Free College Admissions Essays: Multifaceted Background :: College Admissions Essays

Multifaceted Background-- University of Illinois Writing a self-reflective tirade is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks to perform. I have found myself pondering this topic for an unusually long time; no one has ever asked me to write about my culture-- the one thing about myself which I understand the least. This question which is so easy for others to answer often leads me into a series of convoluted explanations, "I was born in the U.S., but lived in Pakistan since I was six. My brothers moved to the US when I was thirteen" I am now nearly twenty, which means I have spent half my life being Pakistani, the other half trying to be American, or is the other way around? I do not consider myself Paki-American. I am too "Americanized" to be Pakistani. (although by birthright, I am American), and I am not quite up to par with the American way of life. So what does all this have to do with my culture, what does a label really matter to cultural identity? It matters much. I believe that this seemingly trivial confusion over labels reveals the even greater confusion that surrounds my cultural identity: Am I a bridge between these two multifaceted cultures, or have I become a mosaic displaying colors from here and there, and elsewhere too? Perhaps both, and I could be a colorful bridge, or perhaps neither. Whatever the case, I cannot seem to separate these absolutely disparate realities within me. Their forces are still clashing, coming together within me, creating a wonderful confusion out of me. I believe that to truly analyze my culture, the roots of this confusion must be explored. In the span of this essay, I must try to encompass the widths of two wo rlds, their unique interactions within me... which I hope constitute what is called culture. I am an alien of sorts. I am an alien in my own country... but what is my own country? I am an alien wherever I go. In Pakistan, my somewhat eroded Urdu reveals my American leanings. In the U.S., my slight accent and appearance mark me as a "minority." Being bi-cultural has placed me in a perplexing portal between two separate worlds, with their own unique ideology, thinking, traditions and

Surrogate Motherhood Essay -- essays research papers

Surrogate motherhood refers to that condition of a fertile (footnote) woman who has been contracted to become impregnated via reproductive technologies such as donor or artificial insemination. It is that condition wherein that fertile woman also has agreed to transfer her rights on the child to the biological parents after giving birth. This is bounded by a contract that was signed by the contracting parents and the surrogate. The reasons for this generally fall into two categories. Either the contracting couple is unable to produce a child or they would prefer to eliminate or enhance certain genetic traits. My argument would apply to either case. For the purpose of this paper, the motivations are irrelevant and the logic following applies to both. The possibility of surrogacy has gotten people into quite a tizzy with furious debates concerning issues such as the commedification of a woman’s reproductive organs, the physiological & psychological harm, and its social impa cts on a religious definition of marriage. I will defend the claim that surrogacy is an immoral action which places a socially constructed and therefore arbitrary value on the natural phenomenon of human reproduction, the implications of viewing the natural in terms of the artificial can be seen through the increase psychological and health risks of the women that contract. Prior to discussing the ethical issues, I must discuss the scientific process involved. There are actually various types of reproductive technologies women can undergo. These would include, as mentioned earlier, donor or artificial insemination, assisted hatching, in vitro fertilization, gametra fallopian transfer, zygote intrafallopian transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo micromanipulation. These are actually the technologies employed in the process of surrogacy (Hinman, 2001). Surrogacy or surrogate motherhood, like reproductive technologies, can be further classified as gestational surrogacy, traditional surrogacy, and egg donation. Gestational surrogacy, as defined by various references, would refer to the surrogacy condition wherein there in absolutely no genetic link between the child and the carrier. This may be in the form of the following (Canadian Surrogacy Options, Inc.) Traditional surrogacy, on the other hand, would refer to the surrogacy condition wherein ... ...definition of Motherhood†. The Journal of Philosophy, Science and Law. February 2002, vol. 2. Lecture Notes in Business Ethics. 2004 McDowell, Janet Dickey. â€Å"The Procreations Ethics Series: Surrogate Motherhood.† The Journal of Lutheran Ethics. http://www.elca.org./jle/alc_lca.procreation_ethics_surrogate_motherhood.html O'Neill, Terry (ed.). Biomedical Ethics: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego CA,  © 1994. pp. 185-196. Ragone, Helen. 1994. Chasing the blood tie: Surrogate mothers, adoptive mothers and fathers. American Ethnologist. Richardson, Herbert. On the Problem of Surrogate Parenthood: Analyzing the Baby M Case. 1987. Squire, Susan. "Whatever Happened to Baby M?" Redbook, January 1994. Whitehead, Mary Beth, with Loretta Schwartz-Nobel. A Mother's Story: The Truth About the Baby M Case. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. Surrogate Motherhood. < http://www.debatabase.org/details.asp?topicID=93 > Surrogate Mothers. Types of Surrogacy. The Canadian Surrogacy Options, Inc. http://www.canadiansurrogacyoptions.com/SurrogacyTypes.asp The Case of Baby M: 1988. Women's Rights on Trial, 1st Ed., Gale, 1997, p.312.

William Morris Essay example -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

William Morris William Morris, English poet, artist, socialist reformer, and innovator in the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was born in Walthamstow, then a village, and moved to a grand residence there called Water House at the age of 14 - this has since become the William Morris Gallery. He studied at Oxford with the intention of becoming a clergyman, but while there he met Edward Coley Burne-Jones, also studying for the church, and they both began to turn towards art. They were persuaded by Rossetti to give up the studies and become artists. Morris did a year in architectural practice of G. E. Street, and then turned to painting. However, he soon found that his metier was design. The cooperative attempt to decorate his new house (the Red House, built by Philip Webb) at Bexleyheath, south east of London, lead to the setting up of the firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. The partners were Morris, Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Philip Webb, Charles Faulkner, and Peter Paul Marshall, a surveyor. The firm was set up as a 'company of Fine Art Workmen', designing and producing (or at least supervising the production of) furniture, wallpaper, murals, tapestry work, stained glass windows, metalwork, tapestries, and smaller works such as tiles and embroidery. It started in 8 Lion Square, London, where there was sufficient space for workshops, showrooms, and a kiln in the basement for tile production. The firm later became simply Morris and Co. when Morris - always bless...

Good and Evil (a Wrinkle in Time, and Frankenstein Review) Essay

â€Å"Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil. † – Marcus Aurelius. A Wrinkle in Time is a book about the journey through the war of good versus evil and the ultimate triumph of love. Every character is clearly distinguished with either good or evil: the â€Å"good† characters include Meg, her family, Calvin, the Mrs. W’s, Aunt Beast, and the Happy Medium; the â€Å"evil† characters include IT, The Dark Thing, and the Man with the Red Eyes. Frankenstein, on the other hand, is a story told in a series of letters, as Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts to his sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission. Successful early on, the mission is soon to be disturbed by seas full of impassable ice. Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who had been travelling by dog-drawn sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton take him abroad the ship, helps nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster the Frankenstein created. This tale that Frankenstein is reciting reveals the two sides that a person, or a living creature can portray: good and evil. Frankenstein was banned in South Africa for being â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"indecent†, while A Wrinkle in Time was banned for having a fantasy-related genre throughout the plot, including witches and demons. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. â€Å"Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; — obey! † (Shelley 149). In Frankenstein, the monster represents evil, as it comes to life, and terrorizes its creator. Dangerous knowledge is an ideal theme in Frankenstein. The pursuit of knowledge is right in the middle of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to go beyond accepted human limits and find out the secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to pass the past human explorations by being determined to reach the North Pole. In A Wrinkle In Time, comfort and individuality is a major theme that I saw throughout the plot. The main character, Meg, is caught between the desire for conformity and the expression of her own creative nature. At the beginning of the novel Meg feels embittered towards other students at her school that make fun of her and tease her for being different, as well as those who see her little brother as being weird or odd. She desperately wants to be more like her twin brothers who have little problem fitting in. The theme that the two stories share, and that I have mentioned before, is the theme titled good and evil: â€Å"Suddenly there was a great burst of light through the Darkness. The light spread out and where it touched the Darkness the Darkness disappeared. The light spread until the patch of Dark Thing had vanished, and there was only a gentle shining, and through the shining came the stars, clear and pure. Then, slowly, the shining dwindled until it, too, was gone, and there was nothing but stars and starlight. No shadows. No fear. Only the stars and the clear darkness of space, quite different from the fearful darkness of the Thing† (L’Engle 102). It’s interesting that the defeat of the Black Thing doesn’t lead to the universe being lit up like a baseball stadium, but rather to an absence of unnatural darkness. It’s almost like the battle isn’t so much between evil and good as between evil and the normal. Characters are â€Å"Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations† – Ray Bradbury. In Frankenstein, the main character or the creator of the monster. Victor becomes obsessed with the idea of creating an artificial human form and eventually attempts to make it. Immediately after creating the monster, he falls into a depression and starts to fear. He leaves the school and returns home to his family, where he finds only tragedy. Not fully aware of the consequences of his creating a new human, he ends up really spending his entire life trying to destroy the same creation he was working to make for so long. In a Wrinkle In Time however, the protagonist is portrayed a bit differently: Meg Murry, The book’s hero, an awkward, but loving high school student who is sent on an adventure through time and space with her brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin to rescue her father from the evil force that is attempting to take over the universe. Meg’s greatest faults are her anger, impatience, and lack of self-confidence, but she changes and overcomes them, and in the end is victorious, as the story ends with a stereotypical kid’s-story ending. A happy ending for the protagonist. The main differences that I saw between the two are the two protagonists: Meg Murry (A Wrinkle In Time), and Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein), are to begin with, set in different times. A Wrinkle In Time could be set anywhere in the recent past. Frankenstein however, is set in the late 18th century. The whole concept of Frankenstein is much darker, and in fact I would say it could be classified as gothic science fiction, as the characters are much darker, and seem more serious and cold-hearted by the way Shelley describes them compared to the other book. A Wrinkle In Time is much lighter, as the characters, their actions, and abilities are all easier, and always give the advantage to the â€Å"good guys†. Also the whole concept of the book, and the idea of it, is more for a child’s imagination to handle and comprehend compared to Frankenstein, and I would classify it as plain science and fantasy fiction. Although these differences shape the stories in totally different directions, there are some similarities: The similarities between the characters and their traits are that they both have solid downsides to them. As I mentioned before, Meg’s (A Wrinkle In Time) faults are her temper, impatience, and lack of confidence in herself, and Victor’s (Frankenstein) faults are that he is in a depression and great fear throughout the plot after the Monster is created and is woken. Another trait I can compare between the two protagonists, are their determination to reach their final goal. Although I cannot see it in either book, but both books were officially banned in one place or another for ridiculous reasons. Frankenstein was banned in South Africa for being â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"indecent† in 1955. Maybe 57 years ago there were different rules and traits a person had to portray to be defined as â€Å"good†, but to make this specific book banned for being â€Å"obscene† (which means that it is offensive or the opposite of accepted manner). A Wrinkle In Time is banned for having witches, crystal balls and demons. Also, because Jesus is listed among the names of great artists, philosophers and teachers, and it is banned in the U. S. â€Å"Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin† (Shelley 37). All in all, these books have more differences than similarities in my opinion. Although both are really good, one is dark while the other is light compared. The similarities that I saw in the characters, the themes, and the reason they were censored are mostly because of the relationship between good and evil throughout it. Studying these two books and the reason for them being banned has surprisingly changed my life in a minor way, as I learned how people from different cultures and education they grew up with react to different things, and I learned to compare and contrast, not only the books, but real life situations such as the South Africans who banned Frankenstein versus my lifestyle and way-of-thinking. â€Å"Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil. † – Marcus Aurelius. A Wrinkle in Time is a book about the journey through the war of good versus evil and the ultimate triumph of love. Every character is clearly distinguished with either good or evil: the â€Å"good† characters include Meg, her family, Calvin, the Mrs. W’s, Aunt Beast, and the Happy Medium; the â€Å"evil† characters include IT, The Dark Thing, and the Man with the Red Eyes. Frankenstein, on the other hand, is a story told in a series of letters, as Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts to his sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission. Successful early on, the mission is soon to be disturbed by seas full of impassable ice. Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who had been travelling by dog-drawn sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton take him abroad the ship, helps nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster the Frankenstein created. This tale that Frankenstein is reciting reveals the two sides that a person, or a living creature can portray: good and evil. Frankenstein was banned in South Africa for being â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"indecent†, while A Wrinkle in Time was banned for having a fantasy-related genre throughout the plot, including witches and demons. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. â€Å"Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master; — obey! † (Shelley 149). In Frankenstein, the monster represents evil, as it comes to life, and terrorizes its creator. Dangerous knowledge is an ideal theme in Frankenstein. The pursuit of knowledge is right in the middle of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to go beyond accepted human limits and find out the secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to pass the past human explorations by being determined to reach the North Pole. In A Wrinkle In Time, comfort and individuality is a major theme that I saw throughout the plot. The main character, Meg, is caught between the desire for conformity and the expression of her own creative nature. At the beginning of the novel Meg feels embittered towards other students at her school that make fun of her and tease her for being different, as well as those who see her little brother as being weird or odd. She desperately wants to be more like her twin brothers who have little problem fitting in. The theme that the two stories share, and that I have mentioned before, is the theme titled good and evil: â€Å"Suddenly there was a great burst of light through the Darkness. The light spread out and where it touched the Darkness the Darkness disappeared. The light spread until the patch of Dark Thing had vanished, and there was only a gentle shining, and through the shining came the stars, clear and pure. Then, slowly, the shining dwindled until it, too, was gone, and there was nothing but stars and starlight. No shadows. No fear. Only the stars and the clear darkness of space, quite different from the fearful darkness of the Thing† (L’Engle 102). It’s interesting that the defeat of the Black Thing doesn’t lead to the universe being lit up like a baseball stadium, but rather to an absence of unnatural darkness. It’s almost like the battle isn’t so much between evil and good as between evil and the normal. Characters are â€Å"Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations† – Ray Bradbury. In Frankenstein, the main character or the creator of the monster. Victor becomes obsessed with the idea of creating an artificial human form and eventually attempts to make it. Immediately after creating the monster, he falls into a depression and starts to fear. He leaves the school and returns home to his family, where he finds only tragedy. Not fully aware of the consequences of his creating a new human, he ends up really spending his entire life trying to destroy the same creation he was working to make for so long. In a Wrinkle In Time however, the protagonist is portrayed a bit differently: Meg Murry, The book’s hero, an awkward, but loving high school student who is sent on an adventure through time and space with her brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin to rescue her father from the evil force that is attempting to take over the universe. Meg’s greatest faults are her anger, impatience, and lack of self-confidence, but she changes and overcomes them, and in the end is victorious, as the story ends with a stereotypical kid’s-story ending. A happy ending for the protagonist. The main differences that I saw between the two are the two protagonists: Meg Murry (A Wrinkle In Time), and Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein), are to begin with, set in different times. A Wrinkle In Time could be set anywhere in the recent past. Frankenstein however, is set in the late 18th century. The whole concept of Frankenstein is much darker, and in fact I would say it could be classified as gothic science fiction, as the characters are much darker, and seem more serious and cold-hearted by the way Shelley describes them compared to the other book. A Wrinkle In Time is much lighter, as the characters, their actions, and abilities are all easier, and always give the advantage to the â€Å"good guys†. Also the whole concept of the book, and the idea of it, is more for a child’s imagination to handle and comprehend compared to Frankenstein, and I would classify it as plain science and fantasy fiction. Although these differences shape the stories in totally different directions, there are some similarities: The similarities between the characters and their traits are that they both have solid downsides to them. As I mentioned before, Meg’s (A Wrinkle In Time) faults are her temper, impatience, and lack of confidence in herself, and Victor’s (Frankenstein) faults are that he is in a depression and great fear throughout the plot after the Monster is created and is woken. Another trait I can compare between the two protagonists, are their determination to reach their final goal. Although I cannot see it in either book, but both books were officially banned in one place or another for ridiculous reasons. Frankenstein was banned in South Africa for being â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"indecent† in 1955. Maybe 57 years ago there were different rules and traits a person had to portray to be defined as â€Å"good†, but to make this specific book banned for being â€Å"obscene† (which means that it is offensive or the opposite of accepted manner). A Wrinkle In Time is banned for having witches, crystal balls and demons. Also, because Jesus is listed among the names of great artists, philosophers and teachers, and it is banned in the U. S. â€Å"Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin† (Shelley 37). All in all, these books have more differences than similarities in my opinion. Although both are really good, one is dark while the other is light compared. The similarities that I saw in the characters, the themes, and the reason they were censored are mostly because of the relationship between good and evil throughout it. Studying these two books and the reason for them being banned has surprisingly changed my life in a minor way, as I learned how people from different cultures and education they grew up with react to different things, and I learned to compare and contrast, not only the books, but real life situations such as the South Africans who banned Frankenstein versus my lifestyle and way-of-thinking.

Positioning the Tata Nano †Case Memo

Positioning the Tata Nano – Case Memo Introduction: Tata Motors Limited (TML), a part of Tata group, a highly respected conglomerate has a product that will revolutionize the way India travels. The team was successful in delivering a car that meets the goal price of 1 lakh rupees. People welcomed it with high pre bookings and initial sales. But it has been found that the car didn’t hit the target market. The initial excitement faded away leading to drastic downfall in sales. We have analyzed the case to bring out the strengths and marketing strategies that TML can play to improve upon its sales. Strength: . At 1 lakh, price is the major strength of Nano. It has been priced between the cheapest car and a bike. 2. Fuel efficient car in the Indian market. 3. Easily accommodate a family of four. 4. Tata group is the most respected corporates in India. This gives TML an advantage as people trust the brand. 5. The compact design provides easy maneuverability in the congested city traffics. Weakness: 1. Positioning of the product as a cheap car. 2. Capacity limitation due to postponement of new factory lead to lottery based delivery. 3. Absence of enough TML dealers to cover the length and breadth of the country. . Low margin for the dealers. While TML provided 4 to 10 percent dealer margin for Nano the dealer margin was only 2 to 3 percent. Opportunities: 1. TML team views nano as an opportunity to provide a safer means of transport to a typical Indian family which rides on a motorcycle. The two wheeler segment presents itself as a great opportunity to nano to tap in. 76 % of automobile sales is in two wheeler market. 2. A large percentage of Indians lie in the middle class income range. Presently their disposable income is on the rise due to better job opportunities.The fact that this section of people doesn’t have a car and also prefer to own one if affordable provides TML with unprecedented market opportunity. 3. Rising fuel prices will be adv antageous to Nano as it is fuel efficient when compared to other cars in the same segment. 4. The new Sanand factory will help achieve the scale of operation . Threats: 1. The major threat for Nano is from the cars placed in mid-sized segment. Paying a bit more customers get a larger car with bigger engine and a longer track record. 2. Incidents of some Nanos catching fire also deterred customers from buying the car.Although the fire was due to foreign electronic particles it did dampened the market sentiments. 3. Nano missed its target market and it was catering to a market of second car buyers. 4. The advanced versions which were well above 1 lakh were selling more than basic model. This led to critics criticize that Nano might increase the congestion in roads. 5. Political threats like Singur land problem. The SWOT analysis of Nano provided a picture of the product and the brand. We have used 4 Ps of marketing mix to further analyze the different aspects of Nano. Product:While de veloping Nano the whole team had one objective to provide a low cost car without compromising on the quality of the car. TML went on with the following strategies to achieve this goal. 1. Nano was the most fuel efficient and economical car. 2. Three models are available: Nano, Nano CX and Nano LX. Nano had only the basic features without power steering, power windows etc. The other models had extra features. 3. The car was designed to accommodate more in less space. Engine was kept in rear portion to achieve this goal. 4. The suppliers were also roped into the design.They made light weight , low cost parts designed especially for Tata Nano. 5. Nano had parts supplied from 100 suppliers. The suppliers viewed this as a new opportunity to develop their capabilities. 6. The engines for Nano were developed by TML itself. Tata nano has a 624 cc 2 engine cylinder. The car as a product achieved its stated goals. But unexpected incidents of some Nanos catching fire led to build up of negativ e outlook on the quality of the product. Tata did took steps to ensure the quality of the product. 1. It fitted additional safety parts in every nano. . TML had four nanos touring all over India to prove that their product is capable of withstanding all conditions. TML could have gone for safety certifications but the cost prevented it from providing basic safety measures like air bags and anti-lock brakes. Pricing: Pricing is the USP for Nano. The whole product evolved around the goal price of 1 lakh. Apart from the lower price of Nano TML also had cut dealership margins. 1. Only the basic model was priced at 1 lakh while the other variants CX and LX were priced at 157,808 and 181,438 rupees. 2.Dealer margins for nano were between 2 to 3 percentage with a 1 percent discount off the full dealer cost if the dealer paid cash up front. 3. Although nor confirmed by TML it is believed that manufacturer margin was around 15 percent. The basic model with 1 lakh pricing failed to lure the c ustomers while the advanced models with higher prices had more takers. Distribution: 1. Inadequacy of dealerships was bothering TML as they couldn’t reach out to the target market. 2. TML had 214 dealerships spread over 28 states in the country. 3. TML followed an unique model for pre bookings. It took leverage of other Tata group companies.The pre booking forms were made available in Croma ,Westside stores, World of Titan and Tata Indicom exclusive stores. In addition the pre booking can be done through online or from SBI banks. 4. The land problem led to capacity limitation. The initial production was limited to 50,000 nanos. 5. A lottery system was used to allocate cars to people who had pre booked it. 6. TML had an idea to promote entrepreneurial engineers to assemble the car at a rural location where distribution was not available. But this idea was dropped due to concerns on warranty. Promotions: Promotion of nano was a major task ahead of Ratan Tata.TML needs to adjust its marketing strategies in order to sell the volume of cars that could be produced with the new plant. The following are the ways in which the product was promoted. 1. Right from the beginning Nano was promoted heavily by advertisements. The car was advertised as cheapest car in the market. 2. TML concentrated on the price aspect alone in its campaigns. This had negative impact on the minds of customers that the car may not be on par with its qualities. TML should make sure to change the perception of customers so that they don’t view nano as low cost car but an affordable car with quality standards.The quality standards and safety measures have to be promoted vigorously as the people expect these features when investing 1 lakh rupees. Conclusion: TML has a product that will help the millions to get a decent and safe way to travel. Unlike the second car buyers, the middle class i. e. the first time car buyers will view nano as a way to travel along with family. It leads to high expectations on safety and quality since individuals never risk the safety of their family. TML has to make sure that the product is rightly positioned as the one with necessary quality standards and high safety measures to rope in a middle class customer.

Greece: A Country with a Rich Cultural

Greece is a country characterized by a remarkable history and a rich cultural heritage.   In ancient times, Greece played a crucial role in early civilization that proved to be monumental in shaping both European and world history.   At present, it successfully maintains its distinct culture in the dynamic modern society.Greece is a country with the land area of 131, 957 square kilometers (â€Å"Countries† 302).  Ã‚  Ã‚   Its capital is Athens, which is also one of its major cities (â€Å"Countries† 302).   Other major cities include Thessaloniki, Piraeus, Patras, Iraklion and Larissa (U.S. Department of State).   In 2005, the Greek population was estimated at 11,104,000, ten percent of which consists of immigrants (U.S. Department of State).   Three million of the said population is situated in Greater Athens (U.S. Department of State).In terms of religion, the majority of the Greek citizens are members of the Greek Orthodox Church (â€Å"Countries† 302).   Other religions present in Greek society include Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (â€Å"Countries† 302).   Greece is characterized by an interesting and diverse culture which is established on customs and traditions, religion, food and wine, and music.   Religion and traditions are closely linked, since the latter is usually based and anchored on the former.   Ironically, the Greeks also believe in superstitions.One of the Greek traditions still honored today at is the name day celebration (Greeka).   The Greeks give more importance to name days than birthdays; those who share a name with a celebrated saint also celebrate in a particular day of the year.   During a certain person's â€Å"name day,† family and friends visit to give wishes and gifts.   At the house, the hostess provides food for the guests (Greeka).Another Greek tradition is the Carnival or the â€Å"Apokries† (Greeka).  Ã‚   This feast occurs within a two week p eriod; it starts on Sunday of Meat Fare and ends on â€Å"Clean Monday† or Kathari Deutera (Greeka). â€Å"Clean Monday† or Kathari Deutera is the first day of Lent; at this time, families usually gather for a picnic and kite flying.   The Carnival is believed to have originated from paganism, and is derived from the merrymaking associated with the god Dionysus (Greeka).   This tradition is characterized by people in costumes partying in the streets.   A Carnival parade is held in Patra, where the festivities take place from day until night (Greeka).Easter is also significant for the Greeks.   In fact, it is considered more important than Christmas (Greeka).   Easter is a celebration that brings Greek families together.   Greek women are tasked to color the eggs red using dye; Godparents also give the children new things, such as shoes and clothes (Greeka).   Even the houses and streets are prepared for this occasion, as both are whitewashed for Easter.   In addition, the Greek family gathers for a feast of roasted lamb, wine and appetizers (Greeka).Music also plays a crucial role in Greek culture.   Music in Greece began as early as Antiquity, as it was an essential part of Greek civilization (Greeka).   The best example would be that of Greek tragedy, in which music was one of its key elements.   The demise of Ancient Greece also resulted in the decline of Greek music.   Fortunately, Greek music reemerged in the 19th century (Greeka).Folk songs also play a large role in Greek history.   The folk songs originated from ancient times (Greeka).   These songs are categorized into two: akritic and klephtic styles of music.   The former originated in 9th century AD. This kind of music conveyed the experiences and hardships of the â€Å"akrites,† or the Byzantine Empire guards (Greeka).   The latter was produced by â€Å"kleftes† or those who fought against the Ottoman Empire.Even though music is an express ion of the gruesome period in Greek history, it also included love songs.   This style of music was believed to have originated between the latter part of the Byzantine era and the early part of the Greek Revolution (Greeka).   Instruments that accompanied the folk songs include the bagpipe, tambourine and lute, just to name a few.   Other important elements of the Greek musical tradition are cantadha, nisiotika and rebetiko (Greeka).Food and wine are also significant in Greek culture (Greeka).   Greece is known for their appetizers and wines.   Mezedes, or Greek appetizers, are crucial in Mediterranean culture, as it promotes friendship through the sharing of food.   Some of the recognized Greek appetizers include the Greek salad or Horiatiki Salata, Tiropitakia, Htapodi and Feta cheese.Greece also produces wines. It is therefore no surprise that Greek alcohol such as Tsipouro and Ouzo are a main component in Greek culture.   Also, meat is almost always present in Gre ek main dishes, while their soups are very much preferred during the winter season.   The Greeks are also famous for the herbs and spices used in their dishes (Greeka).The history of Greece is extensive and thorough.   Greek culture began in the classical era, and proved to be a crucial element in the development of civilization in general (Pounds 326).   The Greek island of Crete was the location for the Minoan civilization, the earliest in Europe (â€Å"Countries† 303).   Greece is also home to the city-states, whose prosperity brought the development of culture in aspects such as philosophy, literature, politics, architecture and art (â€Å"Countries† 303-304).   Greek civilization was at its peak under the control of Philip II of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great.   However, the Greek civilization declined when the Roman civilization emerged (â€Å"Countries† 304).Greek history also includes several wars. Civil War erupted following the occupation of German forces from 1941 to 1944 (â€Å"Countries† 304).   Then, under the leadership of Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos, Greece officially became a part of World War I in 1917 (Pounds 328).The history of Greece was also marked by the constant change in form of government.   From 1925 to 1935, Greece was a republic (Pounds 328).   Then, Greece became a constitutional monarchy (Pounds 328).   In 1967, the monarchy was deposed by a military coup (â€Å"Countries† 304).   The republic was restored in 1973, which lasted for only a year.   In 1975, democratic elections were held once again.   Six years later, Andreas Papandreou became the first socialist Prime Minister of Greece.   Then, in 1990, a Democratic Party member named Constantine Mitsotakis was elected at the same post (â€Å"Countries† 304).With its extensive historical background, Greece remains a crucial part of world civilization.   With its customs and traditions, Gr eece keeps its diverse and unique culture in modern day society.   Indeed, Greece remains relevant at present through its history and culture.Works CitedBateham, Graham, and Victoria Egan, eds. Illustrated Guide to Countries of the World. Australia: RD Press, 1996.Greeka. 17 March 2008 ;http://www.greeka.com/greece-culture/;.Pounds, Norman J.G. â€Å"Greece.† Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia. 21 vols. New York: Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1992.U.S. Department of State.   17 March 2008 ;https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm;.

Microeconomics and macroeconomics Essay

Microeconomics is the branch of economics which deals into a more ‘individual’ scope of the study, such as the choices made by people in terms of the utilization and allocation of resources as well as the pricing of goods and services. In addition, it includes taxes and the policies created by governments. This field of economics deals with supply and demand together with other factors that acts as determinants in identifying the price levels for particular companies in specific industries. This is exemplified by how microeconomics focus on a specific company’s potential to maximize its production as well as its capability to lower its prices to better compete in the particular industry that it belong to (Investopedia, n. p. ). On the other hand, macroeconomics deals with the behavior of the economy as a whole. Unlike microeconomics, it does not focus on specific companies but rather takes into account entire industries and economies. This field of economics studies phenomena that take place in a wide scope of the economy like the effects of Gross National Product (GDP) with unemployment, national income, rate growth as well as price levels. A good example is how macroeconomics measures the effects of the rise and fall of net exports in a country’s capital account and also how the unemployment rate affects the status of the GDP (Investopedia, n. p. ). Nevertheless, even though these two fields of economic are different from each other, they are actually interdependent. This is due to the fact that most of the issues that fall under each field overlap and thus, they compliment each other. Basically, microeconomics has a bottoms-up approach while macroeconomics has a top-down approach. Nonetheless, they should be understood and analyzed in order to fully comprehend how the economy works (Investopedia, n. p. ). Distinguish between positive and normative economics. Positive economics is responsible in providing a system of generalizations, which could be used to make accurate predictions regarding the effects of any variation in circumstances. It is free of any ethical position or normative judgments. Keynes further elaborated on this idea by saying that it deals with â€Å"what is â€Å"and not with â€Å"what ought to be† (Economist’s View, n. p. ). Being the case, positive economics is or can be an objective science because it is judged according to precision, scope, and conformity as well as with empirical evidences. Positive economics deals with the interrelations of human beings with each other as well as with the economy (Economist’s View, n. p. ). Normative economics, on the other hand, is different from positive economics because it takes into account subjectivity in its analysis. It deals with â€Å"what ought to be† rather than what is really happening because it is heavily dependent in value judgments and theoretical scenarios. Normative economics tend to represent opinion instead of an objective perspective. Moreover, normative economics could be valuable in establishing goals and new ideas. However, it should not be the basis for policy decisions (Investopedia, n. p. ). References â€Å"Milton Friedman: The Methodology of Positive Economics. † 26 November 2006. Economist’s View. 19 July 2008. . â€Å"Normative Economics. † 2008. Investopedia. 19 July 2008. . â€Å"What’s the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics? † 2008. Investopedia. 19 July 2008. .