World bank Group essays

World bank Group essays The World Bank is not a bank in the common sense; it is an agency made up of 184 member countries. These countries are jointly responsible for how the institution is financed and how money is spent along with the rest of the development of the community. The World Bank supports both developed and developing countries with lending guaranteed analytic and advisory work, debt relief, capacity enhancement, global monitoring and advocacy. Their goals are to eradicate poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, combat deadly diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. The World Bank's poverty reduction strategy is based on building the investment climate and investing in poor people. They offer different types of financing projects. These projects include low interest loans, interest free credit, and grants, which come from 40 rich countries donors that contribute money every 4 years to these developing countries. The money that is borrowed by the governments has to be used for specific programming in poverty reduction, delivery of social services, environmental protection, or economic growth. There are two types of borrowers: the middle-income countries and the heavily indebted poor countries. The borrower first identifies and prepares a project proposal to the bank for it to be reviewed, then negotiate and agree on the development objectivity, components, outputs, performance, indicators, implementation plan and a schedule disbursing loan funds. The World Bank considers themselves to have achieved success over their program, but they feel there is much more work to be needed in poor countries. Their objective is to eradicate extreme poverty in all nations. This group has a disclosure policy that allows the public to view what they do because they believe in an anticorrupt ...

3 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Fear Career Change

3 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Fear Career Change Life is too short to have to settle in any aspect of our lives, including our careers. If you’re finding yourself in a situation where you’re unhappy in your profession and want to make a change, breathe easy and proceed with confidence- as well as caution! 1. Change is the NormFirst thing’s first- If you’re unhappy in your current job or career and are seriously contemplating a change, know that that’s okay! These days, most people go through a variety of career shifts throughout their professional lives; some folks change their jobs as often as they change their clothes. People grow and evolve over time, as do their likes and dislikes, their personal goals, and their ambitions- so it stands to reason that we may not be fulfilled by the same things at 20 that we are as the years go on.2. Change Can be Used  to Your AdvantageWhen thinking about scrapping your original career plans for a new blueprint, it’s only natural to experience some fe eling that you’ve failed where your original plan is concerned. That fear of failure may follow you into your next professional move, which can become a disastrous self-fulfilling prophecy- if you let it. But guess what†¦ you don’t have to!Take total charge of your senses and realize that failure, even perceived failure, can be   a learning experience, an opportunity to   evolve, and discover more about who you are and what you want out of your life. A life worth living invites new challenges, including career challenges. Rather than shrinking away from challenges and obstacles for fear of failure, make the decision to face them bravely and head on.3. The Key to Success is Taking RisksMaking the decision to pursue a new career path is full of challenges and the potential for failure.   But the difference between those who achieve successful, fulfilling careers and those who don’t is a willingness to face and take risks. However, they do so intelligent ly- with a plan, careful preparation, and an understanding that failure is a natural and inevitable part  of a full life.Embrace your desire for change and take the opportunity to learn, improve, and make better choices moving forward. Are you up for the challenge? Update your job seeker profile below and start receiving great Job Matches!

Reagan Revolution Through President Obama Research Paper

Reagan Revolution Through President Obama - Research Paper Example The security threats within and outside the State were very much demanding the unanimous outbreak of the straightforward policies of the government but the political failure to take all parties on board also worsened the situations. Similarly one of the most important historical events was the cold war. The cold war ignited the hate culture between the Americans and the Russians and there was always a fight to stop the Russians to reach the hot water sea ports of South East Asia to minimize the chance of growth and put the fence to the stance of terror and hatred towards the American state. These importunate historical events shook the American policy making strategies andaffected the people on the overall grounds. The events continue to affect the people in some form or the other (Kettle, 2011). Changes in social, cultural and technologicalaspects can cause extensive changes Inthe attitude of the people because of the fact that the nirvana of intuitiveness of the technological progr essions of the modern world candrive the whole society in way that can change the pivotal aspects of the society for example the advent of the television technology has really changed the way of perception of the masses and now there is nothing in the sense of activity in the political corridors and important aspects that is hidden from the people. The elevation of social media around the world has also changed the attitudes of people. People can become more interactive and critical towards the general regimes around the world because everything is subject for open discussion in the social media and there is nothing that can be perceived in the wrong context. The changes and advancements in technology can drive the whole society in a specific way. The policies of government in the United States have effected largely on the social and historical aspects of people because of the fact that the government policy can embark huge effects on the vicinity of the people. For example the deci sion to take part in the cold war and support the Afghans back in eighties has changed the pivotal aspects of thoughts of people now. Most of the people are of the view that supporting the people of Afghanistan back in eighties was a wrong decision which has affected every single individual of the United States in some form or the other. Similarly, the policy to fund the technology park and boost up the technology advancement in the country has supported the people’s lives, created more jobs and elevated the progress of the individuals in all the contexts. The economic policies in the times of crunches have also affected the local living standards (Tradshad,, 2013). Being the â€Å"super power† has raised many questions at the legitimacy of American State affairs because of the fact that American has been at the threat of violence and internal conflicts after the furious 9/11 attacks that took 3,000 lives of the Americans and injured numerous. The effective winning of the Cold war back in nineties and the throttling effect of the incidents after that people have given the Americans a sense of responsibility to elevate the proper manifestation of the responsibilities of the Super power entity. The lives of the common man have not beeffected by turning of the American state into super power because there are augmented threats of terror

Are you ready marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Are you ready marketing - Essay Example This action helps the firm to work to gain legitimacy despite its relative youth as compared to many of its competitors who have already made a name for themselves within the industry. The firm offers what it deems a unique approach to marketing in that demographics, psychographics, and behaviors of the target audience are formulated with ROI an ever present factor. Therefore, the overarching rubric of the reason why the analysis is being conducted is never lost in the weeds. Furthermore, each part of the marketing campaign is carefully mapped and integrated (inclusive of assigning specialists to the individual branches of the plan). This specialist approach allows for an even more complete and tailored marketing plan to be delivered to clients without the need to make broad and sweeping generalizations with respect to certain aspects of the marketing plan/mix. Capital Media Solutions is a member of the 4A’s group trade association. The firm itself specializes in offering unique and tailored marketing services for a range of offerings to include: brand awareness promotion, leads generation, revenue increase, as well as attracting new customers to a given brand. Further, the company offers tailored expertise across the gamut of media options. A further specialization offered is that the marketing mix they employ has a dedicated point of contact within the company at each and ever given phase. Thereby, the firm provides a specialist to guide their clients through individualized steps of the process without requiring a â€Å"jack of all trades† marketing specialist to provide a one size fits all approach to product marketing/development. Likewise, Capitol Media Solutions website is listed below with the URL of 4A’s Trade Union listed directly below that. Furthermore, the firm although a recent entrant into the market is currently hiring and has an in house jobs bulletin in which it advertises a host of positions to include: Media

How you define the term ‘profit’ in terms of the changes that Hussain adopted to move one business to another Essay Example for Free

How you define the term ‘profit’ in terms of the changes that Hussain adopted to move one business to another Essay Question 8: How you define the term ‘profit’ in terms of the changes that Hussain adopted to move one business to another? The term ‘profit’ that Hussain earned when he changed from one to another business is the result of success as he willing to take chances and risks. He started from zero and his creative business minds be the ladder of sucess to him. A lot of challenge that he had faced make he became a great entrepreneur nowaday. He had struggled very much to expand his business in other word to change and overcome his miserable circumstances. We can see the ‘profit’ that Hussain gained from his small business as chocolate’s hawker to became an entreprenuer is started with his first petty step. He started the business with selling chocolate at the market for the beginning of his business is because he want help his family. As the bread earner replaced his illness father, he must search income to support basic needs of the family. He is lucky because although oman’s economy grow at thelower level those day, his small business still growing faster. But, due to the rising price index, he had difficulty to make ends meet. This difficulty had bring him to another business which gave him more profit than the profit of chocolate sale. He found a new avenues in business by started selling book. When he made a comparative analysis between the two product, chocolate and book, he realized that the percentage profit he gained by selling a book is very high than selling a chocolate. He use this good opportun ity to change his business from a chocolate hawker to become a bookseller. So, he gained more profit. From this changes, we can see the ‘profit’ that he had gained by changing the product. Then, Hussain not longer selling chocolate. He focused to the book sale. He had found a new way of a profitable business by selling book. But, he faced difficulty to bring many book everyday and return with them the next day. This situation leads him to find the alternaltive to solve this problem. Finally, he got a brilliant idea. He make a decision to convert his late father’s steel workshop where are had rented to become a bookshop. He try to convince his uncle that idea and because his sophisticated way of looking at thing differently made his uncle proud and agree with him. So, husin managed to open his own bookshop and it became the first bookshop in the village. he was the sole book seller at his village and this situation had bring him to became a sucess book seller at t he village. So, we can see the improvement that he had done by change the way  of his business from a book hawker to became an owner of bookshop. Hussain’s teacher had make he thought a new great idea. It started when his teacher gave him a mission to buy some gifts at the market. hussain brought the required gifts as his teacher order but with a cheaper price. Another teacher heard about that and asked him to do the same ones. This condition made he think that he should selling the same product as the teacher want. This idea bring him to provide products that were used as gifts such as pens, pencils, notebooks and other school’s needs. Since that, he became popular not only at his school but also in other schools. He able to explore more opportunity in businees by convinced the school to buy from his bookshop. So, from this we can see that he was success in converting the bookshop concept to became more wide concept. Hussain again change his business. He sold his bookshop with high price then he opened a new company. He established a new company for office supplies not far away from the bookshop. This is a good techniques for him as a alternative to reduce the cost at once increase the profit and income. Because the buyer of bookshop can not go through the business challenge, he failed and closed the bookshop permanently. Hussain closed the new office and reopened the bookshop. He relocated the office that he had closed in the bookshop for serving wholesale. But the bookshop still served individual customers. So, customer can buy from the bookshop and at the same time, the wholesale buyers can see the product and test them before placing order. He can reduce the cost facilitate his work. Finally, hussain succeeded to convert his bookshop into a big company for office supplies. With the new technology just entered the country made his work more easier. He started provide new office equipment suah as printers, photocopies and other related devices to the customers. Then, he became a major supplier of various stationery and office suplies. His company was developed with very advanced and he became an icon for leadership and entrepeneurial fields. We can see the high profit that hussain gained when he convert his bookshop into a big company. For the conclusion, from this case, Hussain who is the Sultanate of Oman have proved that hardship make people stronger. He proved that people can earned more profit if they are wise in taking opportunity and willingness to take risks in business.

Rolfing :: Research Physical Muscle Essays

Rolfing Rolfing is a scientific and organized system of manipulating the muscles in the body to their correct positions. Rolfing is a controlled approach within the general field of structural integration. Rolfing was originally called "structural integration." Some people still use the words, structural integration, instead of Rolfing (www.smart.net/~astro/define.html). Developed by Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D., this practice includes the process of teaching the body how to move by manipulating the body. People that are involved in Rolfing believe that the versatility and harmony of the body has to do with how the body deals with the field of gravity. Gravity is the most powerful force that affects the human body. The goal is to balance the body, and the main objective is to be in harmony with the body (www.lyrisys.com/LinSilver/). Rolfing restructures and educates the body to move in a specific manner. It releases the tension in the tissues which hold the bones and organs together to let the body r e-align or balance itself with the force of gravity. Since Rolfing gives the body a better balance, it takes less energy to fight against gravity. It re-educates the body's movement patterns. Movement in the body becomes simpler and there is an improvement in daily functions (www.igrin.co.nz/business/rolfing2.htm). In the 1930's and 1940's, Dr. Ida P. Rolf was a biochemist who studied the movement and function of the corrective tissue. Fifty years ago, Dr. Rolf named her work structural integration, but today it is known as Rolfing. She was interested in finding out about long-term contractions by pointing out the faults of the muscle tissues. She had a son that was ill and no doctor could find the cure. Then, she realized that the problem was within her son's body. The internal organs were being compressed. She started to massage her son, and the pain her son was feeling began to disappear (www.concentric.net/~wkaye/HistoryPage.html). Dr. Rolf worked in creating a holistic system of manipulating the tissues and educating the body's movement in symmetry with gravity. She found that by guiding the body's system with posturing and structuring, people could begin to feel changes in their body. Rolfing was the nickname that was given after the founder, Dr. Ida Rolf (www.rolf.org/intro.html). Af ter giving many lectures and writing many books, she founded the Rolf Institute to teach others the concept of Rolfing (www.concentric.net/~wkaye/HistoryPage.html). The main goal in Rolfing is to align the body to its original state.

Japan’s Development & History

Those legends that give the history of Japan indicates that, Japan was founded in 600 BC by the emperor called Jimmu. Jimmu is said to be a direct descendant of sun goddess, and also the present ruling ancestor of the imperial family.Japan adopted the Chinese writing system, together with the Buddhism religion. This actually brought in an influence to the Japanese culture. The Japanese indigenous culture is based on the emperor concept, and has Buddhism as the focal point. The culture in the Japan entered in successive waves in the continent.Different concepts in Japan that has resulted back into past, entails all the human activities manifestation from the moment the man first populated the archipelago of Japan.Research has shown that during the Pleistocene period Japan was inhabited. Those who inhibited Japan during those times left behind cultural remains such as chipped stones. The chipped implements of this time are categorized into four groups. The first category consists of th e shale core implements.The shale core implement in some case are defined as hand axes. The second category is the obsidian and flake shale implements. These somehow consist of the upper European Paleolithic industrial flakes. The third categopry comprises of the spearhead. This in most cases is identified with the Solutrean of the Europe. The last group is made by the blade implements. These implements have got their microlithic proportion specimens increasing progressively.The culture of Japan took shape in the period of Yayoi. The present anthropologists argue out that, Japanese are direct descendants of the Jomon people. The Jomon culture in Japan is subdivided into five periods. These periods include the: earliest, early, middle, late and latest phase. The phase of the earliest Jomon was dominated by base pointed connoid potteries.The second phase of Jomon was characterized by the cylindrical potteries of a fibrous temper. The third phase, that is, the middle phase was characte rized by the emergence of the cultural subareas: central, northeastern, and southeastern.The middle phase of culture in Japan came up with multitudes of problems. In the late phase, three distinct subareas are blanketed by pottery that was cord marked that is black or grey, thin walled and well fired. Â  At present most of the cultural practices in Japan are similar to those of china (Shenfield, 1998, pp 55).The relationship that exists between languages is expressed by correspondence in: vocabulary, grammatical structure, as corroborated by the law of phonetic. In Japan, with respect to grammar, it is quite different to Austroasian, Chinese, and Austronesian.However, Japan has some structural similarity in its language with the Altaic group. Japanese and Korean share many grammar points as well as an ancient vowel harmony use. They also share at least two hundred cognates of vocabulary.The linguistics data of Japanese can be traced back to the 3rd century A.D. but came to be more after the 9th century. When compared with the neighboring language the Japanese language is in a better state. To compare them with the ancient Japanese is hard. The reason for this seems to justify the somatic variation along a running cline from southeastern to north eastern (Shenfield, 1998, pp. 57).In the process of its development, in 1542 Japan started to experience contact with the western countries such as Netherlands, England, Spain, and Portugal. The main aim for these countries coming to Japan was to trade with Japan.Later in 17th century Japan realized that the traders and the missionaries from the west countries were being used as military conquest forerunners by the European powers. This led to shogunates to place very tight restrictions on the foreigners. Finally, this forced those foreigners who stayed in Japan to leave.This barred the relation between the Japan and the outside countries except the china and Dutch merchants. The restriction lasted for 200 years, when Matthew Perry of the United States navy came for negotiation so that Japan could be opened for the west.The renewed contact with the west after several years profoundly changed the Japanese society. There was restoration of the emperor into power as the shogunate resigned. The 1868 Meiji restoration brought in so many reforms in Japan.There was abolishment of feudal system, adoption of several western institutions which included the government constitution together with the parliamentary lines, and the western education and legal systems (Mulgan, 2000, pp. 70).

Product Life Cycle Essay

Life Cycle Hats are a product that have become deeply incorporated in the American culture and lifestyle. In the United States, hats are nearly always present in everyday life, from sports events (i. e. baseball games) to the streets of New York where one might see people wearing hats as a fashion accessory in their everyday life. Today, there are a plethora of different styles and varieties of hats. For example, one can buy university hats, sports teams hats and even superhero hats, thus causing the hat industry grow everyday. In this paper, I will analyze the hat industry life cycle, specifically focusing on the â€Å"New Era† company, one of the most popular hat companies in the United States and worldwide. The New Era Cap Co. Inc. was founded in 1920 and was first known as E. Koch Cap Co. Their headquarters is located in Buffalo, New York, and the CEO of the company is a member of the Koch family – Mr. Cristopher H. Koch. The New Era Cap Co. has expanded globally into Canada in North America, Brazil in South America, Korea and Japan in Asia, and more than 40 countries in Europe. Even though hats are New Era’s biggest product, they also sell other products such as jackets, tees, hoodies and many cleaning kits and accessories for hats. New Era provides products for men, women and kids of all ages, and among their most famous hat lines are the MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL and College lines. New Era offers different styles of hats such as the â€Å"fitteds,† which have different sizes to fit varying head sizes, and also the â€Å"snapbacks,† which you can adjust to the size of your head. Target Markets New Era targets its products towards a younger crowd, usually sports fans, ranging from kids as young as 15 years old to people around 35 years of age. The reason New Era targets a younger market is because the hats are accessories generally used by younger people, and it is hard to find peoNple older than 35 years of age wearing hats on a daily basis. In addition, there are many rappers today that wear New Era hats in their music videos and at concerts. Furthermore, various athletes can be seen representing their sports teams via New Era hats. As a result, this causes younger people who look up to these musicians and athletes to want to wear New Era hats. Overall, New Era does a great job at targeting their marketing towards younger people. Today, the United States is the country with the biggest market which New Era sells its product to. Followed by the U. S. market is the European market, which is so large that it consists of more than 40 countries. However, both locally and globally, New Era always try to target the same type of crowd. An example that supports this statement comes from Brazil. In Brazil, New Era is already beginning to produce hats representing popular Brazilian soccer teams, which is exactly what the Brazilian sports fans want. The 4 Ps While New Era’s main product is undoubtedly their headwear products, the company also manufactures apparel products such as tees, jackets, hoodies, belts and also cleaning kits for hats, which only adds value to their products. While most of their headwear products are made with sports teams logos on the front, their apparel products focuses more on the New Era Brand rather than sports teams. Many of their t-shirts present the New Era logo on the front instead of teams logos, which is similar with their hoodies and belts. The cleaning kits for hats is a superb deal for New Era because it causes customers to buy accessories that compliment their other products. The kit also keeps the customers happy because when hats get dirty, they definitely do not look nearly as attractive, so having a cleaning product at hand is very convenient. New Era’s prices range depends greatly on the hat style, as well as whether the product is a new arrival or whether it is a sales item. For new arrivals, the price generally ranges from U$25. 00 to U$50. 00. For the â€Å"snapback† styles (adjustable hats), the price can range from roughly U$20. 00 to U$40. 00. However, the fitted styles (ones that are made in different sizes) can range from U$10. 00 to U$50. 00. There is also a section of superhero hats that range from approximately U$20. 00 to U$50. 00. The hats labeled as â€Å"sales items† range from U$10. 00 to U$35. 00. In the United States, a great percentage of the New Era products are sold online on New Era’s website. The website is very easy and friendly to use, providing pictures of every single product available, making it extremely easy and convenient to purchase New Era products online. In the US, there are also specialized retail stores such as â€Å"LIDS† that strictly sell hats, with New Era being their most predominant brand. In countries like Brazil and countries in Europe, there is no specialized store like â€Å"LIDS,† but there are New Era hats being sold at stores specialized in sports. In these countries, New Era also runs their own retail stores where they have all of the same styles of hats than the ones available on the website, making them dream stores for hat lovers. Much of New Era’s promotion is done through sports events to target their main public. An example of that is the fact that New Era makes the hats of all Major League Baseball teams, while also holding over 200 licenses to make hats for other various sports teams. New Era also sponsors major events in the sports world, such as the 13th Annual Transworld Skateboarding Awards. Furthermore, in April of 2012, New Era became the official on-field hat provider for the National Football League (NFL). Ultimately, New Era focuses most of its marketing and promotion efforts towards sports events where they are most likely to reach all of their customers, as well as potential customers, at once. Product Life Cycle New Era Cap Co. Inc. has been around since the 1920s, and their product is in the maturity stage at the PLC. New Era already has an established brand worldwide and its sales and profits have reached a peak. Obviously, if New Era decides to open more global operations in South America or maybe Australia, they could make much more profits, but at the stage they are at right now, they reached maturity. The customers that purchase New Era hats today are the late majority, and even though New Era is always trying to come up with new designs and styles, the essence of the product remains the same. As it is normal in this stage, New Era spends a lot of its money and efforts towards marketing to try keeping the name of the brand growing and to attract more customers as well. As for competition, for a product that has reached its maturity as New Era hats have, there should be more competition than what they have today. New Era only faces serious competition from two companies today, as we are going to find out in the next section. Competition Although New Era is the leading hat company in the United States, there are other hat companies that compete against New Era for a bigger share in the market. The biggest competition New Era faces comes from the company Mitchell ; Ness Nostalgia Co. (known simply as Mitchell ; Ness) which is based in Philadelphia – PA. Mitchell ; Ness is actually older than New Era Cap Co. Inc. , as it was founded in 1904. However, differently than New Era, Mitchell ; Ness does not only focus its sales on hats, but also throwback jerseys, hats, tees, fleeces, and jackets. Mitchell ; Ness, however, competes head-to-head against New Era because it produces hats for NBA, NHL, NFL, and NCAA, essentially the same styles as New Era. The difference between the two is that New Era is more known for its fitted hats, while Mitchell ; Ness is more known for its snapback hats. New Era is also a much bigger company than Mitchell and Ness, with 1700 employees worldwide as compared to Mitchell ; Ness’ 200 employees in the US only. In terms of money, New Era’s revenue in 2007 was U$343. 7 million, while in 2012 Mitchell & Ness’s revenue was 30 million. The other strong competition New Era faces comes from a younger company called Zephyr Hats. Zephyr Hats was founded in 1993 and similarly to New Era, Zephyr hats only focuses on producing hats – nothing else. Zephyr, however is a much smaller company than both New Era or Mitchell ; Ness, and as of now they only produce hats for the NHL and NCAA schools. Also, Zephyr has a very strong commitment to its customers to deliver the best quality product they possibly can, and to serve the customers the best they can before anything else. It will still take a while for Zephyr Hats to expand as large as New Era or Mitchell ; Ness, but they are definitely on the right path towards achieving such a goal. New Era Cap Co. Inc. also faces competition against the black market. There are many fake New Era products being produced and sold around the world, proving to be a major challenge that the company has to face. With the ncreasing popularity of the brand, people try to take advantage of it by producing hats that bring the New Era logo, but that are not made by the real New Era Cap Co. Inc. Whereas some of these ‘fake’ hats may look very similar to the real ones, there are a couple of small defects on them that help to distinguish the fake hats from the real ones. Outside of the US, especially in developing countries like Brazil, th e black market problem is huge because people can buy â€Å"fake† hats for a lot cheaper than what they cost in the retail stores. Recommendations It is true that New Era Cap has made its name globally and seems to only be growing, despite its competition and other problems, such fake production of New Era Hats. However, there are many ways in which they can improve their brand name and keep the brand growing. New Era is very active in the sports scene (NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, Skateboarding, etc), and one way in which they could improve themselves as a brand would be to promote tournaments and competition that bring the New Era name. These events can include skateboarding competitions, street basketball tournaments, high school football tournaments, etc. This would help the name of the brand through supporting these sports and expanding their name to different groups of fans. New Era should also think about a solution to decrease the amount of fake New Era hats in the black market. One solution could be a promotion where every time someone purchases an authentic New Era Hat, they get a coupon with a number which they can enter on New Era’s website for the chance to win a prize (ex: 5 free New Era hats). Another promotion could be – â€Å"every 3 New Era Cap purchases, get 30% off the next purchase. This would give incentive to people to buy legitimate New Era Cap products, thus increasing their revenue, improving their name brand, and stopping the circulation of fake New Era in the black market. One other recommendation for New Era would be to pursue licences and contracts to start making hats for soccer clubs worldwide. Just like the hats they make for MLB and NFL, New Era could and should open their brand to the Premier League (England) and other European soccer leagues. Soccer leagues are known to have very devoted fans that would be more than willing to purchase merchandise, such as hats, if they were available in the market.

How the Spanish Colonized Guatemala

How the Spanish Colonized Guatemala The lands of present-day Guatemala were a special case for the Spanish who conquered and colonized them. Although there was no powerful central culture to contend with, such as the Incas in Peru or the Aztecs in Mexico, Guatemala was still home to the remnants of the Maya, a mighty civilization that had risen and fallen centuries before. These remnants fought hard to preserve their culture, forcing the Spanish to come up with new techniques of pacification and control. Guatemala Before the Conquest The Maya Civilization peaked around 800 and fell into decline shortly thereafter. It was a collection of powerful city-states who warred and traded with one another, and it stretched from Southern Mexico to Belize and Honduras. The Maya were builders, astronomers, and philosophers with a rich culture. By the time the Spanish arrived, however, the Maya had degenerated into a number of small fortified kingdoms, the strongest of which were the K’iche and Kaqchikel in Central Guatemala. The Conquest of the Maya The conquest of the Maya was led by Pedro de Alvarado, one of the top lieutenants of Hernn Cortà ©s, and a veteran of the conquest of Mexico. Alvarado led fewer than 500 Spanish and a number of native Mexican allies into the region. He made an ally of the Kaqchikel and warred upon the K’iche, whom he defeated in 1524. His abuses of the Kaqchikel caused them to turn on him, and he spent until 1527 stamping out various rebellions. With the two strongest kingdoms out of the way, the other, smaller ones were isolated and destroyed as well. The Verapaz Experiment One region still held out: the cloudy, misty, north-central highlands of modern-day Guatemala. In the early 1530s, Fray Bartolomà © de Las Casas, a Dominican friar, proposed an experiment: he would pacify the natives with Christianity, not violence. Along with two other friars, Las Casas set off and did, in fact, manage to bring Christianity to the region. The place became known as Verapaz, or â€Å"true peace,† a name it carries to this day. Unfortunately, once the region was brought under Spanish control, unscrupulous colonists raided it for slaves and land, undoing just about everything Las Casas had accomplished. The Viceroyalty Period Guatemala had bad luck with provincial capitals. The first, founded in the ruined city of Iximche, had to be abandoned due to persistent native uprisings, and the second, Santiago de los Caballeros, was destroyed by a mudslide. The present-day city of Antigua was then founded, but even it suffered major earthquakes late in the colonial period. The region of Guatemala was a large and important state under the control of the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) until the time of independence. Encomiendas Conquistadores and governmental officials and bureaucrats were often awarded encomiendas, large tracts of land complete with native towns and villages. The Spaniards theoretically were responsible for the religious education of the natives, who in return would work the land. In reality, the encomienda system became little more than an excuse for legalized slavery, as the natives were expected to work with little reward for their efforts. By the 17th century, the encomienda system was gone, but much damage had already been done. Native Culture After the conquest, the natives were expected to give up their culture to embrace Spanish rule and Christianity. Although the Inquisition was forbidden to burn native heretics at the stake, punishments could still be very severe. In Guatemala, however, many aspects of native religion survived by going underground, and today some natives practice an odd mishmash of Catholic and traditional faith. A good example is Maximà ³n, a native spirit that was sort of Christianized and is still around today. The Colonial World Today If you’re interested in the colonization of Guatemala, there are several places you might want to visit. The Mayan ruins of Iximchà © and Zaculeu are also sites of major sieges and battles during the conquest. The city of Antigua is steeped in history, and there are many cathedrals, convents and other buildings that have survived since colonial times. The towns of Todos Santos Cuchumatn and Chichicastenango are known for their blending of Christian and native religions in their churches. You can even visit Maximà ³n in various towns, mostly in the Lake Atitln region. It is said that he looks with favor on offerings of cigars and alcohol!

Tense When Using the Subjunctive Mood of Spanish

Tense When Using the Subjunctive Mood of Spanish Learning not only when to use the subjunctive mood, but which form of the subjunctive to use, can be one of the most difficult parts of learning Spanish verb usage. The rules can appear quite complicated at first, partly because the subjunctive mood is nearly absent in English. But learning the tenses - either in the traditional way of memorizing rules and then applying them or by becoming familiar enough with the language to know what sounds right - is essential to gaining fluency. Four Subjunctive Tenses in Everyday Use In normal usage, Spanish uses the subjunctive mood in a single simple present tense as well as three tenses that can refer real or hypothetical past actions: Present subjunctivePresent perfect subjunctiveImperfect subjunctivePast perfect (or pluperfect) subjunctive Remember that, generally speaking, the subjunctive is used in dependent clauses. Which form of the subjunctive is used depends on two factors: The tense of the verb in the main clauseThe time relationship between the subjunctive verb in the dependent clause and the main verb Although there are exceptions, and the rules of grammar in real life are more fluid than is suggested here, the following list shows the most common (but not only) ways in which the tenses are differentiated: If the main verb is in the present, future, or present perfect tense or the imperative mood, and the dependent (subjunctive) verb refers to action that takes place (whether in actuality or not) at the same time or after the main verb, then the dependent verb should be in the present subjunctive. Example: Espero que comas. (I hope you eat.)If the main verb is in the present, future or present perfect tense or imperative mood, and the dependent (subjunctive) verb refers to action that has been completed (whether in actuality or not), then the dependent verb should be in the present perfect subjunctive. Example: Espero que hayas comido. (I hope you have eaten.)If the main verb is in the preterite, imperfect, past perfect or conditional tense, and the dependent (subjunctive) verb refers to action that takes place (whether in actuality or not) at the same time or after the action of the main verb, then the imperfect subjunctive is used. Example: Esperà © que comieras. (I hoped you ate.)I f the main verb is in the preterite, imperfect, past perfect or conditional tense, and the dependent verb refers to action that has been completed (whether in actuality or not), then the past perfect subjunctive (also called pluperfect subjunctive) is used. Example: Esperà © que hubieras comido. (I hoped you had eaten.) These verbs are often the equivalent of English verbs taking the form of had participle. Note that in many cases there are various ways of translating the sentence to English. For example, espero que comas also could be translated as I hope that you will eat. Because there is no future subjunctive in everyday use, verbs in the present subjunctive form often are translated into English using the future tense. Dudo que me compres recuerdos, I doubt you will buy souvenirs for me. Another Analysis of Subjunctive Tenses Heres another way to look at the sequence of verb tenses: If the main verb is in a present or future tense, use either the present subjunctive or present perfect subjunctive, depending on whether the subjunctive verb refers to action (or presumed action) that has been completed.If the main verb is in a past or conditional tense, use either the imperfect or past perfect subjunctive, depending on whether the subjunctive verb refers to action has has been completed (or presumably completed) at the time of the action in the main verb. These tenses can seem confusing at first. But as you learn the language they will become second nature. To learn more about this topic explained in a different way, see the lesson on the sequence of tenses. Sample Sentences Using the Subjunctive Tenses  ¿Por quà © preferimos que Siri sea una mujer? (Why do we prefer that Siri be a woman?) Both the main verb, preferemos, and the dependent verb, sea (from ser) are in the present tense. The dependent verb refers to an action that takes place in the present. No estoy feliz que el presidente haya ganado la eleccià ³n. (I am not happy that that the president has won the election.) The present perfect subjunctive is used because the election is a completed action. Sus amigos consolaron a Pablo luego de que à ©l perdiera el juego. (His friends consoled Pablo after he lost the game.) Because the main verb is in the preterite and its action clearly took place after the action in the dependent clause, the imperfect tense is used to refer to the completed action. La doctora negà ³ que hubiera comprado un apartamento en ese edificio. (The doctor denied she had bought an apartment in that building.) The action of the dependent verb took place (or didnt) at an indefinite time, and the main verb is in the preterite, so the pluperfect is used.

Reading and assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading and assignment - Essay Example They form the basis through which voters decide who to vote for in elections. In America, it has become a common practice in elections for voters to decide on a cause or a political party first before considering the candidates that they would vote for. For instance, most American voters are attached to either Republicans or Democrats political parties (Wilson, DiIulio & Bose, 2011). During the nomination of candidates within political parties, voters supporting a political party may differ on candidates, but in the general elections all members of a party will vote for their chosen candidate whether they nominated them or not. Candidates who belong to a party which has more members are most likely to win the elections. The main goal of electing public executives is to unite political parties and draw a distinguished feature from other groups. Determining who makes up or who leads a political party is difficult. However, a political as an electorate body may be described to include all citizens who identify themselves with the party whether they are registered members of the party or not (Santos, 2011). As long as they identify themselves as members or vote for the party in elections, then they may be considered as part of the political party. As an organization, a political party consists of institutions such as national committees who run the affairs of the party and ensure that everything is done in accordance with the goals of the party and towards the achievement of the political party’s objectives. Finally, a political party in government is composed of elected and appointed officials affiliated with the party. A good example of this is Barrack Obama’s government and the House A ssembly. Political parties play a key role in campaigns. The national party committees and legislative campaign committees recruit candidates and carry out

Slavery Northerners and Southerners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Slavery Northerners and Southerners - Essay Example The niggers (black people) were the ones subjected to slavery. In the long run, some of the American people realized the evil of slavery and considered it a sin. The first abolitionist movement was founded in the northern part of America. It was the northerners who first discovered the immoral aspect of slavery and called for its complete abolition. While slavery was dying in the north, the southerners demanded for more slaves. Cotton gin was invented during that time (Burns, n.d.). The device increased the production of cotton as well as the demand for slave labor. Thus, more and more black people were sold in the southern part. In this context, the southerners feared of economic loss and racial equality if slavery was to be abolished (Burns, n.d.). Southerners believed that black people are meant to work and serve the white people. As new territories and states were formed, the topic on slavery became controversial than ever. Specifically, the question of whether or not slavery was to be allowed in the newly formed states and territories caught both the northerners and southerners attention. The answer to the query was critical to their respective economic and racial concern. The question bothered the northerners since allowing slavery in the new states would be a disadvantage on their part. Stated otherwise, the legalization of slavery in those states was considered by the northerners as unfair and an economic threat.