An introduction to European cuisine

An introduction to European cuisine Europe is a continent which is bordered by the Arctic ocean to the north, to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean, the Caucasus mountains and the Caspian sea and Black sea forms the southeast boarders,the Ural mountains and the Ural River is positioned in east of Europe and to the south lies the Mediterranean Sea. Europe stands as the worlds second smallest continent in relation to its size .Population wise Europe is the second biggest continent after Asia. European history is very vast which begins from the Bronze Age with enormous cultural and economic achievements. Ancient Greeks marks the origin of western culture and the Roman Empire spanned the entire continent for several centuries. With the decline of the Roman Empire Europe entered a long period of stasis known as the Dark Ages, which came to end with the rise of Renaissance and New Monarchs, which began the period of exploration, discovery and increase in the scientific knowledge. A large colonial empire was built by the Europe an nation at the 15th century, particularly France, Britain, Spain and Portugal with enormous holding in Asia, Africa and the Americas. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution in Europe at the 18th century, created greater general prosperity and equivalent increase in the population. With the end of World war two and till the end of cold war two major political and economical blocks divided the Europe which was the Capitalistic countries in the Western Europe and the Communist nations in the Eastern Europe. Presently geographic Europe comprises 45 countries. The European climate remains temperate and mild, with cool summers and cold winters. Generally, if we compare different places on the same latitude with places on the same latitude in Europe, we would notice that places in Europe have a more favorable climate than places elsewhere in America, Asia or Africa. If we compare the average January temperatures of Berlin, Calgary and Irkutusk- lying in the Asian region of Russia, we would notice that the temperature in Berlin is about 8 and 22 degrees Celsius higher than temperatures in Calgary and Irkutusk respectively. The main reason for this climate winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Warm winds sweep the whole continent and keep the continent mildly warm. Ocean currents carrying warm waters from the Gulf of Mà ©xico have a major role in this natural phenomenon. Since there is not mountain barrier in Europe, which is large enough to stop these winds from sweeping across the continent, and since most of the continent is within the range of 3 00 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, these currents affect the climatic conditions of the whole continent. Therefore, Europe climate is quite the same throughout the continent. Northern Europe climate, naturally, has longer and cooler winters compared to the southern part of the continent. Winters are colder and longer in the East as compared to the west. Summers are shorter, but hotter in the East as we move towards the west. As far as rainfall is concerned, most parts of Europe receive an annual rainfall of 20-60 inches, with the maximum of it happening towards the West of the mountains (around 80 inches in general). The areas receiving lighter rainfall include the Southern part of Spain, Kazakhstan and northern part of Scandinavia. It is for a reason that Europe fetches the maximum number of tourists in a year- its warm people and great natural beauty, coupled with aesthetic modernity. It is a well known fact that almost each and every country that comes under the European region has major tourist hubs, which attract customers from all over the world. Not only people from other continents, but people from within Europe also travel to the various tourist destinations in Europe. The tourism industry also plays a major role in the economic stability of the European nations, and this is the sole reason as to why the governments have spent a massive amount of time and money in keeping various tourist places in Europe clean and updated. The climatic conditions and the exceptionally well connected airline services make traveling in Europe, a piece of cake. The ancient medieval history, coupled with some great historic monuments, palaces, churches and alleys have made tourist places in Europe a hot favorite among tourists of all age groups, backgrounds and nationalities. France attracts most of the tourist influx in Europe. From the Louvre and the Eiffel tower to the Notre dam Cathedral and the Champs ET Lysà ©e, almost every tourist spot in France, especially in Paris, has become a symbolic of the most visited places of the world. The Arc of Triumph, the Garnier Opera and the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre are some of the other places that can be termed as some of the best tourist places in Europe. Germany and Rome follow France closely when it comes to some of the most visited tourist places in Europe. Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Dà ¼sseldorf attract tourists from all over the world. Business travelers and educational tourists also frequent these places. The Colloseum and the Palazzo Barberini are two of the most famous tourist places in Europe, belonging to Rome. Apart from historic tourist places in Europe, great natural places are also hot favorites among tourists. Regions around the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific top the list of such places. Be it the open landscapes of Hungary, the great mountains in Switzerland or the beautiful beaches of Spain- Europe has everything to sooth a lover of nature. Apart from some great tourist places, the people, food, culture and the festival of Europe beckon one and all to this land, offering a perfect mix of traditions and rebellion. Europe has a great diversity of food reflecting its linguistic-cultural mosaic. In this age of globalisation we are brought to eat food from more and more countries.

National Parks or National Problems? Essay -- Critical Thinking Essays

A bear meanders across the road several hundred yards in front of your slowly moving vehicle. A doe and her fawn leap back into the brush as you approach. The sun shines in such a way that it seems the mountains above you go on forever. This pristine image of our nation's national parks is unfortunately getting harder to find today. The approximately 270 million visitors to the parks annually have begun to take their toll on the wild and preserved areas of our nation. Congress created the world's first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872. For many years after the beginning of Yellowstone (and other such parks), the wilderness could be viewed from afar, but not entered. Camping within park limits was something that was just not done by visitors (National Park Service, Caring for Legacy, 1). The national parks were much less accessible to the public sector in the early 1900's than they presently are. A staggering 68% of Americans have visited at least one area of the National Park System today, and all these visits have undoubtedly led to the gradual degradation of our parks (Rettie, 124). Our National Park Service, or the NPS, is the agency responsible for the upkeep and management of the national parks (Rettie, ix). The service was created in 1916 (National Park Service, When Did the NPS, 1). The early parks, including Yellowstone, didn't have a central governing body for over forty years. This meant that the first parks had to struggle to stay alive and running. In addition, many fell into ruin due to lack of public support or due to the fact that some Americans didn't even know that these parks existed. People also weren't sure how to handle themselves within park boundaries, which is still a problem today. Several of the ... ... American Press, 1990. Keiter, Robert B., and Mark S. Boyce, eds. The Greater Yellowstone System. London: Yale University Press, 1991. Leal, Donald R., and Holly Lippke Fretwell. "Users Must Pay to Save Our National Parks." Consumers' Research Magazine, August 1997. First Search. Online. 12 Oct. 1998. National Park Service. "Caring for the American Legacy." http://www.nps.gov/legacy/mission.html. (24 Nov. 1998). National Park Service. "Fire in the National Parks." http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/issues/fire.html. (15 Nov. 1998). National Park Service. "National Park Resources in Peril." http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/issues/paril_p_.html. (20 Nov. 1998). National Park Service. "When Did the NPS Begin?" http://www.nps.gov/legacy/legacy.html. (20 Nov. 1998). Rettie, Dwight F. Our National Park System. Urbana and Chicago: University Of Illinois Press, 1995.

Porter Five Forces Airlines Essay

Threats of Substitutes (Low) Product that able to represent other product function can be defined as substitute product (Wheelen and Hunger, 2002). Currently, there are no perfect substitutes for airline service, as airline service has the best range of destination, time-efficient and convenience. However, the fact that trains and air-transports are substitute is true, but the threat will only be high if it’s applied in domestic travel. Currently, the threat of substitutes for airline industry is low. In regards to the threats, Airline Company should keep innovate their service to prevent a perfect substitute. 2.2.2 Power of Buyer (Moderate-Low) The power of buyer can be defined as the ability of customers to affect an industry. This view has been supported in the work of Coulter (2008). The bargaining power of buyer in airline industry is relatively low because the number of buyers for this service is enormous and keeps increasing (IATA, 2010). Additionally, due to different specialty of countries, customers tend to go overseas for particular purpose that the destination country is good at (i.e. Singapore good at Medication), subsequently, going overseas somehow is becoming part of the lifestyle today. Hence, this can also be seen as the service is essential for particular customers which further down the bargaining power of buyer. Looking at another factor which is internet, it allows customers to easily make a comparison through information and price transparency and switch to other airline service. Overall, the bargaining power of buyer is still moderate to low, so organization can take this opportunity to provide excell ent service and charge premium price. 2.2.3 Power of Supplier (High) According to Collis and Montgomery (1997), power of supplier can be defined as the ability of suppliers to affect an industry. The power of suppliers in airline industry is relatively high, as fuel is one of the important attributes for airline service. This can be seen as the price of jet fuel price has risen 8% from January while the usage of airline keeps increasing (IATA, 2010). In addition, as the availability of substitute for fuel has not been found the bargaining power of supplier is still high. However, the  availability of jatropha-based- fuel will soon be available substituting the jet-fuel-based which will reduce the bargaining power of supplier in the future (Bloomberg Energy Finance, 2012). Moreover, the bargaining power of suppliers in airline industry is also reduced by the availability of internet. By the use of internet, one can purchase their supplies from suppliers around the world without any geographical boundaries. Hence, currently the power of supplier in th is industry is high. In this case, airline firms may want to create good and long term relationship with their suppliers to gain advantages. 2.2.4 Threats of New Entrants (Low) Threats of new entrants are the effect from possible entrants that affects an industry. According to Lynch (2009), potential entrants often come to marketplace when the barrier to entry is low and when profit margins are great. In airline service industry, the barrier is relatively high due to requirements of high capital in entering the industry (i.e. investment on terminal and airplane). Furthermore, as there are already several strong players in the industry, it is hard to enter and established at the market because brand identity in airline service need to be good and clear as it is involved with safety (customers will not use unknown airlines as it would be risky). Therefore, it will force the new entrants to spend extra capital to advertise more to fight the strong existing player. Overall, the threat of new entrants is low. Hence, seeing this barrier, existing firms may want to strengthen their branding to further increase the barrier to enter the industry. 2.2.5 Rivalry among existing Firms (High) Rivalry among existing firms refers to the degree in which firm react to moves from other firms within an industry (Pearce and Robinson, 2007). Due to the evolving technology like internet, it allows customers to switch to other company with no more than a click (i.e. moving to other airlines website), this clearly would make player in the industry to be intense. Moreover, due to needs of high investments (i.e. purchasing aircrafts and investment on the technology), it creates high barrier to exit the industry, as the aircrafts and technology that are expensive will be rendered as no-use for other business. While, for company that hire aircrafts for their  airline service also need to spend a lot of capital and usually involved with long-contract agreement and need long time to achieve break-even point or gain profit. Additionally, by the arrival of budget airlines which offer value for money airline service it affects the competition in airline industry to become more intense. Ove rall, the intensity of rivalry among existing firms is high. Therefore, airline firms may want to keep innovate their service and cope-up with the advancing technology so they will be able to provide advance and better service for better position at market.

Religion in Public Schools - More Questions than Answers...

Prayer in Public Schools - More Questions than Answers Censorship is a very broad topic. Is it good or bad? Often, we ask ourselves if such things need to exist because of the First Amendment right. It states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (Amendments.) In the case Ginzberg v. United States, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart stated, Censorship reflects a societys lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime . . . Is he right? Is society lacking†¦show more content†¦Supreme Court. (Edwards 10.) President Clinton was also troubled with this issue. So much so, that he came up with a statement of principles outlining the separation of church and state in public schools. On May 30, 1998, Clinton stated, . . . Schools do more than train childrens minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help out schools to do this is by supporting students rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools . . . For more than 200 years, the First Amendment has protected our religious freedom and allowed many faiths to flourish in our homes, in our work place and in our schools. Clearly understood and sensibly applied, it works. (Riley.) The guidelines were sent to every public school district in America. It expressed the extent of religious activity and expression allowed in public schools. The purpose of these guidelines was to end confusion toward religious expression in the Nations Public Schools, which had started over 30 years ago. The guidelines allow school districts to avoid disputes. 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