The Scorpions free essay sample

Rock n roll has always been an integral part of the Great Woods Summer Series, and it was there this year too when a triple bill of the Scorpions, Great White, and Aldo Nova fed their audience with a large helping of loud and raunchy blues-rock and heavy metal on July 24th. Opening act Aldo Nova was, well, just an opening act. The band performed like your average formula-rock band. The songs were standard MTV fare, even if some were co-written by Bon Jovi, especially the inane Blood on the Bricks. Even after nearly a decade, Aldo Nova has gone nowhere, and maybe in the future they will break away from the mold and form their own identity. The middle slot of the evening was held by the blues-rockers of Great White. Lead singer Jack Russell is a skilled vocalist, and he played the crowd well, keeping them awake and on their feet throughout their set. We will write a custom essay sample on The Scorpions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The guitarists served up a feast of riffs and solos, amidst a thunderous rhythm section of drums and bass. Opening with Call it Rock n Roll, Great White proceeded through new cuts from their recent LP Hooked, and of course, it was the encore of Once Bitten, Twice Shy that the crowd enjoyed the most, especially with the spicy piano playing. Their sound mix was clean and smooth, and Russells wailing vocals came out perfectly. After their set, the members of Great White gathered backstage to meet-and-greet with members of the press. All were thrilled to oblige with the requests of the backstage crowd, taking pictures, answering questions, and signing autographs. One of the most popular hard rock bands in the world, the Scorpions were the main event of the evening. Opening with Tease Me, Please Me, the quintet got the audience back on their feet, rockin the night away. Decked out in leather, lead singer Klaus Meine howled like an animal, while guitar duo Rudolph Shenker and Matthias Jabs produced the unique Scorps rock sound. Their songs werent anything special , simple shout-along tunes with catchy hooks , but it was the way they delivered it. This was maximum impact, go-for-the-throat rock An roll, and the Scorpions didnt hesitate to let loose onstage. Highlights of the Scorpions set included The Zoo, during which the band produced various animal sounds, the thousands of lighters during Wind of Change, the blinding lit staircases onstage and the sing-along acoustic ballad Holiday. However, classics were saved for their encore, during which Klaus and crew pumped out the hits Big City Nights, No One Like You, Still Loving You, and Rock You Like a Hurricane. There is no one like the Scorpions, and after two decades in the music business, they are still loving it. On July 24th, the Scorpions rocked Great Woods like a hurricane, and proved they can do it all over again. n

Changes in Mrs. Mallard Essays

Changes in Mrs. Mallard Essays Changes in Mrs. Mallard Paper Changes in Mrs. Mallard Paper Name:Instructor: Course: Date: Changes in Mrs. Mallard â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was written by Kate Chopin and revolved around the changes that took place in the life of Louise Mallard, the wife of Brently, a man who was assumed dead but later turned out to be alive. After hearing the news of her husbands’ death, Louise Mallard underwent several psychological and physical changes in succession that will form the crux of the essay. In the narrative, Louise Mallard who was limited to the social traditions of the compliant wife, showed an unusual response to the loss of her spouse. Louise anticipated her newfound autonomy from the restraint of her husband. The physical, emotional and psychological changes are effectively analyzed. The issue of women liberation and independence emerged as a major element that will be elaborated upon further. Physical and Emotional Changes In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard came out as an aged woman who was â€Å"†¦afflicted with a heart trouble†. Later in the eighth paragraph, the author again refers to her as a young woman with â€Å"†¦a fair, calm face whose lines bespoke repression.† After hearing the sudden death of her husband, several changes were witnessed physically. One, Louise Mallard was known to have a weak heart and therefore, could not handle any sudden or overwhelming emotion without suffering an injury. However, all of these weaknesses and fragility quickly change upon hearing that her husband was dead. Immediately, Louise transformed into a joyful bundle having optimistic and buoyant thoughts of freedom. She cheerfully commented, â€Å"There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.† It was highly possible that Louise’s heart conditio n was largely emotional and psychological rather than physical. Changes in Social Status It was quite interesting to note that the name was first mentioned after her husband’s death was announced. During this moment, Mrs. Mallard experiences complete freedom. Before the apparent loss, she was only mentioned as Mrs. Mallard, and even after her husband cam back home, the author referred to her as the â€Å"wife.† When Brently married Louise, her status was transformed to Mrs. Mallard. In the process, she lost her individuality and took up a different and strange identity. While it very ordinary and regular for a woman to adopt her husband’s name in matrimony and in that era, become his property, it cannot be assumed that a part of her was lost. When she hears of her husband’s death, a transformation occurs where she changes back to her initial self and not an extension of another man. During that era, the society was predominantly patriarchal and any elements of emotion, repression or disobedience that women experienced were overwhelmed by the need to be dutiful, loyal, obedient and content wives. Chopin states that Louise knew that he husband â€Å"†¦never looked at her save with love.† When the news that her husband had apparently died, Mrs. Mallard underwent a social change from a human being bound into an irreversible contract with a man into Louise, a woman who was free to make her own decision without the weight of social accountability to her husband bearing upon her. There is a strong sense of irony, surprise and unpredictable reactions and events that are exhibited by Louise Mallard when face with the possibility of being a widow. The unexpected reaction shown by Louise represents the mixed feeling that most married women harbor in their hearts. While it is obvious that any loving wife should mourn the death of their husband, most would automatically see the death as an opportunity to express their true selves as women. The short story touched on a global issue of women liberation and independence that was probably the rationale behind the overjoyed nature of Mrs. Mallard after hearing the sad news.

Financial Conservatism. Determinants of cash and leverage Dissertation

Financial Conservatism. Determinants of cash and leverage - Dissertation Example In this analysis, both cash conservative and leverage conservative firms will be taken into account. The essence of investigation of the two policies at the same is to find out if a firm can use leverage conservative policy in the place of cash conservative policy or vice versa. From the earlier analysis, the key reason why firms are motivated to adopt conservative financial policies is to protect them from the cost that is associated with missed out investment opportunities. The analysis of the literature will reveal that firms tend to maintain large cash reserves or do away with their debt capacity to make sure that they do not miss out investment opportunities. It is not rare to find firms exercising both policies simultaneously, though it is difficult to establish the reasons why they do so. All in all, according to major theoretical frameworks of capital structure, it is strange to find a firm that adopts high leverage policy having high cash balances in their capital structure. For instance, according to the pecking order theory, firms tend to result to eternal financing only after exhausting their internally available funds. Many researchers have covered this area of financial conservatism, especially regarding the rationale behind different accumulation of huge amounts of cash and cash equivalents as well as the repercussions of such policies (Ozkan & Ozkan, 2004; Mikkelson & Partch, 2003). However, the determinant of cash and leverage conservatism in UK firms has not been focused on. ... It is not rare to find firms exercising both policies simultaneously, though it is difficult to establish the reasons why they do so. All in all, according to major theoretical frameworks of capital structure, it is strange to find a firm that adopts high leverage policy having high cash balances in their capital structure. For instance, according to the pecking order theory, firms tend to result to eternal financing only after exhausting their internally available funds. Many researchers have covered this area of financial conservatism, especially regarding the rationale behind different accumulation of huge amounts of cash and cash equivalents as well as the repercussions of such policies (Ozkan & Ozkan, 2004; Mikkelson & Partch, 2003). However, the determinant of cash and leverage conservatism in UK firms has not been focused on. What’s more, most of the studies that have dealt with this area have been concentrated on the US firms, hence making it important to investigate w hether the puzzle regarding decisions of firms in relation to financial conservatism extends to the UK firms. As such, this study will focus on the UK firms especially because it is commonly known for observance of extreme debt conservatism, considering UK firms have the lowest leverage ratio, weighed against to other developed countries (Rajan and Zingales, 1995). This study will use leverage of firms or cash holdings to determine whether the firms are finically-conservative. The objective of this paper is to carry out an empirical study on the debt policies adopted by the UK firms, which particularly focus on the factors that influence large cash reserves and extremely low leverage. In effect, the paper will attempt to find answers to a number of research questions. First and

Language Learning - Interview Analysis Assignment

Language Learning - Interview Analysis - Assignment Example This competence involves the knowledge that a listener or speaker has of what makes up accurate, proper, and effective language behaviour in relation to specific goals in communication (Ellis, 1994, p. 47). It is a common desire of students of a second language to understand and be understood by the native speakers of the target language whenever they communicate orally (Bailey, Long, & Peck, 1983, p. 17). Accent, diction, pronunciation, and enunciation are all considered significant elements of smooth and effective communication between a native speaker and a non-native speaker. It is also true that adult students of a second language, who mastered communicative competence in their mother tongue, tend to apply the rules of their mother tongue when trying to communicate using the target language. However, applying rules from one language to another language results in negative transfer (Krashen & Terrell, 1983, p. 53). Previous studies show disagreement among linguists regarding the effectiveness of a formal classroom set-up in teaching adults a second language (Krashen & Terrell, 1983, p. 56). ... iterature Review This study examined whether explicit instructions in the four areas of competence in the English language, namely, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatic, would aid students of the second language, particularly native Arabic speakers, in improving their English reading, listening, and speaking skills. Second Language Acquisition During the early 80s, the Input Hypothesis was proposed by Krashen in an attempt to answer questions related to acquiring a second language. He asserts the importance of focusing and understanding the meaning in the content. However, he also mentions that it is not enough. Another study claims that people cannot hear dissimilarities between sounds unless they learn to make these differences. It is therefore saying that people identify sounds based on the manner they produce these same sounds (Ladefoged, 1967, p. 98). However, one should understand that this particular process is not as simple as it sounds. Levelt’s Speech Produc tion Model in 1983 identifies that communication skills requires a process of utilizing words from the lexicon (vocabulary), implementation of grammatical coding (grammar), and then conveying a phonological coding (phonology). Pragmatic competence is acquired after all these processes, coupled with the proper balance of memory and control mechanism, are learned (Ellis, 1994, p. 51-2). Methodology Thorough analysis of errors made by language students aids in identifying teaching areas that need improvement (Corder, 1974, p. 32). Error analysis is utilized for this study, wherein the errors learners made were given focus. Particularly for this research, a native Arabic speaker was interviewed. Fatima has been studying English in the UK for over 4 months. However, it needs to be considered too that

Managing high performance work teams and leadership effectivenessjob Essay

Managing high performance work teams and leadership effectivenessjob satisfaction - Essay Example Leadership is a critical part in the field of management. The consequences of poor leadership in an organization would include increase costs, damage to relationships and loss of trust. It is therefore imperative to have an effective leader in an organization to achieve goals and attain success. Effective leadership separates the successful organization from failed companies . But what is effective leadership Defining leadership is very complex. There exists a lot of meaning for leadership, along with theories and models to describe them. Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish an objective and the manner of guiding an organization to become consistent and unified (Briner et al 1996). Leadership capitalizes on individual strengths to fulfill the roles of the position. Effective leaders perform in a proactive manner. They also maintain a balance between the internal and external forces at play in the organization. Effective leaders today are very different from leaders from the past. The time has passed and the environment has changed. Today, leaders must have the capacity and capability to lead complex organization in a global setting and proportion. The trend for leaders now is to demonstrate visionary thinking with the ability to execute the vision. He must hold the highest standards of ethics. He should develop other people in different levels, while understanding the business as a whole and building influential relationships with customers and stakeholders. Pioneers of effective leaderships includes Peter Drucker. He searches for answers on what makes an executive most effective. To be effective means that leaders must manage their time, focus on people's contributions to create results, build on strengths, set priorities and make effective decisions (Drucker, 1967). Stephen Covey (1992), a leadership guru, provided insights into facing daily challenges by employing the concept of principle-centered leadership. Jim Collins (2001), a business consultant, defined the five level leadership hierarchy. These are: Level 1-Highly Capable Individual; Level 2-Contributing Team Member; Level 3-Competent Manager; Level 4: Effective Executive; and Level 5-The Leader. Peter Senge (1990) points out the need for an organization not only to adapt to a changing environment, but also to go beyond adapting to a generative learning approach that allows for growth. Building an organization where people are continually expanding their capabilities to shape their future is the key responsibility for leadership. He identified the need to have a learning organization. Margaret Wheatley (1992) looked at how new discoveries in quantum physics, chaos theory, and biology challenged our way of thinking about organizations. She showed that the old models of leadership, such as hero-leader or leader as individual, stands in the way of the organization's innovativeness and effectiveness. She predicted that the ultimate destination of an organization is the realization that teams are capable of being self-managed where the idea of leadership may be different. High performance teams are a product of the learning organization concept and the idea of self-managed teams. This team can work on its own. Senge and Wheatley innovated the new concept of team-based leadership. High performance teams are created with a mission that have developed their own set of norms or rules, which is written as a team charter. The team members have clearly designated

The Online Shopping In Malaysia Marketing Essay

The Online Shopping In Malaysia Marketing Essay Whether we like it or not, the Internet and World Wide Web are increasingly becoming important in Malaysian life. Online shopping may be a novel trend in Malaysia but it is fast catching up among Internet users due to rising Internet penetration. Besides, online shopping avoids with the crowd and its easier to compare prices of comparable products online, which translates into better savings (Leong and Lee 2009). As for the Internet penetration in Malaysia, 356.8 % growth is seen for the period of 2000-2009. Thereby, for instance, in 2000 it was accounted 3,700,000 subscribes, or just 15% of the population. In 2005 the amount of subscribers doubled and reached 26,500,699, 37.9 %. Currently, over 60% of Malaysians can use Internet connection actively, with almost 17 million subscribers accounted. (eCommerce Journal 2009). According to the Nielsen Company 2007 research, online travel is a favourite e-commerce activity for Malaysians, with 55% of Internet users buying airline tickets or made flight reservations online, while 41% said they had made hotel or tour reservations online and 22% computer hardware. 21% purchased book and 18% tickets to concerts and events. (eCommerce Journal 2009). A significant part of purchasing has moved to the Internet. But Malaysia is still in the infancy stage when it comes to online retail, which makes e-commerce still relatively weak in Malaysia. According to comScore (2009), the online retail (or dubbed as total online spending in the retail industry) in Malaysia is lowest compared to many other countries. The list (in Asia) goes: 1) Japan, 2) South Korea, 3) Australia, 4) Taiwan, 5) Singapore, 6) New Zealand, 7) Hong Kong, 8) China, 9) Vietnam, 10) Philippines, 11) India, 12) Indonesia, and 13) MALAYSIA. Next, the growth of Internet usage in Malaysia has been steadily growing but a far smaller percentage has actually made purchases online. According to comScore (2009), Entertainment is most popular category in Asia Pacific (includes Music, Movie, TV, Multimedia, Entertainment News, and Humor) and Email is still very important to Internet user. Therefore, visiting to retail sites is weak in Malaysia. Besides, Malaysian online retailers face the challenges with Internet users who still like to see and hold products before buying, and who have the same concerns about security issues as well as after-sales service. Is it the impact of factors attributed to large Internet users but not many shop online. Therefore this research study will contribute meaningfully to this area of research. (b) Rational of Study The Internet is no longer a niche technology. It is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. A major appeal for setting up online businesses is that its convenient, easy to do and cheaper (no rental fee, to state the obvious). (Leong and Lee 2009). The economic downturn has turned up the pressure on Malaysian companies, it is imperative to find new customers for their products and services for declining sales and financial constraints. Extending their marketing and advertising reach by venturing into e-commerce is a logical move. (Laalitha 2009). E-commerce in retailing has enormous potential. An organization can reach such a large number of consumers via e-commerce; it is possible to develop the business that could be profitable. The continued success for online retailers will depend for the willingness of consumer to make purchase online in the view of online shopping is still relatively weak among Malaysian. Therefore this study is clear identifying consumer attitudes toward online shopping in order to help sales and marketing department to identify the potentiality of online shopping and evaluate the future growth of e-commerce that useful for the local companies in Malaysia to have a good understanding of the dynamic online markets before to venture into online retailing. Although research predict growing internet users in Malaysia and online shopping has many distinct opportunities and advantages, but the question lingers: Why do internet users avoid online shopping? Therefore this research study will contribute meaningfully to this area of research. (c) Objective of the Study Objectives The objective of this study is to examine the online shopping in Malaysia. For this purpose, three specific scopes will be examined, that is: To identify the characteristics of online shopping in Malaysia To identify Malaysian Internet users attitudes towards online shopping To identify why Internet users do not shop online. Hypotheses: Hypotheses developed for this study are: H1: There is no relationship between internet usage and buying via internet. H2: There is no relationship between online shopping and demographic variables. H3: There is no relationship between online shopping and the traditional shopping. H4: There is no significant correlation between future online purchase variables and current issues and areas of concern variables. Research Questions: This research has aimed to explore the following questions: Why do internet users avoid online shopping? (d) Research Methodology A self-administered questionnaire will be used to collect the necessary research questions and objectives pertaining to online shopping in Malaysia. The questions are mostly present in close-ended style with well-structured questions. The survey questionnaire consists of seven distinct sections, each of which contains questions pertaining to different parts of the study. Due to time and cost constraints and also large population of Internet users in Malaysia, therefore it is more appropriate to conduct the research by using a convenience sampling method will be used to collect data mainly from the current Internet users at Klang Valley which is indicated highest penetration of Internet users. Indeed, sampling method has limitations in terms of generalisation if compared to other method of sampling, but it is assumed that the sample represent the whole population of Internet users in Malaysia. The survey will be conducted through the combination method: face to face interviews, email and postage questionnaires. Each of the method has its uses and none is superior in all situations due to email and postage questionnaires save both time and cost and can cover a wide geographical area which supplemented by personal interviews will yield more reliable results than either method alone. Once the primary data collected, several of statistical techniques will be used in the data analysis. Frequency Distribution Analysis will be used to determine a demographic profile of the survey respondents and the current internet users of online shopping. Besides, the frequency distribution analysis will also be used to determine method of payment, level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, issue and area of concerns, reasons for shop and do not shop online. (Adeline et al. 2006). Chi-square Test in Cross-tab will be used to determine the relationship between online shopping and other conventional methods of shopping such as shopping via physical stores. The Independent Samples t-test will be adopted to compare mean differences between online shoppers and non-online shoppers. Finally Pearson Correlation Coefficient Matrix will be employed to determine the degree of correlation between future online purchases and issue of concern for current Internet users. (Adeline et al. 2006). (e) Expected Contribution from the study This study is clear realizing consumer attitudes toward online shopping in order to help management, the industry and government to predict the online shopping trend and evaluate the future growth of online commerce. Besides, online retail has enormous potential. Thus, this study is important for the small and medium enterprise (SEMs) in Malaysia to have a good understanding of the Internet as a new business strategy for driving business growth as well as to understanding what Malaysian Internet users really desire and why they are not shopping online. (Laalitha 2009). (f) Sample Questionnaire The questionnaire is adapted from Adeline (2006) with some modification to suit the context of this study. The questionnaire consists of eight sections as shown in Appendix. Section 1 is to request the respondents to complete information related to demographic profile. Section 2 is to request the respondents to provide the information related to internet usage whereas Section 3 is about the information of Internet users experience on online shopping. Section 4 is to request the respondent to provide information about the factor influencing their shopping decision. Factors include: product price and quality, more options and wider selections, ease of research, customer review availability, after-sales service, entertaining/fun, convenient, good customer service, promotion, fast delivery time, website providing sufficient product information and explanation, an item no available elsewhere. Section 5 is to request the respondent to provide information about the current purchase pattern in terms of types of goods and services, spending amount, purchasing frequency, payment method and spending time. Section 6 is to request the respondent to rate the satisfaction level and areas of dissatisfaction for their shopping experience with 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. Section 7 also request the respondent to rate to the future online purchase pattern (purchasing in the same retailers, types of good and services, spending amount, purchasing frequency and is important for the retailers nowadays have an online shopping facility) with 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. Last section is to request the respondent to provide information about the issues and areas of concerns toward online shopping, which include disclosure of personal information, security of credit card transaction, do not physically seen and touch a product, trust on online retailers and adequacy of consumer protection laws and regulations. References Adeline Chua Phaik Harn, Ali.Khatibi and Hishamuddin bin Ismail. 2006. E-Commerce: A Study on Online Shopping in Malaysia. J. Soc. Sci., 13(3): 231-242 (2006). http://www.krepublishers.com. (accessed January 31, 2011) comScore. 2009. State of the Internet with a focus on Asia Pacific. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2009/State_of_the_Internet_with_a_focus_on_Asia_Pacific. (accessed January 17, 2011) eCommerce Journal. 2009. Internet and e-commerce industry in Malaysia. http://www.ecommerce-journal.com/articles/18271_Internet_and_e_commerce_industry_in_malaysia. (accessed January 18, 2011) IDC. 2007. IDC Reports 70% Growth in Malaysia eCommerce Spending in 2006. http://www.idc.com.my/PressFiles/IDC%20Malaysia%20-%20eCommerce.asp. (accessed January 10, 2011) Internet World Stats. 2009. Malaysia Internet Usage Stats and Marketing Report. http://www.Internetworldstats.com/asia/my.htm. (accessed January 10, 2011) Laalitha Hunt. 2009. SMEs Eager to Tap E-commerce. The Star online. December 12. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/12/business/5281516sec=business. (accessed January 10, 2011) Leong H. Y. and Lee L. S. 2009. Buying via Internet. The Star online. April 11. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/11/business/3620542. (accessed January 10, 2011) Malaysia Crunch. 2009. Malaysias E-Commerce Statistics. http://malaysiacrunch.blogspot.com/2009/09/malaysias-e-commerce-statistics.html. (accessed January 15, 2011) Nielsen. 2008. Over 875 Million Consumers Have Shopped Online The Number of Internet Shoppers Up 40% in Two Years. http://my.nielsen.com/site/20080414.shtml. (accessed January 25, 2011)

Unfair Drug Laws in America Essay -- Argumentative Drugs Marijuana Ess

The existing drug laws are very inefficient. This paper will focus on the people and the specific elements that are affected by the inefficiency of the drug laws. When looking at the drug laws at a glance a person might be lead to think that they would be very effective and they seem reasonable. While drug laws in themselves are necessarily wrong, some of the discrepancies in the laws make them unfair and take from the category of handing down justice and puts them into the category of cruel and unusual. First there will be an analysis of prohibition throughout American history, then an analysis of what the actual crimes and punishments are for a few of the drugs in the United States. Next there will be a look into who is affected by the laws and how. Finally, this paper will try to provide some kinds of solutions to the problems that are being caused with the drug laws. First the definition of a drug is any substance that has an effect on the mind and body except food, and the definition of a crime is an act or omission that is punishable or goes against a law. When crime is looked at in this sense it can be said that government is the cause of all crime because every crime that is committed has to go against a law that is passed by the government. In looking at the problems with the drug laws, a history of where the drug laws come from is necessary. In the first 140 years of the United States all drugs were legal. This means that if a person wanted to do any drug at any time that the person could do it without having to worry about any penalties. The actual first federal law that was passed was the Pure Food and Drug act of 1906. This law was did not even put a restriction on the drugs that were available. This ... ...s to be some other way to deal with the problem of drugs so why not try something new? There can be no guarantees that the something new will be the right thing but there has to be something that can be done that will affect the drug situation in a more positive way. Works Cited (http://www.dpft.org/history.html). (http://www.famm.org/si_crack_powder_sentencing_fact_sheet.htm) (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-03.htm http://dpft.org/alcohol.htm). http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/reinarman.dutch.html). http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/heroin/). http://www.dpft.org/history.html#back04). http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=588601). http://www.phrusa.org/research/rockefeller_laws/tenmyths.html). (http://www.horizonmag.com/6/racial-profiling.asp http://www.commondreams.org/views/112600-105.htm).