German Culture A Unique Blend Of The Old And New

German culture is a unique blend of the old and new. The large separation between the formal professional life and the informal private life amongst its people creates a country that is steeped in tradition, but also very forward thinking and evolving. While German is the official language of Germany, it is not the only language spoken in Germany. Many Germans claim to speak at least one other language. As of 2011, at least 92.8 of German students were learning English and/or French in general programs and much of the population is bilingual or somewhat familiar with another language.(Eurostat, 2014) The German language does not share many similarities with English. Some words come from Latin and Greek, while fewer come from French and†¦show more content†¦While politicians occasionally make calls to return to this set of ideals, it has come under some fire. Many criticize it saying that they do not give any room for sciences or art, and others criticize it for being very militaristic. However, these ideals can still be seen in the usual customs and etiquette. Germans tend to have a clearly defined separation between their personal and professional lives. Both sides tend to be very structured. In their professional lives, Germans are very respectful, formal and punctual, often exemplifying Prussian virtues. It is seen as very rude to speak informally to someone who is not a close friend or family member, or hasn’t given permission to use the informal forms of words. It is also seen as rude to not make a point of using someone’s title and/or surname when addressing them. As part of the idea of separation between private and professional life, the home is a very private place in Germany. It is not often that individuals outside of close friends or family are invited in so it might be more acceptable to schedule meetings in a more public setting. If someone outside of the familiar group is invited into the home, it is customary to wait to be asked to enter and to bring some kind of small gift. While there are clear signs of strong professional values, Germans also have a reputation for being forward thinking and very supportive of modern civil movements. Germans are known for having

What Challenges Face Descriptions Of God - 1568 Words

What challenges face descriptions of God, according to Augustine in Confessions and De Trinitate? Augustine of Hippo is writing at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries. The two primary texts which we will consider in this essay are both classic expositions of Augustinian theology and philosophy, however the style of writing found in each is rather different. Confessions addresses God directly in the second person, while De Trinitate appeals more to the reader. These are both written by the bishop of Hippo after the ecumenical councils of Nicea (325CE) and Constantinople (381CE) where the Trinitarian doctrine of God was firmly established as well as the divinity of Jesus Christ, hence his teachings on the Trinity aim to explain and†¦show more content†¦However, before he will begin talking of his own life there is prayers of invocation and reflections on the mystery of God s indwelling and being. This serves to situate the writings as a spiritual account of God s work in Augustine s life, rather than a removed biography. Seeing himself as one who abandoned the true relig ion, he wrestles with some fundamental challenges he faces upon reflection - where was God when Augustine was not living a Christian life or does knowledge of God precede or follow from calling upon God? Reading his account of God s being (Confessions, Book I, Chapter IV) one has the sense that this particularly poetic chapter reflects a converted soul s struggle to reconcile paradoxical images of God, which Augustine juxtaposes to convey a sense of mystery. Phrases like my Lord God carry distinctly biblical tones since the Divine Name is often translated Adonai (Lord). There are clearly other biblical influences on the chapter. God is never new, never old, yet making all things new referring to God s eternal nature and Revelation 21:25. However, other descriptions seem to draw on other philosophical traditions. An expression of God reflected Platonic forms is seen as God is most high, best, most powerful even to the extent of being both the furthest and nearest. The idea of the true philosopher seeking the light as if in a darkened cave can

Death of a loved one free essay sample

On November 9, 2010, my best friend was pronounced dead due to asphyxiation caused by a drug overdose. Desmond Miller Harris was one of the thousands of people in the United States who died in the year 2010 from a drug overdose. Depending on the person and the situation, losing a loved one to drugs can impact people in several different ways and on multiple different levels. Some people move on quickly and are not affected in any way while others are stuck in a deep depression. This depression can cause some people to spiral out of control and lose who they once were. Others assess the situation and improve themselves as individuals. Watching my friend deteriorate while feeling hopeless to help him is something I will not likely ever forget. This traumatic happening is beneficial to me due to its effects on my life, which made me realize the impact that drugs have on us, who my true friends are, and what I want to do with my future. We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a loved one or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In my eyes, Desmond was someone whom I could always reach out to for support. When I moved to Hatfield in the year 2005, he was one of the first people I met. My friend and I had a bond that was unbreakable. We called each other brothers and stuck with one another till his last breath. Desmond died in 2010 from an Oxycontin and heroin overdose. It was a shocking experience to have gone through because I never thought that someone so close to me would die from drugs. I began to recognize that no one is infinite and this type of life-changing event could happen to anyone. Desmonds death made me realize the impact that drugs have on individuals and their families. People tend to lose their original personalities when they turn to drugs because they have this overwhelming feeling of guilt or remorse for their actions. In the past few years, I have watched many people fall apart due to the effects of drugs. Most of his friends became emotionally unstable and turned to drugs to ease the pain of losing a loved one. Desmond’s sister and father were most impacted by his death. The happiness that used to keep them together was swept away by negative emotions. Furthermore, Holidays and family traditions were hard to get through with Desmond’s absence. Some of the effects of his death have caused some family members to turn to unhealthy choices to numb the pain of their loss. Some unhealthy choices include drinking and drug use. Also, some of the consequences of their loss have led his survivors to isolation, depression and anxiety. Friendships were affected negatively throughout this traumatic experience in different ways. Desmonds addiction and subsequent death hurt and shocked everyone who knew him. Friends of Desmond began to blame each other and themselves for his death. Some of our friends became lost in their addictions. They began to drop out of school, lose their jobs and become apathetic to their relationships with family and friends. Others realized the seriousness of drugs and stopped doing them. Their friendships were affected, and they separated themselves from people who continued to use drugs. Experiencing the death of my best friend has given me a better understanding of what I want to do with my future. Although Desmond’s death was a very negative emotional experience for me, it led me in the right direction. His death has given me inspiration to achieve my goals and to help prevent others from having to face the pain I confront everyday from the loss of my friend. Some of the goals I have already achieved from the motivation I found from his absence are as follows: I became a volunteer fire fighter for Colmar, got a job working as a vendor for Herrs Inc.  and separated myself from people who were a negative influence on my life. More importantly, I am hoping to obtain a degree in criminal justice in order to keep drugs off our streets and prevent families from being impacted by drugs while having a positive influence on people like Desmond. Although it was sad to lose Desmond, he has taught me something that will always stick with me: Life is valuable, and the decisions I make not only impacts me, but also everyone around me. Desmond died due to a destructive lifestyle that he chose for himself. I learned that a negative experience can be quite powerful. This life-altering event was enough to set me on the right course to make positive decisions throughout my life. Although I will live my life with the pain of his death, and the loss of a friend, I will always keep him in my heart through everything I accomplish. He gave me a motivation and drive that, prior to his death, I myself did not know existed. For that, I could not be more grateful. Thank you, Desmond.

Different Market Structures in Australia Buyers and Sellers

Question: Discuss about the Different Market Structures in Australia for Buyers and Sellers. Answer: Introduction The number of buyers and sellers present in the market determines the market structure. Perfectly competitive; monopoly; monopolistically competitive and oligopoly are four types of market structures exist in the economy. When there are many buyers and sellers and the identical products are bought and sold; then the market structure is said to be perfectly competitive. In this market the price is determined through interaction of demand and supply. Hence, the participants are price takers. This kind of market structure is considered to be the most efficient one as it produces optimum output from the given resources (Baldwin and Scott 2013). In reality perfectly competitive market hardly exists and they take the form of a monopolistically competitive market. In a monopolistically competitive market structure, the products are closely substitute, however, the producers differentiate them in terms of colour; shape and packaging. This enables them to charge their own price and they have some sort of monopoly power over price. In a monopoly market, a single seller controls the market. There are many consumers in the monopoly market and the market is regulated with barriers to entry. Since, the monopolist is the sole producer, he is the price maker. A monopolist can charge high price and maximizes its revenue. In the oligopoly market structure, there are sellers and number of consumers. The oligopoly market produces almost identical product and the firms compete with each other to capture the maximum market share. The price is determined through collusion in this kind of market structure. In this paper, the different types of market structures in Australia will be discussed. Monopolistically Competitive Market In Australia apart from oligopoly and monopoly firms, the rest of the businesses operates under monopolistically competitive market. Restaurant and catering industry is an important industry under this market structure. In Australia, there are lots of restaurants who are engaged in huge competition among themselves. There are no barriers to enter this market, however, it requires huge investment to open a new restaurant and establish its brand. The prices of the restaurant meal have augmented by 1.7% in Australia (competitionpolicyreview.gov.au 2014). They offer same items but the price may vary from one restaurant firm to another. The variation in price takes place in terms of difference in taste of food; difference in quality and quantity. In restaurant industry, the price often varies due to quality of service provided. Due to quality of service, people often perceive the products offered are different from each other, even they are identical. Therefore, the monopolistically compe titive firms have a certain degree of monopoly power over price. The restaurants also offer different cuisines, for example, some offer Chinese; some provides continental and so on, in order to differentiate from other firms. The firms under this industry are engaged in promotional activity and advertisement to make its product different from others. Monopoly Market The famous monopoly firm in Australia is the Australia Post that operates in the postal service industry. This is operated by government of Australia and running the business for more than 200 years. This is the largest logistic company and monopoly provider of certain mail service (Ibisworld.com.au 2016). There are many firms in the postal service, but Australia Post has retained its monopoly power by charging a very low price for the mail delivery. It has largest system all over the nation and its service is available at every corner of this country. In the rural region, the service of this firm is available at same fare (ABC News 2014). This postal service firm practices second-degree price discrimination. It charges lower price for bulk mail delivery than single mail. Moreover, it charges according to the weight of the parcel. Price discrimination is a major characteristic of the monopoly firm. This firm has taken measures to advance its parcel operations, as online retail soppin g has created huge demand for parcels. Online parcel delivery demand is helping Australia Post to grow its business volume (Carbonell 2011). The government has restricted the private firms to drop their parcel on the boxes of Australia Post, this has created barriers to protect heritage of this company. at present, the Post is facing competition form postal service firms like FedEx and DHL. Therefore, Australia Post focuses on customer retention policy by developing its IT department. This firm can have more power over the postal and mailing service, if it pursues digital mail strategy. Oligopoly Market The supermarket chains of Australia operate under oligopoly market structure. Woolworths and Cole are two giant retail chains in this industries. They together form duopoly market structure. The other firms are IGA; Costco; Food Works; SPAR and Aldi (Knox 2016). Among all these, Coles and Woolworths are two giant supermarket chain that captures 70 to 80% share of the market. These two firms form cartel and sell similar quantity at same price. However, one can cheat and produce more than the cartel quantity at a lower price. Cheating by one firm enables it to increase market share. Since, both firms cheat by producing high quantity, the market price tends to fall. This price fall hampers the revenue earning of the other firms and they are lagged behind and unable to compete with these giant retain stores. However, the oligopoly firms do not engage in price war, as too low price may hamper the revenue earned (The Australian 2013). Therefore, it is beneficial to compete in terms of sale s in order to capture the maximum market share. The barrier to entry in the oligopolistic market structure is assumed to be high, as it entails massive investment to set up retail chain stores and to create the brand value. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that different market structures are clear in the Australian market. Australia Post operates in the monopoly market. The supermarket chain of this country are of oligopolistic in nature, in fact Woolworths and Coles together forms duopoly market structure. In Australia, the restaurant and catering sector are of monopolistically competitive in nature. References ABC News. (2014). Post offices are the lifeblood of rural Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-08/elliott-australia-post/5190156 [Accessed 12 Aug. 2016]. Baldwin, W. and Scott, J., 2013. Market structure and technological change (Vol. 18). Taylor Francis. Carbonell, R. 2011. Australia Post plans to perfect pass the parcel. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-10/australian-post-announces-parcel-operations-shake-up/3459562 [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. competitionpolicyreview.gov.au. 2014. Competition Policy Review. [online] Available at: https://competitionpolicyreview.gov.au/files/2014/06/R_CA.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. Ibisworld.com.au. 2016. Postal Services in Australia Market Research | IBISWorld. [online] Available at: https://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/default.aspx?indid=5033 [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. Knox, M. 2016. Supermarket monsters Coles, Woolworths and the price we pay for their domination. [online] themonthly.com.au. Available at: https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/august/1406815200/malcolm-knox/supermarket-monsters [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. TheAustralian. (2013). We are an oligopoly economy: Robb. [online] Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/we-are-an-oligopoly-economy-robb/story-fn91v9q3-1226699531519 [Accessed 12 Aug. 2016]. Article Links: https://competitionpolicyreview.gov.au/files/2014/06/R_CA.pdf https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-10/australian-post-announces-parcel-operations-shake-up/3459562 https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/august/1406815200/malcolm-knox/supermarket-monsters