The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management Essay Example for Free

The main office repositing-Leadership in Crisis Management EssayThe property memory board Leadership in Crisis Management Introduction Established in 1979, The Home Depot has proven to be a leading retail comp all founded upon providing excellent products at warring prices sold from knowledge up to(p)-bodied sales representatives. Through this c at oncept, The Home Depot has dominated both professional and do-it-yourself sales across the world. In 1992, The Home Depot was faced with a new challenge. Hurricane Andrew struck with vengeance and devastated 75,000 homes across Florida. Since 10% of The Home Depots stores were located in Florida, this quickly became a incorporated emergency. The Home Depot stepped up to the challenge and stood behind their customers. Depot froze prices for supplies the community would need to rebuild or even sold products at costs in some cases. Then-CEO Bernie Marcus stated This is non a time to make money on the back of other peoples misfortu ne (Herman). This attitude proved prosperous for The Home Depot when profits increased 44%. With this eye uncloudeding experience, The Home Depot decided to take further actions to prep atomic number 18 their employees and customers for upcoming hurricanes. Paul Raines was hired by The Home Depot and eventually was make the Divisional Leader for the Southern Region.His experience in the third world countries make him the perfect candidate to lead Depots crisis heed project. When 2004 rolled around, Florida was viscously attacked with four storms in a seven week tip. Through the devastation, The Home Depot utilized this period as a learning tool. The storms of 2004 developed three master(prenominal) Crisis Management concepts for The Home Depots speed, promptness, and chain of command. Speed was crucial for the community and The Home Depot strived to open as swiftly as possible after the storms ceased.The Home Depot stayed ahead of the storms by having a surplus of storm relief inventory, as comfortably as workers close enough to be called upon when the major threats had passed. Finally, the employees of The Home Depot to a lower placestood who was in charge and calling the shots. From these concepts a Crisis Command Center was born(p) for category two hurricanes or worse. The Command Center consisted of conference rooms where representatives could meet and develop a plan of attack. With the click of a mouse they were able to determine what their customers main needs were.The main goal of the Command Center was to insure employee safety, re-open stores, and make sure computer systems were accurately operative which included pay roll and cash registers. In 2005 the Command Center was put to the test when Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast. The Home Depot began preparations advantageously in put away and was ready to reopen stores as soon as possible after the storm had passed. Managers worked eighteen instants a day, which paid off when of th e thirty-three stores in Katrinas path all unless ten opened the following day.With such an elaborate Command Center and well informed staff, The Home Depot was able to provide the communities with the supplies they needed to begin rebuilding their homes (Herman). In 2007, a new crisis was thrown at The Home Depot. This predicament was far more personal than any storm could ever be. Columnist Scott Burns communicatoryly attacked The Home Depot in a published hold on MSN. com. Customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness were all under attack by disgruntled customers. In a short period of time, there were over 7,000 posts and 10,000 emails of customer complaints.Corporate Officials were outraged over the online posts. This was a clear situation that needed to be dealt with. Officials feared making a public statement would draw media attention to the article which had not yet been a hot topic for the television. Then CEO Frank Blake, felt he had no choice but to respond on the MSN post board. He made a lengthy apology to all disgruntled bloggers. He pleaded for all concerns to be forwarded to a private email account. He vowed to improve upon these negative insights and hoped to once again regain their trust. As Blake assumed, the media went crazy and picked up the article.Blake decided to utilize the Crisis Management plan to handle their current reputational attack (Herman). At the current time, the main issues faced by the Command Center were natural disasters such as hurricanes. From the Crisis Management Command Center, The Home Depot had found the key to success when intervention natural disasters speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Utilizing these tools, The Home Depot had developed a great starting point for discussion their Reputational Crisis. The Home Depots crisis management skills were canvas in a SWOT analysis, which can be viewed in appendix A.In mainstream media, the public tends to remember the negative and forget the positive. Regardless of how many tremendous things The Home Depot had done for the community, the current reputational attack was going to be remembered the most. Blakes swift response was both beneficial and harmful to The Home Depot in my opinion. I agree the Home Depot needed to respond quickly to the article tho, I feel they should have brought the medias attention to the article through a press conference rather than by a post on a message board. If The Home Depot had made a verbal response, they could have put their own spin on the article.Blakes apology was a good tactic which could have been carried over to a verbal response. Reputational attacks are bound to happen to major companies and The Home Depot needs to learn from this and be prepared to respond through positive publicity. Ways to accomplish this would be through donations, charity events, sales, or other generous acts which would benefit the community. These acts could help cover reputational attacks. The Ho me Depot to a fault needs be prepared with the proper chain of command to respond to situations like these (Herman). Analysis Decision Making BiasesThe Home Depots reputation crisis presented several decision making yieldes which involved crisis management situations where decisions had to be made under uncertainty. These biases included overconfidence, inertia, selective perception, representation, and self-serving biases. The overconfidence bias was based on the illusion that a society was superior to its competition, allowing the corporation to focus on successes and forget the situations where failures occurred. The Home Depot most likely assumed they were one step ahead of the competition.This assumption led them to believe their customers also felt The Home Depot was a superior ships company. Unfortunately, this was not the case and was revealed through the MSN article. The inertia bias was based upon the term procrastination which demonstrates when a projects ready effec t is unpleasant a company lead delay the project even if the long term reward outweighs the immediate negative effect. Essentially, this was a presumable cause why The Home Depot postponed improving upon customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness before it was attacked by the media.The Home Depot also likely encountered the selective perception bias. This bias focuses on instances where a company was influenced by its own base of interpretation more than the environment around them. In simplistic terms, The Home Depot had delve vision and was not focusing on the needs of their customers. The representation bias also applies to crisis management when companies ignore the laws of random occurrences and evaluate the likelihood of an event (social disaster such as the reputation attack on The Home Depot) based on how closely they resemble some other event (natural disaster for instance).Lastly, but not least, the self-serving bias focuses on situations where a company tak es recognition for successes but blame external factors for failures. The Home Depot could have easily bygone down this path with its reputation crisis, but it stood up to its own mistakes and faced the issue head on (Lehrer). Analysis Crisis Leadership Now As discussed in the introduction, The Home Depots Disaster Management plan was based on three concepts which included speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Throughout the geezerhood, The Home Depot proved their Disaster Management plan worked for various tragedies encountered by the company.Their methods have fallen right in line with approaches mentioned in the book, Crisis Leadership Now. inwardly this book, it states If businesses are ready to survive and recover, the nation our economy are more secure (Barton). The Home Depot was prepared and wasnt afraid to get involved. The Home Depots Disaster Management plan also went along with the material within the Crisis Leadership Now, by showing The Home Depot pra cticed the idea that a company can best shield itself not just by assuming its protected, but by investigating deeper into probable problems and exposures.Along with that, The Home Depot was also promoting family and individual preparedness for disasters. Home Depots latest crisis involving the companys reputation dealt with managing a crisis and handling key stakeholders. With such a public outcry for improvement, a quick response was needed to keep control of the situation. Crisis Leadership Now explains an 8 hour window concept where If you can capture what has happened, who is impacted, and how you intend to communicate your response with a clear plan of action within 8 hours, you have the tooshie for an excellent recovery plan (Barton).I believe The Home Depot followed this concept in formalizing a response on the MSN. com message board. The question which arises however is whether or not they should have carried the companys response over to a verbal reply that would have ap pealed to more dissatisfied customers. Analysis Managing the unthought-of The Home Depots Disaster Management Plan also follows several principles for HROs (high reliability organizations) that were laid out in the book Managing the out of the blue(predicate). There are a total of 5 principles which include 1.Preoccupation with Failure Do not focus primarily on business successes. 2. faltering to Simplify Interpretations See as much as possible and welcome diversity. 3. Sensitivity to Operations Be more attentive to the front line and be less focused on strategy. 4. Commitment to Resilience Have the ability to bounce back after mistakes and learn from them. 5. Deference to Expertise Do not focus expertise decisions on a hierarchical system where the top level makes all decisions. Place authority with person(s) with most expertise wherever they are located in the hierarchy. Weick) It is in my opinion that The Home Depot closely followed all five of the principles above. The tw o that stand out the most to me are the companys Commitment to Resilience and Deference to Expertise. The Home Depots commitment to resilience can easily be seen over the years where the company produced a quick turn around after major natural disasters, as well as their response after the companys latest reputational crisis Also, the companys deference to expertise can be seen as top executives gave more power to the individual store managers.The executives realized that the specialised store managers had more expertise for the individual store location than executives did. The fact that The Home Depot closely follows all five of the principles stated above shows that the company is a highly reliable organization (Weick). Conclusion The Home Depot has become an industry leader in Crisis Management. They affect to learn from their mistakes as well as from experience. The Home Depot should keep in mind there is always room for improvement.The key is not only to have plans set in pl ace for natural disasters, but also for disasters such as reputational attacks. The Home Depot should continue to prepare for all sorts of tragedies. This will only insure their higher status in the field, as well as reassure customers of their core values. The Home Depot should rejoice in their successes and embrace their faults when trying to improve. Negative publicity will always be a concern for such a large company, but with a secure plan of attack, The Home Depot will continue to lead the way for home improvement.

Nature of Poverty Essay Example for Free

Nature of poverty EssayThe nature of poverty fucking be describe in many ways. The obvious way to explain poverty is the lack of income. However, in the deeper meaning, poverty also includes those who lack of security, healthcare, power, and other basic necessities. Poverty can be categorised in terms of absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is household based measure by income per year under(a) a statistic developed by government which will aid those who are despicable by giving them money depending on the number of members in the family on a yearly basis. While, relative poverty focus on peoples living with no statistic. For instance, if a family has 10 members but they have only(prenominal) 3 cars, they can be regarded as poor. Nevertheless, there are three common methods that use to measure the train of poverty. The first method defines poverty as a lack of income, which can be measured by World Bank. The absolute poverty for this case is a cut up po int above or below the certain amount of income.Yet, this method has a major run forback. Since it focuses solely on income and ignoring other important factors such as social well-being or the general welfare of people, this method fails to provide the whole aspect of poverty. Secondly, UNDP measures poverty in terms of the lack of capability. It is known as Human Poverty Index that indicates the standard of living of the people in the country, which are life expectancy, life satisfaction, and footprint. This method provide not only deeper but also broader ways of measuring and assessing poverty. It looks pass the income factor and takes into consideration the non-monetary aspects, which generate the more well-rounded discipline and results. However, there are some critics that this method cannot truly measure the level of the poor since statistics and numerals are unable to measure peoples feelings. It is said that we cannot know how others feel unless we walk in their shoes, therefore, in order to get the right result, living with the poor is required. Lastly, poverty as a social exclusion is mentioned by Robert domiciliate about the nature of poverty.Chambers introduces the bottom-up theory, which suggests that people should rattling work with the rural poor who lack of power to speak out, security, and live with fears. Therefore, the approach is carried out to get an in depth understanding of what are the existing meanings of poverty by associating directly with the poor. By this view, Chambers tends to provide qualitative method while other methods are quantitative based. Although this methodprovides useful information of the poor, there are few flaws to be considered. Because the outcome is mainly based on qualitative methods such as verbal communication, there is a utmost tendency that the outcome will be bias. Moreover, snapshot may occur. For example, the interview conducted during the harvest season might get a better result than the authe ntic reality.Therefore, the long-term picture should be taking into account in order for the outcome to be more anthological and longitudinal. Another problem is that people may not be honest, which is called courtesy bias. This way people will only answer what the researchers want to hear and leave the truth out. Thus, sometimes researchers may ask them to draw the picture of their life, which turns out to be a better way to get the real answer. Chambers talks more about vulnerability and isolation of people. For example, the poor cannot transport to sell the goods. In conclusion, there are several ways to measure the level of poverty.Three most common methods are the lack of income, HPI by UNDP (lack of capability) and social exclusion by Robert Chambers. Each method uses different viable and factors to indicate the level of poverty, all have their own advantages and criticisms. Therefore, each one is sufficient and appropriate in different situations and purposes. However, in my opinion, even though, the lack of income method might be easier to measure and assess, the social exclusion theory by Robert Chambers could provide the real well-being of people since it includes the important of non-monetary factors that are crucial for the welfare of people.

Consequences Of The First World War History Essay

Consequences Of The First World War History Essay

Cap And Trade Policy Economics Essay

Cap And Trade Policy Economics EssayThe aim of this newspaper is to take a deeper look into the functioning of the European Unions waiver affair trunk with the emphasis on stinting and political facts and by analizing major baffling issues linked to it. The papers research question is focalisation on the possible ways of amelioration of effectiveness of the European Unions present-day sack vocation system. So that Which areas of the European Unions emission trading system are appearing to be the some problematic and hindering ones?. In this paper I am attempting to followup both basic facts and problematic issues in grade to conclude in a reasonable overview.1.2. IntroductionToday the European Union is one of the most environmental conscious actors on the planetary stage. By its cap-and-trade policy, which has reached terrible carbonic acid gas and greenhouse gas emission reductions in most of the member states throughout the introductory years, it has risen to be one of the most victoryful emission regulators. In both Phase I ( January 2005-December 2007) and Phase II (January 2008 December 2012) there ease up been serious carbon emission reductions in the European Unions area. In Phase I. only on the lower prise of 40 euros per tonne of carbon gases, and in Phase II. on the luxuriouslyer price of 100 euros per tonne.1By giving a price to carbon emissions (tCO2e) the governments since the Kyoto Protocol (1997) are able to check their emissions and carriage pollution even on the balance sheet. Nonetheless, giving a price to emissions is also helping to give air pollution a kind of observe and also interest in the reduction of it.Nevertheless, there are still major un put to workd and doubted issues on todays Phase II.s effectiveness and on the future success of Phase III. being launched in the real beginning of 2013. These doubts are created by serious problems within the European Unions cap-and-trade policy, and the problems are mostly d epending on wrong economic models and practices used, more(prenominal)over on the lack of monitoring of the emission trading grocery. Basic eithery it is the European Commission, monitoring all emission credit trading serve upes is attempting to ensure all member states, that all transfers are legal and that there are no abuses on the European carbon trading markets.1.3. Arguements on the Europen Unions carbon trading strategyAs having a classical cap-and-trade system, the European Union is basically focusing on the reduction of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. most likely by its cap-and trade policy now affecting some 45% of CO2 and less than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions of the European Union. Within the CAT transportation, market-gardening and public services are not included, yet. And most possibly will not be included in the near future.2The system of carbon trading is quite simple. Installations are receiving emission credits -where 1 credit is equal to 1 metric-tone of CO2 from their member states government. If the installations run out of their emission credits, they tail end grease ones palms it from other governments of companies. On the contrary, if they shake off more emission credits than as much they need, they can sell their credits for other installations. By buying emission credits, the installations are trying to reduce their ecological footprint, however this is only a theoretical reduction and not a real one. The stock exchange of carbon credits is a system where these credits can be sold privately or on the international market on a market price. By giving a market price to carbon credits, the sellings and buyings can appear on the balance sheet. Right now it is highly critisised that the European Unions emission trading system gives a price to CO2 and greenhouse gases making it a simple matter of economic interest instead of giving to it an environmental emphasis.3The European Unions energy policy is now focusing on the maj or issues of climate change, global warning and higher energy prices. Its objective is to eliminate CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce the possibility of temperature rise above 2 C.4However, this aim of reducing the possibility of temperature rise seems more or less an impossible mission as the European Union is not the only polluter of air in the world. China and the United States of America mean a very serious threatment of emissions the USA havent even ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and so the reduction of European CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions seems more to be like pouring water into a leaky bucket, making it very difficult for the European Union to work for a cleaner environment. spirit further, by the Action Plan, the European Union is now willing to eliminate even more its emissions. The objective is to reduce todays greenhouse gas emissions by 30 % by 2020 throughout its new strategy within the Energy Policy.5After the crisis of 2008 in my opinion such serious and enormous objectives can be reached on a very hard way or cannot be reached at all, as right now the economic development is much more strategic for the member states than the cut of further emissions.The European Union has a tradition using economic instruments to treat external costs as inner ones in order to prepare the market to answer with limited costs. So, in the future the emission trading system of the European Union remains a critical part within the Energy Policy as it is highly contributing to stimulate chnages in the usage and generation of energy.6As a single economic explanation, we can state that in general in a small open market7firms are looking for the minimalisation of their costs throughout production. In a market like this, emission taxes or other regulations like emission intensity restrictions are forcing firms to pollute by counting and paying the fee per building block or purchase pollution rights. By this practice the governments target of emission can be realizable.8The European Unions green taxation, or so-called Pigou taxation process is the most market-friendly way in order to eliminate the member states CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. As I have mentioned it earlier, it is crucial to internalize externalities to solve major market failures. The Pigou tax9serves as a main external cost integrated into market prices.10Main advantages of the carbon taxation are1. clean price for all member states, helping firms to fix their prices of emission2. Giving a price for emissions develops low-emission technologies3. Carbon taxation can seriously eliminate emissions by supporting alter towards greener technologiesMain disadvantages of the carbon taxation are1. Carbon taxation makes it difficult to follow emission reductions2. Carbon taxes can generate high administartive and implementational costs.11It is very important to highlight, that carbon taxation and the selling of carbon credits are not equal. they are both forming an important role within the reduction of emission, however the cap-and-trade system of the European Union is using carbon credits since the Kyoto protocol in 1997. Taxes can be set by the governments and so they can regulate taxes by their preferences and needs and so it is very difficult to get a clear picture of carbon reductions. Nevertheless carbon creditscannot be adjust on such a strick way like taxes and so emission trading is able to become a single market operation.OECD in its paper, called is focusing ont he faction of ..Combining cap-and-trade policies with other instruments and policy fields could seem as a solution in order to achieve additional serious emission reductions. On the contrary, this would result in increase of emisssions from the other given areas, too. Moreover, within cap-and-trade policy more sources would be availabe for further emissions. So, when a cap-and-trade system comes to life, the combination of this policy with other instruments is useless, as further reductions in the emission of CO2 and greenhouse gases will not occur.12A very well designed cap-and-trade system could solve both environmental and economic problems within the member states of the European Union. Nevertheless, as a major mistake, those policy makers of the member states combining emission trading policies with other instruments in order to reduce costs and emission, may concentrate too much on todays environmental outcomes, without focusing on future reductions.13It is very important to note, that the European Union had a significant role in the set up of both the Kyoto Protocol and the Rio+20 Conference. At Kyoto, the member states have agreed to cut their emissions with comparing to the 1990 levels by 2012.14These are also representing the environmental consciousness of the European Union which is ready to eliminate emissions by signing international environmental treaties. However, sadly in practice the European unions cap-and-trade practic e.State intervention is a major problem.Basicly those are the governments getting the possibility to mandate end-of-pipe technologies in order to help the reduction of the cost of the emission reduction processes. Nevertheless, this method has a lack of information towards the states, and additionally the intake of new technologies can be tiptop expensive for firms and enterprises. Moreover, many times the state enforces the adaption of low-cost emission technologies even if those are found too pricy by the enterprises. As the price of the shift to the new technologies, it would be more pricy than profitable, the firms are counting competitveness and would deny to use the technologies. However, in this case innovation is found much more important, than battle for the state.151.4. ConclusionUnfortunately, the European emissions trading scheme designed to help member states meet their commitments turned out to be a washout.16So far, it is clear that the European Union is exporting Co 2 and greenhouse gases and importing land and water. We are consuming much more, than what we have and this results in mass pollution of the entire environment. Most possibly we are already late in order to prevent the effects of climate-change within the European Union, and emission trading policies, especially in this form, where member states can easily trade their emission rights will not be enough effective. There shouldnt be hesitation within the decision making forums about the reform of the European Unions cap-and-trade policy, as in this form it is untenable.sszefoglals a problmknakchristina kritikusan, sajt vlemny indoklssal

The Culture Of Vietnam English Language Essay

The Culture Of Vietnam English Language EssayThe Culture of Vietnam which is the agri cultural refinement based on the wet rice cultivating is wiz of the oldest of such in the Asia Pacific region. In terms of prehistory, just about Vietnamese historians consider the ancient dong Son close to be one of the defining aspects of ahead of time Vietnamese finish. There are some other characteristics that comprise Vietnamese culture betel- areca collect chewing, teeth darkening, bamboo, respect for community and family value, hardworking and devotion to study.Long periods of domination and interaction with its northern neighbor, China, has resulted in Vietnams historic inclusion as part of the eastward Asian ethnical Sphere, cognize widely as Chinese Cultural Sphere with the accepting Confucianism as the philosophy of Mandarin class. However, the study stimulation of Vietnamese cultures development comes from indigenous factors. That is, Vietnamese culture with village culture a s its representation is foundation that belongs to Austro-Asiatic culture and Chinese influence and Indian have plainly only been en abundantment.Following independence from China in the 10th carbon AD, Vietnam began a southward expansion that saw the annexation of territories conditionly belonging to the Chapman civilization ( immediately Central Vietnam) and parts of the Khmer empire (today southern Vietnam) which resulted in minor regional variances in Vietnams culture collectible to exposure to these different groups.During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received merchant influences from the Europeans, including the spread of Catholicism and the adoption of Latin alphabet-to this day, Vietnam is the only non-island nation of Indochina which uses the Latin alphabet to write the national speech communication.In the collectivized era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and the cultural influences of socialist pro grams. For many decades, foreign cultural influences were shunned and emphasis fixed on appreciating and sharing the culture of commie nations such as the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and others. Since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a greater re-exposure to Asian, European and American culture and media.Pod d wellspringers accounted for 29.6% of the population, their numbers rising 3.4% a year on average, date the head count of rural tribes edged up by only 0.4% a year. About 70.4% of Vietnamese citizens currently live in atrocious areas, and although many are being influenced by the process of a growing economy, rural tradition and customs hush play a vital authority in shaping the stomping culture. Vietnamese give much to protecting their money, such that traveling to Vietnam means going to an older world for all Asian touristsIn terms of societal levels of organization, the two most authoritative units are lng (village) and nu?c (country). Vietnamese populate usually say that ln g goes hand in hand with nu?c. Intermediate organizational units alike(p) the huy?n (district) and t?nh (province) are not as important. The culture is like a huge ocean of peopleIn rural Vietnam, kinship plays an important role. If it can be said that Western cultures value individualism, then it can withal be said that Eastern cultures value the roles of family and kinsperson. Comparing with Eastern cultures, Chinese culture values family over clan while Vietnamese culture values clan over family. Each clan has a patriarch, clan altar, and death commemorations attended by the whole clan.Most inhabitants are related by blood. That fact is still seen in village names such as ?ng X (place for the ?ng clan), Chu X, L X, and so on so forth. In the Western highlands the tradition of many families in a clan residing in a longhouse is still popular. In the majority of rural Vietnam today one can still see three or four generations living under one roof.Because kinship has an importan t role in society, thither is a tortuous hierarchy of relationships. In Vietnamese society, at that place are nightspot distinct generations. Virtually all commemorations and celebrations within a clan follow the principles of these nine generations. Younger persons might have a higher position in the family hierarchy than an older person and still must be respected as an elder.This complex system of relationships, a result of both Confucianism and societal norms is conveyed particularly through the extensive use of varying pronouns in Vietnamese language, which has an extensive wander of honorifics to signify the status of the speaker in regards to the person they are speaking to.In the past, both men and women were expected to be married at instead young ages (by todays standards). Marriages were generally arranged by the parents and extended family, with the children having limited right to say no in the matter.In modern Vietnam, this has changed completely as people choose their own marriage-partners based on love, and in consideration primarily to their own needs and wants.The traditional Vietnamese wedding is one of the most important of traditional Vietnamese occasions. Regardless of Westernization, many of the age-old customs practiced in a traditional Vietnamese wedding continue to be famous by both Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, much combining both Western and Eastern elements.Depending on habits of specific ethnic groups, marriage takes various go and related procedures, but generally there are two main ceremoniesLe an hoi (betrothal ceremony) some(prenominal) time before the wedding, the groom and his family visit the bride and her family with round lacquered boxes known as betrothal presents constitute of gifts of areca nuts and betel leaves, tea, cake, fruits, wines and other delicacies covered with red cloth and carried by unmarried girls or boys. Both families agree to fragmentise a good day for wedding.Wedding ceremony Guests would be invited to come to join a party and celebrate the couples happiness. The couple should pray before the altar asking their ancestors for permission for their marriage, then to express their gratitude to both grooms and brides parents for raising and protecting them. Guests will share their joy at a party later erst funeral ceremonies went as following the physical structure was washed and beautifyed chopstick was laid between the teeth and a pinch of rice and three coins were dropped in the mouth. Then the body was put on a grass mat laid on the fundament according to the saying being born from the earth, one must emergence back to the earth. The numb(p) body was enveloped with white cloth, and put into the coffin. Finally, the funeral ceremony was officially performed.The deceased persons sons, daughters, and daughters-in-law had to withstand coarse gauze turbans and tunics, and hats made of straw or of ironical banana fiber. The deceased persons grandchildren and re latives also had to wear mourning turbans. During the days when the dead were still laid out at home, the mourning went on with worshipping meals and mourning harmony. Relatives, neighbors, and friends came to volunteer their condolences.The date and time for the funeral processio, must be guardedly selected. Relatives, friends, and descendants take part in the funeral procession to accompany the dead along the way to the sepulcher ground. Votive papers were dropped along the way. At the terrible site, the coffin is buried and covered. After three days of mourning, the family visits the tomb again, or worship the opening the grave after 49 days, the family stops bringing rice for the dead to the altar. And finally, after 100 days, the family celebrates the end of the tears. After one year is the ceremony of the first day of remembrance of the relatives death and after two years is the ceremony of the end of mourning.Nowadays, mourning ceremonies follow new rituals which are sim plified they consist of covering and putting the dead body into the coffin, the funeral procession, the burial of the coffin into the grave, and the visits to the tomb. The deceased persons family members wear a white turban or a black mourning bandReligion in Vietnam has historically been prodigiously defined by the East Asian mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, the so-called Tam Gio, or threefold devotion, but today it has make out more diverse including other religions such as cat holism, etc. Vietnamese Buddhism has typically been the most popular. The country also has a strong cultural norm of ancestor worship as well as animism. This fits perfectly with the triple religion, making it difficult for many Vietnamese to express exactly which religion they practice.1 Of the three, Vietnamese Buddhism has always been the most popular with commonersBuddhism came to Vietnam as early as the second century CE through the North from central Asia and via Southern routes from In dia. Buddhism in Vietnam as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese is mainly of the Mahayana school, although some ethnic minorities (such as the Khmer Krum) adhere to the Theravada school. Buddhism in Vietnam has had a symbiotic relationship with Taoism, Chinese spirituality, and the indigenous Vietnamese religion. The majority of Buddhist practitioners focus on devotional rituals rather than meditation.Buddhism is not practiced the same as in other Asian countries and does not contain the institutional structures, hierarchy, or sang has that exist in other traditional Buddhist settings. Due to this observation the estimate that 80% of the Vietnamese population is Buddhist is questionable, but does however show that many Vietnamese define their spiritual needs using a Buddhist worldviewBesides the triple religion, Vietnamese life was also profoundly influenced by the practice of ancestor worship as well as native animism. Most Vietnamese people, regardless of religious denomination, p ractice ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar at their home or business, a testament to the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty.Along with obligations to clan and family, education has always played a vital role in Vietnamese culture. In the old days, scholars were placed at the top of society. Men not born of noble blood could only wish to elevate their status by means of studying for a rigorous Imperial examination which could potentially open doors to a position in the government, granting them power and prestige as Mandarin officialsVietnamese cuisine is highly diverse, often divided into three main categories, each pertaining to Vietnams three main regions (north, central and south). It uses very little oil and many vegetables, and is mainly based on rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Its characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (Serrano peppers), sour (lime), fish sauce, and flavored by a variety of mint and basil.Vietnam also has a large variety of beans and noodle soups. Different regions invented different types of noodles, varying in shapes, tastes, colors, etc. One of the nations most famous type of noodles is pronounced fuh, a type of noodle soup originating in North Vietnam, which consists of rice noodles and beef soup (sometimes chicken soup) with several other ingredients such as bean sprouts and scallions (spring onions). It is often eaten for breakfast, but also makes a satisfying lunch or light dinner. The boiling stock, fragrant with spices and sauces, is poured over the noodles and vegetables, poaching the paper-thin slices of raw beef just before serving. Ph? is meant to be savored, incorporating several different flavors the sweet flavor of beef, sour lemons, salty fish sauce, and fresh vegetables.In feudal Vietnam, clothing was one of the most important label of social status and strict dress codes were enforced.Commoners had a limited choice of similarly plain and simple clothes for every day use, as well as being limited in the colors they were allowed to use. For a period, commoners were not allowed to wear clothes with dyes other than black, brown or white (with the excommunication of modified occasions such as festivals), but in actuality these rules could change often based upon the whims of the current ruler.The o t? thn or four-part dress is one such example of an ancient dress widely worn by commoner women, along with the o y?m bodice which accompanied it. Peasants crosswise the country also gradually came to wear silk pajama-like costumes, known as o cnh in the north and o b ba in the south.Monarchs had the undivided right to wear the color gold, while nobles wore red or purple. Each member of the royal move had an assortment of different formal gowns they would wear at a particular ceremony, or for a particular occasion. The rules governing the fashion of the royal court could change dynasty by dynasty, thus Costumes of the Vietnamese court were quite an diverse.The most popular and widely-recognized Vietnamese national costume is the o Di, which is worn nowadays mostly by women, although men do wear o di on special occasions such as weddings and funerals. o di is derived from the Chinese Xiao, although it consists of a long gown with a slit on both sides, worn over cotton or silk trousers. It is elegant in style and comfortable to wear, and likely derived in the 18th century or in the royal court of Hu?. White o di is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Some female office workers (e.g. receptionists, secretaries, tour guides) are also required to wear o di. o di was once worn by both genders but today it is worn mainly by females, except for certain important traditional culture-related occasions where some men do wear it.In daily life, the traditional Vietnamese styles are now replaced by Western styles. Traditional clothing is worn instead on special occasions, with the exception of the white o di commonly seen wit h high school girls in VietnamTraditional Vietnamese art is art practiced in Vietnam or by Vietnamese artists, from ancient times (including the elaborate Dong Son drums) to post-Chinese domination art which was strongly influenced by Chinese Buddhist art, among other philosophies such as Taoism and Confucianism. The art of Champ and France also played a smaller role later on.The Chinese influence on Vietnamese art extends into Vietnamese pottery and ceramics, chirography, and traditional architecture. Currently, Vietnamese lacquer paintings have proven to be quite popularCalligraphy has had a long history in Vietnam, antecedently using Chinese characters along with Ch? Nm. However, most modern Vietnamese calligraphy instead uses the Roman-character based Qu?c Ng?, which has proven to be very popular.In the past, with literacy in the old character-based writing systems of Vietnam being restricted to scholars and elites, calligraphy nevertheless still played an important part in Vie tnamese life. On special occasions such as the Lunar New Year, people would go to the village teacher or scholar to make them a calligraphy hanging (often poetry, folk sayings or even single words). People who could not read or write also often commissioned scholars to write prayers which they would trim down at temple shrines.Vietnamese euphony varies slightly in the three regions B?c or North, Trung or Central, and Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnams oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera company. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez-faire attitude.Vietnam has got some 50 national music instruments, in which the set of percussion instruments is the most popular, diverse and long-lasting such as copper drums, gongs, lithopone, Dan to rung The set of blowing in struments is represented by flutes and pan-pipes, while the set of string instruments is specified.The Vietnamese folksongs are rich in forms and melodies of regions across the country, ranging from reciting poems, lullaby, chanteyIn the 20th century, in contact with the Western culture, especially after the national independence, many new categories of arts like plays, photography, cinemas, and modern art had taken shape and developed strongly, obtaining huge achievements with the contents reflecting the social and revolutionary realities. Up to 1997, there have been 44 people operational in cultural and artistic fields honored with the Ho Chi Minh Award, 130 others conferred with Peoples Artist Honor, and 1011 people awarded with the Excellent Artist Honor. At the start of 1997, there were 191 professional artistic organizations and 26 film studios (including central and local ones). There have been 28 movies, 49 scientific and documentary films receiving international motion pe rsona awards in many countriesHt tu?ng (also known as Ht b?i) A theatre form strongly influenced by Chinese opera, it transitioned from being entertainment for the royal court to travelling troupes who performed for commoners and peasants, featuring many well-known stock characters.C?i luong A kind of modern folk opera originating in South Vietnam, which utilizes extensive vibrato techniques. It remains very popular in modern Vietnam when compared to other folk styles.Ht cho The most mainstream of theatre/music forms in the past, enjoyed widely by the public rather than the more obscure Ca tr which was favored more by scholars and elites. piddle puppetryWater Puppet Theatre in Hanoi Water is a distinct Vietnamese art which had its origins in the 10th century. In Water Puppetry a split-bamboo inter obscures puppets which stand in water, and are manipulated using long poles hidden beneath the water. Epic story lines are played out with many different puppets, often using traditional scenes of Vietnamese life. The puppets are made from quality wood, such as the South East Asian Jackfruit tree. Each puppet is carefully carved, and then painted with numerous successive layers of paint to protect the puppets.Despite nearly dying out in the 20th century, Water Puppetry has been recognized by the Vietnamese Government as an important part of Vietnams cultural heritage. Today, puppetry is commonly performed by professional puppeteers, who typically are taught by their elders in rural areas of Vietnam. It is now extremely popular with tourists, and is performed at the National Museum in Ho Chi Minh city and in specialist theatres. In 2007 a Water Puppet troupe toured the USA to acclaimVietnam has 54 different ethnics, each with their own traditional dance. Among the ethnic Vietnamese majority, there are several traditional dances performed widely at festivals and other special occasions, such as the lion dance.In the imperial court there also developed throughout the centuries a series of complex court dances which require great skill. Some of the more widely known are the imperial lantern dance, fan dance, and platter dance, among othersVietnamese martial art is highly developed from the countrys long history of warfare and attempts to defend itself from foreign occupation. Although most firmly influenced by Chinese martial arts, it has developed its own characteristics throughout the millennia in combination with other influences from its neighbors. Vietnamese martial art is deeply spiritual due to the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and is strongly reliant on the Viet Vo Dao (philosophy of Vietnamese martial arts). It is believably most famous for its scissor kicks.The general Vietnamese term for martial arts is V-Thu?t, which encompasses all of the countless styles. Some of the more popular includeVovinamV Bnh ?nhQuan Khi DaoVietnamese martial art remains relatively unknown in the world today when compared to its counterpar ts from China, Japan, Korea or Thailand. However, this is seeing a definite change as schools teaching various styles of Vietnamese martial arts are starting to pop up all over the world, notably in countries such as SpainVietnamese martial art is highly developed from the countrys long history of warfare and attempts to defend itself from foreign occupation. Although most heavily influenced by Chinese martial arts, it has developed its own characteristics throughout the millennia in combination with other influences from its neighbors. Vietnamese martial art is deeply spiritual due to the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and is strongly reliant on the Viet Vo Dao (philosophy of Vietnamese martial arts). It is probably most famous for its scissor kicks.LiteratureVietnamese books includes two major components which have developed simultaneously and are profoundly interrelated Folk lit and written literature.Vietnamese folk literature came into being very early and had a profound effect on the spiritual life of the Viet. The folk literature always praised beauty, humanism, and the love of goodness, and contributed to the formation of a national sense. Legends, fairy tales, witty stories, folk songs, epics and so on, have a tremendous vitality and have lived on until today.Written literature was born roughly in the 10th century. Up to the 20th century, there had been two components existing at the same time works written in the Han characters (with poems and prose demonstrating the Vietnamese soul and realities thus, they were still regarded as Vietnamese literature) and works written in the Nom character (mostly poems many great works were handed down to the later generations). Since the 1920s , written literature has been mainly composed in the National language with profound renovations in form and category such as novels, new-style poems, short stories and dramas, and with diversity in artistic tendency. Written literature attained speedy dev elopment after the August Revolution, when it was directed by the Vietnamese Communist Partys guideline and focused on the peoples fighting and work life. mod Vietnamese literature has developed from romanticism to realism, from heroism in wartime to all aspects of life, and soared into ordinary life to discover the genuine values of the Vietnamese people.Classical literature generated such masterpieces as Truyen Kieu (Nguyen Du), Cung oan ngam khuc (Nguyen Gia Thieu), Chinh phu ngam (Dang Tran Con), and Quoc am thi tap (Nguyen Trai). The Vietnamese had brilliant female poets such as Ho Xuan Huong, Doan Thi Diem, and Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, centuries ago.In Vietnamese modern prose, there were authors who could emulate whomever in the world, namely, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Vu Trong Phung, Ngo Tat To, Nguyen Hong, Nguyen Tuan, and Nam Cao. They were joined by excellent poets Xuan Dieu, Huy Can, Han Mac Tu, and Nguyen Binh. Regrettably, their great works that faithfully reflected the country an d the times have nonetheless to appearVietnam has a number of UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites, as well as cultural relics deemed as Intangible heritage. These are split into specific categoriesCultural heritage sitesHoi An An ancient city and trading center.Imperial city of Hu? Complex of monuments in the former imperial capital.My Son Ancient temple complex of the former Champa civilization in Quang Nam province.Natural heritage sitesPhong Nha cave,Quang Binh province.Ha Long BayIntangible Cultural HeritageNh nh?c A form of Vietnamese court music.Space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands of VietnamCa trQuan h?There are a number of other potential world heritage sites, as well as intangible cultural heritages which Vietnam has completed documents on for UNESCOs recognition in the future.Vietnam celebrates many holidays, including traditional holidays which have been celebrated in Vietnam for thousands of years, along with modern holidays imported predominantly from western countries.Among the traditional holidays, the two most important and widely celebrated are the New Year although the latter has been losing ground in recent yearsWith the adoption of your child from Vietnam comes a whole new Vietnamese culture that you will want to share with your family. Our articles introduce you to Vietnam and to the Vietnamese culture, including Vietnamese holidays, Vietnamese cooking, Vietnamese names, Vietnamese culture camps, craft projects, humanitarian aid projects, and moreVietnamese culture, including holidays and celebrations, Vietnamese names, Vietnamese food and recipes, Vietnamese language and more

valley of the kings :: essays research papers

Its easy to understand why the Valley of the Kings was not observe until the 1800s. It is located over a mountain ridge and in a secluded valley, miles from civilization. The Valley of the Kings contains approximately sixty-two excavated tombs, not all of which are royal. Some belonged to the privileged members of nobility and were not decorated. The earliest tombs of such kings as Thutmose I contained stairways, corridors, and right-angle bends whereas, the latter tombs of such kings as Ramesses XI, were little more than huge sloping corridors. One of the most recently discovered tombs, that of the children of Ramesses II, fifty-four in all, is world excavated, with eight or nine rooms thus far uncovered. The work is being financed by Chicago House in the United States.Depending on the advocator and length of reign of a king determined the opulence of the tomb itself. Most tombs were robbed thousands of years ago, plainly you can still see the spectacular color-painted hierogly phics veneer the corridors of some. The stories told are of kings bearing gifts to the gods or perhaps stories of the kings travels or battles. Much can be learned from these pictures concerning ancient life in Egypt.Most tombs contained false entrances or false burial chambers, etc. to confuse robbers and deter them from finding the riches needed in the afterlife.King Tuts Tomb (Tutankhamun)King Tuts tomb was not discovered until 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, as it was concealed beneath the mud brick houses of the workmen who cut the tomb of Ramesses VI. Most likely this tomb was not carved for a king, but for a high official. But due to the fact that King Tut died at an early age, the rooms were hastily converted. Items for the afterlife were seemingly thrown into the various rooms. What makes this finicky find important is that the contents were untouched by robbers. The real antiquities can be found in the Cairo Museum. The pictures shown here are replicas indicati ng how they were positioned when discovered by Carter.Three coffins were found in the tomb, the last of solid gold. King Tuts mummy was not in very good shape and so is kept at his tomb. He was found with 15 rings of various sizes on his mummy fingers depending on the amount of linen used to wrap his hands.

Evil Dead Vs. Evil Dead :: essays research papers

&8220 satanic Dead in respect to &8220 slimy Dead 2Main Character personality Differences From the Original to the Remake&8220Evil Dead and &8220Evil Dead 2 are both late 80&8217s horror movies starring Bruce Campbell as Ash, a unemotional guy in his early 20&8217s that ends up hacking to death his demon posessed friends to avoid death. In the original &8220Evil Dead, Ash tends to run from either of the daemons and scary things that come his way, until there is no wholeness left and he is forced to protect himself. In &8220Evil Dead2, Ash Starts out as a quiet guy, but when evil things start happening, he swings quickly into action. From slicing up his girlfriends possessed head to chopping off his own possessed hand, he never seems timid around danger.To accurately compare these two films, it needs to be known that &8220Evil Dead and &8220Evil Dead2 are the same movie. &8220Evil Dead2 is not a sequel to &8220Evil Dead but rather a remake of the original. The original let the im pression of Ash being killed at the very end of the film. The remake, &8220Evil Dead2, allowed the making of the sequel, &8220army of darkness. In &8220Evil Dead, Ash, his girlfriend, and 3 other friends rent a run-down cabin in the middle of a deserted timberland for a couple nights as a vacation. Ash seems to be the easy-going push over type. He does what everyone says without question. Shortly after a tree sexually attacks one of the girls in the group she becomes possessed and attempts to kill ash&8217s girlfriend. While this is happening ash is standing 4 feet away with an ax, yet he is similarly scared to do anything. The other man in their group has to take action and lock her in the basement. According to the remake, this is unusual behavior for Ash. In &8220Evil Dead2, Ash&8217s Girlfriend is the first individual possessed and he barely thinks twice before taking her head off with an ax and indeed cutting the head in half with a chain-saw. In &8220Evil Dead, one of the c haracters tells Ash that &8220there&8217s something out there but ash refuses to believe. On the contrary, in &8220Evil Dead2, ash tries to convince some visitors to the cabin that people are possessed and they end up locking him in the basement. In the blurb version of the story, Ash is made out to be a hero.