Analysis Of Rene Magritte s The Son Of Man - 864 Words

Whereas representational art captures the beauty of life, surrealism allows us to see basic concepts or things in new perspectives. One famous surrealist, Rene Magritte, has impacted the art world by not only demonstrating his ability to paint but also his ability to transform everyday objects into dream like images. For example, his artwork, â€Å"The Son of Man,† features a man in a suit with a bowler’s hat while covering the majority of his face with a green apple. The main interpretation of the piece is that the existence of â€Å"Man† derives from the original sin, which is the consumption of the forbidden apple of knowledge. Furthermore, one can also argue that the suit itself, which marks the appearance of modern humans, signifies the event when Adam and Eve cover themselves with leaves to hide their nakedness after biting the apple. It is examples like this that allow many people to truly admire Magritte’s art. These examples all have the same elem ent of normalcy with a twist. Likewise, in â€Å"Not to be Reproduced,† Magritte paints a man in a suit standing in front of a mirror, whose reflection is facing the same direction. The element of normalcy, a man facing a mirror, is simple but the twist, the reflection being in the wrong orientation, becomes the center of attention. It is as if Magritte challenges the concept of reflection and asking, â€Å"Why is it not this way?† Part of the reason why I chose this piece to recreate was because I wanted to explore my interpretation of the

Applications of the Self-Efficacy Theory in Long-term...

Using a Self-efficacy Based Model to Explore the Applicability of the Self-efficacy Theory in Long-term Degenerative Neurological Conditions: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Targeted Journal: Journal of Neurology Critical Reviewsâ„ ¢ in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Introduction: A long-term degenerative neurological condition (LTDNC) is a term used to describe diseases that affect the nervous system leading to its degeneration. Conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis etc. are all categorized by impairment in brain, nerve and spinal cord pathway cells (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2007). Due to such disruptions, the nerve signals between the brain and the body are affected which result in problems with walking, controlling movement, balance, full or partial paralysis, breathing and talking problems, occurrence of seizures, lack of bladder and bowel control at later stages, and even problems with the heart (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2007). In 2011, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that Canada has one of the highest incidences of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, where approximately 93,500 individuals are currently affected. Despite th e prevalence of the disease, there is still much that remains unknown. According to the 2012 statistics from the ALS Society of Canada, the number of new diagnoses per year isShow MoreRelatedSocm Study Guide Essay30404 Words   |  122 PagesChapter 1 ELO’s Describe the basic functions of living organisms. A. Responsiveness – organisms respond to changes in their immediate environment (long term changes is adaptability) B. Growth – over a lifetime, organisms grow larger through an increase in size or number of cells. Differentiation is when cells have specialized functions C. Reproduction – Organisms reproduce, creating subsequent generations of similar organisms D. Movement – Organisms are capable of movement

Global Warming Effects Essay Example For Students

Global Warming Effects Essay How the World is changing due to the effects caused by Global Warming The reasonfor this topic is our increasingly changing climate. Every year our climatecontinually is changing and becoming warmer. However its becoming more and moredifficult to change our polluting ways. Though this documentary Id like to getthe publics attention about our ever-changing climate. For this topic I wouldlike to have a god like sounding narrative voice. A demanding voice, with bothcompassion, and intelligence. This voice is necessary to get the point across. The thesis for this documentry is how can we prevent the destruction ofour climate. This thesis is necessary because the side this documentrywell be taking is to focus on how we can change or stop the damage which hasbeen done to our environment. More so with this thesis there is many branchesthat lead to informative and substantial evidence to support this thesis. Seemingly this thesis also gives room for the solutions to this problem. Throughthis thesis I hope to narrow my topic and also allow enough room for ainsightful and interesting documentary. The target audience for this documentaryis anyone with the concern for the environment. However it really effectseveryone on this planet. Theoretically this documentary is directed at everyone. Research on this subject is very extensive and information on it is easy tofind. For instance just look at the winter that has just passed for evidence. Several questions to be answered from this documentary would be; 1. What changesare to be expected in the future? 2. What consequences of these changes can weexpect? 3. What solutions are there? Id use an upbeat, original, and futuristicstyle. By incorporating wide angle shots, and futuristic settings.

Running Head B.F. Skinner And His Influence In PsychologyB.F. Skinner

Running head: B.F. Skinner and His Influence in PsychologyB.F. Skinner and His Influence in PsychologyAbstractB.F. Skinner was one of the most influential theorists in modern psychology. His work was very important and has been studied by many for years. Skinner was a very straightforward man and a very educated man. His theories have helped mankind in many ways. He has studied the behavior patterns of many living organisms. Skinner was a well-published writer. His work has been published in many journals. He also has written many books on behaviorism. His most important work was the study of behaviorism. First began by John B. Watson, behaviorism is one of the most widely studied theories today. B.F. Skinner and His Influence in Psychology B.F. Skinner was one of the most famous of the American psychologists. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1904. Skinner was the father of modern behaviorism. Skinner did not get into psychology until he was in graduate school at Harvard. He was driven to Psychology after reading about the experiments of Watson and Pavlov. He received his doctoral degree in three years and taught at the University of Minnesota and the University of Indiana and finally returned to his alma mater at Harvard. Skinner contributed to psychological behaviorism by performing experiments that linked behaviors with terms commonly used to describe mental states. Skinner was responsible for some famous experiments such as the "Skinner box". Skinner also wrote some very famous books. One of them was "The Behavior of Organisms". This book describes the basic points of his system. Another was Walden Two. This book describes a utopian society that functions on positive reinforcement. Skinner was a very productive person until his death in 1990 at the age of 86. Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that is interested in observable behavior. Skinner said, "Behaviorism is not the science of human behavior; it is the philosophy of that science"(Skinner, 1974). There are various types of behavior, such as innate behavior. Innate behaviors are certain behaviors that we are born with, such as eating when we are hungry and sleeping when we are tired. Early Life Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904 to William Arthur and Grace Madge Skinner. Skinner's home was a warm and stable place. He lived in the house he was born in until he went off to college. Skinner also had a younger brother named Edmond James Skinner, born November 6, 1906. Skinner was very fond of his brother and loved him very much. At the young age of sixteen, Edmond died of a cerebral aneurysm. Skinner was a very inventive young man. He always was making or building things, such as wagons, model airplanes, etc. He also attempted to invent a perpetual motion machine, but it failed. He also read about animals. He collected toads, lizards, and snakes. He trained pigeons to do tricks after he saw them performing one year at a fair. Training the pigeons probably was where he got his ideas of operant conditioning. He attended Susquehanna High School just like his mother and father. In his graduating class there were only eight people including him. He was a very intellectual boy. He reported that he really enjoyed school. Over the four years in high school Skinner became quite good at mathematics and reading Latin, but was weak at science. He made up for it though, because he was always performing physical and chemical experiments while he was at home. His father was an avid book collector. Skinner always had a good library of books around his house. Skinner recalled the little collection of applied psychology journals that his father had bought. Those books could have been the starting point in his psychology career. Skinner grew up in a very religious family. His grandmother often reminded him of the concept of hell. His mother once washed his mouth out with soap literally for saying a bad word. His father nev er punished him, but he told him of the punishments that awaited him if he ever turned out to be a criminal. Overall Skinner had a good and happy childhood.College Life After graduating high school, Skinner went

Word and Book Passionate Declaration Essays

Word and Book Passionate Declaration Essays Word and Book Passionate Declaration Paper Word and Book Passionate Declaration Paper Howard Zinns book passionate declaration, was very interesting in the first chapter American Ideology he talks about the end result of these instances was many if not all of these inferior people were killed. He also talks about how we favor the rich and neglect the poor and that it should be the other way around that life should be an entirely different way. That because of Reagan many issues came to be, Because of Reagan this country is the way it is! Although we live in a democratic country, The ideas of ethical behaviors that were formulated by our forefathers has condemned us to accept them as right. â€Å"Thus we grow up in a society where our choice of idea is limited and where certain ideas are dominant† which is very much true unless you have money your ideas will never be heard, it’s very rare where someone who is unwealthy is hear amongst millions. The only time you are really heard is where you die a tragic death. In chapter 2; Machiavellian Realism and U. S. Foreign Policy: Means and Ends. Howard zinn talks about, what kind of society we want? And how will we get it? â€Å" The instance of building more nuclear weapons when we already possess more than enough to destroy the world†¦ allowing the police to arrest any person on the street refusing to move on when ordered†¦ and consider how often a parent [usually a father] has said to a son or daughter: its good to have idealistic visions of a better world but your living in the real world, so act accordingly† This have all had an effect one or more times in my life. Some may refer to me as a hippie because I’m all about peace on this world or because I refuse to eat animals such as chickens, cows, goats anything with a heartbeat, but my beliefs are my beliefs. I do believe a world without weapons would be wonderful, a world where I don’t have to walk down the street and a cops going to stop me cause he believes I’m being somewhat â€Å"suspicious†. Of course I would love for this world to speak up and use our words rather that use our weapons or hands to harm one another. You ever see a person get called something and notice how one simple word such as â€Å"ugly† can completely set them off and just then you see this person react in a way that they use their words completely to prove a point on how, the specific word you called or used is in no way or fact them on how they spent all that time to prove one person wrong. I wish the world worked in words. I wish we didn’t have to tell our children that this is the world, so act accordingly. I was one of those children, whose father told them that, and my dreams were crushed instantly, I was 9.

BUSH Surname Origin and Last Name Meaning

BUSH Surname Origin and Last Name Meaning Bush is an English surname meaning either: Dweller near a bush or a thicket of bushes, a  wood or a grove, from the Middle English bushe (probably  from either the Old English word busc or the  Old Norse  buskr), meaning bush.Dweller at the sign of a bush (usually a wine merchant). The Bush surname could also be an Americanized version of the German surname Busch. Alternate Surname Spellings:  BUSCH, BISH, BYSH, BYSSHE, BUSSCHE, BUSCHER, BOSCHE, BUSHE, BOSCH, BOUSHE, CUTBUSH Where in the World is the BUSH Surname Found? According to  WorldNames public profiler, the Bush surname is found most prevalently in the United States, with an especially strong presence in the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia and West Virginia. The name is also more popular in New Zealand and Australia, as well as England (especially the East Anglia region). Famous People With the BUSH Surname George H. W. Bush -  41st President of the United StatesGeorge Walker Bush - 43rd President of the United StatesJeb Bush - Governor of Florida from 1998–2007George Washington Bush -  black pioneer settler of the Pacific NorthwestReggie Bush - American football running back for the NFLSarah Bush Lincoln - Stepmother of Abraham LincolnKate Bush -  English singer-songwriter, dancer and record producer Genealogy Resources for the Surname BUSH Bush Surname DNA Project: Any individual with a Bush lineage (or some variant of this name, such as Busch) from anywhere in the world is encouraged to participate in this DNA study, incorporating Y-DNA testing with traditional genealogy research to sort out Bush lineages around the world. Bush Family Association of America: Open to all descendants of, and others actively interested in, the Bush line of  Prescott and Susannah Hines Bush of Edgefield, South Carolina and Webster County, Georgia. Bush Family Genealogy Forum: Search this popular genealogy forum for the Bush surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Bush surname query. FamilySearch - BUSH Genealogy: Explore over 2 million results, including digitized records, database entries, and online family trees for the Bush surname and its variations on the FREE FamilySearch website, courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rootsweb - BUSH Genealogy Mailing List: Join this free genealogy mailing list for discussion  and sharing of information regarding the Bush surname, or search/browse the mailing list archives. The Bush Genealogy and Family Tree Page: Browse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Bush surname from the website of Genealogy Today. Sources Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David. Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph. Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Class Size Does Not Affect Learning Outcomes Essay

Class Size Does Not Affect Learning Outcomes - Essay Example    Learning outcomes can be enhanced by ensuring that appropriate management practices are adopted in a class setting. If the teacher employs better strategies for handling the class, the class size may not affect the student achievement. However, if the strategies are flawed, even in a small class setting the students may fail to meet the specific learning outcomes. Consequently, resource allocation is a fundamental instrument for ensuring learning outcomes. If the small and larger classes receive the necessary requirements, the learning outcomes may be improved significantly.  Impact of a reduced class on learning outcomes It has been argued that small classes have a positive impact in influencing the learning outcomes of the students. However, positive learning outcomes cannot only be pegged on class size because of the varying dynamics. For example, for a student to perform exceptionally, the attitudes of the teacher and students must be positively inclined. A teacher may hav e a small class but confronted with certain challenges that impede learning outcomes. The curriculum employed in teaching the students may not have the appropriate establishments that improve the student's achievement.Consequently, the students may not have the interest to learn, hence being in a small class may not have the remedies.  Class size has limited impact on the learning outcomes of a student. For example, in the universities, some of the classes have a huge population of students yet some of them graduate with better grades.

Car Safety Technologies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Car Safety Technologies - Research Paper Example n the wake of high incidents of accidents, governments have been working hard with automobile producers to incorporate safety technologies in their car models. As such, it is crucial for every individual to understand car safety features before making any purchase. This paper explores some of the most crucial car safety technologies in the automobile industry for the benefit of individuals with plans of buying cars at present or in the future. What would it feel like to take a ride in a car with faulty braking system or loose wheels? Ideally, no one would ever want to put his or her life at risk by getting behind the wheel of a road unworthy car. However, many accidents have occurred with vehicles perceived to be perfect for the road, but how can this problem be solved? The incorporation of car safety technologies is the answer to improving passenger safety in cars. Advance technologies are ensuring high-level testing and thus safer vehicles. Automobile producers are actively pursuing and investing in technologies, which are aimed at improving safety of their products. The following are some of the car safety technologies available in the automobile industry: Electronic stability control (ESC): This technology is significantly minimizes the risk of car skidding when one pulls an emergency action. ESC technology is made in such a manner that it applies automatic braking to particular car wheels (Aparow et al 270). This technology also has the ability to cut the engine power temporarily so that the car driver can maintain control of the car. ESC remains a crucial safety technology in modern vehicles, thus car buyers and owners should ensure they fit this particular car safety technology. Tire-pressure monitoring technology: In the US, all passenger vehicles of 10,000 pounds or below are required by the Traffic and Safety Administration to be fixed with a system that monitors pressure of the tires. Sensors fixed on the car wheels will alert the driver in the

Plato’s The Republic Essay Example for Free

Plato’s The Republic Essay All philosophers write about something to address a particular issue which they feel need to be addressed.   The same is true in Plato’s The Republic.   Considering the political and social situation during 360 B.C.E, Plato was concerned about the deteriorating condition of Greece.   To be more particular, he was extremely concerned about the fate of his teacher, Socrates. Socrates was tried, and subsequently sentenced to death, for a crime that he did not commit.   Plato was also apprehensive about the individualist philosophy advocated by a famous group of philosophers called Sophists.    For the Sophists, the standard of what is good or evil depended on man alone without regard for the universal concepts of morality and justice. The individualist philosophy of the Sophists has affected the morals of the Greeks, to wit: â€Å"Sophistic teaching of the ethics of self-satisfaction resulted in the excessive individualism also induced the citizens to capture the office of the State for their own selfish purpose and eventually divided Athens in to two hostile camps of rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed. Evidently, these two factors amateur needlesomeness and excessive individualism became main targets of Platos attack.†   (Bhandari 2) Plato found a solution to free the society from the individualist philosophy of the Sophists.   This can be found in his book The Republic where Plato, speaking through his teacher Socrates, discussed the concepts of a just state and a just individual. According to Plato, Justice is â€Å"the minding of one’s own business and not meddling with other men’s concerns† (Book 4, The Republic).   He also said that Justice is Harmony.   (Book 4, The Republic)   In the same manner, there is injustice when a person does not mind his own business or minds other person’s business.   There is also injustice when there is discord and disharmony. In explaining the concept of Justice, Plato made two (2) analogies: his analogy on the parts of the state and the structure of the soul.   He argued that justice may exist not just in the state but also in the individual and that there is a relationship between a just state and a just individual. Plato argues that the state is formed because no individual is self sufficient.   He needs the help of other members of the society to perform some function of which he has no knowledge or expertise.   The continued existence of the society is dependent upon the individuals who specialize in the performance of certain affairs of the state.   Plato thus divided the state into three types of people: the workers, soldiers and the rulers each of which performs a particular function for the good of the whole society.   According to Kemerling, the orderly functioning of the state will depend on the separation of functions and the specialization of their individual tasks.   (Kemerling, p. 1). For example, the workers are those best suited to perform a particular labor for example the farmers, builders, weavers and laborers.   The soldiers are those people who are best suited to fight and defend the state against its aggressors.   The rulers on the other hand are those who possess wisdom and have the capacity to rule.   Plato considered that in an Ideal State each of these three kinds of people limit themselves to the performance of their functions.   A person who has the skill of a farmer should not be allowed to lead the state otherwise anarchy will result within the state.   An intellectual who is born to lead does not have the skill to build houses for the state. A person who has the skill in combat cannot be allowed to make laws for the state.   In addition, a just state is when each of the class possesses certain virtue: the working class possesses the virtue of temperance, the soldiers possess courage and the rulers possess wisdom.   Thus, according to Plato, â€Å"And a State was thought by us to be just when the three classes in the State severally did their own business; and also thought to be temperate and valiant and wise by reason of certain other affections and qualities of these same classes?† One may ask, who is a just man for Plato?   Plato’s concept of a just man is similar to his concept of a just state because essentially the same three divisions which exist in the state also exist in the individual.   If the society is divided into three (3) classes of persons, a person’s soul is likewise divided into three categories.   Plato made this analogy because he also believed that that the three parts of the human soul corresponds to the three classes of persons in the state. If it is better for a state that those who possess skill in manual labor to work and for those who possess skill in fighting to defend the state and for the intellectuals to lead the state, it is also better for the individual to control the desires of the other parts of the soul. If the society is divided into three groups of people, the soul is likewise divided into three parts, the appetitive, the spirited and the rational.   The appetitive is the part that hungers for worldly pleasures and wants and feels many things.   It is the part of the soul that yearns for wealth, power and material pleasures. Thus, the craving to eat burgers despite its hazards to health is a sign that a person gives in to the desires of the appetitive soul.   A person who decides to cut class to watch a movie or to play games also gives in to the appetitive soul.  Ã‚   For Plato, the goal of an individual is to develop the virtue of temperance and self-control. The spirited soul is the part of the soul that aims to carry out the dictates of reason.   It is the execution of whatever the intellect has determined to be the best for the person.   When a manager despite knowing that an employee is causing problems to the company because of his lack of professionalism fails to make the decision of terminating him, his spirited soul is considered weak.   For Plato, it is important for an individual to develop courage so that this part of the soul is controlled. The rational part is the thinking part which has the capacity to determine what is real and what are illusions or what is true and what is false or what should be done and what should not be done.   The rational part is also the part of the soul which makes the balanced decisions the purpose of which is the protection of its own interest and welfare.   When a person until now could not decide whom to vote for president of the United States, he is deemed to lack the rational soul.   When a person until could not decide whether to continue going to college, then his rational soul is weak. If justice in the state is to be attained by the three classes of individuals each performing their own function, justice in the individual person is to be attained by having temperance, courage, and wisdom. (Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World, p.72)   A person must have temperance and he is expected to be able to control his desire for worldly pleasures.   A person must also be able to distinguish between pleasures of the flesh and pleasures of the spirit.   The former is short-lived while the latter is eternal.   A person is also expected to have courage.   He must be able to take action and stand by his actions no matter how difficult it may be.   He must be able to take the risk.   A person must also develop wisdom so that he may know what is best for himself. According to Plato, justice can only be attained if every part of the soul is working in harmony with each other.   A person’s desire for wealth should not cloud his judgment.   A manager’s friendly relationship with a colleague should not hinder him from making the right decision.  Ã‚  Ã‚   A just man is therefore someone who can control the worldly pleasures and is able to discipline himself such that he does not submit himself to the wishes of his appetitive soul. Plato thus advocated self-mastery and discipline.   Ã‚  In controlling the appetitive soul, the rational soul is expected to ally with the spirited soul.  Ã‚   A person is also expected to be able to execute his decision.   He may have all the knowledge and wisdom in the world but if he cannot apply his knowledge to the practical world, then the person is also committing an injustice. In the end, the â€Å"justness† or the â€Å"injustness† of an individual will be determined based on how each of the different parts of the soul is able to relate with each other.   Thus Plato states that: â€Å"It will be the business of reason to rule with wisdom and forethought on behalf of the entire soul; while the spirited element ought to act as its subordinate ally.   The two will be brought into accord, as we said earlier, by that combination of mental and bodily training which will tune up one string of the instrument and relax the other, nourishing the reasoning part on the study of noble literature and allaying the other’s wildness by harmony and rhythm.† (Book 4, The Republic)

Africa from A to Z :: essays research papers fc

Africa A to Z By: Doug Wilson Algeria Algeria is the second-largest country in Africa. Oil and gas products make up for most of Algeria’s exports. Algeria ranks as the second largest exporter of gas and oil products after Russia. The Sahara desert makes up more than 90 percent of Algeria’s territory. The population of Algeria is approximately 31 million people. The primary language of Algeria is Arabic, although French dialects are also widely spoken. The primary religion of this country is Sunni Muslim. Botswana Botswana has the world’s richest diamond mines. But, unfortunately it also has the world’s highest AIDS infection rate. Over one-third of Botswana’s people suffer from the disease. Although livestock employs seventy-five percent of the population, diamonds are its richest product. The population of Botswana is approximately one million five hundred and seventy-six thousand people. Primary languages spoke are English and Setswana. Their primary religion is made up of about 50% local beliefs, and 50% Christian beliefs. Chad Chad is one of Africa’s least developed countries; it has more than 100 languages, three religions and three types of weather. Chad’s main source of income is cotton and its chief business is cotton ginning. Starting in 2001, a controversial oil pipeline was started in Chad, run by Exxon Mobil, and could bring millions of dollars to the Chad government. The population of the country of Chad is approximately eight million four hundred and twenty-five thousand people. Chad’s official language is French and Arabic, but they also have over 100 other languages in their country. The three main religions are Muslim, Christian and Animist. Djibouti Djibouti is located in Eastern Africa, and borders the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Djibouti occupies a very important location at the mouth of the Red Sea, in relation to over-seeing the shipment of goods into and out of East Africa. Their primary sources of income and export is agricultural products. The population of Djibouti is approximately four hundred and sixty-seven thousand people. The official languages are French and Arabic, but also include Somali and Afar. This countries primary religion is Muslim. Egypt Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. The people of Egypt introduced the idea of irrigation for agriculture from the Nile River. Egypt’s main export income comes from crude oil and petroleum products as well as cotton, textiles and metal products. The Nile River, is known as the father of Africa’s rivers, and is located in Egypt. The population of Egypt is approximately sixty-eight million three hundred and sixty thousand people.

Ap Psychology Intelligence

Intelligence In my high school your intelligence level is based on your ability to master material in difficult courses, which is quite different to people the same age in the Amazon rain forest. Their intelligence level is based on their knowledge of the medicinal properties of local plants. In both of these very different locations intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. General intelligence is also known as the g factor. To be labeled as intelligent would correlate with a high g factor.There are also the theories of multiple intelligences, which include Gardner's eight intelligences and Sternberg's three intelligences. Gardner's eight intelligences include abilities in linguistics, logical-mathematics, music, spatial awareness, body-kin esthetics, interpersonal relations, interpersonal relations, and nature. Gardner views intelligence as multiple abilities that come in different packages. For example, in t he cases of people with Savant Syndrome who often score low on intelligence testing, yet have one area of intense brilliance, such as the Rain Man.Sternberg's three intelligences include Analytical(academic problem-solving), Creative intelligence, and Practical intelligence. Analytical intelligence is assessed by intelligence testing, with question having only one correct answer. Creative intelligence is shown by how people react to new situations and create new ideas. Practical intelligence is needed for every day problem-solving, with problems having many possible answers. Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. Exceptionally high scores on intelligence tests support the presence of high creativity.Sternberg identified five components of creativity, which include; Expertise(well developed knowledge base), Imaginative thinking skills, A venturesome personality, Intrinsic motivation, and a creative environment. To boost your creativity it is best to develop your expertise by finding something that you are passionate about and become an expert on it. Next, you need to allow time for incubation, which means, give your mind plenty of time and rest to make connections with the wealth of knowledge you have exposed yourself to. Then, you need to set aside time to let your mind roam freely.That means television, computers, and video games are off the table. Instead, go for a walk, jog, or meditate. Lastly and most importantly, experience other cultures and ways of thinking. Travel to many different countries and soak up the culture through common activities and quality time spent with native peoples. Emotional intelligence has four main components, which include, perceiving emotions(to recognize them in faces, music, and stories), understanding emotions(to predict them and how they change and blend), managing emotions(to know how to express them in varied situations), and using emotions to enable adaptive or creative thinking.Thos e who are emotionally intelligent are often more successful in careers, marriage, and parenting situations, as compared to academically smart people. It is believed that there is a strong correlation between brain size and intelligence. For example, Lord Byron's brain was approximately two pounds heavier than the normal three pound brain. In another case Albert Einstein's brain was studied and was found to be 15% larger in the parietal lobe's lower region, which is the area for mathematical and spatial processing. How fitting!Another strong correlation lies between neural processing speed and intelligence. This correlation is the result of one of two possibilities. Perhaps people who process more quickly accumulate more information, or processing speed and intelligence share an underlying genetic influence. How is intelligence determined, and then given a numerical value? Tests are made by psychologists, but what makes the tests themselves credible? The whole idea of testing intelli gence came about around the same time that France made it mandatory for children to attend school.To know what children needed special schooling, a test to determine mental age was created by Binet. Mental age is the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance, typically associated with a certain chronological age. For example, an average seven year old would have a mental age of seven, but if a seven year old is above average he/she may have a mental age of eight or above. The test created to determine mental age is referred to today as the Stanford-Binet, it is the American revision of the original intelligence test.Using the mental age a person's intelligence quotient(I. Q. ) can be determined. I. Q. Is the ratio of mental age to chronological age all multiplied by 100. There are two main types of modern tests to test mental abilities, and they are achievement tests and aptitude tests. Achievement tests are designed to assess what a person ha s learned. Examples of achievement tests include course exams, intelligence tests, and driver's license exams. Aptitude tests are designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.Examples of aptitude tests are the S. A. T. and the A. C. T. What are the principles of intelligence test construction? To understand this we first need to understand standardization and the normal curve. Standardization is defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. The normal curve is the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes. Next, we need to understand reliability and validity.It is very important to have reliability in standardized testing. Reliability is the extent to which a test gives consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, o r on retesting. High reliability does not promise a test's validity. Validity is the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. What are dynamics of human intelligence? They are about the stability over the life span of a person, and about the extremes of intelligence. As you age your intelligence can either increase or decrease, as it is all in your power.Intelligence in correlation with aging comes in three stages: Phase I: Cross-Sectional Evidence for intellectual decline, Phase II: Longitudinal Evidence for Intellectual Stability, and Phase III: It all Depends. Phase I concludes that the decline of mental ability with age is part of the general aging process of the organism as a whole. Phase II concluded that until late in life, intelligence remained stable, sometimes even increasing. For example, John Rock developed the birth control pill at age 70, and Frank Lloyd Wright designed N. Y. C. ‘s Guggenheim Museum at age 89!Phase III concluded a perso n's crystallized intelligence increases until you die, but a person's fluid intelligence decreases beginning shortly after the twenties and very rapidly after age 85. The correlation between intelligence and age all comes down to phase III†¦ it really does all depend! In conclusion, there are many factors when determining the levels of intelligence of human beings. Some of them are creativity, emotional intelligence, testing methods, age, and many more. Whether you are an American high school student, or a teenager in the Amazon rainforest determining intelligence is very much the same.

What Are the Problems That Wal-Mart Has Faced, and What Has the Company Done to Address Them

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , is an icon of American business. From small-town business to multinational, from hugely controversial to a leader in renewable energy, Wal-Mart has long been a lightning rod for news and criticism. With 2008 sales of over $405. 6 billion and more than two million employees worldwide, the world’s largest public corporation must carefully manage many different stakeholder relationships. It is a challenge that has sparked significant debate.Although Wal-Mart reportedly can save the average family $3,200 annually, the company has historically received plenty of criticism regarding its treatment of employees, suppliers, and economic impacts on communities. Feminists, activists, and labor union leaders have all voiced their beliefs that Wal-Mart has engaged in misconduct in order to provide low prices. However, Wal-Mart has been turning over a new leaf. New emphases on diversity, charitable giving, and sustainability have contributed to Wal-Mart’s revi talized image.The story of Wal-Mart and its low prices includes both positive and negative impacts on society. Positively, Wal-Mart reportedly saves consumers over $287 billion annually, equating to about $950 per person. On the flip side, research shows that communities can be negatively impacted by Wal-Mart’s arrival in their areas. This analysis attempts to show both sides of the controversy. It begins by briefly examining the growth of Wal-Mart, and then discusses Wal-Mart’s various relationships with its stakeholders, including competitors, suppliers, and employees.Some of the ethical issues concerning these stakeholders include accusations of discrimination, illegal immigration issues, and leadership misconduct as demonstrated by Wal-Mart former vice chair Thomas Coughlin. Yet, in an effort to show Wal-Mart’s attempts to position itself as a socially responsible company, this case also examines Wal-Mart’s sustainability plans, its ethical initiative s, and former CEO Lee Scott’s impressive leadership qualities. The analysis concludes by highlighting Wal-Mart’s strategy during the most recent recession and recovery.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY ï » ¿ Personal experience essay is all about you and your personal perception of something that has happened to you. The most important thing about personal experience essay is to consequentially realize all the benefits the personal experience that you have received after living through it. Instructors want to see your ability to write, to put events into logical order, to see your ability to use English, and your ability and desire to learn from your own experiences. This is the secret that have just shared with you. The personal experience essay is your chance to communicate with the world and to have opportunity to show yourself from the inside. Â   Another important aspect of personal experience essay is your ability to show in the writing how you have benefited from it. Perhaps the chosen personal experience has taught you completely new things. Perhaps, you have changed your mind and opinion on the things that you disliked or ignored before. Everything in your personal experience that you choose to show does matter. Keep your essay structure according to the essay guidelines. If help needed, we are ready to help you to write original personal experience essay today. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY Any type of personal experience essay will start with the particular event selection. Creating personal experience essay is an exciting process and the main focus of this essay is your unique personality. There are several ways to go around writing this type of essay. First is to depict an story or experience that made your laugh. The second is to present a story that has changed you as a person and you became wiser in many ways. You can describe the event in your life that you are proud of and you have benefited from. Or you can describe a personal experience that was a true challenge for you. Depict how you were able a chance to have a personal growth in your life. In these both examples your main goal is to stay objective. If you find yourself to get emotionally involved in the essay you are writing that means that you have already lost your objectivity. Try writing it all out with the focus on your personal feelings and emotions and then get back to real essay writing.

Giant Beaver (Castoroides) - Facts and Figures

Giant Beaver (Castoroides) - Facts and Figures Name:Â  Giant Beaver; also known as Castoroides (Greek for of the beaver family); pronounced CASS-tore-OY-deez Habitat:Â  Woodlands of North America Historical Epoch:Â  Late Pliocene-Modern (3 million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight:Â  About eight feet long and 200 pounds Diet:Â  Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; narrow tail; six-inch-long incisors About the Giant Beaver (Castoroides) It sounds like the punchline to a prehistoric joke: an eight-foot-long, 200-pound beaver with six-inch-long incisors, a narrow tail, and long, shaggy hair. But Castoroides, also known as the Giant Beaver, really existed, and it fit right in with the other plus-sized megafauna of its late Pliocene and Pleistocene ecosystem. Like modern beavers, the Giant Beaver probably led a partially aquatic lifestyleespecially since it was too big and bulky to move about sleekly on land, where it would have made a tasty meal for a hungry Saber-Tooth Tiger. (By the way, other than both being mammals, the Giant Beaver was completely unrelated to the beaver-like Castorocauda, which lived during the late Jurassic period.) The question everyone asks is: did the Giant Beaver build equally giant dams? Sadly, if it did, no evidence of these gigantic construction projects has been preserved into modern times, though some enthusiasts point to a four-foot-high dam in Ohio (which may well have been made by another animal, or be a natural formation). Like the other mammalian megafauna of the last Ice Age, the extinction of the Giant Beaver was hastened by the early human settlers of North America, who may have valued this shaggy beast for its fur as well as its meat.

Critical review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Critical review - Essay Example In his paper ‘A Grand Strategy of Transformation’, Gaddis (n.d.) has seen Bush’s NSS â€Å"the most sweeping shift in US grand strategy since the beginning of the Cold War† (p.1), which he substantiated by illustrating its differences from Clinton’s December 1999 NSS wherein he finds Bush NSS â€Å"more forceful, more carefully crafted, and – unexpectedly – more multilateral than its immediate predecessor† (Ibid). On the contrary, Wirtz and Russell (2003) believe that although Bush calls on a strategic shift from deterrence to preventive and preemptive war, varied international considerations may paradoxically push the Bush administration to rather â€Å"strengthen deterrence and existing international institutions, two outcomes that are not necessarily high on the administration’s agenda† (p. 113). Thus, essentially, it is no different from the former grand strategy. I agree with Wirtz and Russell that Bush grand s trategy is no different from that of deterrence, not because of its practicality in this present international context, but because, all US grand strategies, including Bush’s, only reaffirm the American consensual view on their supremacy; thus, all strategy’s should pursue only one thing – to ensure US hegemony unchallenged. Second, in defining the adversary, all of the articles commonly regard terrorism – specifically Al-Qaeda – the most ambitious, most ruthless, and most capable among terrorist groups – the most dangerous imminent adversary of U.S. today. However, it was Posen (2001), who had clearly described Al-Qaeda’s motive – that Al-Qaeda’s hatred of US comes from the following: the US meddling on the affairs of the Muslim nations in the Middle East; its imposed interest on the Persian Gulf and Middle East; its imposition of its Western culture that is diametrically opposed to Islam – all these result to the suffering of

Critical Analysis of Globalisation Implications on HRM and Future Essay

Critical Analysis of Globalisation Implications on HRM and Future Challenges for People Management within Organisational Setting - Essay Example , this has resulted into unprecedented results such as increased competitiveness among private and public sectors in numerous countries around the world. There are significant measures that are taken by human resource managers to gather information regarding development strategies that are vital in human resource management. Therefore, in different organizations around, human resource departments are focusing on implementing strategies that facilitate transformation of business in order to cope with modern challenges and exploit opportunities in the business environment (Belcourt & McBey, 2010 6). Globalisation has facilitated significant transformation of human resource; in this case, businesses can connect to new places around the world, and managers can make decisions that are supported by information gathered from different parts of the world. In addition, globalisation is widening talents through development of pools comprising of marginal, permanent or fluid employees. Globalis ation has also promoted processes of establishing a market oriented development strategy, thereby creating more opportunities to world’s economy. In this case, the world has been converted in to a single interdependent global market place, which is attributed to increasing competition and economic change; in fact, these changes have a significant degree of unpredictability (Ozbilgin, 2005, 45). Competitiveness has been established on a state or enterprises level, where value is added to global economic products, services and process that involve human resources. Therefore, this competition calls for knowledge and skills, which are offered by human resources in organizations. Furthermore, knowledge and skills are crucial elements of a workforce, and they have become sources of competitive... This essay stresses that organizations are expected to comply with all rule and regulations formulated by the government. In this way, theses organizations can avoid facing challenges resulting from changes in legal and political environment. Different organizations around the world are competing with an aim of attaining good public image that can result high profitability. Therefore, considering challenges that have been identified, HR managers are expected to take responsibility of training workers on ways to offer quality products and services to customers. Through this way, organizations can generate sufficient profits that can support them during economic recessions. The paper has conducted a critical analysis of globalisation implications on human resource management, and it has identified and discussed future challenges that are likely to be faced by HR managers within organization setting. The paper began with introduction section that gave an overview of globalisation and future challenges of human resource management. The other section covered a critical analysis of impact of globalisation on the HR management. In this section, the paper outlined and discussed in great lengths, factors that has promoted globalisation in human resource field. Finally, the last section explored future challenges that are likely to be faced by human resource managers, thereby identifying remedies to solve these challenges.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics - Essay Example In doing, economic analysis equally considers the assumptions and constraints in application. At the same time, it considers opportunity costs, probable benefits, and social costs related to a certain economic venture. However, the main objective of an economic analysis is to determine how to allocate goods and services using the most accurate economic tools. Additionally, economic analysis defines how government policies and changes in standard rules in the market can affect the stakeholders. Economic analysis involves cost-benefit analysis to ascertain the level of the gains compared to the losses with an aim of maximizing the gains. Economic analysis equally involves welfare analysis that seeks to foster cost-benefit analysis in relation to promoting social responsibility. Therefore, it establishes the viability of a project, the fiscal impact, the possibility of recovering costs, social welfare, and environmental compliance. As such, economic analysis is most beneficial if it tak es place at the initial stages since at later stages it can only determine the going concern of the project2. To achieve this, economic analysis relies on various economic theories, economic models, and economic concepts as articulated by various economists. In arriving at conclusive answers, it uses measurable monetary terms like profits and losses as well as no measurable terms like human suffering and effects on the environment. This paper will carry out an economic analysis on an economic article using relevant economic theories/concepts. Economic theories/concepts Different economists have taken time to research and come up with respective economic theories. Some of the famous economic theorists include Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, John Maynard Keynes, and Milton Friedman3. Indeed, Adam Smith came up with the modern economic theory that sought to establish that individuals pursue their own interests in producing the required goods and services in the market. He concl uded that an invisible hand, competition, supply and demand, and self-interest are responsible for allocating scarce resources in the society4. Karl Max on the other hand invented the modern communism theory by incorporation politics in economics. He concluded that workers are part of the production and should thus own part of the production process. However, this theory did not consider profit sharing, incentive, and worker safety standards. On the other hand, Milton Friedman came up with the consumption theory, that later became the monetarism theory. According to him, the government can modulate a natural rate of unemployment at the expense of inflation. He was thus against government regulation and advocated for free market economics. Other theories include classical economics, Keynesian economics, and market socialism theories. We equally have economic concepts that have significant application in economic analysis. Economic concepts include Scarcity that leads to opportunity c ost. We also have limits on production that include capital, labor, and natural resources. Then we have globalization that generates costs and benefits. Additionally, there is the Economic growth that emanates from future investments. Moreover, we have the forces of demand and supply that determine market equilibrium. Furthermore, we have unemployment that defines underutilization of available resources. In addition, Government, business, and individuals gauge the costs and benefits of a given project. Indeed,

Ratio Analysis Sainsburys Vs Morrisons Finance Essay

Ratio Analysis Sainsburys Vs Morrisons Finance Essay When considered as a whole, the grocery market in the UK has  steadily growing  in size, being about 4  bigger  today than it has been  a year ago;   August 2012 update: 12 weeks ending July 8, 2012 growth rate slows from 4.2% to 2.1% due mostly to a drop in price inflation: 6.2% to 3.8%.  Morrisons is growing more slowly then Sainsburys; the company is on track to add approx. 20 new stores  in 2012  with most of those locations featuring a  larger selection of produce. The UK grocery market was worth  £163.2 billion in 2012, an increase of 3.8% on 2011, IGD forecast that the UK grocery market value will be worth  £192.6bn in 2017, an 18.0% increase on 2012. The grocery markets share accounts for 54.3p in every  £1 of UK retail spending. What is the size of the UK grocery market Source: IGD UK channel forecasts 2012 1.2 The Companies 1.2.1 Sainsburys J Sainsbury plc. is the parent company of Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsburys, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%. The group also has interests in property and banking. It was founded in 1869 and today operates over 1,000 supermarkets and convenience stores and employs around 150,000 colleagues. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. 1.2.2 Morrisons The supermarket, which generated sales of  £18.1 billion in the year, said it had not done enough to communicate its promotions and suffered because it still lacked a meaningful presence in the two fastest growing sectors of the market. Morrisons is the UKs fourth largest food retailer with over 400 stores. The super market is mainly food and grocery weekly shop. Morrisons employs 129,000 staff at 498 stores. Their reports show that like-for-like sales dropped 2.1% in the year, while the average of 11.4 million customers in its stores each week was down on the prior year. 2. Gearing Ratio Analysis 2.1 Gearing Ratios Gearing Ratios (%) Company/Year 2012 2011 Sainsbury 31.73 30.13 Morrison 22.86 16.25 Source : Appendix 1 Sainsburys A gearing between 25% 50% is generally considered nominal for an established business. It implies that Sainsbury is happy to finance its activities using borrowing. Sainsbury focuses more on investment in revenue growth rather than profit as the company increased sales revenue and non-current assets but suffered a loss in 2012. Morrisons The business is considered low gearing as its gearing is less than 25%. The business is growing through reinvestment of profits and minimizing risk. However, in 2012, there is an increase in gearing from 16.25% in 2011 to 22.86% and this is mainly because the business increased long-term borrowings by  £548m and reduced retained earnings and shared capital. 2.2 Interest Cover Ratio Interest Cover Ratio Company/Year 2012 2011 Sainsbury 6.04 7.40 Morrsion 20.59 20.62 Source : Appendix 2 Sainsburys The ratio indicates that the borrowing capital is used effectively to generate profits and that the business is able to meet its short-term interest obligations from its earnings. Sainsbury is growing, making worthwhile investments to continue to expand. Morrisons The ratio suggests that Morrison is generating enough income to cover its interest obligations and is thus financially stable. However, such a high ratio also suggests that Morrison is neglecting opportunities to magnify profits through leverage. 3. LIQUIDITY RATIO ANALYSIS 3.1 CURRENT RATIO COMPANY/YEAR 2011 2012 SAINSBURY .580 .647 MORRISON .545 .574 Source : Appendix 3 Sainsburys Sainsburys current assets are considerably less than the current liabilities in both the years as Sainsbury has invested a lot in fixed assets as well as in subsidiaries and joint ventures. Sainsbury is obliged to pay a lot of money as a part of tax and also in generating its assets so the liability is therefore more than the assets. For every 1pound liability they have only 64.7 pence worth of asset to cover it. Morrisons Morrison current ratio is smaller than the current ratio of Sainsbury which indicates that Sainsbury is doing slightly better than Morrison in the market. Morrison current liabilities is more than the current assets due to more of borrowing that involves short term loans, investment in fixed assets and payment of tax. For every 1pound liability they have only 57.4 worth of asset to cover it. 3.2 ACID TEST RATIO COMPANY/YEAR 2011 2012 SAINSBURY .304 .348 MORRISON .239 .247 Source : Appendix 4 Sainsburys The acid test ratio is very less as Sainsbury, being a retail store, is highly dependent on sale of inventory. As acid test ratio of Sainsbury is .348 that is less than 1 it means that Sainsbury cannot pay their current liabilities. Morrisons Like Sainsburys, Morrison also being highly dependent on inventories, acid ratio is expected to be less. Morrisons acid ratio is .247, which is less than 1, meaning Morrison cannot pay their current liabilities. It would be only able to generate 24.7 % cash of its current liabilities. Both the companies fails in extinguishing its current liabilities but this is not due to their market position or growth but just due to the nature of the business (retail). 4. PROFITABILITY RATIO ANALYSIS 4.1 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) Return on Capital Employed Co./Year 2012 2011 Sainsburys 10.11 % 11.06 % Morrisons 13.83 % 13.70 % (Source : Appendix 5 ) Sainsburys ROCE growth in 2012 was lower than last year partly due to the cumulative effect of Sainsburys accelerated investment in space growth since 2009 (Sainsburys, 2011). This initially shrank profits whilst increasing the value of capital employed. Morrisons Morrisons delivered improved returns to its shareholders. For every  £1 capital invested in the business, the annual return is 13.83 pence in 2012 and was 13.70 pence in 2011. This profitability ratio of Morrison is moderately higher than Sainsburys, hence Morrisons is able to gain more profit on average capital employed. 4.2 Return on Equity (ROE) Return on Equity Co./Year 2012 2011 Sainsburys 10.62 % 11.79 % Morrisons 12.78 % 11.66 % (Source : Appendix 6) Sainsburys Sainsburys Return on Equity in 2012 has decreased by 1.17 % compared to 2011 due to decline in shareholder funds. In 2011, they performed slightly better than Morrisons as they had better reserves and share capital and the Profit after Tax (PAT) was significantly lower than Morrisons. Morrisons Morrisons ROE has significantly improved over d last few years and continue to reach high values. In 2012, they showed a 1.12% increase in ROE compared to 2011 and had a 12.78 % shareholder equity. The shareholders invested a lot which resulted in higher returns. 4.3 Gross Profit Margin Gross Profit Margin Co./Year 2012 2011 Sainsburys 5.43 % 5.49 % Morrisons 6.89 % 6.96 % (Source : Appendix 7) Sainsburys A moderate decline in the ratio between 2011 and 2012 explains the fact that the gross profit was lower in relation to sales revenue. This means that cost of sales was higher relative to sales revenue within the period. Morrisons Morrisons Gross Profit Margin is higher than Sainsburys as they had a lower sales revenue and moderate gross profit compared to the latter. In 2012, 6.89 % of the net sales are available to pay off all the operating expenses. 4.4 Net/Operating Profit Margin Net/Operating Profit Margin Co./Year 2012 2011 Sainsburys 3.74 % 4.07 % Morrisons 5.48 % 5.38 % (Source : Appendix 8) Sainsburys Sainsbury accounted to lower Net Profit Margin than Morrisons because of falling sales and rising costs. The market has a lot of competition where small groceries and convenience stores capture quite a bit of total UK food retail. Morrisons Morrisons performed fairly well and showed significant increase in the operating profits from Sainsburys over the past year. It accounted 5.48 % Net Profit Margin in the current financial year (Sales Revenue:  £17663m). It is a result of superior execution and induction of higher margin products in their sales mix. Morrisons seems to be more profitable than Sainsburys across all available profitability measures. 5.0 Efficiency Ratios (Source of Data, Apendix 9, Financial Reports of Sainsburys and Morrisons) 5.1 Fixed Assets Turnover This ratio shows how efficiently the company is using fixed assets to generate sales. Low ratios indicate the company is capital intensive or that company requires a lot of fixed assets to generate a given amount of sales. (Gildersleeve, R. (1999) p.136). Efficiency Ratios Year/Comp. Sainsburys Morrisons 2011 2.40 times 2.18 times 2012 2.39 times 2.22 times Sainsburys In 2012 Sainsburys shows an increase in Sales Revenue for approx 1,100  £m, which made its ratio slightly lower comparing to 2011. The ratio remained fairly similar because the value of fixed assets at net book value increased as well. The reason for the increase in fixed assets could be explained by Sainsburys tendency for opening new stores. The financial report states that they opened 19 new supermarkets, 28 extensions, and 73 convenience stores, which are only to begin operating and contributing to sales. Morrisons On the other hand Morrisons managed to improve their ratio by obtaining similar value of their fixed assets from 2011 to 2012, and using them more efficiently to score an increase in sales revenue of 1,100 £m. Generally looking at the industry the Average ratios for Retail Food companies are between 4-5 (Wal-Mart Stores USA 5.00), (Gildersleeve, R. (1999) p.136), so Sainsburys should aim to increase the use of their fixed assets in order to increase the sales. 5.2 Average Inventories Turnover Shows how many days company had to stock goods for sale before they were sold. In the retail-food industry this period should be kept fairly low because of the nature of the business. Lower ratio indicates that company will spend less funds towards stocking items before putting it on sale and getting profit from it. Average Inventories Turnover Year /Comp. Sainsbury Morrison 2011 14.86 Days 15.19 Days 2012 15.85 Days 16.85 Days Sainsburys Sainsburys shows growth in the average of inventories held over the course of year by almost 100  £m. As costs of sales have increased from 2011-2012, this ratio shows a slight growth in number of days goods are kept in stock. The increase of inventory in stock could be explained by Sainsburys growth of sales in 2012. Higher demand forces company to have more items in stock in order to satisfy the needs of the customers. Morrisons Morrisons shows even higher growth in average days the goods are stocked. Morrisons also note the increase in cost of sales, even more than Sainsburys. The financial reports of Morrisons state a few reasons, among which increasingly higher prices of fuel on the market. 5.3 Profit Per Employee Profit Per Employee Year/ Comp. Sainsbury Morrison 2011 5,572.78  £ per emp. 6,617.50  £ per emp. 2012 5,256.58  £ per emp. 7,217.60  £ per emp. Sainsburys It is notable that companys profit has been reduced from 2011-2012 for 2.8 m £, which is 3.4%, even though its sales have risen for 6.8%. This could be explained by the number of reasons, but one of them that is important for this ratio is that they have also increased the number of employees. This has negatively influenced their Profit per Employee ratio, leaving it behind the industry average and Morrisons. Morrisons Unlike Sainsburys, Morrisons notes the increase in profit and reduction of number of employees. This is the most desirable situation for a company. Their profit was higher for 8 % in 2012 than in 2011. 5.4 Average Trade Debtor Collection Period It indicates the period of time which is needed for company to collect trade debts. This ratio reveals a great deal about a companys credit policy and the efficiency which it can collect money from its customers. (Fight, A. (2006) p. 57)). Average Trade Debtor Collection Period Year/Comp. Sainsbury Morrison 2011 1.61Days 4.79 Days 2012 1.90 Days 4.34 Days Sainsburys Sainsburys shows an increase in the average time that they needed to collect the trade dept. Even though their costs of sales remained fairly similar, there was a substantial increase in the amount of trade debt. Even though this negatively influenced the ratio, Sainsburys has made trades from which they expect to receive money in near future. Furthermore their ratio shows efficiency at collecting debts, comparing both to the industry and Morrisons. Morrisons Morrisons have significantly higher average debt collection period. Even though they have managed to slightly decrease their Trade receivables from 2011-2012, their costs of sales increased by approx 1,000 £m which has not made it possible for this ratio to improve further. 6. INVESTMENT RATIO ANALYSIS FORMULAS * Eearning Per Shares = profit available to shareholders/ no. of shares ranked for dividend * Dividend Yield= dividend per share/ market price * 100% *Dividend cover = Preference Dividend/Ordinary Dividend SAINSBURYS MORRISONS 2011 2012 2011 2012 (%) (%) EARNING PER SHARE 33.8 31.5 23.43 26.03 DIVIDEND YIELD 15.10 16.1 9.60 10.70 DIVIDEND COVER 1.75 1.75 2.40 2.39 6.1 EARNING PER SHARE YEAR Sainsburys In 2011 Sainsburys experienced a sharp increase in earnings per share going up by 33.8%. And in 2012 the Sainsbury went down with 31.5% having a loss of 2.3%. It is important that assets are revaluated in order to keep the real value of assets on balance sheet. Earnings per share in 2011 increased by 2.3% to 33.8 p, reflecting the improvement in the operating profit and the effect of the additional shares, more importantly due to the property profits. Morrisons Morrisons earnings per share compared to Sainsburys are lower. This is driven by smaller profit and the fact that Morrisons is a smaller sized supermarket chain. The earning per share has 23.43% at 2011 mainly caused by the higher profits on business disposals that the company went through last year, so the return to shareholders was a lower rate per share. 6.2 DIVIDEND YIELD YEAR Sainsburys The dividend yield had a slightly decreased since the dividend per share only increased by 15.10% from 2011 year. This was a decision from the company and it reflects the reduction in the earning per share already mentioned and the fall in the dividend cover by 1.75% in 2011. Morrisons Morrison dividend yield is much less in 2011 it was 9.6% and in 2012 the dividend went up to 10.70%. 6.3 DIVIDEND COVER YEAR Sainsburys Dividend cover of Sainsburys says that earnings available for dividend cover is 1.75% in 2011 and also in 2012 so there was not change in the divided cover over the past two years. In terms of dividend cover, Sainsburys has its policy based on their calculations to maintain the dividend cover between 1.50 1.75 times. The reason behind it is that if the dividend cover is too low, there is a possibility that the company will not be able to pay out the investors. Morrisons In Morrisons divided cover, it showers that in 2011 it has 2.40% whereas in 2012 it has 2.39%, which is still more than Sainsbury. For the year 2011 Morrisons dividend cover is 2.4 times, claim that it is in line with the European food retail sector average (Morrisons, 2011). 7. Future Perspectives and Strategies Both Sainsburys and Morrisons have their business strategies for future outlined in their financial statements. Morrisons financial strategy continues to deliver improved margins whilst positioning long term growth. They wish to increase their customer appeal and growth of sales, which is meant to be converted into profitable growth. They have realized the potential in online retail, so they will finally enter the online groceries market to challenge Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys, making it the last of the major supermarket groups to have an internet presence, but only after reporting its first fall in profits for six years.C:UsersUSERDesktopfinancial management1.JPG Sainsburys based their business strategy on meeting consumer needs, taking into the account the on-going inflation over the past four years. The economic downturn has changed how and what consumers buy, and these changes appear to be lasting. In 2012 they have launched their Live Well for Less campaign based on awarding loyalty and providing the best quality possible for optimal price. Through Nectar loyalty scheme they have a wealth of data about their customers behaviour. C:UsersUSERDesktopfinancial management2.JPG Source of the table: Morrisons financial statement 2012. Source: Sainsburys Financial Statement 2012 8 Conclusions Financial statements suggest that Morrisons financial performance was very good. They had a profitable year (profit of  £58m) while Sainsburys performance was not good compared to 2011 (loss of  £42m). Morrisons financial performance was strong, and they continued to invest in long term growth of the business, and to deliver increasing returns to shareholders. Even after having steady increase in sales revenue and gross profit, Sainsbury suffered loss compared to previous year mainly because their interest and tax expenses increased while profit from joint ventures reduced. Though Sainsburys acquisition of non-current assets was underfinanced with long term sources of finance, they still managed to generate more sales and cover the debt payable easily. Alternatively, Morrisons financial management was excellent as they covered all their non-current assets with long term sources of finance. High interest cover ratio indicates that there is no sort of pressure on the company and is very profitable. References Fight, A (2006) Flow Forecasting, UK: CFrion Tec. Pvt. Stickney C.P (2010) Financial Accounting : an introduction to concepts methods and uses USA: South Western Cengage Learning Smart B.S Megginson W.L (2009) Introduction to Corporate Finance USA: South Western Cengage Learning Alberth S.W (2011) Accounting, Concepts Applications, What, Why, How of Accounting USA: South Western Cengage Learning Gildersleeve R. (1999) Winning Business: How to use Financial Analysis and Benchmarks to outscore your competition Houston: Tex Gult Pub. Co. Unknown (2010) An evaluation of the business and financial performance of morrisons. Available at: http://www.ukessays.com/dissertations/business/financial-performance-of-morrisons.php#ixzz2NhjC0HdW (Accessed: 15/03/2013) London Stock Exchange (2013) London Stock Exchange Available at: www.londonstockexchange.com (Accessed: 20/03/2013) Morrison Group (2013) Financial Reports Available at: http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Corporate/Investor-centre/Financial-reports/ (Accessed: 18/03/2013) Sainsburys Group (2013) Annual Report and Financial Statements 2011 Available At: http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/ar11/ (Accessed: 10/03/2013) Unknown (2013) Forces analyses of Sainsbury Available at: http://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/management/forces-analyses-of-sainsbury.php (Accessed at: 18/03/2013) Appendix 1 Gearing Ratio = Long Term Loans + Value of Preference Shares Share Capital + Reserves + Long term Loans + Minority Interest Sainsburys 2012 2011 2617 + 0 538 + 5091 + 2617 + 0 2339 + 0 535 + 4889 + 2339 + 0 = 31.73 % = 30.13 % Morrisons 2012 2011 1600 + 0 253 + 5144 + 1600 + 0 1052 + 0 266 + 5154 + 1052 + 0 = 22.86 % = 16.25 % Appendix 2 Interest Cover Ratio = Profit before interest and tax Interest payable Sainsbury 2012 2011 834 138 859 116 = 6.04 = 7.40 Morrison 2012 2011 968 47 887 43 = 20.59 = 20.62 Appendix 3 Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities Sainsburys 2011 2012 Current assets = 1708 Current liabilities = 2942 Current ratio = 1708/2942 = .580 Current assets = 2032 Current liabilities = 3136 Current ratio = 2032/3136 = .647 Morrisons 2011 2012 current assets = 1138 current liabilities = 2086 current ratio = 1138/2086 = .545 Current assets = 1322 current liabilities = 2303 current ratio = 1322/2303 = .574 Appendix 4 Acid test ratio = liquid asset / current liabilities Liquid asset = current asset inventories 2011 2012 Current assets = 1708 inventories = 812 liquid asset = 1708 812 = 896 current liabilities = 2942 acid test ratio = 896 / 2942 = .304 Current assets = 2032 inventories = 938 liquid asset = 2032 938 = 1094 current liabilities = 3136 acid test ratio = 1094 / 3136 = .348 Sainsburys Morrisons 2011 2012 current assets = 1138 inventories = 638 liquid asset = 1138 638 = 500 current liabilities = 2086 acid test ratio = 500 / 2086 = .239 current assets = 1322 inventories = 759 liquid asset = 1322 759 = 569 current liabilities = 2703 acid test ratio = 569 / 2703 = .247 Appendix 5 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE = For Sainsburys 2012 2011 834 X 100 538 + 5091 + 2617 + 0 859 X 100 535 + 4889 + 2339 + 0 = 10.11 % = 11.06 % For Morrisons 2012 2011 968 X 100 253 + 5144 + 1600 + 0 887 X 100 266 + 5154 + 1643 + 0 = 13.83 % = 13.70 % Appendix 6 Return on Equity ( ROE ) = Profit after Tax X 100 Share Capital + Reserves For Sainsburys 2012 2011 598 X 100 538 + 5091 640 X 100 535 + 4889 = 10.62 % = 11.79 % For Morrisons 2012 2011 690 X 100 253 + 5144 632 X 100 266 + 5154 = 12.78 % = 11.66 % Appendix 7 Gross Profit Margin = Gross Profit X 100 Sales Revenue For Sainsburys 2012 2011 1211 X 100 22294 1160 X 100 21102 = 5.43 % = 5.49 % For Morrisons 2012 2011 1217 X 100 17663 1148 X 100 16479 = 6.89 % = 6.96 %

Cadaver Organ Donation :: Health Medical Essays

Cadaver Organ Donation Recently, TV Land aired a 1975 episode of All in the Family in which Archie Bunker tries to impress his boss by being the first in line to sign up for the boss’ favorite charity (Bogart 1975). It is not until Archie is holding his donor card that he realizes that he has signed up to be an organ donor. This causes great anxiety for Archie which manifests itself as more stress than usual, worrying about his age, and problems sleeping. Archie finally goes to rescind his donation and states that it is for religious purposes. Archie states that he had a dream in which he has died and is driving his taxi toward heaven. As he is driving toward heaven, people begin taking parts from the taxi. As he continues, people begin removing parts from Archie. When he reaches heaven he is not allowed in because God does not recognize him due to so many parts missing. Another humorous piece concerning organ donation is from Monty Python's Meaning of Life. In â€Å"Part V: Live Organ Donations† Mr. Brown answers the door and finds two men who have come to take his liver, which Mr. Brown states that he is still using. The two men wrestle Mr. Brown to the ground and find on him his Liver Donation Card. Mr. Brown states â€Å"Listen! I can't give it to you now. It says, 'in the event of death'.† One of the men respond with, â€Å"No one who has ever had their liver taken out by us has survived,† followed by a very bloody removal of Mr. Brown’s liver. Mrs. Brown enters the room and confronts the two men who respond that they are taking Mr. Brown’s liver. After she realizes what is going on she sees the entire episode as being Mr. Brown’s fault for signing the donation card in the first place (Gilliam and Jones 1983). These two views of organ donation in the popular culture make light of reasons why people do not register to be organ donors; however, they do reflect many people’s anxieties about being an organ donor. An example of this is found in a Boston Herald front page article where the removal of organs from an eighteen month old boy, not for the purpose of transplant, was called â€Å"heartless.† The child’s mother stated, â€Å"Our son David was all heart, and now he is buried without his heart.

Blue Streak Essay

What suggestions would you offer to Art to improve his operation? It seems as though, Art prematurely opened the two locations in neighboring states. Because Art was a constant figure in his other locations from inception, the vision that he had for those locations were taught and able to be practiced to his standards. There are at least three areas in which this operation can be improved. It is clear that art believes that the common denominator in the success of all his other locations is his presence. At the locations in neighboring states his managers feel as though, he frequents the locations too much. There is a clear disconnect in his intent and their out look of the situation. His manager likely believe that he doesn’t trust them to effectively manage, and do the job in which they were hired. They likely seem his as a micromanager. I believe that this problem can be solved with simple communication. He explains the reasoning behind his constant visitations and Iâ€℠¢m sure his manager will be able to understand his reasoning and that will relieve some of the tension. Also, his managers do not seem to know what Art is expecting of them as managers. This problem can be handled with training. Art may want to think about closing down his locations for a limited period of time in order to teach his managers what is expected of them. When Art visited these locations, it seems as though he never effectively What management skills must Art master if he is to resolve his problems and continue to grow? Conceptual skills may help him to understand that in order for the company to succeed he needs to plan and organize his goals. Using these skills increases the ability to see the organization as a whole. It would help Mr. Benton to understand the relationships among the different offices and see how the organization fits into its broader environment. These skills are cruel for the top management and will the company will grow and it will also allow Mr. Benton to grow as a person. Mr. Benton can apply the skills mastered in his company by realizing how the out-of-state offices are connected to the other offices. By understanding this he can understand the business as a whole and decide on the objectives and then proceeding to plan and organize management task. Therefore, mastering conceptual skills are  recommended to learn since it will help the CEO understand the company as whole making better decisions and resolving the problems at easier way.

Arthur Miller’s play Essay

â€Å"In the book of record that Mr Parris keeps, I note that you are rarely in church on Sabbath day†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ twenty-six times in seventeen month, sir. I must call that rare†¦ † this can cause people be rebellious and there is also the fact that not everyone feels the same way about religion and forcing people would cause resentment between the community it self, and that is exactly what we find happening. Let’s take the Walcott’s. They blamed Martha Corey of being a witch. This was due to the fact that she had sold them a pig and it died. When they asked for their money back saying that she had given them a sick pig, she refused and said â€Å"Walcott, if you haven’t the wit to feed a pig properly, you’ll not live to own many† After that, the Walcott’s claimed that they couldn’t keep a pig alive for more than four weeks and so accused her of being a witch. The whole witchcraft business turned into something to settle old grudges. We even find Ann Putnam accusing Rebecca Nurse, who as we know was a very religious and god fearing woman. She accuses her because of her jealousy of Rebecca having so many children and grandchildren and not one of them died. She accused Rebecca of murdering her babies with her powers as a witch. So we find that the community was very much involved in accusing and taking advantage of these witch trials as a way of solving old grudges and to put it to use for their personal vendettas. There was also the mistake of John Proctor. He should have gone to the court and told them at the beginning what Abigail had told him, before the whole thing got so out of hand. â€Å"The towns mumbling witchcraft. † â€Å"Oh, posh! We were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took a fright is all† This shows that Abigail admits that there is no truth in the witchcraft rumour. By the time he went and told them, they had already thrown a lot of people in jail for witchcraft. For them to listen to Proctor would be admitting that they had made a mistake, and that in it self would mean that other problems would arise for them. Proctor’s affair with Abigail had also somewhat caused these witch trials. Abigail, due to her infatuation with Proctor had gone to the woods where she drank a blood charm to kill his wife and was discovered by Parris. That was the start of the rumours of witchcraft. There was also the mistake of Elizabeth Proctor. If she had not lied, the court would have been overthrown. â€Å"Is your husband a lecher?! † â€Å"No sir† â€Å"She spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied! † The lie caused the fact that Abigail had confessed to Proctor that she had been dancing and that there was no witchcraft done on them, to be dismissed as a lie told by Proctor. So once again the witch trials were back on. Rebecca Nurse seemed to be the only person who understood what was going on. â€Å"I have seen them all through their silly season† She knew that what Betty and Ruth were doing was just their childhood mischiefs. In fact Abigail, when talking to Proctor, had said â€Å"She took fright, is all† about Betty’s condition. So we can see that not all of the community was bad. And of course we cannot forget the legal system â€Å"the court’s† input into the trials, as they had held them. First of all the rule that if you confessed to witchcraft you would not be hanged but if you didn’t then you will hang, is totally preposterous. This means that even if people were innocent, which we know they were, they would have to confess to save their lives. If people confess then it would be known that witchcraft is about in Salem and so there would be no talk of overthrowing the court. In fact even after finding out that the accusations of witchcraft had been a hoax they were not ready to admit mistake and went on further and executed some more people. â€Å"I cannot think they would run off except they fear to keep in Salem anymore. Mark it, sir, Abigail had close knowledge of this town†¦. † This shows that Abigail had been lying. So the question is how much was it Abigail’s fault that these witch trials took place. After gathering sufficient evidence from the play, one cannot be certain and say that Abigail was to blame entirely because we know it is not entirely true. We know there were other factors and people who supported and played a big part in the trials. We also know that a lot of it was to settle old grudges and to deal with individuals personal vendettas. Still we cannot deny the fact that Abigail was the main reason for these witch trials. The drinking of the blood charm and dancing and heaven knows what else and then being discovered started the talk of witchcraft and after that, one after the other, the drastic events of the Salem witch trials unfolded. In my opinion I feel that Abigail was to blame somewhat although I would not blame her entirely. Living in a strict community and having seen terrible things happen in front of her as a child could definitely not have helped her behaviour and mentality. I myself would also hold responsible the court and people like the Putnam’s and the Walcott’s and also Parris, to some extent, for the trials. Not really for being a cause for starting them as such, although I do think they played some part, but mainly for contributing to them after they had started. As for Abigail, her behaviour cannot be excused, yet we can try and understand why she did what she did. We know that a lot of it had to do with her obsession with Proctor but if we were to look just beneath the surface we would find that, at least in my opinion, that Abigail was somewhat mentally psychotic in some ways and really needed a good and loving home to support her after the murder of her parents to have prevented her from her terrible deeds. By Kausar Hussain 10S Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

China Today laws, government and business environment for the investor essays

China Today laws, government and business environment for the investor essays Currently, the China of today has attempted to wrest itself from its Maoist communist path and embark upon a program of sustained economic reform. Legally, "after expressly declaring to adopt a socialist market economy in 1992," the 8th and 9th National People's Congress of China passed "a series of market-oriented laws" so that "consequently a preliminary legal system accommodating to the market economy came into being." (Building China's Market-Oriented Legal System, 2003) In recent history, China has indeed practically and legally attempted to bolster market reforms and enter the capitalist world economy. However, it is important to note that the National's People's Congress that passed the aforementioned resolution was not democratically elected by the Chinese people. China continues to have a government of control and command, politically if not economically speaking. It has attempted to create a nation where political reform is not commensurate with social reform. Perhaps the most powerful symbolic statement of this is that in a resolution was passed that allowed that "the private sector is a complement to the socialist public economy," demonstrators in Tieneman Square were massacred only a year afterward. ("Building China's Market-Oriented Legal Legally, the party administers control China's vast geographic reaches capital, in the form of a single-party system. The party allows free enterprise and private ownership to exist, provided it does not interfere with party activities through democratic initiatives. Legally, private ownership exists, and is protected, but the government remains involved in the economy to protect the communist party's own, uni-party interests. This dual program of economic liberalization and political repression began often known as China's 'one country, two systems' plan in that a Western economy exists next to a communist pol...

Analysis of Invitation Cards for Attending Wedding Ceremonies in the Jordanian Society Essay Example

Analysis of Invitation Cards for Attending Wedding Ceremonies in the Jordanian Society Essay Example Analysis of Invitation Cards for Attending Wedding Ceremonies in the Jordanian Society Essay Analysis of Invitation Cards for Attending Wedding Ceremonies in the Jordanian Society Essay The data are elicited through a questionnaire that consists of twenty five items compiled from invitation cards for both Muslims and Christians. The findings of the study show that the form of the invitation cards in Islam and Christianity in the Jordanian society is systematic and influenced by social, economic, and religious factors. Finally, this study recommends that further research to be conducted investigating other invitation cards for other events in the Jordanian society such as, invitation cards for attending meetings, lectures, celebrations, royal feasts and tribal reconciliation. 1. Introduction This paper reports on the results of a study which investigates the analysis of wedding invitation cards between Muslims and Christians in the Jordanian society. Also, it explores how the Christian and Muslim wedding invitation cards are structured. Al-Qudah (2001: 1) suggests that sociolinguistics is a relatively new branch of linguistics which deals with topics related to the interaction between society and language. Hymes (1979: 61) states that genres often coincide with speech events, but must be treated as analytically independent of them. Campbell and Jamieson (quoted in Swales 1990: 43) defined a genre as a group of acts unified by a constellation of forms that recurs in each of its members. These forms, in isolation, appear in other discourses. What is distinctive about the acts in a genre is a recurrence of the forms together in constellation. Nunan (1993) insisted that the term genre recently adapted by functional linguists who argue that language exists to fulfill certain functions, and that these functions will determine the overall shape or generic structure of the discourse Do the socio-cultural factors have a significant role in the organization and production of such wedding invitation cards? We have been thinking of this question for ages. The invitation cards have great communication potential(Willer 2001: 16). They represent a means to invite other people to attend the wedding ceremony which is arranged by the families of both the bride and the groom. Brown and Levinson (quoted in Haidarah 2001: 27) provide an insightful account of the various ways in which people can convey messages through invitation cards. The communicative purpose of such invitation is to inform people that a wedding part is going to be held in a specific time and place and to invite or call upon people to participate in this occasion by their presences. A wedding party is a significant event in the Islamic Jordanian society. the party will function as an announcement to the public that X and Y are a husband and wife from now on. A large group of people are invited in order to witness that event. It seems that this field of study is fairly new; it has not been investigated thoroughly. It is also clear that this topic has not been studied in Jordan. Hence, the need for such research in this area to identify the organization and production of such wedding invitation cards. An invitation card is considered one of the most important forms of genre. Scollon (1995) defines genre as a term borrowed from literature to refer to different conventional forms of speech events. For examples, jokes, lectures, sales letters, contracts, evaluation reports, advertising copies and so forth are all different genres found in every day professional communication. By genre we mean any speech event, whether it is spoken or in writing which has fairly predictable sets of speech acts, participants, topics, settings, or other regularly occurring and conventional form. Raheja and Puri (1995: 68) viewed that the wedding invitation card can be organized in a number of formats. However, the following important information must be included: (1) The fact that it is a wedding event; (2) the names of the hosts; (3) the names of the bride and the groom; (4) that data and the year; (5) the time; (6) address of the ceremony. The Jordanian society Jordan is a developing country, just like any other country in the Arab world. It has a rooted history that pushes to become one of the most advanced countries in the region. Socially, the traditional heritage in Jordanian society is that family members, relatives, friend, and neighbors should support each other morally and sometimes substantially in times of adversity and happiness. Friendship between people of the same sex is occasionally expressed by holding hands when walking in the street. Marriage is still common in Jordanian society. When two persons decide to become partners for life, the bond linking them is called marriage, which, ideally, is supported to last for a lifetime. Raheja and Puri (1995: 1) said that marriage is an institution; a union of two people; to love, cherish and obey. Marriage has become part of a tradition. Derived from the Latin word traditio, tradition encompasses to the cumulative social heritage in the form of habits, customs, attitudes and ways of life, which have been transmitted from one generation to the next either through written scripture or word of mouth. The marriage contract, in Jordan, is held between the brides father hand in hand with the bridegroom in the presence of the official judge and witnesses. Guthrie (2001: 15) indicated that the marriage contract included detailed trousseaux inventories and gifts to the bride from her own family, as well as the dowry (mahr), which was for her sole use and benefit. Religious language is repeated after the judge in this event, which is common in all Islam countries. Wedding celebration usually lasts three days and often involves over a hundred guests. Men and women usually celebrate separately in different places. The bridegroom and his family terminate the general celebrations with a big meal in the afternoon for guests, relatives, friends and others The bride celebrates in her parents house mostly together with a great number of female relatives and friends. . 3- Objectives The objective of this study is: 1- To describe the genre of wedding invitation cards within the Jordanian society. 2- To identify the distinctive features that form the structure of the invitation cards in Islam and Christianity. 3- To account for the socio-cultural factors that contribute to the production and organization of such genres. 4- To identify the religious factors that affect the identification of the genre of invitation cards. 4. Methodology. 4. 1. Population The population of this study consisted of all people living in the city of Jerash (males and females). Those people were from two religions Islam (Sunni and Circassian ) and Christianity . This population will help in showing the various forms of invitation cards for attending wedding ceremonies within the Jordanian society with reference to their religions. 4. 2. Sample The sample of this study has been chosen randomly for the questionnaire. The number of people involved for this questionnaire was 13 females and 37 males. Their ages ranged from 22 to 65. Non of them were illiterate, very few had only elementary education, some of them have only secondary education. As for higher education, some of the respondents have Diploma, some have B. A, others had Masters degrees, while few of them have doctoral degrees in different fields. Table (1) shows the distribution of this sample according to religion, sex, and number : Number of females |Number of males |religion | |2 |24 |Sunni |Islam | |5 |3 |Circassian | | |6 |10 |Christianity | |13 |37 |Total | Table (2) shows the distribution of this sample according to their education : Number of females |Number of males |educatio n | |0 |3 |Elementary | |5 |8 |Secondary | |3 |3 |Diploma degree | |4 |18 |Bachelors degree | |1 |3 |Masters degree |0 |2 |Doctoral degree | |13 |37 |Total | 4. 3. Data elicitation The data were elicited through a questionnaire which gives the informants the opportunity to respond frankly without embarrassment. On the first page of the questionnaire there are five questions that elicit demographic information about the subjects, i. e. sex, age, place of living (the city of Jerash) in addition to religion and educational levels. Religion is considered one of the most important variables in this study. The five questions investigate whether age, place of living, sex, educational levels and religion affect the form of the wedding invitation cards. The questionnaire consists of twenty five items investigating the structure and the form of the wedding invitation cards for both muslins and Christians. After careful observation of available invitation cards for attending wedding ceremonies, the researchers have written the twenty five items that were used to collect the data. The questionnaire items consisted of two types (Multiple-Choice and Yes/No questions). The subjects were asked to answer these questions carefully with the assistance of the researchers. 5. Results and discussion. The main focus of this paper was to analyze the invitation cards in Islam and Christianity within the Jordanian society. In order to achieve this objective, the researchers used a questionnaire as a tool to collect dada that would show any potential and significant differences between Muslims and Christians in this regard. The results of this tool will be presented in detail below. The analysis of the questionnaire results showed approximately similar differences between Islam and Christianity. Results of question one which was about the person who offers the invitation card showed that 57. 6% of Muslims wedding invitation cards were offered by the father, 30. 7% of them by the elder brother, 4% by the cousin, and 7. 7% by others, such as the bridegroom himself. As for, Circassians, analysis of results showed that 62. % of them was the father, 25% of them was the elder brother, and 12. 5% of them was the cousin. While Christians, analysis indicated that 75% of them was the father, 18. 7% of them was the elder brother, and 6. 3% of them was others. We have found that the father is the one who always off ers the wedding invitation cards for both Muslims ( Sunni and Circassian ) and Christians (see table 1). Table (1): The person who offers the wedding invitation card. |total |others |cousin |The elder brother |father |Who offered the invitation card? | |100% |7. 7% |4% |30. % |57. 6% |Sunni | |100% |0% |12. 5% |25% |62. 5% |Circassian | |100% |6. 3% |0% |18. 7% |75% |Christian | Question number two which asked about mentioning the name of the bride in the invitation card revealed that 46% of Muslims (Sunni) mentioned the brides name, 50% 0f Muslims (Circassian) also mentioned the brides name, while all of Christians mentioned the name of the bride in the invitation cards. It was found that more than half of Muslims didn’t mention the brides name because of either their social or religious contentments (see table 2). Table (2): Mentioning the brides name. |Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Mentioning | | | |the brides name. | | | | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0% |50% |54% |100% |50% |46% | | With regard of those who did not mention the name of the bride, it was found that 85. % of Muslims (Sunni) used instead of the brides name the word: k? ri:m-? uhu (his wife), 14. 3% of them used the word: ibn-tuhu (his daughter). 75% of Muslims (Circassian) also used the word k? ri:m-? uhu (his wife), the rest used the word: ibn-tuhu (his daughter). Also we have found that some of them used the expression ? aqiqatuhu(his sister). As for Christians, they all mention the brides name. (see table 3). Table (3): The way the brides name is mentioned. |total |others |his brothers daughter |his daughter |his wife |How is the brides name mentioned instead? | |100% |0% |0% |14. 3% |85. % |Sunni | |100% |0% |0% |25% |75% |Circassian | |0% |0% |0% |0% |0% |Christian | Question four which asked about the reasons why the brides name wasn’t mentioned in the invitation card showed that 41. 6% of Muslims (Sunni) didn’t mention the brides name because of Social contentment, 58. 4 % of them was because of Religious contentment. Whereas, 100% of Circassians was because of only social contentment. In case of Christians, there were no reasons for not mentioning the brides name (see table 4). Table (4): The reasons why the brides name wasn’t mentioned in the invitation card. total |others reasons |religious |social contentment |Whatre the reasons for not mentioning the | | | |contentment | |brides name | |100% |0% |58. 4% |41. 6% |Sunni | |100% |0% |0% |100% |Circassian | |0% |0% |0% |0% |Christian | As for question five that was about the one who insists on not mentioning the brides name in the invitation card, findings showed that 14. % of Muslims (Sunni) was the grooms father who insists on not mentioning the brides name, 7. 1% was the brides family, and 78. 6% was the grooms himself. 75%of Muslims (Circassian) was the grooms himself and 25% was only the brides family. In comparison with Muslims, Christians had no reasons for not mentioning the brides name in the invitation card (see table 5). Table (5): The person who insists on not mentioning the brides name in the invitation card. |total |groom himself |brides family |rooms farther |Who insists on not mention ing the brides name? | |100% |78. 6% |7. 1% |14. % |Sunni | |100% |75% |25% |0% |Circassian | |0% |0% |0% |0% |Christian | By analyzing results of question six that was about mentioning the bride and grooms job title in the invitation card, it was found that 30. 7% of Muslims (Sunni) mentioned the job title, while 69. 2% refused to mention it. 50% of Muslims (Circassian) mentioned the job title and the rest didn’t. As for Christians, 43. 7% insisted on mentioning their job titles and 56. 3% didn’t. We have found that the reason behind mentioning the job title is prestigious one (see table 6). Table (6): The person who insists on not mentioning the brides name in the invitation card. Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | | | | | |Mentioning the job | | | |title | | |Muslim | Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |56. 3% |50% |69. 2% |43. 7% |50% |30. 7% | | Question seven asked about beginning the invitation card with a verse of the Holly Koran. Analyzing the results showed that 53. 8% of Muslims (Sunni) usually began their invitation cards with the following verse of the Holly Koran: â€Å"wa men ayatehe an khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwajan litaskunu elaiha waj? ala binakum mawadatan wa rahma ina fii ? aalika la’yaatin liqawmin yatafakaroon† And of his signs is this: he created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and he ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect. While 75% of Muslims (Circassian) used the same verse of Holly Koran. It seems that Muslims (Circassian and Sunni), who didn’t use the verse of the Holly Koran, tend to use a verse of poetry such as: Ya m ar ala? bab ha? ihi d? watii fatafaDalu litu? arikunii bah d? etii Oh, lovely people, this is my invitation come and share me my happiness Table (7 ): Beginning the invitation card with a verse of the Holly Koran. disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Beginning the invitation card| | | |with a verse of the Holly | | | |Koran. | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |NA |25% |46. 2% |NA |75% |53. 8% | | Question eight investigated if the invitation card began with a text of the Bible, results of their answers revealed that 100% of Christians used the following common text of the Bible: 1- â€Å"bilmd? di walkaramati kalilhuma† â€Å" marry them with glory and dignity 2- â€Å"ma d? ama? hu allaah la yufariquhu insan† † What God combines can not be separated by humans. 3- wlikai ya? lamu ana ismaka qad ? ukira ? la haa? a albeit al? ii banait To know that your name had been mentioned upon this house you built. 4- myahun ka? era la tastati:? an toTfe? almahaba wasyool la ta? moroha. Much water couldn’t put out love and flood cant overwhelm it. Whereas, Muslims used a verse of the Holly Koran and a verse of poetry. We have found that none of the Christians used a verse of poetry in their invitation cards (see table 8). Table (8): Beginning the invitation card with a text of the Bible. Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | | | | | |Beginning the invitation card with| | | |a text of the Bible. | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0% |NA |NA |100% |NA |NA | | Results of question nine which was about including the invitation card a verse of poetry showed that 7. 7% of Muslims (Sunni) mentioned a verse of poetry, while Muslims (Circassian) was 12. 5%. As for Christians, 6. 2% of them mentioned a verse of poetry such as: Ya m ar ala? bab ha? hi d? watii fatafaDalu litu? arikunii bah d? etii Oh, lovely people, this is my invitation come and share me my happiness Table (9): Including the invitation card a verse of poetry. |Disagree |Agree | | | | |Including the invitation card| | | |a verse of poetry. | | | | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | |Circanssian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |93. 8% |87. 5% |92. 3% |6. 2% |12. 5% |7. 7% | | As for question ten which was about if the invitation card included a statement to the invitees about not accompanying children, the results showed that 27% of Muslims (Sunni) mentioned a statement, while Muslims (Circassian) was 12. 5%. As for Christians, 18. 8% of them mentioned a statement. During our interview with the subjects, we have found that Christianity urges the family to accompany their children to the wedding ceremony (see table 10). Table (10): Including the invitation card a statement to the invitees about not accompanying children. |Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |A statement to the invitees about | | | |not accompanying children. | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |81. 3% |87. 5% |73% |18. 8% |12. 5% |27% | | Analyzing results of question eleven that investigated the statement that is used by those who didn’t like children to come to the wedding ceremony, showed that 57. 1% of Muslims (Sunni) and 100% of Muslims (Circassian) used the following direct statement: â€Å"yurd? a ? adam iSTi ab al? Tfaal† † Please, don’t accompany children. While 14. 2% of them used the following indirect statement which is more polite than previous one: â€Å"d? nat al aTfaal byuutahum† . † Children paradise is their homes In contrast with Muslims, Christians preferred to accompany thei r children to the wedding ceremony (see table 11). Table (11): Statements used by people who didn’t want children to come to the wedding. |total |Pleasant sleeping for|Children paradise is their|Not accompanying children |What is the statement used by people who didn’t| | |your children |homes | |want children to come to the wedding? | |100% |28. 7% |14. 2% |57. % |Sunni | |100% |0% |0% |100% |Circassian | |0% |0% |0% |0% |Christian | As for question twelve which was about if the invitation card contained a statement to the invitees about not shooting with a gun, the results showed that 53. 8% of Muslims (Sunni), 12. 5% of Muslims (Circassian), and 25% of Christians mentioned the following statement: â€Å"yurd? a ? adam iTlaaq al? yaraat alnaaryah† † Please, don’t shoot with a gun. Table (12): A statement to the invitees about not shooting with a gun Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |A statement to the invitees | | | |about not shooting with a gun. | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |75% |87. 5% |46. 2% |25% |12. % |53. 8% | | In regard to question thirteen that was about the price of the invitation card, analysis showed that the price of the invitation card of 57. 6 % of Muslims (Sunni), 62. 5% of Muslims (Circassian), and 50% of Christians were less than one dinnar. Whereas 38. 4% of Muslims (Sunni), 25% of Muslims (Circassian), and 50% of Christians were less than half dinnar. With relation of the rest of the subjects, the price of their invitation card was more than one dinnar (see table 13). Table (13):The price of the subjects invitation cards. |total |More than one dinnar. Less than half dinnar |Less than one dinnar |What was the price of the invitation | | | | | |cards? | |100% |4% |38. 4% |57. 6% |Sunni | |100% |12. 5% |25% |62. 5% |Circassian | |100% |18. 8% |31. 2% |50% |Christian | Findings of question fourteen that was about how the invitation card was formed showed that forming the invitation card of 27 % of Muslims (Sunni), 37. % of Muslims (Circassian), and 25% of Christians were between the brides family and the bridegrooms family. . Whereas 34. 6% of Muslims (Sunni), 50% of Muslims (Circassian), and 68. 7 % of Christians were between the bride and the bridegroom. In contrast, 38. 4% of Muslims (Sunni), 12. 5% of Muslims (Circassi an), and 6. 3 % of Christians invitation cards were formed by the bridegroom himself (see table 14). Table (14): Forming the invitation card. |total |the bridegroom only. |consultation between the |consultation between the brides |How was the invitation card | | | |bride and the bridegroom. family and the bridegrooms family. |formed? | |100% |38. 4% |34. 6% |27% |Sunni | |100% |12. 5% |50% |37. 5% |Circassian | |100% |6. 3% |68. 7% |25% |Christian | Analyzing results of question fifteen that was about Putting the invitation card in an envelope, it was found that 100% Muslims (Sunni), 87. 5% of Muslims (Circassian), and 93. % of Christians have put their invitation cards in an envelope. The rest offered the invitation cards without envelopes. (see table 15). Table (15): Putting the invitation card in an envelope . |Disagree |Agree | | | | |Putting the invitation card in | | | |an envelope. | | |Muslim | Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circ assian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | |0% | | | | | |62% |12. 5% | |93. 8% |87. 5% |100% | | Considering results of question sixteen which was about if the invitation card was written in a language other than Arabic, it was found that most of the invitation card were written in Arabic. Whereas very few of them were written in English (see table 16). Table (16) Writing the invitation card in a language other than Arabic . |Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Writing the invitation card in a | | | |language other than Arabic. | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |93. 8% |100% |100% |6. % |0% |0% | | Analyzing results of question seventeen which was about the way in which the invitation card was sent, it was found that 50% of Muslims (Circassian), and 18. 7% of Christians have sent their invitation cards by mail. As for 100% of Muslims (Sunni), and 50% of Muslims (Circassian), and 75% of Christians have sent their invitation cards by hand. Only 6. 3% of christens have sent their invitation cards by fax (see table 17). Table (17) The way in which the invitation card was sent. |total |by fax |by hand |by mail |How were the invitation cards sent? |100% |0% |100% |0% |Sunni | |100% |0% |50% |50% |Circassian | |100% |6. 3% |75% |18. 7 % |Christian | Considering results of question eighteen which was about if the name of the publishing house was mentioned in the invitation card , it was found that 88. 4% of Muslims (Sunni), 37. 5%of Muslims (Circassian), and 50% of Christians have mentioned the name of the publishing house in the invitation card (see table 18). Table (18) Mentioning the name of the publishing house in the invitation card. . |Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Mentioning the name of the publishing| | | |house in the invitation card. | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |50% |62. 5% |11. 6% |50% |37. 5% |88. % | | As for question nineteen which investigated where the name of the publishing house appears in the invitation card, it was found that the name of the publishing house of 95. 4% of Muslims (Sunni), and 100% of both Muslims (Circassian) and Christians appeared Inside the invitation card, while only 4. 6% of Muslims (Sunni) appeared at Back of the invitation card (see table 19) Table (19): The place where the name of the publishing house appeared. |total |back of the invitation card |inside the invitation card |Where does the name of the publishing house appear? | |100% |4. 6% |95. % |Sunni | |100% |0% |100% |Circass ian | |100% |0% |100% |Christian | Results of question twenty which asked about if the invitation card finished with a statement of wishing happiness to the invitees showed that 80. 7% of Muslims (Sunni), 87. 5%of Muslims (Circassian), and 93. 8 % of Christians have finished their invitation cards with the following statement of wishing happiness to the invitees. Damat alafraa? ?alefat diarikum al? amira May happiness surrounds your inhabited homes Table (20): Finishing the invitation card with a statement of wishing happiness to the invitees Disagree |Agree | | | | |Question | | | |Items | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Finishing the invitation card with a | |6. 2% |12. 5% |19. 3% |93. 8% |87. 5% |80. 7% |statement of wishing happiness to the| | | | | | | |invitees. | Analysis of answers of question twenty one which was about if the invitation card contained the place address of the event in the invitation card revealed that all of the subjects mentioned where the wedding ceremony was held in the invitation card (see table 21). Table (21): Mentioning the place address of the event in the invitation card. Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Mentioning the place address of the | | | |event in the invitation card. | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0% |0% |0% |100% |100% |100% | | In regard to question twenty two which was about if the invitation card contained information about the men party, results showed that 92. 3% of Muslims (Sunni), 100 %of Muslims (Circassian), and 68 % of Christians have mentioned information about the men party. The rest of subjects haven’t. (see table 21). Table (22): Mentioning information about the men party. Disagree |Agree | | | | | | | | |Mentioning information | | | |about the men party. | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |C hristian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |31. 3% |0% |7. 7% |68. 7% |100% |92. 3% | | As for question twenty three which investigated if the invitation card included the time of the event, analysis of results showed that all of the subjects mentioned the time when the wedding ceremony was held (see table 23). Table (23): Mentioning the time of the event in the invitation card. |disagree |agree | | | | | | | | |Mentioning the time of the event in | | | |the invitation card. | |Muslim (34) | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0% |0% |0% |100% |100% |100% | | Analysis of question twenty four which was about the place in which the wedding ceremony was held showed that 65. 3% of Muslims (Sunni) and 87. 5 %of Muslims (Circassian) held their wedding ceremonies in hotels. While, all Christians held it in churches. In contrast, the rest of Muslims(Sunni and Circassian) held the ceremony at their homes (see table 24). Table (24): The place of the wedding ceremony. | | | |Where was the wedding ceremony held? | |total |the bridegrooms house |church |hotel | | |100% |34. 7% |0% |%65. 3 |Sunni | |100% |12. 5% |0% |87. 5% |Circassian | |100% |0% |100% |0% |Christian | Finally, analysis of results of question twenty five, the last question, which was about if the invitation card contained a statement about having lunch, showed that 30. 7% of Muslims (Sunni), 25 %of Muslims (Circassian), and 43. 7% of Christians have mentioned a statement about having lunch in their invitation cards (see table 25). Table (25): Mentioning a statement about having lunch. |disagree |agree | | | | |Question | | |Items | | |Muslim | |Muslim | | |Christian | |Christian | | | | | | | | | | |Circassian |Sunni | |Circassian |Sunni | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Mentioning a statement about | |56% |75% |69. 2% |43. 7% |25% |30. 7% |having lunch in the invitation | | | | | | | |card. | 6. Implications This study has shown that the main communicative function of wedding invitation cards is to invite people to attend wedding ceremonies. It has been observed through the analysis of the data that there are socio-cultural factors which affect the organization of invitation cards in the Jordanian society. The role of sex has proved to be an important factor especially in invitations for attending wedding parties. The name of the bride tends not to be mentioned when she belongs to a more socially conservative family. It, thus, substituted by an expression like: k? ri:- m-? uhu (his wife) or the expression ? aqiqatuhu(his sister). This is a tendency of the socially conservative Muslim families who don’t like to announce the names of their daughters or sisters to the public. However, the name of the bride tends to be mentioned when she is well-educated and belongs to a less conservative family. In contrast with Muslim families, all of Christian families tend to mention the name of their daughters in the invitation cards. The findings of this study reported here implied that the well educated people in Islam and Christianity tend to mention their job titles such as Sheikh, Doctor, Engineer†,† Lawyer, etc, in the invitation cards. And such titles are used and printed in large font and bold type to indicate high level of education and high social status. The discussion of the results of this study has shown that religious factors also seem to be of considerable importance. Muslim and Christian societies have its faith in Allah(God) deeply ingrained within its activities. This underlying Islamic and Christian values are reflected in the openings which utilize verses from the Holy Koran or texts from the Bible. for examples, Muslims usually begin their invitation card with the following verse of Koran: â€Å"wa men ayatehe an khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwajan litaskunu elaiha waj? ala binakum mawadatan wa rahma ina fii ? aalika la’yaatin liqawmin yatafakaroon† And of his signs is this: he created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and he ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect. While Christians begin their invitation card with the following verses of Bible: 1- â€Å"bilmd? di walkaramati kalilhuma† â€Å" marry them with glory and dignity 2- â€Å"ma d? ama? hu allaah la yufariquhu insan† † What God combines can not be separated by humans. 3- wlikai ya? lamu ana ismaka qad ? ukira ? la haa? a albeit al? ii banait To know that your name had been mentioned upon this house you built. In addition, the analysis of the data indicated that the socio-economic status is also communicated in the invitation, and is found to be important in the description of the genre of invitation cards. This is revealed by the use of colorful and perfectly decorated invitation cards which include drawings such as hearts and bunches of flowers. Such invitation cards are expensive, and are meant to communicate other messages than inviting people to attend a wedding party, they tend to convey that the invitor enjoys a high economic status. 7. Conclusion The main focus of this study was analyzing invitation cards of Muslims and Christians for attending wedding parties in the Jordanian society. In order to find out any potential significant differences between wedding invitation cards of Muslims and Christians, a questionnaire as tool of collecting data was used. Data analysis revealed that there were significant differences in the way Muslims and Christians form their wedding invitation cards. The investigation of our data has shown that the communicative purpose of a text is the most important criterion for the identification of such wedding invitation cards. Dealing with various kinds of wedding invitation cards within the Jordanian Islamic and Christian societies, it has been revealed that other social, economic, and religious factors are also of great significance in the description of invitation cards. The results of this study indicated that there were significant differences between wedding invitation cards of Muslims and Christians, for instance, Muslims tend not to mention the name of the bride in the invitation cards, while Christians does. Also, Muslims tend to start their invitation cards with a verse of Koran or a verse of poetry, whereas Christians start them with only a text of Bible. In addition, Muslims tend to hold their wedding ceremonies whether in a hall (hotel) or in the grooms house, while all Christians hold it in a church. Finally, it can be said that form of invitation cards according to this study is systematic and affected by the social status, education, and religion. 8. Recommendations In light of this study and its significance, the following is recommended for future researchers in relation to invitation cards: It may be valuable to carry out research papers investigating other invitation cards for other events in the Jordanian society such as, invitatio n cards for attending meetings, lectures, celebrations, royal feasts and tribal reconciliation. 2- Carrying out research papers about invitation cards is a relatively new topic in the Arab world. Therefore, it is significant for future researchers to deal with this topic in depth. REFERENCES Al-Qudah, M. 2001. Congratulation patterns on happy occasions in Jordan. Unpublished M. A. thesis, Yarmouk university. Haidarah, H. 2001. Congratulation and condolence announcements in Yemeni newspapers. Unpublished M. A. thesis, Yarmouk university. Hymes, D. 1974. Foundations in scociolinguistics: an ethnographic approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Gutherie, S. 2002. 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