Summary of the book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of the book - Essay Example Wes Moore the author is a very successful man who managed to escape his poor background and childhood problems to become a well-respected person and even an author. He was born in a poor Baltimore neighborhood and got in trouble several times with law enforcement and then he was sent to a military academy where he turned his life around and he eventually went on to Oxford to become a successful person. While he was there he read an article in a newspaper about a man called Wes Moore who waas from the same neighborhood as him. This other Wes Moore referred to by the title was not as lucky as the author. His life has ended badly, and he is serving a life prison term for murder. He could have had similar chances in his life to become a good person but because of his circumstance he instead became a drug dealer and was engaged in crime early on. He did not have enough support from the community to turn his life around, and eventually shoots a police officer and is found guilty of the murder, ending up in prison. The way these two stories are told is in different sections through the book, which sort of suggests that each of the stories could have just as well happened to the other Wes Moore instead of the one it did happen to. The author thinks that there is not much of a difference between their lives, really, and even though both of them had slightly different circumstances in life he thinks that they are both basically different sides of what will happen to most African-American young men who grow up in an urban environment where the community is poor and dangerous. Ultimately the book is about what Tavis Smiley talks about in the end of it, that what makes people successful is the help they receive from other people even if it is just small kindnesses and attention. This is shown throughout he book by the differences in Wes Moore the authors fortunate circumstances and Wes Moore the

Thomson TUI Offline e-Tourism Strategy Case Study

Thomson TUI Offline e-Tourism Strategy - Case Study Example Hotelopia has made its presence prominent enough in the travel industry, which has resulted in its being the subject of news articles as well, which offer free publicity for itself. An example is the article that appeared on 10th September in newspapers (Dromore Leader) A favourable newspaper article about a business/company has the kind of credibility, which even the best crafted advertisement cannot have, since the reader views the article as written by an impartial observer, while the ad is a case of blowing one's own trumpet. This, notwithstanding the reality that newspaper articles on companies often are the result of a well-orchestrated publicity plan done by it, with much of the content of such an article being provided by the business concern itself to the writer. LateRooms provide customers with last minute accommodation, a facility which is not easily available offline, as a real-time offline facility covering destinations across the world is a physical impossibility. LateRooms charge the hotels a commission and not the customer. Besides, with last minute bookings, hotels are glad to provide accommodation below rack rates in order to maximise capacity utilisation, and minimise losses on account of rooms not hired out. LateRooms has been sufficiently prominent in the field, having won the award of the Hitwise UK Annual Online Performance in the Travel-Destination and Accommodation category (LateRooms Website) Winning an award is a strategy to automatically generate more business. LateRooms, by wresting the award from Lastminute.com this year, has enhanced its credibility. This is a strategy similar to the one employed by Hotelopia-getting a third party to certify the business quality, which beats putting an ad through the print media/ hoardings or online. Of course, it may be argued that a company cannot with certainty strategise to ensure winning an award. But we may reasonably assume that the company certainly can make a concerted attempt to win one. In the B2B sector, the divisions are split geographically into two, Hotelbeds and Portfoloio Incoming. Hotelbeds offers accommodation services on-line and destination services off-line to tour operators and travel agents. It has the brands Meetings, Events, Incentives and Conferences (MICE) in Asia, and Intercruises (the largest world provider of goods handling services to cruise liners). The Portfolio Incoming division "operates through a network of destination agencies worldwide", which includes separate brands for some countries-e.g. for Spain and for Greece (p 16- Results-Sept 2008) The strategies used by Thomson in its e-tourism business are world-wide coverage, excellent performance-reflected in awards won, and publicity-both self-generated and through liaising with the print media to have articles published on it. All this has resulted in enhanced returns to the company from e-tourism (p 16- Results-Sept 2008)Works Cited Dromore Leader dt. 10th Sept 2008, retrieved 10th Dec. 2008,

Globalization: The Homogenization Of Cultures

Globalization: The Homogenization Of Cultures The increased integration of humanity beyond the national borders is compressing the world into an interdependent global village. Today, many equate the process of globalization with the promotion of interests of the West, whose hegemony is propagated through the idea of liberalism. As a result of the Western superior power and cultural imperialism, the so-called Third World countries feel compelled to admit their superiority and subsequently to acculturate themselves, accepting the Western way of life as a norm. The greatest consequence of this is homogenization of cultures and the loss of identity in the process of implementing Western ideologies. Today, the world we live in is taking part in the process of an increased integration through the movement of people and goods. The growing development of communication makes the unification of the entire globe seem as something completely natural. Globalization of our societies and every day lives à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ However, the question that is being imposed upon us is whether this compression of the world into one global society means that the world is being enriched and unified, or will it be torn apart by nations self-interest conflicts in the battle for preservation of their identities? The wide variety and diversity of our cultures and identities has always been, without a doubt, a part of who we are. Societies and cultures learn how to grow and prosper through overlapping and borrowing from each other. Some would argue that cultures should not be perceived as individual, but that they need to be examined in a more general way, since they constantly change and evolve. Cultures stopped being related to a mere geographical area and its society; nowadays, they are linked to the contemporary time that they exist in, as well as to the entire globe. Thanks to the process of globalization, today we have unique emerging cultures, such as Internet culture, artists culture, culture of the young people from around the world and others that are becoming a part of a universal set of values and ideas, turning the world into one global culture. However, while this unification of cultures has its benefits, at the same time it brings along the risk of an intercultural and identity-related conflict. For some people, their culture is everything that makes them who they are, it is an essential part of their identity. For example, in a case of a possible dispute between cultures that have confronting views and prejudice against each other, their people will hold on strongly to their national identity and culture, because they feel intimately related to it and see it as their protection. In an effort to preserve ones culture, language or religion, people very often become involved in conflicts. Most importantly, these conflicts becomes aggravated by the consuming influence of biased media Furthermore, as a result of negative stereotypes, different cultures may view each other as alien and threatening and can lead to a clash of civilizations, as Huntington refers to it.FOOTNOTE NEEDED Additionally, an increased interaction between cultures can lead to the creation of a unified culture imposed by the more influencing and dominating one. Therefore, this would lead to the homogenization of the world. This brings around cultural imperialism as an inherent part, as well as a product of the overall process of imperialism, where one country with dominant economy, culture and policy has control over others. This causes the local cultures, especially those in the so-called Third World countries, to be exploited and challenged by the dominant, most often Western values. Unsurprisingly, this comes as an effect of many centuries during which West had the chance to establish its dominance in the world. Cultural imperialism occurs when one culture is presented in such a manner that is seems undeveloped and non-modern when compared to another. Accordingly, the dominant cultures standards and norms become gradually accepted by the locals who believe in its superiority. This is why some intellectuals equate globalization with the Western imperialism; they argue that the West is imposing its ideas of liberalism onto the rest of the world through the process of globalization and therefore ensuring and reaffirming its hegemony. Instead of physically colonizing the rest of the world, the West has chosen more subtle means of propagating its ideas. The spread of Western, namely American goods around the world is not a simple coincidence- it is a part of the process of cultural imperialism. In addition, instead of being a simple trend of consumerism of American products, cultural imperialism implies the implementation of American ideas such as freedom of speech and democracy. As a result, this process leads to the steady disperse of unique cultures across the globe as t hey succumb to the influence of the more powerful American culture. So, whats in it for the West and America and whats their real motive? Many people believe that the main reason is the protection of the unlimited access to foreign markets, along with an actual and concrete belief in the American superiority by their citizens. However, it is simple to convince the Americans of their own superiority, but when convincing foreign cultures, they have to be more assertive and creative. Thus, marketing, along with advertising, plays an extremely important role in the process of Americanization. Its importance lies in the fact that it has the ability to persuade others in the modernity and the advanced stage of development of those American goods. Consequently, they begin to dominate local markets, doing no good to the local economy; hence, the local production industry weakens and gives way to the American economic interests. Another way of influencing local cultures and identities is through the vehicle of Internet. It plays a huge role in propagating the American culture, and enables it to be extremely exposed to the entire globe. However, the users of Internet that wish not to be exposed to the influence of American propagating contents can easily avoid it, since they are the active players in the seek of information online. Nevertheless, those who choose to be exposed to it, Internet can severely increase it. Governments are aware of this, and some of them, like the Chinese and Cuban, have restricted their citizens from the free flow of information, in order to prevent the Western influence. Oxymoronically, by restricting them, their governments are reassuring the fact that their citizens will not be the providers, but mere recipients of the Internet information flow. On the other hand, there is a substantial number of scholars who believe that the process of Americanizing the world is, as a matter of fact, a good thing for the entire world. They argue that through globalization, people become aware of the importance of strengthening their identity so they work on its preservation. In contrast to that, cultural imperialism can also lead to the establishment of a homogenized global identity that would help bring the world together. Accordingly, it would have a positive effect, hence the world will be more secure and stable through the elimination of the diverse and conflicting cultures. The Americans are already on the way to establish a single world society with minimum or no cultural restraints. However, the question being imposed on us is whether the uncertain assurance of a world peace is enough to justify the gradual disappearance of the numerous local cultures. Even though indigenous cultures are aware of the growing impact of American cultur al imperialism, there is not much they can do to stop it, since they are not strong enough to compete. They could try to limit the access to information, but that would contradict with the basic human rights which guarantee that everyone is able to attain free and unlimited knowledge and information through any means of media. Theoretically speaking, every nation, religion, race and ethnic group are equal, as long as they fulfill the needs of their people. Unfortunately, having superior and inferior, dominant and subordinate cultures, equality among them seem to be impossible. However, domination is nothing new- it has always existed throughout the history of the world, especially during colonization when Western powers believed they need to civilize the indigenous nations, while they were in fact exploiting them. The need for a cultural dialogue : When it comes to globalization and the issue of cultural imperialism, there seem to be two opposing views: some believe that the interaction and unification of cultures will lead to a clash of civilizations, while others claim it will bring around the greatly needed dialogue and cooperation. The global culture of today is, without a doubt, being shaped by the West. Nevertheless, it can and must be challenged by those that are being influenced by it, who should not just adopt their norms, but adapt and shape them so they fit the framework of their own culture and values. In addition, the fact that it is not just one culture influencing the other should not be overlooked; it is actually a process of mutual interaction and impact. Despite the fact that it is one of the modern worlds greatest challenges, intercultural dialogue is probably the best solution to counter cultural conflicts and crisis. Instead of simply succumbing to the influence, or doing the opposite- refraining and prohibiting the goods, people and world organizations should try appealing to the American governments to pass laws to restrain their companies from selling goods that endanger the survival of local market, and those companies should be prohibited from doing business. America must be fair and admit that perhaps what is good for its own economy, might not be good for the rest of the world and that the rights of people should be put before the need to make profit.

Herman Melville: A Biography And Analysis Essays -- essays research pa

Herman Melville: A Biography And Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout American history, very few authors have earned the right to be called â€Å"great.† Herman Melville is one of these few. His novels and poems have been enjoyed world wide for over a century, and he has earned his reputation as one of the finest American writers of all time. A man of towering talent, with intellectual and artistic brilliance, and a mind of deep insight into human motives and behavior, it is certainly a disgrace that his true greatness was not recognized until nearly a generation after his death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in the city of New York on August 1, 1819, Melville was the third child and second son of Allan Melvill(it wasn't until Allan's death in 1832 that the â€Å"e† at the end of Melville was added, in order to make a more obvious connection with the Scottish Melville clan), a wholesale merchant and importer then living in comfortable economic circumstances, and of Maria Gansevoort Melvill, only daughter of â€Å"the richest man in Albany,† the respected and wealthy General Peter Gansevoort, hero of the defense of Fort Stanwix during the American Revolution. In total, Allan and Maria had eight children. On his father' s side, his ancestry, though not so prosperous as on his mother's, was equally distinguished. Major Thomas Melvill, his grandfather, was one of the â€Å"Indians† in the Boston Tea Party during the events leading to the war and who had then served his country creditably throughout the hostilities. The Melvill family kept on their mantelpiece a bottle of tea drained out of Major Melvill's clothes after the Tea Party as a momento of this occasion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Herman attended the New York Male High School from about the age of seven until 1830. By that time, Allan Melvill's business had begun to fail, due to his credit being overextended. After futile attempts to re-establish himself, he eventually found it necessary to accept the management of a New York fur company back in Albany. The family moved there in the autumn of 1830, and during that time Herman attended, along with his brothers Gansevoort and Allan, the Albany Academy. Just as luck seemed to again be favoring the Melvills, Allan's business affairs again suffered a setback. Excessive worry and overwork finally took their toll upon his health. By January, 1832, he was b... ...an left behind in a tin box after his death. It was here Billy Bud was first discovered and later published, which introduced a whole new generation to Melville's work. Soon critics, students, and the general public were reading his novels and stories, and greeting some of them as masterpieces. In 1927, American novelist William Faulkner declared that Moby Dick was the book he most wished he had written.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowing the quality of his work, one can not help but feel sympathetic to Melville's passing. He died on September 28, 1891 in his home in New York City, still unknown by the general public. If any writer deserved to be recognized and praised during their lives, Melville is that writer. Although unfortunate that his passing went almost unnoticed by the public, he is now and justly so, an immortal in the annals of American literature, and his work will be looked upon with both admiration and envy for many years to come. APPENDICES Any appendices should appear after the text of your term paper. BIBLIOGRAPHY Use the Bibliography TaskWizard to help you quickly and easily create a bibliography for your paper. Pick the same style as your footnote style.

Justin Timberlake

Since Justine Randall Timberline he has been called a natural entertainer, but the beginning of his legacy started off on born January 31, 1981, born to Randall Timberline and Lynn Harmless, in Memphis, Tennessee. His grandfather being a Baptist minister, Timberline automatically grew up in the church where he started singing for the Lord. Also, Timberland's mother was the manager of the all-girl group Nonsense, where he also received some of his musical background.Justine parents divorced when he was 5 years old, and both got remarried years later, which caused IM to have two half-brothers from his father's second marriage. Since then Justine has always remained close with his mother, and she now owns an entertainment company called Justine Entertainment. Everyone that surrounded Timberline admired him when he sang from an early age. They called him a â€Å"natural born† entertainer. When Timberline turned 10 years old, he was already singing at the Grand Ole Pry In Nashville , Tennessee.In 1993, he gained a huge opportunity to start performing on the Mackey Mouse club when he was only 12 years old with other moon known people such as Bribery Spears, Christina Agiler, and J Chases. After the show came to an end in 1995, he started an all-male singing group NCSC, (that Justine mother came up with) along with Lance Bass, J Chases, Joey Fatten, and Chris Kirkpatrick. They released their first single in 1996 and after their first song, it seemed like the group was unstoppable. In 2000, they released the most-selling album called â€Å"No Strings Attached†, and created an amazing name for themselves.In 2002, after NYSE completed their tours for their new album, they wanted to take a reek Timberline wanted to create a bigger reputation for himself, so after a few months of decision making he made the tough choice to pursue a solo career. After Timberline went solo, he attempted to drop the boy band look, and managed a more mature look. He expressed this in the way he dressed, and the lyrics of his songs. After 5 months, Timberline finally released his first album, and a couple of months later he performed solo for the first time at the 2002 MET Awards. With every outbreak, every superstar has an incident, famous and infamous.At the end of Justine Timberland's and Janet Jackson's amazing Superpowers performance, Timberline unintentionally pulled off Jackson's black leather outfit, and her breast was exposed. In order to attend the Grammy's, Timberline and Jackson had to make a public apology, Jackson refused to, but Timberline made an apology and won 2 Grammas that night. After that speechless incident, Timberline decided to put the music career on hold, and go into acting. He started that profession off by being the first celebrity on Gaston Sketcher's show Punk's, and doing a few skits on Saturday Night Live.After a ewe years of acting, Timberline got back In contact with his passion for singing. In 2006, he released a new album Futures/Loveliness, which made Its way up #1 on the Billboards charts within a few days. Timberland's profession has remained very vibrant. In the last 5 years, he has been In a varies of films, such as The Open Road, The Social Network, and Friends With Benefits. In the last year he has released an album titled 20/20 The Experience, and has also on tour promoting his album. He also got married to actress Jessica Bible. In 2013, Timberline shocked America when doe Music Awards.

Defining Literature: Frankenstein vs. Young Goodman Brown

The entire semester defining what Literature is has being the course’s quest. Literature is always changing; its definition has developed and changed from time to time. To find an exact definition of what is literature, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There have been several attempts to decipher this puzzle, in â€Å"What Is an Author† written by Michael Foucault, he emphasizes on the idea that an author exists only as a function of a written work. The author's name holds considerable power and serves as an anchor for interpreting a text. And â€Å"On the Sublime† written by Longinus, the writer states that the sublime implies that man can, in emotions and in language, transcend the limits of the human condition. This research paper consists in identifying the elements of literature by comparing two major pieces of work. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley warns that with the advent of science, natural questioning is not only futile, but dangerous. In attempting to discover the mysteries of life, Frankenstein assumes that he can act as God. He disrupts the natural order, and chaos ensues. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, Hawthorne explores the nature of imagination and reality in this mysterious story by allowing the reader to actively question the reality of the night's events. He combines a multitude of elements into it creating a sense of mystery. The short story follows Goodman Brown’s journey resulting in his loss of faith. Literature allows the reader to feel, experience, and inhabit a character or place. It goes beyond the scope of everyday fiction, reaches new insights and allows the writer to reason with the audience. In Frankenstein the monster exemplifies the sublime written by Longinus. Shelley's descriptions of the monster and his actions coincide with Longinus’s definitions and his categories of obscurity, power, terror, difficulty and vastness, each of which facilitate sublime experiences: â€Å"the sources of all the good in us are also the sources of all the bad† (Longinus, 51). Throughout the story the monster attempts to make connections with human beings. During his encounter with the old man, De Lacey, the monster hopes that his disturbing appearance will not be an obstacle to his desire to talk to the old blind man. Without his vision, De Lacey cannot perceive the monster through any means beyond conversation and that works in the monster's favor. De Lacey calls the monster: â€Å"my best and only benefactor† (Shelley, 137), clearly showing that blindness creates the distance between the terrible monster and the man. De Lacey delights in his discourse with the monster, and continues to until the others returned and saw the monster's physical appearance, showing disgust and horror towards him. The monster instills great terror in the human character he encounters, but at the same time evokes feelings of astonishment, empathy, and caring. Longinus’ concept is also showed in Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. The deep dark forest that Goodman Brown enters on his nighttime journey sets the stage for the doubt that consumes his mind for the remainder of his life. However, despite this, the reader witnesses the real ramifications that the events have on Brown's life, which in turn leads them to question the very concepts of imagination and reality. The society in the story strictly follows the rules and principles of its religion. Although Brown believes he is an upstanding person of a respectable family line, he allows his curiosity to betray his faith. Brown arrives late to his meeting with the evil figure and explains that: â€Å"Faith kept me back a while† (Gardner et. al, 4). Throughout the story, â€Å"Faith† represents the figure of his wife and the faith in man and religion. Brown hesitates because he realizes that his journey with this devilish being is sinful. Hawthorne creates a paranoid monster from the once innocent Goodman Brown and the natural setting regresses into an unsafe, unknown forest of evil. In â€Å"What Is an Author†, Foucault addresses the relationship between authors and text, emphasizing their role throughout the stories. From a very early age, Mary Shelley was surrounded by many powerful and influential writers, shaping her ideas as she grew and eventually leading to the writing of Frankenstein. The Romantics of her time were fascinated with dreams and Gothic nightmares which were seen as predictors of what could happen. In order to thoroughly understand the influences that affected Shelley's writing, specifically in Frankenstein, readers must have an adequate knowledge of a few key events in Mary's life. On the other hand, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story is set in the 17th-century colonial American period, specifically in Salem, Massachusetts. According to James Mellow, Hawthorne was plagued by guilt by his grandfather’s role as a judge during this time. He wrote the story to vindicate his grandfather by featuring fictional victims of the witch trials who were witches and not innocent victims of the witch-hunt. Another major theme for both stories is the pursuit of knowledge. In Frankenstein, Victor is absorbed in the creation of the monster; he absents himself from society and forsakes human contact. Frankenstein begins his research with the good intention of helping people, but his thoughts soon turn to the quest for power over life and to be recognized as the creator of a species . He became so caught up in his attempt to create life that he never thought about the consequences: â€Å"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow† (Shelley, ). The unlearned creature is thrown out into the world and is forced to discover the hidden meanings behind human life and society, on his own. Similarly, the more that the monster learns about his creation, the more he realizes that he is miserable: â€Å"Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in a disgust† (Shelley, 133). His knowledge, too, causes him immense pain. In both cases, their quest ended in pain, suggesting that this is the inevitable result of the pursuit of knowledge. He reflects: â€Å"O what a strange nature is knowledge! †¦ I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and all feeling† (Shelley, 123). Victor’s isolation is caused by his own greed for knowledge, whereas the monster has no choice, as he is rejected by society. Goodman Brown is a puritan waiting to begin his conversion experience to the Puritan doctrine. Although Goodman Brown was confident when entering into the forest with the devilish being, his temptations cause him to lose faith and become unsure of humanity and nature. However, at the end of Brown’s conversion experience, he is shocked to see that Faith is interacting with the devil because he considers her to be the most pure person in society. Brown describes the fearful nature of the wilderness after proclaiming his faith is gone: â€Å"The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds – the creaking of the trees, the howling of the wild beasts, and the yell of Indians† (Hawthorne 395). The nature of man continues to be questioned when Goodman Brown experiences total depravity in the forest. He is witness to powerful and religious figures from his society participating in various forms of devil worship and witchcraft. His shock and horror of seeing those he respects as active members of this evil cause him to question his own purity: â€Å"Goodman Brown stepped forth from the shadow of the trees and approached the congregation, with whom he felt a loath full brotherhood by the sympathy of all that was wicked in his heart† (Hawthorne 397). Frankenstein and his creature are a prime example of the burden brought on one's life through incomplete knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an evil thing, but it can cause destruction when it is pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in more than one way; first his life is controlled by his obsession to create life, and later he becomes a slave to the monster he has created.