Diagram of Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System Essay Example for Free

Diagram of Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System Essay Figure 2.0: Context Diagram of Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System The figure 2.0 represents the two (2) users of the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System namely the Administrator and the Professor. The Administrator entity shows the capability to access the system; manage account by modifying account’s profile; managing member’s account such as creating new user profile and updating user profile; importing student list; creation of grade criteria; generating students grade report and updating website contents. The Professor entity shows the capability on accessing the system; managing account profile; importing student list; defining grade template for grading computation and generating student’s grade. Figure 3.0: First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of Administrator’s Capabilities The figure 3.0 represents the First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator upon successfully logging-in into the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System. He/she has the capabilities to manage modules such as handling member’s account, importing students list, creation of grade criteria, grade computation and updating website contents Figure 3.1: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Managing Account for Administrator The figure 3.1 shows the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator on managing members account wherein he/she has the capability to create account’s profile for new professor or associate. He/she also capable on updating existing member account. Figure 3.2: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Import Student List, Create Criteria, Grading and Website Modules for Administrator Figure 3.2 shows the continuation of the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator. Upon successfully accessing the system, he/she has the capability to import students list and create criteria template to be use for the student’s grade computations. The Administrator also has the  capibility to change or update website contents from client’s discretion. Figure 4.0: First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram for Professor’s Capabilities In the Figure 4.0 shown above, it represents the First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of Professor in the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System. Same with the Administrator user, the Professor also have the capabilities to update own account profile, import student lists and generate student’s grade summary. Figure 4.1: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Managing Account, Import Student Lists and Compute Grade Modules for Professor Figure 4.1 shown above presents the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Professor upon successfully logging-in into the system. Same with the Administrator user, the Professor is also capable on modifying and updating account profile; importing student list; defining grade criteria template and generate grade summary of students.

Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?

Can Democracy Stop Terrorism? There is a general and growing concern about Terrorism and the fear it is spreading all over the world. Fighting it is one of nowadays main priorities and the most effective ways of doing it are being discussed by scholars, governments and people in general. The concept of terrorism has evolved throughout the years and no consensual definition has been reached. There are however certain features that clearly characterizes these unexpected and, many times, devastating events. Yet also the way terrorists are operating and the tools theyre using has been changing, which makes even more difficult to find the better way to stop them. When the huge and powerful democratic country USA became the target of one of the major attacks from all times, then many things were questioned and the sense that no one and no country were safe got easily spread among public opinion. Are Democracies more vulnerable to Terrorism? Is this type of regime the best one to stop the violence? Is Terrorism, or the measures to annihilate it, limiting the rights and liberties that democracy is meant to provide? These are intriguing questions. In this Essay, I will firstly explain what I mean by terrorism and democracy, before analysing the existence of a link between both. Then I will present arguments for and against the idea that democratizing the countries where terrorism comes from might be the solution to this fear spreading phenomenon. I will then show that probably it is not the case and that ending terrorism might involve much deeper measures than a simple change of political system. Finally, and to understand whether or not Terrorism is weakening democracies and its main guarantees, I will show recent examples that might allow us to understand it better. Throughout the paper I will also find in theories and great authors, like Hobbes and Schmitter, the necessary help to better understand these two complex yet challenging and current concepts. Defining democracy and terrorism Democracy can be defined as the political system where political authority belongs to people. The word comes from the Greek, where demos means people and kratos means authority. There are however different types of democracy and in this essay whenever I refer to democracy, I mean liberal democracy. This later concept adds to the general concept of representative democracy (in which people through elections decide their representatives) the fact (among others, but this is probably the most distinguishable) that there is the protection of liberties and rights through a constitution. Among those rights and freedoms there are the freedom of speech and religion, equality before law and others. Confusion between democracy and liberal democracy happens quite often because democracy is the word that resonates in peoples minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life  [1]  . However what they look for in fact is a political system that combines dem ocracy on one hand with freedom, the rule of law, and good governance on the other hand in other words, liberal democracy.  [2]   Although terrorism is a difficult concept to define there are some common features among terrorist attacks that can be stressed: they involve an ideological component, use violence or at least a threat of violence, are generally conducted by an organized group (or at least by a group constituted by a strong leader and faithful followers), and aim, usually, civilians rather than belligerent groups. The main idea is to spread the fear in a generalized way and thats why their targets are common citizens that usually dont even know their purposes but sense fear and the unexpectedness of their acts more profoundly. According to Willem Schinkel  [3]  terrorism works bottom up, that means, that civilians are used as a mean to achieve their real audience (usually states, as symbols of a certain ideology or states themselves in cases of independence fights, like ETA in Spain). Depending on the nationality of those (people and institutions) involved in the attacks, we can differentiate two types of terrorism: transnational terrorism and domestic terrorism. In the former the incident takes place in one country [and] involves perpetrators, victims, institutions, governments, or citizens of another country, in the latter it involves perpetrators, victims, and an audience of the country in which the incident occurs  [4]  . For the purpose of my research I will mainly focus on transnational terrorism. Since within transnational terrorism there are different types, I will mainly focus my analysis on the one played by radical Islamist movements, like Al-Qaeda, for example. As it has already been said, the concept of terrorism has evolved through times. Namely the way fear and terror are being perpetrated is getting more sophisticated. The most common attacks are characterized by bombings, kidnapping and hijacking but the fear of weapons of mass destruction being used turns the finding of solutions even more urgent. Yet, what is frighteningly challenging in this new wave of terrorism is that fear is in the majority of cases unilateral (considering, like it was said before, terrorist groups like Al Qaeda). We can say that in this case fear wont probably be enough to end war, as Hobbes would say. According to this author, the society is composed by selfish beings and so the normal state is a state of war, but the war itself can be prevented because what also characterizes human beings is that they fear things, they fear death for example. However, in the case of terrorism (or in the case of one of the most common forms of it), its actors are not driven by fear, they are trained to face death if necessary and for the sake of what they believe to be a higher purpose.  [5]   Will Democracy be able to stop Terrorism? Mostly after 9/11 attacks in USA, that killed around three thousand people in both New Yorks World Trade Center and Pentagon, the majority of President Bushs speeches regarding the fight against terrorism involved the idea that only through the democratization of the countries generators of terrorism would that fight be successful. In February 2003, for example, in the American Enterprise Institute, Bush stated that The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder. There is then a great discussion regarding the capability of liberal democracies to end the grievances that feed terrorists actions. Assuming that the majority of terrorist attacks perpetrators come from the Middle East, where theres an undeniable lack of democratic principles, can then a link be made between these two phenomena? Would the democratization of these countries result in less terrorist events? Natan Sharansky in his book The Case of Democracy: The Power of freedom to overcome tyranny and terror defends that it would. He considers that the lack of democracy in these countries favours the flourishment of angry and frustrated minds and urges violence in order to achieve ones goals. He believes that democracy would bring peace to those nations and goes even further by saying that it is Wests responsibility to help the democratization process. According to Sharansky, and supporting Bushs intentions, the west and democratic world should make efforts towards the implementation of a democratic political system where it was never experienced and this would be the most effective way of ending this terrorism era.  [6]   Like Sharansky also Quan Li  [7]  defends that democracy would diminish frustrations and conflict by expanding political opportunities through elections and according to Rudolph Rummel living in a liberal democratic country would per se reduce conflict between people, because the interaction between people in a context of freedom is favourable to everyone. So, would a higher political participation contribute to the reduction of terrorist incidents? According to Michael Freeman  [8]  the mechanisms that drive transnational terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda are four: military, cultural, economic and political. The organized terrorist attacks are then the result of a sense of threat towards Islamic lands (military), a sense of threat towards Islamic culture and identity (cultural), a sense of frustration towards modernization and globalization, which the western world represent and that in the Middle East failed to improve the economy (economic) and a sense of inability to make themselves heard and to reach their demands (political). Considering these four mechanisms, democracy apparently seems to be able to have positive results but most likely wouldnt be enough to stop terrorism. I agree with Gregory Gause  [9]  when he argues that this political system would provide the possibility of a political participation from these groups but there is no guarantee that they would have enough support for their political agenda. And in that case, the question is whether they would accept peoples choice or would that situation make them even more frustrated and incite them to return to their previous modus operandi and attack their democracy and other nations too in order to get the accomplishment of their goals. Besides this uncertainty regarding terrorists reaction before unsuccessful elections, there is also the ideological component of their aims. And that is something that cannot be ignored. It is not just a question of being heard and achieving political representation, I would even risk saying that it is their mi nor priority. There is a rooted hatred towards what the western culture represents. Religious issues and fundamentalism are definitely on the basis of part of that hatred and that is something that should be smoothen namely by education. Islamism is far from the extremist ideas that these organizations stand for and children and young people should learn within an understanding and tolerant environment. Living in a free country, where rights and liberties are assured might not be enough if the mentality remains attached to the idea that Islamism is being threatened by countries like the USA and that that justifies the so called jihad. A crucial step to be taken is also the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Osama Bin Laden assumed that this conflict was one of the main reasons for attacking the USA in 2001. This is a very sensitive question which generates great part of the sense of threat towards Islamic lands. It is then important to establish a peaceful relationship between Israel and Palestine so that a calmer Middle East can be achieved. Besides everything said before, the theories that see democracy as the solution for terrorism do not consider an undeniable reality: there are democracies that still have terrorist groups IRA in Ireland and ETA in Spain are two of the most resounding examples. Even though these are domestic terrorism organizations, they are examples of how it is possible that terrorist groups (with different purposes but with similar ways of terrorizing people) can emerge within a democratic system. Are Democracies becoming more fragile as a result of Terrorism? There is a strong discussion regarding the vulnerability of democracies before terrorism. The arguments in favour of a higher vulnerability of democracies when compared to other political systems are mainly two. First, some authors for example Paul Wilkinson  [10]  defend that the particular features of a liberal democratic nation such as free press, freedom of political organization and of movement facilitate the organization of terrorist attacks. Also Bianchi and Keller stated that the irony is that their [democracies] distinguishing traits and foundational tenets in many ways constitute fertile ground for international terrorism.  [11]  Namely the free speech right might be able to raise some violent reactions from the outside, when for example, like in Denmark, cartoons with Mohammed wearing a turban with a shape of a bomb (among other cartoons with the prophet) were drawn. This happened in 2005 and for several weeks not only the cartoonist responsible for the drawings wa s target of direct death threats and attempts but also Danish embassies throughout the world (namely the Muslim world) were burned. What started to be the result of a mans creativity and freedom of drawing whatever he wanted to (or the result of any other motivations, which Im not discussing here) turned out to be one of the biggest international crisis for Denmark after II World War, as Danishs Prime Minister at the time stated. The second argument regarding the higher vulnerability of democracies is defended by some authors who consider that it is not the result of democracies particular features (because in that case they would be as vulnerable to domestic terrorism as to transnational terrorism and they defend it is not the case) but the result of how they position themselves in the world, i.e., the result of their foreign policies. Democracies tend to engage themselves in foreign issues and get involved in conflicts, to which they believe they can give a positive contribute. Th is involvement might create certain resentments  [12]  . As B. Savun and B. Phillips stated The more frequently a state engages in conflict with other states, the more likely that it will create resentment and hostility abroad. Although this resentment may be most pronounced among the people who are directly affected by such hostile actions, it is likely that such hostile actions result in a broader resentment and negativity toward the participants of such crises.  [13]   Whether it is because of one type of argument or the other the fact is that many democracies have been throughout the years target of terrorist attacks. And this brings me to another question: At what extent are these attacks and the counterterrorism measures that they induce to be taken, making democracies weaker and making them lose some of their most important features, by obliging governments to restrict certain civil and political rights? This makes us rethink about governments priorities: security versus liberty. Should the state provide security, as being the most important good, like Hobbes would suggest, or should it be more worried with guaranteeing liberty for its citizens, above anything else, like Locke defended? My intention is not to prioritize between these two values but understand if there really is a trade off between both, i.e., if fighting against terrorism is in fact limiting some liberties. Some authors have tested that and reached some conclusions (like for example Weinberg and Eubank  [14]  ). First I would like to say that in this particular study of Eubank and Weinberg, democracy was measured by using Polity IV scales, civil liberties and political rights were measured according to Freedom House and Terrorism (please note that Im always referring to International Terrorism) was measured using the number of attacks occurred per year between 1968 and 2005. They included 24 countries in this test from West European countries to Latin America and South Asia. The results indicated a poor relationship between terrorism and civil liberties and political rights, indicating that probably there is no trade-off after all. These results were then against the authors first perception (that political rights and civil liberties have been suffering a reduction as a result of the spread of terrorism). In my opinion, however, (and even though the regressions might not be statisti cally significant in proving that there is an inverted relationship between terrorism and political and civil rights) a more empirical analysis would suggest that it can really exist and might even embody a trend to getting worse in next years. Statistics may not cover certain modifications and policies, which after a more careful analysis might be considered as reducing certain liberties, for example, in terms of privacy rights. For the sake of a safer country for example in the United States and since 9/11 attacks, several measures have been taken with controversial effects in ones privacy: wiretaps in private telephones, databases of phone calls made in American soil, inspections with warrant in suspicious packages received by Post. More recently, a failed attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines airplane in its flight from Amsterdam to Detroit stressed the major preoccupation regarding the possibility of terrorists hiding explosive engines in their bodies and being able to carry them to the airplane. This incident brought to the discussion a new technology that is being developed, consisting in a full-body scanner. This scanner is able to see through clothes and do the same thing to a human body like the x-ray engine doe s to the luggage. Some say this is a clear invasion of privacy but theres a quite majority (among public opinion and states responsibles) believing that this is a necessary evil, regarding how terrorism is evolving and how, besides all the level of protection, a terrorist was still able to bring explosives to the airplane. Counterterrorism policies will evolve accordingly to terrorism threats. And this is the main reason why I said that not only terrorism is jeopardizing certain liberties and rights but also it will keep doing it even more, as terrorist methodologies keep improving and surprising police authorities. Besides privacy rights issues, terrorism is also contributing to the rise of prejudice demonstrations around the world. One may often understand this everyday, mainly against people coming from Middle East. Since some of the more recent and major terrorist attacks (USA in September 2001, Madrid in March 2004 and London in July 2005) were perpetrated by Muslims or Muslims descendents, a climate of anti-muslim and anti-arab feelings was installed. These feelings are reflected in some common citizens reactions and attitudes towards Muslims but also in a wider attention from authorities in relation to them. This is a clear restriction to ones right of being equally treated. Conclusion Coincidently or not both terrorism and democracy have become more frequent in the last decades. Terrorism has been assuming new shapes, hitting apparently stronger targets and spreading fear throughout the world, at a growing rhythm. In a similar rhythm have been countries all over the world turning their political systems into democratic ones. My goal in this Essay was to analyse the link between democracy and terrorism from two different perspectives. First, I tried to understand whether the implementation of a democratic regime in the countries where terrorism is mainly generated would stop terrorism. I concluded that it could help but it surely wouldnt be enough. I exposed the four mechanisms that stimulate terrorism and theyre not only related to political reasons of lack of participation and week democratic principles, they have also a deep ideological, cultural and religious component that turn it even more difficult to understand and, as consequence, to contain terrorism. I suggested that higher efforts could be put on education in what concerns to religious and cultural tolerance. Moreover, I consider, as well as different heads of state, that in fact it is important that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is solved, since this conflict is, most probably, the highest responsible for the instability in the Middle East. Second, I analysed if democracies are getting weaker as a result of terrorism or more specifically as a result of counterterrorism policies. Said by other words, what I wanted to understand was whether certain rights and liberties were being limited or not by the terrorism environment that characterizes modern times. I presented one study, whose results do not prove the existence of a trade off between rights and liberties and terrorism. However, even though statistics do not corroborate my argument, and this I believe is a consequence of the fact that indicators do not catch every single law modification, I substantiated it through practical examples, where the reduction of privacy rights, for example, are quite visible. At the end of this essay I realized how difficult it is to define a concept so broad and always in constant evolution like terrorism. Making a link between this difficult concept and the political system that in last decades has been conquering more and more countries throughout the world is very challenging. I am sure that the current era of insecurity that were living nowadays together with the technological development speed will certainly add many chapters to this discussion in a near future.

Make Love, Not War Essay -- Social Studies

Life on Earth constantly swings between peace and war, even though human kind is famishing for happiness. Bliss does not derive from war and violence, why then humanity cannot live without the burden of wars? We are likely pursuing the culture of death. Maybe violence is inscribed into our DNA, our ancestral reptile brain, somehow, is dominating over our intellectual reasoning and emotional intelligence, the same brain that helped us to survive in hostile environments of a primitive world. How could man make this world a better place? Could love change this status quo? Leslie Marmon Silko writes in Ceremony: â€Å"Tonight the singing had come first, squeaking out of the iron bed, a man singing in Spanish, the melody of a familiar love song, two words again and again, â€Å"Y volverà ©.† Sometimes the Japanese voices came first, angry and loud, pushing the song far away, and then he could hear the shift in his dreaming, like a slight afternoon wind changing its direction, coming less and less from the south, moving into the west, and the voices would become Laguna voices,† (6) Y volvere, in Spanish means returning, coming back, these words belong to a â€Å"familiar love song† (6) and they can evoke nostalgic feelings in the heart of a soldier in war. A Love song, how can love feelings survive in a war situation, where a soldier in battle likely does not have the right to be compassionate and human? The angry enemy voices are "pushing away the song" (6). Hate and violence are wiping away love; probably there is no space for love in war."And the voices would become Laguna voices" another place, another situation but the same struggling story. Human beings denied of their freedom, dignity, history, traditions, and storytelling.... ...iolenza† (Dottrina della resistenza passiva). Periodi storici e tematici Storia in network â€Å"Cronologia† Copyright One Italia 2010. Web. 06 of April, 2012 http://cronologia.leonardo.it/storia/biografie/gandhi2.htm Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York. Pag. 6. Print Mario Rigoni Stern. Il Sergente nella neve-ritorno sul Don. â€Å"In Guerra, quando sembra che tutto debba crollare e morirre, un gesto, una parola, un fatto e’ sufficiente a ridare speranza e vita.† (Einaudi tascabili di Mario Rigoni Stern. 1 gennaio 1969. Pag.51. Print Mark D. Tooley is president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and author of Taking Back the United Methodist Church. Viewpoints on war and pacifism. Web. 06 April 2012 http://0-ic.galegroup.com.library.lanecc.edu/ic/ovic/?userGroupName=laneccoll&

Functions of Human Resource Department Essay -- Employment Employee De

Functions of Human Resource Department One of the main functions of Human Resource Department is training and development beside recruitment, selection and placement. It isn’t enough to recruit employees into the skills or knowledge they currently posses, but rather for their ability to learn and adapt through training as conditions change or business needs. Employees are very important resources where some organizations assign huge budget to train them. However, this budget is taken out when organizations have financial problems. Here comes HR role to lighten top management that Training and Developing strategy is a vital investment to show commitment and ensure competency of employees’. Pfeffer references growing evidence that the loss of skills and increased use of contract employees have hurt productivity and even safety in organizations and industry (1998, P172). In this report we’ll talk about Training and Developing policy in UAE based company known as Tawteen. We’ll examine the effectiveness of this policy, describe its operation, show the policy outcomes and review the employees’ feedback on the policy. Before we go ahead with our analysis we should look at the policy in other regions rather than UAE. Also we’ll summarize an overview of our company and its internal operations to have a complete picture. Outside UAE: In USA we have â€Å"open career systems where individuals are given considerable freedom to manage their own careers. In such settings we find a chance to bid on jobs and training opportunities† (Towers 1996, p. 31) . However, Japanese companies operating in USA and UK â€Å"Job Training is typically provided internally, though at least in the early stages of operations there has been a tendency to buy-in managerial talent† (Towers 1996, p. 55). On the other hand, In European companies there is an â€Å"increase in training at all levels†. â€Å"Training and development is increasingly seen as a critical part of an organization’s HR strategy† (Towers 1996, p. 83). For example, in UK it is estimated that business spends 16 billion on training and developing their employees each year (Rana, 2000a). In UAE where business is growing very fast and we have huge number of skilful expatriates’ workers. Excluding enterprise companies, medium and small size companies don’t have training and development strategy. As ... ...ged and developed at work has major effects upon quality, customer service, organizational flexibility and costs’. By providing a framework for training and developing employees, Tawteen as a training and recruitment is contributing in the Emiratisation strategy by training UAE Nationals and maintaining the quality of training. References Bown B. 2000, Recognizing and Rewarding Employees, McGraw-Hill, New York. Harrison R. 1992, Employee Development, IPD, London. Laila Murad, HR Officer in Tawteen, Dubai, 2005 Marchington M. & Wilkinson A. 2003, 2nd Edition, People Management and Development. , Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD House), London. Pfeffer J, 1998, The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, Harvard Business School, Boston. Rana E. 2000, ‘IIP revamp aims to cut back on bureaucracy’, People Management, 13th April 2000, P14. Saif Sultan, System trainer in Tawteen, Dubai, 2005 Sanders D. 2000, ‘The Pros and Cons of Computer based learning’, Employee Development Bulletin 123, March 2000, P6-8. Towers B. 1996, 2nd Edition, The Handbook of Human Resource Management, Blackwell Business, Oxford.

Spender And Sankichi: Two Views Of Disaster :: essays research papers fc

Stephen Spender's "Epilogue to a Human Drama" and Toge Sankichi's "Dying" are poems detailing the destruction of two cities, London and Hiroshima, respectively, during or after World War II bombings. Spender wrote "Epilogue to a Human Drama," hereafter referred to as "Epilogue," after a December air raid of London during the Battle of Britain, which ravaged and razed much of England from Summer 1940 until Spring 1941. Sankichi wrote "Dying" from his vivid recollections of the surprise atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which decimated the Japanese city in less than a second. Both the Battle of Britain and Hiroshima were horrible, senseless, and vicious incidents that exacted gave tolls on innocent victims. Spender endured the Battle of Britain, and Sankichi experienced the horror of Hiroshima. The poets' responses differ greatly in style and perspective, but each work clearly defines the ramifications of atrocities such as those committed a gainst Spender, Sankichi, and the populations of London and Hiroshima. England's Royal Air Force battled Germany's Luftwaffe from August 1940 until May 1941. During that conflict, England was subjected to air raids day and night. When Hitler finally withdrew his birds of war, four hundred thousand British citizens had been killed, forty-six thousand had been seriously wounded, and one million homes had been leveled. After one raid, a relief team helped a woman who had covered been covered in powdered brick and plaster and was bleeding profusely. As they aided her, she repeated four words continually in a tone of quiet terror: "Man's inhumanity to man†¦Man's inhumanity to man†¦" (Jablonski 148). Stephen Spender was in London for the duration of the bombings. He saw the demolition of surrounding buildings. He heard the droning of approaching bombers. He smelled the smoke of raging infernos. In his autobiography World Within World, Spender describes his mental condition during the raids as a "trance-like condition" and describes how he forced himself to think of places and things as merely mental concepts in order to avoid losing mental control (285). Hiroshima's destruction came without warning. Japanese High Command, which was located Hiroshima's ancient castle, was alerted early to the approach of the Enola Gay by an observation post on the island of Shikoku. The High Command elected to sound no air raid warning because they considered it senseless to disrupt work in local armament factories due to a single plane (Bruckner 98). At precisely 8:15 AM local time, the fuse was lit inside the descending bomb.

Carl Jung Theory Essay

Jung’s theory divides the psyche into three parts. The first is the ego, which Jung identifies with the conscious mind. Closely related is the personal unconscious, which includes anything that is not presently conscious, but can be. The personal unconscious is like most people’s understanding of the unconscious in that it includes both memories that are easily brought to mind and those that have been suppressed for some reason. But it does not include the instincts that Freud would have it include. But then Jung adds the part of the psyche that makes his theory stand out from all others: the collective unconscious. You could call it your â€Å"psychic inheritance. † It is the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with. And yet we can never be directly conscious of it. It influences all of our experiences and behaviors, most especially the emotional ones, but we only know about it indirectly, by looking at those influences. There are some experiences that show the effects of the collective unconscious more clearly than others: The experiences of love at first sight, of deja vu (the feeling that you’ve been here before), and the immediate recognition of certain symbols and the meanings of certain myths, could all be understood as the sudden conjunction of our outer reality and the inner reality of the collective unconscious. Grander examples are the creative experiences shared by artists and musicians all over the world and in all times, or the spiritual experiences of mystics of all religions, or the parallels in dreams, fantasies, mythologies, fairy tales, and literature. A nice example that has been greatly discussed recently is the near-death experience. It seems that many people, of many different cultural backgrounds, find that they have very similar recollections when they are brought back from a close encounter with death. They speak of leaving their bodies, seeing their bodies and the events surrounding them clearly, of being pulled through a long tunnel towards a bright light, of seeing deceased relatives or religious figures waiting for them, and of their disappointment at having to leave this happy scene to return to their bodies. Perhaps we are all â€Å"built† to experience death in this fashion. Archetypes The contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. Jung also called them dominants, imagos, mythological or primordial images, and a few other names, but archetypes seem to have won out over these. An archetype is an unlearned tendency to experience things in a certain way. The archetype has no form of its own, but it acts as an â€Å"organizing principle† on the things we see or do. It works the way that instincts work in Freud’s theory: At first, the baby just wants something to eat, without knowing what it wants. It has a rather indefinite yearning, which, nevertheless, can be satisfied by some things and not by others. Later, with experience, the child begins to yearn for something more specific when it is hungry — a bottle, a cookie, a broiled lobster, a slice of New York style pizza. The archetype is like a black hole in space: You only know its there by how it draws matter and light to itself. The mother archetype The mother archetype is a particularly good example. All of our ancestors had mothers. We have evolved in an environment that included a mother or mother-substitute. We would never have survived without our connection with a nurturing-one during our times as helpless infants. It stands to reason that we are â€Å"built† in a way that reflects that evolutionary environment: We come into this world ready to want mother, to seek her, to recognize her, to deal with her. So the mother archetype is our built-in ability to recognize a certain relationship, that of â€Å"mothering. † Jung says that this is rather abstract, and we are likely to project the archetype out into the world and onto a particular person, usually our own mothers. Even when an archetype doesn’t have a particular real person available, we tend to personify the archetype, that is, turn it into a mythological â€Å"story-book† character. This character symbolizes the archetype. The mother archetype is symbolized by the primordial mother or â€Å"earth mother† of mythology, by Eve and Mary in western traditions, and by less personal symbols such as the church, the nation, a forest, or the ocean. According to Jung, someone whose own mother failed to satisfy the demands of the archetype may well be one that spends his or her life seeking comfort in the church, or in identification with â€Å"the motherland,† or in meditating upon the figure of Mary, or in a life at sea. Mana You must understand that these archetypes are not really biological things, like Freud’s instincts. They are more spiritual demands. For example, if you dreamt about long things, Freud might suggest these things represent the phallus and ultimately sex. But Jung might have a very different interpretation. Even dreaming quite specifically about a penis might not have much to do with some unfulfilled need for sex. It is curious that in primitive societies, phallic symbols do not usually refer to sex at all. They usually symbolize mana, or spiritual power. These symbols would be displayed on occasions when the spirits are being called upon to increase the yield of corn, or fish, or to heal someone. The connection between the penis and strength, between semen and seed, between fertilization and fertility are understood by most cultures. The shadow Sex and the life instincts in general are, of course, represented somewhere in Jung’s system. They are a part of an archetype called the shadow. It derives from our prehuman, animal past, when our concerns were limited to survival and reproduction, and when we weren’t self-conscious. It is the â€Å"dark side† of the ego, and the evil that we are capable of is often stored there. Actually, the shadow is amoral — neither good nor bad, just like animals. An animal is capable of tender care for its young and vicious killing for food, but it doesn’t choose to do either. It just does what it does. It is â€Å"innocent. † But from our human perspective, the animal world looks rather brutal, inhuman, so the shadow becomes something of a garbage can for the parts of ourselves that we can’t quite admit to. Symbols of the shadow include the snake (as in the garden of Eden), the dragon, monsters, and demons. It often guards the entrance to a cave or a pool of water, which is the collective unconscious. Next time you dream about wrestling with the devil, it may only be yourself you are wrestling with! The persona The persona represents your public image. The word is, obviously, related to the word person and personality, and comes from a Latin word for mask. So the persona is the mask you put on before you show yourself to the outside world. Although it begins as an archetype, by the time we are finished realizing it, it is the part of us most distant from the collective unconscious. At its best, it is just the â€Å"good impression† we all wish to present as we fill the roles society requires of us. But, of course, it can also be the â€Å"false impression† we use to manipulate people’s opinions and behaviors. And, at its worst, it can be mistaken, even by ourselves, for our true nature: Sometimes we believe we really are what we pretend to be! Anima and animus A part of our persona is the role of male or female we must play. For most people that role is determined by their physical gender. But Jung, like Freud and Adler and others, felt that we are all really bisexual in nature. When we begin our lives as fetuses, we have undifferentiated sex organs that only gradually, under the influence of hormones, become male or female. Likewise, when we begin our social lives as infants, we are neither male nor female in the social sense. Almost immediately — as soon as those pink or blue booties go on — we come under the influence of society, which gradually molds us into men and women. In all societies, the expectations placed on men and women differ, usually based on our different roles in reproduction, but often involving many details that are purely traditional. In our society today, we still have many remnants of these traditional expectations. Women are still expected to be more nurturant and less aggressive; men are still expected to be strong and to ignore the emotional side of life. But Jung felt these expectations meant that we had developed only half of our potential. The anima is the female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men, and the animus is the male aspect present in the collective unconscious of women. Together, they are referred to as syzygy. The anima may be personified as a young girl, very spontaneous and intuitive, or as a witch, or as the earth mother. It is likely to be associated with deep emotionality and the force of life itself. The animus may be personified as a wise old man, a sorcerer, or often a number of males, and tends to be logical, often rationalistic, and even argumentative. The anima or animus is the archetype through which you communicate with the collective unconscious generally, and it is important to get into touch with it. It is also the archetype that is responsible for much of our love life: We are, as an ancient Greek myth suggests, always looking for our other  half, the half that the Gods took from us, in members of the opposite sex. When we fall in love at first sight, then we have found someone that â€Å"fills† our anima or animus archetype particularly well! Other archetypes Jung said that there is no fixed number of archetypes that we could simply list and memorize. They overlap and easily melt into each other as needed, and their logic is not the usual kind. But here are some he mentions: Besides mother, their are other family archetypes. Obviously, there is father, who is often symbolized by a guide or an authority figure. There is also the archetype family, which represents the idea of blood relationship and ties that run deeper than those based on conscious reasons. There is also the child, represented in mythology and art by children, infants most especially, as well as other small creatures. The Christ child celebrated at Christmas is a manifestation of the child archetype, and represents the future, becoming, rebirth, and salvation. Curiously, Christmas falls during the winter solstice, which in northern primitive cultures also represents the future and rebirth. People used to light bonfires and perform ceremonies to encourage the sun’s return to them. The child archetype often blends with other archetypes to form the child-god, or the child-hero. Many archetypes are story characters. The hero is one of the main ones. He is the mana personality and the defeater of evil dragons. Basically, he represents the ego — we do tend to identify with the hero of the story — and is often engaged in fighting the shadow, in the form of dragons and other monsters. The hero is, however, often dumb as a post. He is, after all, ignorant of the ways of the collective unconscious. Luke Skywalker, in the Star Wars films, is the perfect example of a hero. The hero is often out to rescue the maiden. She represents purity, innocence, and, in all likelihood, naivete. In the beginning of the Star Wars story, Princess Leia is the maiden. But, as the story progresses, she becomes the anima, discovering the powers of the force — the collective unconscious — and becoming an equal partner with Luke, who turns out to be her brother. The wise old man guides the hero. He is a form of the animus, and reveals to the hero the nature of the collective unconscious. In Star Wars, he is played by Obi Wan Kenobi and, later, Yoda. Notice that they teach Luke about the force and, as Luke matures, they die and become a part of him. You might be curious as to the archetype represented by Darth Vader, the â€Å"dark father. † He is the shadow and the master of the dark side of the force. He also turns out to be Luke and Leia’s father. When he dies, he becomes one of the wise old men. There is also an animal archetype, representing humanity’s relationships with the animal world. The hero’s faithful horse would be an example. Snakes are often symbolic of the animal archetype, and are thought to be particularly wise. Animals, after all, are more in touch with their natures than we are. Perhaps loyal little robots and reliable old spaceships — the Falcon– are also symbols of animal. And there is the trickster, often represented by a clown or a magician. The trickster’s role is to hamper the hero’s progress and to generally make trouble. In Norse mythology, many of the gods’ adventures originate in some trick or another played on their majesties by the half-god Loki. There are other archetypes that are a little more difficult to talk about. One is the original man, represented in western religion by Adam. Another is the God archetype, representing our need to comprehend the universe, to give a meaning to all that happens, to see it all as having some purpose and direction. The hermaphrodite, both male and female, represents the union of opposites, an important idea in Jung’s theory. In some religious art, Jesus is presented as a rather feminine man. Likewise, in China, the character Kuan Yin began as a male saint (the bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara), but was portrayed in such a feminine manner that he is more often thought of as the female goddess of compassion! The most important archetype of all is the self. The self is the ultimate unity of the personality and is symbolized by the circle, the cross, and the mandala figures that Jung was fond of painting. A mandala is a drawing that is used in meditation because it tends to draw your focus back to the center, and it can be as simple as a geometric figure or as complicated as a stained glass window. The personifications that best represent self are Christ and Buddha, two people who many believe achieved perfection. But Jung felt that perfection of the personality is only truly achieved in death.

Case Study Havaianas: A Brazilian Brand Goes Global Essay

Question 1: What factors could explain the success of Havaianas in becoming a global brand? 1.) Stable and well developed economic background through acquisitions and expansions lead to a huge sandal market share * Sao Paulo Alpargatas exists since 1939, specialization in four business units: (sandals, sporting goods, industrial textile and retail) * Controling Shareholder (67%): Camargo Correa Group with operation in 20 countries * Acquisition of Companhia Brasileira de Sandalias (Dupà © brand) in 2006 leads to increased share in the Brazilian flip flop market * Acquisition of 60% of Alpargatas Argentina to expand in Latin America 2.) Long experience and know-how in manufacturing sandals and producing the special rubber * Own operational and logistic framework  * Extension of the manufacturing plant in 2007 ( capability to produce 212 million pairs of sandals annually) * Production in the northeast of Brazil, Santa Rita, in order to reduce costs, increase productivity and further streamline the logistic network * Headquters in Camargo Correas Centro Empresarial to optimize the administrative processes 3.) Product innovation * From one style with five colors to 509 new models of sandals and sport footwear * Different designs and colors * Special editions 4.) Product properties * Low price: affordable * Durability, robust * Comfortable * Trademark in 1962 * â€Å"shoes for the poor†, outside work (coffee bean pickers and blue collar  workers), all day shoes * For hot and humid weather 5.) Repositioning of the brand (1994) * Before: one style and five colors, poor point of sales execution and functional based advertisement, image of a cheap product that can be bought everywhere * â€Å"Havaianas Top†, matching sole and strap * in 13 colors * slight premium price * advertising showing upper class consumers and celebrities wearing Havaianas * upgrade through better packaging * new sales channels with more emotional context * Continuous product innovation * Launch of new designs (80 styles) * Incorporation of world fashion trends * Changing costumers * Opinion leaders, celebrities and upper class costumer wear Havaianas not only at home, but in many places and occasions * Free publicity from fans (international fashion and movie stars) * International fashion magazines, catwalk, MTV Music Awards and the Hollywood Oscars 2003 * Communication * 12% of the turnover was spent for marketing * Buzz marketing and advertising with electronic media * Local and international celebrities * Online advertising, youtube videos, †¦ * Co-branding: Havaianas was linked to ecological causes due to IPE limited editions and limited editions by famous artists, that financed â€Å"favela† projects Question 2: How far goes the company in terms of expanding the brand? 1.) 1960 export to Latin America 2.) 1990 tourism to Brazil increased and Havaianas were brought home 3.) 1998 big export to France * Europe (major markets are Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands) * At the Soccer World Cup of 1998 Havaianas with the Brazilian flag on the strap became an instant hit 4.) Communication strategy change * Europe, France * Independently managed markets (local entrepreneurs) * European subsidiary to harmonize the brand strategy, advertising, product and price positioning * In 2001 â€Å"Tudo Bem† was established as an official importer * Cooperation with leading designers from fashion to luxury * Sponsorships (events at trendy discotheques, fancy hotels, gyms) * Customize your own Havaianas * US * Havaianas became a â€Å"must wear† * In 2004 â€Å"Style West†, exclusive distributor, equipped celebrities and designers each season with the hottest colors * In 2007, entry in the US market with a guerilla marketing strategy * In order to catch college students, the brand had to be authentic, over-promotion can make a brand less cool * The US market is extremely interesting because of the huge price, that costumers are willing to pay: up to $30 * Asia * Countries with the ideal Havaiana weather: Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand * Hot and humid weather and similar footwear culture to Brazil * Philippines is the only market with an significant level of sales * Reason of Haivaiana the fail: Large middle class or below and many branded US, EU and Asian competitors as well as cheap and unbranded Chinese entrepreneurs * Japan * Fashion conscious and hot and humid weather * Limited editions exclusively for Japan with Chiso * Advertising and buzz marketing techniques 5.) 2007: 20.000 stores in over 65 countries Main markets: Brazil, US, Australia, Latin America Question 3: How sustainable is their competitive advantage? 1.) Consumers love the â€Å"Made in Brazil factor† * This is one of the most sustainable factors of Havaianas’ competitive advantage as long as the positive Brazilian image not changes 2.) Bigger size than its competitors: Economies of Scale * This success factor is hard to replicate and creates a sustainable competitive advantage as well as a cost advantage * Production in the northeast of Brazil, Santa Rita, in order to reduce costs, increase productivity and further streamline the logistic network * Headquters in Camargo Correas Centro Empresarial to optimize the administrative processes 3.) Bigger market share than its competitors: Expansion of the market share through the acquisition of other flip flop companies * Due to the Economies of scale  * Due to advertising and branding 4.) Unique brand positioning * Celebrities and opinion setters have already adapted the trend, this competitive advantage is effective and persuasive but only as long sustainable as Havaianas are not replaced by other footwear brands * Production in the northeast of Brazil, Santa Rita, in order to reduce costs, increase productivity and further streamline the logistic network * Headquters in Camargo Correas Centro Empresarial to optimize the administrative processes 5.) Continuous product innovation * Adaption to actual tendencies and trends is the best protection of keeping one’s reputation and market share. 6.) Top-secrete rubber recipe * Sustainable competitive advantage as long as there is no better recipe. 7.) Authentic comfort and quality * Authentic image not at least due to ecological conscious co-branding. Havaianas have the biggest market share because their customers are convinced of the quality, price (in Brazil) and fashionable emotional value. This package is one of the keys of the brand’s success and is only hard to replicate of its competitors.