Latin American civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Latin American civilizations - Essay Example United States of America. It comprises twenty independent states, six European (France & Netherlands) dependences and two US dependences. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary (3rd edition) the word â€Å"Latin† is derived from the word â€Å"Latium† which refers to an ancient country of west-central Italy bordering on the Tyrrhenian sea dominated by Roman Empire after the 3rd century B. C. As the region is defined with its European ancestry so the people of Latin America do not necessarily feel identify with the region. They tend to identify them with their national identities rather than with a Latin American regional identity.The population of Latin America is an amalgam of ethnic groups with varying composition of European, Amerindian or African origin.The Latin America has remained the home of many indigenous peoples and civilizations, including the notable Maya, Aztecs and Inca, before the colonialism in late15th century. They followed diverse religious thoughts and practices. Following is an account of some important civilization religious thoughts and practices.Mayan Religious Practices.The Maya civilization emerged in Mesoamerica – a region extending south and east central Mexico to include parts of Guatemala, Nicaragua , Honduras and Belize in early 1800 AD and flourished around 300-900 AD. Quiche was the mother tongue of all Mesoamerican and it is still spoken by a large number of Guatemalan indigenous people . The Mayan people had spectacular art and architectural skills with sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. The Mayan religious school of thought was based on the cyclical nature of time. Popol Vuh was their sacred book and Mexico and Guatemala was their main religious Centers. Like many ancient civilizations three aspects of cosmos i. e; the underworld, the sky and the earth, were the key features of Mayan religious belief. The caves, mountains and natural wells were considered extremely important geographical features as they were seen connecting the upper and the nether worlds. The influence of Cosmo vision was obvious even in their city planning and architecture. Mayan underworld was dominated by the aged Maya gods of death and putrefaction. The sun god dominated the Mayan idea of the sky. The night sky was considered to be a window showing all supernatural doings. They believed that world had infinite space and it had flat and square shape. They also worshiped the circle, which symbolized perfection or the balancing of forces. The maize god was considered to be the central figure of Mayan religious philosophy and maize life - cycle lay at the heart of Maya people. According to Mayan belief all gods were unbounded and associated with each others. The qualities of these gods and their attributes changed with the passage of time and with cultural influences from other Mesoamerican groups. An important characteristic of Mesoamerican religion was the dualism among the divine entities. The gods symbolized the confrontation between opposite poles: the positive, exemplified by light, the masculine, force, war, the sun, etc.; and the negative, exemplified by darkness, the feminine, repose, peace, etc. Good and bad features were not permanents traits of gods (Maya civilization, 1) . Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of the present one can see the cyclical influences of the future. Aztec Religious Thoughts and Practices The Aztecs civilization refers to the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people under the control of the Mexico. The Aztec Empire was founded in postclassical era in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in central Mexico with Tenochtitlan as its capital. The basic theme of Aztec belief was Ometecuhtli - a Supreme Creator, who, according to

Website Evaluation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Website Evaluation - Case Study Example Advair is a product of the famous multinational GSK. It has an elegantly designed website that centers on their product. Advair claims to provide solution to asthma patients through its Advair Diskus and it builds on this claim through an efficient explanation of the uses of the product and a description of merits of the drug in view of the experts. Customer satisfaction and comfort is at the core of modern marketing theory and this has been successfully addressed through online order facilities thereby protecting the customer from a physical venture to the pharmaceutical stores in search for the product. Advair website makes a good use of the marketing mix utilizing almost all the P's with a special attention to the product as it gives a detailed explanation of the use of the product, its merits and a description of how it helps the asthma patients. In order to productively the gravity of the subject that is asthma has been briefly highlighted to encourage the customer into exploring greater details and motivating him/her to buy the product. Trust building is the most significant feature of operational marketing and in this regard an effectual use of the popular brand name, GSK, has been made. GSK being one of the giants in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide the name itself offers credibility to the clients. A display of the logo at the bottom of the website clearly indicates the branding strategy of the company, and in the meantime would build the clients trust and would encourage him to test the drug by virtue of the developed brand name. Furthermore the site incorporates the segmentation policy by providing a list of eligibility rules and recommending an array of procedures with respect to the age of the patient. To condense the review like many other corporate giants GSK has efficiently marketed its drug through its website and its policies promise to give Advair a competitive advantage in the industry. Singulair.com The second site that was chosen for the purpose of study was MERCK's Singulair.com. Unlike Advair, Singulair lacks competence and it fails to integrate a variety of marketing tools. The website fell short in concentrating on the product which is at the center of the marketing mix, a description of the product and a detail regarding its use seem to be the very important aspects that are missing, and neither does it outline the severity of asthma, like Advair. Despite of the ignorance in these departments a number of positive characteristics can be identified that compensate for the drawbacks in the marketing mix. A particular branding strategy has been adopted and a greater use of the famous brand name MERCK has been made as compared to Advair. The display of the logo at the top of the website builds the drug's integrity in the minds of the customer from the very beginning and instigates him/her to anticipate a high product quality. An apparent segmentation has been done and it highlights the fact that it targets people from all age groups subsequently outlining the fact that asthma can attack anyone. The description of th