Growing up in Korea Essay Example for Free

Growing up in Korea Essay Growing up in Korea and attending high school in the United States has taught me that in many ways people from different countries can be very similar. One thing that seems universal in my experience is that everyone hates politicians and jokes about the work the do. This is a bit awkward for me because my dream has always been to become a politician and a strong leader in the future of Korea, and to me that is not joke. My father teases that when I was little I would constantly ask him to tell me stories about famous politicians. My favorite politician was always Margaret Thatcher. I especially respected the way she led the successful recovery of England’s economy after the Great Depression. Her story stuck me even more deeply because I first heard it during a time of economic hardship in South Korea. Since then, I have always dreamt about becoming a wise and upright politician, leading Korea in prosperity as Margaret Thatcher did for England, and this goal has be very important in shaping my educational decisions to this point. When I was eleven, I visited my sister’s high school in Colorado. During this, my first time visiting an American school, I was impressed at the variety of students and how they appreciated the differences in each other. To me, the school seemed filled with opportunities to learn about other cultures and make friends with people from diverse backgrounds. I thought the experience I would gain in working with diverse groups of people in a school like this would be very important to my future as a politician because we live in such an international society with every nation and its people interacting with one another. I felt that the leader of the future would need to have an international mind and a sense of diversity in order to understand the world better, so I decided to attend high school in the U. S. I now attend a small private Catholic high school where am the only Korean student. Being the first Korean student in the history of the school has been an exciting for me. The students and faculty have shown great interest in Korean history and culture, and I have made sure to take advantage of their curiosity and shared information about my country and myself. On Korean national holidays such as New Year’s Day and Full Moon Festival, I often share traditional Korean food and decorations with my friends and teachers. I have also volunteered to prepare presentations about Korea and Asia for my history classes. I always remind myself that I am very fortunate to be able to be the representative of Korea in this community, and in turn I try to learn as much about American culture as I possibly can. I think that these experiences of cultural exchange are the start of my future as a representative for Korea. Now it is time for me to take the next step toward my dream. I imagine myself learning about political science, international relations, or economics in college, and look forward to the new insights the lectures and discussions will bring. I am excited to share my culture with a larger community and one that includes many other international students. I also look forward to continuing to learn about the U. S. At XXX University, I would not only study hard, but I would also join clubs that would help me develop social and political skills that will be necessary for me to succeed in my future as a politician. I believe that XXX University would provide me a great opportunity to gain the knowledge and experience that will enable me to realize my dream and become a strong leader for Korea.

Sustainable Tourism: Cancun And Mexico

Sustainable Tourism: Cancun And Mexico Sustainable tourism is now recognized when tourism is well planned, developed and managed in a controlled, integrated and sustainable manner. With this approach, tourism can generate substantial economic benefits to an area/region, without creating any serious environmental or social problems. Tourisms resources will be conserved for continuous use in the future. Therefore this report covers the issues, approaches, techniques and principles for tourism planning at the national and regional level of planning and management of tourism at the national level because Cancun development both involved the national and regional planning. Cancun is one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico. From being a fishing village 30 years ago, today it a well visited resort. Cancun is located at Yucatan peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Cancun is connected by bridges to the mainland and has a 20km Hotel Zone which is about 200m wide with shores on the Caribbean Sea, and also enclose is large lagoon. There are over 150 hotels and resorts in Cancun with more than 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants and most of it all welcome families. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily.[citation needed] The Hotel Zone of Cancun is shaped like a 7 with bridges on each end connecting to the mainland Beside Cancun, is the Mayan Riviera and check out Playa del Carmen, Xcaret and Xel-Ha. The ancient Mayan ports which is now been converted into modern-day paradises. Also nearby is Tulum, a fascinating archaeological zone by the sea. It was the only walled city built by the Mayans. Source: http://www.visitmexico.com/cancun The Development Plan and Policy Mexico national tourism plan was to expand the international tourism industry which by 1960 the government approved the project to promote the international tourism industry to the less unknown region and local rural areas. The Mexican government choose 5 new resorts for development because the main tourist attraction then was just the natural environment and main historic sites. This bought about the creation of Cancun which was part of Mexicos long-term national development strategy Cancun actually plan was first developed in the 1967 by the government under the Mexico National Tourism Plan but development did not start until 1970 when FONATUR, the Mexican Federal Governments agency in charge of fomenting national came in place The initial Tourism policy was articulated around the interrelated sets of objectives Open up a road from Puerto Juarez to the island, Design a Master Development Plan and Build a provisional air strip The Master Plan came about three items To build tourism zone where there will be no residential area surrounding it, like a tourism passage with hotels, shopping centres and golf courses installed To build a residential zone for the permanent residents Building an international airport atone side on the mainland south of the island The tourism zone plan development which was divided into three phases. The first comprised the area from Bahia de Mujeres to Punta Cancun and the coast up to the inner limit of Bojorquez Lagoon; the second phase ran from Bojorquez Lagoon to Punta Nizuc, and the third from Punta Nizuc south, to the limits of the territorial reserve. There are four distinct phases in Cancuns development, characterized by times of growth and crisis: From 1969 to 1975; From 1976 to 1983; From 1984 to 1989; From 1990 to 2007 At some time during these periods of growth, seemingly insurmountable problems darkened expectations for the area- a lack of regular flights, the 1982 devaluation, natural disasters, the collapse of North American tourism due to the terrorist attacks of September 11 and, more recently the hurricane Wilma back in October 2005. Nevertheless, the city has demonstrated its ability to bounce back on each occasion. By 1976, Cancun was firmly established as a tourism destination: 18,000 inhabitants, stable migratory patterns, more than 5,000 jobs, 1,500 hotel rooms and 100,000 visitors in the winter 76-77 season. The sudden spurt of growth prior to 1982 caused an ecological imbalance in the lagoon system, requiring corrective measures. From 1983 to 1988, Cancun registered explosive growth with more than 12,000 hotel rooms and another 11,000 projected or under construction and more than 200,000 inhabitants. From 1989 to date, Cancun has been the nations most dynamic city. It contributes a large percentage of Mexicos tourism-related revenue and accounts for much of Quintana Roo gross domestic product. There are currently more than 500,000 inhabitants in the urban area. Cancun has become the countrys largest tourism resort and is the most prosperous city in the Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. It is also the Caribbeans premier destination, surpassing even the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Strategic for Managing resorts Tourism as extensively damage the lagoon, the sand dunes as to the extinction of species of animal and fish and also the rain forest which surround s the island as been destroyed. Until recently after 20 year the Mexico government decided to limit project along the coast to prevent further damage to the island. Environmental problem: Deforestation. This is caused by the over construction of hotels, restaurant and other tourism catering facilities and it also causes wildlife destruction and further environmental damages Impact and effect: medium and regulation Type of measure: regulatory standard. No regulatory body or law for controlling tourism development To achieve the management and control of Cancun some sustainable indicator have to be consider Carrying Capacity Cancuns carrying capacity has been exceeded to a point where the benefits of tourism are beginning to significantly diminish. Therefore the government established a carry capacity standard. The carrying capacity of Cancun can be defined as the threshold of tourist activity beyond which facilities are saturated (physical capacity), the environment is degraded (environmental capacity), or visitor enjoyment is diminished (perceptual or psychological capacity). Among these three capacities the latter two are the most relevant to Cancuns current situation. Regulatory improvement In Cancun, the government of Mexico established local and regional zoning laws that restrict development and bans development in conservation zones of the Cancun-Tulum corridor, locate in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo Land use Formally, development is guided by a master plan affecting land use and building patterns. The plan limits the number of floors of hotels, guarantees public access to beaches, and preserves the five mile zone separating the tourist zone from the City of Cancun in the mainland Actions Taken for Competitiveness Product development action: how to make attractions better Market development Re-launch of Cancun Quality assessment Managing and Co-ordinating actions The Competitiveness Program of Cancun as been considers into 5 important components: Product Development: Physical Recovery of the Tourism Product is based on rescue and rehabilitation projects, such as the rescue of beaches, ecological rescue and lagoon maintenance, restoring and the rehabilitation of the central zone of Cancun city, reforestation and signage, remodelling of the Convention Centre, and other important modernization and rehabilitation programs Re-Launch of Cancun: Have as its purpose a qualitative transformation of the citys image and the adding of new values. In this section, projects are being developed, such as Puerto Cancun as a large international yachting attraction, a multimodal transport terminal in order to define a new policy in municipal public transport, a sub-aquatic museum and artificial reefs, a project to construct a race car dome, and enlarging the Cancun airport. Quality Assessment: Raise Service and Quality Levels: through the recognition of the workforces efforts, collaboration among different tourism business sectors and the facilitation and systematic improvement surveillance of visitor experience. This includes specific actions such as the Mexican Caribbean Quality Tourism Norms, tourist safety, facilitation of immigration and customs systems in the airport, utilizing protected areas, and a centre of business linkage. Market Development: New Marketing for Cancun will attend to the problems of Cancuns image, and includes actions such as new promotional and marketing campaigns, which revalue the destinations attractiveness, as well as the development of new tourist products, principally other than the sun and sea niche. Managing and Co-ordinating actions: Long-Term Planning for the State of Quintana Roo in the Year 2025: considers that in the next few decades, tourism as economic development will consolidate around the tail end of the state. Conclusion From 1989 to date, Cancun has been the nations most dynamic city. It contributes a large percentage of Mexicos tourism-related revenue and accounts for much of Quintana Roo gross domestic product. There are currently more than 500,000 inhabitants in the urban area. Cancun has become the countrys largest tourism resort and is the most prosperous city in the Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. It is also the Caribbeans premier destination, surpassing even the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Mexicos National Trust Fund for Tourism Development

Forrest Gump Essay -- Movie Film Forrest Gump Essays

Forrest Gump â€Å"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.† Forrest Gump is the portrayal of a man that has been alienated from society, not because he is unintelligent or dimwitted, but rather because he is not restricted by the conventional ideals which are embedded within his culture; thus, Forrest challenges the conformities and principals that most people are accustomed to. The contrast that Robert Zemeckis, director of the film, is attempting to convey through the character of Forrest Gump is how most people are too smart for there own good; and thus, try to escape the realities and actualities of life. While other characters in the story are suppressed by society’s conflicts, Forrest remains blinded to all; hence, he is able to live in the moment, rather than evading what is real. Forrest’s unique selflessness and compelled nature to do what is right, as opposed to what is easy, are what our society incorrectly labels stupidity o r futility. Zemeckis is obviously pointing out that an individual has no control over his or her own destiny and in order to live a noble life, must accept life as it is. I think it is very appropriate that Zemeckis begins his movie with the scene in which he does. Approaching Forrest’s worn out and dirty shoes with a fluid camera shot of a feather floating on the breeze foregrounds the entire movie. It is an obvious symbol for Forrrest and the way he just casually makes his way through the worst of times without being harmed. The feather is many years old and has been through so much, yet it still remains clean and pure; exactly like Gump. Moreover, the coloring of the feather is very significant. It is white with black marks, giving off a inkling that there might be a union of bad experiences with innocence. Zemeckis challenges the viewer to examine why Gump is able to remain so pure, and at the same time surpassing the restrictions of society and its controversies. Gump is able, throughout his entire life to remain as we all are as children. To Gump, it doesn’t make sense to break a promise, or give only ninety percent. Such an irony is carried throughout the entire film. Gump, thought by most to be incapable of succeeding, does great things, and moreover; he helps those who would, in our society, be thought more likely to be helping him. The viewers, through Gump’s misunderstandings of l... ...nt feather continues to float and so will that lost innocence. Even though Forrest Gump appears as such a simpleton, he is very complex. He had a way of looking at people, incidents, history, animals, and nature in ways that no one had ever quite seen the world before. The movie is so influential because Forrest is a little of everyone, or at least a little of what everyone wishes they can be. What I took away from this movie, as does most of the audience, is that life is a mystery that, until revealed in its entirety, doesn’t make much sense. However, it is not something to be scared from or run from, but rather something to be interested in and to be accepted. The audience accepts Gump as a character, but more importantly, they accept his way of life, just like Lieutenant Dan and Jenny did. Robert Zemeckis is well known for his concoctions of pop culture references, period nostalgia, comedy, and romance that captured the hearts of the film going public. He, in ways that not many others can do, is able to convey his ideas about life in a humorous manner that lets the audience accept it. That is why the movie was so successful and why it was the recipient of such high awards.

Social Class in A & P by John Updike :: essays research papers

In the story, â€Å"A&P† by John Updike, the student identifies the differences of social classes between Sammy, a checkout clerk and Queenie, a wealthy girl that visit’s the store. Though not from the same class structure, Sammy is compelled to interact with the girl, however fails in doing so because she is considered privileged. As the student begins his essay, he points out that Sammy is part of the lower class structure. He is an â€Å"eighteen-year-old boy who is working as a checkout clerk in an A&P in a small New England town five miles from the beach† (2191). While working an afternoon shift on Thursday, he notices â€Å"these girls in nothing but bathing suits† (2191) enter the store. It is in this scene that the student begins to identify the differences between the group of girls and Sammy. As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From â€Å"houseslaves in pin curlers† to â€Å"an old party in baggy gray pants† (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in contrast to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would like to explore hers. The story unfolds when, â€Å"Lengel, the store’s manager† (2191) confronts the girls because they are dressed inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he quits his job. The student suggests that in quitting, â€Å"Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is trying to

Dulce et Decorum Est Essay -- English Literature

Dulcet et Decorum Est, is probably the most famous anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen. "Dulcet et Decorum Est," is probably the most famous anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen. It has a harsh meaning and persuasive argument. The anti-war theme and serious tone are effective at portraying war as horrid and devastating. I felt overpowered by blood, guts and death. Although my reaction hasn't changed much through numerous readings, my emotional feelings become more intense with each reading. This poem makes me feel as if I am right there watching the soldier who cannot fasten his mask fast enough and suffers the full effects of deadly gas. 'but someone still is yelling out and stumbling'. This poem also makes me look beyond the death and question the pain inflicted on the mothers who kissed their sons goodbye as they went to defend their country. I imagine the mother receiving word her son has died and being told how noble and patriotic his death was. In his last moments, the soldier and his family become victims of "The old lie". I can clearly understand what the author is sayi...

Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks

Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks both have their own unique flavors of coffee. â€Å"More than 100 million people in the U. S. alone drink coffee every day. † (Information taken from The National Coffee Drinking Trends Study, 2004 ) Each of these people do have a preference to which chain of coffee makers they chose. It can almost be broken up into a red state blue state debate. These two are divided in coffee bean choice, style and even price. They both define our culture in a unique fashion. It all began with the simple invention of the donut.â€Å"Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory was the inventor of the donut with a hole in the middle. William Rosenberg, the food-franchising pioneer founded the Dunkin' Donuts chain. Rosenberg opened his first coffee and doughnut shop, called the Open Kettle, in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1948. The name was changed to Dunkin' Donuts in 1950. According to â€Å"Donuts and the Salvation Army† – While The Army may not have invented the f irst donut, it can certainly take credit for [helping] the popularity of donuts today. June 4-5 marks the 61st anniversary of Salvation Army ‘Donut Day† In Chicago.The tag day was established in 1938 to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army †¢'lassies' who prepared donuts for thousands of soldiers in World War I. † www. http://inventors. about. com/library/inventors/bldonut. htm The donut made way for a company based on the donut and of course their coffee. The first company to be started based on their coffee was Dunkin Donuts. â€Å"It all started in 1946 when Mr. William Rosenberg founded Industrial Luncheon Services, a company that delivered meals and coffee break snacks to customers in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts.The success of Industrial Luncheon Services led Rosenberg to open his first coffee and donut shop, the â€Å"Open Kettle†. Then, in 1950, Rosenberg opened the first store known as Dunkin' Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts. † (www. dunkindonuts. com) Massachusetts started it all. The branch grew from their little by little. Starbucks later opened their doors with their own unique take of Dunkin Donuts. â€Å"The story began in 1971 when the first Starbucks opened at Pike Place Market, which is Seattle's and the Nation's oldest Farmer's Market (opened August 17, 1907).But at this time the company was a local coffee roasting facility. That remained their core business until 1982 when Howard Schulz joined the company. He was the new marketing executive and began right away to convince more and more local cafes, upscale restaurants, and hotels to buy Starbucks coffee. The turning point for the company and the begin of writing coffee history should be one year later when Schulz traveled through Italy. He got inspired by the old Italian coffee bar tradition to serve fresh brewed Espressi and Cappuccini.He convinced the Starbucks founders to give his idea a chance and in 1985 he opened the first coffe e bar in Seattle and gave it the Italian touch by naming it ‘Il Giornale'.† (Credit: Starbucks Corporation; magazineUSA. com) Just like Dunkin Donuts the demand for more Starbucks arose. Dunkin Donuts known for its simplicity and unique colored orange and red cups. Starbucks however is known for many different qualities. â€Å"Without even paying for the publicity, the name Starbucks had become synonymous with fine coffee, hip hangouts, and upscale image.(Pendergrast 368) But the uniqueness of flavors is one of the most important things, when it comes down to who will by who. Dunkin Donuts just recently trying to keep up with Starbucks launched a new line of flavored drinks. â€Å"The fresh new flavors include Blueberry, Coconut, Raspberry, Marshmallow, Caramel, Toasted Almond and Cinnamon. Iced coffee enthusiasts will be given the opportunity to sample Dunkin' Donuts latest flavors in participating stores, and also when the Ice Lounge sampling van tour stops by severa l cities and towns in America. †(www. dunkindonuts.com)These flavors can be added or combined with various items such as Original Blend Coffee, Dunkin' Decaf, Iced Coffee , Iced Lattes, Hot Cappuccinos and Lattes, Hot Chocolate, and their Coolattas. This adds a lot of different variety to these drinks. Making everyone feel like an individual, having their own individual flavor and drink. Coolattas have become a growing trend among people as well. More and more people are trying iced coffee as a quick afternoon pick-me-up. According to the National Coffee Association, more than 41 million Americans switch to iced coffee during the spring and summer months.And millions of these iced coffee lovers turn to Dunkin' Donuts because they recognize the quality of their iced coffee stands apart from the competition, made with the same high quality Arabica beans used to make hot coffee. Although these are becoming a fast hit the most popular flavors sold at Dunkin Donuts are Original Ble nd, Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Cafe Blend and their Dunkin Decaf. Discovering your favorite Starbucks coffee begins with an understanding of where they are grown. They have a special roasted blend of coffee from a different section of the world.Examples, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The other uniqueness of Starbucks is that they take their unique flavors and sell them outside their stores. They sell iced drinks to ice cream in their flavors. They also have a unique blend and selection in their teas. Something Dunkin Donuts has not take advantage of. â€Å"Hot Teas (Filterbags and Full Leaf) Whether you are looking to soothe your psyche or revive your spirit, Tazo has a black, green or herbal tea to suit you. Bottled Iced and Juiced Teas These crisp and refreshing bottled beverages are a delightful departure from traditional teas.Artfully blended and freshly-brewed in the Tazo tradition, these bottled beverages are so invigorating, anytime becomes a good time for tea. Tea Lattes Tazo Tea Lattes expand the notion of what tea can be. Drawing from cultures, these exotic, full-flavored teas are lightly sweetened and served with other milk, and are delicious hot or cold. † (www. star bucks. com) Also Starbucks has its own special brand of liquor, which comes in coffee and in cream. Though both make coffee, they receive their beans from uniquely different places.â€Å"Dunkin' Donuts uses 100-percent Arabica coffee beans and has its own coffee specifications, which are recognized by the industry as a superior grade of coffee. Based on Dunkin' Donuts Quality (DDQ) specifications, coffee is milled and processed specifically for the company. † (www. dunkindonuts. com) In a slightly different area and less known about is Starbucks. â€Å"Because coffee grows in many different environments around the world, there is no one best way to grow coffee. But there is general agreement that utilizing shade trees for growing coffee can help sustain a healthier eco system and promote biodiversity.Starbucks on-going support for farmers who produce Shade Grown Mexico is a great example of helping farmers while preserving our natural environment. † (www. Starbuck. com) Starbucks always known for its environmental friendly attitude has made the growing of coffee beans into a cause. Besides the difference of beans, the number of stores and locations are also unique. Dunkin Donuts attaching itself to Baskin-Robbins and Togo, uses the different companies as an advantage to set up shop in various places.â€Å"Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Brands Inc. is part of U. K. -based Allied Domecq PLC and is responsible for the worldwide development and marketing of quick service restaurant brands including Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and Togo's. With the combined retail units of these three brands, Dunkin' Brands is one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies, represented by more than 12,000 worldwide points of distributio n, including approximately 7,600 units in the United States and 4,400 units in 46 countries around the world. † (www. Dunkindonuts. com) Starbucks also has an impressive amount of stores open also.â€Å"Starbucks operates and licenses more than 8,500 coffee shops in more than 30 countries. The shops offer coffee drinks and food items, as well as beans, coffee accessories, teas, and CDs. Starbucks operates more than 5,200 of its shops in five countries (mostly in the US), while licensees operate more than 2,800 units (primarily in shopping centers and airports). The company also owns and franchises the Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia chains in the US (more than 100 shops). In addition, Starbucks markets its coffee through grocery stores and licenses its brand for other food and beverage products.†http://www. hoovers. com/starbucks-corporation/–ID__15745–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml Both impressive in numbers. Dunkin donuts and Starbucks each make sure that they have stores everyone for the customers satisfaction. Their customers are their number one priority beside of course their profits. Each store gathers in large amounts of money for their business. Both have amazingly strong stocks and profits for being a coffee shop. Business Magazine says that Dunkin Donuts is the â€Å"largest coffee and donut shop chin in the world† (www. business.com) The brand itself has made a huge profit. â€Å"Dunkin’ Donuts delivered an 11% growth in global system-wide sales driven by a 5. 2% increase in US same store sales and a 7% increase in global distribution points. The strong growth in same store sales growth which continues to outpace the overall QSR industry has been driven by product innovation and effective marketing. The innovation program has successfully launched a new range of coffee offerings, which include latte, cappuccino and espresso products, in 1,800 stores in the New England and Mid Atlantic areas.The lau nch has been supported by the introduction of new high speed coffee machines which maintain Dunkin’ Donuts reputation for speed, quality and value for money. In addition, a new limited time offer hot apple pie product has been very well received and helped to extend Dunkin’ Donuts sales into the traditionally quieter afternoon period. Marketing campaigns have focused around the new coffee offerings and highly successful regional program with Curt Schilling, the Boston Red Sox All-Star baseball player.. (King) Just as well the Starbucks company has made a name of itself and benefits of its brand name also.â€Å"As anyone who bought stock in Starbucks in the last decade knows, business has been good. Starbucks’ share price has risen almost tenfold in 10 years, and the company has steadily raised retail prices while wholesale prices fell. Fair trade coffee was initially plagued by complaints about bad quality, yet producers have made great strides in improving the quality of the brew and it has found a comfortable niche in the specialty coffee market, alongside organic coffee and other similar labels, such as â€Å"sustainable coffee.†After years of public pressure from activists who singled it out because of its high visibility and yuppie clientele, Starbucks now sells fair trade coffee in all its stores and has given it prominent play in university markets. Rice, whose organization gets paid 10 cents a pound by Starbucks to certify its fair trade coffee, thinks it’s time that activists turn their pressure elsewhere. But when it comes down to it statistically and other wise Dunkin Donuts wins. â€Å"For years, the product lines of the major U. S. brewed coffee sellers have been well defined. On the high end there is Starbucks Corp., with 5,439 locations in the U. S. During the past decade, the chain has made its expensive cappuccinos, frappuccinos, espressos and lattes part of the regular lexicon. On the other end, there is D unkin' Donuts, which has 4,100 stores. Although concentrated in the Northeast, Dunkin' Donuts is the nation's largest seller of regular, nonflavored brewed coffee through fast-food outlets, with a 17% market share, compared with 15% for McDonald's Corp. and 6% for Starbucks, according to market-research organization NPD Group. † (Ball) Statistically Starbucks looks like it is much behind Dunkin Donuts.This maybe why it has become more abundant and more commercial over the years. Cost could be the big factor why Dunkin Donuts is the number one coffee brewery in the country. â€Å"On average, the new Dunkin' Donut drinks cost at least 20% less than Starbucks's offerings — and an espresso shot is just 99 cents, compared with $1. 45 at Starbucks. â€Å" (Ball) Dunkin Donuts keeps its prices low and offers a high quality product. It gives the people what they want at a price everyone can afford. But the uniqueness of flavor and the uniqueness of product is a huge factor. T he conclusion is the flavor you are craving is the on you are going to chose.Questions1. Does quality or cost matter more to you?2. Regular coffee or a fancy drink like a cappuccino or espresso?3. Which company do you prefer?BibliographyBellis, Mary, Inventor of the Donut, http://inventors. about. com/library/inventors/bldonut. htm, 2005.Business. com,Restaurants & Foodservice > Dunkin' Donuts, Inc http://www. business. com/, 2001-2005.Dunkin' Donuts Incorporated, https://www. dunkindonuts. com/aboutus/ , 2005.Jeffrey, Paul, Depressed Coffee Prices Yield Suffering in Poor Countries, http://www. globalpolicy. org/globaliz/econ/2003/0207coff. htm, February 7, 2003.Magazine USA, Starbucks History, http://www. magazineusa. com/us/info/show. aspx? unit=originals&doc=33, 2000 – 2005.Murray, Barbara, Starbucks Corporation, http://www. hoovers. com/starbucks-corporation/–ID__15745–/free-co- factsheet. xhtml , 2005.Pendergrast, Mark, UNCOMMON GROUNDS The History of Coffe e and How It Transformed Our World, Perseus Books Group, 1999.Starbucks Coffee Company, http://www. starbucks. co. jp/en/company_history. htm, 2003 Starbucks Corporation Company Profile, http://biz. yahoo. com/ic/15/15745. html, 2005.Starbucks European History, www. starbucksjapan. com/history, 2003.

Are Some Ways of Knowing More Likely Than Others to Lead to Truth? Essay

Most people believe that money makes the world go round. But scholars believe otherwise. It is the knowledge of how to acquire wealth and of how to make the most of it is really the decisive factor. Humans couldn’t have mastered this world with all its richness in resources and mysteries without ample knowledge of how to do so. It is the gift of knowledge that has set humans apart from any other living species. So it is just proper that scholars delve into studying the concept of knowledge for us to understand it better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be more specific, this school of thought is called the â€Å"Theory of Knowledge.† Theory of knowledge is also known as Epistemology. What is so special about Theory OF Knowledge is that it is widely considered as the most important sub-field of philosophy. The Theory of knowledge had made significant advancements since it was first formally studied.   But even though it has already presented many different ways to obtain the â€Å"truth†, many still ask: Are some ways of knowing more likely to be successful to lead to the â€Å"truth† than other methods (Ways of Knowing).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scholars have dedicated their studies for the further advancement of the Theory of Knowledge. They have gone through countless debates and research for the advancement of the field. This is because of the demand for better understanding is ever-increasing as humanity progresses. The truth is what everyone wants.   What makes things difficult for scholars studying the Theory of Knowledge is that many philosophers also argue that the â€Å"truth† cannot be contained, it cannot be resolved, it is unattainable. However, the Theory of Knowledge counters the argument by presenting to us five ways of knowing that could assist us in obtaining the truth. The five ways of knowing are logic, revelation, language, sense, and emotion. Let us give further details about the five ways of knowing and see if one can be the best way of getting to the truth (Butchvarov 1970). Sense   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For psychologists, sense or perception pertains to the processes that involve the acquisition, organization, interpretation, and selection of information acquired through the bodily senses.   These conventional senses that we are familiar with are namely sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. Sensory information is basically acquired through sensory organs that can be found in the human anatomy. We can be easily familiarized with this particular way of knowing because we put it into use on a daily basis. We use our eyes to view colors, we can tell the difference in taste between an ice cream and fish, we use our hands to feel rough and smooth surfaces, we use our ears to listen to music. These are practical things we do everyday that we put into use to â€Å"know†, to obtain truth (Gibson 1966).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beyond the five senses that we are familiar with, there are also addition to the classical senses like temperature, balance, pain, and other recently studied sense that would be too technical to discuss in this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a French phenomological philosopher, argues that sense is the foundation of all knowledge and sciences. Even though sense itself cannot give meaning to the objects it â€Å"senses† in this world, the person is able to give meaning from his or her own consciousness. The use of the senses requires constant use for it to give meaning to the objects in this world. As we put into practice our senses, we develop what is called â€Å"mental models.† As the word suggests, as sensory information is sent to our brain, we develop models that we can use as reference if ever the senses encounter the object again. It is like making imprints in our brain about the things around us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the use of sense as an approach to obtaining truth, humans can obtain the truth, or at least have an idea, by using the brain’s capabilities. In simpler terms, with the use of senses, humans make the full use of what they intrinsically have, our very own bodies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The only drawback I can offer about using senses to obtain truth is that we can’t always gain access to the objects involved in our queries. For example, if we hear a radio advertisement about ice cream stating that it is sweet, we can’t validate the claim since we are only using hearing, we don’t actually taste the real thing. Logic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we go into the etymology of the word â€Å"logic†, we could unearth meanings like reasoning, argument, idea, principle, and thought. It is primarily concerned with the validity of inferences. It is considered a branch of philosophy. Immanuel Kant argued that logic should be a science devoted to studying judgments (Russel 1917).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Logic, like senses, also makes use of the capabilities of the human brain. If we use this as an approach to obtain truth, logic assesses all possible arguments, eliminates all improbable answers to come up with the most convincing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Logic can be a very efficient way to obtain truth. Actually, it is as used as senses, also in a daily basis.   But oftentimes we come across things that our minds can’t comprehend. This is because logic, like sense, makes use of what we already know. So if we use logic in questions about the existence of ghosts, we hastily jump to conclusion that they don’t exist because it defies logic. The problem here is that there are people who believe in the existence of ghosts. So the existence of two different â€Å"truths† makes either feeble. Language   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Language is basically our means of communication. It particularly refers to the use of various forms of communication and the set conventional rules that governs its usage (Crystal 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personally I wouldn’t use language to derive truth. Humans have developed the use of language far more than any specie could have. Humans have become so adept in using language that we can easily manipulate it. If language is used in combination with logic and reasoning, humans can make â€Å"truths† come out of nowhere. Moreover, there is the concept of â€Å"lying† that can lead us farther from the truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, if there is a trial in court. The lawyers from the two opposing parties have different interest. They defend their arguments with adept use language. The problem may arise if the innocent party, shall I say was outspoken by the opposing party. Then the judge was impressed by the adept use of language even though the opposing party was just presenting lies all the time, just speaking them in a very eloquent manner. Thus the verdict will just be decided by how words were used. The verdict will be considered the truth however it is far from the real thing. Emotion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are so many definitions for the word emotion. Actually, there is no universally agreed term for the word emotion. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, it is a complex reaction pattern that a person uses to approach a significant and personal matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps feelings would make the subject of emotions much simpler. Feelings are the experiences that come with emotions. Feelings are very useful tools for obtaining truth. Humans have this unexplainable ability to know things just be using their feelings. There are such ambiguous concepts such as gut-feel and motherly instincts (Cornelius 1996). But the problem with using feelings to obtain truth is that emotions and feelings are very prone to be biased. Also since emotions are complex in nature, it will also provide us complex results. I believe that the truth should be unbiased before it is presented or accepted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, I will use the courtroom scenario again, the truth is that the defendant really did the violation he is accused of. He then delivered a very empathic speech that convinced the jury. The decision of the jury had a great impact on the final verdict. Once again, it failed to obtain truth as the jury felt that the defendant was innocent. After all, a feeling is only a feeling and certainly not necessarily the truth. Revelation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And last but definitely not the least, we have revelation as a way of knowing. Revelation, as the word suggests, is about a disclosure that has been provided by a divine being. What has been disclosed is something initially unknown and implausible for humans to uncover. We can also call this divine intervention. The realizations and messages disclosed during revelations transcend the known boundaries of human comprehension. We are familiar with revelations as it happened to the most famous prophets that later on became the proponents of the world’s most popular religions. Most of the instance that the revelations happen to the prophets is when they are in a meditating or in a trance state. Some accounts of revelations happen in dreams. But revelations are not exclusive to great prophets. Actually there are much many accounts of revelation to normal people (Franz 1975).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the best example of the use of revelations is on the holy books of the world’s most popular religions. These holy books are distributed around the globe in countless copies. The religions devout followers live their lives according to the words of these scriptures. It is because these people believe these words to be the truth. That these words are the very words of God himself. Many may challenge the level of truthfulness of these holy scriptures. But if they take in consideration what we’ve learned in theory of knowledge, we will discover we shouldn’t challenge the validity of these scriptures. We are talking about faith here, faith is something that can’t be easily shattered within a person. When we say that a certain belief is someone’s faith, that automatically counts as that someone’s truth. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sense and logic could have been the best ways to knowing the truth. However they both fell short as both of them have certain limitations. Both of these ways of knowing is relying much to the capabilities of the brain, which we know as of now is very limited.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Language and emotions are too complex to put into use of obtaining the truth. And the problem was both of them often leads to a biased truth, which we can’t categorize as a genuine truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the best ay of knowing the truth, I preferred it through revelation. The other ways of knowing the truth made me realize how hard it is to obtain truth. Also, the word faith comes with the rod revelation. I believe we should be faithful to what is true. I’m aware that it is still difficult to prove revelations through physical evidence. But we don’t need any of that evidence if we get our goal, the truth. Maybe the truth is really far from the reaches of our comprehension. Maybe if we explore more the possibilities of revelations may it be through religious meditations or simple dreaming. Works Cited Butchvarov. The Concept of Knowledge. Evanston, Northwestern University Press. 1970 Cornelius, R. The science of emotion. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996 Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 2001 Gibson, James J. The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems. Boston. 1966 Raymond Franz. The Appropriate Time for God to Act. Crisis of Conscience,.1975. pp. 237–253 Russell, Bertrand. Mysticism and Logic. London. Allen and Unwin. 1917 Ways of Knowing. Problems of Knowing and Linking Questions. 7 January 2008