Food: A Link in African American Culture Essay example -- essays paper

Food: A Link in African American Culture Four different people, four different lifestyles, all with at least one thing in common—their races (or so we have yet to discover). I began my interviews wanting to show the similarities and differences in eating habits and traditions with the African American perspective in mind. Although race is used as the combining factor in this situation, each individual’s lifestyle, cultural behavior, and even eating habits are all very unique. My interviewees consisted of four Americans, as mentioned before all of same race, with similar yet very distinct backgrounds. They range from a black Jew, to a â€Å"Jamerican,† to what I would call a â€Å"traditional southerner†, right on down to a modern day Muslim. They all agreed to fill me in and reveal to others the details of their personal history and family backgrounds. Geography, family tradition, and religion all play factors in what they eat as it always has dating back to ancestral times. I began with à ¢â‚¬Å"JJ Alex;† a 20 year old African American male from the east coast. He is a middle class college student. JJ Alex sounds like your typical college student but he is far from typical. What singles him out from many of his other peers is his religion. You might ask, â€Å"How would his religion relate to his eating lifestyle unless he’s a Muslim?† â€Å"He couldn’t possibly be Jewish—or could he?† A black Jew—better known as a Seventh Day Holiness. His great grandfather was a Rabbi and the basic teachings in his religion are as followed: his faith believes the Sabbath (day of rest) to begin at sunset on Friday lasting until sunset on Saturday; some worshippers wear Yarmulke; his faith also follows the Old Testament of the Bible; and they wear the Star of David. These beliefs in the Judaic way of life absolutely affect the food that is prepared in his house. JJ Alex mentioned that in Judaism one does not eat of unclean animals, which of course entails the meat of a pig or even fish with no scales. So right away he totally disbanded the myth that all people of African American decent eat pork. He also excludes anything from his diet that contains any pork-derived ingredients. â€Å"Not in my house!† he says. Although he does stick to his Judaic diet, JJ Alex and his family do enjoy other foods as well. His mother does most of the cooking in his home. He says they try to ea... ...iday Thanksgiving. On regular days, he does eat a lot of â€Å"soul food† which includes the collard greens and candied yams. Throughout all four interviewees I realized many foods that are common in the African American culture. In my home, although I choose not to eat pork, we do eat collard greens and sweet potatoes. Coming from a multicultural background that includes African American, Bajan, and Japanese, I also enjoy many other dishes ranging from Asia to the Caribbean. I also have family from the north as well as the south so I understood all the aspects my interviewees were throwing at me. Although each subject is from completely different backgrounds, whether they be geographical or religious, they each share likeness in many different aspects of their lives. Showing the similarities as well as the differences in their eating habits can create a cultural map tracing each individuals food choices back to one source. In this case, the source may be the continent of Africa where many of these foods are eaten today. In West Africa, the yam is a very popular vegetable. This just goes to show how food can be the missing link of different cultures throughout the world.

Recommending a Marketing Mix for a Service ‘Lumia’ 800

GAC012: Business Studies Assessment Event 3 Recommending a Marketing Mix for a Service ‘Lumia’ 800 of NOKIA Mobile Company’ Student: Zhou Siyan ‘Effie’ ID number: ZMSC22222 Tutor: Maqui Due Date: November 19, 2012 Date submitted: November 19, 2012 Word Count: 1249 words Table of Contents Executive Summary 1. 0 Introduction 2. 0 Research Methodology 3. 0 Research Findings 4. 0 Discussion 5. 0 Conclusion and recommendations Reference List Executive SummaryWhen technology change the way people interact with each other in daily life, those writing days were gone with letters and postcards and personalized greeting cards and they are turned into emails, online social networking chat, sending text messages mostly with a mobile phone. The research paper is about choosing a product on which we will do and recommend a marketing mix. In order to come up with a good marketing mix, we gathered information online and from some interviews, discussion and findings w hich finally given our own conclusions and recommendations.The outcome of the paper concentrated on the recommended marketing mix for a chosen product which is lumia from ‘NOKAI’ and for its competitor which is G21 ‘HTC’. Therefore, there are different own style between the two companies in doing their marketing mixes, also we believe that our recommendation for a marketing mix for Nokia is considerable. 1. 0 Introduction This research is focus on recommending a marketing mix for a chosen product which is Lumia 800 form the NOKIA mobile company. A new type of mobile phone, with new designed out looking and the powerful windows phone 7. operating system, not only can be used for daily phone calls, sending messages but also is a perfect integration of work and leisure for people with it can get contact with social network and surfing the internet and enjoy the music or movies, books anytime anywhere they want. There is no doubt that this product is popular am ong teenagers, but actually our target market is people from 15 to 40 years old. The key success factors in this market are as follows: Appearance design, Operating system, Product quality, Brand awareness.Moreover, the reason why we chose Lumia 800 from NOKIA mobile company as our product is that representative products of NOKIA now whenever considering its quality or satisfaction As for the SWOT of NOKIA Company, firstly, the strengths is a position as industry leader in the telecommunications and electronics industry. Secondly, the weakness is that it is cannot sustain its current marketing rate. Thirdly, opportunity is that its marketing are all around the world. Lastly, threats are the competitive pressure from other companies, such as Apple, Google.As for marketing mix of the product Lumia 800, the price we recommend is about 1800 RMB and we decide to promote it through TV, Magazine, Film or any other possible way. As for place, we plan to set up monopolized store and expandin g to the overseas markets. The outcome of the research is that the NOKIA with an excellent marketing mix can finally overcome its weakness–the declining market position. It is the target object on (Lumia 800) and popularity of windows phone OS that determine our choice of the marketing mix. 2. 0 Methods . 1 In order to collect the data, an interview is done in relation to the NOKIA Company and the product by asking questions from the managers in phone selling company. Moreover, we visit some appropriate Internet sites such as the official website of NOKIA and Google, Wikipedia and so on. From the way we used different websites to widen the scope of our research and gather important facts during interview to give clarity to vague topics concerning our report, the data collection methods can perfectly address the research bjectives. 3. 0 Findings A key competitor is the HTC Mobile Company and its marketing mix is as follows The product is HTC G21(Sensation XL), with 4. 7 inches of high-definition display and GSM & WCDMA network system and 8000000 pixels camera and it is a very popular product of HTC. The price on sale now is 2079 to 3699 RMB. As for place, product are on sale in monopolized store around the world. Promotions can be done in several ways, like on sale with plan cap or with tax-free.The analysis of the current SWOT of NOKIA is as follows: strengths is its position as industry leader in the telecommunications and electronics industry. Also, it shows to the world the incredible ability to adapt to the market. Weakness may be that it has grown so huge, as the fifth most valuable brand in the world, that it cannot sustain its growth at its current rate. It still have some opportunities like Nokia's leadership in the area of mobile phones and its versatility open the company up to a wide variety of communications and mobile device possibilities — markets that are growing throughout the world.Threats are that Nokia is facing a number of thr eats from companies such as Apple, Google, and Research in Motion, all of which are investing heavily in the mobile phone industry in an attempt to gain dominance. The marketing mix we recommend is as follows: NOKIA Lumia 800 with large display screen, the shape of phones, the face plates and the soft key touch pads charges about 1800RMB which can be accepted by most of the customer and maybe the innovation of Promotion Method Oriented by Target Consumer is necessary. We decide to promote it through TV, Magazine, Film or any other possible way.As for place, we plan to set up monopolized store and expanding to the overseas markets. We came up with a promotion strategy: NOKIA can enhance its Promotion Management and built a large database, making a dose control of terminal promotion activities. Furthermore, it is a good choice to have a surprise price on holidays and it can be on sale on a duty-free shop to attract more customers. Here are the interview summary: The ratio of concern o f the Symbian OS (NOKIA’s own system) Month1357911 The ratio of concern (%)67. 265. 460. 857. 754. 847. 2 Table 1 From table 1, we can know that the ratio of concern for the Symbian OS in 2010.The Symbian OS is the primary OS of NOKIA; the data can reflect the rise and decline of NOKIA. Graph 1 The data from Graph 1 is ajusted from the table 1. According to this bar graph we can clearly see the trends reflecting the rise and decline of NOKIA. 4. 0 Discussion We came up with the marketing mix based on its recession during these years and also referred to the statistical data and the current situation analysis. the reason why we chose Lumia 800 from NOKIA mobile company as our product is that representative products of NOKIA now whenever considering its quality or satisfaction.And the price is 1800 because it can easily be accepted by ordinary people to attract more customers. We build up NOKIA’s own franchise stores, according to the successful case-apple store. There a re a lot of factors will affect the findings, like the information online and the interview of or the advice from teachers. 5. 0 Conclusions and recommendations After long time discussion and findings and information we gathered online and from interviews we determine our final marketing mix for NOKIA Lumia 800. To summarize, the price we recommend is about 1800 RMB and we decide to promote it through TV, Magazine, Film or any other possible way.As for place, we plan to set up monopolized store and expanding to the overseas markets. The final marketing mix has its competitive edge when we consider its price. The price is reasonable but still quality-guarantee. What’s more? The brand awareness, just like most people will choose to buy the well-known brand instead of a normal brand even they have a similar product at same price. Reference List Wikipedia (2012), Nokia [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nokia (Accessed November 5, 2012) Wikipedia (2012), HTC [o nline] Available at: ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/HTC (Accessed November 5, 2012) HTC. COM (2012), the HTC phones [online] Available at: http://www. htc. com/us/smartphones/ NOKIA. COM (2012), the Lumia 800[online] Available at: http://www. nokia. com/us-en/products/phone/lumia800/ (Accessed November 5, 2012) Wikipedia (2012), marketing mix [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marketing_Mix (Accessed November 5, 2012) Mysmartprice (2012), the Lumia 800[online] Available at: http://www. mysmartprice. com/mobile/nokia-lumia-800-msp1531 (Accessed November 5, 2012)

The Lottery Blood Sacrifice - 916 Words

Blood Sacrifice Could you take a hand in killing someone from your community, a neighbor, a friend? What if it was part of a sacred rite? What if it was for some greater good? This is precisely the moral dilemma posed by author Shirley Jackson in her famous short story, â€Å"The Lottery.† In the story, a village is required to cull one of its members. In a yearly tradition, everyone gathers to select one person by way of random lottery, and then they stone them to death. As barbaric as the sacrifice is, everyone seems to go through the ritual with an air of resolved finality. â€Å"The Lottery† examines the idea of what is required of a person in society, what that society considers to be good, and where the line between the two should be drawn.†¦show more content†¦This is where the line between what is good and what is required lies: in following the traditions and the ritual of the village, and doing so with reverence and dignity. The locals can take the li fe of their neighbor because they understand that it is part of who they are. They also know that it fulfills some need, some greater good, though they may not all remember exactly what that greater good is. This story may seem cold, barbaric, and cruel, but it is in painting this bleak picture of society that Shirley Jackson succeeds in turning the lens back around onto the reader. Jackson makes us reflect on our own lives, on our own society, and on the barbarism that exists there. In reading â€Å"The Lottery† we are, on some inherent level, forced to consider the â€Å"blood sacrifices† of our own culture, which we ourselves may gloss over every day or every year. It is only by confronting the dark rituals in our lives that we are able to distinguish where the line between what we feel is good and what we feel is required falls for us. But once we have done this, maybe we can start to change things, and end the bloodshed. Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. New Yorker 26 June. 1948: 25-28. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 MayShow MoreRelatedSymbolism in the Lottery1391 Words   |  6 PagesShirley Jackson#8217;s, #8220;The Lottery#8221;, clearly expresses her feelings concerning traditional rituals through her story. It opens the eyes of readers to properly classify and question some of today#8217;s traditions as cruel, and allows room to foretell the outcome of these unusual traditions. #8220;The Lottery#8221; is a short story that records the annual sacrifice ceremony of a fictional small town. It is a detailed narrative of the selection of the person to be sacrificed, aRead MoreSymbolism In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson869 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism is used throughout The Lottery in the character names. Author, Shirley Jackson, uses the name of, Mr. Graves, to foreshadow the story and explain what â€Å"The Lottery† really is. Mr. Graves is the one who carries the three-legged stool whi ch could indicate two things: the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or it could mean the past, present and future, saying that â€Å"The Lottery† will always be among the people of the village. In addition, he is also the owner of the post office andRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson Essay1667 Words   |  7 PagesThe Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson portrays a small town trapped in a futile tradition due to superstitious beliefs bringing upon more evil than prosperity. The small town of people are caught following a tradition blindly or to frighten to change their ways leading to serious consequence. some however, do question the lottery but are quickly shut up by old man Warner with the belief that the tradition of the lottery brings a good harvest of corn to the community. As the community continues to followRead MoreTo Further Understand The Text One Must Know The Literary1724 Words   |  7 PagesTo further understand the text one must know the literar y devices present in The Lottery. In the short story The Lottery there is a theme of tradition. The citizens all blindly followed the tradition of the lottery while barely remembering its origin or reasoning. Each year the town came together to have its lottery. It was said that the lottery was done each year so that they would have good crops but many of the citizens had forgotten its purpose. While waiting for the ceremony to begin the childrenRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1349 Words   |  6 Pages In â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to demonstrate how even with religion present, people still conform to tradition and in this case, human sacrifice. Symbolism is when the author uses symbolism to express a certain idea or quality throughout their work. Tradition has always been important all over the world and it is something that continues to hold strong to this day. â€Å"The Lottery† within itself contains a whole other meaning to the word tradition. It is present every year, whichRead MoreThe Significance Of Character Names In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1587 Words   |  7 Pages In a short story that was written by Shirley Jackson, The Lottery, is a short literature that discussed an annual lottery draw that took place in a small New England town. In the literature, Jackson presented the event that took place in the sma ll town very summer time of the year, in which one random villager get chosen and to be stoned to death by the people in the village. As Jackson stated in her short literature, the lottery has been practiced in the small village for over seventy yearsRead MoreAn Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson744 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† - For Analysis 1. There are multiple examples to suggest that â€Å"The Lottery† is a ritualistic ceremony. In several instances â€Å"The Lottery† is referred to as a ritual: â€Å"..so much of the ritual had been forgotten..† and â€Å"†¦because so much of the ritual had been forgotten†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . In addition, the ceremony happens annually on June 27th, a t0:00 a.m., suggesting a ceremonial quality. This happens with such regularity that the citizens â€Å"†¦only half listened to the directions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This ceremonyRead MoreInstitutionalized Ritual in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson1625 Words   |  6 PagesShirley Jackson’s The Lottery, is a terrifying, tension filled masterpiece of an ancient human practice set present day America, 1948. Jackson’s dark, short story is about a rural farming village on the east coast, who, like other villages around them, conduct a yearly â€Å"lottery.† It begins in the town square in the mont h of June, where the schoolchildren are gathering stones while awaiting the arrival of their respective families. When the lottery is formally started, roll call is initiated followedRead MoreSummary Of The Lottery 1490 Words   |  6 Pages The Lottery 2 Mrs.Samantha walked down to the town square she was ready for the lottery. She was still grieving over the death of her best friend Tessie and was not ready for the lottery again. As she was walking down the street she ran into her friend, Mrs.Juliet and she said, â€Å"I think I might break out crying because the lottery was sacred and Old Man Warner if he was still here would not be happy that we have changed it. I can’t believe that he had died in the winter I guess it was justRead MoreOmelas And The Lottery Dystopia Essay1304 Words   |  6 Pagesis a fine line between something that is morally right and something that is immoral, and this line is often skewed to conceal the truth. Corrupt individuals and organizations commit evil acts every day and then feed lies to people. Omelas and The Lottery both uncover how our world is a dystopia that is filled with evil that is masked and concealed to try to hide and flush out the guilt that plagues those who neglect suffering and immoral transgressions. The town of Omelas is a deceptive dystopia