis that English language and other languages in many parts of Europe were identical because of evidences of similarities of many words. Aside from that, it was also believed that Sanskrit, the old language of India which was much older than Greek or German, had preserved common features with that of Old English language (Baugh & Cable, p. 18). It is easy therefore to presume that English is a by-product of the development of many languages in Europe which had only one origin. The Arrival of Celts in Britain English language was known as the language of English people, however, it was not the language spoken by earliest settlers of the lands; historians believed that many races had come and their languages were not known and recorded in the history until the arrival of the Celts which had the trace of Old English language, and began the history of its development. The Celts were bronze and iron-age inhabitants and when they reached Britain they pushed the earlier settlers into the remote corners of the nation through their mighty weapons. According to history, they arrived around 500 BC with language known for being the first Indo-European tongue to be spoken in Britain. Celts and Celtic language as they say had very little contribution in the Old English, as they tried to trace some of those words. However, scholars believed that they influenced the grammatical structure of the language (Baugh & Cable, p. 82-83). At this far-flung advancement of English, many of those languages are no longer traced; though, it is believed to be the first among the contributors of the English language development, however, its influence is no longer recognized today. Anglo-Saxon Settlements In the beginning, Old English was an assortment of group of dialect languages, reflecting the diverse beginning of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England. Anglo-Saxon was a group of different races with the Germanic people as the dominant among them who arrived in Britain during the 5th and 6th AD upon the invitation of the King of Briton to help them against Roman invaders. This group had acquired influences of the Latin culture including language that after the collapse of Roman Empire in their country arrived in Britain to find settlement also. According to Barbara Fennell, there was no written record about language use in Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion (Fennell, p. 55). There were indications that England was inhabited for thousands of years prior to Anglo-Saxon invasion, with its known early inhabitants as the Celts or Scotts. The Romans did not have much linguistic contribution on the linguistics development, but the collapsed of the Empire paved the way for the settlement of Anglo-Saxon. The native Britons were either pushed into isolated and farthest areas or they adapted the Anglo-Saxon’s way of life. The Angli was actually a Germanic tribe which has been in Britain a couple of centuries prior to Roman invasion. These Anglo-Saxon spoke Germanic dialect which had some similarities with the original settlers, the Celts which eventually blended with them. Thus, Germanic tribes began arriving and settling in Kent. Not long when the Germans formed a kingdom known in history as the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. As these German tribes struggled for superiority, Kent, the main settlement, emerged as the dominating tribe which claimed sovereignty over all the kingdoms of the South. Barbara Fennel pointed out that they dominated largely because of the influence of centers of learning at Linchfarne. Subsequently, the kingdom was passed from King Egbert down to his grandson Alfred the Great, and on to King Edward the Confessor who became Rex Anglorum, which means King of the English in 1026 BC (Fennel, p. 57). The merging of Anglo-Saxon and Celtics had come to be known as the English people, and their language as the English language. The Scandinavian Influence Of course, there had been more developments and significant contribution towards the linguistic development of the English language. But, ultimately, invasions and settlements had been the major factors for this development. The invasion of the Romans and the collapse of the Empire lay the ground for the settlement of Anglo-Saxon, while the influx of more Germanic tribesmen overlay the founding of a new nation. In 787 to 850 AD, a new invasion and settlement had taken place; the Scandinavian under King Guthrum invaded Britain which was under King Alfred. As the Danes were defeated by King Alfred, they withdrew from King Alfred’s territory but remained in Britain. Eventually, he accepted Christianity and was baptized. The settlement of these people in England not only involved political and linguistic assimilation but also culture and religion which are essential in the development of language. The succeeding political assimilation that follows after the Scandinavian invasion as well as the intermarriages of political rulers had been instrumental in Anglo-Saxon – Celtic people to be identified as an English people. Fennell said that King Henry’s successor Richard II, was renowned as the lion’s heart â€Å"†¦who spoke little or no English at all, and spent only six months in total on English soil† (p. 57). Fennel’s emphasis on â€Å"speaking English and spending six months on English soil† meant two things, the beginning of the English language and of the English country. The Linguistic Development during the Middle Ages Middle Ages had been a very significant in the development of English languages after its assimilation during the merging of Anglo-Saxon and Celts. This period gave way to the advancement of the language in terms of words incorporation from other native languages specifically the Northern European and some Germanic tribes. This was also significant in the expansion of the language in its grammatical structure. Change in the Inflectional Endings Inflectional endings are unstressed syllables at the ends of words of most of Old English language such as –en in drunken. The decay of inflectional endings was attributed to the influence of Vikings in their language and at the same time, the Germanic language has a stress on the first syllable and not on endings. Some of those endings that were omitted were -a, -e, -u and –an, which had been evenly reduced to -e, (pronounced ). Another alteration involved the loss of final -n after -e in unstressed syllables. For example, drinken, from Old English drincan â€Å"to drink,† became first of all drinke and then drink (Baugh and Cable, 1993, p. 155). Fennel had also observed these significant changes in the English language. She pointed out that the â€Å"development of more fixed words order and the loss of inflections† (p. 97), characterizes the Middle English. Further, she observed slight consonantal changes in such that certain voiced consonants became voiceless and other voiceless consonants became voiced (p. 97). The Noun and Adjectives Old English is also typified in terms of infection wherein they add letters to the end of the word to signify another meaning either from singular to plural or gender differences. For instance, the singular stan, stanes and stane having its plural form of stanas, stana and stanum; which according to Baugh and Cable, reduced to stan, stanes and stane. These changes have been observed in the Modern English. Old English was seen as having similarity with the Latin grammar which was more inflected. To note, Old English had four cases: the nominative, accusative, genitive and dative cases that are emphasized by adding letter/s at the end of the word. For example, the singular neuter had an ending –a, feminine had –o, masculine had –n. On the other hand, Latin had six cases such as nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative and ablative. This development in English language was obviously an influence of Roman in their language. Throughout the development process, especially coming into the Middle Ages, English language had survived its –s plural form and the weak –n form become infrequent as in the case of oxen, brethren, children and oxen. Verb Form The Middle English had a grammatical rule similar to the Modern English. In general, the first person singular of the Middle English present tense verbs end in –e, the second person had –est, while the third person had –eb. This is applied to strong verb, while in weak verbs, word endings used are –ed(e), -d(e), or –t(e). It was also usual in the Middle English the Object -Verb sequence whereas the Modern English follows the Verb-Object pattern; for example : then fell he down, which is contrast with today’s grammar structure as then he fell down. (Fischer, p. 180-181) The infinitive –to was also usual in Middle English which was later replaced by that. For instance, He commanded them that they should tie him up. (Fischer, p. 211)

Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence Essay

The book ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’ that is written by Doris Pilkington is about three aboriginal half-cast girls that run away from The Moore River Native Settlement. At the settlement aboriginal half-cast children are kept and tried to be changed into white people so they can be respected in the community. The book is set in Western Australia in the early 1900’s. ‘This free-Spirited girl knew that she and her sisters must escape from this place,’ is true, she shows her persistence, determination and is toughness. A half-cast child was an aboriginal with an aboriginal mother but a white father. The persistence Molly shows during the book is incredible for a fourteen year old to have to acts as the mother to the other two girls Gracie and Daisy. The girls were taken from there family’s at a camp in Jigalong. They were then taken to Moore river were there was a camp for half-cast children like themselves to be trained into servants and to be turned white. Molly knowing what will happen to them if they stayed at the camp. â€Å"Pack up your things we’re leaving now â€Å"said Molly when she was trying to rush them out the door so they could leave in a hurry so they could get a big head start on the government officials. Molly shows lots of persistence during the book which could show why they were able to evade capture and return home to Jigalong. The determination of the young Molly was repeated as she did the same trip again but this time with her newborn baby. Molly was always trying to look for the bright side on the way home. ‘My legs hurt’ said Daisy when they were walking in the bush so Molly decided to carry her sister and Gracie at different times even though her legs were hurting to. The determination of Molly was evident in how she was able to get the girls on the move, as most of the time they were running away. The saying you’re as tough as nails could easily be describing Molly. The book shows that Molly has lots of characteristics but determination is one of the important ones. The toughness of a fourteen year old girl could be said to be non-existent as todays girls have a luxury life, where any toughness is not needed. Molly on the other hard is as tough as a rock and journey she accomplished with two smaller children who could be very hard to deal with, to make the story better she was sent back to the camp after she had an operation and escaped back to her family after using the same route she took nine years early. Molly shows her toughness though the book in helping these two girls get home with her but she had the strength to do it again with her very young newborn baby, but she had to make a tough sacrifice in her decision to come home as she had to leave her oldest daughter Doris there at the camp, this â€Å"was one of the hardest decision of my life† said Molly while being interviewed for the movie. The toughness of Molly is evident throughout the book showing one of the qualities that not everyone has. The book ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’ is written by Doris Pilkington is about three aboriginal half-cast girls running away from The Moore River Native Settlement where aboriginal half-caste children kept. The book highlights the journey the girls took back to their home in Jigalong in Western Australia. The main character was Molly who was the oldest out of all three girls. . ‘This free-Spirited girl knew that she and her sisters must escape from this place,’ is true, she shows her Persistence, determination and is toughness. This book shows a true and inspiring story of children that wanted to go home.

Mickey Mouse Character Essay

A century ago who would have believed a small little, rodent creature would be the icon of not just a multi-billion dollar company but also a symbol of innocence, youth, and, happiness. The icon of course is none other than Mickey Mouse, a character that has hundreds of different meanings to millions of different people. But the Mickey the public knows today is not the same cartoon mouse that audiences knew when he made his first public appearance in 1928. Rather throughout the eight decades he’s been around, Mickey Mouse has evolved and grown, just as the public has. Where Mickey was once a mischievous, abrasive, adventurer over the years he’s transformed into a cheerful, calm, educational tool. But the question lately has been whether Mickey Mouse is still a relevant figure in a fast paced, high-tech world full of video games and action films. Where exactly does the eighty-three year-old Mickey Mouse fit in with newer icons such as Super Mario and Spongebob Squarepants? Disney hopes to answer this question by rebranding the aging character to once again become an important character in the upcoming decade of the teens. By going back to the essential qualities of humor, heart, mischief, and adventure that once made up Mickey Mouse, Disney can rediscover a character that is truly timeless. It’s important to note that Mickey Mouse wasn’t always the prize creation of Walt Disney; you see once upon a time there was a young animated creature known as Oswald The Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was a happy, upbeat fellow who often found himself in sticky situations whether it was run away vehicles[1], danger at war[2] or his girlfriend getting kidnapped by a shadowy figure wearing a top hat when he’s trying to milk a robot cow[3]. Sadly Oswald’s happiness soon came to an end when his creator Walt Disney realized despite being the man behind the character, he actually didn’t own the rights to the animated rabbit, as he was property of the distributor Universal Pictures. Upset over his contract, Disney broke his ties with Universal, which meant leaving both his staff and Oswald behind. When attempting to come up with a new cartoon character he himself would own, Walt Disney’s mind wandered back to the days he spent living in Kansas City. His studio there was frequently overrun with field mice, and he found himself particularly close with one specific mouse. When bored with work he would play with the mouse, training the rodent to remain in a small circle  through the process of operant conditioning by touching its nose with a pencil whenever it began to leave. Walt then decided to make the character modeled after the mouse he grew so fond of. The basic design used for Oswald was still retained, with mostly minor changes to make the character resemble a rodent rather than a rabbit. Walt originally planned to name him Mortimer, but his wife thought the name sounded pretentious. The two compromised on the name Mickey, and with that the most famous cartoon character was born. Contrary to popular belief, â€Å"Steamboat Willie† was not Mickey’s first appearance, but rather it was six months earlier with the short â€Å"Plane Crazy† (1928). Based after famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, the short consisted of Mickey becoming a pilot as an attempt to impress his future girlfriend Minnie Mouse. The Mickey in the short is quite possibly the furthest you could get from what he is today, as his goal throughout the cartoon is to get an unwilling Minnie to kiss him while flying the plane. After several futile attempts, he tries to get the kiss by using force on her until she has no choice but to parachute out of the plane to escape. Mickey Mouse lusting so heavily after a kiss would be deemed bad enough by today’s standards, let alone using physical force to try and get it. Now Mickey wouldn’t be caught dead doing either activity. Soon another Mickey Mouse cartoon was made titled â€Å"Gallopin’ Gaucho† (1928), but it wasn’t until â€Å"Steamboat Willie† (1928) that the character would catch on. â€Å"Steamboat Willie† was a complete revolution at the time in 1928. While The Jazz Singer was the first movie to use sound, it was only used sparingly throughout the film. â€Å"Steamboat Willie† on the other hand was a celebration of sound in film, acting in many ways as a technical show off. Bells chime, cows moo, steam whistles blow, and more to show off the marvel that can occur when the sound one hears directly correspondents to what appears on screen. The short became an instant success and officially launched the career of the young cartoon star. Mickey’s appearance in the short is particularly reminiscent of a rodent, especially when compared with his later design. He has beady eyes, long  tail, and lacks the trademark gloves the character is known for. His nose is more protruded from his face, while his ears are placed closer to his head giving him an overall scrappier look. Mickey is also portrayed as smaller than he’s normally shown, being significantly smaller than a cow. [4] While Mickey is shown to still be fairly happy-go-lucky, he’s not innocent kind fellow the public now knows. He pulls a cat’s tail repeatedly with the intention of getting it to cry out, simply to contribute to his impromptu jam band. Mickey laughs and grins almost roguishly, taking immense delight in what is visually causing the cat pain. He even swings the cat around and around, until throwing the animal carelessly across the room to move on to his next victim. Mickey is clearly abusing the animals he’s supposed to be taking care of. The cartoon ends with Mickey being mocked and laughed at by a parrot to which he responds by throwing a potato he was peeling at the bird, knocking the creature into the water. Mickey then listens closely to hear the off screen sound of the bird struggling in the water only to burst out in laughter at the bird’s misfortune. Compared to the tame Mickey that the character later turned in to, it’s shocking to see he originated as a sort of sadistic fellow. Yet ironically, Mickey looks more innocent than ever as he throws his cares away, making musical instruments of the various animals around him. To kids, Mickey was a representation of fun and excitement. He turned whatever job he had into an entertaining adventure, even if that meant getting in trouble sometimes. The mouse had a distinct personality that seems to be lacking in the goody-two-shoes of today. The genres of Mickey’s early cartoon ranged greatly from short to short, with everything from prison movie spoofs[5] to war satires[6] to a surrealist nightmare[7]. Though each cartoon shared a similar sense of humor and fun. That is except for the 1933 short â€Å"The Mad Doctor†, which features Pluto being kidnapped by an evil scientist who attempts to detach the dog’s head in order place it on top of a chicken’s body to â€Å"find out if the end result will bark or crow or cackle†[8]. Mickey enters the Mad Doctor’s lair, avoiding booby trap after booby trap, and even fighting off an army of  skeletons until he himself is caught and nearly sawed in half. In the end it turns out the whole experience was a dream, but nonetheless the short is quite terrifying for what was thought of as children’s fare. In the Journal of Popular Film and Television professor Rick DeCroix said that the short was, â€Å"perhaps the first animated horror film played more for chills than laughs – in fact, it was so stark that British censors deemed it unsuitable for viewing by children.†[9] Even many theatres in the U.S. banned the short, refusing to allow such scary material to be shown to young kids. More Mickey Mouse cartoons continued to be produced at an increasing rate, as the character grew more and more popular. But with newfound popularity came increasing demands to make Mickey Mouse a more wholesome character for the later half of the 1930s. In his book Art of Walt Disney from Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms artist and popular culture studier Christopher Finch writes: â€Å"Mickey †¦ had become virtually a national symbol, and as such ‘he was expected to behave properly at all times. If he occasionally stepped out of line, any number of letters would arrive at the Studio from citizens and organizations who felt that the nation’s moral well-being was in their hands†¦ Eventually he would be pressured into the role of straight man.†[10] The character of Mickey had become too big to continue his troublemaker ways; it soon became apparent the character would have to change to accommodate his sudden fame. In 1928 he was groping and physically touching Minnie Mouse (â€Å"Plane Crazy†) but by 1936 Mickey would settle for a handshake with Minnie to show their feelings (â€Å"The Rival†). Many of Mickey’s characteristics were transferred to new characters such as Donald Duck and Dippy Dawg or better known as Goofy. Three began to share more cartoons together with Mickey being the rational upstanding one, while Donald and Goofy were the silly more outrageous characters. Donald would eventually start appearing in more cartoons than Mickey, as the angry duck provided funnier material than the moral mouse. But the change in Mickey’s character didn’t come suddenly; rather he gradually reformed his mischievous ways. Mickey’s occupations also began to change as he moved from the countryside and barnyards to take on more cosmopolitan positions. He soon started playing polo (â€Å"Mickey’s Polo Team†) and more upscale activities, partially based on Walt Disney’s newfound interests. By the forties Mickey had moved into the suburbs and wear more sophisticated clothing. In cartoons like the 1942 short â€Å"Mickey’s Birthday Party† he can be seen donning a snap-brim hat with red ribbon, a button down blue shirt, and a cane. [11] As Mickey’s personality and profession began to change so did his appearance to reflect his new image. Professor Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard did an extensive study of the character from a biological artistic perspective concluding the following: â€Å"He has assumed an ever more childlike appearance as the ratty character of Steamboat Willie became the cute and inoffensive host to a magic kingdom. By 1940, the former tweaker of pig’s nipples gets a kick in the ass for insubordination (as the â€Å"Sorcerer’s Apprentice† in Fantasia). By 1953, last cartoon, he has gone fishing and cannot even subdue a squirting clam. The Disney artists transformed Mickey in clever silence, often using suggestive devices that mimic nature’s own changes by different routes. To give him the shorter and pudgier legs of youth, they lowered his pants line and covered his spindly legs with a baggy outfit†¦His head grew relatively larger- and its features more youthful.†[12] The character of Mickey Mouse eventually began to physically reflect the audience Disney started aiming at. Mickey began to shift into the position of being a peer of the children who watch him. He no longer was a rodent, but rather a child just like the kids who wanted Mickey Mouse merchandise. 1953 was the last theatrical Mickey Mouse short and it wouldn’t be until two years later that the character would reappear, this time in the form of the television show The Mickey Mouse Club. The series was a variety show that consisted of live action serials, newsreels, and classic Mickey cartoons.  It was an attempt to cash in on a new audience of young children who hadn’t yet seen vintage Mickey shorts. This is a format that would be replicated several times over the next few decades as the show reappeared in the ‘70s and the ‘90s, with each episode repacking old cartoons. This displayed a substantial shift in the character as the cartoons in theatres had a universal appeal, enjoyed by both adults and children, but The Mickey Mouse Club was clearly meant for kids only. From this point on Mickey was a children’s only character, and his new roles would display this. The Mickey Mouse Club also is the start of the character as an educational tool as a many of the show’s non-cartoon segments were aimed at teaching kid’s valuable lessons and morals. New Mickey Mouse material was scarce throughout the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties with the only major Mickey film/TV appearances being three theatrical shorts[13] and one direct to video movie[14]. Mickey during this period became less of a character and more of a corporate icon. He appeared allover the money machine theme parks Disneyland and DisneyWorld, along with finding his face plastered onto all kinds of merchandise and logos that pertained to the Disney company. During the 2000s the character of Mickey Mouse was finally put back into production with the creation of the show Mickey Mouse Works. The series was made up of all new shorts featuring Mickey and friends, picking up right where the Mouse left off in the ‘50s, living in a comfortable suburbia. The show didn’t last long, being taken off air in the late 2000. Instead the shorts were reformatted to fit a new series, House of Mouse, which put Mickey as the head of a dinner theatre where all the Disney animated characters gathered to hang out and watch cartoons. Half the show consisted of new material with Mickey running the club, while the rest was shorts from either Mickey Mouse Works or vintage color cartoons. The character also appeared in four direct to DVD movies, two of which being spin-offs of The House of Mouse and the other two being Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004) and The Three Musketeers (2004). Despite being placed in all these different settings they all stuck to the recent version of Mickey Mouse, boring and calm as ever, with the character forced to play the straight man  to all the crazy people around him Mickey’s main cartoon appearance today is limited to the preschooler series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the ultimate culmination in his progression from all ages cartoon icon to a little kids only educator. The character’s animation is slow and careful, trying to remain at a pace three year-olds can easily follow. Unlike The Mickey Mouse Club this series contains no classic Mickey shorts, being entirely educational based programming disguised thinly behind a narrative. But there is no disguising the fact that the show is limited in its appeal, having a clear audience of three to five year-old toddlers. Mickey Mouse, a character that previously climbed dangerous mountains[15], explored the jungles of Africa[16], and fought off hordes of skeletons[17], barely shares any form of resemblance with the great mouse he once was. As the character became non-existent in film and watered down within television during the aughts, the area Mickey Mouse’s character became most interesting lies in the realm of video games. While he has appeared in them since the early eighties, it wasn’t until the release of the 2001 Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts that the character began to be recognized as a true video game icon. The Kingdom Hearts series is a complex combination of Disney characters mixed with the Final Fantasy video game franchise. The game takes place in a universe that consists of numerous worlds, typically based off a Disney film or a set of Disney/Final Fantasy characters. A large portion of the main storyline is put into motion when the ruler of the prominent world known as Disney Castle disappears in an attempt to rid the universe of oncoming darkness. The ruler is, of course, none other than King Mickey Mouse. Throughout much of the first game Mickey himself is rarely seen, but his trademark mouse ears icon is displayed frequently as the symbol of Disney Castle. The characters talk about how great and powerful the King is, but he only makes one actual appearance at the very end. At the time Disney wasn’t quite sure how the game would turn out, and as such was weary of having him be a main character, so he was allowed to appear in one scene  only. Due to the game’s overwhelming success the character became more significant its numerous sequels and spin-off titles, especially in the 2006 game Kingdom Hearts II. It’s in this title that the character attempts to prove himself a true video game hero, displayed as powerful and valiant. He defeats enemies in a single blow, strikes fear into bosses eyes, and is all around a truly strong threat. Yet Mickey’s personality remains happy and upbeat as ever. Squire Enix was able to use his goody two-shoes personality to put a new twist on the character. [18] Mickey’s regular clothes in the Kingdom Hearts universe is a play off his traditional clothing, keeping with the basics of white gloves, redshirt, and yellow boots. They then added extra details such as the straps on his shoes, tinges of silver and black, along with large zippers to try and give a slightly more complex, mature look. Though a lot of the time spent with Mickey Mouse occurs when he’s dressed in all black, wearing a cloaked hood that is the trademark of a mysterious organization within the game. This is how the character looks when fully reveled for the first time in Kingdom Hearts II, being an effort to make the character look cooler and more stylish then he’s typically portrayed. The game establishes right away that while he may still be Mickey Mouse, this isn’t the same guy that teaches math on television. This version isn’t quite a radical overhaul, but rather a step in the right direction to bring the character back to his hero, ad venturer roots. [19] The radical overhaul in Mickey’s character would actually occur four years later in the 2010 release of the video game Epic Mickey; Disney’s first big attempt in years to completely reinvent and redesign the character for a new, contemporary generation. With this the company itself has recognized that the character has become out of touch with current audiences, so what better way to began a character’s modernization than by making the reintroduction first occur in the newest medium of storytelling, video  games. Epic Mickey is a much darker take on the character that has more in line with the mouse of old than the currently familiar suburban incarnation. [20] The story involves Mickey breaking into a wizard’s workshop, making a mess of paint on the model of a magical land the wizard created. He accidentally spills paint thinner allover the world when trying to clean his mess up, and runs away before the wizard can return to catch him in the act. Years go by with Mickey being carefree, not thinking about the trouble he created until the day a mysterious creature pulls Mickey back into the workshop and drags him into the model world. The world is now known as The Wasteland and is where cartoon characters disappear to when forgotten by society. While Mickey Mouse appeared in new shorts and adventures over the years, those he left behind ended up populating this abandoned world. The leader of this land happens to be none other than the original forgotten character himself, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, being his first official appearance since 1943. Mickey is forced to face the consequences of his selfish actions that caused the destruction of their world, going around helping old faces that once were his friends, but due to forgotten time feel more like strangers. The gameplay itself revolves around the idea of using paint, which creates, or thinner, which destroys, to solve puzzles. This allows the gamer to directly decide whether Mickey is a hero or an anti-hero. Mickey never can go as far as to truly harm another character, but he can choose the easy way out or be selfish to better himself over others. This lets the game act as a bridge between the old mischievous Mickey Mouse and the righteous modern Mickey. The character’s art design reflects this combination, as he is a mixture of both the original and the more current Mickey. The rest of the game’s artwork is distinctly dark and dreary, which represents the studio’s attempts to inform consumers Mickey isn’t just for kids. He can be a mature character, caught up in a question of morality and the tribulations that come with fame and leaving friends behind. [21] Epic Mickey is a good start, but just one game isn’t enough. Disney is going to have to be more aggressive if they hope to keep the character relevant as the new millennium’s teen years soon kick in. The leash needs to be pulled of the character and he must be promoted as more than just a corporate mascot. The greatest step they could take would be to finally release a feature-length Mickey Mouse film. In the eighty plus years the mouse has been around he has never had his own full-length feature. He’s appeared in parts of movies, such as with Fantasia (1940), along with Fun and Fancy Free (1947), but never a whole film. The main fear has always been that if a Mickey movie came out and performed poorly it would reflect badly on the character, harming his image. But it appears the company is beginning to change their mind as news broke in March of 2011 that such a movie might happen, as long time Disney animator Burny Mattinson revealed he’s been working on a pitch for a film staring Mickey Mouse, along with his friends Donald and Goofy[22]. Such a film is exactly the major kick-start the character needs. It would allow a true fresh start to the largest audience possible. Mickey Mouse has evolved and changed over the years, but the public’s love for the character seems to never go away. One can’t be certain what exactly Mickey’s future holds, especially as the character’s copyright finally expires in 2023, meaning unless Disney finds a way of interfering then the cartoon icon will enter public domain. Disney is desperate to make the character relatable to all ages again, and it seems the key is to reevaluate what once made him so great. Mickey Mouse is the most versatile cartoon character in history and there’s a reason he has lasted so long. Mickey has survived eighty plus years remaining in public consciousness, and it isn’t hard to believe that with a few adjustments he’ll survive another eighty more.

MRI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MRI - Essay Example Apart from these condyles, which are bony prominences, the distal end of humerus has two depressions as well. The bony depression on the anterior side is known as coronoid fossa, while the posterior depression is known as olecranon fossa. The areas where the bones connect to each other are referred to as articular surfaces. The elbow joint is articulated at Radioulner, Radiohumeral and Ulnohumeral joints. These articular surfaces are covered by the hyaline cartilage. A joint capsule, which is lined by Synovial membrane, encloses the entire joint in such a way that all three joint cavities remain in communication with each other. The elbow joint is stabilized by ligaments. These include Radial and Ulnar Collateral ligaments and the annular ligament of the head of radius. The medial side of the joint is strengthened by the Ulnar collateral ligament whereas the radial collateral ligament stabilizes the lateral side. The head of radius is connected to the radial notch of ulna by the annu lar ligament which runs around the head of radius. The movements at the elbow joint are facilitated by the muscles attached in this region. These muscles are organized into four different compartments according to their position, namely anterior, posterior, lateral and medial. The anterior group has two muscles, biceps brachii and brachialis. Posterior group has triceps brachii and anconeus muscles. The lateral group has brachioradialis and supinator muscles as well as the extensors of wrist and fingers. Whereas the flexor muscles of wrist and fingers, along with pronator teres muscle form the part of medial group. The arterial blood supply to the elbow region is through brachial artery. The venous drainage is by the way of brachial vein, median vein and median cubital vein. The nerves supplying the elbow region include musculocutaneous nerve, radial nerve, ulnar nerve and axillary nerve. MRI IMAGE FOE ELBOW The daily activities performed by the hands, grasping and the coordinated m ovements at the forearm and wrist are possible because of the complex synovial joint at the elbow which is referred to as the elbow joint (Lee et al 2003). It connects the distal end of the upper arm bone humerus to the proximal ends of the two forearm bones radius and ulna. The bones are articulated at trochlea and capitulum of humerus above and trochlear notch of ulna and the head of the radius below (Snell 2004). The three bones are articulated at four joints, together known as cubital articulations, i.e, humeroulner, humeroradial, superior radioulner and inferior radioulner (Stroyan et al 1993). The articular surfaces are covered by hyaline cartilage and the joint is enclosed by the capsule, lined by synovial membrane. The capsule serves to stabilize the joint along with the two ligaments, i.e. lateral collateral ligament and the ulnar collateral ligament. Anteriorly, the capsule attaches to the radial and coronoid fossae and the medial and lateral epicondyles of humerus above a nd to the coronoid process of ulna and annular ligament of radius head below. The posterior attachments of capsule are to the olecranon processes of humerus above and ulna below, and the annular ligament of radius head below (Snell 2004). The fan shaped lateral collateral ligament attaches lateral epicondyle of humerus to the annular ligament of radius. The triangular ulnar collateral

Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Buddhism - Research Paper Example Although its spread was initially slow, it was aided by Ashoka, who was the emperor of Maurya and the religion’s ardent supporter. He, together with his descendants, promoted the construction of religious memorials of Buddhism known as stupas, and their efforts spread the religion beyond the inflated Maurya Empire into adjacent territories. They brought Buddhism into Central Asia and Afghanistan’s regions that spoke Iranian, as well as Sri Lanka. This paper will research on the history of Buddhism and its reflection on the culture of Southern India including Arts, Epics and architecture such as temples and tombs. There is general consensus among most historians that the origins of Buddhism are in north India’s era of the fifth century BCE. Its traditions can be traced to the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, popularly known as Buddha and denoting the Enlightened or Awakened one, who was born in Nepal’s Lumbini area. Buddha observed the world’s suffering and committed himself to find its remedy. He achieved a state of enlightenment through analysis and mediation, which characterized the end of suffering caused by attachments and liberty from the sequence of rebirth upon death. Buddhism’s earliest phase, the Pre-sectarian Buddhism, had the Vinaya Pitaka as its main scriptures and Nakayas’ four principles, also known as the Agamas (Takakusu 134). The Early Buddhist Schools opine that the Buddhist council was conducted after the death of Buddha (or parinirvana), where teachings were orally transmitted. The council was primarily to recite teachings collectively so as to ensure there were no errors in the oral transmissions. The monastic code, also known as Vinaya, was recited by Upali, and Buddha’s favorite disciple and cousin Ananda recited his lessons known s the Sutras. The Early Mahayana Buddhism was formed around 100 BCE and fully established in 100 AD on the assumption that its existence was separate from the competition of the Hinayana schools. The Late Mahayana Buddhism saw the development of four key thoughts which were Madhyamaka, Tathagatagarba, Yogacara and the most recent Buddhist Logic (Takakusu 114). Hinduism greatly influenced Esoteric Buddhism. The era of Ashoka is greatly credited with the spread of the religion outside India as emissaries were deployed to other countries, especially the eastern provinces that neighbored the Seleucid Empire and further on to the Hellenistic kingdoms. That spread ensured that Buddhism interacted with other diverse ethnic groups, exposing it to various influences that came from the Greek and Persian civilization. Buddhism’s originality started fragmenting in subsequent centuries, with the most noticeable split occurring after conducting the second council which came a century after the first was held. Following debates between traditionalists and liberal groups, the liberal groups termed themselves s the Mahasangha and left, eventually e volving into North Asia’s Mahayana tradition. On their part, the traditionalists labeled themselves as Sthaviranda, which meant the way of the elders, came up with a set of complex philosophical concepts collectively known as Abhidharma, which went beyond the ones that Buddha had revealed. However, the Abhidharma soon gave rise to disagreements, encouraging more splinter groups to leave the fold, eventually developing 18 different schools that had different interpretations of

Zionism in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Zionism in the Middle East - Essay Example The essay "Zionism in the Middle East" describes the basis of the political movement Zionism and the position of this movement in today world. Zionism started as a nationalist movement supporting the re-establishment of Jews and is often perceived as an activity dominated by violence. The movement gained acceleration especially after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and the British Balfour Declaration, which guaranteed a homeland for the Jews in exchange for certain services to the British Empire. The proposed Jewish homeland was authorized and created after the end of World War II, with a precondition that it would not be created at the expense of the majority Arab population of Palestine. The subsequent policies adopted by the United Nations have been severely criticized for its anti-humanistic treatment of the Palestinian Arabs, the large-scale destruction of their houses and property, and several other incidents that clearly violated and disregarded the international law. Post the infamous holocaust, at the hands of the Nazis, the Jews gained widespread support and sympathy and were then forced to flee their homes in Eastern Europe to settle in Palestine, where they remained a minority community. Alarmed by such large-scale influx of foreign residents, the Palestinian Arabs showed resistance in lending their support to these refugees. Soon they were overcome by the power of the Zionist armed forces, which used their powers and arms to â€Å"cleanse† the land of Arabs and create a homeland for themselves.

Computer Forensics report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Computer Forensics report - Essay Example o safeguard any evidence in its original state while conducting a structured investigation by collecting, categorizing, and validating the digital data for the purpose of getting information regarding a particular past event. 1. Acquisition: This is the process where the information which is in the hard drive that is in the investigation is duplicated and the information is blocked or the writer is blocked so as to prevent the information that is on the hard drive to be altered or modified. 2. Analysis: At this stage, the information which was found in the hard drive is examined carefully. This stage involves scrutiny of the data by the experts in preparation to present evidence in the court of law. This evidence can be retrieved by using various techniques such as key word searches, whereby they will search for items such as the list of the names or account numbers and such like things. This report scrutinizes the involvement of Clyde Barrow in fraud. The investigation also covers the fact that if Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker had been communicating. In the investigation conducted it was established that Clyde Barrow was involved in the fraud, in addition it was established that the two suspects had been communicating with each other. Also we were able to establish that Clyde Barrow was involved in terrorism activities. The evidential facts are as follows: 1 Clyde Barrow was dealing in counterfeit money. This can be proven by the fact that there were images of the counterfeit money in his hard drive. The images upon investigation, were found to be illegal, i.e. they were not legal tender. 2 Clyde barrow and Bonnie Parker not only knew about each other, they had been communicating via e-mail. In our investigations, we were able to establish that the two had in fact had exchanged e-mails. For instance, we had found an e-mail from Bonnie Parker to Clyde Barrow, but then Clyde Barrow had not replied to it. Clyde Barrow could have stated that he did not know

Reflection on Peacebuilding Simulation Assignment

Reflection on Peacebuilding Simulation - Assignment Example Mike can de-escalade the conflicts between the communities by acknowledging the needs of both parties and their position. The communities have their differences, and knowing what each community expects from the other is a start. The communities need to be brought down and have a talk about the reason for their uncooperativeness. Addressing such issues might be helpful as the real cause of conflict can be noted. Events that might make the escalation be fully blown might include the rising cases of rapes, vandalism and the children of the Westerners being harassed by the Mendozan and Marenese kids (Fischer & Crowe, 2007). This might make the communities seek vengeance against one another, which will in turn cause full escalation to arise. The normal position amid the two parties is that despite the conflicts, and differences they have, the communities living in Blue River do not want to see the economy of the place deteriorate. That is the reason why they are running their businesses; for the Westerners, the shops are open frequently, compared to others that are fighting to keep their businesses alive. The westerners might not be able to accept the culture of the people who lived there initially; the Mendozans and Marenese, and this might cause more problems to arise. There is a difference in beliefs, traditions and the ways of lives of the communities in Blue River (Malek, 2012). Mike should make sure that the riots do not happen again, and this can be done by looking at the grievances of the communities. If the grievances of the communities of Blue River are not addressed, there is the possibility of another riot. Engaging with the communities is a way in which relationship between the communities can be built. The communities in Blue River cannot meet face to face because of the riot that occurred. Some problems that might arise include murders, continued vandalism and rise in rapes. There should be patrols all over the area, from

Persuasion and Public Opinion in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Persuasion and Public Opinion in Society - Essay Example that compete furiously for attention and support of the masses in shaping public opinion, which implies that public communications seek to frame issues in particular ways to influence public considerations, thereby discrediting all other competing considerations. On the other hand, public opinions regarding issues of public concern in public discourses and debates often exert a considerable level of influence on the ultimate considerations that eventually gain popularity thereby shaping public policies. However, public opinions keep shifting from time to time2, especially due to the decaying effect of communications over time, leading to the potential implication that professional public communicators should be cautious of public opinions. This paper will highlight why professional public communicators might need to be wary of public opinions by focusing on a thorough exploration of public opinion, private opinion, cultural perspectives, as well as the role of rhetoric in discourse a nd debate. Public opinion refers to the sum total of attitudes and beliefs held by individuals collectively, and though this term has shifted in meaning over the years, it has remained a focal aspect in political spheres all over the world since the 17th century. Whereas public opinion in any society could be a synthesis of views held by all, or a section of the society in question, it could also be an aggregate of multiple contrasting views from different corners of the society. Historians and political scientists alike have often conceptualized public opinion as the most fundamental tool in the practice of governance and politics claiming that it plays a significant role in shaping government policy3. Public opinion has been equated to national will, which implies that there can only be one opinion on an issue at a time; the political elite are obliged to grant the people what they will in the true spirit of democracy4, since failure to heed the voice of the people might be

African American Struggle Essay Example for Free

African American Struggle Essay The story of African immigration is unique among immigrant groups, just as the African experience in America has been exclusively essential to the course of American life. Unlike other immigrants, most Africans came to North America against their will, caught up in a cruel system of human exploitation. The treatment we endured in the United States was of a harshness hardly ever surpassed in recent history, and their role in U. S. society was contested with a rage that nearly tore the nation apart. The centuries-long battle African Americans waged for freedom, for dignity, and for full participation in American society completely transformed the nation, and shaped the world we live in today. Today, there is no aspect of life in the United States that has not been touched by the African American experience; there is no institution, custom, or daily practice that has not been influenced or remade by the efforts of African American thinkers, workers, artists, activists, and organizers. African Americans faced every form of racism, prejudice, and segregation possible. We were not allowed to eat, drink, or even sleep in the same places with white people. They had everything marked whites or colors, and that was considered segregation. If an African American were to break one of those â€Å"rules† they would suffer great pain whether mentally or physically. When segregation came to an end, blacks were still not welcome to partake in the world comfortably. We were constantly going through life feeling like a slave although freedom was granted. Affirmative Action, in the United States, was to overcome the effects of past discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two executive orders, which provided that government contractors and educational institutions receiving federal funds develop such programs. The Equal Employment Opportunities Act (1972) set up a commission to enforce plans. The establishment of racial quotas in the name of affirmative action brought charges of so-called reverse discrimination in the late 1970s. By the late 70s, however, flaws in the policy began to show up good intentions. Reverse discrimination became an issue, epitomized by the famous Bakke case in 1978. Allan Bakke, a white male, had been rejected two years in a row by a medical school that had accepted less qualified minority applicants-the school had a separate admissions policy for minorities and reserved 16 out of 100 places for minority students. The Supreme Court outlawed inflexible quota systems in affirmative action programs, which in this case had unfairly discriminated against a white applicant. In the same ruling, however, the Court upheld the legality of affirmative action.

Factors That Influence the Loyalty of a Hotel Customer

Factors That Influence the Loyalty of a Hotel Customer Kandampully (2000) defines tourism as a unique product as it is composite in nature, an amalgam of the tangible and intangible which includes everything that tourists experience. Tourism is a fast-growing industry, which now had become one of the industries that playing an important role in financial status of a country. The number of the tourist is growing from year to years. According to Inskeep(1996), Tourism is a fast expanding sector, which brings an important contribution to the foreign exchange earnings of some country nowadays. Tourism industry not only related with government, but public and non government sector also playing a rarely important role in it. The figure above shows that the country and the total international tourism receipts for the countries from year 2006 to year 2008. As we can see from the figure, the income of the tourism sector of the country is increasing from time to time. Tourism is particularly adapted to highlight the nature of the upheavals implied by the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in service activities. With roughly 11 % of the world total employment or Gross Domestic Product (GDP), tourism is often presented as the first worldwide industry. Europe is by far the first tourist continent. This economic strength of tourism, associated to a strong potential of growth, has induced deep competitive processes and significant industrial reorganization. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been changing the global tourism industry rapidly. The implications of the Internet and other growing interactive multimedia platforms for tourism promotion are far reaching and alter the structure of the industry.The tourism does not follow the usual rules of economic theory, or of any other theory; besides, many authors are used to make reference about the indiscipline of tourism (Leiper, 2000, Tribe, 1997, Tremblay, 1 999). Tourism is not just a great industry to work in, but it is also a key for a countrys economy. The tourism industry in the UK is more than 4 % of the UKs Gross Domestic Product, which is worth around  £76 billion. It employs 2.1 million people, or almost 7.5% of the working population and approximately 1 in 5 of all new jobs created will be in tourism industry. So the government for UK had invested a huge budget available for tourism promotion and quality development. Tourism industry not only affects public sector management, but also influences business of private sector and it is an income creation for a company. Tourist can be people from oversea and it can be people from this country as well, but they does not intend to stay permanently. Tourist taking time to visit the places that they dont normally see.Tourism gathers all the activities dedicated to the satisfaction of the needs of the tourists, and borrows to a multitude of other activities. Tourist products are complex and heterogeneous products, combination of elements separated in time and space (Caccomo and Solonandrasana, 2001). Tourist products also often pre-defined packages assembling interrelated products and services (transport, accommodation services, leisure services). Contrary to the traditional good sectors, tourists have to go to the resources where resources are transformed to be delivered to the customers: whatever their intrinsic qualities, the resources acquire an economic value only with the organization of the traveling of the tourists and development of the activity (Spizzichino, 1991). Tourist products and services are often experience goods, the quality or utility are not known ex ante by the consumers; a system of advices and critics is thus necessary to the formalization of choices (Gensollen, 2003). The World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020 tourist arrivals around the world would increase over 200%. Tourism has become a highly competitive business for tourism destination over the world. Competitive advantage in tourism industry it no longer depends only to what we provide to the customer, but it is now increasingly driven by science, information technology and innovation. The volatility of changes in the external and international environment also influences the performance of other business in tourism industry, such as hotel business, restaurant business and many more. An economic upswing or downturn will have an almost immediate impact on its performance. Tourism industry in Malaysia Service sector had become an important sector in Malaysia where it contributes approximately 50% of the nations real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Tourism industry had been paying enough attention by the government since the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) was established in year 1972. The Tourism Development Corporation is build to further expand the tourism through its marketing program and publicity campaigns to both locally and abroad. But the TDC only stand for 20 years and then replaced by Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board with the objective to stimulate and entice the number of visitor and tourist that visit to the country. The growth of total amount world tourism and Malaysia is one of the potential tourism destinations. It had contributed to the changes and focus in the tourism sector in the country. To enhance the tourism industry in Malaysia, the VMY campaign had been introduced. The fist Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) campaign was launch by year 1990 and tourism industry had become Malaysias third major foreign income exchange earner. But theres was some downturn in worldwide travel in year 1991 because of the Gulf War and this had causes the number of tourist had decreased moderately. The second Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) campaign was launch on year 1994. The growth rate remained far behind the first campaign despite of an increase of tourist in Malaysia about 10.7% in year 1994. The overall of the tourism industry in Malaysia showed an upward trend until the happening of the global financial crisis in year 1997. The total amount of the tourism receipts in year 1995 amounting to Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 9.2 billion had surpassed the target for the year 2000 in the National Tourism Plan which in about RM8.36 billion. Therefore, the investment approved for hotel and tourism-related projects has increased from RM8.801 billion to spur the growth of the tourism industry during the Sixth Malaysian Plan period to RM18.2 billion during the Seventh Malaysia Plan period (Economic Planning Unit, 2001). In an effort to succeed the tourism industry, Tourism Malaysia had signed a  £2 million deal with Manchester United in an effort to promote the visit Malaysia Year 2007 in September 2006. Besides that, Tourism Malaysia also signs a deal with Chelsea Football Club to promote the tourism industry in Malaysia and to succeed the VMY plan. Hospitality Industry Hospitality industry is major service sector in world economy and the industry encompasses an extensive variety of service such as food service, tourism and hotels. The hospitality industry can be divided into two parts. One is entertainment part like bar, pub, clubs; another one is accommodation such as resorts, public house, hotels, motels, inn, apartment and motels. Tourism support commercial activities such as travel agents and airline cabin staff are included in hospitality as well. Hotel Industry The early evidence of the existence of hotels and the hospitality industry has been recorded as far back as biblical times when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem during the census, which is during 4 Before Christ (B.C.) of the Julian calendar, where Joseph went to Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:1-4). People have start traveled for religion, family, needs, immigration, commerce, education, health, and recreation, since the beginning of time. As a result, hotels and inns had begun catering to the pleasure traveler in an effort to encourage visitors with the influence of the Roman Empire. It was recorded that the first inn located in America was in the year 1607. It leads the way with many other firsts in the hospitality industry (searchandgo.com). The first modern hotel (the Tremont) opened in Boston in year 1809. The first ever publicly held hotel (the City Hotel) was opened in New York in year 1792 and the first business hotel (the Buffalo Stat ler) opened in year 1908. Following that, a surge of hotels flooded America and the rest of the world with prominent names such as Radisson, Marriot and Hilton. According to the precious previous research, hotels, which also mean home away from home for the travelers and tourist, provide four types of service and product which had accommodation, foods, drinks, leisure or entertainment (Wood, 1997; Knowles, 1998). The hospitality industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the worldwide. The hospitality industry began to utilize information technology (IT) more than three decades ago (Berchiolly, 1997; Hensdill, 1998), well before many other industries. Hotels nowadays are much more than just a place to sleep, as many tourists view them as an integral part of a getaway experience. Spiffed-up budget properties, and novelty accommodations, travelers can choose a hotel that is as much a selling point as the destination itself with the recent boom of boutique hotels (Yashroy, 2008). The industry surge with expansions and new entrants in times of economic growth, with the tourism sector is growing as well. The hospitality industry was thus as early as the 1960s and 1970s in adopting operational information systems where a room management application was installed at the New York Hilton in 1963 (Sayles, 1963) and a property management system was installed at the Waikiki Sheraton in 1970. But according to Worcester (1997), he found that the main drawback of hospitality information systems was lack of accurate and timely information caused by the need to rekey information from various reports, instead of having access to integrated information managed in one consolidated database. The statement was support by Hensdill (1998), saying that the experts believe that in terms of IT the hospitality industry is about 2 years behind other industries. To survive in competitive advantage among the hotels, there are some factors that playing a fairly important role in it, such as brand image of the hotel, through the promotions and many more. Brand image plays a very important role in retaining customer loyalty and fulfill customers satisfaction in hotel industry to repurchasing the service again. According to the previous research by Zeithaml and Bitner (1996), image is also considered as a factor that can influence customers perception of the services and goods that been provide and also requires the ability to be communicated effectively and consistently to consumers. As a result, information and useful data such as the importance of maintaining a good image to retain loyal customers and also increase the corporate profit will be provide to hotel organization. As mentioned by Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001), higher customer loyalty entails a higher market share and an ability to demand relatively higher prices compared to competitors. Consequently, the hotel organization would need to focus on customer loyalty in order for hotel organizations to survive. The statement is similar with the previous research by Aaker (1997) . With reference to Aaker (1997), increased customer loyalty has many advantages such as reduce marketing costs, solicit more customers, and successfully operate trading leverage. Hence, with factors involving Zeithaml et al. (1996), loyalty factors are crucial to an organization as it is the most reliable success indicators. Besides that, a favorable and famous brand image also helps to reduce the uncertainty of the products quality and increase the probability of consumers decision to purchase the product. According to Dick and Basu (1994), loyal customers encourage positive word-of-mouth promotion and challenge their competitors strategies. Thus, in regards to Fornell and Wernerfelt (1998) and Reichheld et al. (1996), increased customer loyalty will result in generating higher corporate profits. Strong brands are important to the hospitality industry. There are several issues in developing a brand, one of them is customers trust. And it has been suggested that service quality has a direct effect on organizations profits since it is positively related with customer retention and customer loyalty (Baker and Crompton, 2000; Zeithaml and Britner, 2000). Product or individuals public perception will be evaluating through market research to stresses the importance of modern public relations. After collect the data and challenges are identified, the process of counting and solution will be presented will be presented in a campaign strategy to met goals. Though techniques may different from campaign to campaign but theres some standard tools used are implemented in forms of press releases, press kits, satellite feeds, pod casts, web casts, wire service distribution of information and internet placement. Besides the technique mention above, other technique which include entertainment product placement (television, events, celebrity), product launches, press conferences, media seminars, producing events, speechwriting, establishing partnerships and more is often required, in which the perception obtain from the public through such means will result in positive views as a goal. Most of the hotels have different facilities for their customer. According to the research by Bauer et. Al (1993), he examined that the tourist from Asian and Non-Asian countries have different demand and differences for the facilities in hotel. Asian travelers appeared to looking for more entertainment facilities, such as karaoke, while for the Non-Asian travelers, they looking for more concern in health facilities, such as gym and swimming pool. And with the references to previous research, facilities are one of the factors that influence the satisfaction of the customer. Research Question Most of the hotel customers decide on which hotel to stay based on the reason below. Many customers repurchase the service after experience it and satisfied with the service they provide. Other factors such as brand image, service quality, public relations perception, service innovation and facilities also should take into consideration before making their decision. Thus, the main research problem of this study is to examine the factors that influence the loyalty of a hotel customer in Malaysia. To accomplish the study purpose, the following questions need to be responded: What are the critical factors that influence the loyalty of the hotel customer in Malaysia? Are there any interaction between the critical factors and hotel customer in Malaysia? How does the critical factor have an affect on the loyalty of hotel customer in Malaysia? Objectives of Study The overall goal or the general objectives of this research is determined and identify the critical factors that influence the loyalty of a hotel customer in Malaysia. The following specific objectives are established to aid accomplishing the goal of this research: To determine the critical factors (brand image, service quality, public relations perception, service innovation and facilities) that influences the loyalty of the hotel customer in Malaysia. To examine interaction between the critical factors (brand image, service quality, public relations perception, service innovation and facilities) and hotel customer in Malaysia To determine the critical factor (brand image, service quality, public relations perception, service innovation and facilities) have an affect on the loyalty of hotel customer in Malaysia. Scope of Study The focus of this study is in hotel industry. This is because the tourism sector had been increase highly and playing an important role in the financial status in a country nowadays. And the number of tourist is increasing from years to years and tourism industry had becoming one of the major industries in Malaysia. The research will be done by the tourist, especially which is having a visit in Malaysia currently. This study is going to be focused on customers both male and female who patronize hotels in Malacca. The age range would be targeted on customers ranging from the age of 20 until 50. The mentioned age group was chosen as a majority as they are the ones who have a stable job and earn their own income. They are the category of customers who are able to afford to patronize hotels and hold a valuable link to the study. A questionnaire was handed out to the customers to obtain their opinions and views regarding issues that influence their loyalty and satisfaction towards certain hotel brands. The study also focuses on the perceptive viewpoint of the aforementioned age group in which, their loyalty and awareness towards the particular line of hotel brand is measured to determine the effectiveness of brand advertising and public relation media. Definition of Terms Customer Satisfaction: A customers emotional response react after the usage of a product or service (Oliver 1981). Customer satisfaction is more likely complex human process that involves the cognitive and affective processes and it also involve other psychological and physiological influence (Oh and Parks, 1997). Customer Loyalty: The loyalty business model assumes the philosophical validity of pursuit of self-interest. True customer loyalty can be defined as customers resistance to competitors offerings (Gundlach et al., 1995) and the persuasive tactics to attract new customers (Dick and Basu, 1994). Service Quality: Parasuraman et al. (1985) that views quality as the customers perception of service excellence, i.e. quality is defined by the customers impression of the service provided. Brand Image: Brand image is considered to have the ability to influence customers perceptions of the goods and services offered (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). Public Relations Perception: Cultip et al., (1985) definition of public relations perception is the management function that identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various public on whom its successes or failure depends. Structure of Project The present study is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter shows and details the intention and reason for the carrying out of this research. This chapter also consists of sub-topics such as research background, research questions, research objectives, importance of study, scope of study and definition of terms which are aimed to increase readers understanding of this whole research. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter contains more detailed information on the e-commerce and tourism industry. This chapter also detailed information about evaluation of the relationship of service quality, brand image and public relations perception on customer loyalty. The early and present day history of hotel organizations is also included in this chapter. Besides that, this chapter also contains the discussion on the various variables and its validity which will be tested in this study. The findings of previous researchers on these variables are also taken into account. Chapter 3: Methodology This chapter entails the methods and approaches that are selected for the testing of variables in this study. This chapter also consists of further discussion on sub-topics such as sources of data, questionnaire design, measurement, sampling method, sample size, data analysis techniques and unit of analysis. The findings from previous studies are also considered in the further understanding of the approaches used. Chapter 4: Data Analysis This chapter involves the incorporation of the interpretation of the collected data from respondents via quantitative method. The determination of the acceptance or rejection of the stated hypotheses will also be tested. A software called Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) will be used in this research to measure the results. Chapter 5: Discussions and Conclusions This chapter explains the outcomes of the testing of the hypotheses determined from Chapter 4: Data Analysis. The acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis is discussed as well. Additionally, the concluded results of the hypothesis testing from this study are compared with results from previous researches to identify the differences and similarities. Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction The purpose of this research is to determined and to identify the critical factors that influence the loyalty of a hotel customer in Malaysia. Due to an increase in travel expenditure, the tourism industry has also seen an evident growth over the recent years. Goeldner and Ritchie (2003) have predicted that by 2011, global travel and tourism are expected to generate US$7.0 trillion in economic activity and offer 260 million jobs. Ongoing globalization, in addition to permeable borders and easier transfers between countries has promoted a growth in tourism. They have more varieties of services to choose from In line with the abundant services offered to customers. Therefore, competition among competitors to provide the best services possible is created among the tourism organizations. Hotel Industry in Malaysia The hotel nowadays is not only just a place for travelers to sleep, but an integral part of a getaway experience. According to Yashroy(2008), travelers can choose a hotel that is a much a selling point as the destination itself, With the recent boom of boutique hotels, spiffed-up budget properties, and novelty accommodations. As tourism industry is playing an important role in financial status of a country, the hospitality industry in Malaysia too has seen an increase in contributing to the countrys GDP. The example of the Genting Group which represented Malaysia in the hotel, restaurants and leisure industry and was ranked at 1198th position in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking in 2008 (The Global 2000, Forbes) has shown to the public that the hospitality industry is beginning to emerge as one of the important service sub-sectors in Malaysia. The table above illustrates the contribution of various sectors to Malaysias GDP from year 2002 to 2007. As we can see from the table, the private service industrys GDP had increased from 44.7% in year 2002 to 46.4% in year 2007. The private service sector which includes restaurant, hotels, wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, real estates and business services sub-sectors. This shows that the services industry is one of the sectors concentrated by the government for improvement as it is gradually contributing a big portion to the countrys GDP. Besides that, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) (hotels.org.my), has recorded that there has been evident growth in the hospitality sector, with average hotel occupancy rates having risen throughout 2007, from the mid-60% range at the beginning of the year to over 70% in 3Q 2007. The hotel industry nowadays has been recognized as a global industry since the development in the industry had been growing rapidly and steadily. The different lifestyle and culture of the customer have changed over time and the facilities in the hotel such as gym, swimming pool, and restaurant are no longer counted as luxuries but an essential component of their lifestyle. Tourism is a largest global export industry and due to the increasing growth of it, the number of hotels around the world had been increased as well. This had caused the intense competition among the hotels in the marketplace. Strong competition had been faces by the hotel organization to differentiate their organization from others by improve their service and facilities, increased choices, value for their money and also superior levels of service. As a result, service quality, brand image, public relation perceptions, and innovation of information technology as well as the improvement of the facilities in the hotel are important in catering to customers needs and as a strategy to retain them. Customer Loyalty According to Dick and Basu (1994), the forces of attitude and behavior had been assumed as factors that can influence the customers loyalty. Oliver (1999, p.35) had defined customer loyalty as: a deeply held commitment to re-buy or re-patronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand set or same brand-set purchasing despite situational influences and marketing efforts having potential to cause switching behavior. Although there are many variations about the definition of customer loyalty, but seems theres to be no unanimously agreed of definition for it, according to Jacoby and Chestnut (1978); Dick and Basu (1994); Oliver, (1999). However, there are instead three popular concepts about customer loyalty as below: Loyalty as primarily an attitude that sometimes leads to a relationship with the brand, Loyalty mainly expressed in terms of revealed behavior (i.e. the pattern of past purchases); and Buying moderated by the individuals own characteristics, circumstances, and/or the purchase situation. Many authors also had stressed the existence of a relationship between customer loyalty and business performance (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Reichheld, 1993; Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1995) and Barroso Castro and Martin Armario (1999) supported the statement by stated that loyal customers is not only increase the value of the business, but it is also an evident in enable the businesses to maintain the costs lower than those related with attracting new customers. Loyal customers not only help to encourage positive word-of-mouth promotion, challenge competitors strategies (Dick and Basu, 1994), but also generate higher corporate profits (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1988; Reichheld et al., 2000). Besides that, the increasing of customer loyalty entails an increase in the market share and enables the companies to have the ability to demand relatively higher prices for their products or services than their competitors (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). This statement is supported by Aaker (1997) by stating that the company with higher customer loyalty can help the companies lower their marketing costs while seek more customers as well as successfully operate trading leverage in the same time. De Ruyter et al. (1998) stated that early customer loyalty studies also solely focused on the behavioral aspect but later shifted to an attitudinal approach. It was added that the latter approach can be studied by means of dimensions such as word of mouth, complaining behavior and purchase intention. There has also been some disagreement between researchers regarding to the attitudinal aspect of loyalty. The conflict focused on the argument was that the needed to be strong attitudinal commitment to a brand in order for true loyalty to exist (Day, 1969; Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978; Foxall and Goldsmith, 1994; Mellens et al., 1996; Reichheld, 1996). Dick and Basu (1994) have explained that these attitudes is measured on maybe by questioning people on how much they like a brand, how much of confidence they have commitment to it, will they recommend it to others, and having positive beliefs and feeling about it, as in comparison to other competing brands. Other than that, the five-item scale which was adapted by Zeithaml et al. (1996) had been used to measure as customer loyalty by earlier researches. However, Bernà © (1997) has mentioned that loyalty was measured indirectly by using an attitude scale in another research. He also pointed out that it is the most generally used system of measurement as a result of the complexity that is involved in attaining sequential information about repurchase intentions. In line with this, a seven-point, Likert scale was used in that particular research to measure customer loyalty. Service Quality Service quality is defined from the marketing fields which give the values to human interaction between a business and its customers. Service is important in business because services not only help the company to remain its customers loyalty, but also to enhance the firms image in the marketplace. In tourism sector, service quality is an important aspect that customers will look into before they decided to engage in purchasing the service. Therefore, those tourism organizations such as hotel organizations face an intense and fierce competition from their competitors to provide the best service and product to their customers. The term service has been defined in several ways. Service had been defined by Grà ¶nroos (2002, p.58) as: A service is an activity or a series of activities of a more or less intangible nature that normally, but not necessarily, takes place in the interaction between the customer and service employees and/or physical resources or foods and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems. A definition also adopted by Zeithaml and Britner (1996), which stated by Quinn et al. (1987) whom defined services as: all economic activities whose output is not a physical product or construction, is generally consumed at the time of it is produced, and provides added value in forms (such as convenience, amusement, timeliness, comfort or health) that are essentially intangible concerns of its first purchaser. On the other hand, Horovitz (1986) had identified the three distinctive characteristics of service quality: the consumer will perceive all limitations in quality because most of the services are consumed at the same time as they are produced; a service is made up of a set of benefits, but it is predominantly an experience; and a fundamental aspect of service quality is derived from the quality of relationship between the service provider and the consumer. Parasuraman et al. (1988) defined service quality as a global judgment or attitude relating to the overall excellence or superiority of the service. Although there are many definitions about service quality, but theres one common definition that accepted by most researchers is the traditional notion provided by Parasuraman et al. (1985). He stated that views quality as the customers perception of service excellence, as quality is defined by the customers impression of the service provided. However, Bergman and Klefsjà ¶ (2003) stated service quality as the quality is often related with satisfied or preferably delighted customers. Service quality is important in retaining customer loyalty. Heskett et al. (1994) considered customer loyalty as behavior for increasing the profits and growth of a business. Quality is also the general impression of the relative inferiority or superiority of the organization and its services, according to Bitner and Hubbert (1994). Moreover, when looked at from a tourism organizations perspective, the functional aspects of services for example, is how they are offered, and has a much higher probability in influencing customers emotional feelings, than the technical aspects, for example, what is offered. Besides this, service literature also claims that the major issue of customer satisfaction is perceived quality (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Bitner, 1990; Carman, 1990). However, there are also some authors that giving the opposite relationship, stated that perceived quality is considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Althou

People and Paperless Future for Organisations -- globalisation, social

Technology plays a major role in today’s organisations and offices, and has contributed positively to productivity and efficiency of businesses. Social media and globalisation may also have lead to an easier way of communication cross-culturally and making business with individuals and companies internationally. However, there is a concern that technology has gone so far that organisations and offices might become both paper and people less in the future. This paper will discuss and evaluate if there is a possibility for offices and organisations to be completely people and paper less in the future. The first part will define and explain the terms; globalisation, social media, office and organisation, the second will evaluate with the use organisational examples of which technology has changed the ways of interaction and services. The final part will include a conclusion and recommendations for the future. Globalisation can be defined as the following; â€Å"The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale† Globalisation is possible due to technological advances as the internet, smartphones, and computers and further back in time by improved vehicles and the ability to travel far distances, making the world smaller. However, part of globalisation is also traveling and social interaction amongst people’s cultures etc. One definition of social media can be websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. (Press, 2014) Social media has indeed simplified the interaction between people socially it is now easier to gain, have and further maintain contact with people across the world and condu... ...ielfisher/2012/05/02/poor-students-are-the-real-victims-of-college-discrimination/ Nogales, A. (2010, October 13). Facebook versus face-to-face. Retrieved March 27th, 2014, from Psychology: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/family-secrets/201010/facebook-versus-face-face Podmoroff, D. (2014). Retrieved March 26th, 2014, from Mind Tools- essential skills for an excellent career : http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/Cross-Cultural-communication.htm Press, O. U. (2014). Retrieved March 20th, 2014, from Oxford Dictionaries- Language Matters: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/organization street, Q. (2014). Retrieved March 27th , 2014, from Webopedia: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/paperless_office.html University, P. (2012). Retrieved March 20th, 2014, from The Free Dictionary By Farlex : http://www.thefreedictionary.com/organisation

Analysis of the Jurors in 12 Angry Men :: 12 Angry Men, Reginald Rose

In all criminal cases presented in the courts of the United States, a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The law requires the jury to release the defendant unless it is fully convinced of the defendant's guilt. Many times it may be difficult for a jury to come to such a significant conclusion. This is clearly evident in the movie 12 Angry Men. At first, each juror is convinced of his verdict except one. Yet of those who are convinced that the boy on trial is guilty, all change their vote except one. A precise example of this would be a comparison between Juror 3 and Juror 6. Both jurors have heard the same case and have studied the same evidence. Yet of the two, Juror 3 does not understand why anyone would consider the defendant not guilty. By taking a closer look at this character one may be able to understand why he seems to have no compassion towards the young boy. At first, Juror 3 appears to be a successful businessman who owns a messenger service. Yet as time goes on, one may see him as a sour and unhappy man. He wants to base the case solely on the evidence presented at the trial. Throughout the meeting in the jury room, Juror 3 disregards all other evidence brought up by Juror 8 and the others. He says that the evidence revealed may not be accurate or true. Therefore, it should not be taken into consideration. As time goes on he becomes more and more passionate and seems to be somehow personally involved with the case. At one point, he tells the other jurors about an argument between him and his son. Juror 3 and his son had an argument which made his son run away. When his son returned to apologize, Juror 3 hit him for leaving the first time thus leading him to run away once more. He has not seen his son in two years and this has left him somewhat bitter inside. His anger toward his supposed ungrateful son is projected toward the young man on trial. Juror 3 has no concern for the life of the defendant. He makes it clear that he would have been an executioner and would have pulled the switch on the boy himself. His personal troubles have imposed on his ability to come to a verdict.

Strategic Plan :: essays research papers

Partnerships Because public and private interests in downtown are so inextricably entwined, it is essential that all interested parties work cooperatively to identify and achieve shared objectives. Both public and private investments shape the character of the downtown environment – in terms of how it looks and how it functions. Only if these investments are coordinated can maximum benefits be obtained. When the Center City Commission initiated a strategic plan in 1999, it was responding to the recognized need for a collaborative planning process that both articulated long-range directions for Downtown Memphis and identified short-range action steps to help reach those goals. Two years later, the results of that effort are impressive. In addition to millions of dollars in private and public investment for capital projects, Downtown Memphis has managed to retain†¦ Also significant is the steady improvement in public perceptions of Downtown as measured in the survey conducted by the Center City Commission. While the progress has been considerable, challenges remain, and new trends and influences pose both opportunities and threats to continued prosperity for Downtown Memphis. In light of this, the 2002 Strategic Plan Update planning process was initiated for the purpose of re-examining the issues and priorities established in 1999 Strategic Plan and developing an action plan for the next five to seven years. The process of preparing the Revised Strategic Plan and fulfilling the aforementioned goals was heavily staff driven; but a number of groups were involved in the refinement of the work product and the adoption of the recommendations. Public Meetings throughout the City were held to give downtown stakeholders (property owners, business owners, developers, residents) the opportunity to share their visions and to review the proposed goals of the Center City Commission. In addition to the input from the public meetings, many interested citizens wrote letters to the Center City Commission and completed a survey that was placed on our website, www.downtownmemphis.com. Survey results---- The long-term goals for the development of the Central Business Improvement District reflect the public’s value of some very basic items, such as safety, transportation, usability, and appearance. The goals also reinforce the public’s appreciation of several major anchors within Downtown – the Riverfront, the Main Street Mall, center city neighborhoods, and cultural attractions—that make Memphis unique. A Thriving Central Business District Background on Economic Conditions†¦.(information off of our Fact Sheets) Housing Office Retail Quality of Life Tourism Sustaining Main Street Mall The single most important element in any downtown is its â€Å"Main Street,† the street where retail activity should be concentrated.

Career Goals Paper Essay

Understanding family behavior and the dynamics of the working relationship would be keys in this field. Also, helping the less fortunate and guiding them through tough times would make a huge impact in today’s society. Plus, making the world better for children, and making sure children are fed and educated would be wonderful. Figure 1. 1 Key factors in my scores (refer to figure 1. ) to multiple pathways of learning include the following that will prove helpful in my studies at University of Phoenix: 1. Bodily Kinesthetic: I scored a 20 on this scale. Being able to use my hands when learning will be most beneficial for me throughout my studies. For instance, writing down key terms and walking around when reading my textbook would be my ideal study situation. Moving fingers under words while reading will assist me in comprehending the material. Also, learning by doing would also be preferable in this type of intelligence. Applying the concepts learned to real life situations would make learning more enjoyable for me. 2. Verbal-Linguistic: Scoring a 19 on this scale references my ability to learn through communication through language (listening, reading, writing, and speaking). Reading text and limiting highlighting would create an active learning environment when studying. Rewriting notes will help me remember what is being learned throughout the course. Also, being able to remember terms easily will help me gain a larger vocabulary of psychological terms. Discussing topics that interest me, such as abnormal psychology, will also play a huge part in my learning the discipline. 3. Intrapersonal: This was the highest scoring intelligence being a 21. Having a quiet place to study and think with no interruptions is a beneficial learning environment for me. This tells me that I prefer to think about issues before discussing them. Being interested in self improvement is a factor in this scale; improving me is my number one goal. 4. Interpersonal: My score for this intelligence was a 19. Knowing when enough is enough, and to step away from the situation is essential. * Attitude: Keeping a positive attitude never hurts anyone. Being confident in my ability to earn this degree will keep me on track. * Staying Motivated: Never lose sight of my main motivators. Knowing that a good career is possible after obtaining my degree keeps me focused. * Prioritizing: Never wait till the last minute to finish a project/assignment. Keeping on track with my assignments is essential for my success. Working on projects a little bit each day reduces stress. Procrastination is the enemy! Going back to school later in life is a huge challenge; however, I feel that the dividends will pay off in the long run. My ultimate goal is to be a lifelong learner. When your brain rests; it rusts. Learning does not have to stop after obtaining a degree; learning goes on throughout your entire life span. Becoming a college professor is my ultimate goal; giving back the gift of knowledge and making an influence is my dream. Actually, this paper taught me a very important lesson: You get out of education what you put into it. Never take a good education for granted and never stop learning.

Capital One Bank Evaluation

Bank Performance Evaluation Project Capital One Bank Capital One Financial Corporation’s headquarters is in McLean, Virginia and in the Federal Reserve district five, The Federal Reserve of Richmond, Virginia. It is number 89 in peer group one with their consolidated assets of over $300 million. Peer group one banks are institutions that have equal to or greater than $10 million in consolidated assets. Capital One Bank specializes in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, while providing banking and savings products.They are a Fortune 500 company and have paved the way for mass credit card marketing in the 1990’s. Since its inception in 1988, Capital One has acquired numerous smaller banks and has kept growing to become one of the most well know bank holding companies in the United States. Unfortunately in November 2008, Capital One Bank suffered devastating losses and received $3. 5 billion bail-out funds from the Federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. But by mid 2009, Capital One Bank had bought back over 3. 5 million of their preferred stock shares from the United States Treasury.Although Capital One Bank has experienced some economic hardships in the recent past, it seems to be holding steady after the wake of the 2008 financial system meltdown. If we take a close look at this bank’s performance report, we can find some interesting information about their biggest asset components. For Capital One’s assets their percentage for loans to individuals is relatively high, 36. 77 percent compared to that of the peer group average of 4. 98 percent. This is indicative of a company that produces a large number of loans to individuals in the form of real estate, auto, and credit cards.This also indicates that this bank is interested in making profits from interest on loans. Real estate loans for this company are high with 22. 26 percent compared to the peer group average of 32. 89 percent. Although this bank dabbles in commercial bank ing, it keeps its commercial and industrial loans to a minimum in comparison to its other peer one counterparts. There are a few areas where Capital one shows virtually no interest such as; agricultural loans, investments in mutual funds and equity securities, and fed funds sold and reverse repos which are purchased under an agreement to resell.Federal funds sold are used for overnight funds that â€Å"keep balances on deposits at Federal Reserve Banks for purposes of clearing daily checks and deposits†(Olsen Research Associates). A reason Capital One Bank does not use this practice may be because it does not want to risk losing assets in the event that the borrowing bank defaults. Because Fed Funds Contracts are not secured they are always subject to loss if the borrowing bank defaults (Olsen Research Associates). Capital One Bank has relatively average percentages of debt securities of less than or more than one year.A debt security can be bought or sold between two parties , has defined amounts, rates, and maturities. As a whole, debt securities are relatively safer than equity securities because they have a principal amount that is returned to the lender at a specified maturity date. Moving on to the liquidity and funding of Capital One Bank, the core deposits are above those of other peer banks at 64. 84 percent compared to 55. 17 percent. Core deposits are comprised of demand deposits, deposit accounts that are subject to negotiable orders of withdrawal or automatic transfer from the savings accounts.This section also includes time deposits of less than $100,000, money market deposit accounts, other savings accounts, and other non-interest bearing deposit balances. Banks count on core deposits to fund loans while offering advantages â€Å"such as predictable costs and a measurement of the degree of customer loyalty† (Core Deposits). Core deposits are less vulnerable to short-term changes in the interest rates than CD’s or money market accounts (Core Deposits). The net loans and leases percentages of Capital One Bank are high as well compared to their competing banks.This is due to the high number of loans this bank awards to individuals in the form of mortgages, car loans, personal loans, and credit cards. Credit card loans blow the competition out of the water with an extremely high 40. 9 percent compared to peer group one’s average of 2. 41 percent. The liquid assets of Capital One are slightly lower in comparison to their peers by about 10 percentage point; this is another indicator that this bank produces numerous loans and has its assets â€Å"tied† up.Turning the attention to the relative income statement and marginal analysis portion of the report will describe the key components of earnings relative to average assets, margin analysis ratios, the yields or returns of specific assets, and the cost of funds. The report shows that Capital One’s main source of income is interest income in cluding; high interest income equaling a higher net interest income. Adjusted operating income, which is net interest income plus non-interest income, for Capital One Bank is 7. 45 percent to the peer group average of 4. 74.This is almost twice the amount of income from interest over its competitors. After accounting for operating expenses and realized gains and losses, the company has a pretax net income of 1. 82 percent and a net operating income of 1. 38 percent. The company’s interest expenses are insignificantly higher than those of its peers. Capital One has made provisions for loan and lease losses which are monies set aside for default loans. These provisions are greater than the competitors by 1. 25 percent and represent the bank’s desire to survive if loans default.Looking at the margin analysis portion of this section, you can note that the net interest income to average earning assets is twice as high as its competitors in peer group one at 6. 49 percent. I t is safe to say that Capital One Bank receives the majority of its income from interest. â€Å"Capitalization is the long-term funding that allows a business firm to operate. It is the investment that the business owner and any other investors make in the firm. It is a financial term which refers to the sum of the stockholder's equity of the firm and the firm's long-term debt, such as bonds or mortgages† (Peavler).Capitalization is also a measurement of business value based on the share price and number of shares outstanding. This is generally the market’s representation of the company’s value (Ycharts). For Capital One Bank, there capitalization is relatively similar to its counterparts. Equity capital to total asset ratio for Capital one is 13. 13 percent while the average for peer group one is 11. 30 and does not represent a substantial difference. Although Capital One Financial has seen its ups and downs over the past few years, it reports their â€Å"thir d quarter net income jumped 47 percent versus the prior year quarter†.This increase in profits is credited to the acquisition of ING Direct a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance, and asset management services, and HSBC’s United States card business (Associated Press). Net income increased $357 million from this time last year and price per share went from $1. 77 to $2. 01, a 24 cent increase (Associated Press). Revenues also soared 39 percent to $5. 78 billion. Capital One Financial reports that it expects consumer demand to slow down soon, but they are prepared for what the future holds. ————————————————-Top of FormDec 10, 2012 12:17 p. m. ET| COF (Common Stock) | Exchange:NYSE (US Dollar)| Last Trade| $57. 77| Change| + 0. 70| | | | % Change| 1. 23%| | Volume| 1,167,465| Intraday High| $57. 80| | Open| $56. 91| Intraday Low| $56 . 78| | Minimum 20 minute delay Bottom of Form| | (Capital One: Stock Quote and Chart) Works Cited Associated Press. â€Å"News Summary:Capital One Posts Higher 3Q Profit. † Bloomberg Businessweek News. 18 2012: n. page. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"Capital One Financial Corporation Market Cap. Ycharts. N. p. , 06 2012. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Core Deposits. † Investopedia US. United States: 2012.